OCTOBER 14, 2025 — Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescued an individual suffering a traumatic hand injury at Eareckson Air Station on October 9. The installation sits approximately 1,640 west of Anchorage on the remote island of Shemya.
The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened the mission in response to a medical evacuation request from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Juneau.
The Alaska Air National Guard’s 211th Rescue Squadron accepted the mission and dispatched an HC-130J Combat King II with two 212th Rescue Squadron pararescuemen on board.
“Our ability to conduct over the horizon satellite communication throughout the mission allowed for good situational awareness for a rescue from this distance, said Maj. James Byrne, the deputy director for the AKRCC. “Both our pararescuemen and flight crew had a good sight picture of what we were walking into, and their execution was really impressive.”
Maj. Dan Warren, a combat rescue officer with the 212th Rescue Squadron and the acting AKRCC search and rescue duty officer during the mission, said the team faced a tight time window to operate in due to heavy turbulence in the area but successfully coordinated the five-hour flight to reach the station safely and provide the patient with critical care.
“It really takes a village to conduct a rescue like this,” Warren said. “With the help and coordination with our military and civilian partners like the USCG JRCC and LifeMed, we’re able to collectively save lives and get the job done.”
The patient was initially stabilized by a physician assistant at the Eareckson medical clinic but required evacuation for immediate surgery to preserve the injured hand.
The crew landed at Eareckson, transported the patient to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and transferred care to Anchorage Fire Department paramedics who took the patient to Alaska Regional Hospital.
During the current lapse in appropriations, the Department of Defense continues to defend the nation and conduct ongoing military operations. This mission was conducted as an excepted activity necessary for the safety and protection of human life.
Story by Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount
Alaska National Guard