Hundreds of new medals — including Distinguished Flying Crosses and Bronze Stars — are being given to airmen who helped with the 2021 evacuation of Afghanistan, and more awards are on the horizon.
The latest awards include a total of 229 Air Medals, 98 Meritorious Service Medals, eight Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Bronze Star Medals and are for “maintainers, loadmasters, Raven-trained security forces, aeromedical evacuation personnel and pilots” involved with one of the largest humanitarian evacuation efforts in military history, the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command announced Wednesday.
“It is with great humility, gratitude and honor that I have the opportunity to recognize the actions of these mobility heroes,” Gen. Mike Minihan, head of Air Mobility Command, said in a statement. “This recognition is long overdue, but I hope everyone involved in this incredible operation knows our deepest appreciation for their sacrifice while saving more than 124,000 American and Afghan lives.”
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Air Mobility Command played a crucial role in the evacuation, from loading up the first evacuee to boarding the last American soldier onto the final C-17 Globemaster III from Kabul on Aug. 30, 2021. More than 124,000 people ranging from government employees to Afghan refugees were flown to safety as more than two…
