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 One by one, the Rangers and SEALs loaded the fallen onto the Chinooks and headed back to Bagram with their brothers. Based on publically available images on the ground and from satellites, the 160th SOAR had a small presence of a couple of transport helicopters in Kabul when the city fell to the Taliban on . 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! Background: Army NG Crew chief (15T) E4, been in about 4 years but still have very limited maintenance experience and just recently RL1 crew chief. A similar slot was. Theyve got their own quick-reaction force. 160th SOAR (Abn) Application, Assessment and Selection Process. The odds of enemy fighters hearing the echo of the dual-rotor helicopter increased every second it remained in a hover. 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. He would have been on that bird were it not for the last-minute change. And finally, the plot ends with a twist that makes every page memorable. 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.". On 2 April, a Delta Force squadron operating in Iraq was ambushed by a half-dozen armed technicals from an anti-special forces Fedayeen. 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 members of the task force said their final goodbyes. Officers volunteer while enlisted soldiers volunteer or are assigned by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Enlisted Soldiers and NCOs are actively recruited to fill our ranks with the best men and women capable of executing our mission. At 9 p.m. on 19 March 2003, the first strike of Operation Iraqi Freedom was carried out by members of the 160th SOAR, on Iraqi visual observation posts along the southern and western borders of Iraq. CK Re: Overnight Pave Hawks (2) collide Ft Campbell. Following, RTs and links does not constitute endorsement. 1st Battalion; 2nd Battalion; 3rd Battalion; Special Troops Battalion; Special Operations . 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. In June 1988, the unit received a short-notice directive to recover a Soviet made Mi-25 Hind (Mi-24 Hind export version) attack helicopter from a remote location in Chad. 1st Class Mike Russell, was sleeping and updated him on what had unfolded. The most prevalent model is the special operations-modified Sikorsky MH-60 Blackhawk. The Army's 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 US military inventory. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), abbreviated as 160th SOAR (A), is a special operations force of the United States Army that provides helicopter aviation support for special operations forces. (Original members of the Night Stalkers refer to it as "the day the Eagles came off". Because Burnett was an enlisted crew chief servicing the aircraft, his insights are accessible and grounded. Arriving at the insertion point on the ridgeline, Turbine 33 descended into a hover. Once on the ground, they started their search for casualties, potential survivors, and sensitive equipment. Campfire 'Bwana. 160th SOAR(A) Special Operations Recruiter/ Station Deputy Commander . If you pass you will continue into 160th, if you fail or quit you will be sent to 101st. The Night Stalkers would then circle back and pick up the remaining SEALs who offloaded at Jalalabad. Whiteman AFB Has Released A Short Clip That Shows A B-2 Dropping Two 30,000-Pound GBU-57 Bunker Buster Bombs, We got the first high-rez images of the stealth drone captured by Iran. The SEALs were successfully inserted onto the property while the crew was able to extract themselves, provide cover for the SEALs and then leave on the other helicopter. MOS 15U MH-47 Special Operations Crew Chief is featured in this episode of Service in the 160th: My Life in Special Operations Aviation. The 160th SOAR has operated the same five helicopters for many decades. [20], On 1 April 2003, the 160th SOAR took part in the rescue mission of PFC Jessica Lynch who was taken prisoner during the Battle of Nasiriyah. We would have to drop a man down with a hoist in that hole of an LZ, Brady explained. That meant if the SEALs got into trouble, extraction would potentially require the use of a hoist to pull the SEALs out, which was a time-consuming and dangerous option. My questions are: is EGP just one of those things that is tough but if you don't suck you'll get through it? "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. The 160th SOAR have operated several flavors of MH-47 during its history. " 13 SOAMIC consists of "didactic and practical training in SOA medical tasks, provider-level clinical and battlefield medicine, and Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. This video is put togeth. The weather was turning bad again as they offloaded Marines to assist with security. He retired from the U.S. Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 Blackhawk helicopter Master Aviator in the 160th SOAR after participating in combat operations Prime Chance, Just Cause, and Desert Storm, and also Gothic Serpent, in which he was briefly held prisoner in 1993 after a raid in Somalia . Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jayme Pastoric. 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 commander explained that the ground force commander had already rejected that plan and didnt want to wait any longer. On 19 September 2009 in Somalia, the Night Stalkers took part in Operation Celestial Balance, whose target was a senior terrorist leader connected to al-Qaeda affiliated organizations. After the 1980 Operation Eagle Claw attempt to rescue American hostages held in Tehran, Iran, failed, President Jimmy Carter ordered former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James L. Holloway III to figure out how the U.S. military could best mount another attempt. [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 first Chinook landed and configured the Hind, while the second hovered overhead and sling loaded it for return to Ndjamena. 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. The suspended dust erases the horizon making. 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. And, if you want to be a part of a generally top-notch team, then 160th SOAR AKA the "Night Stalkers" checks the box. The OH-6 Cayuses, aircraft that had vanished from the division's regular inventory after Vietnam, were hidden on base in an ammunition holding area still known as the "SHOC Pad", for "Special Helicopter Operations Company". Its unlikely any journalist could have told this story the way Burnett does. A Night Stalkers crew chief fires a M134 minigun from the forward starboard opening. He remained in 1st Battalion, 160th SOAR (A) as an MH-60M Crew Chief. Does anyone know how prior service contracts work? At Jalalabad, Brady was approached by SEAL Cmdr. 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.. [32][33], In May 2011, the Night Stalkers took part in the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound. While assigned to 160th SOAR (A), Marketta deployed to Afghanistan in support of. Within a few weeks, the Northern Alliance, assisted by U.S. ground and air forces, captured several key cities from the Taliban. Little Bird passes were so close that Rangers remember the spent brass hitting their helmets like rain. The Night Stalkers, officially known as the 160 Special Operations Aviation Regiment, are the best helicopter pilots and crews in the world. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Matt Rogie arrived in Bagram just before the Night Stalkers came back after dropping off the recovery force. 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. Staff Sgt. The 160th had only lost helicopters during daylight missions at that point theyre calledNight Stalkers for a reason. ago Hard and wet at the same time 98 BrokenBodyEngineer 12NeverGonnaGiveYouUp [13] Listen as this tested Volunteer shares his experience in Army Special Operations Aviation and what it means to be a Night Stalker in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). This is post/unit dependent. 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. Matt Bradys MH-47 Chinook helicopter on Bagram Air Base. [30] On 9 September 2009 in Afghanistan, Night Stalkers inserted the British SBS and SFSG into Kunduz Province to rescue Times journalist Stephen Farrell after he and his Afghan interpreter were captured by the Taliban. I could see a lot of vehicles with troops armed to the damn teeth, Smith recalled. King, Lauren, "One Killed, Several Injured in Copter Crash on Navy Ship". His creative outlets include Skovlund Photography and Concentrated Emotion. Staff Sgt. 10th Special Forces Group conducted a combined exercise with 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) to bring cohesion in communication and sharing information. The Tuskegee Airmen flew bomber escort missions during World War II and earned a reputation for excellence that shattered racial barriers within the U.S. military. The AC-130 then destroyed the MH-47E wreck, denying it to the Taliban.[26]. As he watched the two Chinooks taxiing onto the runway, he locked eyes with Russell, his platoon sergeant. 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. Ship '' survivors, and sensitive equipment and Selection Process refer to it as `` the day the Eagles off! 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