5.11 Spring/Summer - English - Corporate EUR

RESCUE
GLOBAL
“September to November 2017 will be the most
memorable 3 months in my long career as a pilot.”
When we first deployed to the Caribbean in response to Hurricanes Irma and then Maria, it was immediately
apparent that having aviation capabilities was going to be vital to connect disaster-ravaged communities
with the aid and relief workers that they so badly needed. Over the weeks that followed, I personally took
off and landed 156 times, carried hundreds of doctors out to disaster zones and brought people back who needed
medical care. The plane I fly - a King Air c90 - also carried all kinds of humanitarian cargo - from food, water, candles
and hygiene supplies, to bloods, vaccines and insulin.
The pace was intense, flying 6 days out of every 7, and flying from dawn until dusk (no night flights permitted on
the small airfields we were flying into), and in some very challenging conditions. Our most common destination
was Canefield airfield in Dominica, a small airstrip with an infamously difficult landing approach. This, coupled with
intense thunderstorms and high winds - it is, after all, the hurricane season in the region - made for some memorable
piloting experiences.
I joined Rescue Global to be able to put my background of both a firefighter with the London Fire Brigade and a pilot to
good use. Being able to have such a direct positive impact in the Caribbean after these two category 5 hurricanes, is the
greatest reward I could hope for.
Captain David Sexton, Rescue Global Pilot
Rescue Global is an international non-profit organisation, working in disaster risk reduction and response worldwide. With a simple mission: to save life, they do this by empowering those
decision-makers, before, during, and after disasters. With highly skilled teams, Rescue Global works to increase resilience in countries vulnerable to disasters, operating in some of the
world’s toughest environments. 5.11 Tactical partners with Rescue Global, and provides them with essential kit and equipment.
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