Survival School Search and Rescue team rescues North Idaho man Published Feb. 15, 2007 By 2nd Lt. Tristan Hinderliter 92nd ARW Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- A nine-person Search and Rescue team from the United States Air Force Survival School here rescued a man near Kellogg, Idaho, Feb. 9 after a snowmobiling accident in which the man was injured after falling from a 25-foot cliff. The SAR team arrived at the Cemetery Ridge trailhead at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9, where they established contact with the Shoshone County Sheriff. The team then traveled 10 miles via snowmobile to a ridge 600 feet above the victim. Extraction began at 10:30 p.m. after survival medical personnel stabilized the man in a stokes litter while the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialists set up high-angle extraction equipment. The man was hoisted via ropes 600 feet up a slope averaging 60 degrees, and in places approaching 90 degrees. After two hours of working in waist-deep snow, the SAR team successfully lifted the patient to the top of the ridge, at which point they began the 10-mile trip back to the trailhead via sled and snowmobile. The man was transferred to Shoshone County Medical personnel at the trailhead at 2:30 a.m. Feb. 10 and was transported to a nearby hospital. It is fairly rare that the Survival School dispatches SAR teams for civilian rescues, said Lt. Col. Michael Poole, deputy commander of the 336th Training Group. More common are rescue missions by the 36th helicopter Rescue Flight, but in this case the helicopters were unable to launch due to heavy fog, he said. "An extraction like this is exactly the sort of thing we train for," said Tech. Sgt. Todd Foster, one of the SERE specialists on the rescue team. "Given the patient's condition and the situation he was in, had they not found somebody who was technically rope-savvy, I don't think they would have been able to get him out." The SERE career field is well-suited to this type of SAR operation, the sergeant said. Last week's SAR team was composed of four Independent Duty Medical Technicians, four high-angle-extraction-qualified SERE specialists and one flight surgeon, all from the 336th Training Group. The Feb. 9 SAR team was composed of the following individuals: From the 66th Training Squadron: Tech. Sgt. Todd Foster, SERE specialist Staff Sgt. John Conant, SERE specialist Senior Airman Matthew Canoy, SERE specialist Staff Sgt. Joseph Rheaume, SERE specialist From the 336th Training Support Squadron: Lt. Col. Timothy Greydanus, flight surgeon Tech. Sgt. Daniel Normandin, IDMT Master Sgt. William Mehm, IDMT Master Sgt. Cameron Aaron, IDMT Master Sgt. Daniel Lasich, IDMT Tech. Sgt. Patrick Hunt, IDMT