210th Rescue Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 210th Rescue Squadron is a unit of the Alaska Air National Guard
. Its parent unit is the 176th Wing
. It flies the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter.
in 1946 and mostly manned by Alaskans. The 10th had itself inherited the tradition of the 924th Quartermaster Company, Boat (Aviation), a rescue unit which was constituted in Alaska on 14 June 1942, saw action during the Aleutian Island Campaign, was redesigned the 10th Emergency Rescue Boat Squadron on 3 July 1944, and was inactivated on 8 March 1946. Expanded into the 10th Air Rescue Group on 14 November 1952, the subordinate Alaska Air Command unit became the 71st Air Rescue Squadron and pioneered arctic search and rescue techniques. The parent 10th ARG was inactivated on 8 January 1958 and the 71st ARS was inactivated between 18 March 1960 and 8 March 1970. After re-activation, the 71st served Alaska proudly during the 1970s and 1980s including the rescue of 74 people from the sinking cruiseship MS Prinsendam
in the Gulf of Alaska
on 4 October 1980.
In 1987, the Air Force announced the 71st would again be inactivated. However, the tradition of Arctic search and rescue would continue; Alaska Senator Ted Stevens
introduced legislation creating a new search and rescue unit for the Alaska Air National Guard. The 210th ARS received federal recognition from the National Guard Bureau on 4 April 1990 and the unit activation ceremony was held at Kulis Air National Guard Base
on 11 August 1990. The 210th took delivery of its new Sikorsky HH-60 "Pave Hawk" search and rescue helicopters between June and August 1990 and new Lockheed HC-130 search/tanker aircraft in November and December 1990. The unit achieved initial operational capability faster than the normal Air Force programming process normally allows.
The 210th began sharing the 24 hour Alaska Theater overland helicopter Search and Rescue alert with the deactivating 71st ARS on 1 January 1991 and assumed the entire helicopter alert on 1 April 1991. The HC-130 began daytime alert in April 1991 and assumed 24 hour alert in May 1991. The 71st ARS completed deactivation on 30 June 1991. (Subsequently, the 71st ARS has been re-activated as an active Air Force unit at Patrick Air Force Base
, Florida). In January 1992, the 210th achieved combat-ready status. In 1993, additional aircraft were added to the squadron inventory. On 1 January 1994, Detachment 1, 210th RQS was activated at Eielson Air Force Base
, Alaska, to perform search and rescue for Eielson-based fighters and to perform logistical range support for the northern military ranges. In early 1995, more new HH-60 aircraft joined the 210th and the original HH-60s were transferred to other units. In 1996, the squadron received new HC-130 aircraft and transferred its original HC-130s to another unit. The 210th possesses state-of-the-art "force multipliers". Its Pararescue section is Emergency Medical Technician qualified.
Alaska Air National Guard
The Alaska Air National Guard is the component of the United States Air National Guard operating within the state of Alaska.-Overview:Alaska Air National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Air Force. The same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are...
. Its parent unit is the 176th Wing
176th Wing
The 176th Wing is the largest unit of the Alaska Air National Guard. It is a composite wing — meaning a wing which operates more than one type of aircraft — operating out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska...
. It flies the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter.
Mission
The wartime mission of the 210th is combat search and rescue to locate and recover downed fighter pilots. The day-to day mission is to perform an 11AF 24-hour Alaska Theater Search and Rescue Alert. A by-product of the two missions is civilian search and rescue. The 210th is the busiest Air Force combat search and rescue squadron in the world. To date, the 210th has launched on over 500 missions resulting in over 300 lives saved and over 100 lives assisted. The 210th Rescue Squadron passed its 310th rescue in 1996.History
Nicknamed "The Second 10th", the 210th RQS has been bestowed the Lineage and Honors history of the 10th Air Rescue Squadron (ARS), an active duty squadron organized at Elmendorf FieldJoint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a United States military facility adjacent to Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It is an amalgamation of the former United States Air Force Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army Fort Richardson, which were merged in 2010.-Overview:The...
in 1946 and mostly manned by Alaskans. The 10th had itself inherited the tradition of the 924th Quartermaster Company, Boat (Aviation), a rescue unit which was constituted in Alaska on 14 June 1942, saw action during the Aleutian Island Campaign, was redesigned the 10th Emergency Rescue Boat Squadron on 3 July 1944, and was inactivated on 8 March 1946. Expanded into the 10th Air Rescue Group on 14 November 1952, the subordinate Alaska Air Command unit became the 71st Air Rescue Squadron and pioneered arctic search and rescue techniques. The parent 10th ARG was inactivated on 8 January 1958 and the 71st ARS was inactivated between 18 March 1960 and 8 March 1970. After re-activation, the 71st served Alaska proudly during the 1970s and 1980s including the rescue of 74 people from the sinking cruiseship MS Prinsendam
MS Prinsendam (1973)
MS Prinsendam, a Holland-America liner built at Shipyard de Merwede in the Netherlands in 1973, was 427 feet long and typically carried about 350 passengers and 200 crew members. The liner was sailing through the Gulf of Alaska, approximately 120 miles south of Yakutat, Alaska, at midnight on...
in the Gulf of Alaska
Gulf of Alaska
The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found.The entire shoreline of the Gulf is...
on 4 October 1980.
In 1987, the Air Force announced the 71st would again be inactivated. However, the tradition of Arctic search and rescue would continue; Alaska Senator Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens
Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...
introduced legislation creating a new search and rescue unit for the Alaska Air National Guard. The 210th ARS received federal recognition from the National Guard Bureau on 4 April 1990 and the unit activation ceremony was held at Kulis Air National Guard Base
Kulis Air National Guard Base
Kulis Air National Guard Base was a National Guard of the United States facility in Anchorage, Alaska. The facility adjacent to and south of Ted Stevens International Airport was home to the 176th Wing of the Alaska Air National Guard until that unit moved to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in...
on 11 August 1990. The 210th took delivery of its new Sikorsky HH-60 "Pave Hawk" search and rescue helicopters between June and August 1990 and new Lockheed HC-130 search/tanker aircraft in November and December 1990. The unit achieved initial operational capability faster than the normal Air Force programming process normally allows.
The 210th began sharing the 24 hour Alaska Theater overland helicopter Search and Rescue alert with the deactivating 71st ARS on 1 January 1991 and assumed the entire helicopter alert on 1 April 1991. The HC-130 began daytime alert in April 1991 and assumed 24 hour alert in May 1991. The 71st ARS completed deactivation on 30 June 1991. (Subsequently, the 71st ARS has been re-activated as an active Air Force unit at Patrick Air Force Base
Patrick Air Force Base
Patrick Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It was named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick. An Air Force Space Command base, it is home to the 45th Space Wing...
, Florida). In January 1992, the 210th achieved combat-ready status. In 1993, additional aircraft were added to the squadron inventory. On 1 January 1994, Detachment 1, 210th RQS was activated at Eielson Air Force Base
Eielson Air Force Base
Eielson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska and just southeast of Moose Creek, Alaska....
, Alaska, to perform search and rescue for Eielson-based fighters and to perform logistical range support for the northern military ranges. In early 1995, more new HH-60 aircraft joined the 210th and the original HH-60s were transferred to other units. In 1996, the squadron received new HC-130 aircraft and transferred its original HC-130s to another unit. The 210th possesses state-of-the-art "force multipliers". Its Pararescue section is Emergency Medical Technician qualified.
Major Command
- Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
/Military Airlift CommandMilitary Airlift CommandThe Military Airlift Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command of the USAF which was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was constituted on 1 January 1966 and active until the end of the Cold War, when the Air Force table of organization was revised...
(??? – 1 June 1992) - Air National GuardAir National GuardThe Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...
/Pacific Air Forces (1 June 1992 – present)
Bases stationed
- Elmendorf AFB, Alaska (1952–1955)
- Kulis ANGB, Alaska (1990–2011)
- Elmendorf AFB, AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
(2011–present)
Further reading
- Drury, Bob. The Rescue Season: A True Story of Heroism on the Edge of the World (also titled The Rescue Season: The Heroic Story of Parajumpers on the Edge of the World). New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-86479-7. About the 210th Rescue Squadron during the 1999 climbing season on DenaliMount McKinleyMount McKinley or Denali in Alaska, United States is the highest mountain peak in North America and the United States, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve.- Geology and features :Mount McKinley is a granitic pluton...
.