Captain Matthew McChesney ‘14 has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross to honor his actions during the humanitarian evacuation of Afghans in 2021.
Capt. McChesney and five others from New York Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing were honored in early June at a ceremony held at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, NY. Officials spoke about the airmen’s bravery onboard a C-17 Globemaster III transport jet- callsign “Reach 824”- as part of Operation Allies Refuge in August 2021.
Capt. McChesney, Reach 824’s aircraft commander, was the sole recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross. The other airmen each received an Air Medal with valor or a Meritorious Service Medal for their contributions to the successful mission.
Capt. McChesney and his crew flew into a blacked-out airport with only night vision goggles and without the knowledge of a potential attack by the Taliban. The team delivered an important special operations helicopter used to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies before the city fell under Taliban control. The Air Force citation notes that “the crew masterfully offloaded the vital cargo in an unprecedented forty minutes, enabling the evacuation mission.”
Along with delivering critical equipment, the crew of Reach 824 evacuated over 400 refugees from the beleaguered country. The Air Force said that “the professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Captain McChesney under extremely hazardous and hostile conditions reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”
Capt. McChesney graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and became a commissioned Air Force officer through Clarkson’s Air Force ROTC program in 2014. He became an aircraft commander in 2019, volunteered for a COVID medical support mission in Germany in 2020, and has flown more than 2,600 total hours. Capt. McChesney is a C-17 instructor pilot and an assistant flight commander in New York Air National Guard’s 105th Airlift Wing.
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