Air Force helicopter rescue crews battled enemy insurgents

Helicopter crew in Afghanistan braves persistent enemy fire to rescue wounded pilot, recover remains
By T.D. FLACK
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 14, 2011
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — For more than five hours during an April mission, Air Force helicopter rescue crews battled enemy insurgents in Afghanistan while attempting to recover two downed Army helicopter pilots.

Pilots and crewmembers deployed with the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron at Bagram Air Field put themselves in harm’s way repeatedly throughout the day. And two of the squadron’s pararescue jumpers, known as PJs, hunkered down under a fusillade of incoming fire on the ground, calling in air support on enemy forces that got as close as 50 yards.

Several men involved in the mission — deployed from the 33rd Rescue Squadron on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, and the 212th Rescue Squadron from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska — spoke to Stars and Stripes via phone to describe their efforts to recover the pilots: one alive and one killed in the crash. Officials say the helicopter “went down due to an undetermined cause,” and the accident remains under investigation.
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Helicopter crew in Afghanistan braves persistent enemy fire