Crews from the "Raptors" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 71 performed two back-to-back emergency medical transports of Sailors aboard USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) during the ship's transit from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to San Diego, Oct. 14.

At approximately 4 p.m. PDT, HSM-71 medically evacuated one Sailor in response to symptoms of appendicitis. The crew prepared MH-60R Seahawk helicopter and worked with ship's hospital corpsmen for transport to Naval Medical Center San Diego.

The extended range of the ship from the San Diego area required some quick planning by the detachment. USS Shoup (DDG 86) was ordered to make best speed to close the distance with William P. Lawrence. The MH-60R launched at a distance that would not allow them to reach San Diego and they utilized the Shoup as a lily pad for fuel and then continued the transport of the Sailor to Naval Medical Center San Diego.

"Everyone in the squadron jumped into action," said Lt. Cmdr. Travis Wandell, HSM-71's aircraft commander. "Everything was able to move smoothly and efficiently for the air crew and pilots thanks to the quick, professional work from the maintenance and ground teams."

As the standing search and rescue watch team for the night, HSM-71 later responded again at approximately 11 p.m. PDT for another William P. Lawrence Sailor with heart attack-like symptoms. The crew flew the Sailor to Naval Medical Center San Diego, also.

"We were able to successfully complete a very difficult mission thanks to our excellent maintenance team and the dedication from each of our Sailors," said Wandell. "Our Sailors really take training seriously and it showed during this evolution. They really did an awesome job."

The roughly 300 Sailors assigned to the "Raptors" of HSM-71 currently support Carrier Strike Group 3.

The MH-60R is the most capable and mature anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare multi-mission helicopter available in the world today. Together with its sibling, the MH-60S "Sierra," the Seahawk variants have flown more than 650,000 hours across a 500+ aircraft fleet.

As the next generation submarine hunter and anti-surface warfare helicopter, the MH-60R Seahawk is the cornerstone of the Navy's Helicopter Concept of Operations.

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