Did you hear about Pilots that Braved Enemy Fire To Rescue Trapped Foreign Troops?

Did you hear about Pilots that Braved Enemy Fire To Rescue Trapped Foreign Troops?

In the photo: From left, Brig. Gen. Giacomo Bellacicco, Regional Command West commander; from the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division: Lt. Col. Ronald Lukow, commander, Task Force Comanche, Apache pilots Cpt. Paul McKnight and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Timothy Pool, 4th CAB Commander Col. Daniel Williams, 4th CAB Command Chief Warrant Officer 5 Lance McElhiney; TF Comanche Apache pilots: Chief Warrant Officers 3 Uriah Hayes and Donald Procter; and 4th CAB Command Sgt. Maj. Donald Rose, senior non-commissioned officer, stand together after the Distinguished Flying Cross was presented to the five soldiers, on March 22, 2011 at Shindand Air Base.

http://taskandpurpose.com/unsung-heroes-these-pilots-braved-enemy-fire-to-rescue-trapped-foreign-troops/

During an aerial assault, Army Black Hawks, Chinooks and Apaches flew through enemy fire to rescue coalition forces.

In the early morning on Oct. 2, 2010, more than 90 Italian soldiers and Afghan special forces huddled together as they waited to embark on CH-47 Chinooks. They were preparing for an air assault mission against an “insurgent hotbed,” according to an April 2011 Department of Defense news article.

The attack began at 5 a.m. and in a matter of hours the coalition troops became embroiled in a fierce battle against insurgent forces in a remote valley in Afghanistan’s northwestern Badghis province.


While the soldiers on the ground and their air support — helicopters from Task Force Comanche, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade — suspected there would be some fighting, they were caught off guard by how strong the resistance was.