Home > News > Article Display

40th HS now one shy of 400 rescues

By Senior Airman Cortney Paxton, 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs / Published May 19, 2014

PRINT | E-MAIL
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- A crew with Malmstrom's 40th Helicopter Squadron recorded the unit's 399th save after rescuing an injured hiker near Whitehall, Montana on May 18.

The crew consisted of Capt. Josh Hallford, aircraft commander/pilot; 1st Lt. Greg Johnston, co-pilot; and Flight Engineers Tech. Sgt. Michelle Bresson and Staff Sgt. J. Ryan Oliver. The four members of "Air Force Rescue 22" departed from base at 6:35 a.m. and arrived at the location in just over an hour.

A 23-year-old man was hiking on Doherty Mountain when he fell nearly 30 feet and broke his ankle the evening prior to the rescue. Three Whitehall emergency services individuals hiked to the survivor and camped overnight, stabilizing the hiker until the helicopter - equipped with a hoist capability - was able to meet them at an extraction point.

"It only took us about five minutes to find him [once we got there] because we had people on the ground to talk to us," Hallford said. "Communication has to be close especially when it's a pretty decent hike to get there because we only have so much fuel. If we have people to talk to, we're less likely to run out of fuel."

"This was probably the best [ground] team I've worked with," Bresson added. "As soon as they saw us fly overhead they were able to make communication with us and vector us to the location. They were very professional and had him wrapped up and ready to go."

After arriving on scene, Oliver lowered Bresson on the hoist to assess the situation.

"We did about a 75- to 80-foot hoist - the pilots themselves had trees and the cliff face about 15 feet right off the nose of the aircraft," Bresson said. "I can definitely see why he fell - I had to hike 10 or 15 feet up to him. Because of his ankle, he wasn't able to get away from where he was at, so as he was being hoisted up, I had to sort of guide him up so he didn't hit the base of the cliff."

According to Hallford, the survivor was in a location surrounded by rocks, trees and bushes, and because of the rough terrain, Oliver had to maneuver the hoist precisely so it didn't get tangled. After lowering Bresson, the crew extracted the survivor, did a circle around the location to safely secure him and then returned to extract Bresson - a process that only took 30 minutes.

"It felt good to be able to be lowered down and allow a newer engineer the opportunity to gain experience during a basically textbook search and rescue," Bresson said. "When I got down there [the ground team] had him laying down in a sleeping bag - he was probably in shock. As I worked to get him out of the sleeping bag and onto the hoist... he looked like he was absolutely miserable. I explained to him what to expect, what the other flight engineer would be doing and then after they got him in the aircraft they took off. Once I got back into the aircraft, he looked like he was in better spirits and there was a look of relief on his face - he was definitely happy to be out of that situation."

Following the extraction, the crew flew the man to St. James hospital in Butte, Montana, refueled and then headed back to base - landing safely at 10:16 a.m.

Hallford believed the extraction was successful because the crew used sound CCRM, or crew cockpit resource management. They were all able to communicate effectively and use all resources available to them. But, in the end, the approval process was quick and the extraction was even quicker, allowing for a smooth search and rescue save.

"It's always a good feeling to get out there and help someone who's in need," Hallford said. "I know the whole crew was pretty pumped about it. For three of us, this was our first save - myself, Sergeant Oliver and Lieutenant Johnston - Johnston has been on one before but this was the first time he had to extract someone, so it's kind of like one and a half for him."
USAF Comments Policy
If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

  • This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
  • Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.