USAF / 26th ERQS / HH-60G & HC-130J / Jolly Green Giant

The 26th ERQS were a "rainbow" unit formed for the Operations in Afghanistan. A rainbow unit takes crew from all Squadrons & sections of the USAF, this being active duty, Air Reserve & National Guard.

26th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron

Operation ENDURING FREEDOM

Camp Bastion, Afghanistan

Desert subdued

c.2010

The Squadron was active with this patch while based at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan with 

HH-60G's from Feb 2009 for Operation ENDURING FREEDOM until it was inactivated on the 1 Jan 2014. Squadrons from around the USAF deployed crews to serve with the squadron from regular, AFRes & Air National Guard Squadrons with the Squadron being defined as a Rainbow Squadron because it has crews from all different units. The patch was computer manufactured in the US, as a lot of the Squadrons that deployed were from the US & dates to c.2010.

This patch is manufactured in the US & is partially embroidered on twill with a merrowed edge, is backed with hook & loop, with the giant in Dexter.

A HH-60 assigned to the 26th ERQS flies low level on a mission in Afghanistan.

(US National Archives photo/SSgt. James L. Harper Jr.)

26th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron

Operation ENDURING FREEDOM

Task Force Knighthawk

Flight Medic

Camp Bastion, Afghanistan

Desert Subdued

c.2006

This patch was probably theatre made in Kandahar c. 2006 for the 26th ERQS flight medics & came off a crewman who was assigned to the 26th ERQS. The US Army requested to the Air Force in 2005 that they assist in training medics. The Air Force agreed and tasked MSgt. Scott Currin to form the first team of Air Force enlisted aerospace evacuation technicians, or flight medics, as they like to call themselves.

Sergeant Currin, a senior flight medic at the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks City Base, Texas, knew the type of Airmen he needed on his team: ones with good flying skills, medics who specialized in treating trauma and people who could work in unique environments

The first aerospace evac technicians or Medics were carried on Pavehawks in Afghanistan in 2006 with with the crews from the 33rd ERQS assigned to the 26th ERQS, & provided in flight medical assistance to coalition forces as well as civilians during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM which had commenced in 2001 and ended in 2014. Each Pavehawk were crewed by two pilots, two gunners and a flight medic.

The flight medics had to get accustomed to noisy, vibrating helicopters. They adapted their Air Force aeromedical evacuation medical equipment for use in the Pave Hawks. They found ways to secure their equipment, and they ran a cargo tie-down strap along the ceiling so they could grab hold of it to steady themselves when they have to lean over patients while wearing heavy body armour and other clunky equipment. The US Army flew missions from Kandahar under the name Task Force Knighthawk which the Pavehawks supported.

The Squadron was incredibly busy & successful as during its time in Afghanistan it saved more than 2,400 lives & assisted with 3,300 more, with never having more than four HH-60G Pavehawks.

 Thousands of troops and civilian owe their lives to the professionalism, skill & courage of the Jolly Green Giant crews and the medics.

The patch is partially embroidered on twill & has a schiffli cut edge, backed with hook & loop, with the giant in Dexter.

TSgt. Mark De Corte was one of the first medics assigned to the 26th ERQS, his Squadron the 33rd ERQS being assigned to Kandahar in early 2006. The tan feet represents a save that the Squadron have performed. 

(USAF Photo/Senior Airman Brian Furgeson)

26th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron

Combat King II

Southwest Asia

Desert Subdued

2022

From the 1 September 2015 the Squadron was activated in Southwest Asia assigned to the 1st ERQG, & this is where this patch comes in. Manufactured in 2022 when the Squadron was operating HC-130J's as the shield shows the Combat Knight. A similar patch was made by crews who were assigned to the 34th WPS & takes the design of the Jolly Green Giant shield & adds a twist with the Knight instead of the Giant.

Fully embroidered with a merrowed edge, backed with hook & loop & the knight replacing the Jolly Green Giant.

An HH-60G Pave Hawk provides security for an HC-130J Super Hercules assigned to the 26th Rescue Squadron while simulated survivors are loaded after a training scenario during a combat search and rescue exercise in Iraq, July 15, 2018. The HC-130J replaced HC-130P/Ns as the only dedicated fixed-wing personnel recovery platform in the Air Force inventory. Its mission is to rapidly deploy to execute combatant commander directed recovery operations to austere airfields and denied territory for expeditionary, all weather personnel recovery operations to include airdrop, air-land, helicopter air-to-air refuelling, and forward area ground refuelling missions. Battlefield Airmen assigned throughout the combined joint operational area conduct operations in support of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve. CJTF- OIR aims to enable and equip local forces to take ISIS head on while leveraging Coalition nation airpower to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

(USAF Photo/ SSgt Keith James)

If you have any additional information about this patch or anything to add, for example, photos or stories, please contact me at

usafjollygreen@gmail.com 

I will get back to you.

Thanks👣