AUGUST 17, 2026 —On Aug. 10, Airmen from the 355th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, assigned to the 355th Wing but geographically located at Nellis Air Force Base, and the 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron rapidly generated and deployed two HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters to rescue five U.S. Navy personnel following an aircraft mishap near Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California.
The 88 TES received initial notification from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at approximately 11:30 a.m. regarding a Navy MH-60S Seahawk hard landing in mountainous terrain during a high-altitude training flight. The squadron immediately initiated a recall, coordinated with the mishap unit, and tasked the 355 AMXS with generating the aircraft.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Lucas Seney, 355 AMXS aerospace propulsion craftsman, recalled the immediate shift in tempo.
“When production gave us the word for a real-world mission, I gathered the Airmen I had on the line and started directing traffic,” Seney said. “The crew worked well together, and I was proud to see just how efficiently everyone was able to get the job done.”
The rapid generation also required on-the-spot troubleshooting to ensure a timely departure. Staff Sgt. Cody Adams, a 355 AMXS avionics craftsman, helped resolve a critical circuit breaker issue that threatened to ground one of the aircraft when no spares were available.
“We diagnosed the master caution warning press-to-reset button as what was causing the circuit breaker to pop and provided aircrew with a workaround to keep the system operational and allow on-time takeoff,” Adams said.
Despite being a scheduled training day, the 355 AMXS prepared and generated the two HH-60Ws in less than 30 minutes. The successful rapid response was credited to the strong, pre-existing relationship between the maintenance and operations units.
“There’s an immense amount of trust, and that was evident,” said Lt. Col. Joshua Bedel, 355 AMXS commander. “You can tell there’s a deep respect for each other when it comes to getting that aircraft off the ground.”
Lt. Col. Kenneth “Buddy” Wilkins, 88 TES commander and flight lead for the rescue, echoed that sentiment, noting their history of training together was key.
“What’s really nice about our organization, especially our relationship with the 355 AMXS, is that we’ve exercised this a number of times,” Wilkins said. “This mission was a really good example of us taking the lessons learned from those previous events and executing as quickly and efficiently as possible. Within five minutes, I knew we had tails. Within 30 minutes, they were ready for us to go out,” Wilkins said.
Bedel also noted that the rapid response served as a practical demonstration of unit readiness.
“There’s no better training than an actual, real-world generation, and there’s no better way to connect the Airmen to their mission than to have everyone see it in action,” said Bedel.
The aircrews departed Nellis AFB at 1:00 p.m. By 3:00 p.m., the rescue crews established two-way radio contact and visually identified the survivors.
Capt. John Howe, 88th TES combat rescue officer, led the pararescue team that deployed to the landing zone to assess the survivors and confirmed that no one was injured. After evaluating the situation on the ground, the team made the call to have the helicopters reposition to a closer landing area, minimizing further physical exertion for the Navy personnel.
“It was a good call by the team getting on the ground, making a good patient assessment, and then solid planning on the aircrew side of the house to determine what our ragged-edge power margins were that we needed to get into the zone and get out,” Wilkins said.
Howe recalled why preparation is crucial for missions like this.
“The preparation is what makes the execution smooth,” Howe said. “It’s the combination of preestablished operating procedures, keeping equipment staged and ready for use, and hasty mission planning prior to departure, that makes this process effective, and expeditious.”
The HH-60Ws successfully extracted all five Sailors by 3:50 p.m., transferring them safely to their unit’s ramp at NAWS China Lake before returning to Nellis AFB. For the operators, the mission was a direct result of extensive training and a drive to help fellow service members.
“The ability to have that impact is fulfilling,” Howe said. “That is why people join these career fields—because they want to have an impact and they want to be able to be there for their fellow service members in a time of need.”
For the maintainers who generated the aircraft, the safe return of the crews and Sailors validated their daily efforts.
“There’s an immense amount of pride. Those are our helicopters. Those are our aircrew going to save those lives. It’s an honor to be part of the team that made that happen,” Bedel said.
For the aircrew, the successful execution of the mission was a direct result of standard training and operational procedures.
“We have trained our whole careers to execute in these circumstances, and we have prepared and executed so many similar missions, that to us, it just felt like Monday,” Wilkins said. “It feels great to do the mission and help those in need.”
This mission stands as a living testament to the Air Force rescue community’s enduring motto: “That others may live.”
Story by Maj. Claire Fitle
355th Wing