71 SOS/305 RQS/943 RQG Reunion
Donation protected
In the Spring of 1987, 6 men arrived at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona to prepare to stand up a new US Air Force Reserve Special Operations Squadron. On 1 October 1987, the 71st SOS officially unfurled their flag. W
On Sunday evening, March 12, 1989, while participating in a joint-service training exercise, four aircrew members from the Air Force Reserve's 71st Special Operations Squadron, now known as the 943rd Rescue Group, and 11 soldiers from the 5th Special Forces Group from Fort Bragg, N.C., died in the crash of a CH-3E Jolly Green Giant Helicopter, tail number 65-05692, call sign PONY 1-2. The crash happened in a desolate desert region 20 miles northwest of Tucson. This was and is the only time we have lost any aircraft or personnel in an aircraft incident.
We deployed to Desert Storm and flew 251 sorties, for 51 days stood alert for night, over water combat rescue missions, performed 8 sensitive missions in support of Army and Naval Special Operations Forces and also performed Medical Evacuation missions. Once back in Arizona, we continued to train and support the local mountain rescue and sheriff departments with numerous civilian rescues.
On March 1, 1994, the 71st Special Operations Squadron, located at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. was deactivated and reactivated as the 305th Rescue Squadron. The 305th RQS assumed all personnel and assets of the 71st SOS upon its inactivation and return from a 6-month tasking at Operation Provide Comfort II in Turkey. The squadron was tasked to support Operation Provide Comfort II 10 months after beginning the conversion to HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters and before even declaring fully combat ready. The squadron deployed three HH-60G Pave Hawks and 95 personnel and accomplished 315 combat sorties.
On May 19, 1994, the 305th RQS was credited with their first save. The crew completed a daring night rescue using night vision goggles and a stokes litter to hoist an injured Army specialist from a sixty degree mountain slope surrounded by forty- to sixty- foot trees.
On June 30, 1994, two aircrews received the 1993 Reserve Officers Association Maj. Gen. Tom E. Marchbanks, Jr. Memorial Award for their heroic efforts in providing security for a British Harrier which crashed in the northern no-fly zone of Iraq on November 23, 1993, while deployed in support of Operation Provide Comfort II.
The 305th RQS continued to support local peacetime rescues while maintaining combat deployable status. During the performance of 17 rescue missions from May 1994 to September 1996, the squadron was credited with saving 10 lives and assisting with an eleventh. We have subsequently been credited with numerous additional saves, notably during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The 305th Rescue Squadron was the first and only Reserve helicopter unit to achieve a shipboard operations capability.
In 2002, the 305th Rescue Squadron was activated for one year under the partial mobilization order to participate in Operations Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch, at Al Jaber AB in Kuwait.
In 2005, the 305th RQS was redesignated the 943rd Rescue Group. The 305th Rescue Squadron remained as a subordinate flying squadron.
This reunion commemorates all of these good and somber memories; comradeship and brotherhood forged in combat and during the long hours of training and deployments.
The money will be used to offset expenses at the venue we are using for two social events as well as being used as scholarships for our younger Airmen who desire to attend but are not able to due to financial limitations.
We have been a presence in Southern Arizona for 28 years and have consistently been rated the best of the best. We need your help to ensure that our legacy is passed along to the young men and women of the 943d Rescue Group and Southern Arizona.
On Sunday evening, March 12, 1989, while participating in a joint-service training exercise, four aircrew members from the Air Force Reserve's 71st Special Operations Squadron, now known as the 943rd Rescue Group, and 11 soldiers from the 5th Special Forces Group from Fort Bragg, N.C., died in the crash of a CH-3E Jolly Green Giant Helicopter, tail number 65-05692, call sign PONY 1-2. The crash happened in a desolate desert region 20 miles northwest of Tucson. This was and is the only time we have lost any aircraft or personnel in an aircraft incident.
We deployed to Desert Storm and flew 251 sorties, for 51 days stood alert for night, over water combat rescue missions, performed 8 sensitive missions in support of Army and Naval Special Operations Forces and also performed Medical Evacuation missions. Once back in Arizona, we continued to train and support the local mountain rescue and sheriff departments with numerous civilian rescues.
On March 1, 1994, the 71st Special Operations Squadron, located at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. was deactivated and reactivated as the 305th Rescue Squadron. The 305th RQS assumed all personnel and assets of the 71st SOS upon its inactivation and return from a 6-month tasking at Operation Provide Comfort II in Turkey. The squadron was tasked to support Operation Provide Comfort II 10 months after beginning the conversion to HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters and before even declaring fully combat ready. The squadron deployed three HH-60G Pave Hawks and 95 personnel and accomplished 315 combat sorties.
On May 19, 1994, the 305th RQS was credited with their first save. The crew completed a daring night rescue using night vision goggles and a stokes litter to hoist an injured Army specialist from a sixty degree mountain slope surrounded by forty- to sixty- foot trees.
On June 30, 1994, two aircrews received the 1993 Reserve Officers Association Maj. Gen. Tom E. Marchbanks, Jr. Memorial Award for their heroic efforts in providing security for a British Harrier which crashed in the northern no-fly zone of Iraq on November 23, 1993, while deployed in support of Operation Provide Comfort II.
The 305th RQS continued to support local peacetime rescues while maintaining combat deployable status. During the performance of 17 rescue missions from May 1994 to September 1996, the squadron was credited with saving 10 lives and assisting with an eleventh. We have subsequently been credited with numerous additional saves, notably during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The 305th Rescue Squadron was the first and only Reserve helicopter unit to achieve a shipboard operations capability.
In 2002, the 305th Rescue Squadron was activated for one year under the partial mobilization order to participate in Operations Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch, at Al Jaber AB in Kuwait.
In 2005, the 305th RQS was redesignated the 943rd Rescue Group. The 305th Rescue Squadron remained as a subordinate flying squadron.
This reunion commemorates all of these good and somber memories; comradeship and brotherhood forged in combat and during the long hours of training and deployments.
The money will be used to offset expenses at the venue we are using for two social events as well as being used as scholarships for our younger Airmen who desire to attend but are not able to due to financial limitations.
We have been a presence in Southern Arizona for 28 years and have consistently been rated the best of the best. We need your help to ensure that our legacy is passed along to the young men and women of the 943d Rescue Group and Southern Arizona.
Organizer
Craig Bergman
Organizer
Tucson, AZ