Military Aviation

Boeing/Sikorsky SB-1 Defiant, A Possible Replacement for the Blackhawk

The Army is looking to replace their fleets of the aging UH-60 Blackhawk vertical lift helicopters and wants their replacements, with an eye toward possible conflict with Russian or Chinese forces to be bigger, faster and much more maneuverable.

The Army is calling this new development the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRRA) and it is designed to go faster, over longer distances and maneuver in tight spaces against much more advanced Russian or Chinese air defense systems than what our troops are currently encountering.

This will be an added area of concern for future Special Operations troops who will be tasked with flying into much more dangerous territory behind the enemy’s main line of defenses.

Boeing and Sikorsky (owned by Lockheed-Martin) have joined forces to develop the SB-1 DEFIANT for the next generation of military forces. The SB-1 is supposed to answer the Army’s need for a new attack/assault helicopter, as well as the Marine Corps long-range transportation, infiltration and resupply missions.

Boeing has stated that the commonality between the attack and assault aircraft developed at 85 percent which will reduce life-cycle costs and development. The Defiant utilizes “two coaxial rotors on top that rotate in opposite directions, the extra lift from each rotor’s advancing blade balances out the diminished lift from the opposite side’s retreating blade to eliminate retreating blade stall.”

To provide the forward thrust for flight, in the aft of the aircraft, Boeing has mounted a pusher propeller, allowing the aircraft to fly nearly twice as fast and twice as far as today’s UH-60 helicopter. This system allows much greater maneuverability and agility including hover, low-speed flight, and high-speed flight.

The Defiant has retractable landing gear, reducing drag hence higher top speeds with greater fuel efficiency, increasing aircraft’s range. The twin-rotor system minimizes rotor downwash as troops embark/disembark, and Boeing is also claiming a “dramatically reduced acoustic signature”, something that the tilt-rotor aircraft don’t do well. When transporting the Defiant, the top rotors can be folded back, allowing it to be stored and transported easily on current Air Force transport platforms.

In the assault configuration, the Defiant has a crew of four and a cabin equipped for up to 12 combat-loaded troops or eight medevac litters.

The co-axial blades have already been used on Boeing’s X-2 helicopter. However, it is the rotor blades that was the slow-up in development, which the SB-1 is nearly a full year behind Bell’s VB-280 aircraft.

The rotor blades have to be extremely rigid to withstand to handle the vibration. The Army had asked Boeing to conduct a new manufacturing process called automated fiber placement. That took a while to master, and if the Army decides to buy the SB-1, this will drive the cost lower and increase the speed and efficiency of the production.

It is a vastly different design than the Bell VB-280 which features the tilt-rotor design that they’ve used on their V-22 Raptor aircraft that are currently in use with the Marines and Air Force Special Operations troops.

The Boeing design with the dual coaxial rotors makes it much more agile and maneuverable at low speeds and in tight spaces, where the vast majority of aircraft accident crashes and shoot-downs occur. The theory is, (the tests have still not been validated by the Army), is that with the propulsor in the rear, the pilot can maneuver easily close to the ground without tilting the entire aircraft as they are forced to do with traditional vertical lift helicopters.

The tilt-rotor type like the V-22 was designed to fly long distances with excellent fuel efficiency, not be as agile. However, Bell has stated that the scaled-down version that they are trying to sell the Army handles like a race car.

The Bell VB-280 flies at a top speed of 280 knots (hence the 280 name) or about 322 miles per hour. The SB-1 flies at about 250 knots or 288 miles per hour, slower by a bit for sure. The current UH-60 has a top speed of about 183 miles per hour.

Boeing, in their own press release, made a case for the Defiant with the following criteria:

X2 Rotor System: A rigid, co-axial rotor system with pusher propulsor that provides improved mission objective capability, reduced wear on parts and systems, increased reliability and lower total lifecycle costs
Maneuverability and Agility: Improved agility and flight control augmentation allow tight assault formations with close proximity landings to deliver embarked troops as a cohesive unit and minimize exposure to hostile threats
Speed and Range: Twice the speed and distance of today’s conventional helicopters while increasing the overall maneuverability and agility needed for the US Military’s various missions
Survivability: Propulsor thrust coupled with large angular rates and precision attitude control enable the SB>1 DEFIANT™ to rapidly and precisely displace the aircraft position or flight path in response to threats or evolving tactical environments
Lethality: Rapid and precise acquisition of targets and prolonged engagement windows
Deployability: When folded for shipboard stowage, the SB>1 DEFIANT™ fits the footprint of a folded AH-1

The Defiant, if chosen by the Army will be a common sight for Special Operations troops in the future, and it is believed its lifespan will reach into the 2030s and possibly beyond.

Boeing has produced a video on what it will look like in the future:

Photos: Boeing

Operation Archery, Brit Commandos Raid Vaagso, Norway Dec. 27, 1941

After the forces of Hitler’s Nazi Germany overran most of Europe in the summer of 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered that the military create a force that could carry out raids against Nazi-occupied Europe. “Enterprises must be prepared, with specially-trained troops of the hunter class, who can develop a reign of terror down these coasts, first of all on the “butcher and bolt” policy…” Thus the Commandos were born.

The Commandos were an all-volunteer outfit that would eventually encompass all services of the British military as well as foreign volunteers from the occupied countries. Their training was hard and nearly always was conducted with live ammunition. Eventually, they would consist of 30 individual units and four assault brigades.

Although they would serve with distinction in every theater it was in Norway where the Commandos would first earn their fame by conducting various raids on German installations and try to get the Germans to divert more troops to defending Norway that may have been used on the Eastern Front.

The raid on the Norwegian islands of Vaagso and Maaloy, codenamed Operation Archery, was conducted to destroy the German fish-oil production facilities there as well as the glycerine production which was used in the manufacture of explosives.

This operation also broke new ground for combined operations. It was the first time air support was integrated into the raiding plans from the outset. So this was a true Special Operations Forces combined organization using air, land, and sea forces.

In overall charge of the operation was Brigadier Charles Haydon, while the raid on the ground was led by John Durnford-Slater and conducted by his troops of No. 3 Commando, two troops of No.2 Commando, a medical detachment of No.4 Commando, a demolition party from 101 Troop (canoe) of No. 6 Commando and a dozen Norwegians from Norwegian Independent Company 1. His raiding force would number 570 officers and men.

The Royal Navy provided offshore gunfire, by the light cruiser HMS Kenya, and the destroyers HMS Onslow, Oribi, Offa, and Chiddingfold. The submarine HMS Tuna was in support as the force navigational check. HMS Prince Charles and Prince Leopold were used to ferry troops into and out of the area. The Royal Air Force (RAF) provided bombers and fighter-bombers for close air support.

Durnford-Slater trained his troops hard. Every morning, they would rehearse 25-30 landings until 30 men could sprint from their landing craft with all of their weapons and equipment, 25 meters to cover and do it within 10 seconds. His second-in-command or 2IC in Brit parlance was Major J.M.T.F. Churchill, MC. Known to his close friends as Jack, Churchill was both a character and a fantastic, fearless leader. He would go into combat with his Scottish Claymore broadsword and play his own bagpipes.

Preparations for the Raid:

At the end of October 1941, Lord Louis Mountbatten took over the British Combined Operations and he alerted Durnford-Slater that they had the most daring plan yet in Norway. Their target was the small port of South Vaagso, about 350 miles north of Norway’s southern coast and about halfway between Bergen and Trondheim. And similarly to earlier raids, the port produced substantial quantities of fish oil that was vital for the German war machine.

Intelligence specialists in London had in a painstakingly detailed effort in building an exact model of the town. Durnford-Slater carried it back to Scotland with him in a suitcase. His officers made briefings to the troops off of this model although only the senior officers knew of the exact location.

They carried out successful rehearsals at the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow. They set sail in heavy seas on Christmas Eve. The men from 12 Commando would make a diversionary raid on the Lofotens (site of an earlier Commando raid) to distract the Germans. 12 Commando during the diversion stayed ashore for two days destroying German installations without suffering a single casualty and returned with 29 prisoners and about 200 new recruits for the forces of Free Norway.

The raiding force arrived perfectly on time and exactly where they were supposed to be. The troops were on the landing craft at precisely 0700, having been fed at 0500 and checked their weapons and equipment for the final time before the raid.

The Germans, unaware of what was close to their shore, were yawning thru lectures on military courtesy, no differently than soldiers of every army do. That was about to change quickly.

One alert German soldier in South Vaagso spotted the British ships sailing into the fjord and called it in. His superiors told him that it was probably German ships. When he persisted, he was told he probably celebrated Christmas a bit too much. He should have been rewarded. The German at the other end of the phone, however, decided to alert the German naval commander and took a rowboat to alert him, neglecting to alert the Army units in town.

The Battle Begins:

It was then, that the German troops first became aware of the Commandos presence was when the HMS Kenya’s dozen 6-inch guns began shelling the nearby German coastal batteries at Maaloy. With the destroyers, Offa and Onslow’s 4-inch guns joining in, the Germans were ducking into defensive positions having 400-450 shells rain down on them in less than 10 minutes. The Commandos, in US-made Higgins assault boats, were racing toward shore.

RAF medium twin-engine Hampden bombers flew over the landing sites and dropped smoke bombs to cover the assault troops. At Maaloy Island, Jack Churchill played his bagpipes as they approached shore and led his 105 men, 5 and 6 Troops, against the German defenders. Their objective was the big herring oil factory, the shore batteries, an antiaircraft position, and any other German troops.

R. Clement’s Group 1 had the mission to clear the village of Hollevik, then reform and become the onshore reserve. Durnford-Slater would lead Group 2’s, 200 men of 1, 2, 3, and 4 Troops, into Vaagso, while CPT. D. Birney’s 30 men of Group 5 would deploy into blocking positions on the road south into Vaagso from Rodberg. Group 4, CPT. R.H. Hooper’s 65 troops, would remain as a floating reserve on HMS Kenya.

Tragedy and Disaster:

One of the Hampden bombers was flying toward the shore when it was hit by German flak guns onboard the armed trawler Foehn. The bomber was hit and reeling when one of its phosphorous bombs inadvertently hit one of the landing craft. Nearly half of the troop were either killed or badly burned by the unfortunate accident. After offloading whatever ammunition and equipment that they could salvage, the surviving Commandos pushed the craft out into the water to sink.

But the rest of Durnford-Slater’s men surged ashore and immediately set about clearing the town which was long and narrow. The fighting was vicious and house-to-house. The Germans were reinforced by 50 men of a Gebirgsjäger (Alpine, mountain) troops on leave from the Russian front. They barricaded themselves in one large building to use as a strongpoint. The Commandos had to clear each room with hand grenades. CPT Johnny Giles was shot down at the door of the strongpoint but his men took it and his younger brother, Lt. Bruce Giles assumed command.

The Germans had also barricaded themselves in the Ulvesund hotel and they flung back the first two attempts to take it. CPT Algy Forester was killed and then so was Norwegian CPT Martin Linge was also killed trying to assault the front door.

As the Brits were readying for a third assault under the command now of a CPL ‘Knocker’ White, another Captain appeared with a 3-inch mortar, which was unauthorized by had been appropriated. They expertly dropped the first shells straight down the chimney of the hotel, setting fire to it and causing a large number of German casualties. The third assault carried the hotel. White would earn a Distinguished Service Medal for his actions later.

There was chaos in the narrow streets. The Germans used to the no-quarter-given in Russia refused to move out of the buildings they were defending and had to be burned out using hand grenades. Norwegian civilians were streaming down the street heading for the landing craft, anxious to get away from their occupiers.

The British committed their floating reserves and then Durnford-Slater was also reinforced by Churchill’s men who had quickly overrun the guns on Maaloy Island and captured several prisoners, including two “comfort” women who the Germans held there for their troops. Churchill, broadsword in hand, led his men ashore.

As they cleared the town house-by-house, the Commandos encountered several snipers. So they’d just burn them out one-by-one. Durnford-Slater observed two such Commandos who set about their task with a vengeance. He wrote that the men “appeared to be enjoying themselves.” One sniper wounded CPT O’Flaherty thru the eye. He would eventually return to duty with a black eye patch and finish the war as a Brigadier.

CPT O’Flaherty is led to the rear after being wounded in the eye by a German sniper

After the British battered the armed trawler Foehn, the ship ran aground and the crew deserted it. An armed British party found the captain’s codebooks when it was discovered he’d been killed by shellfire. The codebooks contained a wealth of signs, countersigns, and code words, and the radio call-signs of every German vessel in northern Europe. It was a huge intelligence boon for the raiding party.

By noon the town had been secured, the troops, however, continued in town until 1400 when Durnford-Slater ordered his men back to the boats. By 1500 all of the Commandos had been safely transported back to the ships.

The result of the raid was a tremendous success for the Commandos. They sank 10 vessels, 18,000 tons of shipping, and the Commandos had burned or blown up four oil factories and a number of warehouses, fuel tanks, vehicles, the Seternes lighthouse, the telephone exchanges, the steamship wharf, and the German barracks inside of town.

The Maaloy coastal artillery batteries were destroyed along with a tank, while much of the garrison had been killed, wounded, or captured. About 130 Germans were killed, without counting the crews of the eight ships destroyed. Another 98 were captured. The two “comfort” women were guarded by two sailors on board ship. But later reports read that on checking later, one British officer found the hallway empty and “the rifles leaning on the wall outside the doors.” Of the Norwegian population, one was killed and five wounded; 70 more returned to England with the Commandos to volunteer for the forces of Free Norway.

British casualties among the Commandos were 20 dead (which included three Norwegians) and 53 wounded. The RAF lost eight aircraft along with their crews.

The Germans assumed the British would make a major push to retake Norway and thus threaten the German hold on Finland and Sweden. They moved their battleships into Norwegian waters and put additional troops there while beefing up their coastal defenses. By the time of D-Day, there were 400,000 German troops in Norway that weren’t fighting in either Normandy or Russia.

Photos: Imperial War Museum

Trapped at Pearl Harbor: Escape from the Battleship Oklahoma

Book Review: On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands was a quiet place as the sun came up. Many of the sailors along Battleship Row were feeling the effects of being on liberty ashore drinking which ended at midnight.

At dawn, there was a sleepy, Sunday feel to the morning, not much was moving other than the sailors who had the morning duty. The rest were sleeping off the festivities from Saturday night. The battleship USS Oklahoma BB-37 had been preparing for an inspection, which was to take place on the morning of Monday, December 8. As a result, many doors and hatches were wide open on that fateful day.

The Japanese had planned on giving a declaration of war intentions 30 minutes before the attack began but due to the slowness of their code machines and the typists, the message didn’t get to Washington until the attack was over. The Japanese attack force, led by the first wave swept over Pearl Harbor at 7:48 a.m. and achieved complete surprise. Not only were the battleships parked in a row along Ford Island, but the American fighters on Hickam Field were parked wingtip to wingtip.

As the first wave (183 planes) led by the slow, vulnerable torpedo bombers searched out battleships at anchor, dive-bombers hit Hickam and Wheeler Airfields. The second wave (170 planes) attacked American facilities on Ford Island and Bellows Field.

Oklahoma was berthed at Fox 5 on Battleship Row next to the USS Maryland. The officers of the watch called the crew to battle stations having witnessed the attacks beginning elsewhere in the harbor. Ensign Herb Rommel the 4th Division officer, called the crew to General Quarters. Rommel saw the cruiser Helena get slammed with a torpedo and jumped onto the General Announcing System. “This is no shit, God damn it! They’re real bombs, Now get Going!” As another officer fumbled with the keys to the ammunition lockers, the call went out that would live forever. “Air Raid Pearl Harbor. This is no drill!”

At 7:56 a.m. the Oklahoma was hit simultaneously with 2 torpedos, 20 below the waterline between the smokestack and mainmast. She was hit with a third torpedo at 8:00 a.m. which penetrated the hull. Her boilers punctured, she began to list heavily, then two more torpedos slammed into her and she began to capsize. In less than 11 minutes the USS Oklahoma would roll over and sink. But her masts touched bottom in the harbor and her hull was still above water. Of the crew 429 would be killed or missing and many others trapped alive under the water.

Stephen Bower Young was one of those trapped below the decks. He was just 19, from Methuen, Massachusetts and had joined the Navy in the summer of 1940, hoping to go to the Naval Academy.

When the attack began, he was ordered as per SOP to go to his battle station below deck. Young and 10 of his shipmates were at their station inside the No. 4 gun turret, which in the space of fewer than five minutes was now inverted, and beneath the water.

Young authored his book and describes their own terrifying experiences in horrendous detail. His battle wasn’t about the carnage that was taking place all around them in Pearl Harbor. But in a very small, confined space, where he was virtually unaware of anything else other than the Japanese had sunk his ship. The realism and horror at the feeling of his ship being capsized is clearly felt by the reader.

His easy to read but riveting story reads almost like a work of fiction. The reader can feel the cold water slowly but with incredible realism, inescapably rise, the fuel oil taste which would turn stomachs and the nasty fetid air that would soon envelop the men. The young sailors would try to force wisecracks but others would succumb to despair and then finally the men in total darkness would go quietly as a church in an effort to save air.

The men decided to try another room called the Lucky Bag to see if they could stay dry and breathe long enough to be rescued. The room had only one entrance and exit but it was at least dry. The room on the opposite side of the wall held sailors still alive in the #4 radio compartment.

The Japanese attack was over in ninety minutes and immediately Navy personnel and civilian dock workers began the task of trying to rescue men trapped below decks. However, it wasn’t until around 1:00 a.m on December 8, that the rescue crews would be able to get enough air compressors, pumps, chipping tools and torches alongside the hull to begin their work in earnest.

As the men dozed, they were woken to the sound of air hammers in the distance, trying to cut thru the hull to reach trapped sailors. The men began tapping out SOS code to alert the rescuers. Soon the hammering was much closer. Then they’d pause to listen if the trapped sailors were close by.

The men in #4 radio compartment, yelled thru the steel bulkhead that the rescuers were cutting thru to them. Young yelled them to alert them that they were just on the other side of the wall. “Okay!, don’t worry, if they can get to us, we’ll tell ‘em”.

Twenty-five hours after the Oklahoma had capsized, Yard worker Joe Bulgo cut through to sailors in the No. 4 radio compartment. “There are some guys trapped in there,” one sailor said, pointing to the wall behind him. “We’ll get ’em out,” said DeCastro.

Young yelled to the rescue team on the other side. DeCastro’s calm voice came back, promising he would get them out. But as they began cutting through the bulkhead, it was releasing air from the Lucky Bag compartment, and water began rising. There was momentary panic but as DeCastro’s men began their work, the men inside tried in vain to seal the hatch to the Lucky Bag.

It was the longest 60 minutes of Young’s life. The water level had reached their knees but finally, they had three cuts in the bulkhead. And the sweetest words Young had ever heard were Bulgo saying, “Look out for your hands, boys,” he yelled. With a sledgehammer, he pounded in the section of the wall. The sailors scrambled through and were guided up and out by DeCastro’s men. They made it out by 9:00 a.m. and Young recalled the sun was bright and the air smelled fresh. The eleven men in the #4 gun turret had survived.

The sailors on-board the USS Maryland watched it unfold and began cheering as they clambered out of their doomed ship. In all, 32 men would be rescued from the crippled Oklahoma, which would never sail again.

Despite the fact that you obviously know that the author survived the sinking and capsizing of his ship, the account of the author and his shipmates was impossible to put down and very tense. This isn’t a big picture kind of overall look at the disaster at Pearl Harbor but a very narrow view of the author’s quest to survive in a sunken ship. This book was an excellent read and gives the reader the feeling of what it was like to be there in the #4 gun turret as the ship sinks and rolls over and the incredible stress of waiting to be rescued.

Photos: US Navy/author

Israeli Infiltration Shocks Hamas In Aftermath of Shootout

Last week on November 11, an Israeli intelligence operation went awry in Gaza and the Israeli operatives, after having their cover blown by security forces, were forced to shoot their way out. In the bloody shootout that followed, the senior Israeli officer, identified only as LTC “M” was killed. A reserve Captain was seriously wounded. Six Hamas security men were killed, including a senior member of Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

The Israeli operatives belonged to a very select Special Operations unit known as “Mista’arvim” in their military, the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). Mista’arvim is an Israeli security counter-terrorism unit that operates undercover deep inside Arab-held territory. These units are trained to blend among the local Arab population. Most come from an Arab/Israeli background and are native Arabic speakers. Their missions include intelligence gathering, arrests of wanted terrorists, hostage rescue and assassinations, using disguise and surprise as their main weapons.

The name Mista’arvim is derived from the Arabic “Musta’arabi,” meaning “those who live among the Arabs.” Back in during the Arab rule in the 7th century, there were many Arabic-speaking Musta’arabi Jews who lived amongst the Arab population.

According to Hamas’ releases, the Israeli unit hadn’t been in Gaza for just a few days but had been there for some weeks. They traced their activities for some time and found that the unit had rented safe houses and been scouting strategic locations, including the homes of senior Hamas officials. They’ve called on the public to assist in finding out more information.

In doing so, the published the photos of the Israeli undercover operatives, which will probably preclude them from ever working undercover again. Hamas has stated that the Israelis were looking to plant spy devices at key locations in the Hamas-controlled town.

But in another release, they stated that the Israelis were there to kidnap Nur Barakeh, head of Hamas military wing. It was Barakeh, who reportedly was killed in the firefight that followed.

Hamas released the information about the Special Operations team because they’re trying to verify their own findings and are perhaps unsure of their own intelligence. Therefore, they released the information via social media in an effort to monitor the Israeli side of social media.

Israeli social media would be quick to speculate, try to identify and discuss the events that unfolded and may give Hamas the needed intelligence that they are seeking on this operation.

The IDF military censors are going all out for the citizens of Israel not to discuss the events on social media nor to share the photos that Hamas has released on the Special Operations team.

“Hamas is working now to interpret and understand the event that occurred within Gaza on November 11, and every piece of information, even if it is considered by the publisher as harmless, is liable for endangering human lives and damaging the security of the state,” said the IDF Military Censor this week.

“Without regard to the credibility of the details published by Hamas, we encourage you to refrain as much as possible from further distributing images, personally identifiable information, or other personal information which has come to your attention in the media, social networks, WhatsApp groups, and any other media platform. We must act responsibly.”

In fact, Hamas seems shocked by the depth that Israeli Special Operations teams have infiltrated Gaza. The realization that there are teams of elite Israeli Special Operatives working freely the streets of Gaza is a scary proposition for Hamas, rather than have a few of their citizenry who have collaborated with the Jews.

Once the Israelis left their undercover vehicles to board rescue helicopters, the IDF drones and air force bombed them to prevent Hamas from finding any usable intelligence, however, they did find several items of interest and are still trying to piece the entire operation together.

The Hamas security people initially believed that they were on the tail of criminals. They thought the Israelis were drug smugglers until the IDF began firing on the Hamas fighters with drones and aircraft. Barakeh, according to Hamas questioned the passengers of the vehicle, including two IDF officers dressed in women’s clothing. When their subterfuge failed, weapons were drawn and a firefight broke out. The Israeli newspaper Hadashot had a copy of the radio transcripts from the Hamas people during the operation.

“To all forces and posts, a blue VW vehicle is near the Islamic University, traveling suspiciously and fast. There are suspects inside the vehicle, they are dangerous, approach them cautiously.”

This was followed by, “The vehicle broke through our checkpoint and fired at us from within the vehicle,” the Hamas radio reported. And then once the battle commenced, the Israelis raced to a spot for exfiltration by helicopter as they were 2 miles from the border. But the tone changed in the Hamas radio chatter.

“Four fighter jets are above me. There was a strike near us. The jets are coming from the north. They attacked one of the (Hamas) cars. Hide. Close in on the Jews. Don’t let them leave Gaza,” one Hamas commander yelled into the radio during the bloody scrap.

In response to the firefight, Hamas then launched close to 500 rockets at Israel, many were intercepted by the Iron Dome air-defense artillery. However, one citizen was killed and over 100 were wounded. The Israelis responded with massive airstrikes that targeted over 160 military sites for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, four of which the IDF reported were of strategic importance. Then a truce, a cease-fire was brokered by the Egyptians and the area has settled down to an uneasy quiet…for now.

As a result, Hamas is now cracking down on its own people, their masked, police are now doing searches for “collaborators” who aided the Israelis. And in particular, a small van that may have either been driven by the Israels or by the Palestinians who helped them. Locals are being subjected to random searches of their persons and homes.

But this is normal operating procedure at times for Hamas. The leaders will root out political rivals, accuse them of spying for the Jews and executing them.

Regardless, the Hamas leadership is now operating in full-blown panic mode. They are seeing Israeli spies behind every wall and the political and military leaders of Hamas are reportedly not even speaking to one another.

Photo: Wikipedia

On This Day, Green Berets Insert Into Afghanistan, Link-up With Hamid Karzai

During October and early November of 2001, the United States was hitting back hard at the Taliban in the early days of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. In the aftermath of 9/11, the Taliban had no idea of what was soon to engulf them.

US and coalition airstrikes pounded Taliban positions. Two US Green Beret teams (ODA-595, ODA-555 The “Horse Soldiers, with Air Force Combat Controllers) inserted into the country with the help of CIA Special Activities Division and linked up with Northern Alliance (anti-Taliban) fighters. In the south, Navy SEALs and in the northwest British SAS were setting up and conducting special operations. Army Rangers jumped in via parachute and seized a key airfield in Kandahar. More SF A-Teams were inserted and one by one, the key cities in Afghanistan fell to the U.S. and Northern Alliance soldiers.

ODA-574 Brings in the Future President:

On November 14, the U.S. inserted ODA-574, another Special Forces A-Team into Afghanistan. It was commanded by CPT Jason Amerine and CWO Bob Pennington and inserted into Uruzgan Province on 4 MH-60K helicopters with Hamid Karzai and a small band of guerrillas loyal to him.

As the force of US and Afghan fighters closed on the town of Tarin Kowt, with about 10,000 people, the local inhabitants revolted against the Taliban controlling the area and expelled them. As Karzai met with the village elders, the Taliban decided to strike back at the village and take it back. They approached the town with 500 fighters.

Karzai a Pashtun, lobbied the U.S. that many Pashtun were allies with the Taliban only out of a sense of survival. He went into Afghanistan prior to the American insertion to round up guerrilla fighters. Another Pashtun leader, Abdul Haq was captured and killed by the Taliban and Karzai escaped into Pakistan with a few followers.

Karzai met with the Green Berets prior to the insertion and the Pashtun leader brought the team up to date on the intelligence in the area.

“Our mission was to infiltrate the Oruzgan province, link up with Hamid Karzai and his Pashtun fighters, and advise and assist his forces in order to destabilize and eliminate the Taliban regime there. More importantly, we were there to ensure that al Qaeda couldn’t operate in Afghanistan anymore,” Amerine remembered after the battle.

Battle of Tarin Kowt:

The combined coalition force was hugely outnumbered by more than 5-1. But the Air Force combat controller attached to ODA-574, Tech Sgt Alex Yoshimoto was a force multiplier and the ODA’s lifeline to the combat aircraft of the coalition in the skies overhead. Amerine correctly deduced that the Taliban’s forces would attack thru the Tarin Kowt Pass. He set up his small team of SF troops and the ragtag untrained guerrillas who didn’t speak English on the plateau overlooking the wide valley below.

Yoshimoto had three F-18 Hornets above them to provide cover, as the first bomb dropped into the valley on the Taliban, the untrained guerrillas with the Americans panicked. Not realizing what was happening, they raced to the trucks and fled back to Tarin Kowt.

The Americans were forced to do the same. Nevertheless, Yoshimoto once again leaped into action. After alerting the aircraft of the tactical situation on the ground, he organized the defense thru the air of the town.

The Taliban split into three groups, Yoshimoto decided to take out the one in the middle first. It was the largest of the three. As Air Force bombers took a toll on the approaching Taliban, they smashed the attacking force.

Only one small group of Taliban managed to reach the rear entrance of the town but they were quickly repulsed and bombed on their retreat. In the end, more than 30 vehicles and over 300 Taliban were killed.

The word quickly spread and one-by-one the towns began switching their allegiance over to Karzai. The Americans now had a Southern Alliance to go along with the Northern Alliance.

Tragedy at the “Alamo” in Shawali Kowt:

As the force moved on Kandahar, they attacked the town of Shawali Kowt on December 2. The Taliban counter-attacked with over 100 fighters. Most of the guerrillas bolted and retreated back. The ODA with just 25 guerrillas who stuck it out, retreated to a hill that was surrounded that the Green Berets dubbed the Alamo.

They called in AC-130 gunship runs to pound the Taliban assembly areas. For the next two days, they called in numerous airstrikes and pounded any attempts to take their position. Then a disaster occurred.

An Air Force bomber dropped a joint direct attack munition (JDAM) that landed on the team. MSG Jefferson Davis, the team sergeant for ODA-574and SSG Cody Prosser were killed instantly. SFC Daniel Petithory was seriously injured. Worse, the team called for an immediate medevac to get Petithory to the Marine base at Camp Rhino where then-BG Jim Mattis commanded 1000 Marines 45 minutes away.

Mattis refused to send a medevac because, at the time, he was unsure on whether the bomb was a US miss-dropped weapon or one from the Taliban. Petithory died later that day from his injuries. Five ODA members and Karzai were also wounded, while 20 of Karzai’s men were also killed. It was a bitter memory for the SF troops towards the future Secretary of Defense.

Within five minutes of the accidental bombing, Karzai was notified via radio that he had been chosen to lead the new interim Afghan government. Hours later, with the Southern Alliance troops with the Americans poised outside of Kandahar, the Taliban leader, Mohammed Omar slipped away in the early morning hours of December 6. The so-called “spiritual home” of the Taliban was in the hands of the Green Berets and Karzai. Just four days later Karzai was sworn in as the Interim Prime Minister.

ODA-574 was awarded three Silver Stars, four Bronze Star Medals for Valor, three Bronze Star Medals, and eleven Purple Hearts during their combat deployment.

Then the US, just as Congressman Charlie Wilson had proclaimed after the Russians were kicked out of Afghanistan a decade before “fucked up the end game.” With the speed at which the Special Operations troops took the country, no one in the US government or the military bothered to plan on what to do after the Taliban was out.

The Special Forces troops were quickly shooshed out of the country, and replaced by the “Big Army” units. But none of the brigades sent into Afghanistan had any experience of working with the Afghan people and leaders. It was…and is a clusterfuck.

According to Amerine, interviewed just a few years ago, the troops coming in didn’t have the experience of working hand-in-hand with the Afghan leaders. “All of that was forgotten and kind of left behind, and that was kind of the tragedy of what followed,” Amerine said. “When big Army came in, 5th SF Group picked up and went to Iraq. All of our relationships were lost. They had to reinvent the wheel.”

But a handful of Special Operations forces showed how valuable unconventional warfare methods are…when placed in the right hands. The years of hard training and working elsewhere by, with and thru local forces had paid off in spades.

“There is another type of warfare, new in its intensity, ancient
in its origin, war by guerrillas, subversives, insurgents,
assassins; war by ambush instead of by combat, by infiltration
instead of aggression, seeking victory by eroding and
exhausting the enemy instead of engaging him. It preys on
unrest.”
– President John F. Kennedy

Photo: Special Forces ODA-574 with Hamid Karzai (US Army)

World War I, “The War to End All Wars” Centennial

At the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the Armistice to end World War I was to take effect. It ended the bloodbath which consumed Europe from 1914 until November 11, 1918. Nearly 20,000,000 people were dead including 9-11,000,000 troops and a like number of civilians. Another 20,000,000 were wounded.

The United States got involved in the fighting late in the war, in 1917, but by war’s end, had put nearly 5,000,000 men and women under arms. Americans would suffer over 300,000 casualties. Called “doughboys” because the British and French troops considered them Ill-trained and ill-equipped, they had by war’s end did a large share of the fighting that caused the Germans to seek terms.

When the Germans signed the terms of surrender in a train car in France, the had to leave all their conquered territories in Western Europe within two weeks and surrender 5,000 guns, 25,000 machine guns, and 1,700 planes.

With the news of armistice, there were huge celebrations in London to celebrate the end of the war. However, once the initial stage of euphoria wore off, the news was met with a mainly melancholy expression. The huge cost in terms of the young generation was felt by all countries. It was a Pyrrhic victory that nearly destroyed an entire era of Europe’s young.

Unfortunately, the harsh lessons of the “Great War” as it was also called weren’t paid proper heed to and just 21 years later Europe and the entire world was thrust into an even bigger and bloodier conflict.

However, in 1918, the war in Germany had not gone well. They tried to take Paris in a series of offensives in 1918 to try to force the issue, but all of their attacks were rebuffed. In October, General Erich Ludendorff told the government that he couldn’t even guarantee that the front would hold another two hours. The German General Staff believed the situation was hopeless.

Germans Revolt Against the Kaiser:

On the night of October 29-30th, German sailors revolted in the port of Wilhelmshaven quickly spread across the entire country and in just a little more than a week’s time, had led to a proclamation of a republic (Weimar Republic) on November 9.

Kaiser Wilhelm II then abdicated and fled to Holland. Friedrich Ebert, a Social Democrat became the Chancellor. A German peace delegation arrived at the front line in five cars and was escorted thru the bombed-out, devastated areas of Northern France for 10 hours. They were taken to a secret destination where they boarded General Ferdinand Foch’s personal train in the forest of Compiègne. Foch did not, however, take part in any of the negotiations. He appeared when the Germans arrived and then did not appear again until the signing of the documents.

The German negotiators heard about the Kaiser’s abdication while in the train car and were instructed by their superiors in Berlin, with the new government to sign the Armistice. They did this at 5:30 a.m. on November 11. The Germans asked for an immediate cease-fire to prevent the useless and wasteful loss of life of the common soldiers. Foch denied this request, insisting on the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month as the official cease-fire and the end of hostilities.

As a result of Foch’s insistence, there were nearly 11,000 casualties, with 2738 killed on that day during those fateful hours waiting for the Armistice to take effect.

The date, November 11th is recognized by many countries and is known as Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, Veterans Day and Independence Day. But rather than build grandiose memorials of glory and triumph, the 5000 or so memorials that were built in Britain, revealed the horrible sacrifice paid by the ordinary soldiers of the military. There were to remind future generations of the heavy price and burden paid by the troops.

Events Held in Europe on the Centennial:

In Britain, there are numerous events being planned. The biggest one is to be the National Service of Remembrance in Whitehall, central London, at the Cenotaph paying respect to the men and women of Britain and the Commonwealth who served in the World Wars I & II and in subsequent conflicts. The Royal Family will be in attendance.

After the ceremonies, there will be a poppy wreath-laying ceremony and the sounding of “The Last Post” by a Royal Marines bugler.

In France, both French President Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will preside over a ceremony in Compiègne, at the clearing where the signing of the Armistice too place, said to be “defined by the simplicity of a moment of silent reflection and of tribute”.

President Macron will then give a speech at the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris at exactly 11 a.m. which will be attended by more than 120 foreign dignitaries representing the countries involved in the First World War.

Photos: Wikipedia

Operation Urgent Fury, The U.S. Invades Grenada

On this day in 1983, members of the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions, 82nd Airborne Division, Marine Corps 8th Marine Regiment, US Army Delta Force and Navy SEAL commandos invaded the island nation of Grenada. The small island, located about 100 miles north of Venezuela was under strife after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was placed under arrest and executed. The military operation, conducted with members of the Jamaican forces as well as troops from the Regional Security System overwhelmed the Grenadian and Cuban forces in the country in a matter of days.

However, despite the battle being basically a cakewalk for the U.S. forces, the operation brought to the forefront, several flaws in the US warfighting machine. The inability to communicate between the services, the lack of joint interoperability and coordination would bring sweeping change to the way Americans go to war. This would lead to the Goldwater-Nichols Act and soon the creation of the Special Operations Command.

Background to Invasion:

Grenada had been a colony of the United Kingdom but it was granted its independence in 1974. Maurice Bishop led the New Jewel Movement which was a Marxist-Leninist organization and he seized power in 1979. However, Bishop was a relatively moderate in terms of foreign policy and it upset the more hard-line members of the military. On October 19, 1983, military junta members arrested Bishop and executed him, his partner Jacqueline Creft, along with three cabinet ministers and two union leaders. The new head of the government was Hudson Austin.

President Reagan justified U.S. intervention by stating that the American government was worried about the fate of the 600 U.S. medical students going to school at St. George. The Iran hostage fiasco had been resolved less than two years before.

Interestingly enough, the Grenadian people supported the U.S. invasion, the government of Austin was ousted and replaced with a democratic regime. The date of the invasion, October 25 is now a National Holiday in Grenada.

Cuban Dilemma:

At the time of the invasion, there were nearly 800 Cubans on the island. Fidel Castro at different times, identified most as construction workers while at others calling them soldiers. The Cuban commander, Colonel Pedro Comas, later said that he issued most of the construction workers with weapons for self-defense. The Cuban soldiers and “construction workers” were forbidden to surrender to the American forces. There were some stories floated around afterward that the construction workers were actually Cuban Special Forces or Combat Engineers.

SEAL Recon Mission Ends in Disaster:

Two days before the planned invasion, the SEALs were tasked with doing a reconnaissance of the island. Members of DEVGRU or SEAL Team 6 with Air Force combat controllers were parachuted at sea to conduct a reconnaissance mission on Point Salinas. Something went horribly wrong and as a result, four SEALs drowned. The bodies of Machinist Mate 1st Class Kenneth J. Butcher, Quartermaster 1st Class Kevin E. Lundberg, Hull Technician 1st Class Stephen L. Morris and Senior Chief Engineman Robert R. Schamberger were never recovered.

The survivors continued on with the mission but their boats flooded and the mission had to be aborted. A second mission on October 24, likewise was beset by bad weather, so very little of the needed intelligence was gathered.

25 October – Invasion:

After departing Hunter Army Airfield at midnight and refueling in Barbados, A&B Companies of the 1st Ranger Bn conducting a classic airfield seizure by parachuting at Pointe Salinas airport. The original plan called for an air-land seizure. They learned while in-flight that there were obstacles in the middle of the runway. The 2nd Bn of the Rangers would be closely behind the 1st and jump in.

The Rangers began their assault at 0530 and received antiaircraft fire from Russian made ZSU 23-2 as well as BTR-60 Armored Personnel Carriers. Accurate fire from the Rangers’ 90mm Recoilless Rifles and AC-130s suppressed the antiaircraft fire and knocked out the APCs. After securing the airfield, the Rangers moved on and took the heights surrounding the airfield.

By 1000 the obstacles were removed and reinforcements (Carribean Peace Force troops) began unloading and other aircraft began to airland on the strip. Beginning at 1400, elements of the 82nd Airborne Division (325th Abn Inf) began to arrive and land on the ground and began spreading out. Landing in the aircraft was a bitter pill to swallow for the 82nd. They pride themselves on being airborne and when the US next seized a major airfield, in Panama in 1989, the 82nd would get their jump. Even though the Rangers seized the airfield again, they would not be denied. And although some of their heavy drops ended up in the ocean, they would get their combat jump.

The Grenadians attacked with a Motorized Rifle Company with three more BTR-60s but the Rangers 90mm and the Air Force AC-130s drove them back. Four Rangers, looking for the medical students at the True Blue campus, got disoriented and were killed in an ambush. The students were later found but only 140 were located, the rest were at the campus at Grand Anse.

Meanwhile, the Pearls Airport was captured by SEALs from SEAL Team 4 who came ashore just after midnight and Marines from the 2 Bn., 8th Marine Regiment who flew in on CH-46s and CH-53s. They encountered light resistance and swept it aside easily.

Elements of SEAL Team 6 captured Radio Free Grenada unopposed, however, soon after capture, they were attacked by Grenadians in armored personnel carriers. The frogmen were forced to evade by cutting a hole in the chain link fence and swimming out to US ships. Two SEALs were seriously wounded in the action and were medevaced by helicopter to the USS Independence.

Due to the lack of good intelligence, the raid by Delta Force on Fort Rupert and Richmond Hill Prison nearly turned into a disaster. Delta commandos and C Co. of the1st Ranger Bn were tasked with the taking of these two targets with helicopters from Task Force 160, now known as the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The Night Stalkers were flying UH-60s and MH-6 “Little Birds”.

The raid of Fort Rupert was very successful, several members of the People’s Revolutionary Council were captured. The raid on the prison at Richmond Hill, where political prisoners were held was another story. The ground was very steep, too much so to land helicopters. There were also several anti-aircraft guns on site. One helicopter was shot down and the pilot killed. Several of the commandos were wounded. The Rangers sent reinforcements to assist in the Delta commandos in safely exfilling the area.

SEALs conducted a rescue operation for Governor General Paul Scoon from his mansion in Saint George. They entered the area unopposed but a counterattack by Grenadian forces supported by BTR-60 APCs had the SEALs trapped inside. The US forces called in air strikes with AC-130 gunships, A-7 Corsair strike planes, and AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters. The SEALs were forced to hold inside the mansion for 24 hours.

The next morning 250 Marine reinforcements with M-60 tanks relieved the SEALs and were able to bring Paul Scoon safely out. The Marines then overwhelmed the enemy opposition.

The fighting continued the next day as the 82nd Airborne pushed out the perimeter around the Salinas airfield. They got into a huge firefight with the Cubans and lost two dead and six wounded. The Cubans were pounded with airstrikes and artillery, and their resistance quickly faded after that.

By Day Three, the major fighting was over and the island secure.

UN, US Reaction:

President Reagan stated the purpose for the invasion was to protect American citizens, including medical students, living on the island. The reaction in the US was that the operation was justified.

In the UN, however, the situation was much different. From Wikipedia,On 2 November 1983 by a vote of 108 in favour to 9 voting against (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, El Salvador, Israel, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United States), with 27 abstentions, the United Nations General Assembly adopted General Assembly Resolution 38/7, which “deeply deplores the armed intervention in Grenada, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of that State.”

Free elections were held less than 14 months later and the vast majority of the people in Grenada voted for the Grenada National Party and a government was formed led by Prime Minister Herbert Blaize.

The majority of US troops would be pulled from Grenada by December. The lack of usable intelligence and the issues with communication were things that pointed to massive changes that needed to be made.

From Wiki also, The Goldwater-Nichols Act reworked the command structure of the United States military, thereby making the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the National Security Act of 1947. It increased the powers of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and created the concept of truly unified joint U.S. forces (i.e., Army, Air Force, Marines, and Naval forces organized under one command). One of the first reorganizations resulting from both the Department of Defense analysis and the legislation was the formation of the U.S. Special Operations Command in 1987.

Photos: DOD

October 19, 2001, America Strikes Back, SF Troops Arrive in Afghanistan

Just five weeks after the horrible events that unfolded on 9/11 back in 2001, the United States answered. Coalition air forces were already hitting targets in Afghanistan, taking out terrorist training centers and key government installations. But on that day, the first Special Forces troops infiltrated into Afghan territory from Uzbekistan over the Hindu Kush mountains.

The men selected were from the 5th Special Forces Group (5th SFG) and they were tasked with conducting a classic SF mission. Infiltrate a denied country, coordinate with CIA Special Activities Division members on the ground, link up with resistance bands. Several of these crossed ethnic boundaries and were historic enemies. But they were loosely grouped into what was called the Northern Alliance, Afghan warriors who were fighting the Taliban.

There the SF A-Teams would train the Northern Alliance, supply them and while coordinating between the various groups, attack the Taliban by calling in airstrikes and accompanying the resistance fighters into combat.

The 5th SFG was the key component of Task Force Dagger along with the CIA’s Special Activities Division and the Night Stalkers of the 160th Special Operations Regiment (Airborne) along with a handful of Air Force Special Operations Combat Controllers. The pilots of the 160th said 5th SFG Commander, Colonel, later Lt. General John Mulholland are “the finest aviators in the world, bar none.”

Night Stalkers Fly Teams In Terrible Conditions:

The weather was so bad, it delayed the original infiltration planned for October 17 for two days. The Special Ops MH-47s flown by the 160th were flying at 20,000 ft. to cross the mountains, and several of the men became airsick because of the altitude. Visibility was near zero and the pilots had to deal with sleet, ice, wind, sandstorms, and enemy fire.

The first two SF A-Teams, known as ODAs (Operational Detachment Alpha) was 595, and 555. When the SF men alit off of the Chinooks, they were truly alone. The moment wasn’t lost on them. The mountains in Afghanistan were the same as they had been for centuries. The mode of transportation was on horseback. The roads …dirt.

The Commander of ODA-595, Captain Mark Nutsch recalled that the land was “rugged, isolated, beautiful, different colored stones and geographical formations, different shades of red in the morning as the sun came up.”

He described his infiltration area as “a canyon with very dominating, several-hundred-feet cliffs.” The SF men had no idea what to expect. Their counterparts were waiting for them and the ODAs were surrounded by armed militants. Although there were a few tense moments, the two sides quickly linked up.

The Famed Horsemen:

The SF teams quickly broke down into split teams and split even further into three-man teams. The Northern Alliance fighters traveled on horseback. The Americans soon found themselves on borrowed horses sitting in saddles much too small for American built SFers and riding horses that wanted to fight each other as much as the Afghans fought amongst their different factions. Most of the men had never ridden horses before.

Nutsch was one of the few men who had experience on horses as he grew up on a ranch. But even he was amazed at how fast the men on the teams adapted to this new but very old style of warfare. A Civil War and history buff, prior to deployment he studied cavalry battles of yore, never dreaming that one day he’d be leading one.

Nutsch requested lightweight McClellan saddles be airdropped for the US troops since the Afghan models were too small. In mid-November, they were airdropped in.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld saw pictures of the SF men and briefed the press and the legend of the Horse Soldiers was born.

It was the first instance of U.S. troops riding into battle on horseback since January of 1942 in the early days of World War II. The U.S. Army’s 26th Cavalry charged a Japanese advance column on the march from Manilla in the Philippines. Today, a 16-foot, bronze statue of an SF Soldier on horseback, named De Oppresso Liber — the SF motto, “to free the oppressed”, the Horse Soldier, stands near ground zero in New York City, watching over the 9-11 memorial and honoring those first special operations teams that struck back at terror.

Combat Controllers Were Big Force Multipliers:

The AFSOC Combat Controllers really helped turn the tide for the Northern Alliance fighters. They were on horseback with just AKs and a handful of light machine guns going against the Taliban that had tanks, armored personnel carriers and heavy artillery, courtesy of the Soviet Union when they pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989.

In an interview with Army Times, retired Chief Master Sgt. Calvin Markham, who received a Silver Star for the operation, remembered that the controllers tried “to bring that close air support expertise with our air traffic control background, having multiple stacks of aircraft … from fighters to bombers overhead.”

“It annihilated the enemy,” he said, noting that this was the first time B52s had been used for close air support since the Vietnam War. “I think it really broke their will to fight. You kill 10, 15 enemy combatants on the battlefield at one time, I’m sure it’s a devastating blow to them, but when you’re talking about hundreds of enemy combatants losing their lives from one strike, it makes the other guys think about what they’re doing and that maybe they should retreat.”

In less than a month, 10 ODAs from the 5th SFG were operating in Afghanistan. The Special Forces men fighting alongside the Northern Alliance and with massive air support from B-52s, B-1Bs, and other platforms, decimated the Taliban. In less than two months, they had wrested control of the country away from the Taliban.

Then as Charlie Wilson had remarked a dozen years before, after the U.S. had helped to oust the Soviets from Afghanistan…”We fucked up the end game.”

Seventeen years later, U.S. troops are still fighting and dying there.

Photo: DOD

Green Beret Medic Ronald Shurer II Receives Medal Of Honor

On Monday, President Trump decorated former Green Beret medic and SSG Ronald Shurer II with the Medal of Honor for outstanding heroism and bravery during a combat mission in Afghanistan in 2008. Amazingly enough, Shurer was once rejected by the military for a medical condition before he joined and was accepted shortly after 9/11.

Shurer saved multiple lives both American and Afghan, during a battle where the Special Forces troops were engaged with a numerically vastly superior insurgent force and were in danger of being overrun. But through his actions, not one of the critically wounded American men would die that day.

Shurer was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group and ODA 3336 when they were tasked with capturing a high-value target who was a part of the Hezebela Islami Gulbadin insurgent group. The mission took place in the remote Shok Valley in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan.

As the team of Green Berets and Afghan commandos were being whisked to the snow-covered ground along a frozen river and with a nearly vertical 60-foot cliff that the men would have to climb, through their imagery, the amount of enemy troops in the area suddenly became much clearer.

In an interview with the media last weekend, LTC Kyle Walton, who was a Captain and in command of the ODA, said the troops saw that “There were hundreds and hundreds of more compounds than we were able to see from our imagery.”

The men had to leap 10 feet from the CH-47 Chinook helicopter to the river due to the steepness of the terrain. They then had to assault straight up the near vertical cliff to where the high-value target (HVT) was supposed to be residing in this village.

Shurer recalled an eerie stillness as soon as the helicopter whooshed away. The men, all on foot with no vehicles or heavy weapons had just a shoulder carried a recoilless rifle as their biggest weapon.

Soon after the stillness was interrupted by 200-300 Afghan insurgents who rained down automatic weapons fire and rocket-propelled grenades on the vastly outnumbered team of Special Forces men and Afghan commandos.

Walton quickly broke his force into three assault elements but was immediately pinned down by the superior enemy fire that had wounded nearly all of the men. Shurer was initially at the base of the cliff, tending to several wounded Afghan commandos.

As President Trump would remind onlookers at the White House on Monday, “Blood was all over the place, it was a tough, tough situation to be in.” It was soon about to get worse.

SFC Dillon Behr, the A-Team’s Senior Radio Operator, was shot thru the hip and was bleeding out. Walton called for Shurer to come up to his untenable position on top of the cliff as there were too many wounded. They were pinned against the cliff and things were looking bad.

A-10 attack aircraft and F-16s screamed overhead, making close air support runs close to the Green Berets. They were trying to keep the insurgents pinned down but many of the Americans were peppered with shrapnel as well.

“When I called for Ron, there was a silence over the radio for a few seconds, because everyone realized what that meant — that it was bad,” Walton recalled. “He had to climb a mountain under fire with a couple other guys on the team. When he showed up, nearly everybody was wounded. We were under direct fire. We were pinned down with nearly nowhere to go except down that 100-foot cliff.”

Shurer raced to Behr’s side and was attempting to stop the bleeding of his badly damaged hip. He even went to the extent of jamming his fingers in the wound to stop the bleeding. Then a bullet ripped thru another Green Beret’s arm and hit Shurer in the head and arm. He recalled it being like getting hit with a baseball bat.

Behr, thinking he was about to die, began to pray. Shurer slapped him across the face and startled the wounded man back to his senses. “Wake up! You’re not going to die today.”

Walton knew his situation was critical and his small team was in danger of being overrun. He called for an airstrike danger close, nearly on top of his own position. The team was in danger of being wiped out as much as the insurgents from the bomb.

As he called for the bomb drop, Walton says the last image he has is that of Shurer, draped over the wounded men, protecting them with his own body.

The bomb blasted the insurgents long enough to allow the Green Berets to make their escape down the cliff. As the dust settled, Walton recalls that the first image he saw was Shurer tending to the wounded.

Shurer had brought plenty of tubular nylon webbing that the team used to sling and lower Behr and the other wounded down the cliff to waiting helicopters to evacuate the team away from the firefight and live to fight again.

Another one of Shurer’s teammates, SFC Matthew Williams recalls that Shurer’s coolness under fire and the disregard for his own safety was the reason, so many of the men survived that day.

“His ability to manage an unmanageable situation and remain calm, collected and cool — always was that guy, hanging out or training or whatever,” he said.

“We’d been in engagements before, even on that deployment,” Williams added. “Nothing like that before. Luckily, we’re all incredibly well trained, we trusted each other, and it all just kind of worked for us that day. On our worst day.”

Shurer, when hearing the comments of his fellow A-Team members was humbled by the praise.“That means so much more,” he said. “I know these guys’ wives, their kids. Just knowing that … it’s very humbling for them to say that. Luckily, it all kind of worked for me to help those guys.”

Shurer and the nine other Green Berets were all awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third highest award for bravery after the battle. But several team members felt that Shurer’s actions deserved more recognition.

Shurer left the military a year later and joined the Secret Service. He then later joined the Special Operations Division where he’s served since 2011. He was asked to go to the White House where the decision to upgrade his award to the Medal of Honor was kept from him. He was told it was a work-related visit. But then the President broke the news to him.

During the ceremony, President Trump tapped him on the shoulder and his comments echoed the impressiveness of Shurer’s exploits.

He’s a warrior,” Trump said. “For more than six hours, Ron bravely faced down the enemy,” Trump added during the ceremony. “Not a single American died in that brutal battle thanks in great measure to Ron’s heroic actions.”

A year ago, Shurer was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer but he has continued to fight that disease with the same bravery he faced the enemy Trump said.

“He’s braved, battled, worked, he’s done everything he can, that cancer he’s been fighting it every single day with courage and with strength, and he’s a warrior,” Trump said.

The president added, “He’s the best dad and role model two boys could ever ask for.”

Shurer was accompanied by his wife and two sons, several of his 3rd SFG teammates and Afghan interpreters at the ceremony.

Photos: US Army

On This Day Special Forces A -Camp at Thuong Duc Defended

The U.S. Army Special Forces built a number of camps to defend South Vietnam from Communist infiltration during the war in Vietnam. These would be manned by a typical Special Forces A-Team and manned by paramilitary Montagnard tribesmen, called camp strikers, in the Civilian Irregular Defense Program (CIDG).

Special Forces camp A-109 at Thuong Duc was a typical SF camp. It was located southwest (about 40 KM) of Da Nang close to the Laotian border. It was strategically located between the heavily populated coastal plain and the more rural areas west. It was also located within a key river valley where the Song Vu Gia and Song Con rivers converged and afforded the Americans and Vietnamese the ability to monitor and interdict enemy activity from the west and protect Da Nang.

From an SF veteran website: It consisted of an American compound surrounded by an outer band occupied by the CIDG troops. The outer area also contained the Vietnamese ‘District government’ headquarters. To the south (and slightly west) was a CIDG outpost. The outpost and camp A-109 straddled ‘fingers’ — ridges that extended down from the high plateau to the river valley. As such the camp had a commanding view of the river and the river valley.

The 5th Special Forces Group maintained an A-Team at Thuong Duc from 1965 until 1970. Because of the proximity to Da Nang and its strategic importance, the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), made the capture of the camp a priority. It was along a major infiltration route by the NVA. and always under attack. The I Corps Mike Force was frequently sent to Thuong Duc to help defend the camp.

The NVA placed anti-aircraft guns on the mountains surrounding the camp and would attempt to shoot down any aircraft attempting to use the airstrip. This made resupply for the camp a tricky situation when the enemy was attacking, which was often.

In September of 1968, the NVA was making another major push for Da Nang. First, they had to take Camp 109 at Thuong Duc. They slowly infiltrated in the mountains on three sides of the camp, building up their forces in an attempt to overrun the camp.

On September 28, at 0200 the NVA 21st Regiment attacked and overran Outposts Alpha and Bravo, about 600 meters southwest of the main camp area. Later that day, CIDG strikers led by Special Forces troops took back the two outposts in hard fighting.

The NVA kept up the pressure by taking several surrounding villages in the area and either killing or driving out the local inhabitants. Meanwhile, the Special Forces troops with their organic mortars along with artillery support and air strikes from the Air Force were taking a huge toll on the enemy.

The A-Team in Thuong Duc had in their possession a captured enemy radio set (Chicom) and were able to monitor the enemy’s transmissions. The NVA was in desperate need of replacements and medical supplies as they were taking severe casualties. Because of these monitored transmissions, CIDG and SF personnel from Camp 109 attacked and routed an enemy resupply column when they entered a killing field of the open area northwest of the camp several days later. They caused an additional 100 casualties of the enemy.

While the NVA kept up pressure against Thuong Duc with several rocket and artillery attacks as well as many probes against the surrounding area villages, but it was clear that they had lost the element of surprise and as well as the initiative.

Then the Seventh Marines was tasked with relieving the surrounded Thuong Duc camp area; 2d and 3d Battalions, 5th Marines were attached to the regiment. Facing elements of 21st Regiment of the 2d NVA Division and the newly established 141st Regiment, the Marines and supporting South Vietnamese units began to help clear the area.

Together, the SF troops, CIDG and the Marines with support from attack aircraft, AC-47 gunships, artillery from 3d Bn, 11th Marines and the Army’s 4th Bn, 8th Field Artillery, the Marines slowly pushed the NVA back to the Laotian border.

Casualties for the Special Forces Camp from the A-109 After Action Report included: 21 CIDG strikers Killed in action (KIA) 8 RF/PF, Killed in action (KIA). 9 Special Forces, 32 CIDG, 6 RF/PF (South Vietnamese), Wounded in Action, (WIA).

NVA dead in direct camp assaults were counted as 68, however many more were killed in artillery and air strikes outside of the camp.

Thuong Duc (Camp A-109) would be attacked again by the NVA again during the time period from late April to early June 1970. In spite of this, the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, (MACV) insisted on shutting down the CIDG program and converting the camps over to Vietnamese Ranger BNs. By November 1st, after the 5th Special Forces Group delayed the termination order as long as they could, closed Camp A-109.

The last bastion in I Corps was gone. The South Vietnamese were incapable of running the programs correctly and the Montagnard strikers quit in large numbers, not trusting the South Vietnamese government who treated them like second-class citizens.

The conventional MACV advisors lacked the experience and communications to adequately defend the camps and eventually, the NVA swept thru the areas with ease.

Photos: US Army Special Forces