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. Thats not possible, Brady replied, confused at how quickly the SEALs had become compromised. All soldiers receive intensive training upon joining the 160th and are required to pass the Green Platoon course. Making A Night Stalker takes you along on Burnetts career in the U.S. Army during the Global War on Terror. 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. [18], Later 2002, in Afghanistan, Task Force 11 (previously known as Task Force Sword-renamed in January 2002) was composed of DEVGRU, and a company of Rangers, and was supported by a company of helicopters from the 160th SOAR. They then used explosives to clear out a large enough area for Chinooks to land when they came back. He asked Graham to repeat, unable to register what he had just heard. You hope they could. Publication of Making a Night Stalker was crowd-funded through a Kickstarter campaign that raised $10,392 from 210 backers. 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. [41], The Washington Post reported that 160th SOAR took part in the Yakla raid in Yemen on 29 January 2017, distinguishing itself when its helicopters flew repeatedly into heavy enemy fire to support U.S. Navy SEALs pinned down on the ground. The birds call sign was Turbine 33. The C-17 sat on the runway with the ramp down, waiting to receive the 16 interment cases containing the fallen warriors. air force crew chief wood art plaque air force daf security forces police badge air force medical service seal air force pilot wings wood art plaque This provisional unit was dubbed Task Force 158, since most of its pilots were Black Hawk aviators detached from the 158th. Joined: Feb 2006. 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 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. Sgt. Chief Warrant Officer 5 George "Billy" Cook and Chief Warrant Officer 5 Karl H. Maier stand with Col. John R. Evans Jr., 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment during a retirement ceremony . [20], In seven hours, more than 70 sites were destroyed, effectively depriving the Iraqi military of any early warning of the coming invasion. The commander explained that the ground force commander had already rejected that plan and didnt want to wait any longer. Your mileage may vary. 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. A U.S. Army crew chief, right, with the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) and an Air Force loadmaster with the 15th Airlift Squadron guide an MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter while 110823-F-WA575-004.jpg 4,256 2,832; 4.55 MB 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. SamOlson. Demerly is an experienced parachutist, holds advanced SCUBA certifications, has climbed the highest mountains on three continents and visited all seven continents and has flown several types of light aircraft. Approaching the insertion point, the pilots flared the Chinook and came into a hover. . The plan was for the SEALs to fast-rope onto the ridgeline above the original LZ. Two MH-60K Black Hawks carrying a parajumper medical team and two MH-60L DAPs of the 160th SOAR responded and engaged the Iraqis, which allowed the Delta operators to move their two casualties to an emergency HLZ. 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. 1st Battalion; 2nd Battalion; 3rd Battalion; Special Troops Battalion; Special Operations . CW2 (Join to see) You attend Green Platoon when you arrive at 160th. Drop us on the high ground, and well make our way to our swim buddies, Kristensen told Brady. Weve got two military-aged males, possibly armed, on the northernmost LZ, the crew reported. (Their unit in TF Sword was designated Task Force Brown. JSOCs TF 160th, that's who. Back at Jalalabad, the commanders decided they had no choice but to wait for better weather and try again the next night. The flight back was pure silence. In March 2006, SEALs from DEVGRU and Rangers were flown by the 160th SOAR into in North Waziristan, Pakistan, to assault an al-Qaeda training camp, allegedly under the codename: Operation Vigilant Harvest, the assaulters killed as many as 30 terrorists including the camps commandant. 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. The AC-130 then destroyed the MH-47E wreck, denying it to the Taliban.[26]. Night Stalkers from 1st Battalion 160th SOAR were tasked with supporting Task Force 20 with its MH-60M Black Hawks, MH-60L DAPs, MH-6M transport and AH-6M Little Birds; they were based at Ar'Ar. A second MH-47E, callsign Razor 01, responded to the shoot down with a Quick Reaction Force; it was damaged by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, and crash-landed. Its missions have included attack, assault, and reconnaissance, and these missions are usually conducted at night, at high speeds, low altitudes, and on short notice. The Army looked to the 101st Aviation Group, the air arm of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), which had the most diverse operating experience of the service's helicopter units, and selected elements of the 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Aviation Battalion, 229th Aviation Battalion, and the 159th Aviation Battalion. On 2 April, a Delta Force squadron operating in Iraq was ambushed by a half-dozen armed technicals from an anti-special forces Fedayeen. They flew from US Navy warships and leased oil barges in a secret sub-part called Operation Prime Chance, and became the first helicopter pilots to use night vision goggles and forward looking infrared (FLIR) devices in night combat. The first Chinook landed and configured the Hind, while the second hovered overhead and sling loaded it for return to Ndjamena. These are the crews who fly America's top special. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), also known as the 160th SOAR or Night Stalkers, are the critically important aviation support of America's special operations forces. First, as a member of a regular Army helicopter aviation unit, then, as he tries to earn a slot as a crew chief on the secretive MH-47G Chinook special operations helicopter in the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), the Nightstalkers. 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. --Night Stalkers. He asked the AC-130 crew for one final report on the four potential landing zones the Night Stalkers had identified for the mission. After 4 years in the guard in aviation, my gung-ho/ hooah levels have gone down dramatically, will need to get back in that motivated mindset some how. Process for becoming a Night Stalker and a valued member of the United States Army Special Operations Aviation Team is as follows: Since our inception, the 160th SOAR has filled its ranks with "tested volunteers.". Pilot/copilot, crew chief and medic. 15U MH-47 Crew Chief; 15U MH-47 Maintenance Supervisor; 160th Recruiting Enlisted; Multimedia; 160th Recruiting; 160th Recruiting 2 . Aviators, maintainers and aviation crewmembers of the RAF conducted exchange flights with Soldiers of 160th SOAR to share and learn how each respective unit operates. 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. Nicknamed the Night Stalkers and called Task Force Brown within the JSOC,[2] the 160th SOAR(A) is headquartered at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. (We've been through many themes over . The Black Hawks and Chinooks continued to operate around Campbell Army Airfield at the north of post, and Saber Army Heliport at the south. While assigned to 160th SOAR (A), Marketta deployed to Afghanistan in support of. [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. [13] Today, according to the USASOC, the 160th continues a sustained and active forward presence in the U.S. Central Command area of operations at multiple locations. Discover life as a 160th Special Operations Aviation #Army MOS #15T MH-60 Crew Chief. [35], On 28 May 2012, Operation Jubilee took place: Black Hawks from the 160th SOAR flew in teams from the British 22 SAS and DEVGRU into Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan so they could rescue a British aid worker, a Kenyan NGO worker and 2 Afghans who were taken hostage by Bandits in the province. They bring the reader into the action. With some troops on the ground, a large insurgent force ambushed them. Kish Air Show: A Rare Opportunity To See The Worlds Last Flying F-14 Tomcat Jets In Action. The flight crew kicked out the ropes, and the SEALs fast-roped down. Enter Chief Warrant Officer 5 (CW5) David Cooper. 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. I know they go on TDY deployments, does that mean short term gig in Afghanistan? One MH-47E pilot put his aircraft in the line of fire to protect the other MH-47E as its assault team disembarked. When I met him there on the ground in Jalalabad, Graham was fairly shaken to say the least, Brady recalled. [18], On 21 June 2002 in the Philippines, Night Stalker MH-47Es were involved in the operation that killed Abu Sabaya, a senior leader in Abu Sayyef. CENTCOM mistakenly posted a video on the internet of a flight of four MH-60Ms of the 160th SOAR conducting a mid-air refueling over Iraq in October 2014, the video was hastily taken down. Graham made a stop at a Forward Arming and Refueling Point just outside of Jalalabad. They engaged in a fierce firefight, and at some point the task force lost contact with them. 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. Editors note: the Author doesnt have any connection to the author, has never met him and he bought the book from Amazon himself so this is an unbiased review. Then the realization hit: He was now in charge. When I left in 2012, getting off post as a single E6 wasn't even a sure thing. Up until their retirement ceremony March 21, Maier was the longest-tenured Night Stalker in the 160th SOAR (A). The 160th SOAR is the world's premier rotary-wing unit and specializes in transport, attack, and reconnaissance missions, with special-operations units being their main customers. 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. For the Soldiers of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), their lineage is traced to four distinctive patches, highlighting their headquarters throughout the years: 101st. All rights reserved. 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