The Captain Frank A. Erickson award goes to the Air Station San Francisco crew of CGNR 6515 in recognition of their heroic efforts on 30 July 2013.

The actions of LCDR Kenshalo, LT Belanger, AMT2 Swain, and AST3 Fix resulted in saving six lives from a remote cliff. Demonstrating superior airmanship and judgment, the aircrew of CGNR 6515 skillfully navigated underneath two bridges not visible due to the thick fog and narrowly evaded mountainous terrain enroute to the hikers secluded location. Maneuvering the helicopter perilously close (within a few feet rotor arc clearance) to the immense sea cliffs, the rescue swimmer was deployed in order to triage the hikers and prepare them to be hoisted. The noise of the helicopter echoed off the steep-walled bluffs and rendered radio communications with the swimmer useless. Using night hand signals and exacting crew coordination, the aircrew hoisted four survivors, and then delivered emergency provisions to the swimmer and remaining hikers before leaving them on scene due to minimum fuel. Alertly managing the dwindling fuel reserves, the aircrew navigated around the cliffs through the bay in total darkness and fog and delivered the survivors to awaiting emergency medical services. The rapidly deteriorating weather made the second sortie even more challenging as they flew the same treacherous course back to the cove. Unable to use the aircraft exterior lighting due to the moisture in the air, the crew ingeniously employed flares to reflect light off the vertical cliffs and illuminate the cove. The aircrew boldly hovered nose-into the cliff without an emergency fly-out route in order to optimize available power. This unconventional maneuver provided just enough power to successfully complete the final hoist.

Their performance is in keeping with the tradition of Captain Frank Erickson adding a proud chapter to the proud history of Coast Guard Aviation.