79th Rescue Squadron

79th Rescue Squadron
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award^[1]
79th Rescue Squadron Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Insignia
79th Rescue Squadron emblem (approved 23 July 1968)

The 79th Rescue Squadron is a

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona

.

It operates the Lockheed HC-130J "Combat King II" variant of the C-130 "Hercules" and provides rapidly deployable combat

night vision goggles.^[2]

Mission

The 79th Rescue Squadron operates the HC-130J "Combat King II" and provides rapidly deployable combat personnel recovery forces to theater commanders worldwide. It conducts helicopter air-to-air refueling, airdrop and airland of pararescue personnel and/or equipment in support of combat personnel recovery. The 79th is capable of providing airborne mission commander and rescue mission commander duties for long periods of time due to our receiver aerial refueling capability, limiting mission length to crew stamina. Its crews are capable of landing on short, unimproved runways and conducting low-level operations during daytime missions, or night with the aid of night vision goggles.

History

Constituted as 79 Air Rescue Squadron on 17 Oct 1952. Activated on 14 Nov 1952 at Andersen AFB, Guam operating SB-29 'Super Dumbo' (search and rescue version of the

B-29 bomber). Discontinued, and inactivated, on 18 Sep 1960. Activated on 10 May 1961. Organized on 18 Jun 1961. Redesignated as 79 Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron on 8 Jan 1966. Supported U.S. space recovery operations during the late 1960s. Inactivated on 30 Jun 1972. Redesignated as 79 Rescue Flight on 1 Apr 1993.^[1]

Activated on 1 May 1993 at

Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ with HC-130P and HC-130E. Assigned to the 563 Rescue Group on 1 October 2003.^[1] In October 2003 the 79th Rescue Squadron was re-aligned under the 563d Rescue Group and the 23d Wing as a geographically-separated unit out of Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. The squadron was realigned from the 23rd Wing to Davis-Monthan AFB's 355th Fighter Wing on 1 October 2018.^[3]

Operation Inherent Resolve

Pacific Operations

Missile support

Recent Accomplishments

2011 Meritorious Unit Award (1 Jun 2011 – 31 May 2011); 2012 Meritorious Unit Award (1 Jun 2011 – 31 Jan 2012). In 2011, the 79th Rescue Squadron completed an eight-month Operation Enduring Freedom deployment, where it executed 1215 combat sorties, saving the lives of 334 allied, coalition, and Afghan military and civilian personnel. 2015 Meritorious Unit Award

2005 Hurricane Katrina Rescue Missions

The 79th Rescue Squadron deployed to Moody Air Force Base in support of Joint Task Force Katrina . The 79th along with their sister squadron, the 71st Rescue Squadron located at Moody, flew search and rescue and refueling missions over the New Orleans area for several days after the hurricane destroyed much of the Gulf Coast. The crews from the two rescue squadrons were credited with over 4,300 saves.

2006 Sudan mission

In 2006, personnel and aircraft from the squadron were the primary force provider to the 79th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, located at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti was sent to an airfield in Darfur, Sudan to retrieve equipment left behind by a US military liaison officer who had recently been evacuated from the area. On the ground at Al-Fashir Airfield, the aircraft was surrounded by 150 Sudanese soldiers who refused to allow the aircraft to leave, fearing that the crew were on the airfield to document Sudanese military war crimes at the airfield. The Sudanese soldiers threatened to rape, then sell, two female members of the crew and stated that the entire crew would be executed. The US crew barricaded the aircraft and refused to allow the Sudanese soldiers to enter during a tense stand-off.^[4]

After four hours, a locally assigned US military liaison was able to persuade the Sudanese airfield commander to allow the aircraft to depart without further incident.^[4]

Lineage

Constituted as the 79th Air Rescue Squadron on 17 October 1952
Activated on 14 November 1952

Discontinued and inactivated on 18 September 1960

Activated on 10 May 1961 (not organized)

Organized on 18 June 1961

Redesignated 79th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron on 8 January 1966

Inactivated on 30 June 1972

Redesignated 79th Rescue Flight on 1 April 1993

Activated on 1 May 1993

Inactivated on 2 July 1998

Redesignated 79th Rescue Squadron on 22 January 2003

Activated on 14 March 2003^[1]

Assignments

11th Air Rescue Group, 14 November 1952 (attached to
Far East Air Forces
, until 1 June 1953, then to 6319th Air Base Wing)
2d Air Rescue Group, 16 February 1954 (remained attached to 6319th Air Base Wing to 1 August 1954, to Far East Air Forces to 10 May 1955 then to Seventh Air Force
until an unknown date)

Air Rescue Service

, 24 June 1958 – 18 September 1960

Military Air Transport Service, 10 May 1961 (not organized)
Air Rescue Service (later Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service), 18 June 1961
Pacific Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Center (later 41st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing), 1 April 1967 – 30 June 1972
321st Operations Group, 1 May 1993
321st Missile Group
, 1 July 1994 – 2 July 1998
355th Operations Group, 14 March 2003
563d Rescue Group, 1 Oct 2003 – present^[1]

Stations

Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, 14 November 1952 – 18 September 1960
Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, 18 June 1961 – 30 June 1972
Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, 1 May 1993 – 2 July 1998
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, 14 Mar 2003 – present^[1]

Aircraft

Boeing SB-29 Superfortress

, 1952–1956

Douglas C-47 Skytrain, 1952–1954
Sikorsky SH-19
, 1955–1960
Douglas SC-54 Skymaster
(later HC-54), 1956–1960, 1961–1966
Lockheed HC-130, 1966–1972, 2003–
Kaman HH-43 Huskie, 1971–1972
Bell HH-1 Huey, 1993–1998^[5]

HC-130P Combat King, 2003–2012^{[citation needed}
]

HC-130J Combat King II, 2012 – present^{[citation needed}
]

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Dollman, TSG David (19 June 2017). "Factsheet 79 Rescue Squadron (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
^ "Library: Fact Sheet 563rd Rescue Group (AFSOC)". 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs. 2 August 2006. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
^ "563rd RQG realigns to the 355th FW". Retrieved 23 March 2020.
^ ^a ^b Hoffman, Michael (28 October 2009). "11 airmen survived 2006 confrontation in Sudan". Military Times. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
^ Aircraft in Dollman, except as noted.

Bibliography

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

[79RSfacts-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Dollman, TSG David (19 June 2017). "Factsheet 79 Rescue Squadron (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 3 October 2017.

[2] "Library: Fact Sheet 563rd Rescue Group (AFSOC)". 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs. 2 August 2006. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2017.

[3] "563rd RQG realigns to the 355th FW". Retrieved 23 March 2020.

[AirmenSurvive-4] Hoffman, Michael (28 October 2009). "11 airmen survived 2006 confrontation in Sudan". Military Times. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2017.

[5] Aircraft in Dollman, except as noted.

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