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Air Force Base-Defense Airmen highlighted in new television documentary

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Katherine Holt
  • U.S. Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  After their successful 2013, six-episode series on Air Force Combat Rescue, a National Geographic Channel camera crew went back to Afghanistan for a 2014 two-hour special.

Inside Combat Rescue: The Last Stand, provides a real-time look at the experiences of the Airmen, Soldiers and Coalition Forces of Combined Joint Task Force 455 and the 755th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron "Reapers" at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

Scheduled to debut Sunday, June 15 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on National Geographic Channel, the two-hour documentary follows Reaper Team 5 during their hunt for Subhanullah - an alleged insurgent operating around Bagram Airfield who was allegedly responsible for rockets fired onto the U.S. main operating base and trafficking of weapons used against U.S. and Afghan forces.

"This two-hour documentary focuses primarily on the response of the Airmen and Soldiers of CJTF-455 after a deadly attack on Bagram," said Lt. Col. Chris DeGuelle, 820th Base Defense Group deputy commander. "It highlights the incredible things our Combat Rescue forces do to save the lives of those injured and subsequent efforts of our Base Defense forces to track down those responsible for the attacks."

The National Geographic Channel camera crew spent more than a month with the Airmen in Afghanistan.

"Our seven-man team used more than 40 cameras to create a vivid experience that not only drops the audience right into combat rescue missions to save those wounded in battle, but also into a story that unfolded unexpectedly right before our eyes, after a rocket attack on base tragically killed four Americans," said Jared McGilliard, "Inside Combat Rescue" series producer. "What followed was an all-out manhunt for one of the top Taliban Commanders in the area told through the experiences and perspectives of the men and women tasked to find him."

CJTF-455 was comprised of more than 1,800 Airmen and Soldiers from the 820th Base Defense Group and Air Expeditionary Force provided security forces, the US Army 3-82 Field Artillery Battalion and multiple coalition partners.

"CJTF-455 was the only Airman-led battlespace owner in Afghanistan and was responsible for the security of most of Parwan Province as well as the protection of Bagram Airfiled," said DeGuelle, a New Braunfels, Texas native.

The 755th ESFS partnered with elements of the U.S. Army, coalition and Afghan National Security Forces to ensure area security through active host nation engagement, training and targeted offensive combat operations throughout the 220 square mile base security zone. Considered an "outside the wire squadron," the 755th ESFS was predominantly made up of Airmen from the 820th Base Defense Group at Moody, AFB.

"Overall, CJTF-455 was responsible for removing 83 high value individuals and 30 other insurgents from the battlefield during the 2012 and 2013 fighting seasons," said DeGuelle.