ASTREA is 35 years old

[w6pix]

Here is a press release from ASTREA with some interesting facts:

Flying High Over San Diego for 35 Years

Come join the San Diego Sheriff's Department and invited guests as we celebrate ASTREA's (Aerial Support to Regional Enforcement Agencies) 35th anniversary. Wednesday, January 17, 2007 marks the exact day ASTREA radioed '10-8' for the first time and the media is invited to tour the facility and interview those responsible for ASTREA's success. ASTREA is headquartered at Gillespie Field, 1745 North Marshall Avenue in El Cajon. The program will commence at 11:00 a.m.

On October 29, 1971, Sheriff John F. Duffy purchased three Bell 47 helicopters through a California Traffic Safety Grant. This negotiation marked the beginning of a highly successful thirty-five year program, which has exceeded anyone's expectations.

The Bell 47 helicopters arrived in December of 1971 and on January 17, 1972, the first official ASTREA helicopter went on patrol in the skies over San Diego. The unit rapidly became an invaluable asset to all of the law enforcement agencies throughout the county. The Sheriff's Department continued with Bell 47 patrol aircraft until 1974, when the first Hughes 500 helicopters were acquired through the combined efforts of the county and several community groups. With these new turbine helicopters, the Unit's ability to provide service greatly increased. Many more rescue operations were conducted and the helicopters were added to the county emergency medical system. ASTREA provided aerial medical transports to local hospitals until 1997, when the standards were changed, eliminating single engine aircraft from the program.

As the population growth rate of San Diego County exploded throughout the 70s and 80s, ASTREA added helicopters through innovation. Since the budget was sparse during these years, additional aircraft were built from acquired hulls and parts. The contract mechanics of San Diego Rotorcraft were no less than amazing in their abilities to transform wrecked hulls into flying aircraft. These rebuilding efforts involved everyone in the unit. Deputies did whatever they could to assist with the projects; including painting and driving around the country to acquire parts.

In 1974, the last Bell 47 helicopter left the fleet as part of a negotiation to acquire the fourth Hughes 500. ASTREA now had all turbine helicopters and the missions and calls for service were greatly expanded. In just three short years, the numbers of rescues and successful searches were now in the thousands. The number of law enforcement support missions such as pursuits, locating suspects in the brush and containment support during in-progress crimes were too numerous to count.

In 1997, one member of the ASTREA unit, Deputy Pat Coyle, made the ultimate sacrifice, losing his life in an on-duty aviation mishap north of Santee. This tragedy fostered a new age for ASTREA. The reorganization that followed Pat's death required a great deal of work and dedication for all members of the unit. What followed was a new unit and dedication to excellence so that Pat's life was not lost in vain.

In 2000, Sheriff Bill Kolender made ASTREA history when he purchased the first new helicopter ever acquired within the 28 years of operation. Two more would follow over the next three years. Then, in 2003, after the devastating Cedar and Paradise fires, the Sheriff's Department was selected to build a County Aerial Fire Suppression Unit. As a result, two Bell 205 helicopters were acquired and put into service in July, 2005. The fleet now consists of eight helicopters.

Throughout the past 35 years, the dedicated men and women of the San Diego Sheriff's Aerial Support Detail have provided the highest level of quality law enforcement and rescue service. They have routinely done the impossible and made it look effortless.

ASTREA helicopter crews have been responsible for thousands of lives saved through dramatic cliff, ocean, and mountaintop rescues, responses to airplane crashes, and numerous hikers located in the mountains and deserts of our county. They have provided direct support to all law enforcement and public safety agencies throughout the region, assisting in the capture of thousands of suspects ranging from minor traffic offenders to murderers. They have conducted these operations in the best of weather conditions and also the very worst. The unit flies to protect and save lives day and night. ASTREA firefighting pilots never hesitate to fly into the vortex of a wildfire to douse the flames with water and suppress potentially devastating infernos. They conduct hoist rescue operations when no other means of rescue are sufficient to get the job done. When there is no seemingly possible way, they always find one.