USAF's Rescue Airmen Helped Fight Off a Deadly Ambush and Pull
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Distinguished RescueBy Marc V. Schanz, Senior Editor USAF’s rescue airmen helped fi ght off a deadly ambush and pull combatants from a mountain fi refi ght in Afghanistan. uring a 7.5-hour mission, Afghanistan—received the Distinguished assigned to the 33rd Rescue Squadron two HH-60 Pave Hawk Flying Cross with Valor device. USAF at Kadena. crews made a 320-mile Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III Capt. Matthew Carlisle, Capt. John trip, rescuing six wound- presented the awards at Kadena AB, Larson, MSgt. Scott Spangler, and SrA. ed New Zealand soldiers, Japan, this past August. Joshua Brown also received the DFC with an Afghan soldier, and Welsh said it was his honor to present Valor at other presentations. an Afghan national and recovered the fi ve of the airmen from the mission with Even within a community known for Dremains of two New Zealanders killed in the medal, one of USAF’s highest decora- heroism, Welsh said the mission that day action. They did all of this while under tions, and do so in front of their peers. truly stood out as an example of airmen heavy direct fi re and in temperatures “They embody the spirit of airmen, at their fi nest. sometimes rising above 100 degrees, by coming to the aid of others under the The crews of Pedro 83 and Pedro 84 completing their mission with just minutes most diffi cult of circumstances,” Welsh came to their deployment with the 83rd of fuel remaining. said. “This is what they do.” ERQS that August from many corners For their actions on Aug. 4, 2012, Recognized were Capt. Michael H. of the rescue and pararescue jumper (PJ) members of two pararescue crews—Pedro Kingry, Capt. Gavin H. Johnson, Capt. community. Kingry’s history is typical: 83 and Pedro 84 of the 83rd Expedition- Matthew M. Pfarr, TSgt. Scott D. La- He deployed seven times between 2007 ary Rescue Squadron at Bagram Airfi eld, gerveld, and SSgt. Robert G. Wells, all and 2013 to places such as Balad AB, 32 AIR FORCE Magazine / February 2014 Pedro 83) and Brown (the ship’s gunner) The formation was lucky. There was a were on their first deployments. lull in the fighting, and the B-1 crew saw Pedro 84 was Larson’s flight. He was no immediate threats to the choppers. On on his second deployment, as was his the approach to the landing zone, however, copilot, Johnson. Lagerveld was Larson’s Kingry got another update: There were flight engineer and a seasoned pro, having now seven casualties waiting for rescue. earned a previous DFC with Valor for a Steep cliffs flanked the landing zone, mission flown in Kunar province. located in a valley. Kingry and Pfarr in The crews had just come on duty Pedro 83 stayed overhead while Larson and were beginning the daily ritual of and Johnson brought Pedro 84 in for a preparing their kits when the call for landing, taking on three patients. After help came in. lifting off, Pedro 83 came in, picking up “We essentially … were immediately the other four. launched. If the mission had dropped five They weren’t going to make it back minutes earlier, it would have been the to Bagram in a direct shot, though. The other guys who would have executed,” engines were guzzling fuel to stay aloft Kingry said. in the thin mountain air, and the crews The radio came alive: “Attention on had to dump some gas to accommodate the net, attention on the net, scramble, the weight of the patients. scramble, scramble.” It meant someone Pfarr watched the gas gauge level fall. faced a life-or-death situation, and the “It was a very tricky balance between crews needed to get airborne immediately. keeping enough fuel to get somewhere, Kingry’s and Larson’s HH-60s spooled and dumping enough fuel so that we could up and took off, headed north toward [extract wounded] on the site,” he said in the wilderness of Afghanistan’s craggy the Air Force interview. mountains. Two New Zealand troops With fuel dwindling and their patients were wounded in a firefight with enemy in critical condition, the flight had to get forces, they were told. to the nearest forward operating base, As Pedro 83 and 84 sped toward the Combat Outpost Khilagay, in Baghlan call, the mission picture started to fill in: province. As they bore down on it, Kingry The pickup location was farther north of recalled, his PJ team told him two of the Bagram than their usual range, located in first casualties had been killed in action, the jagged mountains and valleys of the and they were working hard to keep the nominally peaceful Bamyan province. others alive. The target lay in the middle of a steep Once both helicopters touched down mountain range, and the Pave Hawks and the patients had been offloaded, couldn’t climb over the mountains or Kingry looked at the fuel gauge: about they’d burn all their fuel too early. Kingry 300 pounds, or just 15 minutes of flying plotted a course through valley passes at time, left. lower altitudes, saving fuel but extending “I had never seen the gauge read that the journey. The crew knew they’d need low and I just felt thankful that we had air refueling and called the operations made it” to the combat outpost, he said. center for tanker support. “That’s when we got the call that the Halfway there, the ops center called New Zealand forces had taken additional USAF photo by SSgt. Christopher Boitz back: They were flying in to save five casualties.” patients now, not just two. The site was After a hurried ground refueling, Kin- likely still a hot combat zone, and coali- gry and Larson took their Pave Hawks Iraq; Camp Bastion, Afghanistan; and tion troops were still under fire and taking up again. The Kiwi troops had three two hitches at Bagram, as well. casualties. more wounded. The HH-60 pilots coor- PJs and Pedros from across the Air Details slowly emerged as the two-ship dinated with an F-16 in the area to make Force joined the Kadena airmen at Ba- of Pave Hawks approached the target. A a “show of force” in the valley before gram. B-1 overhead would provide close air they returned; the jet screamed down at “Our formation was a pretty good mix support, and they got the frequencies so low level, making a deafening noise and of experienced aircrew and GA [Guard- they could talk directly to the bomber. letting the bad guys know that airpower ian Angels, the PJ complement to the Thirty minutes from the extraction site, was on the scene. aircrew], along with really sharp young Kingry helped develop a plan with the But things got worse on Kingry’s and guys,” Kingry said in an interview. B-1 and the joint terminal attack control- Larson’s second trip into the valley. The MSgt. Tracy Debbs, for example, was ler on the ground for the Pave Hawks to fighting had picked up again. Pedro 83 a seasoned PJ. He was the team leader approach, land, and get the casualties out. infilled its PJs, then covered the team for the GAs. Spangler was on his fifth “We were able to go in there with a from above. deployment. weapons pattern. … We didn’t want to Geography didn’t cooperate. On this just fly in and land ... because we knew extraction, the rescue airmen would have A Matter of Minutes there would be enemy presence,” Kingry to use a hoist, hovering over the extraction In contrast, Pfarr (Kingry’s copilot in said in an official Air Force interview. site—leaving helicopter, crew, PJs, and AIR FORCE Magazine / February 2014 33 A USAF HH-60 Pave Hawk from the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron takes off from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. AP photo/Terry Ashe photo/Terry AP Ashe photo/Terry AP USAF photo Scott M. Ash M. Scott photo USAF USAF photo by A1C Failey R. Davis R. Failey A1C by photo USAF 34 AIR FORCE Magazine / February 2014 casualties vulnerable to enemy fire. A rock At this point, the enemy was sup- outcropping surrounded their position. pressed, but the formation had a new set It also meant Pedro 83 had to dump of problems. fuel again to make the helicopter lighter. Because Pedro 83 had dumped gas That in turn gave the team even less time to attempt the hoist, and then spent five to carry out the rescue. As the Pave Hawks minutes in a weapons pattern, the Pave moved into position in the valley once Hawk was now below “bingo fuel,” the more, the PJs on the ground skillfully bare minimum needed for a return to vectored them in, while making sure they the outpost. But PJs were still on the and the casualties could remain behind ground, and the casualties needed to be cover as much as possible. hoisted aboard. As Kingry maneuvered his aircraft “We could either leave the area” and and prepared to deploy the hoist, Larson try to retrieve the PJ Guardian Angel took Pedro 84 to another extraction site. team and casualty later, or “we could He landed and picked up the remaining [extract] them immediately and hope to patient. get fuel from the on-call tanker,” Kingry Meanwhile, at the first site, Pedro 83’s said of the crew’s dilemma. Leaving the copilot Pfarr called out on the radio: team on the ground meant the PJs and Muzzle flashes at the 10 o’clock position, the casualties would have to stay put for about 300 meters away.