Members of the U.S. Army, Yakima County Sheriff’s Office and Central Washington Mountain Rescue spent Monday climbing to the top of the Royal Columns in Naches to simulate a mountaintop medical evacuation.

The sky was clear as a UH-60 Black Hawk ripped through the air above Naches and hovered just feet above the peak of the andesite ridge. A rope hanging from the helicopter was connected to a litter holding a dummy. Once fastened in place, the helicopter once again took off.

The first rescue mission of the day had been completed for the joint search and rescue team.

In situations when local agencies such as the sheriff’s office need assistance from the Army for rescues, the Army enacts defense support for civil authorities, or DSCA.

1st Lt. Terra Crown, a pilot and platoon leader for the Army’s United States Air Ambulance Detachment at the Yakima Training Center, said she is expecting to see a rise in medical evacuations in the area this summer.

“Last summer we got about 10 DSCA calls, which is pretty light,” Crown said. “We’re anticipating more just because it got so hot so fast so people are already out climbing.”

Rescue efforts start at the training center. Upon receiving a request for assistance from the sheriff’s office and approval from leadership at Joint Base Lewis McChord, an Army pilot races to the helipad at the sheriff’s office, where a Central Washington Mountain Rescue team is ready to be picked up.

Upon retrieving the unlucky climber, the helicopter flies to MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital, where hospital staff members are ready to administer medical care.

Within the 60-mile radius that the training center offers DSCA, Crown said rescues take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. Cpt. Kyle Abraham, a public affairs officer, said rescue missions outside that radius require permission from Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

“There are people dedicated just to answering these calls,” Abraham said. “Anything outside of that 60-radius around YTC is just that higher level. Anything underneath it is up to our commanding general at JBLM.”

Crown said many of the calls she has overseen come from near Rimrock Lake, Mount Rainier, Mount Adams and the Goat Rocks. She said she has been as far out as Lake Chelan.

Crown said training exercises are held a few times per year. To get to the point of actually simulating a rescue outside of the training center, she and her platoon had to start practicing in May. Crown said getting land-use permits can hinder the exercises, but she hopes to start doing more of them.

While the exercise helps prepare Army personnel for real-life situations, Crown said there are other ways in which the training is beneficial for those involved.

“We have newer pilots practicing doing hover work on cliff sides, which is really helpful,” Crown said. “We have some medics who their first DSCA mission they responded to had not done any training so they were out on that uneven terrain. It’s better to practice before having to do the real thing.”

The joint rescue team held two successful rescue missions on the peak of Royal Columns.

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