California Air National Guard on USS Vandegrift

  • Published
  • By 2Lt Roderick Bersamina
  • 129th RQW
MOFFETT FEDERAL AIRFIELD, Calif. --  A team of Air National Guardsmen from the Bay Area's 129th Rescue Wing, California Air National Guard, remain onboard the USS Vandegrift providing patient and family care following a daring rescue of the Rebel Heart located one thousand miles off the coast of Baja California.

Last Thursday evening, a four-man Guardian Angel team from the 129th RQW parachuted to Rebel Heart, a 36-foot sailing vessel, to provide immediate medical attention to a seriously ill 1-year-old infant. All four family members aboard the Rebel Heart required rescue as the vessel was adrift and took on water whenever its engine was engaged. All communications had been lost requiring the MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft to locate it electronically using an emergency locator beacon.

The on-going mission of the 129th RQW Pararescuemen is to continue providing care for the 1-year-old patient and her family who are survivors of a traumatic stress event. This activity continues on board the Vandegrift, the U.S. Navy frigate that recovered the Guardian Angel Team and their four survivors early Sunday morning. The USS Vandegrift continues en route to San Diego and is due to arrive sometime Wednesday.

The primary mission of the 129th RQW is to perform its wartime mission of personnel recovery anywhere in the world. Equipped with MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft and HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters, the 129th RQW has performed a wide variety of civilian-personnel recovery missions, including the rescue of distressed persons aboard ships and lost or injured hikers, and disaster response. To date, the 129th RQW is credited with saving the lives of more than 1,000 people.

For more information, please contact 2nd Lt. Roderick B. Bersamina, 129th RQW public affairs officer, at (650) 404-7995.