Archive image: An MC-130 Combat Talon II, assigned to the 27th Special Operations Wing conducts aerial refueling with an Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, assigned to the 210 Rescue Squadron, during ARCTIC EDGE 2025 (AE25) near Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, August 11, 2025.
Aerial refueling allows aircraft to extend flight time without needing to land to refuel.
AE25 is a NORAD and U.S. Northern Command-led homeland defense exercise designed to improve readiness, demonstrate capabilities, and enhance Joint and Allied Force interoperability in the Arctic.
U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Gracelyn Hess.
Story by Alejandro Peña, Alaska National Guard
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard (AKANG) HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter aircrew from 176th Wing conducted the rescue of a hiker with a facial laceration approximately 40 nautical miles northeast of Anchorage in the vicinity of Knik Glacier. August 25, 2025.
The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC) opened the mission in response to a request for assistance from the Alaska State Troopers.
The Alaska Air National Guard accepted the SAR mission and dispatched a 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter with 212th Rescue Squadron ‘Guardian Angel’ pararescuemen on board from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
The HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter aircrew spotted the injured individual with a companion and a located clearing to land. Once on the ground the pararescuemen ‘Guardian Angels’ controlled the patient’s facial bleeding by packing the wound. The two individuals were then transported and released to Providence Alaska Medical Center.
The AKANG’s 176th Wing rescue personnel are trained to respond anytime, anywhere, to save lives across Alaska’s vast and austere terrain.
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