U.S. Rep. McSally Statement on Successful Completion of Angel Thunder Exercises at DM

Press Release

U.S. Representative Martha McSally today released the following statement congratulating Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (DM) and all participating military upon the successful completion of Angel Thunder, personnel recovery exercises that took place in Southern Arizona and were hosted by DM.

"I congratulate the men and women serving at DM for successful completion of Angel Thunder, the world's largest Personnel Recovery exercise," said Rep. McSally. "Being able to train for Combat Search and Rescue alongside our allies is crucial to ensuring readiness, and Davis-Monthan is uniquely suited for this operation. It's just one of the many reasons that include our proximity to training ranges and year-round sunshine that make DM an irreplaceable national security asset."

Taking place between May 30th and June 13th, Angel Thunder involved over 3,000 participants from all joint U.S. forces, 11 allied-nations, and 9 interagencies to train in personnel recovery scenarios. Some of the scenarios in this year's Angel Thunder included: mass casualty, hostage recovery, high angle mountain rescues, contested environment rescues, and swift water rescue.

Arizona's meteor crater served as the final training site for this year's exercise, where simulated patients were hoisted 570 feet out of the crater and into an Army National Guard UH-60 Helicopter. The crater was formed 50,000 years ago, when a meteorite landed in Winslow and created a crater 570 feet deep and 3,900 feet across.

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