Due to Alaska’s remoteness, complex rescue is a job that requires the Guard to be proficient, trained and ready at all times.
Updated: 14 hours agoMaster Sgt. Jeremy Maddamma jumps out of the back of an Alaska Air National Guard HC-130J Combat King II over the Malemute Drop Zone on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019. Maddamma is a pararescueman with the 212th Rescue Squadron. Pararescuemen are highly specialized airmen, trained as precision parachutists who are also certified paramedics.
Due to Alaska’s remoteness, complex rescue is a job that requires the Guard to be proficient, trained and ready at all times; this requires its guardsmen to work continuously.
On March 21, a two-man team of PJs parachuted to the village of Kotlik to provide medical care to an ill patient. The decision was made to forgo helicopter evacuation because the weather was too bad for low-flying aircraft. On average, Alaska’s PJs parachute into rescues around the state once every year, which makes them America’s special operations team with the most operational parachute missions — a coveted standing among the military’s operational community.
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