MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Moody’s HH-60G Pavehawk Helicopter tail No. 223 received its retirement orders Sept 14, 2021, when it was officially towed into the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) or the “Aircraft Boneyard’’ at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
After 31 years and nearly 8,000 hours, Pave Hawk No. 223 departed on a four-day sortie marking the final 41st Rescue Squadron's Golf model helicopter to be retired to the Boneyard as Moody’s Rescue community makes its transition to the new Jolly Green II or Whiskey model.
"It’s emotional - the last flight of an old warhorse,” said Col. Russ Cook, 23rd Wing commander and command pilot. “It’s an honor to fly the last flight of No. 223 with the guys who have been flying this aircraft for a long time. Countless combat sorties and saved lives. As I get closer to my last flight, I feel a kindred spirit with this aircraft. All the way to the boneyard and it has an impact -- No. 223 remains ready in retirement.”
During the cross-country trip, Cook and fellow aircrew members flew over downtown Valdosta, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the Grand Canyon before ending at the aircraft Boneyard.
Fellow helicopter pilot, Lt. Col. Thaddeus Ronnau, 41st RQS director of operations, is considered the ‘high-time flyer’ within the squadron with more than 2,350 hours in the Golf model and said the cross-country mission left him with a knot in his stomach and a touch of sadness.
“It’s a strange form of emotion … knowing this is something that has been a big part of your life for almost 15 years and now you’re parting ways,” said Ronnau. “Many of us have lost friends, cheated death, and lived most of our adulthood in and around this aircraft.
“It was like getting rid of your first car and thinking about all the stupid, fun, and ultimately awesome things you did in that wonderful aircraft,” added Ronnau. “Things you’ve forgotten, things you’ll never be able to truly explain to another soul if they weren’t there and things you’re lucky you walked away from. Leaving her behind is an end to one part of life and the beginning of the next, but it still pulls at you.”
According to maintenance records, No. 223 rolled off the Shirosky assembly line in 1990 and logged more than 250 flight hours annually and most recently deployed to the Horn of Africa spanning two deployment rotations in late 2018 into early 2019.
“The HH-60G was a great and survivable aircraft, but it was made the best rescue vehicle in the world by the rescue forces being employed with her, the crews that manned her, the maintenance that kept her flying,” said Ronnau. “But time, technology, and our adversaries’ capabilities are catching up to us, so we need to improve and mature ourselves. This rescue force of HC-130Js, HH-60Ws, and our Guardian Angel force will always be ready to ensure that someone’s worst day won’t be their last.”
The 347th Rescue Group Golf pilots have been transitioning to the new primary combat search-and-rescue helicopter since November of 2020 when Moody received the service’s first two Whiskey models.
“I’ve already completed my transition to the HH-60W, the Golf replacement, so from here I’ll work to teach the rest of the community what I’ve been lucky enough to learn over time,” said Ronnau. “At the same time, I have a lot to learn from the rest of the community about how to use the new technology to integrate with the wider combat air forces. Both the Golf and the Whiskey have taught me that no matter what I know, there’s always something new to learn that can make Rescue more fast, agile and lethal.
“Everyone sees the new helicopter as truly outstanding," he continued. "No one still serving on active duty has ever brought on a new helicopter, and because of that it gives us new ways to fix training, bring up new aircrew, and become a better rescue force.
Moody’s remaining Golf No. 356 will retire officially during a ceremony, here, later this month before maintenance professionals convert the aircraft to a static display for the George W. Bush Air Park.