Commander Elizabeth Frizz Janca takes command of Key West rescue station

Commander Elizabeth “Frizz” Janca took charge of Station Search and Rescue Key West with a job that is measured less by ceremony than by response time. The Boca Chica Field unit must be ready to provide search-and-rescue support within two hours for tactical fixed-wing flight operations based out of Naval Air Station Key West, a standard that puts real operational weight behind the change in command.

For Monroe County, the mission reaches beyond the fence line at NAS Key West. Station SAR Key West can also render immediate assistance if civil authorities or the U.S. Coast Guard request help, giving the station a role in persistent alert coverage for the Florida Keys as well as military flight safety. That makes the commander’s emphasis on excellence and readiness more than a slogan. It is the operating rule for a unit that sits inside the region’s emergency response system.

Station SAR Key West was formally established on Oct. 1, 2024, and aligned under Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic. The Navy’s welcome letter for the unit says its broader purpose is to support tactical air combat training and provide persistent alert coverage for the Florida Keys. The command’s history also stretches back to 1946, when VX-1 was established at NAS Key West and early SAR helicopter operations began taking shape there.

The scale of that mission is substantial. In Navy coverage from 2024, the Marlin SAR team at NAS Key West included 57 personnel: 11 officers, 10 enlisted aircrew and corpsmen, 27 enlisted maintenance personnel and nine contract support personnel. Its three MH-60S helicopters cover 27,096 square miles of the Navy’s premier air-to-air training range, a footprint that makes readiness a daily requirement rather than an abstract goal.

That operational record already carries recognition. NAS Key West was named the 2023 Chief of Naval Operations Search and Rescue Model Manager Aviation Unit of the Year, underscoring that the station’s work is evaluated against hard standards of performance, maintenance and response. The command’s listed address, 638 Saratoga Ave Hangar A-131, Key West, FL 33040, places that mission squarely on Boca Chica Field, where weather, over-water flying and heavy training traffic can raise the stakes quickly.

Janca’s arrival is unlikely to change the station’s role so much as reinforce it. For residents, boaters and anyone moving through the lower Keys, the most important measure is continuity: a rescue station built to stay sharp, keep aircraft ready and preserve the alert posture that the Navy and the Florida Keys both depend on.