KAFB News:

KAFB – Five Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) Airmen from the 58th Special Operations Wing will be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross at a ceremony 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11 at the base in Albuquerque.

The five Airmen are being honored for their participation in an Oct. 31, 2020, hostage rescue operation in Northern Nigeria to recover an American citizen held hostage by a group of armed men.

The mission was conducted by the Navy’s SEAL Team 6 who were flown to the region by Air Force special operations. The mission marked the longest successful hostage rescue mission in one period of darkness in Department of Defense history.