The 2021 Kinsale Aviation Festival “Award for Aviation Valor” is presented to the crew of United States Air Force Air Mobility Command Boeing C-17 serial number 01-0186. This crew is a unit in the 816 Expeditionary Airlift Squadron based at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, UAE and, in turn, is part of the 6th Airlift Squadron from Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA.
On Sunday, August 15th, 2021, operating as REACH 871, this crew completed a mission from Hamad Karzai Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, when they transported 826 refugees, including 183 children, to Doha Airport, Qatar. This mission, which took place under challenging circumstances, marks a record passenger load for the C-17 whose official passenger carrying capacity is 134 and in emergency conditions up to 300.
The crew used their judgment and flying skill to conduct the safe departure of this remarkable flight and, in so doing, displayed Valor in the field of aviation.
This award is presented to the following crew members of REACH 871;
The organising committee of the Kinsale Aviation Festival is honoured to present this award at a ceremony on Nov x 2021 in Kinsale, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.
The 2022 Kinsale Aviation Festival Aviation Valour Award is presented to the Ukrainian Air Force. This is in recognition of its role and sacrifice in defending the territory of Ukraine with a limited fleet of aircraft, air crew and ground support personnel.
The Ukrainian Air Force is comprised of a range of aircraft engaged in air-to-air, air-to-ground, helicopter, reconnaissance and transport missions. The headquarters of the UAF is in the city of Vinnytsia which is in the heart of Ukraine, and it celebrates Air Force Day every August 6th.
The UAF was originally formed in 1917 and details of its current size and structure are classified due to operational reasons. At the beginning of the conflict with Russia in 2022 it was estimated that the UAF has 56 operational fighter jets in its inventory.
This Award is an appreciation of the bravery and determination of the men and women in the UAF who have fought against a much greater force to protect and defend the territory and people of its homeland. Using older equipment, and assets donated by a variety of countries, the UAF has maintained an ability to conduct operational missions in support of its government’s objective to achieve independence and freedom for its nation. In that context the UAF is continuing in the spirt of other Air Forces that have successfully defended their nations during times of invasion, including the Royal Air Force in the 1939 Battle of Britain and the Israeli Air Force during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
The 2023 Aviation Valour Award is presented on behalf of the Kinsale Aviation Festival to the No 3 Operations Wing and helicopter crews of the Irish Air Corps. This is in recognition of the roles undertaken in search and rescue (CAR), air ambulance, firefighting, flood relief, island medevac and other missions over the course of the past 60 years since helicopters were first obtained by the Air Corps in 1963.
Over that period the Irish Air Corps has operated with Alouette III, Gazelle, Dauphin, Squirrel, Puma, Sikorsky S61, EC135 and AW139 helicopters in support of the community, Defence Forces and the State.
No 3 Operation Wing is the most decorated unit in the Irish Defence Forces with 22 Distinguished Service Medals awarded, four posthumously. Its contribution to providing critical helicopter support for a variety of missions, often in extremely challenging
weather and environmental conditions, warrants its receipt of the 2023 Aviation Valour Award at a ceremony during the Kinsale Aviation Festival on November 25th, 2023.
