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Video by Senior Master Sgt. Vincent De Groot

Helicopter rescue training has Iowa Army and Air Guard training together

185th Air Refueling Wing, Iowa Air National Guard

June 16, 2023 | 8:11

B-roll video shows helicopter training in Homer Neb. where Iowa National Guard Airmen and Soldiers are practicing land and water extractions.

Military pilots regularly train on survival techniques, but they don’t often have the opportunity to practice the intricacies of being hoisted into a helicopter.

The exercise had Iowa National Guard Airmen catching a lift from their Iowa Army Guard counterparts using a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

The downed pilots in the training exercise are from Iowa’s 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City. The pilot’s rescuers are from the Iowa Army National Guard’s General Aviation Support Battalion based in Davenport.

After making the trip from the opposite side of the Hawkeye State to Homer Neb. near Sioux City, the Black Hawk aircrew landed at the training site.

KC-135 pilots were first hoisted to the helicopter in a rescue strop on the relative safety of dry land. The group of around a dozen pilots later jumped into the water where the awaited extraction.

Each Airmen got to experience the helplessness and trust of relying on their rescuer to bring them to safety. The training allowed the Iowa NG helicopter crew to practice extraction and exercised their equipment and techniques associated with air rescue.

Lower thirds: Master Sgt. Jeff Campbell 185th Air Refueling Wing Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape Specialists