The Tennessee Army National Guard conducted a rescue in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park when personnel from Joint Base McGhee-Tyson were called to assist an injured hiker. According to the Tennessee Military Department, a call for help was received last Saturday at 5:30 p.m., prompting a response to a remote area near Ramsey Cascades waterfall.
The Tennessee National Guard and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency deployed a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to rescue a stranded hiker east of Gatlinburg. The crew departed from Joint Base McGhee-Tyson at 7:20 p.m. and included pilots Capt. Andrew Rines and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael Brasfield, crew chief Sgt. Christopher Burke, and flight paramedics Sgt. 1st Class John Sharbel and Giovanni Dezuani. Nine minutes after takeoff, they located the hiker, who was receiving first aid from Park Service Rangers, and conducted the rescue, as reported by the Tennessee Military Department.
Sgt. Burke coordinated the operation to lower paramedics and assist an injured hiker by 7:45 p.m. Despite difficult terrain, the rescue proceeded as planned, with Sharbel, the hiker, and Dezuani lifted into a helicopter. They arrived at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville by 8:30 p.m., where medical staff took over. The Blackhawk and its crew returned to Louisville, completing the mission by 9:00 p.m. The Tennessee Army National Guard and other agencies conducted the rescue, as stated by the Tennessee Military Department.
