A Search and Rescue team from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island conducted a Medical Evacuation on Saturday, March 12, from Naval Hospital Oak Harbor.

The SAR crew of five took off around 2:30 p.m. to deliver a pregnant patient suffering from a fetal emergency and pre-term labor.  They flew to the helicopter pad at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma to transfer the 37-year-old female to higher care.

Although the winds had calmed considerably from earlier in the day, there was still a significant amount of turbulence and patchy storm cells to contend with along the way.

This was the fourth MEDEVAC of 2016 for NAS Whidbey Island SAR, which has also conducted two rescue operations this year.

In 2015 the unit conducted 19 Medical Evacuation missions, 11 searches and seven rescues, resulting in 29 lives delivered to higher level care.