Fairchild Recognizes Phoenix Ravens

FAIRCHILD AFB – Several airmen were recognized Nov. 1 for outstanding achievement in helping with airlifting people out of Afghanistan.

The airmen from the 92nd Security Forces Squadron, 92nd Mission Support Group and the 92nd Air Refueling Wing recognized here are 2nd Lt. Luke Wales, Staff Sgt. Ivan Bustamante and Staff Sgt. Lorenzo Tafoya .

They were part of "Operation Allies Refuge" the largest U.S. non-combatant withdrawal and humanitarian airlift that evacuated 124,000 refugees out of Afghanistan.

The trio deployed to initially complete nine flight missions for Air Mobility Command as Phoenix Ravens, personally moving over 2,100 passengers out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan and to a U.S. command area of operations. They helped develop security arrangements on multiple occasions to guarantee the security in flight and on the ground during the transports.

Phoenix Ravens are a specialized military security detail in which there are only about 3,000 current service members that have graduated from the program, Wales said. They are specifically trained in use-of-force and hand-to-hand combat, and both lethal and non-lethal weapons in and around aircraft environments, he said.

Wales said they are trained to handle extreme situations, but said everyone they interacted with during these missions were grateful for the help.

Bustamante said it was an extremely emotional time for a lot of the refugees as women and children were crying and sobbing, and in one instance he remembers a male evacuee "kissing the ground of his homeland because that refugee might never return."

"We felt that training adequately prepared us for the job mentally and physically," Wales said.

Bustamante said some of the missions would last 26-30 hours and that they would only get 5-6 hours of sleep between missions.

The schedule lasted for close to two weeks, he said.

As an officer, Wales was needed in terms of managing and overseeing 86 Raven teams during the final 41 flight missions, said Air Force Maj. Brian Slater, 92nd Security Forces Squadron commander.

"I was just honored to be a part of it," Wales said. "The nation called and we had the opportunity to be at the closest point essentially to help."

Fitting so many individuals on the C-17 cargo and transport planes was tricky at times,

"It was very intense bringing them on and trying to ensure their safety," he said.

Communication was a minor issue, but Wales said the aircraft had plenty of interpreters directing and assisting the refugees.

Wales was born in Medford, Ore., and raised in that area until he joined the military at age 18. He has been a serviceman for 14 years.

Wales closely followed the situation in Afghanistan and anticipated becoming involved, he said. Although a recent graduate of the Phoenix Raven qualification course, he said he felt a little uncertain at first.

Wales said he did receive the call to suit up for Operation Allies Refuge and sent to Rammstein, Germany, 12 days before the final evacuation day.

The individuals helping get the refugees off the aircraft worked very efficiently to get the evacuees to staging areas for medical care and food, as well, Wales said. As flights progressed, they developed better systems and ways to seat passengers comfortably and eventually added flight medics to help refugees with flight sickness.

"For the majority of those people, it was their very first flight," he said.

Bustamante said the missions were well-coordinated with the Army and Marines.

Because they were setting exact evacuee numbers for the Ravens, they were able to know how many people would need to fit on an aircraft during each flight, he said.

Tafoya said it was good to work with other branches of the military.

"They get trained differently than we do and it's nice to see how the differences can mesh together to complete the mission," he said.

Reporter Matthew O. Stephens can be reached at reporter2@cheneyfreepress.com