Air Force Rescuer autographs books, posters for role in upcoming movie on Operation Redwing

  • Published
  • By Maj. Cathleen Snow
  • 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  A beautiful artist's rendition of Operation Redwing showed up in the 920th Rescue Wing commander's mailbox last week. It was a lithographic print of the original from a collector requesting Col. Jeffrey Macrander's signature. The image showed four Navy SEALs engaged in a firefight.

While the colonel is not famous, signing his autograph on items related to Operation Redwing, has been happening more and more. The colonel was directly involved in the incident which will forever be seared into his mind. Now, that image will be shown on the big screen in a movie that's in the making based on the operaton. 

The colonel's role as the aircraft commander of the operation's rescue mission, took him back eight years to one of the most memorable and harrowing rescues in his Air Force Reserve career.

"It's the stuff movies are made from," he said. And as these things go, A-list actor Mark Wahlberg is playing the starring role of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell who wrote the book that the movie is based on. Although, no spoiler alert will be issued here because the name of the book-deal turned movie-deal "Lone Survivor" implies the outcome.

On July 4, 2005, Air Force Reservists from the 920th Rescue Wing finalized a mission that embodies their lifeblood--to leave no man behind. Where their story begins, is where Marcus Luttrell's story ends as detailed in his book which made the New York Times bestseller list and is now being made into a movie set to be released in 2014.

It's not known who will play the role of the rescuers, but rumors circulating say the rescue mission that the 920th Airmen conducted, opens up the movie.

With permission from Florida Today, this is a re-print of an article by reporter Norman Moody wrote detailing the events of Operation Redwing. 

A laser beam from a fighter jet shot through the clouds into the pitch dark, momentarily illuminating the narrow ledge in a terraced Afghan village 7,000 feet up a mountainside.

There, the lone U.S. survivor of an ambush deep in al-Qaida territory in northeastern Afghanistan was waiting, injured and weary, penned in by armed Taliban fighters moving in on the village that had served as refuge.

A team of Reservists from the 920th Rescue Wing from Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., and other troops were engaged in one of the largest combat rescue operations since the Vietnam War, a heroic maneuver on the eve of July 4, 2005, that until now has been shielded in relative secrecy for much of the past two years.

Evading enemy fire under the cover of darkness, with the help of ground forces, the troops plucked Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell to safety, and two days later returned to the hostile territory to recover the bodies of his comrades.

"I could see the A-10 come down and strafe the ridge and pull up in front of me," recalled Col. Jeffrey Macrander, former Operations Group commander for the 920th Rescue Wing, who circled the village as another helicopter swooped in for the rescue.

"We got our Fourth of July fireworks provided by Uncle Sam."

Much of the information about the operation had been kept under wraps as is generally the case with special operations forces. But now, the brutal battle that led to the rescue generated buzz thanks to the publication of "Lone Survivor," a book by Luttrell.

"Luttrell was one of those names that they didn't talk about publicly," said Macrander, who lives in Melbourne, Fla., "Now that the book is out, it's opened up."

Luttrell said in a telephone interview with Florida Today that he will forever be grateful to his rescuers. Taliban fighters had encircled the Afghan village when, in the distance, he spotted the helicopters coming for him.

"It was a huge risk for them to come in like that," the 31-year-old Texan said.

In June 2005, the U.S. Navy dropped an elite four-man SEAL team deep into northeastern Afghanistan. Their mission, dubbed Operation Redwing, was to capture or kill the Taliban warrior who commanded the burgeoning new force of Osama bin Laden's army.

But the mission was compromised.

Some 150 al-Qaida and Taliban mountain fighters attacked the four SEALs in what escalated into a brutal battle. For nearly three hours, the fighting raged.

A Chinook helicopter flying in reinforcements was shot down, killing all 16 people onboard.

By the end, only one from the four-man SEAL team--Luttrell--survived. Lt. Michael Murphy and Petty Officers Matthew Axelson and Danny Diets were killed.

Almost 100 Taliban were also killed.

Badly injured with a gunshot wound to his leg, the 6-foot-5 Luttrell hiked through the mountain with the help of villagers.

Back at his deployed base in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, Macrander was getting ready to return home when the rescue order came in.

The crews knew only that a Chinook helicopter had been shot down and they were headed into the same area.

"Oh, God, please don't let me screw up," Macrander recalled thinking. "Please make sure we get everybody out."

The two helicopter crews, led by Macrander, and an A-10 fighter jet searched under the cover of night, while a ground crew, including Pararescuemen from the 920th Rescue Wing, hiked through a mountain pass littered with enemy fighters.
"It was pretty emotional for me that I was able to do that," said rescue pilot Lt. Col. Paul Nevius, a former Navy pilot. "I was pretty antsy about getting into the fight."

The pilots believed the survivor or survivors must have been seriously injured or otherwise unable to communicate. Later they found out the antenna on Luttrell's transmitter was broken off, so he could hear them but couldn't transmit.

"I could see the helicopters the whole time," Luttrell said. "They never gave up."

As they searched, the team continued hearing radio noise. Was it the survivors or an enemy trying to lure them into an ambush?

Hovering to listen more closely to the radio noise could expose them to more enemy fire. Daylight also gave the enemy an advantage. Not wanting to give up, the crews stayed about two hours after sunrise on the first day, Macrander said.

"We would say, 'give us a double click for a yes,'" Macrander said.

Later, word came through an Afghan that Luttrell was being cared for in a nearby village. Plans were made. Ground forces, helicopter crews and the fighter jet set out.

As Macrander circled overhead and an A-10 strafed the mountainside nearby, helicopter pilot Maj. Jeff Peterson swept down to pick up Luttrell.

"We're ready, we train for this every day, but there are a lot of unknowns," said Peterson, who is based in Tucson with the 305th Rescue Squadron, part of the 920th Rescue Wing headquartered at Patrick Air Force Base.

Heart pounding, excited about the mission but still terrified, Peterson precariously lowered the helicopter as the dust and darkness blinded him.

"I don't know how I landed on that ledge and held it there," he said. "I wouldn't land there even during the day."

In just 45 seconds, they had picked up Luttrell and an Afghan who was helping him and were back in the air, speeding down canyons and out of reach of the enemy.

"I haven't had a chance to thank any of these guys," Luttrell said. "They saved my life. I will forever be in their debt."

With Luttrell safe, the crews had to return July 5, 2005, to recover the bodies of Luttrell's comrades.

In their helicopters, they carried two American flags that would be draped over the body bags of those recovered. The third SEAL was recovered later by ground forces.

One of the flags was presented to the Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce. The rescue crew wanted the other to go to Luttrell.

"That was one flown on the Fourth of July," Nevius said. "I couldn't think of anybody better to give this flag to but Marcus."

Editor's note: According to IMBD.com, the movie is set to be released January 10, 2014.

To view "The Taliban Gambit" a 45-minute documentary about the 920th Rescue Wing's role in the rescue of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, which aired on the Smithsonian Channel and the National Geographic channel, click here.

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