JTAC shot, keeps calling in critical close air support

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. John Wright
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  American heroes have shone time and time again during the war in Afghanistan, earning accolades from their branches of service and even the president of the United States, but most recently a joint terminal attack controller from the 817th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Squadron proved it yet again.

Senior Airman Jorge Henry is one of the most recent examples, having helped save the lives of a 34-man U.S. Army company in the Northern Kunar Province on Aug. 12, 2011, by calling in multiple air strikes after being shot by a Taliban sniper.

Henry, an 817th EASOS JTAC, and Soldiers from the 2-27th Infantry Battalion hiked 4,000 meters up a mountainside under the cover of darkness to establish vantage points from which to observe enemy activity in a local village. Once daybreak came, it was apparent there was a strong enemy presence, he said.

"A few hours later we got some intelligence that the enemy in the town had eyes on us," Henry said. "At that point, they knew we were there and we started to take fire."

The New York native, deployed from the 25th ASOS at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, immediately called for clos- air support and within minutes, F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 555th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron were overhead.

"As soon as that first bomb was dropped, we started getting hit with heavy machine gun fire from two different locations," Henry said. "So I called for two 500-pound bombs on those locations and took them out."

Shortly thereafter, Henry's unit started getting hit with machine gun fire again from another location, pinning them down.

"Rounds were landing right at my feet, so we huddled against the rocks trying to get as low as possible," Henry said. "I called for two 2,000-pound bombs to suppress the machine gun fire on that position long enough for us to break contact and move south to get better cover."

The fighting didn't let up, however, as his unit again began taking fire from a cave system to the northwest. Henry said he guided rotary-wing assets onto the targets to engage the cave, but their munitions weren't strong enough to penetrate the heavily-fortified position.

Henry said it became clear that he had to get a bomb deep inside the cave, but the angle was tricky. He called for a laser-guided bomb that followed a path lazed by the helicopters, scoring a direct hit that effectively took out the enemy.

At this point, Henry said he started to notice that he personally was starting to take quite a bit of fire; he was informed the Taliban had positively identified him as the person calling in airstrikes, saying, "Shoot the big guy."

At 6'2," 230 pounds, Henry stood out.

"I looked around and realized 'I'm the big guy."' Henry said.

Henry said he decided it was best to move to better cover so he could continue to effectively call in close-air support. As he began to run to better cover, a sniper opened up on him.

"He fired three shots," Henry said. "One landed at my feet, the second round passed between my chest and my arm and hit the ground. The third round hit me in the right hand."

After realizing his new cover was compromised, Henry ran to the next closest cover, which happened to be where the Army medic was engaging the enemy.

"I jumped in the hole with him and let him know I was hit," Henry said. "I didn't have time to wait though, so while he was bandaging my injured hand, I used my good hand to keep calling in strikes. The only thing on my mind was 'get bombs off these birds as fast as possible to suppress this gunfire.'"

Lt. Col. John Peterson, a 555th EFS F-16 pilot, was the flight lead in a two-ship formation providing close-air support that day.

"He and the medic were pinned down with rounds popping in and around their position," Peterson said. "I feared he was out of the game, either physically or mentally. Within moments, I could tell he regained his composure."

Henry's ability to regain his composure and focus on the task at hand impressed the veteran pilot.

"As a forward air controller and a former air ground operations school instructor, I've had extensive experience working with the JTACs in training and combat," Peterson said. "Henry's performance under fire was nothing short of stellar. It was 'trial by fire' -- literally."

Peterson and Capt. Mark Browning, the other F-16 pilot, dropped bomb after bomb for the JTAC but eventually ran low on fuel and had to return to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

F-15E Strike Eagles from the 389th EFS were enroute to replace them but were about 20 minutes out. It was during this time, pinned down in a hole little more than one foot high, Henry thought about his family.

"I told myself I'm going to make it off this mountain for them," Henry said. "I'm going to kill as many of these guys as I have to, and all of us are leaving here alive."

The determined JTAC's situation was made even more difficult by the fact that the hole in which he and the medic were hiding was beginning to deteriorate due to the sniper and heavy machine gun fire.

"Every time I would stick my head up to try to determine their position, rounds would zoom right past my head," Henry said. "I could hear them and feel the heat from the bullets."

After pinpointing the machine gun's position, Henry called in ordnance, which scored a direct hit; however, the sniper fire persisted.

Henry said he was able to figure out the angle from which the bullets were coming by using his wrist compass. He then used a laser range finder to determine the distance.

Henry said the F-15s arrived in the nick of time and he was ready for them. He was unable to reach the maps and charts in his pack to get a precise location for the fighters to drop a bomb, so he called in an approximate position. The bomb landed about 1,000 meters from the sniper who was not discouraged.

"Once I knew I was relatively close, I just started walking bombs in on him," Henry said. "Finally, when I got close enough, I called for a 2,000-pound bomb with air burst fusing, which means once it reaches a certain elevation, it blows up. I saw the bomb go off above his head and watched him disappear."

After the sniper was taken out, Henry said he was finally able to get to better cover, but the situation quickly intensified when Taliban forces advanced to within 30 meters of his new position. Henry ignored the pain in his injured hand and used his M-4 carbine to help Soldiers drive the enemy back.

Eventually, eight hours after the fighting began, night started to fall and Henry's unit used the cover of darkness to descend the mountain to safety. In all, the JTAC called in 14,500 pounds of munitions -- 17 bombs total.

"This was my first heavy engagement, and I just did what I had to do to survive," the JTAC said. "Any skilled JTAC in my position would have done the same thing."

Henry said he felt that if he quit or gave in to the pain, his unit could have sustained heavy losses. Peterson shared the same sentiment.

"From our perspective, his ability to remain calm and effectively use airpower was nothing short of essential for their survival," Peterson said.

After undergoing surgery for his injured hand at Craig Joint Theater Hospital on Bagram Airfield, Henry was presented with a Purple Heart medal from Lt. Gen. David Goldfein, the commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command.

During the presentation, Goldfein explained to the gathered crowd, and to Henry in particular, that it's traditional in the military for the person receiving the medal to salute the officer who presents his medal. However, in this case, the general said that he would prefer to do the saluting and asked not to be saluted in return. Goldfein said he wanted to honor the service of Henry and his fellow JTACs for all they have done during conflicts around the world, and also for aiding in his own rescue after being shot down over Serbia in May 1999.

While many people might consider taking time off to recover or go home, Henry is having none of it and is itching to return to the fight.

"I'm going right back," he said. "I wouldn't go home if they tried to send me. I want to go back out on more missions to bring airpower to the battlefield."