California Air National Guard pararescuemen assigned to the 129th Rescue Wing jumped from an MC-130P with an inflatable boat to reach injured fishermen on a Chinese vessel 700 miles off the coast of Acapulco, Mexico. Once aboard the ship during Monday’s rescue, the airmen treated and prepared the victims for evacuation to Acapulco by a pair of the wing’s HH-60 Pave Hawks. The rescuers then readied the fishermen for a flight aboard a second MC-130P to MCAS Miramar, near San Diego, for advanced treatment at the University of California Medical Center. “I could not be prouder of our airmen’s extraordinary efforts during this mission,” said Col. Steven Butow, 129th RQW commander. He added, “This mission is a testament to the first-response capabilities our wing provides to California and the nation.” The unit, based at Moffett Federal Airfield, northwest of San Jose, flew a similar long-range rescue off of the California coast last month. (Moffett report by Capt. Donald G. LeBlanc)
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…