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Tim Graham standing by in Bagram. rested on the cold magazine well of my M4 carbine. 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. Al and Kip were on the ramp when the RPG impacted, Smith, who witnessed the horrific event, recalled. They then used explosives to clear out a large enough area for Chinooks to land when they came back. 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. Robert Thaler, courtesy of DVIDS. As the Night Stalkers approached Bagram they could see what looked like everyone on base standing outside, showing their respect for the fallen. SEALs: Who's Had More Impact in the War on Terror? 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. Disappointed, Brady followed the order and got off the aircraft. The militia leader, Ahmad Shah, was killed a few years later. Frustrated and angry, Graham followed the order. I could see a lot of vehicles with troops armed to the damn teeth, Smith recalled. "It gets tiring. My eyes were fixed in the distance, scanning, sweeping back and forth. As the Night Stalkers approached Bagram they could see what looked like everyone on base standing outside, showing their respect for the fallen. Photo by Spc. And we experienced that on that mountain.. Turbine 34 started taking heavy gunfire from unseen fighters below. That's how I remember him.". The Night Stalkers job was to insert the SEALs on a ridgeline where the terrain left few options for landing zones. Believing the gunship could make it back on station in time for the insertion, Brady made the call to continue the mission. The Chinooks took off toward the mountains once again, but as they climbed in elevation, severe weather rolled in. They rode it all the way in that way.. The SEALs did their best to hide the rope and keep their presence on the ridgeline hidden from enemy fighters. Hold your right and left; hold your front and rear, came the internal radio traffic from the flight engineer to Brady. We argued for what seemed like 10 minutes but was actually about 30 seconds, Brady recalled. OPERATION RED WINGS began with an insertion of a four-man NAVSOF reconnaissance and surveillance team near the summit of Sawtalo Sar late in the night of 27 June 2005. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. As the cases were being loaded, a SEAL ran up to the new SEAL commander and placed a written note in his hand. The order was given to again abort the mission and return to base. "Erik was just his own man. The mission was to capture or kill Ahmad Shah, a Taliban commander. The League of Wives Memorial will be the first public memorial in the country to recognize military spouses, its planners say. The flight back was pure silence. It means you cant drift any direction without crashing.. They would have to offload eight SEALs from each helicopter before continuing. As he watched the two Chinooks taxiing onto the runway, he locked eyes with Russell, his platoon sergeant. Soon they learned that their son Erik was among those killed in action. 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.. . With that, they retired to their rooms to rest for phase two of the operation the following night. One of the SEALs even drew his pistol and attempted unsuccessfully to force the Chinook to land so they could try to save their friends. Turbine 33s nose dipped down, and the aircraft slid to the left, appearing to almost recover. of 1 military operation. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Three of the 160ths MH-47D Chinooks on the flight line in Bagram, Afghanistan. Approaching the insertion point, the pilots flared the Chinook and came into a hover. The SEAL commander broke down and cried at the desperately needed positive news. 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. Bradys maintenance officer woke him and said the SR team was in trouble and the Night Stalkers had orders to spin up and pull the team out. They broke off and flew out of reach of the enemy fire. The fallen warriors were now on their way home. As I stared into the maze of pines, my heart rate increased, the sweat still pouring down my browine. 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. 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. Photo courtesy of Steven Smith. Chris, Turbine 33 has just been shot down, he told Eicher, who earned the nickname Iceman for his always cool demeanor. It didnt look like there was any way anybody could have survived, Graham said. battle. Turbine 34 started taking heavy gunfire from unseen fighters below. It just didnt look good.. Kent Paro, who led SEAL Team 10 at the time and was Kristensen and Murphy's commander in Afghanistan, told ABC News last week. 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. The Afghanistan mountains and forest from the valley where soldiers searched for the remains of the three SEALs who were killed in action. In one passage, he wrote, At any moment, I expected the crack of a rifle. He was liberal in his thinking. It was a matter of seniority. Graham reported the situation back to Bagram. The flight crew kicked out the ropes, and the SEALs fast-roped down. One by one, the Rangers and SEALs loaded the fallen onto the Chinooks and headed back to Bagram with their brothers. 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. Their war-weary faces were chiseled stone as they watched the task force solemnly load 16 flag-draped internment cases into the C-17. Each of the five Black Hawks was loaded with Marines and had flown out thinking they were the QRF for the SR team. The lone C-17 aircraft lumbered through the sky after departing Germany, a necessary stop on the way back to the United States. They then used explosives to clear out a large enough area for Chinooks to land when they came back. -- When Ed and Suzanne . 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.. Guys gave him a lot of grief but he was witty about it," Redman, author of "The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader," said in an interview. 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. Photo courtesy of Matt Rogie. Good, Brady recalled Reich saying. Russell went to work right away getting the crews together to prep the aircraft for the mission. "Next year, I'm giving him up," Sam Kristensen said, half joking, of future tributes for her son. 28, 2005 in Afghanistan. Showing Editorial results for operation redwing. "But he was on the helo," his mother told ABC News, as the family marked the tenth anniversary of Erik's death in Operation Red Wings last weekend. From left, SGT Carlos Pacheco (3/160 medic, former 3/75), SFC Marcus V. Muralles (Legend 3/160 medic), MAJ Sam Sauer (3/160 flight surgeon), SFC L.E. Family, friends remember SEAL Erik Kristensen, 10 years after doomed mission. Physically, emotionally. The crash site of Turbine 33. Commander Erik Kristensen was a senior commander in SEAL Team 10 in Afghanistan and didnt go on as many ground combat operations as those in the platoons under him. Graham made a stop at a Forward Arming and Refueling Point just outside of Jalalabad. You can't change it, you've got to live with it. "He was just a wonderful person. 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 was a non-conformist. The 2007 book Lone Survivor was later adapted into a movie of the same name in 2013. 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 weather was turning bad again as they offloaded Marines to assist with security. As Brady approached the Chinook hed be flying, he noticed the tail number: 1-4-6. After leaving the service, he earned his CrossFit Level 1 certificate and worked as a personal trainer while earning his paramedic license. 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. The Navy's summary of action of Operation Red Wings states that an MH-47 Chinook helicopter, with eight additional SEALs and eight Army Night Stalkers aboard, was dispatched as part of an extraction mission to pull out the four embattled SEALs. Back at Jalalabad, the commanders decided they had no choice but to wait for better weather and try again the next night. Commander Erik Kristensen died trying to rescue his fellow SEALs in the Operation Red Wings disaster 10 years ago. Later, militants would display captured U.S. weapons and laptop computers in a video. Navy SEALs Conduct an Impressive Capabilities Exercise Here's Rangers vs. . 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. When you hear all four directions, everyone gets pretty tense, Brady said. Jarret Roth, a Naval Academy buddy, said Kristensen was excited about joining his girlfriend in Paris in 2006 after his Afghanistan deployment for an Olmsted Foundation Scholarship to attend the Institute for Political Studies and was thinking beyond his time in the SEAL teams. 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. July 1, 2015, 6:11 AM. The two Apaches had arrived on station, drawing heavy gunfire, but nonetheless giving Turbine 34s crew back in the operations center a good look at the crash site. They finalized plans and . At Jalalabad, Brady was approached by SEAL Commander Erik Kristensen in the command operations center. The rescue operation, known as Operation Red Wings II, continued for weeks. Were completely separate commands. Even after a decade, his only child's loss "is still a very raw thing. 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. 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. In an interview with American Military News, Brooks said the motto leave no man behind was drilled into our heads as U.S. Army Rangers and his first real mission instilled the importance of that motto as he and his unit risked their own lives trying to find the members of Operation Red Wings. 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. Operation Redwing was a United States series of 17 nuclear test detonations from May to July 1956. The mission was to capture or kill Ahmad Shah, a Taliban commander. As Brady climbed into Turbine 33 and started strapping in, Reich tapped his shoulder and asked what the plan was. Once on the ground, they started their search for casualties, potential survivors, and sensitive equipment. 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. Thats when Staff Sergeant Steven Smith, the flight engineer in the rear of Turbine 34, saw a smoke trail emerge from the tree line directly toward Turbine 33. They finalized plans and sent the Night Stalkers on their way. The two Chinooks Turbine 33 and Turbine 34 were packed with 16 SEALs each, plus the Night Stalker pilots and crewman. Im glad youre a thinking air mission commander and not simply one that takes a black-and-white view of the situation.. Eicher looked at Brady and said, Nah, they probably put down for maintenance.. After landing, Graham saw the same five Black Hawks that had peeled off earlier parked on the runway. Kind of like SEALs.. It means you cant drift any direction without crashing.. Its extremely rare to have something that high-profile as your first mission, I recognize that, Brooks said. Photo by Lance Cpl. Brooks was an incoming freshman at the University of Arizona when Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airliners to carry out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. That weather out there is unbelievable. The Night Stalkers flew back to their newly forged landing zone the following night. 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. Rogie met Eicher on the flight line when he landed after returning from the mission. 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. Primary and secondary zones appear to be clear of potential threats.. The C-17 sat on the runway with the ramp down, waiting to receive the 16 interment cases containing the fallen warriors. 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. As Brady approached the Chinook hed be flying, he noticed the tail number: 1-4-6. Marines in the area knew it was an extremely dangerous place filled with Taliban fighters. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. This is my mission.. They participate in a golf tournament in Erik's name that helps military kids attend Gonzaga but the annual event they truly enjoy is "E-Day," a simple bar-b-que in Maryland hosted by Jennifer Casey and her siblings that brings together Erik's friends, family, Naval Academy classmates and SEAL teammates. Since the SEALs werent sure where exactly the compromised team was located, Kristensen believed inserting at a position of tactical advantage was the best option. In January 2003, Brooks quit college and within a few months, he joined the Army. Operation Red Wings Day 2: June 29. by Pete Nealen Nov 11, 2013. I felt like I was in the wrong place, I was doing the wrong things and I could do more, Brooks said. The task force commander denied the request and ordered Turbine 34 back to Jalalabad. Rogie met Eicher on the flight line when he landed after returning from the mission. 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. He could play the trumpet, he could sing, he could write," recalled his first cousin, Jennifer Casey. But they have grown weary of the past decade's seemingly endless tributes and memorial services for those lost in Operation Red Wings and the brutally violent "Lone Survivor" movie, which they watched three times at special screenings for families of the fallen. Before and after his presidency were some of the greatest contributions Jimmy Carter made to the world we know today. "Someone said Erik wouldn't be on the helo, recalled his mother, who goes by Sam. A glimmer of metal caught a Rangers eye and he picked up a stainless steel dogtag bearing not a name but the Armys Warrior Ethos: I will always place the mission first. Brady said it seemed like the whole base turned out to give the fallen a proper sendoff. He walked out of the operations center and found Eicher. — -- When Ed and Suzanne Kristensen first heard about a Chinook helicopter being shot down in eastern Afghanistan on June 28, 2005, at first they feared for their Navy SEAL son Erik, who was deployed there at the time, but were reassured by a Navy friend that he likely wouldn't have been aboard. 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. 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. From left to right, sonar technician (surface) Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson, of Cupertino, California; Senior Chief information systems technician Daniel R. Healy, of Exeter, New Hampshire; quartermaster Petty Officer 2nd Class James Suh, of Deerfield Beach, Florida; hospital corpsman Petty Officer 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell; machinists mate Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric S. Patton, of Boulder City, Nevada; and Lt. Michael P. Murphy, of Patchogue, New York With the exception of Luttrell, all were killed June 28, 2005, by enemy forces while supporting Operation Red Wing. "Erik did what any SEAL would do: go help SEALs in trouble," Navy Capt. They would have to offload eight SEALs from each helicopter before continuing. You are giving solace to someone other than yourself, and yet you are helping yourself," she said. 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 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. And if we just glamorize war all the time, I think thats a problem. The news about the chopper crash came while the Kristensens were, coincidentally, attending the retirement of a Navy diver in Norfolk who had served under Ed during the recovery of the passenger jet in the ocean. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Brooks also described the difficulty of navigating the mountain terrain and scrambles up hillsides covered in loose rocky scree as well as dramatic weather changes. The plan was for the SEALs to fast-rope onto the ridgeline above the original LZ. He asked Graham to repeat, unable to register what he had just heard. military operation during the War in Afghanistan. After refueling, he continued on to Jalalabad and off-loaded. Paratroopers held up a pair of Oakley mirrored sunglasses with one lens missing, a flight crew helmet torn open, a bent and flattened tactical flashlight and the lining of a SEAL's helmet they found on the ground. Were completely separate commands. Not wanting to burn valuable time waiting on approval from the task force commander for the audible, the Night Stalkers continued on without the Apaches. The SEAL commander broke down and cried at the desperately needed positive news. Primary and secondary zones appear to be clear of potential threats.. The projectile flew through the open ramp of the Chinook and exploded inside. Reich, who had been designated mission commander for phase two of the operation, felt the QRF was his responsibility. Almost every variety of special operations troops in the US 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. They broke off and flew out of reach of the enemy fire. Running around in the woods is kind of cool once in awhile, camping is kind of cool once in awhile. At Jalalabad, Brady was approached by SEAL Cmdr. Graham watched from Turbine 34 as Turbine 33s ramp lowered and the crewman walked onto it to observe the landing zone below. 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. As he approached the insertion site, Brady could see lights dotting the mountains below through his night-vision goggles. 2023 Getty Images. Brady knew that surveillance aircraft going off station without backup was supposed to result in aborting the mission. He had a look of competence and professionalism like he was ready to live out the Night Stalker creed, Brady said. The back of the aircraft contained the flag-draped coffins of 16 great Americans: the fallen Night Stalkers and SEALs from Turbine 33. The commandos would have to descend from a rope fast-rope while the helos hovered high above the trees. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell was the only survivor from the initial four-man SEAL reconnaissance element. On battlefields throughout history, the combat engineer has proven time and again to be a decisive factor in victory and defeat. "He was a very a selfless guy.". Join our brand new verified AMN Telegram channel and get important news uncensored. Flight line view of U.S. Army UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters. Photo courtesy of Daniel Bell. He and Eicher hurried back to the operations center. Then the realization hit: He was now in charge. Friends such as John Ismay, who wrote appreciatively about this detail in the New York Times last year, say that was a subtle tribute to Kristensen as a genuine "non-conformist," who didn't fit the Hollywood stereotype of coldly conservative SEAL warriors. Photo courtesy of DVIDS. The distinctive black MH-47G Chinook special operations helicopter. Smith said everyone on the Chinook was angry. Good, Brady recalled Reich saying. ", "But he wasn't a non-conformist just to be a non-conformist," Ismay explained. The note said that Marcus Luttrell was alive at a nearby village. Kristensen attended Washington's Gonzaga College High School. I get that hes got some guilt that his friends were killed, but the fact that he got out alive, he should be celebrating, Brooks said. Im glad youre here because I am spent, Eicher told him. 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. 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. Photo provided by Brooks. ", "I would've hated it if anyone had been killed on that recovery mission," she said after viewing the grim scene the young paratroopers had to sift through in July 2005. Search for jobs related to Operation red wings news coverage or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 22m+ jobs. It's free to sign up and bid on jobs. They ascended back into orbit and remained there for an hour until the task force commander ordered them back to Jalalabad.