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The War
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American forces are making historic progress in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the
Global War On Terror, yet the
Mainstream Media is largely ignoring these efforts. Hopefully,
we can help get the word out here at MNN. |
Wounded
Special Ops Weatherman Keeps Eyes Forward for New Battle
By
Chief Master Sgt. Ty Foster
Air Force Special Operations Command, 2/13/09
 In
an instant, Senior Airman Alex Eudy went from battling the
enemies of Afghanistan to battling for his life.
It was just after 1 a.m., Jan. 24. He was only two months into
his first deployment after graduating from Advanced Skills
Training at Hurlburt Field, Fla., in September 2008. The
special operations weather team journeyman and the Marines he
served with were on patrol about 30 miles from their firebase
in the western province of Farah.
Behind the wheel of the fourth of four up-armored Humvees,
Airman Eudy and the five others in his vehicle kept their eyes
peeled for variations in the road surface, exposed wires,
freshly dug soil - "scab left" or "scab right" they called
out. The driver adjusted his path of travel accordingly to
mitigate the threat to the special operations patrol.
Then the roadway erupted.
Two 155 mm mortars and a Soviet anti-tank mine were command
detonated under the front of the vehicle. The engine flew 30
feet away as the six-ton rig somersaulted three times. The
concussion of the blast rendered Airman Eudy unconscious.
His personal protective gear had done its job - no puncture
wounds or lacerations from flying debris. In the violence of
the explosion, his helmet chinstrap had sawed through the skin
on his lower jaw. Everything else seemed fine - except his
legs.
When he came to, he said he was lying nearby outside the
vehicle - he thought he'd been thrown out.
"My Marines told me when they pulled me out of the vehicle,
they could hear the bones crunching," the 22-year-old warrior
said. "Of the six of us in that vehicle, I was one of the two
who were non-ambulatory."
So Airman Eudy became the casualty collection point as the
Marine special ops team set a defensive perimeter and
requested med-evac airlift. He didn't just lie there, Airman
Eudy said. He checked his buddies and put his Combat Lifesaver
first aid training to work. He checked his weapon - the 9 mm
pistol was still in its holster, but his M-4 rifle had been
lost in the explosion.
In the hours and days after the explosion, Alex's parents,
Dale and Kathy Eudy of Highlands Ranch, Colo., spoke with Alex
and others involved in the convoy, medical evacuation,
treatment and travel back to the states.
Despite dozens of fractures from both knees down, the special
ops weatherman kept his mission focus, Dale said. With a
medical evacuation helicopter, Alex's special operations
weather team mission was paramount.
"When the med-evac was inbound, Alex was telling his Marines
how to use his instruments to pass critical weather data for
the helicopter landing zone," Dale said.
"That's what we do, generate high-fidelity, localized,
mission-tailored forecast to for ingress, employment and
egress of air, land and sea forces," Alex said.
His training and discipline had earned him his gray beret,
fulfilling a dream he'd held as a 17-year-old. Now it would
bolster him for survival and recovery.
"When the med-evac helicopter touched down, the flight medical
technician knelt down to Alex who was strapped down on the
stretcher," Dale said. "'We're gonna take care of you, he
said. You're going to be okay.'"
In triage later that morning, Alex said he heard the doctor
saying "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is
for good men to do nothing." The quote by Sir Edmund Burke is
tattooed on Alex's back.
"That's why we're here," Alex said. "That's why special
tactics is so important. We can't sit around and let evil
triumph."
Less than 10 days after the explosion, Alex was lying in a
waiting room in the hospital at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.,
swaddled from the knees down in bandages, bones pinned,
screwed and grafted. He was surrounded by family and friends,
"and everyone is Alex's friend," Kathy said.
Lt. Gen. Donny Wurster, the Commander of Air Force Special
Operations Command, stopped in to present the bed-ridden,
post-op Airman with The Purple Heart and the Air Force Combat
Action Medal.
The only time Alex's "eyes leaked," as he put it, was when he
offered tribute to his fellows who were wounded with him and
to the Marines who had adopted him as one of their own.
They adopted him, as they do all special operations
battlefield Airmen, because despite their high-operations
tempo, these Airmen seamlessly integrate and with their sister
service brothers.
"We're in the field in direct contact with enemy fighters and
friendly air assets, keeping them abreast of real-time
conditions on the target," said Senior Master Sgt. Scott
Gilbert, 10th Combat Weather Squadron operations
non-commissioned officer in charge.
Despite the months of painful healing, rehabilitation and
reliance on others, he is not dissuaded.
"Wallowing in sorrows doesn't do anybody any good," Alex said.
"I'm not out of the fight. This is just a different kind of
fight.
He approaches his recovery just like any other mission.
"Just like we pack our gear for a mission, I know what's going
on with my treatment," he said. "I'm packing my tools for a
different battlefield. As a patient, I'll never be uneducated
- I'll know my treatment options and medications." He hopes
his recovery will lead him to the Center for the Intrepid at
Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
Alex said there is a chance he will not return to duty as a
fully functioning and deployable special operations weather
team member. Regardless, his special tactics brethren offer
unflagging support to Alex and his family. That camaraderie,
seemingly forged in the DNA of special tactics Airmen, will
carry Alex down the road to recovery, he said.
"They become your family and families intertwine," Alex said.
"In special tactics, you're held to a higher calling. It's
something more that protects you, not only on the battlefield,
but on the home front as well."
Time will tell whether Airman Eudy wins his battle to regain
his former mobility. Vast challenges lay ahead, but Alex Eudy
- Airman, warrior, friend - is keeping his eyes forward to win
the next battle. |
Reporter's Notebook: Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles
Provide Safe Feeling
By
Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service, 2/13/09
 FORWARD
OPERATING BASE GARDEZ, Afghanistan - I took my third trip off
of the forward operating base yesterday, and my third trip in
a mine resistant ambush protected vehicle, known as an MRAP.
The provisional reconstruction team-s security force has five
of them, with two more expected at the end of this month.
We went to Gardez City with a couple members of the Paktia PRT,
including a U.S. State Department representative, to listen as
they talked with the provincial leaders about courthouse and
prison renovations.
Even though only three PRT team members were making the trip,
as always it takes several security force personnel and
vehicles. It is not simply a trip to town. It is a full scale,
down-to-the-detail military move.
As I loaded my gear and myself into the MRAP, I started
looking around. This was, after all, the result of one of the
largest and fastest Defense Department combat fieldings in
history. It saves lives, officials have promised.
Inside the lumbering, heavily armored vehicle - with thick,
ballistic windows and heavily armored walls -- you actually do
feel safer. A gunner pokes through the turret with a heavy
machine gun surrounded by more armor. There is not much leg
room, though. I remark to the PRT team member sitting next to
me that, for the billions of dollars the Defense Department is
spending on these things, they could have at least put in a
cup holder -- someplace to put your coffee.
The rear door weighs about 500 pounds and requires a hydraulic
system to open and close. I asked one of the guys what would
happen if, in an emergency, the system broke? How would we get
out?
"Up there." He pointed to the closed metal hatches in the roof
above us in the back.
What happens if we roll over on our top? The MRAPs are very
top-heavy, and the mountain roads in Afghanistan are steep and
narrow, and there are no guardrails.
Then, he told me, you have to crawl out the front windows.
"OK," I said, "as long as I know what to do."
As we traveled into town, the security forces platoon sergeant
sitting across from me was fidgeting like a 4-year-old in
Sunday school. I realized he was looking out of the window
nervously scanning the buildings and roads and people.
As I was enjoying the scenery, joking about cup holders, he
was looking for threatening vehicles and suicide bombers. It
is easy for me to feel relaxed, because I was thinking about
stories and pictures. He was thinking about people who want to
kill us.
We chatted for a second about what he was looking for in the
buildings and roads. And then he asked me, "Why doesn-t
Afghanistan get as much press as the war in Iraq? People die
here every day."
I said something about the fact there are more media members
in Iraq, and a larger force, and more who have died.
But I really didn-t have an answer that satisfied him or me.
As it turned out, our trip was cut short. We were called back
because suicide bombers in Kabul killed 17 people and injured
46. |
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USS Vella Gulf Crew Captures Pirates in Gulf of Aden
American
Forces Press Service
 AT
SEA ABOARD USS VELLA GULF, Feb. 11, 2009 - The crew of the
guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf apprehended seven
pirates in the Gulf of Aden today after responding to a
distress call from a nearby merchant vessel.
The event marks the first time Combined Task Force 151, a
multinational effort to fight piracy in the region, has
apprehended suspected pirates, U.S. Naval Forces Central
Command officials said.
At about 3 p.m., the Marshall Islands-flagged motor vessel
Polaris sent a distress call to all ships in the area,
reporting that a small skiff containing seven suspected
pirates had attempted a forcible boarding of their vessel
using a ladder. Polaris crew members removed the ladder before
pirates could come aboard, officials said.
Vella Gulf responded immediately and intercepted the skiff and
several men on fitting the physical descriptions given by
Polaris crew members. A Vella Gulf visit, board, search and
seizure team conducted a consensual boarding and found several
weapons.
Polaris met up with Vella Gulf, and the crew provided positive
visual identification of the suspected pirates. The suspects
were brought onboard Vella Gulf, where they were processed and
are being held until they are transferred to a temporary
holding facility onboard the supply ship USNS Lewis and Clark. |
 PHOTO:
Iraqi Traffic Police
Policemen of the Ninewa traffic police ride in formation
during the celebration parade of the Iraqi army-s birthday,
Jan. 6, 2009, Mosul, Iraq. (Click image to enlarge) |
Rivet
Joint Reaches 7,000 Combat Missions in Area of Operations
The 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, stationed
in Southwest Asia, reached a major milestone Feb. 6, when an
RC-135 Rivet Joint flew the air frame-s 7,000th combat mission
in the U.S. Central Command-s area of responsibility.
By
Brok McCarthy
379th Air Expeditionary Wing, 2/08/09
 SOUTHWEST
ASIA - The 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron,
stationed in Southwest Asia, reached a major milestone Feb. 6,
when an RC-135 Rivet Joint flew the air frame-s 7,000th combat
mission in the U.S. Central Command-s area of responsibility.
"Seven thousand missions is a big deal for us, there-s a lot
of history in our home wing with this weapon system because
this aircraft is just at the 55th at Offutt," said Lt. Col.
Tom Nicholson, 763 ERS commander. "And there are just a lot of
folks who are contractors and civilians now in the program who
remember what it was like to fly day one."
Approximately 30 people were on the jet that reached the
historic milestone. The mission was intelligence collection
and analysis in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The
crew of a typical Rivet Joint mission is made up of pilots,
navigators, electronic warfare officers, airborne cryptologic
operators, airborne system engineers and special signals
operators.
"It-s been a real honor to be in a program that has been in
theater for 19 years now," said Master Sgt. Jeffrey Parris, a
763 ERS airborne mission supervisor, and Las Vegas native.
"The Rivet Joint is a large part of the Air Force-s
intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance mission, and it
can adapt very easily to flying different parts of the ISR
spectrum."
He also noted that while this is the 7,000th mission in the
U.S. CENTCOM AOR, the RC-135 has consistently operated in all
other theaters around the world, this is just the only area
where combat missions have been flown non-stop since they
originally started. The Rivet Joint, which is operated by the
55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., first arrived in
theater to participate in Operation Desert Shield in August of
1990.
According to historical documents maintained by the Offutt
history office, the first RC-135 mission in theater was flown
by Capt. Brian Janeway and his crew who arrived in theater on
the morning of August 9 at Riyadh Air Base, Saudi Arabia.
Two days later, Rivet Joints began 24-hour coverage and since
then it is estimated more than 50,000 hours have been flown in
Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Northern and Sothern Watch, and
Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
Colonel Nicholson said originally, the RC-135 was designed to
be a strategic asset, collecting a broad spectrum of
information. But in recent years it has morphed into more of a
tactical asset, providing a more focused picture to warfighters.
"We still have a broad spectrum of collections under the
[signals intelligence] moniker, so we do have products that go
national and they are significant," he said. "But because of
the number of our operators, we can really focus on the area
so we play in the tactical game. We can leverage more
resources on that particular sector of the fight and we-ve
actually been able to take and scrutinize a lot of different
signals from different collectors as we try to put together
the picture for the guy on the ground in most cases."
One of the things that has allowed the Rivet Joint to evolve
over the years and continue to provide timely, accurate
information to the joint services and coalition partners is
the skills of the operators onboard.
"The greater part of this platform is enlisted aviators, and
each and every mission can hinge on these enlisted aviators,"
Sergeant Parris said. "These Airmen can go through as many as
three years of training before they even step foot on the
aircraft. They are all very good at their jobs, and our
platform couldn-t fly without them."
Another thing that has allowed the RC-135 to maintain a high
mission-effectiveness rate are the upgrades it has received
during the past 19 years including improved antennae, radio
equipment, a glass cockpit and a tactical display for the
pilots.
"We used to have to build a picture abstractly from verbal
comments that came from our collectors in back, taking the
time away from them focusing on the fight passing data to
other people," the colonel said. "Now we can depict that up
front and see some of the stuff that-s going on so the whole
team is aware."
One example of the effectiveness of persistent ISR provided by
the Rivet Joint and other intelligence sources is the
improving political condition in Iraq, Colonel Nicholson said.
"We-ve been out here for a long time, and we look at it as a
constant pressure over time. It-s been very rewarding and
moving to see the types of elections that have taken place in
Iraq and having seen that, flying the borders on one country
for a long time, this is quite a development for those of who
have been involved with the Rivet Joint."
Col. Nicholson said he was very proud of all the people who
have worked on the Rivet Joint and made it possible for it to
fly its 7,000th mission here.
"We are proud of what's happened out here in the area of
operations and we feel like, as a Rivet Joint, we-ve seen it
through from the start, and it's very moving for us," he said. |
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