Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West was recognized as the 2023 Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Search and Rescue (SAR) Model Manager Aviation Unit of the Year during a SAR Symposium held aboard Naval Base Coronado.

The Marlin SAR team at NAS Key West consists of 57 personnel: eleven officers, ten enlisted aircrew and corpsmen, 27 enlisted maintenance personnel, and nine contract support personnel. The station’s three MH-60S helicopters provide SAR coverage for tactical air operations across 27,096 square miles of the Navy’s premier air-to-air training range.

“This award is a recognition of the effort and dedication of the Sailors, officers and contractors of NAS Key West,” said Cmdr. Evan Cook, NAS Key West SAR officer-in-charge. “Throughout this period, they have excelled at their primary mission of Search & Rescue in Key West while also developing new techniques and procedures applicable fleet-wide. Their dedication to innovation and collaboration amongst other services has moved the entire Naval Aviation Enterprise forward.”

When lives are on the line, Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmers are exceptionally adept at answering the call. These brave men and women embody the courage of America’s Navy – readily going into harm’s way to complete their rescue missions in some of the most extreme environments imaginable. As part of the most elite helicopter emergency response team in the world, they’re tasked with saving the lives of people caught in the waves. Living by the motto, “So others may live,” rescue swimmers put their skills to the test for others each time they leap into the sea.

“The past 12 months have culminated in a remarkable year for the Marlin SAR team,” explained Cook. “While demonstrating exceptional competence in their primary SAR mission set, they have leveraged their unique geographical situation to develop tactics, techniques, and procedures tailored to contested SAR during Great Power Competition. This group of exceptional professionals, dedicated to the craft of Maritime Personnel Recovery, has unequivocally demonstrated that they are the premier SAR unit in the U.S. Navy.”

Naval Air Station Key West is a state-of-the-art facility for combat fighter aircraft of all military services, provides world-class pier-side support to U.S. and foreign naval vessels, and is the premier training center for surface and subsurface military operations.