oef 2011: BULL WHIP Part 3

The evening of March 25th ended with the five of us aloft in the Command and Control aircraft over the Gaulch Valley, not only carefully monitoring the events unfolding below us, but in multiple other locations where our clearing forces were being picked up throughout the battle space. An Air Assault is highly complicated, and at this point I began to have a true appreciation for all the hard work and planning that had gone into the operation. Things were going very smoothly, and so far we had sustained no enemy contact. Everything was looking very good.

After 4 hours in the air and a second refueling stop, we decided to proceed as planned with the insertion of our own element into the center observation post (OP2) overlooking the Galuch at about 2:15 a.m. For me, the decision couldn't have come any sooner. There was little room in the aircraft with all of our gear, and I was beginning to cramp up from having my knees buried in my chest for hours on end. I was very uncomfortable from sitting motionless for so long. My legs ached.

Things began to happen very quickly, and the next 5 minutes are an absolute blur. The crew chief looked at me, held up 3 fingers and said, "we'll have you on the ground in 3 minutes Sir!" Now...I don't care who you are, what you've done, or where you've been...talk about an adrenaline rush! I'm not quite sure how many prayers I began saying at this point, but I think it's safe to say that God and I were having quite the conversation at about this time.

I quickly began fumbling around for my gear, flicking down my night vision and ensuring I had everything I had brought with me. I looked out the window, and even with my night vision goggles, I couldn't see anything. I don't think I have ever witnessed a night any darker than this. Occasional flashes of lightening to the North highlighted the mountains, but beyond that, you could see nothing. I flicked my night vision back up, conceding they weren't going to be of much help. I scanned the darkness for sings of enemy tracer fire, and thankfully saw nothing.

A few seconds later, the crew chief cracked open the side door of the Blackhawk, tapped me on the shoulder, and said "have fun!" I grabbed the door, and flung it rearward as hard as I could. The door locked into place, and I waited patiently for the aircraft to land. I continued to wait, until the crew chief tapped me on the shoulder again saying "GO!" Simultaneously, I felt the front 2 wheels of the UH-60 connect with the mountain top. I couldn't see anything, everything was black. I jumped to the ground, landing about 2 feet below the aircraft. I moved forward about 15 feet, took a knee and began scanning with my night vision. Immediately, another element that had already been inserted further up the mountain signaled me with 2 infrared flashes, advising me of their position. I quickly signaled back with 2 flashes, verifying to them that I had their position marked.

I looked back at the aircraft, and watched as the crew chief finished tossing our rucksacks to the ground. I watched each ruck settle into place, ready to run after anything that might keep rolling toward the edge of the mountain. I scanned back toward the tail of the aircraft, and was amazed to see the back half of the UH-60 still in the air...the pilot had made a two wheeled landing due to the terrain...an amazing site made by possible by a highly skilled pilot. I scanned back toward the crew chief just as the rotorwash increased substantially, lifting the UH-60 back into sky and leaving us alone on the now very quiet mountain top.

I quickly moved toward the rucksacks, picked one up and moved into a position behind some boulders. SSG Bryant moved in next to me a few seconds later. Soon afterward, we had accountability of everyone and began re-establishing communications. We still had a long night ahead of us, with hundreds of Soldiers waiting to be inserted into the valley floor.

About 5 minutes later, a lieutenant and a couple of Soldiers arrived, hiking down from their position to greet us. They reported that all was quiet so far. In the distance, I could hear more aircraft moving into the valley...the unmistakable sound of a pair of CH-47s reverberating throughout the valley. SGT Smith and I moved to a better vantage point, and we began to re-orient ourselves with where we were at in the operation. For the next 2 1/2 hours, we continued to observe until the last aircraft finally went wheels up from the valley floor. I moved over to COL Corell, and finally relayed the good news that all of his forces were safely in position, ready to begin clearing the valley at first light.

With everyone in position, I made my way over to my rucksack, pulled my sleeping bag out and quietly thanked God for truly blessing the now completed first phase of the operation. As I began to drift off, I noticed the first hint of light beginning to emerge from the East. I expected to get only an hour or two of sleep, but I didn't care. I began to notice all the visible stars, and then drifted off only seconds after laying down.