129th Rescue Wing hoists woman from cruise ship
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Austin Hellweg, a special missions aviator from the 129th Rescue Squadron, 129th Rescue Wing, California Air National...
The 129th Rescue Wing's mission is to train and prepare to perform its wartime mission of combat search and rescue anywhere in the world. The 129th has performed a wide variety of civilian search and rescue missions, including distressed persons aboard ships, lost or injured hikers, and medical evacuations.
The weapon systems that perform these missions are the HC-130J Combat King II aircraft, the HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter and the Guardian Angel pararescue system. The force multiplying capability of aerial refueling the HH-60W from the HC-130J makes these two aircraft an outstanding search and rescue team. As a result, the 129th RQW is often tasked to utilize its refueling capability to perform long-range search and rescue missions over land and water. Since the 129th RQW's designation as a rescue unit in 1975, the unit have have saved over 1,100 lives. "THESE THINGS WE DO, THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE"
