Less than two hours after the 563rd Rescue Group received the first mission brief about a man in need of medical assistance on a tanker vessel off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, on Feb. 5, 2026, the entire team was already flying out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to assist.
It would be a difficult mission. The patient, a 19-year-old Greek man, was having medical concerns that had left him paralyzed, increasing the challenge of a water rescue. The distance across open water was almost 400 miles, which would require several air-to-air refueling maneuvers. Pararescuemen would need to hoist down onto the moving vessel and render care. The team would have to coordinate a landing in Mexico to ensure higher-level medical care.
But for the 355th Wing, operating out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, these weren’t roadblocks—just challenges to overcome.
Instead, Airmen across the base pulled together to mission plan, develop weather forecasts, prepare life support equipment, stage radios, product flight authorizations, fuel aircraft and generate a rescue team. Within seven hours of the original distress call, the 563rd Rescue Group was sending a team of eight aircrew, six pararescuemen and a flying crew chief aboard two HH-60W helicopters and one HC-130J aircraft to Mexico.
“It was a very compressed timeline from [receiving the mission] to launching it,” said 79th Rescue Squadron pilot Maj. Zachary Eberl, who commanded the HC-130 that enabled air-to-air refueling for the mission.
Eberl added that coordination and support across multiple offices was crucial for this mission, since it was taking place over the water outside of Mexico and would require a landing in foreign territory. Despite having multiple aircraft forward deployed for real-world operations and exercises across the globe, the 55th Rescue Generation Squadron and 79th Rescue Generation Squadron were able to generate the aircraft necessary to accomplish the rescue.
“All the support elements were in play to generate those aircraft that experienced aircrew then utilized to do this very long, over-water rescue,” Eberl said. “Additionally, there was a lot of maintenance support that went into having the three aircraft ready to go when we needed them in the morning.”
Airmen from the 55th Rescue Squadron and 563rd Operations Support Squadron made up the air crews on the HH-60W helicopters, while one HC-130J crew consisted of Airmen from the 79th Rescue Squadron and another, contingency aircraft later took off with Airmen from the 418th Test and Evaluation Squadron. Pararescuemen from the 48th Rescue Squadron and Lt. Col. Jeffrey Budis, a pilot instructor assigned to Air Forces Southern, rounded out the team.
To reach the vessel where the patient was located, the search and rescue team flew 17 hours in two days. The nine-hour trip out was more intensive, with four air-to-air refueling operations before the aircraft arrived at the tanker vessel. As the helicopters hovered in midair, pararescue hoisted down onto the moving tanker to retrieve the patient. They rendered in-flight medical care as they transported him to a nearby hospital in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Almost exactly one day later, the team had already returned to Davis-Monthan.
According to 355th Wing Commander U.S. Air Force Col. Jose Cabrera, the successful rescue mission was only made possible through the collective efforts of the entire Davis-Monthan team.
“The mission brought together Airmen from around our wing,” Cabrera said. “Ultimately, their teamwork and effort saved the life of a 19-year-old, who now gets to see his family and friends again. I’m extremely proud of the entire team for living up to the Air Force Rescue motto: These things we do… that others may live!”