Wyoming Army Guard aviation crew partners with Big Horn County search and rescue team to conduct hoist training

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wyoguard/albums/72177720331867800/

Wyoming National Guard

GREYBULL, Wyo- High above the snow-covered slopes of the Greybull Mountains, a Wyoming Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk hovers as personnel from the Wyoming Hoist Team are lowered into the rugged terrain below.

The hoist training, conducted by the Wyoming National Guard, equips civilian search and rescue teams with the skills needed to work safely and efficiently with military aviation crews in Wyoming’s most inaccessible environments. The Wyoming Hoist team is made up of volunteers from multiple counties across Wyoming, including Park, Sheridan, and Bighorn Counties. For them, the training in Greybull is not hypothetical — it is based on missions they have already faced.

In the Sheridan mountains, on Sept. 1, a small aircraft crashed deep in mountainous terrain. Multiple patients were injured, miles from the nearest road, in a drainage where landing a helicopter was impossible. Ground teams hiked more than seven miles to reach the site, only to find patients deteriorating rapidly.

Andy Earp, one of the Sheridan area search and rescue team members and a Wyoming hoist team member, recounts the incident.

“One hundred percent, this training saved lives,” Earp said. “Without it, I don’t believe that rescue would have gone as smoothly as it did, and I truly don’t think our most critical patient would have survived.

“They went from yellow to red while we were on scene,” Andy said. “We weren’t going to be able to walk them out. There were no roads, no easy options.”

As search and rescue teams requested aviation support, relief came when they learned the Wyoming National Guard helicopter crew was already on standby in Pinedale, Wyoming. When the aircraft arrived on scene, the familiarity between the crews became immediately apparent.

“The medic, Staff Sgt. Ashley Ott came down, looked at the wreckage, and then looked at us and said, ‘I know you guys,’” Andy said. “That’s when we knew this was going to go smoother.”

Unbeknownst to them at the time, the crew was the same Guard personnel who had trained the rescue teams years earlier. The pilot in command, hoist operator, and flight medic had all served as instructors during previous hoist courses.

“It all fell into place,” Earp said. “We didn’t have to question what anyone was doing. Everyone knew what to expect.”

That shared understanding — how to manage rotor wash, how to stabilize patients, how to communicate with hand signals and verbal cues — is exactly what the hoist training is designed to build.

“This kind of training allows us to pick patients up where they are, instead of moving them to a landing zone,” said Jeff Schmidt, search and rescue captain for Big Horn County Search and Rescue. “In the Bighorns, most of our missions are miles from a trailhead, often above treeline. Hoist capability saves hundreds of man-hours and, more importantly, time for the patient.”

Schmidt said his team has conducted approximately 14 to 15 patient hoists in the past five years.

Wyoming’s geography makes this type of partnership essential, according to Schmidt. With vast distances, extreme elevation changes, and unpredictable weather, aviation is often the only viable rescue option.

“Wyoming presents a unique challenge,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Paul Matthews, a Wyoming Army National Guard standardization instructor. “High altitude, freezing temperatures, strong winds—this training keeps us sharp and helps us understand our limits before we’re called out on someone’s worst day.”

From the cockpit, pilots train not only on flying skills, but on crew coordination and power management in mountainous environments. In the cabin, hoist operators and medics refine the precision required to lower personnel into confined spaces — sometimes no larger than a break in the trees or, as in Sheridan, the wreckage of an aircraft itself.

“The ground teams already had patients stabilized when we arrived,” Matthews said. “That level of coordination doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because we train together.”

Sgt. 1st Class Andrew McCown, a hoist operator, said the success of the Sheridan mission hinged on that shared training.

“Two of the rescuers on the ground had gone through our hoist familiarization,” McCown said. “They anticipated rotor wash, secured loose debris, helped manage slack and assisted the medic as she came down. That teamwork made the rescue faster and safer for everyone.”

In the end, the most critical patient was extracted within two hours of rescuers reaching the crash site — a timeline Earp believes made the difference.

“As residents of Wyoming, we’re self-sufficient people,” Earp said. “But when things go wrong in this terrain, you need partnerships like this. Training together is what turns chaos into coordination.”

As the Black Hawk lifts away from the Greybull Mountains and the hoist cable retracts, the training concludes. But for the Wyoming Hoist Team and aviators involved, the purpose remains clear, according to Earp. Ensuring that when the next call comes, everyone involved already knows how to save lives together.

A Wyoming Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter sits on the flight line as aircrew and rescue personnel prepare for hoist training with Big Horn County Search and Rescue and Wyoming Life Flight in Wyoming, Jan. 28. 2026. The joint training focuses on inserting and extracting rescue personnel in austere and mountainous terrain.  (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Leanna Russell)

Wyoming Army National Guard crew chief and flight instructor, Master Sgt. Nevada Popp briefs Wyoming Life Flight responder, Sam Miller, inside a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during hoist training in Wyoming, Jan. 28, 2026. The training allows medical and rescue personnel to safely lower into confined or difficult terrain to reach patients. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Leanna Russell)

Big Horn County Search and Rescue Team member, Elise Lowe, positions near the open door of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter as aircrew members conduct hoist training over mountainous terrain in Wyoming, Jan. 28, 2026. The exercise prepares crews for real-world rescues in areas inaccessible by ground vehicles. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Leanna Russell)

Rescue personnel from the Big Horn County Search and Rescue Team are lowered by hoist from a Wyoming Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during joint hoist training in the Greybull Mountains of Wyoming, Jan. 28, 2026. The training enhances coordination between aviation crews and ground rescue teams during high-angle rescues. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Leanna Russell)

Wyoming Army National Guard pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Brian Coleman monitors flight conditions from the cockpit of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during hoist training in Wyoming, Jan. 28, 2026. Precision flying is critical during hoist operations to ensure the safety of rescue personnel and patients.(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Leanna Russell)

Wyoming Army National Guard Chief Master Sgt. Nevada Popp looks down toward rescue personnel on the ground while conducting hoist training from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Wyoming, Jan. 28, 2026. The joint training with Big Horn County Search and Rescue and Wyoming Life Flight improves response capabilities in remote environments. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Leanna Russell)

Wyoming Army National Guard crew member looks down from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter as rescue personnel are hoisted during joint training in the Greybull Mountains of Wyoming, Jan. 28, 2026. The training prepares aircrew and rescuers to operate safely in steep and forested terrain. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Leanna Russell)

A Wyoming Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter conducts hoist training with rescue personnel suspended below the aircraft in Wyoming, Jan. 28, 2026. The exercise supports interagency rescue operations in areas inaccessible by ground vehicles. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Leanna Russell)

Members from the Big Horn County Search and Rescue Team are raised toward a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during hoist training in the Greybull Mountains of Wyoming, 2026. The joint exercise improves coordination between aviation crews and ground-based responders during high-angle rescues. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Leanna Russell)

Wyoming Army National Guard crew chief Master Sgt. Nevada Popp assists rescue personnel, Wyatt Schatz, and Sam Miller as they prepare to be hoisted into a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during joint training in Wyoming, Jan. 28, 2026. Hoist operations allow medical and search-and-rescue teams to reach patients in remote environments. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Leanna Russell)

Rescue team member Sam Miller climbs into a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during hoist training in the Greybull Mountains of Wyoming, Jan. 28, 2026. The training enhances readiness for emergency response missions in rugged and mountainous terrain. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Leanna Russell)