The last few days have shown the greatness of the United States.
We take it for granted that all cultures are more or less the same. But nothing could be further from the truth. When two F-15E pilots went down in Iran, the US activated its highly-trained and super-professional pilot recovery units. Wouldn’t all countries try to get their pilots back? Wouldn’t they all risk further potential casualties to get back their downed airmen? The answer is no. Some might want to but don’t have the ability, while others would simply chalk up the lost fliers as dead or POWs. Not the US.
Israel also has a well-known pilot rescue unit, 669. They are very active in getting wounded soldiers out of Lebanon and are trained to get behind enemy lines and move out downed pilots under any and all conditions. There were reports last June that they had a base closer to Iran for any need to get out missing Israeli pilots; I don’t know if the story is true or not. We had our own experience with 669 when one of our boys fell off a ridge during a night class trip. One of their King Stallion helicopters (“Yasur” in Hebrew) was dispatched to pick up the injured boy. A doctor came down quickly and stabilized him. Every time the helicopter tried to come down to effect an EVAC, huge plumes of sand would go up. In the end, they had to move our boy a kilometer from his position in order to get him to the hospital. When he arrived, we first spoke to him. He didn’t answer any question I put to him. I thought that he might have a brain trauma. Then one of the doctors at Soroka Hospital told me that she would remove the earplugs he wore on the helicopter and then he began to make sense.
Both Israel and the US know that undertaking risky extractions may lead to more loss of life, such as the death of Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, who led the daring rescue of three hostages from the depths of Gaza. That is not the deciding factor: every pilot knows that if he goes down, the Army guys tasked with getting him out will not stop until they do everything they can to save him. Just two weeks ago, Israel rifled through a Lebanese cemetery in hopes of finding the remains of Ron Arad, the navigator lost during the First Lebanon War four decades ago. Pilots take huge risks, and while we have come to accept that Iranian air defenses have been destroyed, a plane can come down for mechanical reasons, and yes, maybe the Iranians still have manpads or other means of attacking foreign aircraft. Pilots know that there will be a search for them until they are brought home safely. The present story of the second airman from the downed fighter would appear to be one for the storybooks.
While it is always risky to take one’s information from online and similar sources, we do seem to have a picture of what happened. While the pilot of the F-15E was picked up relatively quickly, his compatriot required much more time. He used his training to avoid capture and climbed a 7,000-foot ridge. He initiated contact with emergency equipment specifically supplied for such events and those looking for him identified his location. Massive US air power engaged approaching enemy forces and wiped them out. When a safe landing zone was established, the flier was rescued. Two C-130s sent to extract US forces became “stuck” and were intentionally destroyed on the ground along with a helicopter on the ground. Three additional aircraft were dispatched and all US forces were safely evacuated. The only questions now are the name of the second downed pilot and who will play him in a future Hollywood blockbuster.
The US showed the world that it never leaves its people behind. It also applied maximum destructive power to keep bad guys away from the airman until he could be safely extracted. Planes and drones attacked anything moving towards his position until he could be safely engaged and removed. I had seen videos from the Vietnam War of similar high-risk extractions of downed pilots, and in 60 years, nothing has changed as to the ethos and commitment of rescue forces to get their man back. Not all cultures would make the effort and even those that value every single life often don’t have the firepower, resources or resolve to go in and get the job done. There were people online who claimed and complained that Israel killed 200 people in Gaza to get out its three hostages. In the eyes of the good guys, “And so what?” This is not bean-counting. They kidnapped our people and we moved in to get them back. In Iran, any Basij or IRGC personnel who approached the downed Weapons System Officer (WSO) died before they could either threaten or capture him. That’s how wars are fought and that’s how wars are won.
Those key assets used to get the American home are OLD. The first C-130 was built in 1954. The A-10 took to the skies in 1972, while Blackhawk helicopters, favored by search and rescue units, first flew in 1974. Thrown in B-52s flying now directly over Iran and they took to the skies with their eight engines in 1955. The combined starting age of these four systems is 249 years, just one shy of the United States. Certainly, the airframes have been modified and in the case of the C-130, the new J version is currently in production. You know you have a winner when you can’t easily replace it. My one boy—the same one described above—wonders how easily the Air Force will be able to retire the A-10 after its present performance all over the Iranian battlefield.
Leadership starts from the top, and the US has not had for decades an engaged president, Secretary of War and Chief of Staff like we have now. The US is fighting to win, while the Europeans are afraid of their shadows and the Gulf states are afraid of getting scratches on their shiny F-15s. The US and Israel are pummeling Iran, while what’s left of its leadership talks as if it is winning the war. We had nearly 48 hours without any missile warnings before we again made our way to the bomb shelter and heard massive explosions overhead. We saw an interceptor take off on its way to destroy an incoming Iranian projectile, and we heard no reports of casualties or damage from that particular salvo. The experiences in the country vary by location. Those in the north are receiving both Hezbollah and Iranian rockets, and have nearly zero seconds to find shelter. Tel Aviv and the center of the country are the prime targets of Iranian missiles, while those in the south rarely have warnings sent to them. There is noise that Israel used “David’s Sling” missiles instead of Arrow 3 interceptors in the two cases recently when Iranian warheads got through and exploded in Dimona and Arad. Like many things, it’s scuttlebutt but very hard to confirm outside of the military.
I don’t think that one can go so far as to say that we are witnessing America’s “finest hour,” as she has so many great accomplishments. Still, the performance of the US military in Iran and the determination of the administration to end the Iranian terror state before it could acquire nuclear weapons are milestones that will be written into the history of the country. Iran wanted to nuke its way to the end of times. Instead, the end of times is raining down around it, but they don’t realize that the biggest blows are yet to come.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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