185th Air Refueling Wing receives Outstanding Unit Award

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — The Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) received the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for the fourth year in a row.

The award cited the unit’s recruiting and retention efforts that led to maintaining 100% manning in 2019 and the unit’s high operations tempo, which included thousands of flying hours. The 185th Medical Group’s humanitarian efforts during the 2019 evaluation period were also highlighted. Medical personal from the unit was part of a training exercise in Puerto Rico, providing care to over 9000 people during the two-week exercise.

The year 2020 has been productive for the unit, as 185th members were part of the natural disaster response, assisting with debris cleanup operations in Cedar Rapids following the derecho wind storm and provided support for the TestIowa COVID-19 test initiative.

The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award is given to units that have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service or outstanding achievement that clearly sets the unit above and apart from other Air National Guard units.

The western Iowa based Air National Guard unit has over 900 full and part-time members. Units that are part of the Sioux City, Iowa-based Air Refueling Wing are regularly tasked to provide support for the global mission of the United States Air Force.