KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Tennessee National Guard was called to rescue an injured hiker from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park this week.

It’s a call they have to respond to on what could be a person’s worst day, but they come to the rescue.

“The faster we can get them to the highest level of care, the best it’s going to be for that patient,” National Guardsman Michael Brasfield said.

The national guard was able to fly one of their Blackhawk Helicopters to the area, hoist the hiker to the helicopter and get him to UT Medical Center.

National Guardsman Nicholas Davis said, “Once we picked him up, we set him up and closed the door, secured everybody in the cabin and made directly for UT Medical Center.”

Being able to do this mission quickly and swiftly didn’t happen overnight.

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