Kadena Airmen return home after rescue mission

  • Published
  • By Maj. John Hutcheson
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  A team of Pacific Air Forces and Air Force Special Operations Command Airmen from Kadena Air Base returned home yesterday evening after providing medical assistance to two injured mariners aboard a Panamanian freighter 750 nautical miles north of Saipan. Despite the efforts of the rescue team, one of the injured men died Sunday after being transported to a hospital in Guam, while the other is expected to make a full recovery.

Pararescuemen from the 31st Rescue Squadron and members of the 320th Special Tactics Squadron left Friday afternoon aboard an MC-130 flown by the 1st Special Operations squadron. The 320th STS and 1st SOS are both part of the 353rd Special Operations Group, based at Kadena. The 31st RQS is part of the 18th Wing.

After a 4 ½ hour flight, a total of six Airmen performed a freefall jump into the Pacific Ocean from 3,500 feet around 7 p.m. Using inflatable zodiac boats and engines, the team made contact with the freighter and boarded it around 10 p.m. Friday night.

The Pararescuemen and Special Tactics Airmen immediately began providing medical care to the two crew members who had been injured in an accident on board the vessel Friday. The Airmen stayed in constant contact with flight doctors at Kadena as they worked to stabilize one of the crew members who was in critical condition with head injuries.

The Airmen remained on board the ship providing medical assistance to the injured men until they were evacuated at 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning by two U.S. Navy search and rescue helicopters from Guam's Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Two Five (HSC-25). At one point, Pararescue specialists performed CPR for an hour and a half after the critical patient went into cardiac arrest. 

Unfortunately, the critically injured mariner was later pronounced dead at Navy Hospital Guam. The second patient was receiving treatment at Guam Memorial Hospital and was expected to fully recover from his injuries. 

"This was an amazing rescue mission involving heroic efforts from members of the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, 31st Rescue Squadron, 1st Special Operations Squadron, and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Two Five," said Col. John Glaze, deputy commander of the 353rd Special Operations Group. Unfortunately, we were not able to save one of the injured mariners. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and crew members." 

Air Force Pararescuemen, or PJs, are the only Department of Defense specialty specifically trained and equipped to conduct conventional or unconventional rescue operations. Their primary function is to deploy in any environment as a personnel recovery specialist, to authenticate, extract, treat, stabilize and evacuate injured personnel.

Pararescuemen are among the most highly trained emergency trauma specialists in the U.S. military. They maintain an emergency medical technician-paramedic qualification throughout their careers. With this medical and rescue expertise, along with their deployment capabilities, PJs are able to perform life-saving missions in the world's most remote areas.