By Abdul Masih —
For the moment, the colonel who manned the weapons system on the downed F-15 has been identified Dude Bravo 44. He survived a massive manhunt by IRGC and Basij forces for 36 grueling hours, during which he attempted to close his own wounds, bled profusely and scaled a mountain to stay out of reach from the bounty hunters with hunting dogs.
His extraordinary rescue on Resurrection Sunday involved 100s of fighters and 155 military aircraft including four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers and 13 rescue aircraft. A key piece of his rescue was an extremely sophisticated transponder that helps rescues locate airmen who have ejected. It allows for tiny messages to be transmitted. Dude Bravo 44 transmitted: “God is good.”
“The heroic F-15 weapons system officer had evaded capture on the ground in Iran for almost 48 hours. That’s a long time when you’re in tough shape and when you’re bleeding,” President Trump said. “In the United States military, we leave no American behind. We don’t do it. (It was) one of the largest, most complex, most harrowing combat searches … ever attempted by the military.”
Some military leaders opposed the attempt at rescue, fearing it would lead to the deaths of many American soldiers involved in the rescue. Indeed, they took lots of fire. “We got a helicopter with a lot of bullets in it,” Trump said.
The rescue of the WSO followed the extraction of the pilot a day earlier. When the tag-team ejects at high speed, their seconds difference of ejection results in landings miles apart. Airmen are trained in SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) for these kinds of scenarios.
The United States deployed fake rescue operations all around Iran to throw off trackers. Near the downed colonel, they landed C-130 Hercules aircraft to transport in operators and equipment, included MH6 Little Birds to transport Navy SEALS Team 6 to extract the colonel.
When they got and him and boarded to fly out, the C-130 wheels got stuck in the sand, so instead the U.S. Air Force flew in a lighter cargo plane the C295W. Not all of the equipment could be loaded on the smaller craft, so they blew up what they left behind.
“When he was finally able to activate his emergency transponder, his first message was simple and it was powerful. He sent a message, ‘God is good,’ ” said Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of War. “In that moment of isolation and danger, his faith and fighting spirit shone through. Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave, a crevice all of Saturday, and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn.”
Sources: Tousi T.V., New York Post, Ward Carroll
