Reserve Airmen Conduct Water Survival Training On Banana River Near Patrick Air Force Base

This training is required every three years

Master Sgt. Greg Goetz, 301st Rescue Squadron Flight Engineer and Special Mission Aviator DOAG hoists Airmen from the water during water rescue training, Feb. 9, 2019 near Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Aircrew are required to take part in this training every three years to remain proficient. (U.S Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cali Elliott)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Aircrew from the 39th and 301st Rescue Squadrons recently participated in water rescue training along the Banana River, near Patrick Air Force Base.

This training is required every three years to maintain proficiency in emergency evacuation procedures while flying over water.

Aircrew are trained on different aspects of survival equipment such as rafts, emergency kits, and procedures for evacuating the aircraft above and below water.

The participants in the exercise were hoisted from the water by a flight engineer aircrew HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter.

The 39th Rescue Squadron fly in the HC-130PN King, an extended range combat search and rescue version of the C-130 Hercules. They provide air refueling in hostile or contested airspace.

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The 301st Rescue Squadron flies the HH-60G Pave Hawk Helicopter, conducting day or night combat search and rescue.

“This training is valuable because the rescuers become the rescuees; giving them a new perspective.” said Tech Sgt. Jarrod Burgess, 920th Operations Support Squadron.

“It helps the dynamic of their job because it gives them a real world feeling under the rotor wash and just how difficult it is to do an evacuation.”

The 920th Rescue Wing is the only Reserve Combat Rescue Wing.

Maj. Michael Conrad, 301st Rescue Squadron pilot, is flipped upside down in an indoor pool used for water survival training at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, Feb 9, 2019. Air Force Reserve aircrews regularly undergo training to increase the chances of surviving is they become stranded at land or sea. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brandon Kalloo Sanes)
Reserve Citizen Airmen with the 920th Rescue Wing put on anti-exposure suits ahead of water survival training at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, Feb. 9, 2019. Aircrews dawn these one-piece garments to reduce exposure when training in cold water. Similar gear can be worn under their traditional flight suits when flying over contested bodies of water. The first half of their training involved simulated helicopter escapes. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brandon Kalloo Sanes)
Senior Master Sgt. Will Towers, special mission aviator with the 301st Rescue Squadron, braces for impact during water survival training Feb. 9, 2019 at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Airmen practiced escaping submerged helicopters under conditions offering minimal visibility. Towers is part of the 920th Rescue Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit dedicated to combat search and rescue missions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brandon Kalloo Sanes)
Master Sgt. Paul Eady (left) and Staff Sgt. John Williams (right), both with the 920th Operations Support Squadron, prepare to submerge a blind folded Reservist during water survival training, Feb. 9, 2019 at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. The training helps Airmen practice escaping submerged aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brandon Kalloo Sanes)
A Reserve Citizen Airmen with the 920th Rescue Wing preps his oxygen tank for water survival training during the February 2019 Unit Training Assembly at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Reservists with the 920th RQW are tasked with combat search and rescue missions and receive survival training as part of their regular military curriculum. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brandon Kalloo Sanes)
Maj. Michael Conrad, helicopter pilot with the 301st Rescue Squadron, is flipped upside down by Sgt. Paul Eady (front) and Staff Sgt. John Williams (back), with the 920th Operations Support Squadron, during water survival training at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, Feb 9, 2019. The goal of the exercise is to practice escaping from submerged helicopters. Air Force Reserve aircrews regularly undergo training to increase the chances of surviving is they become. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brandon Kalloo Sanes)
Members from the 39th and 301st Rescue squadrons prepare to board a boat as part of water rescue training, Feb. 9, 2019 near Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Aircrew are required to take part in this training every three years to remain proficient. (U.S Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cali Elliott)
Master Sgt. Greg Goetz, 301st Rescue Squadron Flight Engineer and Special Mission Aviator and Senior Master Sgt. Frank Mora Matos, 301st Rescue Squadron Air Crew Superintendent scan the water during water rescue training, Feb. 9, 2019 near Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Aircrew are required to take part in this training every three years to remain proficient. (U.S Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cali Elliott)
Master Sgt. Greg Goetz, 301st Rescue Squadron Flight Engineer and Special Mission Aviator scans the water during water rescue training, Feb. 9, 2019 near Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Aircrew are required to take part in this training every three years to remain proficient. (U.S Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cali Elliott)
Captain Engels Sambois, 39th Rescue Squadron navigator, prepares to board a boat as part as water rescue training, Feb. 9, 2019 near Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Aircrew are required to take part in this training every three years to remain proficient. (U.S Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cali Elliott)
Members from the 39th and 301st Rescue squadrons participate in water rescue training, Feb. 9, 2019 near Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Aircrew are required to take part in this training every three years to remain proficient. (U.S Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cali Elliott)
Master Sgt. Greg Goetz, 301st Rescue Squadron Flight Engineer and Special Mission Aviator hoists Airmen from the water during water rescue training, Feb. 9, 2019 near Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Aircrew are required to take part in this training every three years to remain proficient. (U.S Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cali Elliott)

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