USAF / 56th RQS / Part 2 Aviano / Full Squadron History / Jolly Green Giant

Part 2

Part 2 of the Squadron's history is presented as a narrative, incorporating official Squadron lineage dates. With a personal collection of 56th patches accumulated over an extended period, particularly during their time as the local rescue unit at RAF Lakenheath, this historical account delves into the various patches commissioned by the Squadron, presenting them in a chronological order separate from the Jolly Green Giant collection.

This portion specifically focuses on the Squadron's activities post-relocation to Aviano AB, Italy, beginning in April 2018. It aims to provide comprehensive insights into the Squadron's journey, offering context on the patches, their origins, and the significance of their creation.

This is one of the last patches made in the UK as it was also used by the crews when they arrived at their new home of Aviano. This is the only PVC official Squadron patch manufactured &......

.....it also glows in the dark.

Seen being worn at Aviano during 2021.

(USAF Photo/A1C Erika Woolever)

Move to Italy

The relocation to Aviano was part of a strategic initiative to enhance combat search and rescue capabilities across the European and African theatres of operation, while also fostering increased training cooperation with regional partners and allies. This transition marked the movement of both the 56th and 57th RQS to Europe, with the process commencing in April 2018 and concluding on May 15, 2018, as the final two HH-60G's departed RAF Lakenheath.

The final two HH-60G's lift off from a sunny Lakenheath en-route to its new base Aviano. (USAF Photo)

One of the first Squadron patches made after they moved to Aviano. Unusually its black, grey & white design is a move away from the traditional colours. Manufactured in 2018.

Seen worn by a Pavehawk pilot during air refuelling with a HC-130.

This patch was made in 2018 & is obviously a dig at their fighter pilot neighbours with the 31st FW. Obviously a Friday night patch.

This patch was made in 2021 for the anniversary of the loss of Jolly 22 & is seen worn by a crewman in Jun 2022.

The Jolly 22 patch design is also on display in the 56th RQS meeting room.

(USAF Photo/Airman Brook Moeder)

This patch was also made in 2021 for the anniversary of the loss of Jolly 22.

Not 100% a 56th patch, but one you don't normally see, this being an 25th anniversary patch from the 31st FW.
If you have one of these patches you'd be willing to sell, trade or donate, please get in touch, I'd love to hear from you.

This patch was one of the first OCP Squadron patches made & is federally funded, so isn't one the Squadron normally sell. This was manufactured in 2020 & has been pictured being worn by the crew.

(USAF Photo/A1C Erika Woolever)

Left: This was the first USAFE patch that the Squadron had made, this being after twelve years of being in Europe. This is made in 2019 on Italian made cordura & if you look closely at the feet the left foot has 5 toes & the left has 6 toes, depicting the 56th RQS.

Middle: This was manufactured in 2021 by a company in the US called Aviation Gear. This differs from the first patch as the material its embroidered on & the number of toes this being a 5-5 toe version. The picture isn't the best showing it being worn but this was taken in 2022.

Right: This is the latest USAFE patch worn by the Squadron, this one manufactured in 2022 & has the 5-6 toes again, just like the first patch.

The photo below shows one of the designs being worn.

Left: This was manufactured in 2021 by a company in the US called Aviation Gear. This differs in embroidery but is also 4/5mm smaller than the original patch which is on the...

Right: which was manufactured a little earlier in 2021, again by Aviation Gear.

This shows the patch being worn by a crewman in 2023. (USAF Photo by SnA Noah Sudolcan)

One that was made for the Squadron for an exercise that unfortunately didn't happen due to the COVID world pandemic.

The patch on the left was manufactured during 2021 & was the first patch used by the Squadron as a heritage patch. This was an Italian made version. The one on the right was made for the Squadron in early 2022 & is slightly different to the 2021 version, a huge thanks to Steven on the Squadron for the 2022 version.

A second heritage patch was manufactured in 2022, this time it was an OCP coloured design & a huge thanks to Steven on the 56th for help with this patch.

The was first version (left) of this design which was manufactured by Aviation Gear in 2020. This early version can be identified with the Italian flag on the left, with the American flag on the right.

This is the second version (on the right) of the patch, with the flags reversed. This one was manufactured for the Squadron in 2022, & can be seen worn by one of the crew during 2022.

(USAF Photo/A1C Erika Woolever)

This is a 2022 made design showing a Pavehawk flying with the Dolomite mountain range in the background, which forms a great backdrop for photographs of aircraft at Aviano (see below). This is unusual embroidery as it is very fine embroidery known as BeVo style weave or machine woven. Seen worn during Vihar 2022 by the Squadron CO.(USAF Photo)

(USAF Photo/A1C Erika Woolever)

This patch was also manufactured during 2022 & depicts the USAFE shield, with a Jolly Green Giant carrying the USAFE sword riding a seahorse, which is the main symbol on the 31st FW emblem.

"Start Finding Me, Boys" originally came from a call made by Lt. Col David Goldfein, who was shot down on the 2 May 1999 as 'Hammer 34' during an Allied Force mission. He was the CO of the F-16 flying 555th FS which was & still is based at Aviano & is where this patch was made & worn. Below is a Youtube video of Lt. Col Goldfein's black box which was recovered by the Serbs & you can hear the 'Start Finding Me Boys' call.

These are a couple of tabs the Squadron used at Aviano. The top one being the traditional feet with 5-6 toes denoting the 56th, designed for the Squadron by Jeremiah Reynolds. They were both manufactured in 2022 & obtained from Flightline Insignia.

The goat is an acronym which stand for Greatest Of All Time, plus its an emblem on a local Slovenian beer Laško/Zlatorog which they like when on TDY. The B3 is for brick by brick, which is a reference to building the Squadron back up again after moving from RAF Lakenheath to Aviano.

The diamond patch (left) is a morale patch worn under a piece of clothing like a hook& loop fastner, just like is being shown. It doesn't break up either as its PVC.

Again if you didn't know it came from the 56th you wouldn't know, made for a deployment to Romania in February 2022.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Smith, a 56th Helicopter Maintenance Unit aerospace propulsion craftsman, center, refuels an HH-60G Pave Hawk assigned to the 56th Rescue Squadron in Romania, March 8, 2022. The 56th RQS and the 57th RQS, both assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano Air Base, Italy, are providing search and rescue capability for the NATO alliance while also conducting joint training missions with the Romanian air force.
(USAF Photo/SrA. Noah Sudolcan)

Maintenance Squadron

The 56th HMU served as the primary maintenance unit for the HH-60G's operated by the 56th RQS. On May 26, 2022, the HMU underwent a transformation as it was redesignated as the 56th Rescue Generation Squadron, adopting a new operational structure known as the Combat Oriented Maintenance Organization (COMO), which streamlined the maintenance organization hierarchy. This shift aimed to promote cohesion between maintenance and operational units, facilitating improved readiness assessment.

The introduction of the RGS, paired with the 56th RQS, emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts between maintenance and operational teams, fostering a tighter bond and a more synchronized approach to operations. This agile and closely integrated structure is now a standard practice across all flying Squadrons in the USAF, with each unit having a corresponding paired RGS sharing the same Squadron number. The FGS and RQS collaborate at Aviano and continue their joint operations during deployments.

Maintenance Patches

Maintenance plays a vital role with any Squadron, & some of the crews have patches made up. Here are a selection from the 56th all dating from c.2022. The 56th have flown the following HH-60G's;

HH-60G #	NICKNAME	STATUS
87-26007	Balls 7 007 Goldeneye	Active
88-26114		Active
89-26205	Highlife	Active
89-26206	Capone	Active
89-26208	Crazy 8 Flying Fool	Active
89-26212	The Deuce Clutch	Preserved at Aviano
91-26353	Tree-5-Tree	Retired to AMARC
92-26471		Active
97-26774	Superchicken Big Nasty	Active

This is the 56th Rescue Generation Squadron patch that the maintenance crew wear. The design is a tip of the hat to the Jolly Green Giant. (photo courtesy of Jeremiah Reynolds)

This patch was made for "Golden eye" HH-60G 

87-2007 that was assigned to the Squadron, made c.2022. These aircraft patches are made by the ground crew on the 56th RGS. (photo courtesy of Jeremiah Reynolds)

If you have one of these patches you'd be willing to sell, trade or donate, please get in touch, I'd love to hear from you.

HH-60G 87-26007 performing fast rope for the PJ.

This patch was made for HH-60G 88-26114 that was assigned to the Squadron, made c.2022.These aircraft patches are made by the ground crew on the 56th RGS.

Here is HH-60G 88-26114 that was assigned to the Squadron, prior to a mission.

This patch was made for HH-60G 88-26205 that was assigned to the Squadron, made c.2020 with 100 patches being made. These aircraft patches are made by the ground crew on the 56th HMU. (photo courtesy of Jeremiah Reynolds)

If you have one of these patches you'd be willing to sell, trade or donate, please get in touch, I'd love to hear from you.

This patch was made for HH-60G 89-26206 that was assigned to the Squadron, made c.2022.These aircraft patches are made by the ground crew on the 56th RGS.

(photo courtesy of Jeremiah Reynolds)

If you have one of these patches you'd be willing to sell, trade or donate, please get in touch, I'd love to hear from you.

This patch was made for HH-60G 89-26212 that was assigned to the Squadron, made c.2022.These aircraft patches are made by the ground crew on the 56th RGS.

HH-60G Pave Hawk A6212, assigned to the 56th Rescue Squadron, sits on the runway after refuelling at an airport in Croatia during its final flight before retirement, Sept. 23, 2021. A6212 is scheduled to be stripped of required components then mounted in front of the 56th Rescue Squadron, building 7300. After its 30 years in the USAF this Pavehawk saved 958 lives & flew 9,362.4 flight hours. (USAF photo/Senior Airman Brooke Moeder)

A6212 now sits preserved at Aviano, a well deserved resting place for an iconic helicopter. (Photo courtesy of Anthony Boone.)

This patch was made for HH-60G 91-26353 that was assigned to the Squadron, made c.2022.These aircraft patches are made by the ground crew on the 56th RGS. Obviously 353 is the number & in the past this 🌳5🌳 was painted on the side cowling of the Pavehawk.

Manufactured by Aviation Gear during the summer of 2022. This was made for a deployment of three 

HH-60G’s to Hungary during August 2022 for Vihar 2022. The deployment was to give the gunners experience in shooting plus the pilots experience with the local JTAC's. The Jolly Green Giant is wearing a traditional Hungarian bocskai military hat named after . Istvan Bocskai who led a rebellion against the Habsdurg empire between 1604 to 1606. The Pavehawks were based at Papa Air Base & used the range at Bakony, near Varpalota for a live fire exercise along with local JTACS.

This is a superb desert subdued patch made in 2021 for the Squadron, thanks to Steven for donating this patch.

Made during 2022 for the Squadron, taking on the design of the 31st FW shield. Note the toes on the feet 5 & 6 denoting 56th. A huge thanks to Steven for helping me with this patch.

The Squadron made this in 2022 to a Combat Search & Rescue tab, which is illuminates in the dark.

The war in the Ukraine brought out a host of patches in support, this one representing the 56th RQS. A huge thanks to Steven for helping me with this patch.

Manufactured in 2022 this follows the trend on the Pavehawks having moustaches painted on the nose of some of the helicopters. Unless you know about this version belonging to the 56th you wouldn't know as it has no reference to the Squadron.

The 56th is the smallest Rescue Squadron in the USAF, at RAF Lakenheath it flew five Pavehawks & at Aviano they operate seven or eight, still the smallest amount in the Air Force. This patch again was manufactured in 2022 when based at Aviano. A huge thanks to Steven for helping me with this patch.

Along with the larger cap patch came a small pencil tab, this being made in 2022.

Made for the 56th RGS during 2023 by Aviation Gear. 

Defence Exercise Aurora 2023 took place from the 24 April until 11 May & was hosted by the Swedish military. The exercise had 26,000 troops participating in the exercise which was held in southern Sweden. This patch was made by the RGS who deploy with the RQS for the duration of the exercise.

A HH-60G hovers while PJ's fast rope to the ground.

On December 13, 2024 the first HH-60W's arrived at Aviano AB, and three days later the Squadron flew its last HH-60G mission.

Well that's it so far, I'm sure the 56th will continue to make patches throughout their stay at Aviano & long into the future. I hope you've enjoyed looking through these patches & history & found out something you may not have known. If you have any comments please feel free to get in touch.

If you have any additional information about this patch please contact me & I´ll get back to you.

Thanks👣