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TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – In the early morning of Sept. 18, 2025, a Panamanian vessel sent a distress call from approximately 770 nautical miles off the coast of California. The crew requested help for a man experiencing stroke-like symptoms who needed urgent medical evacuation.
Coast Guard District 11 received the call and requested support from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base.
“This particular mission came in the form of a request from the U.S. Coast Guard for air assets to assist and transport the injured objective,” said Master Sgt. Travis Siegwart, AFRCC senior enlisted leader. “The first major decision that has to be made is if it meets the Federal criteria of “Life, Limb, or Eyesight”, and that no local or civilian capability is available. In this case, the USCG surgeon general determined it was life-threatening. It was a clear ‘go,’ so we issued a federal mission number. That mission number enables our assets to respond and save civilian lives, and once it was issued, the unit began executing the operation.”
As the sole agency responsible for coordinating airborne and on-land federal search and rescue support in the 48 contiguous states on behalf of U.S. Northern Command. The AFRCC contacted the California National Guard Joint Operations Center to determine available state support.
The 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Field responded with an HC-130J Combat King II aircraft, five pararescuemen, an HH-60G Pave Hawk, and an HH-60W Jolly Green II. The HC-130J carried the pararescuemen to the vessel, where they stabilized the patient until the HH-60 helicopters arrived to transport him to a medical center on land.
“The distance was a unique obstacle, and while all mission requests are time-sensitive, this one was especially so,” said Senior Airman Alyssa Pannucci, AFRCC Search and Rescue controller. “As always, we sought out the closest and most capable units. By keeping open communications, maintaining flexibility, leveraging creative thinking, and encouraging willing Airmen we made this a mission success!”
Despite the extreme distance, interagency coordination proved vital to the mission’s success and ensured the patient reached safety quickly.
“In the Air Force you always hear the phrase ‘One Team, One Fight’ and while many associate this with battlefields, we here at the AFRCC align this phrase for a different fight: saving lives here in the homeland,” said Staff Sgt. Toni Cerny, AFRCC Search and Rescue controller. “This is not possible without the collaborative efforts with our brothers and sisters in arms and it’s very rewarding.”
This year, the AFRCC surpassed 20,000 lives saved in its history of coordinating search and rescue operations. The milestone was reached May 28, 2025, during the rescue of two stranded hikers in Boise County, Idaho.
In 2024, the AFRCC managed 13,794 incidents, launched 478 missions and saved 231 lives.
Operating under Air Forces Northern, the AFRCC provides support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The center connects directly to the Federal Aviation Administration’s alerting system and the U.S. Mission Control Center. In addition to Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking information, the AFRCC system maintains resource files listing federal and state organizations capable of conducting or assisting in rescue efforts across North America. The center also maintains close contact with Mexico and Canada to support civil search and rescue operations.
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2025 13:51 |
| Story ID: | 549424 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, AFRCC Coordination Enables Rescue of Mariner 770 Nautical Miles Offshore, by Capt. Ryan Walsh, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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