210th Rescue Squadron The 210th Rescue Squadron ( 210 RQS ) is a unit of the Alaska Air National Guard 176th Wing located at Joint Base Elmendorf - Richardson , Anchorage , Alaska . The 210th is equipped with the HH - 60G Pave Hawk helicopter . Mission . The wartime mission of the 210th is combat search and rescue to locate and recover downed fighter pilots . The day - to day mission is to perform an 11AF 24 - hour Alaska Theater Search and Rescue Alert . A by - product of the two missions is civilian search and rescue . The 210th is the busiest Air Force combat search and rescue squadron in the world . To date , the 210th has launched on over 500 missions resulting in over 300 lives saved and over 100 lives assisted . The 210th Rescue Squadron passed its 310th rescue in 1996 . History . 10th Air Rescue Squadron . Nicknamed " The Second 10th " , the 210th RQS has been bestowed the Lineage and Honors history of the 10th Air Rescue Squadron ( ARS ) , an active duty squadron organized at Elmendorf Field in 1946 and mostly manned by Alaskans . The 10th had itself inherited the tradition of the 924th Quartermaster Company , Boat ( Aviation ) , a rescue unit which was constituted in Alaska on 14 June 1942 , saw action during the Aleutian Island Campaign , was redesigned the 10th Emergency Rescue Boat Squadron on 3 July 1944 , and was inactivated on 8 March 1946 . During the late 1940s and early 1950s , the 10th ARS operated detachments at Elmendorf AFB , Ladd AFB and Adak Naval Station . The squadron operated a mixture of OA - 10s , OA - 12s , SB - 17 Flying Fortress , C - 45s , L - 5s , LC - 126As , R - 5 Helicopters and CG - 4 Gliders . 10th Air Rescue Group . Expanded into the 10th Air Rescue Group on 14 November 1952 , the Alaska Air Command unit expanded its detachments into squadrons . This resulted in the assignments of the 71st and 72d Air Rescue Squadrons to Elmendorf AFB ; the 73d Air Rescue Squadron to Adak Naval Station , and the 74th Air Rescue Squadron to Ladd AFB . The 72d and 73d were inactivated in September and November 1953 in response to the withdrawal of Air Force units from the Aleutian Islands . During this period , the 10th ARG became widely known as " The Guardian of the North " and provided support not only to the military but also to the civilian communities . The group established a pattern that would be followed in the years ahead . A rescue coordination center was maintained at Elmendorf AFB 24 / 7 / 365 to coordinate search - and - rescue activities , which included any support given by civilian agencies throughout the territory of Alaska . The 10th ' s responsibility were threefold : search , aid and rescue . The search function was performed by specially equipped aircraft and ground vehicles , as well as dog teams which were used occasionally . Aid was rendered by highly trained paramedics , who were capable of para - rescuing to the rescue scene if necessary . Rescue was carried out by several means , including the use of helicopters , amphibious and conventional aircraft , and surface vehicles . The unit also provided support to the Alaskan Air Command ' s air defense system . In 1957 , with the steady decline of Alaskan Air Command forces , Headquarters , USAF , questioned the need to continue the group , particularly in the face of budget reductions and the contemplated reduction of search - and - rescue forces worldwide . The 10th Air Rescue Group was inactivated on 8 January 1958 and the 71st ARS was inactivated 18 March 1960 . However , the rescue coordination center at Elmendorf was retained and officially designated the Alaskan Command Rescue Coordination Center . During the 1960s search - and - rescue activities were assigned to the 17th Coast Guard District for offshore and close - to - shore operations . The Alaskan Air Command was assigned everywhere else The 71st ARS , however , was re - designated as the 71st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron on 25 Nov 1969 and re - activated on 8 March 1970 . After re - activation , the 71st served Alaska proudly during the 1970s and 1980s including the rescue of 74 people from the sinking cruiseship MS " Prinsendam " in the Gulf of Alaska on 4 October 1980 . Modern era . In 1987 , the Air Force announced the 71st would again be inactivated . However , the tradition of Arctic search and rescue would continue ; Alaska Senator Ted Stevens introduced legislation creating a new search and rescue unit for the Alaska Air National Guard . The 210th ARS received federal recognition from the National Guard Bureau on 4 April 1990 and the unit activation ceremony was held at Kulis Air National Guard Base on 11 August 1990 . The 210th took delivery of its new Sikorsky HH - 60 " Pave Hawk " search and rescue helicopters between June and August 1990 and new Lockheed HC - 130 search / tanker aircraft in November and December 1990 . The unit achieved initial operational capability faster than the normal Air Force programming process normally allows . The 210th began sharing the 24 hour Alaska Theater overland helicopter Search and Rescue alert with the inactivating 71st ARS on 1 January 1991 and assumed the entire helicopter alert on 1 April 1991 . The HC - 130 began daytime alert in April 1991 and assumed 24 hour alert in May 1991 . The 71st ARS inactivated on 30 June 1991 . ( Subsequently , the 71st ARS has been re - activated as an active Air Force unit at Patrick Air Force Base , Florida ) . In January 1992 , the 210th achieved combat - ready status . In 1993 , additional aircraft were added to the squadron inventory . On 1 January 1994 , Detachment 1 , 210th RQS was activated at Eielson Air Force Base , Alaska , to perform search and rescue for Eielson - based fighters and to perform logistical range support for the northern military ranges . In early 1995 , more new HH - 60 aircraft joined the 210th and the original HH - 60s were transferred to other units . In 1996 , the squadron received new HC - 130 aircraft and transferred its original HC - 130s to another unit . The 210th possesses state - of - the - art " force multipliers " . Its Pararescue officers and men are all highly trained in all manner of combat insertion and recovery , including SCUBA and military freefall parachute ; all the men are Paramedics and even the officers are Emergency Medical Technicians . On 8 October 2004 by the Air Force Special Operations Command re - organized Air National Guard rescue units and created separate squadrons for fixed - wing , helicopter and pararescue elements of the 210th Rescue Squadron . The HH - 60 helicopter flight became 210th Rescue Squadron ; the HC - 130 ( H ) N Hercules flight became the 211th Rescue Squadron , and the pararescue flight became the 212th Rescue Squadron .