Some of the Night Stalkers hanging out in the B huts they slept in, enjoying much needed down time. Then there was NFL football player Pat Tillmans decision to give up his football career and become an Army Ranger. The Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community will forever remember June 28, 2005, and our special operators' heroic efforts and sacrifices. There were no survivors. Explosives were used to chop down trees due to width of the trees being too big for chainsaws. "With my experience with TWA 800, I knew what an aircraft crash does to people. Drop us on the high ground, and well make our way to our swim buddies, Kristensen told Brady. Frustrated and angry, Graham followed the order. Kristensen once told Roth, "I don't know about this whole SEAL thing. A photo of a Rangers gloved hand holding the dogtag imprinted with the Warrior Ethos sits framed in the Kristensens home, but until this month, his parents had never seen the rest of the crash site photos. : r/CombatFootage by GGdigger NSFW Rare footage of the disastrous Operation Red Wings from the Taliban PoV. That weather out there is unbelievable. He asked the AC-130 crew for one final report on the four potential landing zones the Night Stalkers had identified for the mission. Marines in the area knew it was an extremely dangerous place filled with Taliban fighters. These are the first photos released by the military of the . The projectile flew through the open ramp of the Chinook and exploded inside. He and Eicher hurried back to the operations center. It was a matter of seniority. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, MIGHTY NETWORKS, 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, 5 lessons the Army teaches from the movie We Were Soldiers, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Operation Red Wings Through the Eyes of the Night Stalkers. By Joshua Skovlund. Operation Red Wings. Im glad youre a thinking air mission commander and not simply one that takes a black-and-white view of the situation.. Looking over the grim images for the first time, after an ABC News reporter provided them, Sam Kristensen said if conditions were ever safe enough and she had the opportunity to walk the ground where her son and his fellow warriors perished, "I'd be on the next plane -- a mother wants to know everything. 2023 Getty Images. He asked Graham to repeat, unable to register what he had just heard. Many of the men suffered scorched hands from gripping the rope through gloves for such a long descent. As the cases were being loaded, a SEAL ran up to the new SEAL commander and placed a written note in his hand. Were completely separate commands. Children of varying ages ran around the coffins, playing and yelling, not yet old enough to understand the sacrifices these warriors made. They ascended back into orbit and remained there for an hour until the task force commander ordered them back to Jalalabad. Kristensen was the one who organized a rescue mission after a SEAL reconnaissance team's leader, Lt. Michael Murphy, called for help well into a firefight in Kunar province's soaring mountains. Its not glamorous. Brady had no way of knowing at the time, but it would be the last time anyone at Bagram would ever see three of those four Americans alive. Joshua Skovlund has covered the 75th anniversary of D-Day in France, multinational military exercises in Germany, and civil unrest during the 2020 riots in Minneapolis that followed the death of George Floyd. 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. Running around in the woods is kind of cool once in awhile, camping is kind of cool once in awhile. Photo by Cpl. Brady said it seemed like the whole base turned out to give the fallen a proper sendoff. Eicher looked at Brady and said, Nah, they probably put down for maintenance.. The rescue operation, known as Operation Red Wings II, continued for weeks. The pilots descended to the point where the Chinooks front rotor was just a few feet away from the mountainside with tall trees all around the aircraft. As the pilots climbed the last 1,000 feet of elevation, the AC-130 crew providing overwatch on their destination radioed to say they had to leave their position due to a mechanical issue. The task force commander debriefed the men and then focused on planning their next steps. I could see a lot of vehicles with troops armed to the damn teeth, Smith recalled. Marines in the area knew it was an extremely dangerous place filled with Taliban fighters. All of us were pretty broken up at that point, Rogie said. Ed Kristensen is a retired rear admiral who had led the Navy's 1996 recovery of TWA 800 which had crashed off New York with 230 souls lost. The sun was fading behind Afghanistans Hindu Kush mountains the evening of June 27, 2005, as a team of four U.S. Navy SEALs walked up the ramp and into the back of U.S. Army Captain Matt Bradys MH-47 Chinook helicopter on Bagram Air Base. Eric Bana plays Erik Kristensen in "Lone Survivor," 2013. Leave No Man Behind: The Untold Story of the Rangers Unrelenting Search for Marcus Luttrell, the Navy SEAL Lone Survivor in Afghanistan by Dr. Tony Brooks provides the first-hand account of Brooks very first mission as a Ranger. As he watched the two Chinooks taxiing onto the runway, he locked eyes with Russell, his platoon sergeant. We would have to drop a man down with a hoist in that hole of an LZ, Brady explained. 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. They then used explosives to clear out a large enough area for Chinooks to land when they came back. After covering his landing, Brooks book goes through a nearly hour-by-hour recounting of the rescue and recovery mission that lasted almost two full days. "Erik leaned to the left. He said visibility got so bad that he couldnt see the heat glow of the engines from the Chinook in front of him. As the cases were being loaded, a SEAL ran up to the new SEAL commander and placed a written note in his hand. They engaged in a fierce firefight, and at some point the task force lost contact with them. 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. 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.. There's no precedent for this. He rowed crew, played lacrosse and majored in English and French at the Naval Academy and got a master's degree at progressive St. John's College in Annapolis. Matt Bradys MH-47 Chinook helicopter on Bagram Air Base. Weve got two military-aged males, possibly armed, on the northernmost LZ, the crew reported. His creative outlets include Skovlund Photography and Concentrated Emotion, where he publishes poetry focused on his life experiences. Coffee Or Die "It is very redeeming thing. On April 6, 15 U.S. service members and three American civilians were killed when their chopper went down in a sandstorm. Standing 6' 4", he is remembered as gregarious and embraced a Jesuit ideal by being a "Man For Others," friends and family said. Our plan of action is for you to get us to the high ground as close to the troops in contact as you can, and were going to fight our way downhill, Brady recalled Kristensen saying. He was liberal in his thinking. As the next night approached, the task force went to work, planning another insertion onto the deadly ridgeline. I felt like I was in the wrong place, I was doing the wrong things and I could do more, Brooks said. "That was the one part of the movie that I enjoyed. Photo courtesy of Matt Rogie. The lone C-17 aircraft lumbered through the sky after departing Germany, a necessary stop on the way back to the United States. He didnt think much of it at the time, but many years later he found out a new platoon leader came into their company within the 160th and was responsible for those Black Hawks. The order was given to again abort the mission and return to base. Part of. They would have to offload eight SEALs from each helicopter before continuing. I could see the grass being blown by the rotor wash and all the remains bags being lined up in a row 16 of them, Rogie recalled. I sat down with a former Ranger medic from 3rd Ranger Battalion for a few hours to talk about the massive rescue and recovery operation following Operation Red Wings. They only discussed his SEAL career once -- when he told her he was going to Afghanistan. When I met him there on the ground in Jalalabad, Graham was fairly shaken to say the least, Brady recalled. Soldiers sit on the rear deck of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter while flying over southern Afghanistan Oct. 19, 2010. "It gets tiring. On battlefields throughout history, the combat engineer has proven time and again to be a decisive factor in victory and defeat. They shared a laugh as they loaded up for the flight back to Bagram. Photo courtesy of Daniel Bell. When the ramp lowered, the Night Stalkers on the Chinooks stood tall and proud for their fallen brethren as task force members boarded and began solemnly moving each remains bag to the mortuary affairs building. 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. archive.org 244 140 comments Best Add a Comment Children of varying ages ran around the coffins, playing and yelling, not yet old enough to understand the sacrifices these warriors made. Disappointed, Brady followed the order and got off the aircraft. The members of the task force said their final goodbyes. Increasing the size of the enemy that . Feb 24, 2015 - By Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr Amid the 1200-page military investigation into the crash in Wardak province in August are photos of the helicopter. He went on to work in paramedicine for more than five years, much of that time in the North Minneapolis area, before transitioning to a career in multimedia journalism. Brady said he pleaded with Reich to at least let him come with and act as an extra gun and set of eyes. This was a desolate part of the Hindu Kush, and at night, you wouldnt really expect to see much, Brady told Coffee or Die Magazine. Our plan of action is for you to get us to the high ground as close to the troops in contact as you can, and were going to fight our way downhill, Brady recalled Kristensen saying. Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and other Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) personnel loaded onto five Chinooks. As the Night Stalkers approached Bagram they could see what looked like everyone on base standing outside, showing their respect for the fallen. Joshua is married with two children. "We're so over this. Then the helos blades started hitting each other, and the aircraft rolled to the right before inverting as it descended to the mountainous terrain below. They ascended back into orbit and remained there for an hour until the task force commander ordered them back to Jalalabad. The distinctive black MH-47G Chinook special operations helicopter. Navy SEAL Lt. -- When Ed and Suzanne . Nope, I want you to take my spot as the operations officer and monitor from here, Reich replied. 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. The C-17 closed its ramp and taxied down the runway and took flight. The flight back was pure silence. Even after a decade, his only child's loss "is still a very raw thing. Photo courtesy of Matt Rogie. Shroades (medic R/160), SGT Dan Bell (E Co/160) during during the timeframe of Operation Red Wings. 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. The Chinooks took off toward the mountains once again, but as they climbed in elevation, severe weather rolled in. July 1, 2015, 6:11 AM. I could see a lot of vehicles with troops armed to the damn teeth, Smith recalled. 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. As a pilot in the 160th, Brady was the air mission commander for the operation. In unpublished photos taken by an Army photographer of the crash site, blackened tree stumps poke up from the flattened slope. Their war-weary faces were chiseled stone as they watched the task force solemnly load 16 flag-draped interment cases into the C-17. He was such a total goofball," remembered his friend Ismay, who graduated the academy a few years later and whose older brother served as a SEAL with Kristensen. 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.. It didnt look like there was any way anybody could have survived, Graham said. Believing the gunship could make it back on station in time for the insertion, Brady made the call to continue the mission. He asked the AC-130 crew for one final report on the four potential landing zones the Night Stalkers had identified for the mission. He walked back to the operations center to monitor the situation and provide support from Bagram. The birds call sign was Turbine 33. He told Reich pushing the mission back would allow Shah to continue his terrorist activities, likely leading to the death of locals and US military in the area. Graham reported the situation back to Bagram. We reverence the ultimate sacrifice they made while engaged in that fierce firefight on the global war's front lines on terrorism (GWOT). Al and Kip were on the ramp when the RPG impacted, Smith, who witnessed the horrific event, recalled. "Erik was just his own man. Photo by Spc. Hovering for that long over the same spot would burn the LZ and likely alert the enemy to the SR teams presence.. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. The remaining Night Stalkers prepared for a rescue operation. All the men were anxious, angry, and ready to retrieve their brothers in arms. As the lead aircraft descended, it became clear the LZ was on a steep slope of the mountain, making descent difficult due to the front rotors approaching the mountainside faster than the rear of the aircraft. Brady stood next to a SEAL commander both had to take command of their respective units when Reich and Kristensen were killed on Turbine 33. Each of the five Black Hawks was loaded with Marines and had flown out thinking they were the QRF for the SR team.
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