Inside : Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) Operation - Part II

[jhungary]

Continue from last time

The History of CSAR mission

While usually when people start talking about CSAR, what immediately pop up in your head is a lone helicopter appear out of hostile controlled sky and some special force personnel rappel out of the helicopter and put a wounded man on a stretcher and the helicopter land heroically under fire and extract the team of SF and the wounded man....

All that is true, but actually the concept of CSAR was started way before the age of flight (let alone the age of helicopter). The earliest example of CSAR is hard to determine, as many of Land base or Sea base battle could effectively turn into a Combat Search and Rescue, in effect, Battle of Alesia can be seen to display some of the trait of a CSAR operation, where Commius forces were dispatched to search and rescue (in this case, lift the siege) of Alesia in order to rescue Vercingetorix.

The first modern day CSAR operation were conduct during the height of WW1, when the age of flight bring the possibility of airlifting into reality. The most contribution an aircraft (or airship during that time) was the ability to timely carry troop in and out of battlefield. However, it was not an airship or fighter aircraft that was credited to carry out the first modern day CSAR. It was the Armoured Car section of Royal Naval Air Service.

Royal Naval Air Service Armoured Car Section

Formed on the onset of WW1 in 1914. Originally intended as the Land element of the Royal Navy to carry out communication security over land. using unarmoured Rolls-Royce racing car to provide a quick response for communication security, before long the Royal navy have been heavily engage in air war over Europe, these unarmoured fast car found another life as a insertion vehicle to pick up down aircrew and drive them back to friendly line as quickly as possible. The idea is simple, drive into enemy line and pick up your downed pilot and drive them out before the enemy get wise.

However, during the summer of 1915, the trench warfare have taken place all over western Europe. Where it is now impossible to drive thru the trench and quickly get the pilot out. The cars were moved to the middle east and were now used as scout/ambush vehicle.

Then come the aircraft themselves. The first ever recorded aerial rescue of a downed pilot was achieved by Commander Richard Davis, Royal Navy. On November 19, 1915.

Case study : Air Rescue over Ferrijik Junction

Commander Davis was in a 2 ship formation with Lieutenant Smylie on an air attack mission over Ferrijik Junction, Ottoman empire occupied Belgium. During the attack, Lieutenant Smylie's aircraft was hit with heavy fire, went down near a station with all but one bomb jettisoned.

Upon landing, Smylie set fire on his aircraft, trying to detonate the bomb. Fire and smoke of Smylie aircraft alerted Davis of Smylie's position, and Commander Davis started to descent and pick up Smylie. At this time, Smylie detonate the bomb to ween off the incoming enemy while giving Davis time to land his craft and pick up Smylie

This would be the first ever modern CSAR that involve air rescue, which laid the basic of all future CSAR.

Height of CSAR - The Vietnam war.

While CSAR does not change during WW2 and Korean war. The sole invention during the end of Korean war would change the scene of CSAR forever. The Helicopter.

While helicopter were developed at the end of Korean war, it was not until the Vietnam war that seen major usage in combat operation.

The invention of helicopter brings in a third dimension to CSAR operation. Adding the vertical axis of the rescue, basically used with conjunction with air support and ground support, the helicopter brings in versatility to the picture, where they can hover anywhere and deliver the rescue just about anywhere.

Up until this point, there are no unified command, no unified plan and very interestingly, no limit on CSAR operation. The air commander have a free hand to deal with any CSAR operation they encountered during the Vietnam War. There are no limit of aircraft involve, no limit on personnel involved, and no limit on any operational parameter, it can, and it does shut down the whole war for a few day just to plug one or two downed pilot out of harm's way.

The height of CSAR was marked by a single rescue happens during the end of Vietnam war. The Rescue of Bat 21 Bravo - Iceal Hambleton.

Case Study : Rescue of Bat 21 Bravo

Bat 21 was an US Air Force EB-66C Electronic Warfare aircraft, it's mission is to troll the North Vietnamese skies and look for missile. Basically works as a bait for the SAM to lock on a EB-66 and fire their missile, then the EB-66 would perform a SAM Break to disengage, mark the location of the SA-2. And sometime engage the radar complex with Anti-radiation Missile onboard.

On that day. April 2, 1972, a flight of 2 EB-66 (Bat 22 and Bat 21) were escorting a flight of 3 B-52 on a strike mission. The 2 EB-66 would perform SAM Bait where the older EB-66C (Bat 21) would act as bait and the newer EB-66E (Bat 20) would jam the enemy radar once the SAM has been fired.

Iceal Hambleton, navigator of EB-66C Bat 21 was destroyed by a single SA-2 missile over the course of mission, and Hambleton was the only crew member that survive the first SA-2 impact and jumped before the stricken aircraft was hit by another SA-2, exploding the aircraft.

Hambleton, being the most senior signal intelligence officer in the whole Vietnam, and his capture would have means a major blow to US signal intelligence not just toward the war, but also as a whole as he will most certainly ended up somewhere in Russia and being interrogated.

Over the course of the rescue, the Air Force have set up a no fire zone around Hambleton location, which coincided with a Major NVA-ARVN combat operation. Which seriously hampered the performance of ARVN. Also, the date of the shoot down coincided with the NVA Easter Offensive.

It is also because of this, which complicated the rescue operation of Bat 21 Bravo. Resulting the unacceptable lost of 5 aircrafts and 11 rescuers (Notice that US only lost 77 rescuer and 45 Aircraft during the whole 10 years war) in the subsequent 5 days air rescue, and Iceal Hambleton is still behind enemy lines.

On the 6th day, the US military were notified with the heavy losses on the rescue, decided to halt the air rescue and trying to look for an alternative plans. Which would means bringing Hambleton down to the river in order for him to be rescued and a elaborated seaborne rescue was coming in play.

After 10 days of behind the enemy line, Hambleton were finally rescued by 2 SEALs Commando, LT Thomas Norris of the USN, and PO3 Nguyen Van Kiet of VNN. By a daring behind the line rescue with fishing boat going upstream posing themselves as fisherman.

The end result, 11 Rescuer lost their live and 5 Aircraft were lost During the rescue.

After the successful, yet high priced rescue of Iceal Hambleton, the US Military starting to look at CSAR in a different way, first, ground rules were established for CSAR operation, if the operation seem not likely to succeed, then no operation should be carry out. Essentially, ending the blank cheque system.

Another improvement were to establish some sort of standard for rescuer to specialize in CSAR. The refinement of Pararescue units, as well as the familiarization of SEREs to Aircrew were conducted to greatly increase the chance of downed aircrew being rescued behind the enemy lines. However, as all these changes comes too late for Vietnam war, the Vietnam war ended with 3883 lives saved by the Pararescuer with 71 PJ lost and 45 rescue aircraft destroy. The ratio is roughly 1 to 54 (for every rescuer lost, 54 life's saved)

The JTF Era.

Great Change did not come until 1999, when the need of Joint Operation urged the formation of Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, and listing CSAR as part of Personnel Recovery (PR) discipline of tactical menus.

As technology improve, any rescue effort could now utilize any to all necessarily asset in battlefield, the natural step is that to have an agency to overlook the requirement for joint operation.

Before JPRA was formed, each branch have their own standard, as well as tactics and personnel specialize in CSAR, each have a different method, SEREs training, value, motto, education and skill attach to any rescue unit. What JPRA does is to try to standardize CSAR operation into under one roof, and that will make any joint rescue effort easier as well as maximize resource allocated to the rescue.

JPRA standardize CSAR requirement and so does the education and training element. The JPRA will also cooperate with allies nation to perfect the method together, governing the life saving method and equipment introduction to US armed forces.

Result JPRA brings is a smoother rescue across all the spectrum of US Armed Forces.

 

[jhungary]

Case Study : Rescue of Iraq POW Poster Child- Jessica Lynch.

Private Jessica Dawn Lynch, of Palestine, West Virginia was part of 507th Maintenance Company of the 52th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, which operate Patriot missile during Operation Iraqi Freedom. As a company supply clerk, she was travelling with the company into Nasiriyah in a convoy on March 23, 2003.

The convoy was ambushed, and subsequently, 11 soldier from the 507 were KIA and 5, along with Lynch were taken prisoner.

The rescue first materialize from intelligence of Lynch's whereabouts by informant "Mohammed", now known as Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief. After ascertain of where the POW. The US military launched a joint Combat Search and Rescue Operation.

The rescue then commence with the 8th Marine launch a diversion attack near the hospital, drawn the Iraqi Guard out, then the Special Force using ground infil simply roll in and secure the hospital, afterward, bringing Lynch out with helicopter.

The complexity of this operation show the dynamic between Ground Component, Air Component and Intelligence. The rescue of Jessica Lynch is the first prime example of what a Joint Rescue Operation would look like. With each part doing their job and share the responsibility, thus increase the chances of a positive outcome.

Tactics of CSAR operation.

The combat operation for personnel recovery can be divided into 2 distinct discipline within the US military. They are

• Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)
• Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP)

For the purpose of this article, I am only going to discuss in detail about CSAR, however, i will dedicate 1 paragraph for TRAP. There are other PR operation but those are not related to combat situation and will not be discuss on this article.

There are several different tactics to conduct a CSAR behind enemy line. The different tactics would be used according to the chances of success and also the operation parameter of the rescue. Not all of the situation is suitable for 1 or more of these tactics. And in the end, if a rescue is in any way, sort or form impossible, the best tactics is to do nothing.


Coordinated Joint Search and Rescue effort

One of the most frequently used tactics, is to conduct the planned joint operation. Mostly considered as the template of any Combat Search and Rescue Operation

The tactics behind is that the operation will be commanded by a ground base or airborne command center (usually a HC-130) and using air asset such as CAS Fighter, Helicopter Gunship and Helicopter Rescue and coordinate an rescue or pick up of the subject.


This method is predominately the premier rescue method which allow the rescue subject a 2 ways communication with the rescue command, while the other asset would be used to divert or protect the subject to a safe clearing to be pick up by the rescuer.


This basic rescue tactics requires.

1. The rescue subject to be unhurt.
2. The rescue subject are in 2 ways communication and the location can be determined.
3. The rescue subject are in a position which can be recover.
4. The Area is safe for both CSARTF and rescue subject to operate.

All 4 condition should be satisfied before a CSARTF is launch or any operational planning could green light.


Limited Surface Operation

This method is to allow the rescuer to raise a limited surface operation in order to rescue the subject in question. The scope is not longer simply secure the area surrounding the subject and allow a safe area to plug the subject out, LSO would require the rescue to literally go into the are and rescue the subject or facilitate the escape of the subject.

Each special operation capable (SOC) unit are trained to raise it own limited action to achieve its goal, in the US Air Force, the responsibility would be shouldered by both PJs and Combat Controller (CCT)

Essentially, the SOC unit would be notified the possible location of the rescue, and in that area, raise a limited action to either went in and rescue the subject or facilitate the escape and evasion of the subject.

To conduct this operation, the requirement are :

1. The rescue subject is either wounded, incapacitated or immobilized.
2. The area are safe for SOC unit to operate
3. The rescue subject may or may not maintain 2 way communication.
4. The SOC asset is enough to raise a LSO.

Ad-Hoc Rescue

Sometime, the best defense is offense, and it literally require people to take matter into their own hand. Especially when time is a sensitive factor (even tho time is always sensitive in CSAR operation)

This method are generally used when the time factor is important enough or the subject itself is important enough to risk a non-planned rescue tactics. Utilizes whatever at hand in order to facilitate an escape and rescue, which is to skip the planning phase and coordination phase of the operation.

This happened a lot in the old days simply because the reaction time of your enemies is slower. Today, although ad-hoc rescue is not popular, sometimes even against by military command, it was still used.

The requirement to conduct Ad Hoc rescue are:

1. The rescue subject is close to friendly force
2. The rescue subject is unharmed
3. The situation allows a quick pick up
4. The rescue subject maintain a 2 ways communication with CSARTF.

Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel

TRAP is the other discipline of PR, while most people does not understand the different and usually saw both of them are equal. In fact, they are quite different.


The core focus on CSAR is focus on Search and Recovery, for that, it means the task force or task group that was assigned to conduct CSAR would have to focus on both Search and Recovery. However, while modern technology would means the task group would not be necessarily performed by the same Task Group, rather, the search component can be perform by non CSAR asset such as AWACS, UAV or even ground recon force.

While the core importance of PR (Personnel Recovery) should be focusing on recovery (which is the most important part, I mean, it would have no use if you can battle your way in, located the subject but failed to rescue him in the end). Hence, TRAP was born

What TRAP does is basically rely on other asset to focus on locating the subject and using expeditionary force to recover the subject once they were located. Instead of having a Helicopter or the whole CSAR flight group to hover around the enemy area and look for the subject, TRAP would simply being called to the area and perform the tactical rescue after the subject is located.

TRAP was exclusively performed by US Marine MEU(SOC)

end of Part II, continue on Part III

@WAJsal @Slav Defence @AUSTERLITZ @Neutron @PARIKRAMA @Levina @Oscar @Davos @Hamartia Antidote @Blue Marlin @Desertfalcon @DesertFox97 @Tipu7 @TankMan @Gufi

 

[Slav Defence]

Thread is made featured due to it's excellence and efforts being put in by the poster.I will make my comments tomorrow.

Regards

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

While outside of CSAR you should mention the Iran hostage scenario (hostages deep inside enemy territory with no aircraft capable of rescuing them easily other than a C130 in a soccer stadium with rocket assist) and how the US went on to fund the V-22 to solve that very problem. The V-22 will help with other CSAR missions.

 

[Nattmara]

@Technogaianist / @Transhumanist stop being grumpy and post more here (more photos especially. I need my Norwegian Military fix)!! You've first hand experience with this stuff, I'd (we'd) appreciate your input and stories.

Plox?

 

[PARIKRAMA]

Excellent article as usual from @jhungary .. I will here add some more based on historical perspective.

Combat Search and Rescue is a specific task performed by rescue forces to effect the recovery of distressed personnel during wartime or contingency operations. The historical background of CSAR or 'strike rescue' as the Navy calls it, is filled with lessons that were continually ignored and relearned through the loss of life and equipment.

Combat Search and Rescue development has naturally paralleled the growth and tactical employment of the airplane. Although there were isolated air engagements at the outset of WWI, it was not until mid-1916 when Anthony Fokker developed an interrupter gear synchronized so that a machine gun could shoot through the propeller arc that command of the air became a necessity of war.' CSAR development was blocked during this time (in fact, there is no information to suggest that the concept was under consideration) because Allied leaders refused to allow their pilots to wear parachutes. They believed that parachutes would make pilots reluctant to try to save their planes if they could easily abandon them. Hundreds of young men suffered horrible deaths by burning or crashing because of this policy.

WORLD WAR II
It was not until just prior to World War II that search and rescue operations became an important aspect of air combat. The Germans first pioneered aircrew rescue in the Luftwaffe when Lt. Col. Konrad Glotz assumed administrative responsibility for several boats at Kiel, in 1935, and began recovering downed aircrews. In 1939, the Germans modified fourteen of their float planes specifically for the air-sea rescue mission. Medical equipment, respirators, electrically heated sleeping bags, a floor hatch with a collapsible ladder, and a hoist to lift the injured were standard rescue equipment configurations on these aircraft. They were also painted white and marked conspicuously with the Red Cross insignia.

The Seenotdienst (air-sea rescue service) expanded as Germany conquered Europe; however, it remained primarily a sea rescue service organized along the coast providing rapid recovery of downed aircrews- German as well as British."
The Germans also pioneered the development of rescue equipment including inflatable dinghies, fluorescein dye to stain the sea, and large floats supplied with blankets, dry clothing, food, water, flares and lamps. German preemptive planning for search and rescue contrasts sharply with the British indiscriminate approach and the American total disregard for an air-sea rescue service.

The British Royal Air Force depended upon "high-speed boats, any surface vessels that were in the vicinity, and whatever aircraft might be available either from the Coastal Command or the home squadron of the missing plane'."' This uncoordinated, haphazard system resulted in the loss of 220 men killed or missing between July and August 1940. As the Battle of Britain continued, out of a total of about 1000 trained pilots, more than twenty-five percent
were lost. Winston Churchill wrote, "Their places could only be filled by 260 new, ardent, but inexperienced pilots drawn from training units, in many cases before their courses were completed".

Development of a coordinated, coherent approach to CSAR became a national priority. To offset these losses a plan to coordinate rescue efforts was drafted in August 1940. The result was the establishment of a joint RAF/Royal Navy rescue organization, with the RAF responsible for organizing and performing aerial searches and the Navy for making the actual recovery. In 1941, responsibility for rescue operations was centralized under the Air Officer, Commander in Chief, Coastal Command. The result of centralized command and an increasing interest in rescue training was reflected in a greatly improved record of recovery. Between February and August 1941, of the 1200 aircrew members who went down in the Channel or North Sea, 444 were saved. An additional 78 were picked up by the Seenotdienst.

The United States entered World War II without specific plans, organization, doctrine, or equipment for CSAR. In addition, to preclude duplication of effort, air-sea rescue in the North Sea and the English Channel remained the responsibility of the United Kingdom. By September 1944, 90 percent of American aircrews stationed in Britain who were downed at sea were recovered. The individual services were responsible for training their aircrews in survival techniques and for providing them with the appropriate equipment. On land, with no rescue procedures defined,
any search for a missing aviator was conducted in a random fashion. Because most of the flying in World War II was conducted over waterboth the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of war- the concepts and capabilities developed for search and rescue operations primarily focused on water recovery. Navy surface vessels, planes, and submarines recovered many Army and Navy aircrews . It was not until 1943 that land rescue began receiving increased attention as a result of the China-Burma-India theater of war where most of the aerial fighting was over jungle and mountainous terrain. Initially, until introduction of the first squadron of helicopters, rescues were accomplished by travel overland to the crash site. If all went well, the downed crewmember was rescued in a matter of a few days. The first squadron of helicopters used in rescue operations, the 8th Emergency Rescue Squadron, was formed in China, in May 1945.
This squadron had the exclusive mission of performing rescue operations on land. In the first six months of operation, 110 land rescue missions were attempted and 43 airmen were saved. The development of the helicopter came too late in the war to have a significant impact, but the implications for the future were immense.

Through the course of World War II the role of CSAR grew from its infancy to an organized capability in each service. This closely paralleled CSAR development of other nations who were also making great strides in filling this critical operational void. Rescue chances increased from near zero at the beginning of the war to forty-three percent by April 1943 . By the end of the war the United States had a well coordinated joint and combined CSAR organization which resulted in the rescue of nearly 5000 Army Air Force crew members. When the final B-29 strike was flown against
Japan, roughly one quarter of those involved manned the vessels, submarines, and aircraft of the rescue force.

The question of rescue responsibility emerged after the war. The US Coast Guard, supported by the Navy, claimed that air-sea rescue had traditionally been its responsibility; the Army Air Force, on the other hand, believed that its air rescue capability should be expanded to meet the increasing scope of air power. On 13 March 1946, the Army's Air Transport Command reorganized its rescue forces to satisfy peacetime search and rescue responsibilities on land; the Coast Guard assumed peacetime SAR responsibility along coastal waterways and at sea. This delineation of responsibility and subsequent reorganization led to the establishment of the Air Rescue Service and its assignment to the Air Transport Command, effective 1 April 1946.

The Air Rescue Service was, unfortunately, conceived at a time of budget cuts and military reductions. Operation Wring out (1958),the USAF force structure drawdown, in addition to equipment shortages and overseas base closures following World War II, compelled the ARS to consolidate its organization. The result was a significant decrease in rescue capabilities. This period of atrophy in CSAR capability was characteristic of each service, which, at the conclusion of world War II, had independently refined its own CSAR organization, doctrine, and training programs

Source: Combat Search And Rescue: A Lesson We Fail To Learn Major Rickey L. Rife

US CSAR efforts

Korean War
The United States entered the Korean War with a CSAR structure in place, but without adequate equipment, training, and doctrine necessary to perform the mission. CSAR importance increased significantly as airpower developed into a dominant force focused throughout the theater of operations. Unfortunately, four years of neglect had to be rapidly overcome. This difference in readiness and capability requirements was overcome through time, but at great expense in aircrew lives. Equipment such as the helicopter, which had demonstrated potential at the close of WWII, was soon validated under fire in Korea.

Initially, helicopters were used to evacuate critically wounded soldiers, move supplies, and spot for artillery before evolving into downed pilot recovery. Deep interdiction targeting required the unique capabilities of the helicopter to effect rescues. The first of many successful aircrew rescue operations behind enemy lines was conducted on 4 September 1950. From this auspicious beginning helicopters became the mainstay of the CSAR effort throughout the
war. They were positioned well forward to support ground operations, or pre-positioned on islands (Paengnyong-do and Cho-do) near aircraft bailout zones to provide rapid recovery. Aircrew recoveries behind enemy lines were impressive (when compared to World War II)-

•Between June 1950 and July 1953, 1690 USA crewmembers went down inside enemy territory. The Air Rescue Service saved 170 (ten percent: 102 by helicopters, 66 by SA-16 amphibians, and 2 by liaison planes. . . Within friendly territory, ARS picked up 86 aircrewmen".

The ARS contribution to the air war over Korea was considerable. As Earl H. Tilford notes; The Air Rescue Service had survived its baptism under fire and emerged with an enviable reputationu.

Helicopter vulnerability to small arms fire, limited endurance, and restricted maximum gross weight limitations were
factors which made rescue operations behind enemy lines precarious. These limitations, however, were being quickly overcome by the introduction of newer, more powerful airframes when the war ended. At the conclusion of the Korean war, with its concomitant decrease in the defense budget, service CSAR capability once again endured force structure reductions, equipment realignment, and training erosion; all of which greatly limited mission readiness. This downward trend in CSAR capability was not arrested until the Vietnam War. The USAF Air Rescue Service, for example, went from a 7,900 man force organized in fifty squadrons in 1954, to eleven squadrons (1600 men) in 1961.

In this period of declining resources the mission of the Air Rescue Service expanded to a global responsibility- primarily
focused on peacetime SAR. In fact, Air Force policy limited aircrews to peacetime training requirements, and further directed that no special equipment would be purchased by the ARS for the role. To satisfy increased mission expectations with reduced resources the USAF decided to reorganize the ARS.

An Air Rescue Service directive for reorganization published on September 25, 1958 stated:
ARS will be organized, manned, equipped, trained, and deployed to support peacetime air operations. No special units or specially designed aircraft will be provided for the sole purpose of wartime search and rescue (SAR). Wartime rescue operations will be dictated by the capabilities of equipment used for peacetime SAR, and will be conducted in accordance with JANAF (Joint Army, Navy, Air Force) and standard wartime SAR procedures.

As a result, Air Rescue Service capability continued to decline in the period of interwar years between Korea and Vietnam. Concentration of support for the national space effort, emphasis on peacetime search and rescue, and no official wartime mission left the ARS without a viable rescue capability at the outset of the Vietnam War. In fact, the ARS transferred most of their helicopters to other service components, because they were unable to meet global
requirements. .

Essentially, the services abandoned Combat Search and Rescue as a mission, forcing the repeat of painful lessons learned in just ten years. Theme lessons were to cost more when the relatively permissive environments of Korea and World war II were replaced with the increased air defense threat of Vietnam.

Source: Combat Search And Rescue: A Lesson We Fail To Learn Major Rickey L. Rife
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a284709.pdf

 

[gambit]

Hambleton, being the most senior signal intelligence officer in the whole Vietnam, and his capture would have means a major blow to US signal intelligence not just toward the war, but also as a whole as he will most certainly ended up somewhere in Russia and being interrogated.

Source: Inside : Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) Operation - Part II

Not only was Hambleton the most senior SIGINT officer in the war, Hambleton was once with SAC and was one of their ballistic missile domain experts. The Soviets knew of him, not merely that he was a USAF officer, but knew him with a mark next to his name. Hambleton was worth more to the Soviets than to the North Vietnamese. The dilemma was either to rescue him or to kill him, but not to let him be captured alive and most assuredly sent to Moscow.

Here was how Hambleton was rescued...

Hambleton was one of the USAF's most talented golfer, borderline professional talent and skill. He intimately knew the layout of every major USAF and civilian golf courses in CONUS. So when it became too dangerous to rescue Hambleton by air, the USAF decided to literally walk Hambleton to a safer zone so ground forces can extract him. The USAF contacted all of Hambleton's golf friends, told them of his situation, and they designed an 18-hole virtual golf course to get Hambleton to that safe zone.

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Vi...abid/509/Article/196012/rescue-of-bat-21.aspx

Knowing Hambleton was an avid golfer, authorities gave him directional and distance information by naming specific holes at different golf courses. One forward air controller, Capt. Harold Icke, spent countless hours orbiting near Hambleton and communicating by radio throughout the ordeal.

Basically, even though everyone knew the North Vietnamese were monitoring the freqs and understood English, the gamble was that none would know American golf courses and unique American cultural references. Icke would radio to Hambleton the hole number at what course and Hambleton would figure out how many yards to travel and in which direction.

'Gene' Hambleton, 85; His Rescue Depicted in 'Bat-21' Books, Film - latimes

As Hambleton recalled in a 2001 interview with Golf Digest, the planners told him, "You're going to play 18 holes and you're going to get in the Suwannee and make like Esther Williams and Charlie the Tuna. The round starts on No. 1 at Tucson National."

Hambleton said it took him awhile to figure out they were giving him distance and direction: "No. 1 at Tucson National is 408 yards running southeast. They wanted me to move southeast 400 yards. The 'course' would lead me to water."

Suwannee is a river in the US state Georgia. Esther Williams was an American actress and aspiring Olympics swimmer. Charlie The Tuna is a cartoon tuna fish selling -- canned tuna fish. Not likely any English speaking North Vietnamese radio operator would understand these references.

 

[Blue Marlin]

@Technogaianist / @Transhumanist stop being grumpy and post more here (more photos especially. I need my Norwegian Military fix)!! You've first hand experience with this stuff, I'd (we'd) appreciate your input and stories.

Plox?

@Technogaianist / @Transhumanist is the same person.she could not access her account credentials before hence the new account. she dont come on that often but they are a few more nords/swedes/finish and russain on pdf you just have to find, them and they usually stay on the european section

 

[Nattmara]

@Technogaianist / @Transhumanist is the same person.

Yeah, I know. I'm not sure which she's using right now (if any, she a bit moody recently).

I'll just ask her later.

more nords/swedes/finish and Russians on pdf you just have to find, them and they usually stay on the European section

Any of them have Combat Search and Rescue experience? As far as I remember, Techno girl does from her time in the Royal Norwegian Air Force, so I thought she'd have some interesting stories to share.

 

[Blue Marlin]

Yeah, I know. I'm not sure which she's using right now (if any, she a bit moody recently).

I'll just ask her later.



Any of them have Combat Search and Rescue experience? As far as I remember, Techno girl does from her time in the Royal Norwegian Air Force, so I thought she'd have some interesting stories to share.

you know her in person? i think she was thinking of moving across the pond. armstrong may know her via socail media

 

[Nattmara]

you know her in person?

I'm friends with her on Facebook and another forum. We did yoga classes too, before she got pregnant.

...

@Armstrong do you know her name? I didn't think she told anyone her real name on the internet, but if so that's what she uses as her Facebook account name.

 

[Blue Marlin]

I'm friends with her on Facebook and another forum. We did yoga classes too, before she got pregnant.

...

@Armstrong do you know her name? I didn't think she told anyone her real name on the internet, but if so that's what she uses as her Facebook account name.

yes i know she was, she had a girl. she had anothe account : slave to the wafflel

 

[jhungary]

will response to this thread tomorrow when I am free, now I am gonna catch some zzzzzz

 

[jhungary]

While outside of CSAR you should mention the Iran hostage scenario (hostages deep inside enemy territory with no aircraft capable of rescuing them easily other than a C130 in a soccer stadium with rocket assist) and how the US went on to fund the V-22 to solve that very problem. The V-22 will help with other CSAR missions.

I can try and get something done about the Iranian Embassy Hostage Scenario but I am quite busy these day, so it may take months..........

About V-22 impact on CSAR operation, you can take a look of this Master Thesis, which detailed a quite clear account on CV-22 role on CSAR

A Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) Role for the CV-22: It's Coming, Get Ready