— from Michael Welding, NAS Whidbey —
A Search and Rescue (SAR) team from Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island conducted a late night Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) on Sunday, December 27, 2015, from the San Juan Islands.
The SAR crew of six took off around 8:30 in the evening and transited to the Friday Harbor Airport to pick up a 69-year-old male suffering from a blocked artery in his leg. They then flew to the Snohomish County Airport where he was transferred to the Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Wash. The weather was challenging throughout the evening with conditions ranging from snow in some areas to heavy rain and low clouds in others.
“It was my first mission up here and really exciting to see the Whidbey SAR team in action,” said SAR Rescue Corpsman Naval Hospitalman Austin Shutt. “The hospital staff and patient seemed relieved to see us which makes all of our training and late nights instantly worth the effort we put in.”
This year, NAS Whidbey Island SAR has launched on 36 SAR/MEDEVAC missions, resulting in 29 lives delivered to higher level care. Sixteen of those medical evacuations have been from the San Juan Islands; eight from Friday Harbor, five from Lopez and three from Orcas.
The Navy SAR unit operates three MH-60S helicopters from NAS Whidbey Island as search and rescue platforms for the EA-18G aircraft as well as other squadrons and personnel assigned to the installation. The base also has an agreement to assist Washington State with medical evacuations and search and rescue activities.
