The 212th Rescue Squadron from Alaska Air National Guard flew non-stop across the Pacific Ocean and deployed a guardian angel rescue team by air drop over Okinawa, Japan on Oct. 31.
U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman John Linzmeier
To make the near 12-hour journey, the C-17 carrying the team had to refuel from a KC-135 while over the Pacific Ocean.
The team of six was airdropped into the water along with two rescue craft, called a guardian angel rescue craft and a rigged alternate method zodiac, to conduct a mock search and rescue operation.
A HH-60 Pave Hawk was also carried aboard the C-17, with a maintenance team and aircrew to extract the guardian angel team if needed.