TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Air Force rescue crews are revered in the military because they are willing to fly into danger to bring home servicemen and women trapped behind enemy lines.
The government is not saying who was involved in the recent rescue in Iran, but the Air Force home for rescue training is in Tucson at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
“In most cases, you have anywhere between 30 and 45 minutes to be on your aircraft heading towards Harm's Way to go save a life.”
Colonel Jose Cabrera knows what it’s like to get the call and face enemy fire to rescue someone trapped behind the lines. It can mean flying straight into a spot where someone was already shot down and people are waiting for more Americans to come into their sights.
“And that is why we train so hard here. That's why the ranges that we have available here in the southwest, around the Tucson community, are so important to us, because we have to train in environments where we can represent the threat that our airmen are going to see in combat.”
Now Colonel Cabrera leads Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the base in the Air Force where the service trains its combat search and rescue crews—ready to risk death to be true to their motto: “So that others may live.”
Davis-Monthan hosts the full range of aircraft that could be in a rescue mission—-helicopters, tankers to give them the fuel to reach deep into a danger zone, and planes like the A-10 to hold off attacks.
Rescue crews may also help civilians who need help. DM crews have rescued injured mariners far out in the Pacific. They often work with large scale humanitarian assistance efforts after natural disasters.
The aircrews depend on their training and on work by maintainers who make sure aircraft are ready for rough missions on a moment’s notice.
Colonel Cabrera says there’s nothing quite like seeing someone they rescued come home safe.
“Whether it is the maintainers who get to recover that aircraft and see that downed airman or injured soldier come off the helicopter, whether it is our rescue pilots who put their lives in harm's way to go execute that mission, or whether there's the pararescueman that is treating the survivor, making sure that that person gets to see their family again. There's really no more rewarding and noble mission, in my opinion, in the Air Force.”
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
