The 305th Rescue Squadron (RQS), an Air Force Reserve unit located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB), Ariz., is assigned to the 943rd Rescue Group, which is assigned to the 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick AFB, Fla. The commander of the 305 RQS is Lt. Col. Clifton D. Shuman.

MISSION:

PEACETIME: The 305 RQS trains personnel, with equipment, to achieve and maintain the capability to perform day/night combat rescue missions; search for, locate and recover United States Air Force and other Department of Defense personnel involved with United States defense activities; provide search and rescue support of civilians as directed by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center; and provide humanitarian and disasterThe 305th Rescue Squadron (RQS), an Air Force Reserve unit located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB), Ariz., is assigned to the 943rd Rescue Group, which is assigned to the 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick AFB, Fla. The commander of the 305 RQS is Lt. Col. Clifton D. Shuman.  relief operations at the request of foreign governments and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

WARTIME: Upon recall to active duty, the gaining command is Air Combat Command (ACC), Langley AFB, Virginia.

ORGANIZATION: The 305th is a flying unit consisting of aircrew members (pilots, flight engineers, and pararescue specialists), and support personnel in maintenance, operations, and administration.

AIRCRAFT:

The 305th is assigned the HH-60G Sikorsky Pave Hawk twin-engine helicopter. 

HISTORY:

The 305 RQS was established at Selfridge AFB, Michigan, in April 1958 with four SA-16A Albatross aircraft and 90 personnel. Its mission was to conduct search and rescue operations in the area assigned by gaining command Military Air Transport Service, through Air Rescue Service.

From 1966 through 1992, the 305th was assigned the following aircraft: HC-97 Stratocruisers, HC-130 Hercules, and H-3 Jolly Green Giant. During the squadron's tenure at Selfridge AFB, they were recalled to active duty to support search and rescue mission taskings worldwide to include deployed locations in Libya, Spain, North Africa, Greece, Germany, Italy, England, Iceland, Southeast Asia, and Korea.

The 305th continued its support of local peacetime rescue while maintaining combat deployable status to include the following accomplishments: the dramatic recovery of 11 seamen from a sinking Canadian freighter in Lake Erie; transport of 14 workers critically injured from a factory accident; successful participation in foreign training exercises with Brazil, Honduras and Venezuela; Qualification Test and Evaluation of the Air Force C-130 Self-Contained Navigation System; space shuttle support; and search and rescue standby at Keflavik, Iceland.

In 1985, a 305th helicopter crew earned the Korean Kolligan, Jr. Trophy, the highest safety award in the Air Force, for successfully landing their severely disabled H-3 helicopter after one of the engines exploded.

In 1991, pararescue personnel deployed to the Persian Gulf to support the Liberation of Kuwait.

In 1992, with the draw down of active and reserve forces, the squadron's HC-130 aircraft were transferred to active duty and the H-3 helicopters were retired. The 305th Rescue Squadron was inactivated September 30, 1992.

On March 1, 1994, the 71st Special Operations Squadron, located at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. was deactivated and reactivated as the 305th Rescue Squadron. The 305th assumed all personnel and assets of the 71st upon its inactivation and return from a 6-month tasking at Operation Provide Comfort II. The squadron was tasked to support Operation Provide Comfort II, 10 months after beginning the conversion to HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters. The squadron deployed three HH-60G Pave Hawks and 95 personnel and accomplished 315 combat sorties.

On June 30, 1994, two aircrews received the 1993 Reserve Officers Association Major General Tom E. Marchbanks, Jr. Memorial Award for their

heroic efforts in providing security for a British Harrier which crashed in the northern no-fly zone of Iraq on November 23, 1993, while deployed in support of Operation Provide Comfort II.

On May 19, 1994, the 305 RQS was credited with their first save. The crew completed a daring night rescue using night vision goggles and a stokes litter to hoist an injured Army specialist from a sixty degree mountain slope surrounded by forty- to sixty- foot trees.

The 305th continues to support local peacetime rescues while maintaining combat deployable status. During the performance of 17 rescue missions from May 1994 to September 1996, the squadron was credited with saving 10 lives and assisting with an eleventh.

Since its activation, the squadron continues to lead the way in combat search and rescue. The 305th Rescue Squadron was the first and only Reserve helicopter unit to achieve a shipboard operations capability; The unit has been presented three Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards for the time periods June 1, 1992 to May 31, 1994; October 1, 1993 to August 31, 1995; and September 1, 1997 to August 31, 1999.

In 2002 the 305th Rescue Squadron was activated for one year under the partial mobilization order to participate in Operations Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch, at Al Jaber AB in Kuwait.

The 305th Rescue Squadron continues to support Air Expeditionary Force Five and Six by rotating personnel and equipment through the various contingencies throughout the world including Operation Northern Watch and Southern Watch.

(Current as of April 2005)