transparant
<font color=red>Oh say does that star-spangled ban
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- Sep 8, 2004
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The Jolly Pararescuemen
On 16 April, 2004 a Chinook helicopter from the Hawaiin Army National Guard took off on a routine night-time resupply mission Kharbut, Iraq. The events that followed permanently etched 13 names into the walls of America's hall of valor.
As the three National Guard Chinooks navigated towards their LZ, a fierce sandstorm dissected the choppers' flight path. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Steve Froeschile was blinded. Night-vision and infared were worthless in the intense storm. Froeschile had a quick decision to make: continue flying by instruments and risk crashing into his wingmen, or land the chopper and wait the storm out. He chose the latter; on the ground he wouldn't be a risk to his fellow aviators.
Froeschile maneuvered the Chinook down n the middle of intense winds with zero visibility. "Within seconds," Froeschile said, "the ground was coming up at us."
The heavy chopper hit the ground hard and rolled over. The crash completely demolished the tough Chinook. All five members were unhurt, but were isolated, in unknown territory, in the middle of a sandstorm.
After-Action photo of the downed Hawaii Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook.
Balad Air Base's tower had been monitoring the Chinooks. From the helicopters radio conversations, Balad concluded that a chopper had gone down, and the position of the crew was unknown.
On call at Balad were two rescue crews from the 38th and 41st Rescue Squadrons, Moody Air Force Base Georgia. The crews -Jolly 11 commanded by Capt John Bryan Creel and Jolly 12 commanded by Capt Wrinkle- consisted of the Air Force's most elite troopers, the pararescuemen (PJs).
Trained to extract downed pilot's behind enemy lines, the Jolly crews and their state-of-the art HH-60 helicopters -with their terrain-tracking technology, infared cameras, and in-flight refueling capabilities- were perfectly suited for the perilous rescue mission.
Creel, Wrinkle, and their crews went to work immediately. Creel said later that their squadron intelligence officer warned them against the direct, 70-mile flight path that they had chosen. The vector would take them directly over several insurgent held villages, all of which were suspected SAM-sites.
"They were spot on with that" Creel later said.
They instead opted to swing-south of the hot zones, testing their luck with the still-raging sandstorms.
The southern leg of the mission was relatively tranquil. When the Jollies turned east however, the situation rapidly intensified. The sandstorm was so bad that the HH-60s flew at just under 200 feet, just enough distance to spot both the ground and each other.
As the Airmen neared the suspected crash site, the crews kept sharp watch for either visual recognition of the wreckage or a tracking beacon from survivors. But the weather simply wasn't playing ball.
The storm intensified, creating incredibly hazardous flying conditions. Instead of turning back, Creel and Wrinkle hugged the deck, remembering training from their old Army days that dictated they fly "low and slow." For seven miles the Jollies flew with their bellies rubbing the dirt, using every crew member as lookouts to help the beleagured pilots. Visibility was less than 100 yards, and the pilots often had to evade powerlines and ground structures. After what seemed to be an eternity, one of the two Pavehawks caught a break.
Jolly 11 picked up a signal, homed in on it, and was able to drop a GPS tracker that fed into her navigation systems. Jolly 12 flew close-by, noting that they had identified the crash site.
Under normal conditions, one HH-60 would land while the other hovered above in vigil. With the sandstorm howling, both choppers landed and disgorged their PJs. All of the Chinook's crew were uninjured. 3 soldiers went to Jolly 11, the remaing two to Jolly 12.
For the return trip, the Jollies upped their altitude to 500 feet, keeping well-clear of any obstructions. After approximately 40 miles, the storm broke and the choppers dropped to 100 feet, unknowingly jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Soon after the weather had cleared, Jolly 12's missile-detection alarm began blaring. Wrinkle evaded to the protective cover of a grove of trees, as his PJs -spotting a smoke trail- warned of an inbound missile. Wrinkle jinked left, dodging the round.
A second missile shot past on 12's starboard side. As the missile-detection system continued screaming, one of the pararescuers caught a terrifying sight: two spiraling smoke trails headed directly for them. Wrinkle again threw Jolly 12 into an evasive maneuver, as his quick-thinking PJs fired off signal flares as countermeasures.
Jolly 11 had spotted her embattled wingman and moved in to help, hosing the suspect SAM position with her starboard .50 caliber machine gun. The firing stopped and the Jollies continued towards Balad.
Almost home, 12's missile warning system again erupted as Jolly 11's crew watched two missiles shoot past her port side. 11 fired her .50 cal again to distract the insurgents. The move worked; shortly after the attacks stopped, the Jollies successfully entered Balad's airspace. They were home.
Every member of the Jollies were decorated for their bravery: the PJs with Airman's medals, the pilots with distinguished flying crosses. Captain Creel later said "In my opinion, they all deserved distinguished flying crosses."
The Jollies separated shortly thereafter, moving on to new jobs in the Air Force. They had not been reunited since, until yesterday, December 5th.
On 5 December, 2005, the crews of Jolly 11 and Jolly 12 were awarded the National Aeronautic Association's Mackay Trophy for "the most meritorious flight of the year," joining the ranks of Air Force immortals like Chuck Yaegar and Billy Mitchell. The Mackay trophy is one of the highest decorations for courage under fire that an Airman can receive.
The 13 heroes are:
Jolly 11
Capt. Bryan Creel, mission commander
Maj. Joseph Galletti, co-pilot
Tech Sgt. Thomas Ringheimer, gunner
Staff Sgt. Patrick Ledbetter, flight engineer
Staff Sgt. Vincent J. Eckert, pararescueman
Staff Sgt. John Griffin, pararescueman
Jolly 12
Capt. Robby Wrinkle, aircraft commander
Capt. Gregory Rockwood, co-pilot
Tech. Sgt. Michael Preston, flight engineer
Master Sgt. Paul Silver, gunner
Staff Sgt. Edward Ha, pararescueman
Staff Sgt. Matthew Leigh, pararescueman
Staff Sgt. Michael Rubio, pararescueman
On 16 April, 2004 a Chinook helicopter from the Hawaiin Army National Guard took off on a routine night-time resupply mission Kharbut, Iraq. The events that followed permanently etched 13 names into the walls of America's hall of valor.
As the three National Guard Chinooks navigated towards their LZ, a fierce sandstorm dissected the choppers' flight path. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Steve Froeschile was blinded. Night-vision and infared were worthless in the intense storm. Froeschile had a quick decision to make: continue flying by instruments and risk crashing into his wingmen, or land the chopper and wait the storm out. He chose the latter; on the ground he wouldn't be a risk to his fellow aviators.
Froeschile maneuvered the Chinook down n the middle of intense winds with zero visibility. "Within seconds," Froeschile said, "the ground was coming up at us."
The heavy chopper hit the ground hard and rolled over. The crash completely demolished the tough Chinook. All five members were unhurt, but were isolated, in unknown territory, in the middle of a sandstorm.
After-Action photo of the downed Hawaii Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook.
Balad Air Base's tower had been monitoring the Chinooks. From the helicopters radio conversations, Balad concluded that a chopper had gone down, and the position of the crew was unknown.
On call at Balad were two rescue crews from the 38th and 41st Rescue Squadrons, Moody Air Force Base Georgia. The crews -Jolly 11 commanded by Capt John Bryan Creel and Jolly 12 commanded by Capt Wrinkle- consisted of the Air Force's most elite troopers, the pararescuemen (PJs).
Trained to extract downed pilot's behind enemy lines, the Jolly crews and their state-of-the art HH-60 helicopters -with their terrain-tracking technology, infared cameras, and in-flight refueling capabilities- were perfectly suited for the perilous rescue mission.
Creel, Wrinkle, and their crews went to work immediately. Creel said later that their squadron intelligence officer warned them against the direct, 70-mile flight path that they had chosen. The vector would take them directly over several insurgent held villages, all of which were suspected SAM-sites.
"They were spot on with that" Creel later said.
They instead opted to swing-south of the hot zones, testing their luck with the still-raging sandstorms.
The southern leg of the mission was relatively tranquil. When the Jollies turned east however, the situation rapidly intensified. The sandstorm was so bad that the HH-60s flew at just under 200 feet, just enough distance to spot both the ground and each other.
As the Airmen neared the suspected crash site, the crews kept sharp watch for either visual recognition of the wreckage or a tracking beacon from survivors. But the weather simply wasn't playing ball.
The storm intensified, creating incredibly hazardous flying conditions. Instead of turning back, Creel and Wrinkle hugged the deck, remembering training from their old Army days that dictated they fly "low and slow." For seven miles the Jollies flew with their bellies rubbing the dirt, using every crew member as lookouts to help the beleagured pilots. Visibility was less than 100 yards, and the pilots often had to evade powerlines and ground structures. After what seemed to be an eternity, one of the two Pavehawks caught a break.
Jolly 11 picked up a signal, homed in on it, and was able to drop a GPS tracker that fed into her navigation systems. Jolly 12 flew close-by, noting that they had identified the crash site.
Under normal conditions, one HH-60 would land while the other hovered above in vigil. With the sandstorm howling, both choppers landed and disgorged their PJs. All of the Chinook's crew were uninjured. 3 soldiers went to Jolly 11, the remaing two to Jolly 12.
For the return trip, the Jollies upped their altitude to 500 feet, keeping well-clear of any obstructions. After approximately 40 miles, the storm broke and the choppers dropped to 100 feet, unknowingly jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Soon after the weather had cleared, Jolly 12's missile-detection alarm began blaring. Wrinkle evaded to the protective cover of a grove of trees, as his PJs -spotting a smoke trail- warned of an inbound missile. Wrinkle jinked left, dodging the round.
A second missile shot past on 12's starboard side. As the missile-detection system continued screaming, one of the pararescuers caught a terrifying sight: two spiraling smoke trails headed directly for them. Wrinkle again threw Jolly 12 into an evasive maneuver, as his quick-thinking PJs fired off signal flares as countermeasures.
Jolly 11 had spotted her embattled wingman and moved in to help, hosing the suspect SAM position with her starboard .50 caliber machine gun. The firing stopped and the Jollies continued towards Balad.
Almost home, 12's missile warning system again erupted as Jolly 11's crew watched two missiles shoot past her port side. 11 fired her .50 cal again to distract the insurgents. The move worked; shortly after the attacks stopped, the Jollies successfully entered Balad's airspace. They were home.
Every member of the Jollies were decorated for their bravery: the PJs with Airman's medals, the pilots with distinguished flying crosses. Captain Creel later said "In my opinion, they all deserved distinguished flying crosses."
The Jollies separated shortly thereafter, moving on to new jobs in the Air Force. They had not been reunited since, until yesterday, December 5th.
On 5 December, 2005, the crews of Jolly 11 and Jolly 12 were awarded the National Aeronautic Association's Mackay Trophy for "the most meritorious flight of the year," joining the ranks of Air Force immortals like Chuck Yaegar and Billy Mitchell. The Mackay trophy is one of the highest decorations for courage under fire that an Airman can receive.
The 13 heroes are:
Jolly 11
Capt. Bryan Creel, mission commander
Maj. Joseph Galletti, co-pilot
Tech Sgt. Thomas Ringheimer, gunner
Staff Sgt. Patrick Ledbetter, flight engineer
Staff Sgt. Vincent J. Eckert, pararescueman
Staff Sgt. John Griffin, pararescueman
Jolly 12
Capt. Robby Wrinkle, aircraft commander
Capt. Gregory Rockwood, co-pilot
Tech. Sgt. Michael Preston, flight engineer
Master Sgt. Paul Silver, gunner
Staff Sgt. Edward Ha, pararescueman
Staff Sgt. Matthew Leigh, pararescueman
Staff Sgt. Michael Rubio, pararescueman
Just bumping up. I thought it was a heroic story.
