Posted on 09/24/2005 3:29:37 PM PDT by SandRat
Helicopter rescue crews from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base - barely back home in Tucson after helping victims of Hurricane Katrina - took off for Texas on Friday to brace for Hurricane Rita.
About 75 airmen from D-M's 563rd Rescue Group left for Randolph Air Force Base near San Antonio, along with three HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and two HC-130 Hercules aerial refueling planes.
The crews, specially trained to conduct search-and-rescue operations, have spent the last few weeks plucking people off rooftops in New Orleans and other areas stricken by Katrina.
Most crew members had just returned to Tucson in the past week or so, said base spokeswoman Maj. Laurel Tingley.
Hurricane Rita is expected to fully strike around dawn today along portions of the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana. Base officials weren't sure Friday how long the Tucson airmen would be deployed for this round of storm relief.
"They'll be gone for as long as it takes to get the job done," Tingley said.
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