Read this............you'll never complain about military spending again!

[martentrapper]

Kinda surprised no one else has posted this yet. Great story on rescue of a hurt sheep hunter.

http://www.adn.com/outdoors/story/8255545p-8152197c.html

Try and imagine flying a large chopper, at night, with nightvision goggles, in the mts, in bad weather. Then try doing that on a military guys pay!
You mil guys come drive your trucks on the tundra out here. I'll pull you out if you get stuck! Haha.

 

[Gambler]

Right on the money

Right on the money

MT

I read that in the paper this morning and couldn't believe my eyes.

My heart goes out to the father and son and I wish him a speedy recovery.

To all those that risk their lives to protect/defend/rescue Two BIG Thumbs UP! You have my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation!!

Keep up the good work!

-- Gambler

 

[AlleninAlaska]

And then we have the numbskulls from Bethel that try to do their ancestral walk from here to Anchorage. They fall on the ice and break their nose and we the taxpayers have to spend thousands of dollars for the Air National Guard to come and rescue them.

 

[fullkurl]

wow

wow

what a story.
We'll pray this kid pulls through with complete recovery.

Thanks for posting, Trap.

 

[Snyd]

Wow. The day he fell I was sheep hunting. Day 11 of 12 days. We were cooking sheep over a fire while this man was caring for his son. Wow.

 

[Akres]

KUDO's to all involved in the rescue. I have never complained about the pay they receive nor their presence. Each time a Herc or two or three fly over, I regard it as the sound of freedom. Although heroic and daring, this story pales by comparison of what these brave warriors go through in combat. Pay does not play into the equation. Although they do need to be paid better, they need to be graced by your unwavering support, in the tasks we ask them to perform. I reaffirm my support here today.

 

[northway]

story

story

MT,

Thanks for posting. I only got to read part of that before I had to stop. I know the country there. Not too far from home. I am going to read the rest of the story now. Glad the rescue was safe and all involved are out.

 

[DanC]

Amazing rescue

Amazing rescue

MT,

Thanks for posting that. It is not widely publicized but some commanders consider such rescue missions to be invaluable 'training' exercises for crew and resources. It is situations like these that make it all worthwhile. Unfortunately, too often those heroes are called upon to 'rescue' some jerk that is afraid he will be late for a board meeting if he does not get flown out; yet, there is training value in those ventures as well.

I wish all the best for this young man during his recovery.

 

[bizymocha]

Wow!

Wow!

Many thumbs up to the military for their courage, dedication and training.
May we never take them for granted. Hope he has a speedy recovery.
Just don't let the wives read the story or your sheep hunting days are numbered!

 

[martentrapper]

I can definately see the training value of missions like that. Some day those brave guys might be doing the same thing in a war zone. But I also think of the wives and kids at home.
Those chopper crews got more cahones than me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BoDean]

Amen!

Amen!

Thanks for sharing the story. What a survival bond they now share.

 

[jdb3]

Reminds me of year of flying in Coast Guard H3s out of Kodiak. It always looks easy to the uninitiated but requires total commitment and hours of training by the personnel involved. God bless them. Jim

 

[sal]

I was involved with that mission and you're right on the money as far as training value. Been doing the rescue thing in the AK Air Guard for 14 years now and it is definitely good training for combat rescue. High altitudes, bad weather, extreme terrain just throw in somebody trying to shoot at you and you've got a combat mission. Not to mention that we are Alaska Air Guardsmen after all and search and rescue is a great way to help our fellow Alaskans (as well as those who visit).
Actually we were also relieved to see that the boy was doing much better. Frankly it didn't look like it was gonna have a positive outcome when we first got the call.
Haven't read the article, but here's the chain:
-HH-60 helicopter and HC-130 launched
-poor weather throughout mission and NVGs used
-HH-60 picked up father to try and guide crew to son's location
-due to darkness and things looking different from the air, PJs and father dropped off at main camp to hike on ground to son
-HC-130 provided aerial refueling and Comm support throughout mission.
-HH-60 and HC-130 land at Gulkana and transfer HC-130 PJs to HH-60
-HC-130 flies to Elmendorf AFB for fuel (unable to do single point refueling at Gulkana)
-shortly after HC-130 takes off out of Elmendorf, son is located and recovered (hoist) by HH-60
-HH-60 lands at Gulkana at about the same time as the HC-130
-father and son (with HC-130 PJs) transferred to HC-130
-HC-130 flies back to Kulis ANGB and transfers son/father to ambulance
-HH-60 recovers PJs from site in mountains (hoist) and tries to fly back to Kulis, but weather is to bad, so they land at Gulkana
-HC-130 flies back out to Gulkana and picks up HH-60 aircrew
-next day HC-130 flies new HH-60 aircrew back to Gulkana and they recover back to Kulis

 

[fullkurl]

curious

curious

I'm wondering if the park service guys were able to get this young man's sheep for him. Obviously it was at "zero" on the priority list.

I can't imagine two guys paying a higher price for a
ram.

What a wonderful thought to picture this kid and his dad posing with this sheep--both happy and healthy.

 

[justdada]

I wondered the same thing...
All there camping/hunting gear and the sheep seem to have been left there; did anyone go up to claim the stuff?
Not that it really matters given the situation, or that he would be cited for the wasted meat, but I'm curious if anyone got their things for them.
I'm glad to hear the boy is doing well and can't imagine being the father in that situation!

 

[martentrapper]

Thanks for the info Sal. Hats off to you. And to the whole crew.
I bet your wrong on the citation justdada. If the sheep isn't recovered by now, I 'm betting a citation is issued. I seen it happen...........yes I said SEEN...........before!!!!!!!!!!

 

[northriver21]

I think they got the sheep. I found this picture in the article posted above.

It looks to me like a sheep head that the critters have been on.

http://www.adn.com/ips_rich_content/568-HuntingHead-400-x-271.jpg

 

[Kurt S]

Sal,

Thanks for the recap, you guys do one hellova job. I'm a friend of Skip K. (he's out of town as you know), so I'm quite familiar with the things you guys do out there! Once again, and outstanding job!

On another note and please don't anyone take this wrong, as I along with all of you wish this kid a speedy recovery.
We all do things and get away with it, they didn't. It is my hope that everyone learns something from these guys experience and hopefully never find yourselves in that predicament. Read the article if you haven't, and try to figure out ways this could have been avoided or minimized. It's not just ourselves we put at risk, but those like Sal and the crews, things could go wrong for them trying to save us, as we saw in the incident with the Coast Guard helicopter that tried to save the crew of the soybean boat out in the Aleutians.
My hats off to the dad for doing what he did to save his son when it all went wrong, truly a heroic effort.

Kurt

 

[Bill S.]

ITs tough to say what might have prevent this since we were not there. Accidents WILL happen out there so it is best to be prepared. I'd would have taken a sat phone but that's just me. On another note I have know quite a few PJs in my career, they are number 1 and no one ever hears much about them.

 

[akflyer67]

Under paid

Under paid

All those military guys are under paid, over worked and most spend alot of time away from the familys, like the 172nd. Lets all hope they all make it home on the 12th of Dec. Also make you think about how our loved sport of hunting is very dangerous, especially when it comes to goat of sheep hunting.