563rd Rescue Group ready for rescue operations

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  • By 147th Reconnaissance Wing and
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
ELLINGTON FIELD, Texas --  Hurricane Gustav did not have a huge weather impact on the Houston area, which allowed the Joint Reserve Base located at Ellington Field to serve as the ideal location to stand up air support for search and rescue operations.

Active duty members assigned to the 23rd Wing's (Moody Air Force Base, Ga.) 563rd Rescue Group and reservists from the 920th Rescue Wing's (Patrick AFB, Fla.) 943rd Rescue Group, both out of Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., joined the Air National Guard's 129th Rescue Wing from Moffett AFB, Calif., and the 147th Reconnaissance Wing of the Texas Military Forces to provide the governors of Louisiana and Texas air search and rescue assets.

"This mission is a total force effort, we have the Active Duty, Reserves and the National Guard pulling together to save lives," said Major Brett Hartnett, 563rd RQS project officer.

In addition to the military support, the integrated cooperation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) provided for the movement of aircraft ground equipment which ensured smooth transition for the search and rescue missions.

Aircraft arrived at Ellington throughout Monday. The last aircraft to land at Ellington was a C-17 transport containing two HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters from the Alaska Air National Guard. By the evening, the ramp at Ellington Field was full of aircraft ready to respond to Hurricane Gustav efforts as directed.

One of the most unique aspects of the response group was the Rescue Operations Center. The ROC is equipped to be a self-contained operations center, with command and control, flight surgeons, communications, plans, logistics, maintenance, intelligence, and a "Guardian Angels" element which is a specialized rescue team.

"These integrated forces set up a ROC at Ellington Field within two hours of being on the ground," said Maj Hartnett.

The ROC can support humanitarian efforts and has the capability to expand to full combat operations. Its concept is less than a year old, and Hurricane Gustav gave the 563rd rescue professionals a chance to test the idea for the first time.

"It is amazing how quickly this mission came together," said Col. Rodney Horn, 147th RW vice commander. "By Tuesday morning, Ellington Field was fully operational for 24-hour search and rescue missions."

From the time the 563rd received the notice to deploy to Ellington with the ROC, the unit was ready to respond to rescue calls within 16 hours.

"It was a phenomenal success," said Lt. Col. Denis Doty, 563rd Operations Support Squadron commander. "To be able to mobilize the entire squadron, get everything together and get everyone crew-rested and in place in less than 24 hours, we're very pleased."

Although there ended up being no need for search and rescue capabilities for Hurricane Gustav, Lt. Col. Doty pointed out that it's an absolute necessity for SAR to be able to move downrange and start immediate ops without any outside entity support.

The 563rd, including the 943rd, were ordered to stand down yesterday and return to Davis-Monthan to reconstitute, in other words, get ready for the next storm.