NAS Whidbey SAR Rescues Two Climbers on Mount Baker

— from Michael Welding for Whidbey Naval Air Station —

A Search and Rescue (SAR) team from Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island rescued two climbers on Mount Baker, Sunday, July 8, 2018.

The SAR team received word of an injured climber on Mount Baker in the late afternoon of July 8. After arriving on scene the crew searched for about 15 minutes before finding two climbers on a steep rock face at approximately 8,800 feet. One of the climbers was injured with a broken arm and ribs. The SAR crew hoisted the injured climber aboard, then the uninjured climber, and transported them both to higher care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

NAS Whidbey Island SAR, has conducted 22 total missions throughout Washington State this year, including 16 rescues, four searches, and two medical evacuations.

The Navy SAR unit operates three MH-60S helicopters from NAS Whidbey Island as search and rescue/medical evacuation (SAR/MEDEVAC) platforms for the EA-18G aircraft as well as other squadrons and personnel assigned to the installation. Pursuant to the National SAR Plan of the United States, the unit may also be used for civil SAR/MEDEVAC needs to the fullest extent
practicable on a non-interference basis with primary military duties according to applicable national directives, plans, guidelines and agreements; specifically, the unit may launch in response to tasking by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (based on a Washington State Memorandum
of Understanding) for inland missions, and/or tasking by the United States Coast Guard for all other aeronautical and maritime regions, when other assets are unavailable.