By Staff Sgt. Kahdija Slaughter, 355th Wing

DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. – After distinguishing themselves during a deployment to Afghanistan that included the final withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country in 2021, two units, the 55th and 48th Rescue Squadrons, received the Presidential Unit Citation award at a ceremony at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, April 17, 2026.

The rescue squadrons were part of a joint team of 176 personnel called the Personnel Recovery Task Force (PRTF), specially formed of 20 different Air Force career fields to accomplish the Noncombatant Evacuation Operation in Afghanistan. The PRTF also included Airmen from the 355th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, which received its own presidential unit citation award on Jan. 16, 2026.

In the midst of a rapidly deteriorating deployed environment, the diverse team of pilots, maintainers, intelligence personnel, and Special Warfare Airmen established their own operations, security and communications from scratch, ultimately establishing an unconventional recovery network that saved over 1,900 Americans and at-risk Afghans and establishing a safe evacuation terminal for over 12,000 additional refugees between July 16 and Aug. 31, 2021.

To prepare for what the PRTF would encounter, each unit conducted strategic, tactical, high-stress operations during exercises like Red Flag-Rescue, hosted at DM. This training laid the groundwork for real-world missions that pushed Airmen into uncharted territory and required them to perform outside their usual duty titles.

“Typically, the 355th AMXS participates in rigorous realistic training like Red Flag-Rescue to generate aircraft and establish temporary refueling sites in contingency locations,” said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Sebastian Marano, 355 AMXS interim director of operations. “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.”

Over 53 days, the PTRF held 864 hours of continuous alert, directly enabling the safe evacuation of 124,000 people.

Key to the evacuation were air-to-ground operations executed by Combat Search and Rescue forces assigned to the 66th RQS. Since the 66th RQS had officially deactivated by the time of April’s ceremony, the 55th RQS accepted the citation on its behalf.

“The 66th led a dual effort during the evacuations by maintaining a flying formation for the alert mission and also voluntarily assisting with locating and processing evacuees, while also monitoring ground and tower frequencies to track numbers of American citizens, Afghan refugees, and other country nationals being evacuated aboard each C-17,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Dommer, 55th RQS commander.

The PRTF also included the 58th RQS, another CSAR unit assigned to DM. Since the 58th RQS had officially deactivated by the time of April’s ceremony, the 48th RQS accepted the Presidential Unit Citation on its behalf.

“Ahead of going downrange, the team typically prepares by refining the skills necessary for the environment and taskings they’ll participate in,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Sean Hopper, 68th RQS senior enlisted leader. “We prepare by conducting jump and parachute training, medical training and tactics, as well as scenario-based training so our Airmen are ready for whatever is thrown their way.”

The HH-60 pilots encountered challenges with high altitudes, high temperature, and heavy aircraft – but pre-deployment training at the Nevada Test and Training Range on Nellis Air Force Base proved beneficial in preparing crews for the difficulties associated with helicopter air-to-air refueling and landing with severe power limitations.

Capt. Mark W. Ross, 66th RQS HH-60G flight lead pilot, was one of the helicopter pilots who displayed outstanding service during the Afghanistan mission. Ross guided the last aircraft across hundreds of miles of hostile territory through widespread thunderstorms on a zero- illumination night to an airfield in Pakistan, flying through known Taliban-controlled surface-to-air weapons systems. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his extraordinary achievement on March 2, 2023.

The PRTF maintained its alert status until the very last U.S. aircraft had departed Afghanistan.

For their gallantry and determination under extreme hazard, the members of the Personnel Recovery Task Force earned one Bronze Star with Valor, 18 Bronze Stars, and 151 Air Force Commendation Medals with Combat Devices, setting their unit apart in the final chapter of operations in Afghanistan.

“Every couple of years, there’s something that happens that defines the next generation of rescue Airmen,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Jose Cabrera, 355th Wing commander. “Every generation has their time and I think we’re seeing that today – your defining moment. This will go down in Air Force history as one of the greatest accomplishments of the Air Force rescue community.”