The remaining Night Stalkers prepared for a rescue operation. Back at Jalalabad, the commanders decided they had no choice but to wait for better weather and try again the next night. On battlefields throughout history, the combat engineer has proven time and again to be a decisive factor in victory and defeat. 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. Brooks told American Military News his experience on that mission added to his appreciation for Luttrells survival. Graham made a stop at a Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) just outside of Jalalabad. Graham reported the situation back to Bagram. Receiving the transmission, Brady couldnt believe it. As he approached the insertion site, Brady could see lights dotting the mountains below through his night-vision goggles. We argued for what seemed like 10 minutes but was actually about 30 seconds, Brady recalled. 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. Search for jobs related to Operation red wings crash site photos or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 21m+ jobs. Im glad youre a thinking air mission commander and not simply one that takes a black-and-white view of the situation.. Hes a person all those Jesuits wanted us to be, said Ismay, a fellow Gonzaga graduate. We would have to drop a man down with a hoist in that hole of an LZ, Brady explained. The recent major motion picture "Lone Survivor" tells the story of Operation Red Wings, an ill-fated 2005 Navy SEAL reconnaissance operation in Afghanistan. Marines in the area knew it was an extremely dangerous place filled with Taliban fighters. And if we just glamorize war all the time, I think thats a problem. The fact that the task unit commander had personally led the mission with seven other highly experienced SEAL operators in broad daylight to rescue Murphy's team and kill Shah -- the leader of the "Mountain Tigers" local militia who Murphy had been sent to locate on the Pakistan border -- didn't surprise those who knew Kristensen. They broke off and flew out of reach of the enemy fire. Standing 6' 4", he is remembered as gregarious and embraced a Jesuit ideal by being a "Man For Others," friends and family said. Brooks said he felt inspired to record his first-hand account of the mission to rescue Luttrell because most war stories are about the fighting and the glorious victory of battle, but I think this kind of tells another side of war that kind of really doesnt get much attention., This was ugly, this was an ugly event, Brooks added. Our plan of action is for you to get us to the high ground as close to the troops in contact as you can, and were going to fight our way downhill, Brady recalled Kristensen saying. They would have to offload eight SEALs from each helicopter before continuing. Photo provided by Brooks. 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. The order was given to again abort the mission and return to base. Turbine 34 started taking heavy gunfire from unseen fighters below. He walked back to the operations center to monitor the situation and provide support from Bagram. Kristensen and his SEALs were waiting on the ramp, standing in a circle. Children of varying ages ran around the coffins, playing and yelling, not yet old enough to understand the sacrifices these warriors made. July 1, 2015, 6:11 AM. The C-17 closed its ramp and taxied down the runway and took flight. Arriving on site, the task force members fast-roped in. In one passage, he wrote, At any moment, I expected the crack of a rifle. My eyes were fixed in the distance, scanning, sweeping back and forth. Kristensen attended Washington's Gonzaga College High School. 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. #OperationRedWings pic.twitter.com/FWsObBsX6n Boot Campaign (@BootCampaign) June 28, 2019 The four SEALs on the ground had continued the fight, killing an estimated 35 militants, until Murphy, Axelon and Dietz were killed, leaving Luttrell gravely wounded and laying in a ravine after a grenade blast knocked him unconscious. All the men were anxious, angry, and ready to retrieve their brothers in arms. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. Photo courtesy of Matt Rogie. RMW0HEG2 - Air Force flight surgeon Patrick Whitney visits the grave site of SFC Marcus V. Muralles, on Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., May 26, 2014. SEALs: Who's Had More Impact in the War on Terror? Shroades (medic R/160), SGT Dan Bell (E Co/160) during during the timeframe of Operation Red Wings. Russell went to work right away getting the crews together to prep the aircraft for the mission. "It will always be 'yesterday.' The new mission, dubbed Operation Red Wings II, was to recover the fallen heroes and the lone survivor Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell. "Erik was just his own man. Weve got two military-aged males, possibly armed, on the northernmost LZ, the crew reported. "Next year, I'm giving him up," Sam Kristensen said, half joking, of future tributes for her son. The entire operation followed Project 56 and preceded Project 57.The primary intention was to test new, second-generation thermonuclear weapons.Also tested were fission devices intended to be used as primaries for . 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. Frustrated and angry, Graham followed the order. Believing the gunship could make it back on station in time for the insertion, Brady made the call to continue the mission. Tasked with inserting the SEAL special reconnaissance (SR) team deep into enemy territory in unforgiving terrain, Brady knew the SEALs Lieutenant Michael Murphy, Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny Dietz, Petty Officer 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Axelson had a difficult mission ahead. Brady persisted with the details. The birds call sign was Turbine 33. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, Long Island, also was killed in action and received a posthumous Medal of Honor from President George W. Bush. 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 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 US military inventory. Lt. Im glad youre here because I am spent, Eicher told him. Once on the ground, theyd have to pick up the rope, hook it to themselves, and get hoisted back up. 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. 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. Operation Red Wings II: Lone Survivor Recovery (Part II) The two Chinooks Turbine 33 and Turbine 34 were packed with 16 SEALs each, plus the Night Stalker pilots and crewman. It didnt look like there was any way anybody could have survived, Graham said. Kristensen applied but wasn't selected for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL school out of the academy. Kristensen Family. There was still some smoldering from the crash site, and I could see the glow from the heat through my night vision.. 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. 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. I felt like I was in the wrong place, I was doing the wrong things and I could do more, Brooks said. All of us were pretty broken up at that point, Rogie said. The mission was to capture or kill Ahmad Shah, a Taliban commander. Having walked that ground, it blows my mind that he got out of there alive. All the men were anxious, angry, and ready to retrieve their brothers in arms. The Korengal and Shuryak valleysthe geographic region of Operation Red Wingsare sparsely populated and could not support an enemy force of 200 people. 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. The note said that Marcus Luttrell was alive at a nearby village. When the crew chief tried to pull the rope up, they found it was entangled below. "We would have to drop a man down with a hoist in that hole of an LZ," Brady explained. Joshua Skovlund has covered the 75th anniversary of D-Day in France, multinational military exercises in Germany, and civil unrest during the 2020 riots in Minneapolis that followed the death of George Floyd. I could see a lot of vehicles with troops armed to the damn teeth, Smith recalled. They are famous for the roles they played in both the Battle of Mogadishu and the mission to kill Usama Bin Laden but are revered throughout the special operations community for acts of valor that often never see the light of day due to the classified nature of their work. The crash site of Turbine 33. Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and other Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) personnel loaded onto five Chinooks. 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 remaining Night Stalkers prepared for a rescue operation. Its a necessary evil and we should know the good and the bad., Front cover of "Leave No Man Behind" by Dr. Tony Brooks with Bob Welch. "That was the one part of the movie that I enjoyed. The three-phase plan called for inserting a four-man SR team the first night, then inserting the second element of, This was a desolate part of the Hindu Kush, and at night, you wouldnt really expect to see much, Brady told, . Once on the ground, theyd have to pick up the rope, hook it to themselves, and get hoisted back up. Soon they learned that their son Erik was among those killed in action. 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 majority of his book focuses on his first deployment out of Ranger training. We argued for what seemed like 10 minutes but was actually about 30 seconds, Brady recalled. 8 to 12 estimated Taliban walked up the mountain and capitalised on every poor decision the seals made. Erik Kristensen and the fallen of Turbine 33 did not. 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. 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. 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. 2023 Getty Images. They are famous for the roles they played in both the Battle of Mogadishu and the mission to kill Usama Bin Laden but are revered throughout the special operations community for acts of valor that often never see the light of day due to the classified nature of their work. "Erik was funny as hell, always one of the boys," Marcus Luttrell wrote in his book "Lone Survivor.. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. "Erik did what any SEAL would do: go help SEALs in trouble," Navy Capt. The SEALs did their best to hide the rope and keep their presence on the ridgeline hidden from enemy fighters. This is my mission.. Photo by Mark C. Olsen, courtesy of DVIDS. Ret. Army Ranger tells the untold story of rescuing 'Lone Survivor Ed Kristensen, quiet and soft-spoken, said he doesn't need to see that mountainside in Afghanistan to ease his grief, because he knows that Erik "was doing what he wanted to do. 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. 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. Graham and his co-pilot whipped their Chinook around to look for survivors. Photo courtesy of Steven Smith. The Taliban had pilfered the site, as well as the remains of Murphy -- they even stole his wristwatch -- and fellow SEAL operators Matthew Axelson and Danny Dietz in another location down the mountain in the forest. Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and other Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) personnel loaded onto five Chinooks. Cummings, Michael "Multiple Blogs on Operation Red Wings . . We reverence the ultimate sacrifice they made while engaged in that fierce firefight on the global war's front lines on terrorism (GWOT). "Erik leaned to the left. After several tense moments of struggling to bring in the rope, they decided to cut it loose. 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 SEAL commander broke down and cried at the desperately needed positive news. Matt Bradys MH-47 Chinook helicopter on Bagram Air Base. Each of the five Black Hawks was loaded with Marines and had flown out thinking they were the QRF for the SR team. 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 task force commander denied the request and ordered Turbine 34 back to Jalalabad. Navy SEALs operating in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They broke off and flew out of reach of the enemy fire. A new book released Tuesday tells the story of the efforts U.S. Army Rangers made in summer 2005 to recover the casualties of Operation Red Wings and to rescue the missions lone survivor, U.S. Navy SEAL Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell. 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. When the commander of Naval Special Warfare called him to say they were searching for Erik and the others, his father assumed the worst. Approaching the insertion point, the pilots flared the Chinook and came into a hover. Nope, I want you to take my spot as the operations officer and monitor from here, Reich replied. Ammunition magazines for M4 rifles, springs and un-fired cartridges litter the sooted ground. Their war-weary faces were chiseled stone as they watched the task force solemnly load 16 flag-draped internment cases into the C-17. military operation during the War in Afghanistan. He asked Graham to repeat, unable to register what he had just heard. Eicher looked at Brady and said, Nah, they probably put down for maintenance.. CA License # A-588676-HAZ / DIR Contractor Registration #1000009744 They ascended back into orbit and remained there for an hour until the task force commander ordered them back to Jalalabad. A decade after the incident, Erik Kristensen, by many accounts an unconventional SEAL, remains a largely unknown figure in the public telling of one of U.S. special operations' most tragic -- but also most celebrated, for valor -- incidents in its history, despite bestselling books, websites and last year's hit movie "Lone Survivor.. Share This: Rangers, Special Forces, and PJs were already moving up the mountain toward the crash site. After refueling, he continued on to Jalalabad and off-loaded. 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. The 160th had only lost helicopters during daylight missions at that point theyre called Night Stalkers for a reason. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell was the only survivor from the initial four-man SEAL reconnaissance element. All of us were pretty broken up at that point, Rogie said. The task force commander debriefed the men and then focused on planning their next steps. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Matt Rogie arrived in Bagram just before the Night Stalkers came back after dropping off the recovery force. Thats not possible, Brady replied, confused at how quickly the SEALs had become compromised. I could see the grass being blown by the rotor wash and all the remains bags being lined up in a row 16 of them, Rogie recalled. Smith and the others in Turbine 34 watched helplessly as the Chinook full of their fellow aviators their friends crashed into the mountain and erupted in a ball of flames. 28, 2005 in Afghanistan. Turbine 33s nose dipped down, and the aircraft slid to the left, appearing to almost recover. As the Night Stalkers approached Bagram they could see what looked like everyone on base standing outside, showing their respect for the fallen. Extortion 17: The deadliest day in the DEVGRU history - Spec Ops Magazine Brady said he pleaded with Reich to at least let him come with and act as an extra gun and set of eyes. 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. They ascended back into orbit and remained there for an hour until the task force commander ordered them back to Jalalabad. Kristensen was the one who organized a rescue mission after a SEAL reconnaissance team's leader, Lt. Michael Murphy, called for help well into a firefight in Kunar province's soaring mountains. Grahams aircraft pulled off to the right to circle around and insert their payload of SEALs after Turbine 33 moved off to allow their entrance. Hoisting a man at that altitude on that kind of terrain at night is a dangerous operation. He would have been on that bird were it not for the last minute change. . As a pilot in the 160th, Brady was the air mission commander for the operation. Photo by Spc. These are the first photos released by the military of the . 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. I don't know if I want to do this the rest of my life. As the storm raged, the members of the task force haunted with thoughts of their brothers on the mountain tried to sleep. Thats when Staff Sgt. Smith said everyone on the Chinook was angry. But seeing the site, even so long after, was helpful. The Night Stalkers would then circle back and pick up the remaining SEALs who offloaded at Jalalabad. Kristensen's mother said swapping stories over beers and burgers is probably how the man his friends call the "gentle giant" would've preferred his life be celebrated, since he thought funerals were ridiculous and didn't even fill out the forms for his burial preferences, which most troops do. The crash was the second of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan this year. 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. He walked out of the operations center and found Eicher. The Afghanistan mountains and forest from the valley where soldiers searched for the remains of the three SEALs who were killed in action. I could see the grass being blown by the rotor wash and all the remains bags being lined up in a row 16 of them, Rogie recalled. Finally, 150 US Marines would come in to establish blocking positions for the SEALs assault on Shahs compound. The Night Stalkers flew back to their newly forged landing zone the following night. Brady said it seemed like the whole base turned out to give the fallen a proper sendoff. Reich, who had been designated mission commander for phase two of the operation, felt the QRF was his responsibility. Graham reported the situation back to Bagram. 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. Kristensen agreed with Bradys evaluation, and after the SR team radioed that they would be lying down for the day in their hide site, Brady and Kristensen called it a night. I will never leave a fallen comrade. The determination to not leave their fallen comrades was true of all 16 in Turbine 33 -- and was a promise fulfilled by their Jesuit-taught commander, Kristensen. As they were turning around, Graham saw five Black Hawks performing a star-cluster evasion. Drop us on the high ground, and well make our way to our swim buddies, Kristensen told Brady. Receiving the transmission, Brady couldnt believe it. 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. Navy SEAL Lt. It means you cant drift any direction without crashing.. 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. "From a loyalty standpoint, he said he trained those guys and he was going.". The plan was for the SEALs to fast-rope onto the ridgeline above the original LZ. Arriving on site, the task force members fast-roped in. Brady said he pleaded with Reich to at least let him come with and act as an extra gun and set of eyes. 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. Photo courtesy of Steven Smith. "Lone Survivor" included a shot of Kristensens Birkenstock-clad feet trudging out of his quarters after Murphy's call for help is received in the tactical operations center in Jalalabad. Operation Red Wings through the eyes of the Night Stalkers We've hated to say no because people are very kind, Sam said. Graham and his co-pilot whipped their Chinook around to look for survivors. 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.