Wing prepares for upcoming AEF

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Susan Stout
  • 944th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  A helicopter flies just 25 feet above the water; aircrews fight hurricane strength winds as water droplets attack the face as they battle the elements to be rescued.

It’s not a scene from a new movie, it was a scenario experienced July 10 by 30 aircrews from the 302nd Fighter Squadron during water survival training at Lake Pleasant.

In addition to the pilots and flight doctors, eight life support specialists, seven support staff, and two safety technicians were at the lake for the five-hour training. A HH-60G Sikorsky “Pave Hawk” from the 305th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., provided the helicopter support.

According to Senior Master Sgt. Tracy Kopp, 302nd FS Aircrew Life Support Supervisor, the water survival training at Lake Pleasant was a requirement to prepare the 302nd members for their upcoming Air Expeditionary Forces deployment. Training at the lake, opposed to in the pool on base, enabled the aircrews to go through a full scenario – from ejection to hoist pickup.

The crews were able to simulate a parachute drag and a parachute escape – where the parachute lands on top of a pilot in the water. The group also used three different survival rafts and used signaling during rescue.

“The impending AEF made (the training at the lake) more desirable on the part of the trainees and made the training (mean) more than just filling a square,” Sergeant Kopp said. “They need to be prepared for landing in water because they won’t always land on the ground.”

For Maj. Robert Richards, 302nd FS Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, the experience was like no other.

“I’ve never been picked up by a helicopter and I was amazed at the spray and how much it impaired our vision,” he said. “This training better prepared us for real-world situations and for upcoming AEF deployments.”