Local Military Hero Doing Heroic Deeds In Persian Gulf

By Sid Riley
Logan Robertson Assigned to "Dusty Dogs" Air-Sea Rescue Unit

A Marianna High School graduate is part of an air-sea rescue unit currently operating off of the flight deck of the aircraft carrier, USS Harry S. Truman. They are at this moment afloat somewhere in the Persian Gulf, helping defend our nation from those who would seek to destroy all we hold dear.

Logan is assigned to a helicopter rescue unit named "Dusty Dogs", as part of the crew for "Dusty 614". Their months of preparation and training paid off in January when two aircraft collided during flight operations and the pilots had to be rescued from the icy waters after safely ejecting from their falling aircraft.

Within minutes of the incident, Dusty 614 with Robertson aboard was in the air and searching for the crewmembers who needed immediate help. In total, three helicopter crews were dispatched. Dusty 615, the first crew dispatched quickly located two of the downed flyers and initiated rescue operations. Dusty 614 then located the third crew member, hovered over the spot, and hoisted their rescue swimmer down into the cold waters to disentangle the pilot and attach the lift belting. Soon the swimmer and the pilot were safely aboard the copter and heading back to the Mother Ship.

The three flyers were suffering from mild hypothermia, but quickly recovered from the ordeal. The pilot, Cmdr. Tim Krippendorf, expressed his thanks to the crew for saving his life and their timely rescue.

Robertson stated, "Ninty-eight percent of our time is spent training for services we hope we never have to perform. The night we were called a lot of adrenalin was flowing until we were airborne, then the training kicked in and it was time for us to go to work. It was a great feeling when the mission was complete and we had our survivor safely on board. We knew our training had paid off."

Logan Robertson is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Hines Robertson of Marianna, and the grandson of Ernest (deceased) and Margie Logan. He is married to to the former Shelby Oliver who is also a graduate of Marianna High School. They have two sons, Hunter and Landon.

All of the citizens of Jackson County can be proud of the heroic service of one of our own as Logan serves in this troubled area of the world. Pray for his safe return to our treasured land.