Reserve rescue crews win Jolly Green mission award

  • Published
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) --  A daring, nighttime combat rescue last year in Iraq earned three aircrews from the 920th Rescue Wing here an award for heroism.

The Jolly Green Association will present its 2003 Rescue Mission of the Year Award to HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crews Jolly 23 and Jolly 24, and HC-130 tanker crew King 50 during the association’s convention in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on May 1. Air Force rescue units worldwide compete for the award that recognizes the flight, aircrew or individual performing the most outstanding rescue mission of the year.

“Troops were suffering from possibly fatal wounds and needed to be extracted from the danger,” said Maj. Steven White, Jolly 24 aircraft commander. “Someone had to get them. I’m sure they would have done the same for us.”

On April 7, 2003, a blinding sandstorm and the threat of heavy enemy ground fire hampered efforts to reach 10 wounded special operations forces Soldiers pinned down four miles south of downtown Baghdad. Two other Soldiers were killed when their team was ambushed.

Joint search and rescue center workers scrambled the Air Force Reserve Command helicopters from Tallil Air Base, Iraq. At one point, Jolly 24 lost sight of the lead Jolly 23 because of poor visibility and had to perform a “rejoin maneuver.”

En route to the rescue site, the helicopters joined an escort flight of A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and proceeded toward Baghdad at maximum speed, flying 50 feet off the ground. Throughout the flight, a variety of enemy-threat systems “locked on” the helicopters, but the rescuers countered the systems.

When they arrived at the scene, the helicopter crews were told to “land inside the square of armored vehicles.” Because of the firefight intensity, Maj. Antonio Cunha, Jolly 23 aircraft commander, and his crew decided to land both helicopters.

Pararescue specialists, Tech. Sgt. Jason Songer from Jolly 23 and Tech. Sgt. Richard Barnes from Jolly 24, evaluated the injured Soldiers and determined two of them needed immediate care. The others stayed behind until rescue conditions improved.

After the pararescue specialists administered life-saving medical care to the critically injured Soldiers, the helicopters flew toward the blacked-out An Najaf airport. Upon landing, the pararescuers and flight engineers, Master Sgts. Stephan Schwarz and Michael Decker, carried the two patients to an MC-130 aircraft for transport to a medical facility.

When they lifted off, the helicopters had 20 minutes of fuel remaining but a 60-minute flight back to their base. Maj. Donald Stukey, King 50 aircraft commander, and his crew were standing by for such an emergency. Within 10 minutes, the tanker arrived to refuel the helicopters, which then returned to Tallil AB.

“It was a pitch-black night, sandstorm [was] blowing, and we were still able to get fuel so we could get back to safety ourselves,” Major White said. “I’m proud to fly with such brave crews. We saved lives and came back home ourselves because we wouldn’t let each other down. This is really what it is all about.”

U.S. Central Command officials later confirmed the Soldiers would have died if the reservists had not rescued them.

Four of the rescuers are from the 304th Rescue Squadron at Portland International Airport, Ore. They are Sergeants Songer and Barnes, and 1st Lts. Mark Ross and Quintin Nelson, combat rescue officers. The other rescuers are from the 301st RQS and 39th RQS here. (Courtesy of AFRC News Service)