"Chark Attack"

January 7, 2011

We were doing our preflight this afternoon, when we received a message that we needed to launch in response to a MRAP (armored vehicle) that had hit an IED (improvised explosive device).  We arrived on station in the Chark valley and saw the burning vehicle.  The vehicle had its combat locks on (door locks that can only be opened from the inside) and nobody could get the crew out.  while US forces were trying ro rescue the crew, they started taking fire from a qalat (Afghan house).  This was a complex ambush and the ground forces were in danger.  We established communication with the ground forces radio operator.  While we were getting all the information on where his people where, he got shot in the leg.  We saw the qalat where the enemy was and turned outbound so we could engage the enemy. We selected a N model Missile (Thermobaric Hellfire) and turned inbound.  We launched and destroyed the two story structure.  The thermobaric did a great job.  I saw fire and smoke come out of every window on every floor before the structure collapsed on the left side.  The new radio operator told us they were no longer taking fire. A few minutes later they started taking fire from another qalat down the road.  We turned outbound again and let our wingman select his N model missile (our other missile was a F/A Blast fragmentation).  Our wingman engaged the 2nd qalat and the result was the same.  The battle damage assement for our qalat was 3 enemy killed in action.  2 men were captured from the 2nd building.  One of them being a known IED builder.  To top it all off, we were flying a helicopter that just returned from maintainence and had a shark mouth painted on it!  YATZEE!!



After returning from the "Chark Attack"



Deathstalker "Wall of Death" with 3 new kills!