Moffett Field Para-Rescuers Who Saved Sick Toddler From Parent's Boat An Elite Group
MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) -- The men who saved a sick toddler from her parent's boat off the coast of Mexico are often compared to superman, ninjas, and even called real-life X-men.
The California Air National Guard's 129th Rescue Wing's para-rescue jumper team is so elite that only one in ten candidates make the cut.
"So you put them through no sleep, put them through hard exercises, up to eight weeks of completely trashing these guys trying to find out who's got the toughest to make it through," Major Jeff Borg, Commander of the 131st Rescue Squadron said.
Two of the four para-rescue men returned to Moffett Field after the seven-day mission to rescue baby Lyra and her family, 900-miles off the coast of Mexico.
"At the end of the day, for us it's just like a training jump that we do, we go through all the same procedures," said another rescuer.
The effort to save the Kaufman family started with shoving a giant package with an inflatable boat out into the Pacific Ocean.
"Basically we're taking our own ambulance to the patient," another rescuer said
The Moffett Field unit has 44 para-rescue men, and is the only unit in the state.