During an Aug. 31 briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder announced that all units involved in the retrograde operation from Afghanistan — Operation Allies Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome — will be awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation or its equivalent.

Ryder said President Joe Biden directed Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to recognize the service members and also told Austin “to perform an expedited review of all units present at Hamid Karzai International Airport from Aug. 15 to Aug. 30, 2021, to identify those units or individuals that meet the high standards of the Presidential Unit Citation or appropriate individual awards.”

This week marks a year since the fall of Kabul. It was a time of confusion and great effort as American troops secured the airfield in Kabul and processed Afghan allies frantically trying to escape the clutches of the Taliban.

“That mission included the service of those who took on the responsibility to help evacuate more than 124,000 Afghans during one of the largest, most difficult and most dangerous humanitarian operations in U.S. military history,” Austin said in a written statement. “No other military could have protected so many lives under such challenging circumstances in such a short amount of time — not just because of our airlift or our logistics capabilities, but most of all because of the immense compassion, skill and dedication of American service members.”

The operation was not without cost as 13 service members lost their lives in an attack on the Abbey gate to the airport.

“No words can properly honor the deeds we recognize with these awards,” Austin wrote. “What these awards reflect — and what I hope the units who receive them will feel — is the gratitude and love of our nation. I hope these awards serve as a reminder to each and every service member who wears them of the lives they helped save and the thanks of the nation and Department of Defense they serve so well.”