DATE: June 18th, 2010
LOCATION: Hyderabad, located in the Grishk district of the southern province of Helmand in Afghanistan.
MISSION: Tasked with an immediate combat resupply of food, water, and mostly ammunition of MARSOC Marines conducting operations.
Early that morning prior to sunrise an immediate request was received by our Squadron to resupply Marine Special Operations Battalion with much needed ammunition and supplies. They are a small unit that was in heavy contact throughout the previous day going into night. We loaded up everything and went into the LZ covered by the darkness just prior to dawn. Tight Zone to get into, but was pretty painless in the early morning hours as the Taliban were sleeping. Mission complete and we carried out the rest of our missions later that morning.
As morning came for the MARSOC Marines they once again found themselves in heavy fighting and quickly were burning through their supplies we provided earlier that morning. As we neared the end of our 12 hour shift that day, another immediate request came down. The Marines were holding up in 3 buildings, surrounded by enemy forces and critically low on ammunition and water. We had already been to that zone that day so we were comfortable going in again. We just waited on higher commands approval for us to launch and conduct the resupply. We got the nod to go and we all ran out the aircraft to get them started and await the much needed supply of ammunition and water.
Here are some key factors our aircrew had to take into account.
- June in Afghanistan in the afternoon.....temps well over 100 degrees... Less performance from the aircraft due to the ambient conditions.
- We were going to be heavy going in due to the aircraft being full on fuel, our own ammunition and the ammunition that we were taking to the Marines. We were pretty much at maximum gross weight for the aircraft. The ambients and weight combined meant we would be flying our aircraft to the max of its capabilities, leaving little room for error.
- This was past our 12 hour crew day and at the end of our as always very busy shift. Flying is both mentally and physically tasking (especially in the hot Afghanistan summers). So fatigue of aircrew was definitely a factor.
- Friendlies were in heavy contact fighting with an enemy in close proximity which meant we were definitely going into a hot zone. The use of any supporting fires would be difficult due to their close proximity.
- This previous factor is why a traditional assault platform (transport type) with an attached escort (shooter type) would not prove the best option to support this mission. The Huey is a Utility Helicopter that can perform both roles as we have adequate offensive and defensive capabilities going into a hostile environment. So we would go in alone and unafraid providing our own security.
This time going in the two aircraft would be required to split up and land in two separate zones due to friendly forces being held up in different buildings cut off from each other and unable to adequately support and resupply each other. This would mean for a period of time each aircraft would be on its own and our ability to mutually support each other would be limited.
Now this isn’t a type of mission we would typically get tasked with given the odds, but it was approved and we went due to the critical nature of it. Lives of Marines on the ground were in peril. If the Marines were to run out of ammunition and water there would have been casualties as they were greatly out numbered by enemy forces with no friendlies nearby to support them.
With the supplies loaded up on the aircraft making sure the right supplies were on the right aircraft to go into our respective zones, we armed up our weapon systems and quickly took off. Major Smith was the pilot in command in the lead aircraft with a junior co-pilot. I was the pilot in command of the second aircraft with a second tour co-pilot. Was about 15-20 minute flight until we established radio contact with the ground forces. Communication was very difficult to establish initially due to the ground controllers location and things were pretty busy down there. Was tough to get an accurate assessment of the situation and what it was exactly we were going to be getting into down there. Eventually we were able to make enough from the sporadic communications that they were clearing us in and that the two zones would be marked by their own color of smoke. They wanted my aircraft in first, followed by the lead aircraft due to how we split up the specific ammo load outs.
Original plan was to send my aircraft in first and Major Smith would provide overhead cover until I was clear of the zone and then we would reverse roles as he went in and I provided overhead cover. Like any plan though they are great until the enemy has a say. Either way I split off from the flight and began to fly toward my zone. I am a big fan of the Vietnam era spiral approach which is what I chose to execute due to the significant small arms threat. Basically I maintain a high airspeed and altitude above small arms range and bring my landing zone abeam me. Once over the landing zone I start a high decent and a tight turn 360 degrees into my zone. This makes me difficult to acquire and shoot based on me changing the enemies aspect on me in 3 different axis. I am quickly descending, I am turning, and I am maintaining my airspeed.
I tell the crew here we go, and immediately bank the aircraft hard right and start dropping out of the sky. Last thing I remember hearing from the ground forces was “you are taking heavy fire and they have RPG’s.” Didn’t matter at this point because we were committed as I started my maneuver into the zone. Next few seconds were pretty much a blur as I was just concentrating on getting the aircraft into the tight zone and putting it as close to the building that the Marines were in, so they did not have to expose themselves to get to the supplies.
The zone I remember had a small 5 to 6 foot wall to clear prior to landing. An obstacle on short final, but offered protection once in the zone. I came in extremely fast and at the last second pretty much stood the aircraft up on its tail to slow down over the wall, and then as I felt the ass end about to sink, rocked the nose forward to land firmly into the zone. Just as we touched skids down, I felt a huge explosion off the right side of the aircraft and saw some debris. Apparently this was an RPG that just barely missed hitting that wall behind me. After the explosion the whole area ended up erupting in gunfire. I was basically sitting right in the middle of a fire fight. The Marines we were resupplying had talking M240’s going just off my nose to protect my right side of the aircraft. Their were Marines with M4s engaging Taliban forces off my left side. The two crewchiefs in the back abandoned their guns in order to get all of the supplies offloaded off the aircraft as rounds wizzed throughout the cabin from both directions. That wall behind us did an excellent job protecting our 6 oclock position. All I could do is sit and wait until the crew chiefs told us everything was offloaded and we were clear to lift.
Meanwhile happening almost simultaneously, Major Smith quickly assessed the situation from overhead seeing the amount of fire we were taking and decided he had no other option but to go ahead and land in his zone at the same time as us. If he had waited the enemy would have been able to mass its fires on us as we flew out of the LZ and also mass its fires on his aircraft as he went into his zone as the roles were reversed. So it was now or never for this mission. This created a dillema for the enemy as they had to either choose one of us to shoot at or divide its fire between the two of us. Luckily for us they chose to try and shoot at both of us.
Major Smith and crew endured pretty much the same type of experience going into their zone and while on the deck as us. As they watched rounds impact the ground in front of them walking in closer.
After about 45 seconds to 1 minute (seemed like forever) crew chiefs told me “sir, everything’s off we are set to lift” I pulled max power came straight up in order to clear the two M240s shooting across my nose to cover my right side on egress then dipped the nose to start building airspeed. The enemy fire further intensified as they were trying to get their last shots on us before we left. Major Smith lifted seconds later in trail behind me from his respected zone. As I was building airspeed to initiate a zoom climb (build great deal of airspeed prior to pulling back on stick and using the excess airspeed over your max climb out airspeed in order to quickly gain altitude and minimize exposure time to a small arms threat), I heard a couple of pops followed by my .50 Cal open up fire on the left side of the aircraft. I asked the crew chief what he was shooting at in order to figure out where we were being engaged from. Thats when he informed me he was hit. Quickly I figured out where the closest medical facility was and informed the lead aircraft who was actually in my trail at this point. As I was informing my flight lead, he came right back, with “Yea we are hit too.”
As Major Smith left the zone they also encountered heavy enemy fire, the crew chief on his aircraft successfully engaged 3 insurgents, trying to manuever for a shot on the aircraft, directly with the .50 Cal turning their upper torsos into pink mists. As they continued to egress, a round came through the door entering Major Smith’s left calf, traveled through his right upper thigh, into his elbow out his arm lodging inches from behind his copilots head.
New mission for our crew now was to get to a medical facility and get our wounded treated.
My crew chief Cpl Alvarez wounds were not serious, Major Smith’s on the other hand were, as he was losing a lot of blood quickly. The crew chiefs had a hard time getting to him in order to administer first aid. The entire time Maj Smith was very calm and still very much commanding his aircraft and initially providing guidance for the section. As he continued to lose blood though he began to fade fast.
I took over as the lead aircraft and we began to coordinate for priority and direct routing back to home field were the nearest medical facility was. We flew our aircraft full blast to the max it would perform as we were in a race to get Major Smith back before he bled out from his wounds. We acquired the medical facility and I lead the junior copilot at the controls to the zone and instructed him to fall back into trail and set up a straight in approach to the LZ as I made a right turn ahead of him pointing out the LZ to him. Once they were safe on deck and Major Smith was successfully turned over to medical personnel I landed to their left and offloaded my wounded crew chief. Both crew conducted quick battle damage assessments of our aircraft. My aircraft had a few holes but we were able to fly back to our line. Major Smith aircraft had multiple holes in vital locations and that aircraft has not flown since that day.
All in all, mission accomplished. MARSOC Marines were able to complete their operation and were responsible for over 60 enemy KIA, multiple IED factories and drug labs destroyed. MARSOC took no casualties during their operation. We had two wounded, but all are fully recovered and back home with our respected families. Things definitely could have been worse, but we are better trained and more determined than the enemy, able to execute our will over the enemy whenever we please.
The following crew members received these awards.
Lead Aircraft
Major Smith/ Pilot in Command -Section Leader : Distinguished Flying Cross with combat V, Purple Heart
1stLt McClellan/ Co-Pilot : Air Medal with Combat V
SSgt Davis/ Crew Chief .50 CAL gunner: Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat V
Sgt Ferraro/ Crew Chief GAU 17 minigun: Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V
GySgt Wise/ Aerial Observer: Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V
Wingman dash 2 aircraft
Captain Rees Pilot in Command: Air Medal with Combat V
Captain Blakely Co-Pilot: Air Medal with Combat V
Cpl Alvarez/ Crew Chief .50 CAL gunner: Air Medal with Combat V, Purple Heart
Sgt Cummings/ Crew Chief GAU 17 minigun: Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V
LOCATION: Hyderabad, located in the Grishk district of the southern province of Helmand in Afghanistan.
MISSION: Tasked with an immediate combat resupply of food, water, and mostly ammunition of MARSOC Marines conducting operations.
Early that morning prior to sunrise an immediate request was received by our Squadron to resupply Marine Special Operations Battalion with much needed ammunition and supplies. They are a small unit that was in heavy contact throughout the previous day going into night. We loaded up everything and went into the LZ covered by the darkness just prior to dawn. Tight Zone to get into, but was pretty painless in the early morning hours as the Taliban were sleeping. Mission complete and we carried out the rest of our missions later that morning.
As morning came for the MARSOC Marines they once again found themselves in heavy fighting and quickly were burning through their supplies we provided earlier that morning. As we neared the end of our 12 hour shift that day, another immediate request came down. The Marines were holding up in 3 buildings, surrounded by enemy forces and critically low on ammunition and water. We had already been to that zone that day so we were comfortable going in again. We just waited on higher commands approval for us to launch and conduct the resupply. We got the nod to go and we all ran out the aircraft to get them started and await the much needed supply of ammunition and water.
Here are some key factors our aircrew had to take into account.
- June in Afghanistan in the afternoon.....temps well over 100 degrees... Less performance from the aircraft due to the ambient conditions.
- We were going to be heavy going in due to the aircraft being full on fuel, our own ammunition and the ammunition that we were taking to the Marines. We were pretty much at maximum gross weight for the aircraft. The ambients and weight combined meant we would be flying our aircraft to the max of its capabilities, leaving little room for error.
- This was past our 12 hour crew day and at the end of our as always very busy shift. Flying is both mentally and physically tasking (especially in the hot Afghanistan summers). So fatigue of aircrew was definitely a factor.
- Friendlies were in heavy contact fighting with an enemy in close proximity which meant we were definitely going into a hot zone. The use of any supporting fires would be difficult due to their close proximity.
- This previous factor is why a traditional assault platform (transport type) with an attached escort (shooter type) would not prove the best option to support this mission. The Huey is a Utility Helicopter that can perform both roles as we have adequate offensive and defensive capabilities going into a hostile environment. So we would go in alone and unafraid providing our own security.
This time going in the two aircraft would be required to split up and land in two separate zones due to friendly forces being held up in different buildings cut off from each other and unable to adequately support and resupply each other. This would mean for a period of time each aircraft would be on its own and our ability to mutually support each other would be limited.
Now this isn’t a type of mission we would typically get tasked with given the odds, but it was approved and we went due to the critical nature of it. Lives of Marines on the ground were in peril. If the Marines were to run out of ammunition and water there would have been casualties as they were greatly out numbered by enemy forces with no friendlies nearby to support them.
With the supplies loaded up on the aircraft making sure the right supplies were on the right aircraft to go into our respective zones, we armed up our weapon systems and quickly took off. Major Smith was the pilot in command in the lead aircraft with a junior co-pilot. I was the pilot in command of the second aircraft with a second tour co-pilot. Was about 15-20 minute flight until we established radio contact with the ground forces. Communication was very difficult to establish initially due to the ground controllers location and things were pretty busy down there. Was tough to get an accurate assessment of the situation and what it was exactly we were going to be getting into down there. Eventually we were able to make enough from the sporadic communications that they were clearing us in and that the two zones would be marked by their own color of smoke. They wanted my aircraft in first, followed by the lead aircraft due to how we split up the specific ammo load outs.
Original plan was to send my aircraft in first and Major Smith would provide overhead cover until I was clear of the zone and then we would reverse roles as he went in and I provided overhead cover. Like any plan though they are great until the enemy has a say. Either way I split off from the flight and began to fly toward my zone. I am a big fan of the Vietnam era spiral approach which is what I chose to execute due to the significant small arms threat. Basically I maintain a high airspeed and altitude above small arms range and bring my landing zone abeam me. Once over the landing zone I start a high decent and a tight turn 360 degrees into my zone. This makes me difficult to acquire and shoot based on me changing the enemies aspect on me in 3 different axis. I am quickly descending, I am turning, and I am maintaining my airspeed.
I tell the crew here we go, and immediately bank the aircraft hard right and start dropping out of the sky. Last thing I remember hearing from the ground forces was “you are taking heavy fire and they have RPG’s.” Didn’t matter at this point because we were committed as I started my maneuver into the zone. Next few seconds were pretty much a blur as I was just concentrating on getting the aircraft into the tight zone and putting it as close to the building that the Marines were in, so they did not have to expose themselves to get to the supplies.
The zone I remember had a small 5 to 6 foot wall to clear prior to landing. An obstacle on short final, but offered protection once in the zone. I came in extremely fast and at the last second pretty much stood the aircraft up on its tail to slow down over the wall, and then as I felt the ass end about to sink, rocked the nose forward to land firmly into the zone. Just as we touched skids down, I felt a huge explosion off the right side of the aircraft and saw some debris. Apparently this was an RPG that just barely missed hitting that wall behind me. After the explosion the whole area ended up erupting in gunfire. I was basically sitting right in the middle of a fire fight. The Marines we were resupplying had talking M240’s going just off my nose to protect my right side of the aircraft. Their were Marines with M4s engaging Taliban forces off my left side. The two crewchiefs in the back abandoned their guns in order to get all of the supplies offloaded off the aircraft as rounds wizzed throughout the cabin from both directions. That wall behind us did an excellent job protecting our 6 oclock position. All I could do is sit and wait until the crew chiefs told us everything was offloaded and we were clear to lift.
Meanwhile happening almost simultaneously, Major Smith quickly assessed the situation from overhead seeing the amount of fire we were taking and decided he had no other option but to go ahead and land in his zone at the same time as us. If he had waited the enemy would have been able to mass its fires on us as we flew out of the LZ and also mass its fires on his aircraft as he went into his zone as the roles were reversed. So it was now or never for this mission. This created a dillema for the enemy as they had to either choose one of us to shoot at or divide its fire between the two of us. Luckily for us they chose to try and shoot at both of us.
Major Smith and crew endured pretty much the same type of experience going into their zone and while on the deck as us. As they watched rounds impact the ground in front of them walking in closer.
After about 45 seconds to 1 minute (seemed like forever) crew chiefs told me “sir, everything’s off we are set to lift” I pulled max power came straight up in order to clear the two M240s shooting across my nose to cover my right side on egress then dipped the nose to start building airspeed. The enemy fire further intensified as they were trying to get their last shots on us before we left. Major Smith lifted seconds later in trail behind me from his respected zone. As I was building airspeed to initiate a zoom climb (build great deal of airspeed prior to pulling back on stick and using the excess airspeed over your max climb out airspeed in order to quickly gain altitude and minimize exposure time to a small arms threat), I heard a couple of pops followed by my .50 Cal open up fire on the left side of the aircraft. I asked the crew chief what he was shooting at in order to figure out where we were being engaged from. Thats when he informed me he was hit. Quickly I figured out where the closest medical facility was and informed the lead aircraft who was actually in my trail at this point. As I was informing my flight lead, he came right back, with “Yea we are hit too.”
As Major Smith left the zone they also encountered heavy enemy fire, the crew chief on his aircraft successfully engaged 3 insurgents, trying to manuever for a shot on the aircraft, directly with the .50 Cal turning their upper torsos into pink mists. As they continued to egress, a round came through the door entering Major Smith’s left calf, traveled through his right upper thigh, into his elbow out his arm lodging inches from behind his copilots head.
New mission for our crew now was to get to a medical facility and get our wounded treated.
My crew chief Cpl Alvarez wounds were not serious, Major Smith’s on the other hand were, as he was losing a lot of blood quickly. The crew chiefs had a hard time getting to him in order to administer first aid. The entire time Maj Smith was very calm and still very much commanding his aircraft and initially providing guidance for the section. As he continued to lose blood though he began to fade fast.
I took over as the lead aircraft and we began to coordinate for priority and direct routing back to home field were the nearest medical facility was. We flew our aircraft full blast to the max it would perform as we were in a race to get Major Smith back before he bled out from his wounds. We acquired the medical facility and I lead the junior copilot at the controls to the zone and instructed him to fall back into trail and set up a straight in approach to the LZ as I made a right turn ahead of him pointing out the LZ to him. Once they were safe on deck and Major Smith was successfully turned over to medical personnel I landed to their left and offloaded my wounded crew chief. Both crew conducted quick battle damage assessments of our aircraft. My aircraft had a few holes but we were able to fly back to our line. Major Smith aircraft had multiple holes in vital locations and that aircraft has not flown since that day.
All in all, mission accomplished. MARSOC Marines were able to complete their operation and were responsible for over 60 enemy KIA, multiple IED factories and drug labs destroyed. MARSOC took no casualties during their operation. We had two wounded, but all are fully recovered and back home with our respected families. Things definitely could have been worse, but we are better trained and more determined than the enemy, able to execute our will over the enemy whenever we please.
The following crew members received these awards.
Lead Aircraft
Major Smith/ Pilot in Command -Section Leader : Distinguished Flying Cross with combat V, Purple Heart
1stLt McClellan/ Co-Pilot : Air Medal with Combat V
SSgt Davis/ Crew Chief .50 CAL gunner: Distinguished Flying Cross with Combat V
Sgt Ferraro/ Crew Chief GAU 17 minigun: Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V
GySgt Wise/ Aerial Observer: Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V
Wingman dash 2 aircraft
Captain Rees Pilot in Command: Air Medal with Combat V
Captain Blakely Co-Pilot: Air Medal with Combat V
Cpl Alvarez/ Crew Chief .50 CAL gunner: Air Medal with Combat V, Purple Heart
Sgt Cummings/ Crew Chief GAU 17 minigun: Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V
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