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NEWS | May 19, 2015

39th FTS members train with local agencies for future emergencies

By Airman 1st Class Alexandria Slade Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs

Members of the 39th Flying Training Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph refreshed their knowledge on life-saving procedures with individuals from Texas Task Force 1, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Army National Guard during a Helicopter Search and Rescue Technician Recurrent Hoist Training May 7, 2015 at Canyon Lake.

The training, which takes place once each year to keep 39th FTS members up to date on water survival practices, offered different lessons for each group while creating partnership and camaraderie among all involved.

"This is a true joint training event," said Lt. Col David Partain, 39th FTS commander. "We have the Army National Guard, Texas Task Force 1 and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department here and they are all getting valuable training. These are the people that pick people off rooftops during a hurricane or flood. Typically they would train with just themselves, but this gives them a much more realistic search and rescue training environment; and give us a very realistic water survival environment as well."

After a safety brief on all the equipment and practices involved in the training, 39th FTS members were transported by boat into the middle of the open waters of Canyon Lake and placed into the water in small groups to await a team composed of two Texas ARNG UH-60 Blackhawk pilots, a hoist technician and a TX-TF1 diver to hover and lift them into the aircraft.

Two tools were used to do so, depending on the choice of those being rescued. Swimmers could either be lifted using a strop harness, which fastened directly around the member's body or using a basket.

The event also gave 39th FTS members a rare chance to gather together and build camaraderie within the unit.

"We have instructor pilots that support four squadrons at JBSA-Randolph," said Partain. "So we spend most of our work days separated from each other and don't get a chance to interact very often. The real benefit for me as a commander is seeing everyone get together, build a fellowship and get to know one another across the lines of all the different aircraft we fly."

The event also provided an opportunity for local state agencies to become familiar with helicopter search and rescue procedures.

Dwayne Havis, lieutenant game warden in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department aviation division, said that the event provided a firsthand view of what he and his team are striving to be able to do by next year.

"We just got our new aircraft in December," Havis said. "We have experience doing search and rescue, but haven't gotten to use the hoist with the new helicopter yet. We are here to learn how to do things the right way from the professionals, and we are looking forward to being out here with them again next year."

For the ARNG teams supporting the event from the air, it was their first time training with the 39th FTS, though the unit practices water rescue seven to nine times each year.

"These opportunities ensure that we are ready to support or respond to real world emergencies such as flood relief or rescue situations where we have to lift someone out of a setting where we are unable to land the aircraft," Chief Warrant Officer Two Blake Arrington, ARNG Uh-60 Blackhawk pilot, said. "For me, this training is one more opportunity for me to gain experience in something difficult like hoist training so that I can become an instructor pilot and pass on the knowledge."