Direct proof of use
The Black Hawk family was documented in Afghanistan through official U.S. military reporting and imagery. U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawks inserted U.S. Marine and Afghan forces during Operation Moshtarak in Helmand province in February 2010, and Army reporting later described UH-60A, UH-60L, and UH-60M Black Hawks serving with Task Force Flying Dragons at Kandahar Airfield in 2014.
Direct casualty-evacuation evidence includes Task Force Shadow and Task Force Phoenix UH-60 medevac missions in Helmand and Nangarhar provinces. U.S. Air Force reporting also documents HH-60G Pave Hawk crews in Afghanistan for casualty evacuation and rescue-service missions under Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sources: DVIDS Marjah Air Assault, Flying Dragons RC-South, Army Purple Heart Medevac, DVIDS Task Force Phoenix Medevac, Air Force Afghanistan HH-60G Incident, 920th Rescue Wing Afghanistan
Timeline
On February 13, 2010, Army aviation assets from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade used UH-60 Black Hawks and CH-47F Chinooks to insert nearly 300 Marines and Afghan security forces into Marjah during Operation Moshtarak.
On May 6, 2010, a Task Force Shadow UH-60 Black Hawk crew member was wounded when a chase helicopter on a medevac mission came under fire over Helmand province. In February 2011, Company C DUSTOFF, Task Force Phoenix, evacuated a wounded soldier in Nangarhar province from an area under enemy fire using a UH-60 Blackhawk medevac helicopter.
By September 2014, Task Force Flying Dragons at Kandahar Airfield was operating UH-60A, UH-60L, UH-60M, and CH-47F aircraft for Regional Command-South and ISAF, with reported missions including medevac, key-leader movement, air movement of personnel and supplies, resupply, and support to Afghan National Security Forces.
Sources: DVIDS Marjah Air Assault, Army Purple Heart Medevac, DVIDS Task Force Phoenix Medevac, Flying Dragons RC-South
Operational role
In Afghanistan, the Black Hawk's documented use was centered on rotary-wing mobility and medical support rather than a single combat role. UH-60 crews supported air assault, personnel movement, supply movement, special-operations support, and medevac across southern and eastern Afghanistan.
The Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk variant added a personnel-recovery and casualty-evacuation role. Air Force accounts document HH-60G deployments to Afghanistan, rescue-service tasking under Operation Enduring Freedom, and casualty-evacuation missions that included flights into hostile landing zones.
Sources: DVIDS Marjah Air Assault, Flying Dragons RC-South, Air Force Afghanistan HH-60G Incident, 920th Rescue Wing Afghanistan
Operators and locations
The directly documented users in the cited Afghanistan records were U.S. Army aviation units, including Task Force Pegasus, Task Force Shadow, Task Force Phoenix, and Task Force Flying Dragons, plus U.S. Air Force rescue units operating HH-60G Pave Hawks. The source-backed locations include Helmand province, Nangarhar province, Kandahar Airfield, and broader Regional Command-South operating areas.
Some missions carried or supported Afghan security forces and partnered coalition units, but the cited records identify the aircraft operators as U.S. forces. They support cataloging the Black Hawk family on the United States, NATO, and Afghan government side for this conflict.
Sources: DVIDS Marjah Air Assault, Army Purple Heart Medevac, DVIDS Task Force Phoenix Medevac, Flying Dragons RC-South, 920th Rescue Wing Afghanistan
