VNG, first responders continue rescue hoist training
Virginia National Guard flight crews trained with Chesterfield County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Scuba Rescue Team members on rescue hoist operations Nov. 19, 2020, in Chesterfield, Virginia, as part of the ongoing training partnership started in 2011. Together, the VNG aviators and Chesterfield first responders form the Virginia Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team. Since the program’s inception in 2011, the HART has deployed for hurricane response, flown countless hours over the waterways and landscapes of Virginia and now boasts approximately 20 trained technicians.
“It’s one of the highlights of my career,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Shane Leipertz, one of the HART’s helicopter pilots. “It’s very, very rewarding to see how far the program has come.”