“We got him!” Donald Trump announced in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“Over the past few hours, the U.S. military has completed one of the most daring search and rescue operations in U.S. history…I’m pleased to tell you [our missing airman] Safe and sound now! “
The President of the United States’ Truth Society post marked the end of a dramatic 36-hour event that will go down in American military history.
At stake was not only the life of the pilot and the dozens of Special Forces soldiers who risked everything to rescue him, but also the reputation of the military.
The United States denied the Islamic Republic a propaganda victory on Friday by saving the second of two pilots who ejected from their F-15E Strike Eagle after it was hit by a ground-launched projectile.
Video from the rescue scene showed that the pilot had been hiding in the arid mountains deep in southern Iran after pulling the yellow side lever on the ejection seat.
The seat’s ejection system uses solid CKU-5 rocket propellant to blast through the aircraft canopy at a speed of 200 meters per second. It is one of the most complex ejection systems in history, but it is likely to cause spinal fractures and other injuries.
Iranian media on Saturday shared this unconfirmed image of an ejection seat consistent with the model used by F-15E fighter jets
In this case, that appears to be the case, which may explain why rescuing the pilot took longer than his colleagues.
“This brave warrior was behind enemy lines in the dangerous mountains of Iran, being hunted by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer,” Trump said, adding that the colonel was “hurt, but he’s going to be fine.”
Iranian media shows part of an F-15 Tehran claims it shot down
Airmen who ejected over enemy territory were instructed to hide as much as possible and await rescue by trained search and rescue teams.
Armed only with a pistol and maybe a flare, everything depends on U.S. Special Forces rescuing him before Iranian forces close in.
Iran has offered a reward for anyone who finds the officer, and a video shared on social media on Friday appeared to show dozens of locals scouring the countryside for the challenge.
The helicopter involved in the rescue of the first of two pilots came under fire from the ground on Friday, with video footage appearing to show one of the two helicopters trailing smoke as it flew from Iran to Iraq.
Ultimately, the rescue of the second pilot was a close call, with U.S. officials reporting that the U.S. military used “overwhelming firepower” to rescue the pilot, sparking a firefight.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the wounded colonel made a “brave move” by breaking out of cover at the last moment to meet with his rescue team, a member of SEAL Team 6.
He climbed the 7,000-foot ridgeline while U.S. troops dropped bombs and opened fire on the approaching Iranian convoy.
The rescue mission itself involved hundreds of Special Forces commandos flying in on a makeshift runway in specialized MC-130J personnel carriers, while MQ-9 Reaper drones and fast jets provided air cover to attack any military-age males deemed a threat within a three-kilometre radius.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) located the pilot and conducted a “deception operation” to make the Iranians believe he was elsewhere, and then launched a final evacuation operation.
The feint worked.
In the 36 hours after the F-15 crashed, the White House and Pentagon remained uncharacteristically silent.
But White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said that behind the scenes, the president remained in the Oval Office throughout the drama, receiving constant updates from Defense Secretary Pete Hegers.
The final drama occurred when two MC-130Js, worth $100 million each, became stuck on the makeshift runway they were flying over and were destroyed by U.S. forces to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.
According to the New York Times, three new planes had to be dispatched in the final hours to rescue the pilots and soldiers. The pilot is currently recovering in a Kuwait hospital.
In an effort to salvage their few remaining propaganda victories, Iranian officials on Sunday released images of the charred remains of one of two burned-out MC-130Js.
“If the United States gets three more such victories, it will be completely destroyed,” Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad-Baghr Ghalibaf wrote in a social media post.
Mr. Trump, however, hailed the mission as one that is timeless.
“This is the first time in military memory that two American airmen have been rescued separately deep in enemy territory. We will never leave an American warrior behind!”
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