Archive image: A Montana Army National Guard HH-60M Black Hawk MEDEVAC helicopter operated by C Company, 1/189th General Support Aviation Battalion, takes off during a mass casualty training event, West Camp Rapid, South Dakota.
U.S. Army photo by Spc. Cody Campos.
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Hoffert, Montana Army National Guard
ZORTMAN, Montana. — A Montana Army National Guard, 1-189th General Support Aviation Battalion, HH-60M Black Hawk aircrew conducted the rescue of hiker from Old Scraggy Peak in the Little Rockies. August 9, 2025.
A man fell off a cliff north of Zortman and had severe injuries. Local authorities were unable to reach him and called the Montana Army National Guard for assistance.
An HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter piloted by Cpt. Otis Smith and CW3 Tom Kinyon responded immediately. Sgt. Ian Montgomery and Sfc. Anthony Wright were the crew chiefs on board and Sgt. Randy Scales was the flight medic on board.
The HH-60M Black Hawk aircrew donned night-vision goggles (NVG), took to the air and arrived on the scene at 11 p.m. MST. Ground search and rescue teams signaled the aircraft and directed it to Old Scraggy Peak. The rescue helicopter aircrew assessed the situation, terrain and risk factors to develop the safest plan of action for rescuing the patient.
Scales was hoisted down 130 feet in the dark and in treacherous mountain conditions, where he secured and stabilized the patient in a stretcher. The injured man was safely rescued into the Black Hawk helicopter, and the decision was made to fly the patient to Billings to get him the best possible care. Fire and ambulance crews met the aircraft and transported the patient to the hospital.
“It’s great to be able to do something for the state that you train for all the time,” Smith said. “I think it’s incredibly important that we work alongside all the National Guardsmen in the state and the civilians as well. All those entities being able to work together is pretty incredible.”
The Montana National Guard relishes the opportunity to give back to its fellow Montanans, and the 1-189th General Support Aviation Battalion is always just a call away.
“We have this capability… that can cover the wideness of the state at a moment’s notice. No matter what happens, wherever they are, we can most likely get them out and get them to a safe place,” Smith said.
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