Sgt. Rosalind Stromberg, a crew chief from 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, Alaska Army National Guard, looks over the Kuskokwim River from the door of a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter during a rescue mission, May 10. The helicopter aircrew rescued four individuals and their dog from their boat on the river after they became stuck between Bethel and Kwethluk because of ice from break up blocking their egress. All four individuals and their dogs were hoisted into the helicopter and transported back to Bethel safely. For this mission, the 207th AVN was awarded four saves.
A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter departs Bethel, Alaska, returning to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, April 9, 2021, after providing transportation to hub villages April 7-9. Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, commissioner for the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and adjutant general for the Alaska National Guard, accompanied by representatives from the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, traveled to Western Alaska to meet with Tribal leaders and citizens in Bethel, Tuluksak, and Chevak. They discussed disaster assistance measures and processes in light of recent emergencies that have occurred in the region, and in preparation for the upcoming flood season.
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - A UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter aircrew with the Alaska Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, rescued four people and a dog May 10 after they became stuck in a boat on the Kuskokwim River near Bethel. About 1 a.m., the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center on JBER informed the 207th AVN that Alaska State Troopers had asked for help rescuing four stranded boaters.
“The individuals were stuck on the river between Bethel and Kwethluk because of a break-up,” said Lt. Col. Michele Edwards, state Army aviation officer, Alaska Army National Guard. “There were areas of ice blocking them from going further.”
Although the boaters called for help before their phone stopped operating, the Alaska State Troopers were able to provide the Rescue Coordination Center with an approximate grid coordinate.
“The boaters knew the general area of where they were but did not have an exact location,” Edwards said.
The 207th AVN aircrew launched a hoist-capable UH-60L Black Hawk medevac helicopter from the Alaska Army National Guard aviation facility in Bethel. The Black Hawk was deployed to Bethel about two weeks ago to provide a rescue asset in the area during the 2021 spring flood season.
“The medevac crew located the boaters but decided the waters were running too high and too fast to hoist the medic directly down to the boat,” explained Edwards.“There was a lot of runoff from the river, so they found a little strip of land that was near them and determined it was the best option to safely and quickly get the medic down to their location.”
After the medic was hoisted down to the strip of nearby land -essentially a tiny island in the river - the medic guided the boaters and their dog to his location and hoisted them up one by one. Once the boaters were hoisted into the helicopter, the medic assessed that they were in the early stages of hypothermia.
“The medic began treating the individuals by giving them warm blankets and helped them rehydrate,” she said. “After they were all safely aboard, the crew flew them back to the Bethel hangar, where they were then released to the Alaska State Troopers.”
For this mission, the 207th AVN was awarded four saves.
Social Sharing