USAF 46th ERQS / Guardians Patch

USAF 46th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron / Guardians Patch

This patch has been kindly donated to the collection by PJ Lucas F. who wore this patch during the Pedro 66 incident in the trail rotor (Pedro 67) operating in the Bastion Airfield, Afghanistan with the 46th ERQS. As far as we know this patch was designed by J.Crantas.

On 09 June 2010, the 66th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron launched two HH-60's to evacuate a wounded British soldier. Each had a standard flying crew; in addition, there were 2 Pararescuemen  and a Combat Rescue Officer (CRO) in the lead aircraft (Pedro 66) and 3 PJ’s in the trail aircraft (Pedro 67). Approximately 30 minutes after launching and approaching the landing zone; the trail aircraft was poised for the pick-up and following the lead aircraft when Pedro 66 began spinning out of control. Pedro 66 impacted the ground within seconds just outside the wire and almost immediately caught fire, taking the life of 5 crew members At that time, SrA. Lucas F. was one of the PJ's in charge of the rescue of the fallen comrades on the trail aircraft Pedro 67.

1st Lt. Joel Gentz, who was assigned to the 58th Rescue Squadron; Capt. David Wisniewski and Staff Sgt. David Smith who were assigned to the 66 RQS; and Tech. Sgt Michael Flores and Senior Airman Benjamin White, who were assigned to the 48th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, all lost their lives in this tragic incident.

The 46th ERQS, which was stood up in January 1st 2013, has been inactivated because the Afghan security forces are taking a greater role in the fight against the Taliban. After 11 years in which combat rescue squadrons based at Kandahar Airfield and Camp Bastion evacuated 1.800 wounded and spent 97.000 hours on alert.

We at the PJpararecue Collectors Blog salute and respect the sacrifice of these brave Airmen that have made a huge impact in the rescue community and their families.

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