Thunder boomed as lightning struck all around them. CA License # A-588676-HAZ / DIR Contractor Registration #1000009744 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. 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. This was our small part in Operation Red Wings II. The task force commander debriefed the men and then focused on planning their next steps. The MH-47 was escorted by heavily-armored, Army attack helicopters. Seth Rosenberg, courtesy of DVIDS. In July 2005, a few weeks after the crash of Turbine 33, the callsign of the MH-47E that Kristensen and 15 other SEALs and Task Force 160 Nightstalker special operations airmen perished aboard, a squad of paratroopers and Rangers descended the steep slope, charred black from burning jet fuel, with tree trunks sheared off from the exploding chopper. The birds call sign was Turbine 33. As a pilot in the 160th, Brady was the air mission commander for the operation. Im glad youre a thinking air mission commander and not simply one that takes a black-and-white view of the situation.. A lot of guys really wanted to stay on the mission, recalled Chief Warrant Officer 3 Tim Graham, one of the pilots on Turbine 34. The fallen Night Stalkers of the 160th SOAR included: Chief Warrant Officer Corey J. Goodnature, Chief Warrant Officer Chris J. Scherkenbach. 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. "Erik leaned to the left. The note said that Marcus Luttrell was alive at a nearby village. The Night Stalkers again loaded their Chinooks with Rangers and SEALs and took off toward the mountains. It was a gut-wrenching decision for everyone on the mission, as they knew the original SEALs on the SR team were fighting for their lives and one of their own aircraft and crew was burning on the side of a mountain. Its not glamorous. 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. Kristensen Family. Frustrated and angry, Graham followed the order. Kristensen agreed with Bradys evaluation, and after the SR team radioed that they would be laying down for the day in their hide site, Brady and Kristensen called it a night. The order was given to again abort the mission and return to base. He said visibility got so bad that he couldnt see the heat glow of the engines from the Chinook in front of him. . The weather was turning bad again as they offloaded Marines to assist with security. Not really sure who they were, but there was more activity than I expected.. His parents buried Kristensen -- wearing his beloved Birkenstocks -- at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, which his father had also graduated from three decades earlier. "The complexity of who he is, to me, is bigger than his being a SEAL. The two Chinooks Turbine 33 and Turbine 34 were packed with 16 SEALs each, plus the Night Stalker pilots and crewman. Im glad youre here because I am spent, Eicher told him. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. Graham watched from Turbine 34 as Turbine 33s ramp lowered and the crewman walked onto it to observe the landing zone below. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . When I met him there on the ground in Jalalabad, Graham was fairly shaken to say the least, Brady recalled. It means you cant drift any direction without crashing.. Having walked that ground, it blows my mind that he got out of there alive. As the storm raged, the members of the task force haunted with thoughts of their brothers on the mountain tried to sleep. He was wickedly smart, but more on the creative side. Night-vision goggles, weapons and helmets from both sites were recovered over the next two years from Taliban fighters killed in firefights and found in arms caches in the Korengal Valley. Hes a person all those Jesuits wanted us to be, said Ismay, a fellow Gonzaga graduate. He and some of his fellow Night Stalkers felt the SEALs plan was too risky. He asked Graham to repeat, unable to register what he had just heard. The commander explained that the ground force commander had already rejected that plan and didnt want to wait any longer. Kristensens cousins led the Pledge of Allegiance and a former SEAL who served with the mourned guest of honor strummed a guitar in sing-alongs. Its earned. 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. 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. Reich, who had been designated mission commander for phase two of the operation, felt the QRF was his responsibility. It didnt look like there was any way anybody could have survived, Graham said. 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. When Turbine 33 was shot down, they received orders to fly back along with Turbine 34 and the Apache gunships until the next phase of the mission was developed. They finalized plans and sent the Night Stalkers on their way. The 2007 book "Lone Survivor" was later adapted into a movie of the same name in 2013. Primary and secondary zones appear to be clear of potential threats.. Hoisting a man at that altitude on that kind of terrain at night is a dangerous operation. Physically, emotionally. So the enemy is one factor, but the terrain and weather are now a huge factor, and theyre starting to overtake the enemy in terms of danger to the force, Brady said. "Because he entered the teams a little later than his peers, he was a strong and humble leader. battle. He walked back to the operations center to monitor the situation and provide support from Bagram. They then used explosives to clear out a large enough area for Chinooks to land when they came back. The mission was to capture or kill Ahmad Shah, a Taliban commander. Brooks said he reached out to Luttrell for his inputs about how to handle the story, but that Luttrell declined to discuss the events of that day. Navy SEAL Lt. Brady told his operations NCO to give him a minute to gather more information to get the next plan of action in place. 45. I dont really care, Matt, he told Brady, just get your stuff and get off the airplane. Steven K. Young, courtesy of DVIDS. The extreme height of the trees made the full length of rope approximately 90 feet necessary. He walked back to the operations center to monitor the situation and provide support from Bagram. Photo by Mark C. Olsen, courtesy of DVIDS. The commandos would have to descend from a rope fast-rope while the helos hovered high above the trees. The militia leader, Ahmad Shah, was killed a few years later. Walking toward the flight line, the SEAL commander quipped, What made you want to fly such ugly helicopters?, Theyre not much to look at, but they get the job done, Brady fired back. 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. The Night Stalkers flew back to their newly forged landing zone the following night. As they were turning around, Graham saw five Black Hawks performing a star-cluster evasion. Coffee or Die Magazine | Operation Red Wings Through the Eyes of the Night Stalkers Features Operation Red Wings Through the Eyes of the Night Stalkers July 26, 2020 Joshua Skovlund The memorial service display in Bagram, Afghanistan. The back of the aircraft contained the flag-draped coffins of 16 great Americans: the fallen Night Stalkers and SEALs from Turbine 33. Drop us on the high ground, and well make our way to our swim buddies, Kristensen told Brady. His vibrant personality appeared to live on as a powerful presence as his friends convened for the ninth time since 2005 on Saturday, shouting to be heard over the din of the downpour and laughing louder than the rain. That weather out there is unbelievable. Drop us on the high ground, and well make our way to our swim buddies, Kristensen told Brady. They finalized plans and . The majority of his book focuses on his first deployment out of Ranger training. The Burma Campaign is an often overlooked front Sign up for our newsletter and receive the mighty updates! The C-17 sat on the runway with the ramp down, waiting to receive the 16 interment cases containing the fallen warriors. Brady said he pleaded with Reich to at least let him come with and act as an extra gun and set of eyes. As the Night Stalkers approached Bagram they could see what looked like everyone on base standing outside, showing their respect for the fallen. He was well-read and intelligent, into music and literature. Brady knew that surveillance aircraft going off station without backup was supposed to result in aborting the mission. Photo by Spc. Explosives were used to chop down trees due to width of the trees being too big for chainsaws. The Night Stalkers job was to insert the SEALs on a ridgeline where the terrain left few options for landing zones. The flight back was pure silence. Frustrated and angry, Graham followed the order. Smiling as he looked over the crowd and placing his hand on the shoulder of a first-time E-Day guest, his father Ed said, "He's amongst us all, right here. Not wanting to leave their brothers, the SEAL team commander hatched a plan with the Night Stalkers to insert higher up on the ridgeline and fight their way down to the crash site so Turbine 34 could fly back to Jalalabad, pick up as many SEALs as he could, and fly back to reinforce the eight SEALs. The 160th had only lost helicopters during daylight missions at that point theyre called Night Stalkers for a reason. Approaching the insertion point, the pilots flared the Chinook and came into a hover. The Chinooks took off toward the mountains once again, but as they climbed in elevation, severe weather rolled in. Photo by Spc. The flight crew kicked out the ropes, and the SEALs fast-roped down. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. Erik Kristensen and the fallen of Turbine 33 did not. Arriving at the insertion point on the ridgeline, Turbine 33 descended into a hover. He was a non-conformist. ", "But he wasn't a non-conformist just to be a non-conformist," Ismay explained. Steven K. Young, courtesy of DVIDS. Brady said he estimated the AC-130 would only be off station briefly and that the crew had reported no hostile activity on the LZ. He could relate to the most junior guy and to a general or admiral," Paro said. Brady told his operations NCO to give him a minute to gather more information to get the next plan of action in place. Brady persisted with the details. The C-17 closed its ramp and taxied down the runway and took flight. "I will never leave a fallen comrade, it read. After refueling, he continued on to Jalalabad and offloaded. The task force commander debriefed the men and then focused on planning their next steps. They ascended back into orbit and remained there for an hour until the task force commander ordered them back to Jalalabad.