The remaining 24 members of the 79th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., returned home on Oct. 14 from a deployment supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, according to a base release. The airmen were among the 1,200 from the base deployed this year in support of operations around the globe, marking the “largest deployment at D-M since World War II,” states the release. The airmen, who were assigned to the Personnel Recovery Task Force, were “providing 24-hour personnel recovery, seven days a week, in the Middle East,” said Lt. Col. Jim Brunner, 26th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron commander. “This included Guardian Angel Teams with the HH-60 and we provided the HC-130 support.”
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…