Three U.S. Air Force units recently received the Presidential Unit Citation for actions during a 2021 deployment, including efforts during the final withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
The 55th and 48th Rescue Squadrons, as well as airmen from the 355th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, all located at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, received the awards April 17 and Jan. 17, respectively, according to a service release.
The two rescue squadrons and airmen in the maintenance group were included in the Personnel Recovery Task Force, a 176-member joint team specifically formed to carry out the noncombatant evacuation operation in Afghanistan.
The release stated that the team, which encompassed airmen from 20 different career fields, included pilots, maintainers, intelligence personnel and Special Warfare Airmen who created their own “unconventional recovery network” by initiating their own operations, security and communications in a “rapidly deteriorating deployed environment.”
The team saved thousands of Americans and at-risk Afghans, according to the release, and established a safe evacuation station for over 12,000 refugees between July 16 and Aug. 31, 2021.
Every unit in the task force prepared through exercises, such as the Red Flag-Rescue, to learn how to perform outside usual duties, per the release.
“But during this mission in 2021, our team also led security teams to fortify aircraft and key command and control positions and manned defensive fighting positions along unsecured airfield areas, providing front-line defense that prevented the NATO compound from being overrun,” Air Force 1st Lt. Sebastian Marano, the 355th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron’s interim director of operations, said in the statement.
In total, the task force operated through 864 hours of continuous alert over 53 days, assisting the safe evaluation of 124,000 people, according to the release. The force maintained its alert status until the last U.S. aircraft left Afghanistan.
Another unit said to be crucial to the evacuation was the Combat Search and Rescue forces in the 66th Rescue Squadron, which executed air-to-ground operations, the release says. The 66th officially deactivated before April’s ceremony, so the 55th accepted the award on the unit’s behalf.
The 58th Rescue Squadron was also included in the task force, but it too was deactivated before the ceremony. The 48th accepted the citation on its behalf.
By the end of the operation, individual task force members accounted for one Bronze Star with Valor, 18 Bronze Stars and 151 Air Force Commendation Medals with Combat Devices for bravery and resolve under “extreme hazard.”
“Every couple of years, there’s something that happens that defines the next generation of rescue Airmen,” U.S. Air Force Col. Jose Cabrera, 355th Wing commander, said in the statement.
“Every generation has their time and I think we’re seeing that today — your defining moment,” Cabrera added. “This will go down in Air Force history as one of the greatest accomplishments of the Air Force rescue community.”
Cristina Stassis is a reporter covering stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She previously worked as an editorial fellow for Defense News in 2024 where she assisted the newsroom in breaking news across Sightline Media Group.