The Department of Defense released this image of Takur Ghar taken
the day after the fierce firefight. The helicopter Staff Sgt. Gabe Brown, a
combat controller, was in can be seen just below the top ridge of the mountain.
(Courtesy photo) | High-res
version of this photo
05/29/02 - HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFPN) -- On a small hilltop in a remote region of Afghanistan, an Air Force combat controller put his training to the test to save the lives of his teammates and those they were sent in to help.
Staff Sgt. Gabe Brown was part of the response force sent in during Operation Anaconda, March 4. What began as a rescue mission would end with a fierce firefight during the battle of Takur Ghar.
Operation Anaconda was part of the ongoing effort in Afghanistan to root out Taliban and al-Qaida forces holed up in the Pakitia Province area of the country. The operation began March 3, with the insertion of U.S. and coalition forces into the region south of Kabul. The helicopters took fire, landing a few miles away from their objective area.
Miles away at the base camp, Brown was roused from sleep and told to start "spooling up. A helo is down."
Knowing little more than they were flying out for a rescue operation, Brown grabbed his gear and headed to the departing helicopter.
"We only had a bit of information on what was happening," said the sergeant, a nine-year combat controller assigned to an operating location of the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
Nearing the scene of the downed helicopter, Brown and others on board prepared for the landing. The other Air Force special tactics people on board the helicopter with Brown were Senior Airman Jason Cunningham and Tech. Sgt. Keary Miller, both pararescuemen.
"The helo was (hovering close to) the ground when we took fire," said Brown. "We were shot at by several (rocket-propelled grenades) and small arms fire. The padding that lines the inside of the helicopter was flying around like confetti. All I could think of was, 'Here we go!
The helicopter had landed on a flat area of mountainside. Half the area faced a cliff side with a drop off of more than 1,000 feet. The other half was dotted with trees, rocks and pathways.
Less than 20 meters from where the helicopter came to rest, a hostile group just started shooting at us nonstop, said Brown.
Four members of the rescue team were killed instantly, as the rest scrambled out of the helicopter seeking cover.
"One of the Rangers opened fire and killed one of the enemy troops, said Brown. The shots were coming from every direction."
Knowing air power was essential, Brown took cover by a rock near the landing zone. He grabbed his communications gear and linked up with airborne aircraft.
"All I kept thinking was we needed (close air support) and we needed it now," said Brown. "My job was to concentrate on bringing in the bombs to knock out the enemy, and I knew I needed to do it fast. It was almost surreal in the sense I didn't feel as if I was in the middle of all that was happening."
From his position, the combat controller could see the enemy fire coming from a small bunker off to his left.
"I had an aircraft overhead carrying 500-pound bombs, but the 'bad guys' were too close to our position to drop that much ammo without risking our lives. I waved the pilot off the bomb run. I had him come around and strafe the area with guns," said the sergeant.
The aircraft made a low and hard sweep over the entrenched area, popping off rounds at the enemy troops.
"You could see the snow flying off the ground near the bunker and I knew he was hitting it," said Brown.
The aircraft made several more passes at the enemy before indicating he was out of ammo.
Despite the thousands of rounds pitting the area, the al-Qaida forces kept firing.
"I kept yelling across the area at the platoon leader about our options to eliminate the bunker, said Brown. We coordinated on what we needed to do to 'frag' out the enemy and blow the bunker. We knew the bad guys were still hiding in the bunker. We were already two hours into the fight and it was only going to get worse if we couldn't take down their position."
Using his close air support training and skills, Brown targeted the spot using precision bombs. The need was urgent as additional al-Qaida troops were pulling up the mountaintop toward the U.S. team.
"If we couldn't kill the bunker, we were going to be surrounded, said Brown. We knew that we had enemy soldiers hiding in the terrain to our (right). Effectively, they were moving in on us and we had nowhere to go."
The danger-close call proved effective, as the bombs skidded across the side of the mountain just in time and collapsed the bunker.
"The noise was just like it sounds in the movies," said Brown. "You could smell the burning pine off the trees and see the snow kicking off the ground."
Staying on the "comm" link with his airborne support, the sergeant kept glued to the rock protecting himself from the volley of enemy fire. The temperatures were extreme, barely hovering above freezing. Minutes seemed like hours, and hours passed in minutes.
"It is not a stress I'd recommend to anyone, he said. Our training prepares us for the worst possible scenarios, and this was one of those scenarios you pray is never a reality. The intensity is there and the longer it goes on the harder you fight."
But with the bunker out of action and the enemy forces moving up toward the Americans, Brown turned his attention to the rock and tree cluster on the other side of the landing zone.
"Since I couldn't use target designators, I needed some marking to be able to talk the bombs onto target," said Brown. "I used a small tree I referred to as the bonsai tree as a reference point."
Brown cleared a fighter pilot to drop bombs. When the smoke cleared the tree was now just a stick in the ground, he said.
Enemy resistance waned and Brown took a breath. The reality of the firefight sank in. Somewhere in the midst of the battle his friend and teammate, Cunningham, had been hit, the wounds fatal. The pararescueman was among seven killed on the mountainside that day.
"A lot happened in those 14 to 15 hours," said Brown. "There will always be the variables you can't control. Throughout the events you are mentally tired and mentally alert. You can only focus on what needs to be done right then and there. You grieve later."
As the Americans gained control over the maddening firefight, other teams were cleared to come in and pull them out.
"We should all stand tall and take pride in knowing that all our men -- those who made it off the mountain and those who did not -- are heroes," said the senior ranking special tactics officer in theater. "In sacrificing their lives and facing down a numerically superior enemy, they set the standard for all of us. I can tell you unequivocally that everyone performed with great valor on that there is no question."
The close air support had stopped the enemy from overrunning the Americans on the mountain, and provided a show of force against those seeking to reinforce the enemy troop movements.
With the landing zone cleared and darkness falling, the Americans were extracted from the mountaintop. Two helicopters moved in to pull out the wounded, the survivors and those who had given their lives in the fight against terrorism.
