{"id":32130,"date":"2022-10-12T20:02:31","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T20:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/10\/12\/air-forces-new-search-and-rescue-helicopter-heads-to-first-deployment\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:15:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:15:52","slug":"air-forces-new-search-and-rescue-helicopter-heads-to-first-deployment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2022\/10\/12\/air-forces-new-search-and-rescue-helicopter-heads-to-first-deployment\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force\u2019s new search-and-rescue helicopter heads to first deployment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Air Force\u2019s new HH-60W Jolly Green II combat search-and-rescue helicopter has deployed overseas for the first time, a milestone more than a decade in the making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airmen with the 347th Rescue Group at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, headed out with the HH-60W on Sept. 24, though the Air Force has not said where they deployed or how long they might be gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe future of [Air Force] rescue is secure, and our team is ready to recover anybody, anytime, anywhere, against any adversary,\u201d 23rd Wing commander Col. Russell Cook said Wednesday in a post on Moody\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deployment is the latest of multiple achievements for the helicopter program in the last few months as the Air Force prepares to wind down the buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sept. 7, Moody airmen notched their first save in an HH-60W when they airlifted an airman from a hospital in Valdosta, Georgia, to another in Tampa, Florida. It\u2019s unclear why he needed medical attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"U.S.
Airmen assigned to the 23rd Wing board a C-17 Globemaster III at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, Sept. 24, for the first-ever operational deployment of the HH-60W to provide rescue services in support of contingency operations. (Airman 1st Class Deanna Muir\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A helicopter from Moody was tapped to respond following a multi-hour training sortie, the service said. After a quick refueling and maintenance check, it headed out on its domestic mission with the call sign \u201cAir Force Rescue 490.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dispatching the HH-60W took about 45 minutes \u2014 faster than usual for military rescues. It landed about 12 miles away on a soccer field in downtown Valdosta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, three airmen \u2014 a flight doctor and two pararescuemen \u2014 from Moody\u2019s 38th Rescue Squadron took an ambulance to South Georgia Medical Center. They picked up an airman from Moody\u2019s 75th Fighter Generation Squadron, which manages A-10C Thunderbolt II attack planes, and loaded him onto the helicopter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next leg of about 200 miles proved a bumpy ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCapt. John \u2018Jack Sparrow\u2019 O\u2019Neill, Air Force Rescue 490 aircraft commander, said they were dodging bad weather the entire way to Tampa but made it there safely,\u201d the Air Force said in a press release. \u201cAir Force Rescue 490 landed at a soccer field in Tampa \u2026 where they were met by a Moffitt Magnolia Center ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Airmen
Airmen from the 38th Rescue Squadron transport a patient during the HH-60W Jolly Green II\u2019s first official rescue mission in Tampa, Florida, Sept. 7. (Senior Airman John Crampton\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The rescue crew offloaded the hurt airman and headed back to Moody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Air Force Rescue Coordination Center credited the 41st and 38th Rescue Squadron with one save,\u201d the service said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t