USAFR's 920th Rescue Wing Flies To The Rescue
At the recently concluded 2007 World Space Expo, ANN's Aero-TV
crews were invited to get the "bird's eye view" of one of our
nation's most intriguing millitary missions.
Commanded by Col. Steve W. Kirkpatrick, the 920th Rescue Wing at
Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. is an Air Force Reserve Command combat
search and rescue unit that trains and equips approximately 1200
personnel to search for, locate and recover U.S. Armed Forces
personnel during military operations.
The reason they were such a big deal at the World Space Expo, is
the fact that the secondary mission of the 920th RQW is to provide
rescue support for astronauts on NASA space shuttle missions as
part of the DoD Manned Spaceflight Team. The 920th provides safety
and security surveillance of the Eastern Range during all launches
from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center, as
well as search and rescue support for civilians who are lost or in
distress, and also provides humanitarian and disaster relief
operations.
The 920th Rescue Wing is comprised of 23 subordinate groups and
squadrons, including two geographically separated units at
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. and Portland, Ore. Upon
mobilization, the unit is assigned to US Air Force Air Combat
Command. The ability to overcome adversity and quickly adapt to
formidable environmental challenges have become a 920th tradition.
That tradition was put to the test in September 2005 after
Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Rescue
wing crews were first responders to the disaster and flew around
the clock utilizing their extended range refueling capacity to
rescue the victims of the tragedy. In the first day of rescue
operations, 920th crews pulled 475 people from the
devastation.
After 21 days of continued search and rescue efforts, 920th
members had saved 1043 lives. Throughout its 50 year history the
wing is credited with saving 1,916 lives. That's a record that
they, and the nation, can be quite proud of...
So... Join Aero-TV On A Flight With
The USAFR's 920th Rescue Wing
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E-I-C Note: The complete USAFR 920th
Rescue Wing feature (above) is embedded in this
story, with most of the slick and useful functionality
otherwise available on the main Aero-TV
site (which will be upgraded aggressively
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Aero-TV programming on other parts of the web... as we have
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Coming Soon!
Aero-TV Shows You How To Build A Glasair Sportsman
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Details, Shoots A Clarity Aloft Headset Profile, Shows You What
"Flying The Vestimumax" Is All About, Scores A BUNCH of LSA
reports, and SO MUCH MORE!!!!! Do NOT miss them!
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