STEWART AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE-- New York Air National Guard Technical Sergeant Byron A. Catu,a member of the 105th Airlift Wing, receives the Meritorious Service Medal from Brig. Gen. Denise Donnell, the commander of the New York Air National Guard, during an award ceremony at Stewart Air National Guard Base on May 15, 2022. Catu, and three other flying crew chiefs, were recognizes for their service on multiple missions flown into an out of Afghanistan in August, 2021 in support of Operation Allies Refuge, the effort to evacuate Afghans who added the United States as Kabul fell to the Taliban.