Flying into a "hornet's nest" is how one of the crew members of Reach 824 described the scene as their C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft approached Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, as Taliban forces took the capital city last summer.
The crew of seven Airmen from the 105th Airlift Wing, New York National Guard, did not grasp the magnitude of their heroism at the time: Their successful completion of this airlift mission would earn them the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal, each donned with the V device for valor, or the Meritorious Service Medal.
"I am grateful there are Americans who step forward to serve our nation, to kiss their families goodbye to join the fight, to tell their employers, 'I know what we do is important, but right now my nation needs me, and I have to go,' " said Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, at a ceremony June 4 recognizing the crew's heroism.
"It is nothing short of inspiring to be in your company."
Recognized were Capt. Matthew McChesney, Lt. Col. Andrew Townsend, Capt. Jonathan Guagenti, Tech. Sgt. Joseph Caponi IV, Staff Sgt. Evan Imbriglio and Staff Sgt. Corey Berke.
The seventh member, Tech. Sgt. Byron Catu, flying crew chief aboard the aircraft, was previously recognized with the MSM.
"The Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Valor have been awarded to other great Americans such as Hap Arnold, Jimmy Doolittle, and Benjamin O. Davis Jr.," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Loh, director of the Air National Guard. "Today, the Air Force adds to this distinguished list of American Airmen heroes the crew of Reach 824."
Reach 824's extraordinary achievement and commitment to their mission, which put them at great personal risk, was recognized during a ceremony at Stewart Air National Guard Base.
"For more than 20 years, Air National Guard Airmen have been flying airlift missions into the Middle East and specifically into Afghanistan," Loh said. "Guard aircraft were some of the first in theater, supporting a multitude of operations, and some of the last out of theater. Fittingly, it was our C-17s that were the last aircraft to leave Bagram and Kabul air bases during the withdrawal."
Reach 824 diverted from a normal operations mission in South America to this Air Mobility Command mission to airlift a Special Operations Aviation Regiment MH-47 Chinook helicopter and 22 personnel from Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, to Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Once on the ground, the rescue personnel were to seek out American assets in Afghanistan and recover them from the Kabul airport for immediate evacuation during Operation Allies Refuge.
The tactics and intelligence briefings the crew initially received indicated Taliban forces were approaching Kabul but would not be in position to overtake the city for a month or two. By the morning of their flight, Aug. 15, the situation had drastically deteriorated, and the Taliban were on the outskirts of the city.
Despite this, the crew pressed on.
"The situation was rapidly changing so we were going into this not knowing what was going on," McChesney, the aircraft commander, said. "We were just pressing forward because, honestly in my opinion, what other choice did we have?"
On their final approach, the crew had no secure communications with air traffic control, only with a C-17 Globemaster III already on the ground. This aircraft's crew reported heavy small-arms fire, both military and civilian aircraft taking off in every direction, and panicked civilians overrunning the airfield. Reach 824 was forced to abort the mission and divert to Al Dhafra Air Base.
"After we turned around that first night, the whole crew felt disappointed, discouraged, upset because it was a hard decision to make, and I have no doubts that it was the right decision," McChesney said. "I feel like that discouragement and disappointment only motivated us to want to get in there even more."
After the minimum-required crew rest, Reach 824 pressed on with a heightened sense of urgency. Despite limited information on whether the airfield was open or closed and a maintenance issue resulting in a two-hour delay, the crew pressed forward.
Under cover of night, Reach 824 navigated mountainous terrain on the approach to Kabul, passing a half-dozen C-17s unable to land due to the airfield closure, minimum fuel, or threats.
With no air traffic control or onsite intelligence, McChesney engaged with other Chinook pilots to glean real-time intelligence and establish a landing window when the runway would be cleared of civilians.
The Reach 824 crew orbited within a 10-mile radius, making them vulnerable to surface-to-air threats until they were forced to divert due to reaching minimum fuel.
In a critical turning point, efforts made earlier in the day by copilot Townsend to secure air refueling paid off when a KC-10 Extender aerial refueling tanker crew reached out. Knowing that securing additional refueling would continue to be challenging, McChesney coordinated for the tanker to fly in formation with them back to Kabul to increase their chances of success as much as possible.
"That changed everything because we knew how serious [our mission] was," Catu said. "We knew the cargo we were carrying was really desperately needed by the people on the ground."
Now, with enough fuel to orbit Kabul until the airfield opened, the crew set up for a 15-mile visual landing. On this final approach, they witnessed multiple instances of small arms fire under their flight path, one round damaging their left winglet. With no landing clearance, no terminal lights, and no building lights, the crew was given one simple instruction:
"Land at your own risk."
Against all odds, Reach 824 safely landed at last. Once they touched down, they were confronted by 12 vehicles with heavily armed Taliban who escorted them to the allied side of the airfield. They made their way through taxiways littered with garbage, rocks, personal effects, stray animals, and abandoned cars and eventually lost radio contact with all controllers due to jamming.
Despite these hurdles, the crew offloaded the high-value cargo in an unprecedented 40 minutes, enabling the special operations team to conduct their mission of seeking and recovering American personnel for immediate evacuation.
