NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL RETURNS TO THE FRONT LINES OF AFGHANISTAN IN TWO-HOUR SPECIAL "INSIDE COMBAT RESCUE: THE LAST STAND"

The Follow-up Special to 2013's Highly-Rated Series Inside Combat Rescue Offers an Unfiltered Look at the Final Stages of Operation Enduring Freedom - From Heartfelt Moments at Base, to Rescue Missions in the Field, to the Dramatic Search for a Notorious Taliban Commander

Inside Combat Rescue: The Last Stand premieres Sunday, June 15 at 9 PM ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel

(Washington, D.C. - May 12, 2014) Following the success of last year's hit series, Inside Combat Rescue, the National Geographic Channel (NGC) returns to the front lines of Afghanistan in Inside Combat Rescue: The Last Stand. This dramatic two-hour special, premiering on Sunday, June 15 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, offers a unique, firsthand perspective of the final stages of Operation Enduring Freedom through the eyes of the men and women on the ground and in the air, fighting to protect us. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com and follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NGC_PR.

With remarkable access to the U.S. Air Force and the personnel stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, The Last Stand embeds with the "Reapers," an elite Air Force unit tasked with capturing or killing the highest-level Taliban targets who threaten the lives of the 36,000 people who call Bagram home. Then, we take to the skies once again with the pararescuemen (or PJs) of the 83rd Rescue Squadron. This time around, we'll follow a new group of PJs as they fly into hostile territory to rescue wounded comrades, coalition forces and Afghan citizens. From the uncertainty of surrounding a compound of a suspected weapons dealer with possible ties to the Taliban, to the nail-biting minutes as a convoy unknowingly approaches an IED, to the heartfelt confessions of an airman's concerns about returning home after a long, six-month deployment - the tension, suspense and raw emotion of each moment in Inside Combat Rescue: The Last Stand is all too real.

Participating in active missions, our cameras travel into hostile territory with the men and women of Reaper Team 5 on a manhunt for a notorious Taliban commander named Subhanullah. The wanted insurgent has orchestrated several attacks on Americans in Afghanistan, including potential involvement in a rocket attack that killed four soldiers waiting at a bus stop on base. The tragic event unfolded while NGC crews were staying and filming at the airfield.

On one particularly high-stakes mission, we join the Reapers as they escort a high-ranking colonel into a Taliban-controlled village believed to be harboring Subhanullah. With cameras and a translator inside the closed-door meeting, see the negotiation unfold firsthand as the American forces persuade village leaders to stop protecting the wanted war criminal. While the mood inside the meeting remains peaceful, tensions mount outside as crowds of villagers arrive, some of whom are throwing rocks.

During the tumultuous month of July, when Independence Day attacks are known to spike, the PJs spring into action, flying into the heat of battle to save the critically wounded following a massive attack at a compound in the city of Kabul that killed seven people. Our cameras capture every step of the PJs' mission: from the moment real-time intel of a fourth of July bombing streams into the operations center and the PJs "scramble" to launch within minutes of the call; as they land in areas with heavy insurgent activity; while they rush to prevent a victim from going into shock during air transport and then download the surgical staff at the nearest hospital; to the debrief back at base. They're part warrior, part guardian angel, part medic and ALL hero.

During NGC's six-week "deployment" at Bagram Airfield, our film crew captured heroic acts of bravery in the field and comradery back at base. Home videos from the airmen and heartfelt Skype sessions with their family members provide insight into the more personal side of war, while helmet cams and more than 25 strategically placed cameras mounted inside and outside of the Air Force's HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, and the 60,000-pound MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protection) vehicles, take viewers right into the action.

Inside Combat Rescue: The Last Stand presents an intimate, 360-degree view of life on the front lines, as never seen before.

Inside Combat Rescue is produced for National Geographic Channel by National Geographic Television. For National Geographic Television, president is Brooke Runnette, co-executive producer is Jared McGilliard, supervising producer is John Collin Jr. and executive producer is Ted Duvall. For National Geographic Channel, executive producer is Richard Wells; vice president of production and development is Charlie Parsons; senior vice president, production and development is Noel Siegel; EVP of programming and strategy is Heather Moran.

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Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Networks. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission. Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD. In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled. The Channels have carriage with all of the nation's major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in 85 million U.S. homes. Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 48 languages. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.