{"id":417975,"date":"2025-04-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=417975"},"modified":"2025-04-18T22:29:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T22:29:03","slug":"maryland-national-guard-conducts-rescue-hoist-training-with-maryland-helicopter-aquatic-rescue-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=417975","title":{"rendered":"Maryland National Guard conducts rescue hoist training with Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Aviators with the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade, Maryland Army National Guard conduct rescue hoist operations with the Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team as part of quarterly training at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, April 9, 2025. MD-HART is made up of firefighters who routinely train with the Maryland Army Guard in preparation for response efforts during the hurricane season, tropical storms, and other emergency situations.
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\n U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Steven Lucas, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter standardization instructor with F Company, 1st Battalion, 111th Aviation Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard, performs rescue hoist operations aboard a Black Hawk in collaboration with the Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, April 9, 2025. MD-HART is made up of firefighters who routinely train with the Maryland Army Guard in preparation for response efforts during the hurricane season, tropical storms, and other emergency situations.
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\n U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Steven Lucas, a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter standardization instructor with F Company, 1st Battalion, 111th Aviation Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard, performs rescue hoist operations aboard a Black Hawk in collaboration with the Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, April 9, 2025. MD-HART is made up of firefighters who routinely train with the Maryland Army Guard in preparation for response efforts during the hurricane season, tropical storms, and other emergency situations. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Amber Peck)
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EDGEWOOD, Md. \u2014 Soldiers with the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade, Maryland Army National Guard conducted rescue hoist training with the Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, April 9.<\/p>\n

Formed in 2008, the MD-HART team comprises firefighters from departments throughout central Maryland. The team\u2019s primary mission is to work with Maryland Army National Guard members to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies that require aerial rescue techniques.<\/p>\n

During the training, the Soldiers flew hoist-equipped UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters while the MD-HART members aided simulated victims on the ground before they were hoisted to the aircraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis training is super important,\u201d said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Chris Hoffman, an instructor pilot with the 29th CAB. \u201cIt\u2019s crucial for us to get along with these guys and make sure we\u2019re all on the same page so when the hurricanes do come or somebody is in need, we can all mesh together and work together and save their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Team members and aircrews performed both static hoists \u2013 when the helicopter remains stationary while hoisting – and dynamic hoists, where the helicopter moves forward while hoisting to reduce hover time and rotor wash in the area.<\/p>\n

The training is conducted quarterly, and the difficulty of the training scenario increases as the year progresses. In May, the training is scheduled to include hoisting from the water, then from rooftops, and finally from trees.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all to be as prepared and ready as possible, said Mike Berna, the civilian program manager for MD-HART, adding that it also helps strengthen clear coordination between aircrews and the MD-HART.<\/p>\n

That ensures \u201ceverybody is on the same sheet of music,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause what we don\u2019t want is the various units doing their own thing. We\u2019re building consistency.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that team cohesion is a vital part of operational readiness and the training also helps develop that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe camaraderie with everybody is just phenomenal,\u201d Berna said. \u201cWe hang out, we call each other – we\u2019ve become a big family, and that\u2019s where we need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, the Maryland Army Guard and the MD-HART provided rescue operations during Hurricane Helene response efforts at the request of North Carolina officials. They completed 59 hoist missions for nine days, rescuing 83 people and 20 pets.<\/p>\n

The teams also responded to relief efforts following Hurricane Florence in 2018, helping to evacuate 53 people to safety.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nationalguard.mil<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheNationalGuard<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/x.com\/USNationalGuard<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Aviators with the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade, Maryland Army National Guard conduct rescue hoist operations with the Maryland Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team as part of quarterly training at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, April 9, 2025. MD-HART is made up of firefighters who routinely train with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417977,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-417975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=417975"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":417981,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417975\/revisions\/417981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/417977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=417975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=417975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=417975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}