Deployed C-130's vital to personnel recovery

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Nicholas Benroth
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  "That others may live" is a motto that rings true throughout the rescue community despite the high operations tempo that is required of them.

Over half of the 79th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base deployed, just as the other half returned from their four month tour where they were on a high alert.

"We were on constant alert during our deployment, waiting for the call to let us know someone was hurt," said Capt. Trevor Millette, 79th RQS HC-130P Combat King pilot. "We are one of the fast movers and have a longer range, so we would pick people up from the hospitals or where ever was needed and get them to a higher level of care."

During their most recent deployment, the crew members of these Combat Kings had a dual role, personnel recovery and medical recovery.

"This is a no fail mission, so when we ask one of our Airmen to step up regardless of the mission tempo, we take care of our people because they take care of the mission," said Lt. Col. Michael Guischard, 79th RQS director of operation. "There is not one person in the 79th RQS who wouldn't step up to do this."

The rescue squadron's main mission is to provide assistance for personnel recovery, but that's not the only mission they support.

"Personnel recovery is a mission that is one of our top priorities, but we now lend a hand to provide support for medical recovery to all different types of personnel," said Guischard. "In my four and a half to five months over in Afghanistan, we flew over 800 missions, saved over 200 lives, and assisted in saving the lives of 300 other personnel, which included Afghan personnel.

"We were on alert every day of the week to ensure we could bring those patients to life saving care, which was really gratifying," he added.

Three crews deployed along with Guischard and Millette who helped support the mission.

The C-130 crews worked hand in hand with pararescuemen to assist in personnel recovery and medical transportation.

During the four months that Millettes was deployed, his crew had 120 combined saves and assists.

"We transported around 15 Afghan kids while we were there and some of the things that happened to them were just horrible," he said. "We had some kids that the Taliban had blew up with improvised explosive devices... which still haunts me a bit."

Through all of this, Millette still gained something from his deployment, a sense of purpose.

"I felt a sense of purpose after spending two or three years just training; actually deploying really showed me why what I do is important," Millette said. "Seeing those kids in the back of the plane or the special forces member was held held down after a leg injury was blown off because he wanted to get back and get to his boys and continue to fight."

For Guischard and Millette their next deployment will be a little different from their usual as they will fly the new HC-130J Combat King II aircraft.