Part of it

The other night we were called out to respond to a TIC (Troops in Contact). We arrived on scene and it was to late. The ground guys had already taken heavy losses and were in urgent need of a Medevac. The scene was still very hostile and they would not release the Medevac to come in for the wounded until we had reduced the enemy threat to the LZ so the birds could get in and rescue these guys, both US and Afghani Army, safely.

One of our most effective tools is simply the sound of our rotor system. They hear that noise and know exactly what is coming for them. When we roll on station often the fighting stops. Then can't beat us and we can absolutely crush them. The went silent once we arrived. But this area where this was taking place is so bad, so hostile, we had an OH-58D team down low, an AH-64D team above them, an AC-130 Gunship above that, and two F-16 fighters above all of us. With all that air power they finally released the Medevac to come in feeling that it was safe enough for the extraction.

The terrain was very narrow and restrictive and the weather was worsening with scattered thunderstorms, and fog beginning to build as the sun slipped behind the mountains. With 6 helicopters all working over one another in this valley it was very tense and only magnified by the desperate calls over the radio for more medical supplies and the pleading for the birds to get their guys out before they all died. It was already to late for one young man. While I am not sure whether he was a US soldier or a Afghan Army it's a member of their team that was fighting side by side with them just hours earlier.

All of these things going on, the building urgency of it, all the adrenaline going though everyone's blood.  It all added up.

It all added up to this.

There were two locations that soldiers needed to be extracted from. One was near a cell phone tower and required a hoist to pull the injured up to the aircraft while it hovered overhead. So one aircraft moved in to position and began its extraction while the second was to drop off it's medic on the pinnacle on a hill top along a ridge line where a small patrol base was being placed.  This pinnacle landing was going to require the Medevac aircraft to place on wheel on the surface on the hill while the other two wheels remained airborne over the steeply descending hillside. For a pilot a to do this they must place a increased amount of right pressure on the control stick to lean the rotor disc towards the hillside and hold the wheel to the surface. This maneuver is practiced regularly and and performed often here. The pilot did this allowing the medic to exit the aircraft so he could begin to triage all the wounded on the hilltop and determine to priority of them for evacuation. There were two many for one trip so the stable ones would have to remain until the birds could return.

The medic never made it to the wounded. He exited the aircraft, undoubtedly full of adrenalin, ready to do his job and save these guys. He exited and rushed towards the wounded and a few steps later was struck in the head by the rotor system of the Medevac aircraft. The increased right cyclic to hold the aircraft on the hilltop and the raising terrain had brought the blades lower that usual and struck him.

He immediately feel to the ground. The helicopter pulled away from the hilltop, taking damage to a rotor blade from the strike and was forced to return to the nearest base to check the damage, unable to pick up any wounded. The other bird moved from the cell tower with its patients to now drop off their medic to evaluate the downed medic and the other wounded awaiting extraction.

As he got to his buddy you could hear the heartbreak in his voice. He knew he wasn't going to make it.
The trauma to his head was to severe. He was screaming his status in the radio over the noise of the nearby hovering helicopter accepting the wounded from the ground troops assigned to the patrol base. His skull was crushed, and his eyes had been blown out from the blade strike. He wasn't breathing but still had a faint pulse. The medic started CPR in a desperate attempt to save his friend that was with is just moments ago. The pilots urged him to help with the extraction of the others but he kept coming back to his buddy. He didn't want to give up on his friend. But it was to late. He died on that hilltop in an attempt to do his job. Save the others.

This all happened right below us. While we listened to every word over the radio as we covered the extraction. It's an awful part of war, but it's part of it.

"its war all the time, in the shadow of a New York skyline...."   - Thursday