Hicks, Jason Carlyle

Jason Carlyle Hicks was a Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force, serving as a pararescueman with the 41st Rescue Squadron based at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. Pararescuemen, or PJs, are trained for combat search and rescue, medical aid, and personnel recovery operations. Hicks was 25 years old and from Jefferson, South Carolina.

On March 23, 2003, Hicks was part of a two-vehicle convoy on a mission in Ghazni province, Afghanistan. According to U.S. military reports, the convoy was ambushed by enemy forces using small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. Hicks was killed during this engagement. Another airman, Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham, a pararescueman from the same unit, was also killed in the ambush.

Hicks died during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. By March 2003, major combat operations had shifted focus to Iraq, but U.S. and coalition forces continued counter-insurgency and stabilization missions across Afghanistan. The Taliban, though removed from power, remained active, conducting ambushes and attacks from rural and mountainous regions.

Hicks was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and the Purple Heart for his actions. He was survived by his wife and parents. His remains were returned to the United States, and he was buried with full military honors.

Staff Sergeant Hicks is memorialized on the Air Force Memorial and at Moody Air Force Base. The 41st Rescue Squadron and the pararescue community continue to honor the legacy of those lost on March 23, 2003, as part of their unit's history.

Staff Sergeant Hicks was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.

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