The fallen warriors were now on their way home. The strike groups included one flight of MH-60L DAPs and four "Black Swarm" flights, each consisting of a pair of AH-6M Little Birds; a FLIR-equipped, target-spotting MH-6M; and a pair of U.S. Air Force A-10As. The Night Stalkers again loaded their Chinooks with Rangers and SEALs and took off toward the mountains. The 160th SOAR pilots and crew were about the only personnel at Mogadishu that had night-vision goggles (NVGs), and they used them to good effect. 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. Graham made a stop at a Forward Arming and Refueling Point just outside of Jalalabad. In 2004 they took part in the rescue of three Italian contractors and one Polish businessman held for ransom by Iraqi insurgents. [42] CNN reported that on 27 October 2017, a US helicopter from 4th Battalion 160th SOAR crashed in Logar province, Afghanistan, killing one and injuring 6 more US service members, the crash was not a result of enemy action. I have a degree and job at a large gov consulting firm Reviews from 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment employees about 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment . Clayton, Cindy, and Lauren King, "Army, Navy Investigating Deadly Copter Crash on Ship", United States Army Special Operations Aviation Command, United States Army Special Operations Command, Objective Wolverine and Raptor missions and Operation Relentless Strike, Operation Enduring FreedomCaribbean and Central America, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85 (HSC-85), Australian 171st Special Operations Aviation Squadron, British Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing, Canadian 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron, French 4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment, Italian 3rd Special Operations Helicopter Regiment, "US Military to open 6200 new jobs to women", "160th SOAR(A) Green Platoon Train-up program", "Who Attends the Special Operations Combat Medics (SOCM) Course? my first thought was 160th SOAR, since they fly the high risk missions that call for high risk training. Marines in the area knew it was an extremely dangerous place filled with Taliban fighters. Im not too worried about EGP, as you said it just looks like fuck fuck games. Pursuing a career in Army Aviation opens you up to an exciting array of many different specialties. Thanks to his selfless sacrifice, his classmates took the course more seriously. Just so it seems real to everyone else.. Ms. Snuffy, we regret to inform you that your son was selected as "the example" in his SERE class. Not really sure who they were, but there was more activity than I expected., 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. This brief article first explains the assessment and selection process for officer and warrant officer volunteers.1 Next, it details how officers are trained to become Night Stalkers in the Special Operations Aviation Training Battalion (SOATB), led by Lieutenant Colonel Bradley D. Osterman and Sergeant Major Marcus . As he approached the insertion site, Brady could see lights dotting the mountains below through his night-vision goggles. Officers volunteer while enlisted soldiers volunteer or are assigned by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command. When the crew chief tried to pull the rope up, they found it was entangled below. Elements of 3rd Battalion 160th SOAR have conducted episodic deployments in support of Operation Enduring FreedomCaribbean and Central America, begun in 2008. Enlisted Soldiers and NCOs are actively recruited to fill our ranks with the best men and women capable of executing our mission. Any help appreciated so I can decide if I want to take this leap. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. After a brief tenure with the infantry, he became a rotor-wing pilot then excelled his way into the vaunted 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) The Night Stalkers say no more! Was this review helpful? 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. This video is put togeth. Rgt., attached to Troop D, Task Force Palehorse (7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Rgt. An estimated 25 al-Qaeda fighters were killed. Does anyone know how prior service contracts work? One MH-47E pilot put his aircraft in the line of fire to protect the other MH-47E as its assault team disembarked. Answer (1 of 8): Thanks for the oppt'y to answer your question, Luke! The weather was turning bad again as they offloaded Marines to assist with security. Upon joining the 160th, all soldiers are assigned to "Green Platoon", in which they receive intensive training in "advanced methods of the five basic combat skills: first responder, land navigation, combatives, weapons and teamwork". When I entered in 2004, the Army simply did not have the housing to accommodate the influx of soldiers and were kicking people out of the barracks as soon as they made E4. The 160th -60's are referred to as MH-60's. The M . PFC (Join to see) it doesn't matter if you're a crew chief, a fueler, Intel, anything. When the Little Birds were out of ammo, they would often keep making passes so that enemy . The MH-47Es trained searchlights on the boat while operators from the Philippine Naval Special Operations Group opened fire, killing the terrorist leader and capturing four other terrorists with him. After five years as in paramedicine, he transitioned to a career in multimedia journalism. Photo: Alan C. Mack, 160th SOAR. ), has been an AH-64D. The crash killed a soldier, Sergeant First Class James R. Stright, 29, and injured eight others, three seriously. Also known within JSOC as Task Force Brown, it fulfils a few different purposes, including direct combat engagement and support, as . Believing the gunship could make it back on station in time for the insertion, Brady made the call to continue the mission. The C-17 closed its ramp and taxied down the runway and took flight. "[45], 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (160th SOAR (A))[50], 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). 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. As the sites were eliminated the first heliborne SOF teams launched from H-5 airbase in Jordan, including vehicle-mounted patrols from the British and Australian special forces, who were transported by the MH-47Es of the 160th SOAR. [38][39] On 4 July 2014, during Operation Inherent Resolve, the Night Stalkers inserted Delta Force operators into Syria to rescue James Foley and other US hostages. The members of the task force said their final goodbyes. I could see a lot of vehicles with troops armed to the damn teeth, Smith recalled. In 1986, it was renamed the 160th Aviation Group (Airborne); and in May 1990, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). Turbine 33s nose dipped down, and the aircraft slid to the left, appearing to almost recover. The 160th had only lost helicopters during daylight missions at that point theyre calledNight Stalkers for a reason. . After thorough planning back at SOAR headquarters, Woodie and his unit embarked on a response mission to Afghanistan, and the 160th has been actively engaged ever since. As he watched the two Chinooks taxiing onto the runway, he locked eyes with Russell, his platoon sergeant. His military experience includes being Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army Infantry School at Ft. Benning, Georgia (Cycle C-6-1) and as a Scout Observer in a reconnaissance unit, Company F, 425th INF (RANGER/AIRBORNE), Long Range Surveillance Unit (LRSU). Members of this unit are three-time volunteers: for the Army, for airborne training and for the regiment. Operation Restore HopeOperation Gothic SerpentGlobal War on TerrorismOperation Enduring FreedomIraq WarOperation Inherent ResolveAl-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen. Today, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment continues a sustained and active forward presence in the U.S. Central Command area of operations at multiple locations in support of. Through detailed explanation of the Nightstalkers mission, training and daily operations along with the unique culture of the secretive organization, Burnett takes you inside the unit, the training, the culture and the daily operations. The pilots of the Chinooks, flying in zero-visibility conditions, were refueled in flight three times during the 11-hour mission, establishing a new world record for combat rotorcraft. The dramatic nighttime raid was "painstakingly recreated" in the film Zero Dark Thirty,[35] which covers the CIA's efforts to track down bin Laden, from just after the September 11th attacks to the daring raid ten years later. Born and raised in small-town South Dakota, he grew up playing football and soccer before serving as a forward observer in the US Army. Demerly studied journalism at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. AboutPressCopyrightContact. 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. https:// youtu.be/hAj0hBxCOxc #NSDQ #USASOC #crewchief #NCO #USARMY #Armyaviation #15TArmy 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. His creative outlets include Skovlund Photography and Concentrated Emotion. Smith said he saw a line of armored vehicles full of troops. "The soldiers' names were redacted in the photo shared on social mediabut one was identified as a staff sergeant and the other as a captain. They employ highly modified MH-47 Chinook, MH-60 Black Hawk and AH-6 and MH-6 assault and attack configurations of Little Bird helicopters. 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. The exchange flights. Staff Sgt. Thunder boomed as lightning struck all around them. Finally, Burnett pulls back the curtain on his personal struggle re-integrating into civilian culture, a traumatic change that lead him to attempt suicide and finally gain redemption partially through writing Making a Night Stalker. 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. Burnetts narration in Making a Night Stalker is an important part of literature in military history since it chronicles, like never before, the experience of an enlisted crewmember in what is likely the most sophisticated and secretive rotary wing aviation unit on earth. , MH-60 Black Hawk and AH-6 and MH-6 assault and attack configurations of Bird! 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