The airmen of Air Education and Training Command’s 36th Rescue Flight at Fairchild AFB, Wash., ply their trade primarily for USAF Survival School students, but they also get tapped for local area rescues. Earlier this month, the UH-1N helicopter unit performed its 613th save, rescuing a woman with a broken leg in rough terrain in Idaho. Just a few days earlier in another part of Idaho, they brought out a man and his teenage son stranded overnight when their snowmobiles got stuck in deep snow.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
