31 Fall 2025 Proceedings The B-0 H-60 and C-130 both landed safely in St. Paul. At long last, the backup H-60 crew was ready to com- plete the hoist of the patient. However, the No. 2 engine failed to start. Fortunately, the replacement parts neces- sary to make the repair were on hand, and the mission continued with the C-130 providing cover during the hoisting. With the hoist complete and the B-0 H-60 crew on board, the C-130 returned to Kodiak, while the backup H-60 crew flew the patient to St. Paul where he was transferred to commercial medevac services. After the patient transfer, the backup H-60 crew faced another tough call—stay in St. Paul with its minimal lodging and no hangar space or fly back to Cold Bay. The deteriorat- ing weather forecast made them hesitant about leaving the aircraft outside, so they elected to return to Cold Bay. The weather was determined to cause problems regard- less of whether the crew was on the ground or in the air and, at nearly 2 a.m., had worsened significantly en route. Encountering increasingly heavy fog, they closely followed the low visibility route until they could make out the runway lights and land safely. While the self-rescue crew and aircraft would return to Kodiak the following morning, the backup H-60 crew would stay an additional day and complete another SAR mission and hoist of a 41-year-old male suffering heart attack symptoms off Cold Bay before returning. When all assets finally returned home, the air station crews had accumulated 29.4 flight hours, covering more than 1,400 nautical miles across four locations in just three days. All told, the hoist itself was the most routine element. This effort, requiring every skillset taught and empha- sized in the Alaska qualification syllabus, could be con- sidered a quintessential Kodiak response that spans great distances and involves multiple aircraft, with crews flying long hours over multiple days to save lives. This one had it all. About the author: LCDR Caitlyn Gever is an MH-60T flight examiner, instructor pilot, and flight safety officer at Air Station Kodiak, Alaska. Originally from Rhode Island, she’s been stationed in Kodiak for nearly two years after spending eight years in Florida. She has more than 1,500 hours of mili- tary flight time, and enjoys masters swimming, hiking, and traveling in her spare time. LCDR Derek Kelley, left, and CDR Michael Faulkner pilot the Coast Guard C-130 during the rescue of a 26-year-old patient from a fishing vessel in the Bering Sea, northwest of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. Photo courtesy of Deon Mitton
