November 29, 2017 | 20:41 (GMT+7)
Air Defense Air Force Service conducts air rescue exercise
PANO - The air rescue exercise in 2017 was jointly held by the Air Defense Air Force Service, Army Corps 18 and other units on November 28 under the chair of Senior Lieutenant General Pham Ngoc Minh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, Vice Head of the National Committee on Incident, Disaster Response, and Search and Rescue.
The exercise
consisted of two parts, namely military decision making process and field
training exercise.
The assumed situation
was that a training aircraft lost contact due to a technical problem in the
hydraulic system. The two pilots parachuted in a complicated terrain.
Being notified of the incident, the Air Defense Air Force service directed
Division 371 to task a helicopter of Regiment 916 to team up with the aircraft
of Army Corps 18 to conduct a search and rescue mission.
On-site forces from military
and public security forces and local authorities also promptly cooperated with the
ground search and rescue force of the service to search for the missing crewmen.
On determining the
pilots’ position, the air rescue team reported to the headquarters, and the
pilots were then found, given first aid before further treatment was determined.
The nearly-two-hour
exercise concluded successfully with absolute safety and close combination of
involved forces.
Through the exercise,
officers’ command capabilities, combined forces’ task performances, and
organization of forces and search and rescue equipment were much improved upon.
Based on the outcomes
of the exercise, the Commander of the service presented merit certificates to
seven outstanding groups and individuals.
In his conclusion
speech, General Minh highly valued the preparations and performance of the
involved forces and affirmed that air rescue is an inseparable and important
mission of the service. The exercise is meaningful for the involved forces to
promote their readiness to undertake any missions and demonstrates the high
responsibility of the Vietnamese army for the air rescue services.
General Minh urged
the participating forces to draw lessons, complete air rescue plans in line with
real situations, improve their forecast ability and maneuver of forces and
equipment to make the search and rescue services even more effective.
Translated by Chung Anh