Maritime Medical Response: 129th Rescue Wing Stabilizes Mariner 700 Nautical Miles Offshore

Sept. 25, 2025 | By Air Force Master Sgt. Joseph Prouse, 129th Rescue Wing |

A Guardian Angel pararescue team assigned to the 129th Rescue Wing, California Air National Guard, stabilized a Filipino mariner aboard the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship Grand Vega after reports of stroke-like symptoms during a two-day search and rescue operation approximately 700 nautical miles off the California coast. 

U.S. Coast Guard District 11 relayed the alert in coordination with the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. The Grand Vega was crewed primarily by Filipino mariners. 

The wing launched an HC-130J Combat King II on Sept. 18, carrying five Guardian Angel team members — pararescuemen and a combat rescue officer — to plan for various sea state contingencies and ensure the team could access the ship upon arrival. Pre-mission planning emphasized multiple insertion options for varying sea states to ensure patient care would not be delayed by conditions. 

Four pararescuemen conducted a maritime parachute insertion with a boat package, accessed the vessel, and moved below deck to assess and stabilize the patient for transfer. A follow-on recovery package launched from Moffett Air National Guard Base the next morning. The package included one HH-60G Pave Hawk and one HH-60W Jolly Green II, while an additional HC-130J provided command-and-control and air-to-air refueling support. 

"This mission demonstrates disciplined planning, swift insertion and expert patient care at an extreme distance," said Air Force Maj. Coda Brown, 129th Operations Group. "Our Guardian Angel teams, rotary-wing crews and HC-130J aircrews integrate seamlessly with the U.S. Coast Guard to save lives when both minutes and miles matter."  

Brown noted that interagency cooperation is critical to maritime safety and security in the Pacific region. 

The patient was hoisted to a helicopter and transported to Stanford Hospital, where local paramedics were staged at the landing zone to complete the handoff for a higher level of care. Officials said the rapid transfer is expected to improve the patient's outcome. 

"I am incredibly grateful to be part of this mission, but most importantly, I am happy the patient received the care he needed, and all members returned home safely," said a pararescueman with the 131st Rescue Squadron. 

Unit officials said the operation is recorded as the wing's first life saved with the HH-60W and possibly the final life saved with the HH-60G, marking a conversion milestone for the 129th Rescue Wing. Unit leaders said this achievement underscores the wing's ongoing commitment to modernizing its fleet and maintaining high operational readiness, adding that the response reinforces the 129th Rescue Wing's enduring ties with key partner nations and allies, including the Philippines, and demonstrates the unit's commitment to saving lives. The mission's strategic effects build Pacific proficiency and validate the wing's vital role in the region. 

Behind the scenes, maintainers, weather and intelligence professionals, aircrew flight equipment specialists, logistics personnel, communications experts, command post staff and medical specialists enabled the response. 

The 129th Rescue Wing provides worldwide combat search and rescue, as well as civil search and rescue capabilities. The wing operates HH-60G/HH-60W helicopters, HC-130J aircraft and Guardian Angel teams in support of joint and interagency partners, including the Coast Guard. 

The mission marks the wing's 1,169th life saved.

California Air National Guardsmen "Take Down the Towers" Overseas

by SrA Brian Jarvis
129th Rescue Wing

8/1/2015 - MOFFETT FEDERAL AIRFIELD, Calif. -- Just as one upgrades to a new cell phone, the military often has to upgrade its communications systems. Only in this case, "upgrading" antenna towers as high as 120 feet is a considerably greater chore.

For this purpose, the California Air National Guard journeyed to Lajes Air Base in the Azores, Portugal, tasked to remove three antenna towers and ensure they were properly decommissioned.

Senior Master Sgt. David Solis, who led the mission, said it brought together airmen from every corner of California, including his own 129th Communications Flight as well as the 144th Communications Flight, the 146th Communications Flight, the 147th Combat Communications Squadron, the 149th Combat Communications Squadron, and the 222nd Communications Maintenance Squadron.

"The common misconception is that we sit behind a desk. But 'comm' people are extremely innovative and by virtue are some of the sharpest tools when it comes to the arsenal of tools the Air Force has," Solis said. "Their collective experience on both the military and civilian side is what made this mission successful, and bar none I would go to war with any one of these individuals."

The process of removing a tower step-by-step required a team effort of blow-torching metal foundations, unbolting plates, and cutting wires one at a time to ensure the tower falls in a straight line and in the right direction.

147th Communications Flight Master Sgt. and first sergeant Jerome Thomas said that logistics and flexibility were key to the mission, such as when a crane didn't fit size restrictions, leaving the airmen with no choice but to free-fall a tower to the ground instead.

"This is the first time I've worked in unison with other wings, and it's a great experience mixing together and learning who each other is," Thomas said. "Each person is integral in what they do and brings something to the table. Everyone is counted on in comm."

Once antenna towers are decommissioned, they are typically made available for purchase from the general public for scrap metal or commercial purposes via the Defense Reutilization Marketing Office.

On the training side, Guardsmen instructed Lajes Air Base's 65th Communication Squadron on proper technique for safely climbing up and rappelling down from antenna towers, as well as how to inspect equipment and rescue someone who's hurt.

Overall, five airmen became certified in tower climbing while 17 received instruction that will help them prepare both for a potential deployment or a compliance inspection.

"We remained professional and focused on the mission at hand," said 129th communication technician Tech. Sgt. Garrison O. Simpson, who led the instruction. "When you teach, you learn more, so through my teaching I strengthened my own background in tower equipment. I was proud to serve." 

Also accompanying the mission to provide support and train with their active-duty counterparts was the 129th Security Forces and the 129th Logistics Readiness Squadron.

"We were able to conduct an assessment to help them prepare for an upcoming inspection, and we were able to trade learning tools that we can bring back home," said Master Sgt. Michael Conner, a unit training manager with 129th Security Forces. "Overall they seemed pretty motivated."

For Airman 1st Class Alexis Schneider, who recently joined the 129th Logistics Readiness Squadron, the mission provided a chance to see how her unit operates in the field.

"I learned new info that I can bring back to the base and got some really good insights," Schneider said. "I bonded with the airmen from my base and had never worked with other sections before, so I got to see what they do and work as a team."

Given that Lajes Air Base is preparing to undergo a draw-down from roughly 300 full-time personnel to about a third that size, Solis said there could be a chance to further assist their active-duty down the line.

"They're about to experience what the Guard experiences every day, so we have a unique opportunity here to advise the active duty on the challenges that we face as Guardsmen," Solis said. "I'm happy to report that I'm thoroughly impressed with the capabilities of the people that I'm working with here, and this mission has reset my expectations of the Guard."