Air Force Crew Rescues Burned Fishermen Near Bermuda

Air Force special operations crews are being recognized for a daring June 22 rescue of two critically burned fishermen off the coast of Bermuda. Airmen with the 720th Special Tactics Group at Hurlburt Field, Fla., responded to a request from the US Coast Guard to assist with the rescue of a 19-member crew of a Panamanian fishing vessel that caught fire, according to an Air Force release. An Air Force HC-130J Combat King II carrying a team of pararescuemen, a combat rescue officer, a surgeon, and a critical care nurse departed Moody AFB, Ga., en route to the scene, with the help of a KC-135 from the Tennessee Air National Guard’s 134th Airlift Wing. The team evacuated the patients, who were Taiwanese nationals, to Senara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Va., for care.