Operation Allies Refuge Monument Groundbreaking
From left: Retired U.S. Air Force Col. John Strube, Airlift/Tanker Association treasurer, Gen. Mike Minihan, Air Mobility Command commander, Staff Sgt. Morgan Reed, 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron ground training noncommissioned officer-in-charge, and Col. John Poole, 375th Air Mobility Wing commander, hold the ceremonial shovels at a groundbreaking event for a new monument honoring Operation Allies Refuge on Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, Aug. 28, 2024. Operation Allies Refuge was the largest non-combatant evacuation mission in history, evacuating 124,000 people, 79,000 of which were Afghan citizens, from Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jacob Silva-Dreyer)