JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — For 12 nail-biting days, the status of a copilot foursome was designated UNKNOWN by the Air Force while leaders, media, and families thought the worst. Search and rescue teams scoured the land around the base and Blackhawk helicopters manned by rescue teams of PJs watched for any signs of life from the air. The wing was less than 24 hours from FORMALLY declaring the pilots MIA.

Then they got lucky: Joint Base Andrews shifted to its quarterly night flying schedule, and a pilot reported the dim orange glow of a small fire near a fence line. The hero pilot set up an orbit around the just-visible flicker, and he talked recovery teams onto the fire.

“It’s them. We have the lost sheep,” crackled an iron voice over the radio. The cheers of families watching the news could be heard throughout base housing.

“They were roasting marshmallows on the ends of their clubs, somehow they’d found truffles and morel mushrooms on the course, but their growlers were completely empty,” said Tech. Sgt. Mykal Hardasse, who made first contact with the pilots. It was his voice that announced relief to a pensive Air Force community. “They had been without a flask for almost 48 hours.”