They ascended and flew back to Jalalabad to link up with another group of SEALs and standby as a quick reaction force (QRF) in case the SR team was compromised. The three-phase plan called for inserting a four-man SR team the first night, then inserting the second element of SEALs the following night to establish an isolation zone around Shah. The birds call sign was Turbine 33. The distinctive black MH-47G Chinook special operations helicopter. In his book, Brooks wrote, I got my first real look at Afghanistan from the side of the mountain after offloading from a helicopter onto the Sawalto Sar, a mountain in Afghanistans Kunar Province. The fallen warriors were now on their way home. Children of varying ages ran around the coffins, playing and yelling, not yet old enough to understand the sacrifices these warriors made. Brady persisted with the details. The odds of enemy fighters hearing the echo of the dual-rotor helicopter increased every second it remained in a hover. The SEAL commander broke down and cried at the desperately needed positive news. The 160th had only lost helicopters during daylight missions at that point theyre called Night Stalkers for a reason. The Armys elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) is known for having some of the most skilled aviators in the world, who fly the most elite special operators into some of the most austere environments on earth using the most advanced aircraft in the US military inventory. They were exhausted and angry with the mistake the U.S. Air Force had made when they allowed Space-A seating to be filled on this leg of the flight home. It doesnt make sense., But he knew and lived by the Night Stalkers promise to every customer: If we put you in, well stop at nothing to get you out even if its technically someone elses job.. As the cases were being loaded, a SEAL ran up to the new SEAL commander and placed a written note in his hand. Brady rushed to the operations center where Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chris Eicher was telling the task force commander that they should wait until dark before sending the QRF because going in during daylight would subject them to more danger. As Brady climbed into Turbine 33 and started strapping in, Reich tapped his shoulder and asked what the plan was. The entire operation followed Project 56 and preceded Project 57.The primary intention was to test new, second-generation thermonuclear weapons.Also tested were fission devices intended to be used as primaries for . The note said that Marcus Luttrell was alive at a nearby village. Eddie Rickenbacker, the ace of aces, may have broken the record for aerial victories in World War I, but that was hardly the most remarkable part of his extraordinary life. Kristensen confronted him about the decision to cut the rope at the LZ and asked if the Night Stalkers would go back and retrieve it. Hoisting a man at that altitude on that kind of terrain at night is a dangerous operation. Its extremely rare to have something that high-profile as your first mission, I recognize that, Brooks said. Nope, I want you to take my spot as the operations officer and monitor from here, Reich replied. The surviving SEAL, Marcus Luttrell, ended up being recovered by a platoon from the 2nd Ranger Battalion that was wrapping up its rotation.. After several tense moments of struggling to bring in the rope, they decided to cut it loose. It didnt look like there was any way anybody could have survived, Graham said. The Navy named a guided missile destroyer for him. As the Night Stalkers flew back to Bagram, the JSOC ground force that had convoyed to the crash radioed to the task force that they had secured the site. "I will never leave a fallen comrade, it read. Kristensen once told Roth, "I don't know about this whole SEAL thing. That mission, as fate would have it, would see Brooks and his unit tasked with rescuing Luttrell and recovering the 11 Navy SEALs and eight Army Nightstalkers killed in the special operations mission in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. Flying toward Jalalabad en route to the last known position of the SEALs, they received word from Bagram on the number of men they could have on board each aircraft and still fly at the extreme elevation. Then the realization hit: He was now in charge. Having walked that ground, it blows my mind that he got out of there alive. The rescue operation, known as Operation Red Wings II, continued for weeks. As the storm raged, the members of the task force haunted with thoughts of their brothers on the mountain tried to sleep. They finalized plans and sent the Night Stalkers on their way. Assigned to replace Eicher as senior flight lead, he was trying to learn as much as he could before hopping into an aircraft and joining the mission. Smith said he saw a line of armored vehicles full of troops. Running around in the woods is kind of cool once in awhile, camping is kind of cool once in awhile. "It is very redeeming thing. They rode it all the way in that way.. Flying toward Jalalabad en route to the last known position of the SEALs, they received word from Bagram on the number of men they could have on board each aircraft and still fly at the extreme elevation. For the Night Stalkers of the famed 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the war on terror continued. Three war-weary escorts one of them a SEAL and the other two Night Stalkers Daniel Bell and Chris Eicher sat off to the sides, grimly staring off into space. They rolled out with a convoy and with some vengeance, and they fought their way up that mountainside, all the way up to the crash site.. Turbine 34 started taking heavy gunfire from unseen fighters below. The 160th had only lost helicopters during daylight missions at that point theyre calledNight Stalkers for a reason. The lone C-17 aircraft lumbered through the sky after departing Germany, a necessary stop on the way back to the United States. The Armys elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) is known for having some of the most skilled aviators in the world, who fly the most elite special operators into some of the most austere environments on earth using the most advanced aircraft in the U.S. military inventory. As with the specifics of the planning of this phase, 2/3 played no direct role in command and control, as this was the "SOF supported" portion of the operation. He asked the AC-130 crew for one final report on the four potential landing zones the Night Stalkers had identified for the mission. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Matt Rogie arrived in Bagram just before the Night Stalkers came back after dropping off the recovery force. As they were turning around, Graham saw five Black Hawks performing a star-cluster evasion. I will never leave a fallen comrade. The determination to not leave their fallen comrades was true of all 16 in Turbine 33 -- and was a promise fulfilled by their Jesuit-taught commander, Kristensen. Nope, I want you to take my spot as the operations officer and monitor from here, Reich replied. At Jalalabad, Brady was approached by SEAL Commander Erik Kristensen in the command operations center. On battlefields throughout history, the combat engineer has proven time and again to be a decisive factor in victory and defeat. I find it all really strange, all the hero talk. There were 100-foot-tall trees on all sides of the Chinook, and they were so close the pilots had no room to sway as they descended. They would have to offload eight SEALs from each helicopter before continuing. Three war-weary escorts one of them a SEAL and the other two Night Stalkers Daniel Bell and Chris Eicher sat off to the sides, grimly staring off into space. They then used explosives to clear out a large enough area for Chinooks to land when they came back. Franais : L'Opration Red Wings est une opration de contre-insurrection mene par l'arme amricaine le 28 juin 2005 contre les talibans de la province de Kounar. Kristensen and his SEALs were waiting on the ramp, standing in a circle. Almost every variety of special operations troops in the U.S. military inventory participated in a coordinated effort through some of Afghanistans most dangerous and austere terrain during the search for their brothers both alive and fallen. Photo by Spc. And if we just glamorize war all the time, I think thats a problem. Then the realization hit: He was now in charge. The Night Stalkers flew back to their newly forged landing zone the following night. To me at the moment, it was just another mission, we didnt recognize the importance of it until years later.. The crash was the second of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan this year. Marines in the area knew it was an extremely dangerous place filled with Taliban fighters. For his actions, Kristensen, who was on his first major combat deployment in Afghanistan, earned the Bronze Star with "V" (Valor) device. Doc's platoon was alerted . Upload media. Were completely separate commands. Smith and the others in Turbine 34 watched helplessly as the Chinook full of their fellow aviators their friends crashed into the mountain and erupted in a ball of flames. During the flight, the Night Stalkers passed two Apache gunships whose pilots asked if they wanted to slow down so they could provide surveillance and support for the operation. Photo by Lance Cpl. Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and other Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) personnel loaded onto five Chinooks. "There are some things you just don't delegate," Ed Kristensen said of his sons fateful action, at times welling up with emotion. Back in the operations center, leaders were busy trying to figure out the SEALs last known location and calculating how many soldiers each helicopter could fly with. During the flight, the Night Stalkers passed two Apache gunships whose pilots asked if they wanted to slow down so they could provide surveillance and support for the operation. The remaining Night Stalkers prepared for a rescue operation. Throughout the mission, as his unit patrolled along exposed mountainsides and ravines, Brooks described the feeling that he and his unit could be ambushed at any moment. Brady said it seemed like the whole base turned out to give the fallen a proper sendoff. After leaving the service, he earned his CrossFit Level 1 certificate and worked as a personal trainer while earning his paramedic license. When we landed, we just saw a row of Night Stalkers and Rangers and SEALs for as far as I could see, lined up and ready to help transport the remains off and take them to the mortuary affairs section, Brady recalled. The commander explained that the ground force commander had already rejected that plan and didnt want to wait any longer. Brady knew that surveillance aircraft going off station without backup was supposed to result in aborting the mission. Not really sure who they were, but there was more activity than I expected..
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