Teamwork in Alaska: Dynamic retasking is not just the stuff of an operational theater for at least two search and rescue units. An HC-130P/N tanker of the Alaska Air National Guard’s 211th Rescue Squadron and an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter of the 210th RQS were flying a training mission, when the Rescue Coordination Center, tapped them to respond to a real-world rescue. The tanker refueled the helo, which then picked up pararescuemen from ANG’s 212th RQS and flew to the crash site, where they found the pilot dead but stabilized the Piper aircraft’s passenger. (Here is the USAF statement.)
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.