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<A HREF="aol://5863:126/alt.conspiracy:498698">The Night Stalkers, long post
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Subject: The Night Stalkers, long post
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Chris714)
Date: Sat, Mar 6, 1999 9:42 PM
Message-id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I've been following the threads on the military training some people have been
experiencing in urban areas. I ran across an Army Times article from July
1995
about the Night Stalkers that I thought people might find interesting, at
least
for background information. To confirm it for accuracy, if you have AOL you
can visit Military City and search back issues of the Army Times. If you have
access to Military City on the Web (that is, you have membership) you should
be
able to do the same thing.
Failing that, visit a library...
Army Times 07-10-95 Issue
`NIGHT STALKERS DON'T QUIT' / RISK OF DEATH IS A CONSTANT COMPANION FOR 160TH
SOAR
By Sean D. Naylor
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- 1st Lt. Tom DiTomasso was stopped cold by the
sight that greeted him as he turned into a Mogadishu alley during the
fiercest battle U.S. troops had fought in decades.
DiTomasso and his Ranger platoon had been fighting their way through the
labyrinthine streets of the Somali capital to reach the site where a special
operations Black Hawk helicopter had just been shot down. But as DiTomasso
rounded the final corner, he found someone else had gotten there first.
Sitting in the middle of the alley was a small Army ``Little Bird''
helicopter, its whirling rotor blades furiously skimming the roofs of the
houses on either side as its two-man crew performed one of the more
extraordinary medical evacuation missions of recent years.
Amazed, DiTomasso watched as one of the pilots pushed two critically
wounded crew members from the downed Black Hawk into the tiny space behind
the Little Bird's seats. Meanwhile, as enemy rounds peppered the buildings
around him, the other pilot was a study in self-control.
Standing with his left foot in the cockpit, the pilot kept his left hand
on the throttle, while his right foot was planted firmly in the dust of the
street and his right hand gripped an MP5 submachine gun; he was mowing down
the Somali militiamen who only minutes before had been swarming around the
wrecked Black Hawk.
As he stumbled over the corpses of Somalis, DiTomasso realized that
although it was only 4:25 p.m. on a hot Somali afternoon, he was face to face
with the Night Stalkers.
`Everything a unit should be'
The Night Stalkers are the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
(Airborne), the Army helicopter unit whose pilots boast of their ability to
reach their destination within 30 seconds of the planned time.
To its members, the 160th represents everything an Army unit should be:
Missionoriented and made up entirely of highly motivated troops who
frequently deploy with their top-of-the-line weapons systems to exotic
locales.
Night Stalkers reject any suggestion their regiment is elitist, but more
than one soldier at their headquarters here was heard to complain that few
other Army units took their missions as seriously as the 160th.
The unit was established in 1980 in the wake of the failed Operation
Eagle Claw mission to rescue the hostages in the U.S. Embassy in the Iranian
capital of Teheran. The 160th was tasked with providing helicopter support
for Army special operations forces. For many years, it had maintained a
fairly low profile, but the events of Oct. 34, 1993, changed all that.
Exploits became known
The actions of the 160th's 1st Battalion during the battle that raged
that night in Mogadishu were soon known to millions of television viewers the
world over, thanks largely to CW3 Michael Durant, a co-pilot of one of the
two 160th Black Hawks shot down in the fight.
Durant was captured by Somali gunmen, and for 11 days before his
release, his bruised face stared at the American public from the covers of
news magazines and television screens.
Although the regiment lost two helicopters and -- far more importantly
-- five soldiers in the Mogadishu battle, it emerged with an enhanced
reputation for derringdo.
CW3 Karl Maier and CW4 Keith Jones, the two Little Bird pilots
encountered by DiTomasso, both earned the Silver Star for their gallantry
that day, but theirs were by no means the only heroics, according to
DiTomasso.
Only minutes after DiTomasso's platoon arrived at the crash site, a
combat search and rescue Black Hawk from the 160th, flown by CW3 Daniel
Jollota, arrived on the scene. As the helicopter hovered at an altitude of 50
feet, its complement of Rangers scrambled down ropes as fast as they could to
join their colleagues on the ground.
Suddenly, with half the Rangers still on the ropes or in the aircraft,
the helicopter rocked as it took a direct hit in its tail from a
rocket-propelled grenade. Jollota's immediate reaction was to lurch the
aircraft upward. But, realizing he still had Rangers on the ropes, he quickly
settled the Black Hawk to hover in position and kept it there until all the
troops had disembarked.
``I saw machine-gun fire -- tracers -- going up into the helicopter, and
he just stayed there, because he knew [the Rangers] were on the ropes,''
DiTomasso said.
Once the Rangers were on the ground, Jollota and his crew made it back
to the airfield. ``That pilot and that crew got out of that bird, went into a
spare helicopter and then flew back to see if they could do anything else for
us,'' DiTomasso said.
Legends of bravery
Such stories already have passed into the growing body of 160th lore,
which is replete with tales of uncommon bravery and heartstopping brushes
with death.
Soldiers in the 160th are reluctant to discuss their own exploits, but
are always willing to regale a listener with accounts of their colleagues'
exploits.
Asked to name a single incident in the regiment's history that
exemplified its troops' abilities and uncompromising commitment to their
mission, 160th commander Col. Dell Dailey thought for a moment before citing
an incident that occurred on the night of Dec. 20, 1989, on the eve of the
invasion of Panama.
``During Operation Just Cause, one of our AH-6s [Little Birds] got shot
down and crashed inside the Comandancia [Panamanian Defense Force (PDF)
Headquarters],'' he said. The two pilots, Capt. George Kunkel and CW3 Fred
Horsley, rushed from the aircraft, but were effectively trapped in the nerve
center of the Panamanian military establishment.
Preparation helps
The pilots had memorized the compound's layout. From pre-mission
briefings, they knew which buildings would be targeted by the Air Force's
AC-130 Spectre gunships.
When the major fighting started later in the night, they darted between
the ``safe'' buildings, evading capture for three hours as the gunships
pumped round after round into the Comandancia. Along the way, they even
captured a Panamanian soldier.
Finally they made good their escape by conducting a passage of lines --
never an easy task at the best of times -- with the U.S. troops assaulting
the Comandancia, bringing their prisoner with them.
These tales are the stuff of legend, but 160th soldiers react coolly to
any suggestion that they are larger-than-life characters.
``We're special operations aviation, but what does that mean?'' asked
SSgt. Jean Thomas, an MH-60K instructor for the automated flight control
system. ``We're not special people. We work on special missions with special
equipment.''
Special or not, there are a lot more soldiers in the 160th now than when
the unit began as an ad hoc task force training to conduct a second rescue
attempt in Iran.
The hostages were released before the mission could be launched, but the
Holloway Commission that met to consider why the Eagle Claw failed
recommended that Task Force 160, as it was then known, be retained to give
the Army a dedicated special operations aviation capability.
A regiment in 1990
Most of the unit's assets initially came from the helicopter-rich 101st
Airborne Division (Air Assault). For that reason, the unit was headquartered
at the 101st's home post here. The unit grew from a battalion in 1981 to a
group in 1986 and achieved regimental status in 1990, with a current strength
of about 1,600 troops.
Its mission is to support the Army's other special operations forces,
principally Special Forces teams, the 75th Ranger Regiment, and 1st Special
Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (more commonly known as Delta Force).
The regiment specializes in inserting and extracting commandos with its
three principal aircraft types, all of which are basic Army airframes adapted
for special operations purposes: the MH-6 Little Bird, the MH-60K Black Hawk
and the MH-47E Chinook.
The 160th can also provide close air support for special operations
missions with an attack version of the Little Bird designated the AH-6.
Some or all of these capabilities have been used in every major
operation involving U.S. forces since the unit's inception.
Helicopters from the 160th flew the first combat missions in the 1983
invasion of Grenada, and were active in Panama in 1989, the 1991 Gulf War,
Somalia in 1993, and the peaceful invasion of Haiti in September 1994.
In addition, the 160th has seen action in many smaller operations, such
as Prime Chance, which involved protecting oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in
the late 1980s.
Best of the best
Such demanding missions require highquality soldiers, tough, realistic
training and top-of-the-line equipment. The 160th, according to its troops,
has all three.
A highly selective recruitment process ensures that, with the exception
of a few junior enlisted soldiers, the 160th is filled entirely with
experienced volunteers. The opportunity to work with such a high caliber of
soldier is one of the principal attractions of the regiment.
``We always get good quality people here, and that's a plus,'' said
SSgt. Kenneth B. Hickman, an MH-60 crew chief in 1st Battalion. ``It's not as
though you have to take them out and teach them how to crew an aircraft. They
already know.''
``We're surrounded by dedicated professionals,'' agreed CW4 Michael
Bell, flight operations officer with 2d Battalion. ``It's very rewarding to
be surrounded by troops who want to do a first class job all the time.''
Shared challenges
Another benefit is the camaraderie between the regiment's soldiers and
those of the elite special operations units that it supports, Bell said.
``You share the challenges and the adversity together, and you share the joy
of a mission well done.''
More than any other factor, however, it is the regiment's focus on its
real-world mission that provides soldiers here with job satisfaction.
``This regiment is able to very clearly focus on their mission,'' Bell
said. ``A lot of other units outside special operations have a lot of
distractions.''
A powerful motivator is knowing the reg
iment could be called on to support an operation at a moment's notice.
``You're always training for a purpose, and chances are that purpose is just
around the corner,'' said SSgt. Mark Kolesar, a 1st Battalion MH-6 crew
chief.
Indeed, even when most of the regiment is deployed on training or a real
world mission, ``there's always an alert package ready to respond to a
national crisis,'' Dailey said.
Ahead of the class
For the career-minded, a successful period of service in the 160th
definitely puts a soldier ahead of his peers.
Commissioned and warrant officers do ``very well'' in the competition
for promotions and school selections, said Maj. Sam Torrey. He said this was
partly explained by the regiment's demanding recruitment and assessment
process, which weeds out soldiers who are promotion risks.
Career prospects for the 160th's enlisted soldiers are buoyed by the
number of specialist schools they get to attend, including Airborne School at
Fort Benning, Ga., and the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape course
for high-risk personnel at Fort Bragg, N.C.
``In other units, you've got to fight to get these schools, you've got
to beg and plead,'' said Spec. Andrew Washington, a lightwheeled vehicle
mechanic in the regiment's Headquarters and Headquarters Company. ``Here,
you've got it.''
Optempo is high
The schools help troops cope with the regiment's rigorous optempo rates.
For, once in the unit, soldiers find themselves immersed in one of the Army's
most arduous training programs.
``We fly more than anybody,'' said SSgt. Kenneth Mitchell, an aircraft
weapons preparer in 1st Battalion. ``We're out there at least twice, if not
three times, as much as any other aviation unit.''
Dailey said the heavy training schedule, funded out of the unit's $40
million annual budget, is required by the nature of its work. As their
nickname suggests, the Night Stalkers specialize in flying at low levels
wearing night-vision goggles.
``Aviation skills are very perishable in general. Night-vision goggles
skills are even more perishable,'' Dailey said. Therefore, 50 percent of the
regiment's training takes place during the hours of darkness.
In addition, the regiment tries to devote half its flying time to
supporting groundpounding special operations troops, he said. But a pilot
must be qualified within the unit before he flies such missions. ``Only
qualified pilots will fly our most cherished and revered possession, and
that's the soldier,'' he said.
Most of the training takes place away from ``the reservation'' at Fort
Campbell, troops said. Some of the more unorthodox training sites used by the
160th include offshore oil rigs and Navy ships.
The high optempo coupled with the bonds the troops form in the
regiment's extraordinarily close-knit community mean few soldiers leave of
their own accord. Tours for commissioned officers last four years, but many
return to the unit as soon as they are able.
Tours for enlisted soldiers are also for four year, but many choose to
extend beyond that. Warrants' tours are indefinite, and it is not unusual to
find warrants who have spent more than a decade in the regiment.
``Most people, once they've spent time in this unit, can't see
themselves going back to the regular Army,'' said CW4 Dan Laguna, flight lead
instructor pilot on the AH-6 in 1st Battalion.
But the long hours -- often up to 12 or 14-hour work days, plus weekends
-- and frequent deployments also place heavy demands on the soldiers'
families.
Regiment officials say their TDY rates are no higher than those of many
conventional units. But the fact that some missions are so secret that the
outside world never hears of them, and the long days the soldiers have to
work at Campbell, place a premium on the regiment's family-support programs.
These programs, say soldiers here, are the Army's best. ``The family
program we have here is like nothing you'll ever see anywhere else,'' said
SSgt. Thomas, noting that the regiment had not only its own chaplain, but
also its own psychologist.
But on missions as dangerous as those flown by the 160th, the risk of
death remains a constant companion. Some of their colleagues are still too
emotionally shaken to discuss the highly publicized deaths of five of the
regiment's men in the battle of Mogadishu in October 1993.
``Everybody left that place with an everlasting memory,'' said Hickman.
But the deaths appear to have caused no long-term damage to the
regiment's morale. ``You don't get used to it,'' said Thomas, ``you just have
to accept it. It's something you live with.''
Or, as Bell said: ``We do stand behind our motto, which is `Night
Stalkers don't quit.'''
Copyright 1995, Army Times Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Transmitted: 11/21/95 11:22 AM (A00002JD)
"Here at last, my friend, you have the little book long since expected and
promised, a little book on that vast matter, namely on my own ignorance and
that of many others."
-Francesso Petrarca c.
1368
-----
Aloha, He'Ping,
Om, Shalom, Salaam.
Em Hotep, Peace Be,
Omnia Bona Bonis,
All My Relations.
Adieu, Adios, Aloha.
Amen.
Roads End
Kris
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