California Air National Guardsmen from the 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Federal Airfield retrieved a critically ill passenger aboard a cruise ship more than 300 miles off the coast of San Diego, according to unit officials. The passenger was suffering from kidney failure and required immediate treatment beyond the capabilities of the cruise ship’s medical staff, states the wing’s May 5 release. At the request of the Coast Guard, the wing dispatched one of its HH-60G rescue helicopters and a MC-130P refueling asset on May 5 from Moffett. Staging from San Diego’s Coronado Island, the Air Guardsmen, joined by pararescuemen of the 58th Rescue Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., then flew to the ship. The rescuers then boarded the ship, prepared the patient, and then hoisted him up to the HH-60, which then flew him back to San Diego for treatment. “This was a complex rescue mission and our airmen rose to the occasion,” said Col. Steven Butow, 129th RQW commander. (Moffett report by Capt. Donald LeBlanc)
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.