SEAL of Honor

by Gary Williams

  Kunar Province

  Kunar, one of thirty-four provinces in Afghanistan, is located in the northeastern-most part of the country on the border with Pakistan’s Bajaur Agency, which is part of the region known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. It had long been a favored location of insurgent groups, because of its impenetrable terrain, extensive cave network, and border with the semiautonomous Pakistani North-West Frontier Province. There native Taliban forces mingled with foreign al-Qaeda fighters, while mujahideen militias continued their warring manner with other tribes. As a result of Operation Enduring Freedom, U.S. and coalition forces drove bin Laden and the remainder of his al-Qaeda forces underground in the Kunar cave network and neighboring Pakistan.

  One of the primary missions for which Lieutenant Murphy’s team was brought to Afghanistan was to utilize their reconnaissance skills to neutralize high-profile al-Qaeda and Taliban targets. On June 3, 2005, Shah’s forces ambushed and killed three Marines from Company C, 1st Battalion near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Orgun-E, located outside the town of Orgune in the Paktika province in southwestern Afghanistan along the Pakistani border. Killed were Captain Charles D. Robinson and Staff Sergeant Leroy E. Alexander. Seriously burned was Staff Sergeant Christopher N. Piper, who subsequently died of his wounds. The Marines approached CJSOTF-A’s commanders and requested the capture or elimination of Shah. They in turn immediately contacted Commander Kent Paro, who began the initial planning for the mission.

  The first planning session held included Paro, Lieutenant Commander Erik Kristensen, Lieutenant Mike McGreevy, and Senior Chief Dan Healy. As task unit commander, the planning effort was the direct responsibility of Kristensen, assisted by McGreevy and Healy. Although not directly involved in the step-by-step planning of the mission, Paro was intimately involved in the overall planning.

  The name of this mission was left to the task unit commander, Lieutenant Commander Erik Kristensen. A big hockey fan, Kristensen liked to name SEAL missions after professional hockey teams. The next team on his list was the Detroit Red Wings.

  An initial plan and detailed drawings based on the latest intelligence was drawn up. With Paro’s review and approval, Kristensen, McGreevy, and Healy approached Major Stephen Reich and Captain Myron Bradley of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), known as the Night Stalkers, and enlisted their help with air operations. During this initial meeting, Kristensen, McGreevy, and Healy huddled with Reich and Bradley in the 160th’s Operations Center near the flight line. A large detailed map was laid out, covering the wooden table in the center of the room. At the top of the paper in large red letters were the words “Operation Red Wings.” Kristensen and Healy went over their plan in detail and sought the input of Reich and Bradley, which resulted in a few modifications.

  With a command change scheduled for the last week in June, CJSOTF-A commanders made it abundantly clear that Shah was the number one target and absolutely must be neutralized before that time. While Shah was a high-profile target, there were several other concurrent operations being both planned and executed. The highly experienced Senior Chief Dan Healy, a recognized expert in counter-intelligence, spent hours combing intelligence reports, continually pouring over lists, photographs, maps, and charts, which resulted in the modification of several operational plans, including Operation Red Wings. Due to the terrain, the altitude, and the strength of Shah’s forces, attempts to pinpoint Shah’s location had proved difficult and at times totally unsuccessful. Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell described the terrain in his book Lone Survivor: “The steep, stony mountain crevasses and cliffs, dust-colored, sinister places, were now alive with the burgeoning armies of the Taliban.... Up there, complex paths emerge and then disappear behind huge boulders and rocks. Every footstep that dislodges anything, a small rock, a pile of shale, seemed like it might cause an earthshaking avalanche. Stealth, we were told, must be our watchword on the high, quiet slopes of the Hindu Kush.”

  Operation Red Wings: Planning

  Under pressure to neutralize Shah, additional effort and resources were channeled into the planning for Operation Red Wings. On June 10, 2005, Commander Paro was unexpectedly and temporarily reassigned and command of the unit was assumed by Lieutenant Commander Kristensen. However, Paro and Kristensen remained in daily contact about the Red Wings mission planning. Paro later described LCDR Kristensen: “I had every confidence in Erik. He was a highly competent SEAL commander. Highly cerebral, no detail escaped his watchful eye, and he left nothing to chance. He reminded me of someone who in their later years would be in a bulky sweater, smoking a pipe and reading book after book and having highly intellectual discussions with others.”

  Kristensen was assisted by Lieutenant McGreevy. Paro also described McGreevy: “They simply did not come any better than Mike McGreevy. Honor Man in his class, highly respected in the teams, detail oriented, a highly competent strategic and operation planner as well as an excellent tactician. When you put both Erik and Mike together it simply did not get any better than that.”

  As the plan continued to develop, others were brought into the planning process. Included from the 160th SOAR were Lieutenant Colonel John Dunson, the commanding officer; Major Steve Reich, the acting task force operations officer; Captain Myron Bradley, the air mission commander; and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chad Easter, the senior flight lead. Representing the SEALs were Lieutenant Commander Kristensen, Lieutenant McGreevy, Lieutenant Michael Murphy, Senior Chief Healy, and Marcus Luttrell, who served as leading petty officer (LPO).

  Actionable intelligence showed that Shah’s troop strength numbered between 80 and 200 men, and his force was growing. Although the plan was fully developed, on the day of the scheduled mission it was “taken down” due to the lack of adequate air support and indefinitely postponed as commanders placed other missions higher on the priority list.

  Throughout their deployments, Lieutenant Mark Hernandez and Lieutenant Michael Murphy remained in frequent communication and planned and coordinated the remaining missions which they were required to cover down. Mission planning was conducted utilizing the capabilities of the SEAL Mission Support Center (MSC), and the most recent version of SOMPE-E (Special Operations Mission Planning Environment-Maritime), the mission-planning software. A variation of the Microsoft Windows NT Office 2000, it allowed special operations planners a secure platform from which to access information, conduct Web chats and whiteboard sessions, and bring the vast military and special operations databases to operational- and tactical-level planners.

  Operation Red Wings: The Mission

  Most special operations missions were conducted in a relatively short period of time, several hours at the most. Red Wings would extend over a minimum of three to four days. The mission called for a four-man SEAL reconnaissance element to find Shah and document his troop strength. Once Shah was located, the recon unit was to call in a SEAL team to act as a combined assault and blocking force. They were to surround and neutralize Shah’s camp, then perform a combined direct-action assault to neutralize anticoalition militia (ACM) throughout the Korangal Valley.

  The Korangal Valley is located on the southern part of the Pech River, a strategic passage the Taliban and al-Qaeda wanted to control. As such, it was among the deadliest pieces of terrain in the world for U.S. forces. Below the Korangal River and across the valley is the dark face of the Abas Ghar ridge and Sawtalo Sar. Sawtalo Sar is a 9,282-foot peak with a ridge that runs north to south and defines the eastern wall of the six-mile-long Korangal Valley. The Taliban essentially owned Abas Ghar and Sawtalo Sar. The Korangal fighters were fierce, knew the terrain, and watched the Americans’ every move.

  Father’s Day

  Despite his busy mission planning and execution schedule, on Sunday, June 17, at 4:58 PM, Michael sent a combined e-mail to his father, his mother, his fiancée, Heather, and his brother John.

  Hey All,

  I know this is really weak you guys each deserve your own e-mail but I�
�m really busy. I haven’t been able to talk for a while, I have been away. I hope you are all OK and in good health. I pray once in a while that all of you stay safe and are happy. I’m doing fine. My prize possession is this beard I’ve grown. It’s itchy as all hell but ... whatever. Things are going well, I like it out here and we are doing a lot. I have some funny stories and some sad ones, but all in all things are good. I’ll write each of you separate later, I just wanted to let you all know I was OK.

  Oh yeah John, it’s summer vacation and I know you are working but make sure you start a consistent regimen of physical training. You’re going to need it if you want that job. Not to be on your ass, I heard that you did very well in college. Great job and keep up the good work.

  After a lengthy delay and with the end-of-June command change just days away, CJSOTF-A commanders placed Operation Red Wings back at the top of their priority list. The four members of Murphy’s Alfa Platoon originally selected to serve as the reconnaissance element were Michael, as team leader; Petty Officer Matthew Axelson; Petty Officer Shane Patton; and LPO Marcus Luttrell. Michael was selected based on his previous Fitness Report and Counseling Records, combined with his proven performance in previous missions since he arrived in Afghanistan. However, twenty-four hours before the operation began, the task force’s commanders determined that Petty Officer Danny Dietz, currently assigned to SEAL Team Ten from SDVT-2, would replace Patton. Dietz was a communications expert, a skill that was deemed critical on this mission. Luttrell lobbied hard for Patton, who had performed superbly as a communications specialist in his previous missions. Luttrell wanted this to be an all SDVT-1 operation. But the commanders wanted more than one team to have the opportunity to participate in this mission, and so, despite Luttrell’s efforts, they went ahead with their decision to replace Patton with Dietz.

  On June 25, Shah released a statement threatening U.S. forces. Commander Paro and Lieutenant Commander Kristensen discussed the threats during their daily conversation and determined that his rhetoric was essentially unchanged.

  The Reconnaissance Element

  Petty Officer Second Class Matthew Gene Axelson, twenty-nine, was born on June 25, 1976, in Cupertino, California, to Cordell and Donna Axelson. After graduating from Monta Vista High School in 1994, he attended California State University, Chico, where he earned a degree in political science. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 2000, entering basic training, or boot camp, at Naval Station Great Lakes, near Waukegan, Illinois. After completing Sonar Technician Surface (STG) “A” school, he was selected to attend BUD/S training and graduated with Class 237.

  After BUD/S, he attended Army Airborne jump school, SEAL Qualification Training (SQT), and SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) School. He reported to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 (SDVT-1) in December 2002 in Hawaii, joining Michael Murphy’s Alfa Platoon. Known as “Cool Hand Luke” to his teammates, at six feet four inches tall, he was quick, slim, and a superb athlete, and was considered an expert mountain climber and a SEAL sniper, both skills required on this mission. He and his wife, Cindy, were married in December 2003.

  Petty Officer Second Class Danny Philip Dietz Jr., twenty-five, was born on January 26, 1980, in Aurora, Colorado, to Danny and Cindy Dietz. After graduating from Heritage High School in nearby Littleton in 1999, he enlisted in the Navy on August 31, 1999. Following his graduation from Recruit Training Command, Naval Station Great Lakes, on November 27, 1999, he completed Gunner’s Mate “A” school at the Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC), Pensacola, Florida. From there he transferred to BUD/S and graduated with Class 232 in 2001. He went on to attend the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, then SQT and SDV Training.

  Immediately upon checking in at SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on November 8, 2001, he was assigned to Task Unit Bravo as the secondary SDV pilot and the Ordnance and Engineering Department head. During a rigorous predeployment work-up he honed his skills and became one of the best pilots in the command. He married his wife, Maria, in March 2003. He leveraged his skills during a six-month deployment to European Command (EUCOM) as the lead pilot in multiple proof-of-concept rehearsals (detailed training exercises under full mission conditions). Upon his return from EUCOM, he was assigned to Task Unit Charlie as a primary Special Reconnaissance Team member and the Communications Department head. During predeployment he focused his attention on perfecting his SEAL sniper, reconnaissance, and field skills. In the barren and forbidding mountains of the Hindu Kush, his communications expertise would be critical.

  Leading Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell, thirty, was born in 1975 in Huntsville, Texas. He began training for the SEALs at the age of fourteen with former Green Beret Billy Shelton and joined the Navy in 1999. He started with BUD/S Class 226; however, due to a fractured femur he suffered on the O-course, he graduated with Class 228 on April 21, 2000. After completing BUD/S, he attended Army jump school and SQT. He was then sent to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for an additional six months of advanced training in conventional and unconventional medical skills, ranging from diagnosis and treatment of nearly every known condition to advanced emergency medicine and battlefield life support.

  After SDV Training, he completed a two-year tour in Iraq. A highly competent and battle-proven corpsman, his medical training was a critical element in the preferred four-man SEAL units, although hopefully it would not be needed. If that were the case, he would serve as the backup sniper.

  The Plan

  The plan seemed simple enough. Murphy and his team were to spend the first day monitoring Shah’s location and movements from a concealed position in the hills above Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province. On day two, once Shah’s location was verified, SEAL Team Ten had orders to call in the prearranged SEAL assault force designated to neutralize Shah, his headquarters, and his Mountain Tigers. A combined task force of ground troops would then be deployed on the third day to begin conducting mop-up operations throughout the valley. This would, it was believed, neutralize any remaining ACM in the Korangal Valley.

  Bagram Airfield, Sunday, June 26, 2005

  The air mission briefing was conducted at the 160th SOAR Planning Center. Present from the 160th were Major Steve Reich, the operations officer; Captain Myron Bradley, the air mission commander; Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chad Easter, the senior flight lead; and the pilots and flight crews of the two assigned helos. Attending from the SEALs were Lieutenant Commander Erik Kristensen, Lieutenant Michael McGreevy, Lieutenant Michael Murphy, Senior Chief Dan Healy, and Leading Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell.

  During the briefing every aspect of the mission was thoroughly detailed, including the all-important abort criteria. Abort criteria were a predetermined set of circumstances that could cause the immediate cancellation of the mission. The abort criteria for this mission were ACM at the helicopter landing zone (HLZ) and inadequate air support. Captain Bradley later related, “Nothing was overlooked, no detail was too small for consideration, everything was gone over in ‘eye-bleeding’ detail.” Although not openly discussed, all were acutely aware of the insistence from CJSOTF-A commanders for successful completion of the mission. At the conclusion of the one-hour meeting, it was announced that the mission was a go for the next operational period—the next period of darkness.

  Operation Red Wings: Execution

  Monday, June 27, 2005

  Early in the morning of June 27, confirmed intelligence pinpointed Shah’s location. By that afternoon, Kristensen and McGreevy had laid out the updated detailed maps and other photographic intelligence of the terrain for Murphy and Luttrell to review. Murphy, highly skilled in land navigation, drew a much smaller version of the map for his use. The target village location contained thirty-two houses—or, more accurately, straw huts.

  After two additional delays during the day, Operation Red Wings was on for that night. A couple of hours before the operation commenced, during an electronic conversation with Hernandez, Murphy related that Operation Red Wings w
as proceeding. He said that this was the operation they had hoped for since their arrival and that it was fitting that this would be their last mission before they left Afghanistan. Both were pleased that the SEALs were being utilized on this mission because it was the type for which they were specifically trained, and their afteraction report and direct experience would provide excellent training material for future teams and deployments. Hernandez related that he was “happy for them” and that he was still working on a plan that would allow Murphy’s squad to bypass the other cover-down operations and meet up with them in Iraq soon. Both looked forward to the reunion.

  Zero Hour: Insertion

  Just after dark, two helos were waiting on the flight line. Murphy, Dietz, Axelson, and Luttrell loaded into the lead Chinook MH-47E, which had the call sign Turbine 21, piloted by Easter and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Steve Swartz. Also on board were Captain Bradley; Staff Sergeant Ron Oster, the flight engineer; and three crew chiefs. Kristensen and McGreevy, the mission commanders, and a quick-reaction force (QRF) of twenty-five ground troops loaded into the other helo, which had the call sign Turbine 22. The QRF was a contingency in case there were any problems with the insertion or during the first twenty-four hours while the team was on the move to its target.

  The Boeing MH-47E is a derivative of the CH-47D Chinook heavy-duty lift helicopter developed specifically for the 160th SOAR. It is a long-range special operations forces insertion/extraction platform with integral command and control capabilities. With a maximum speed of 154 knots, and a service ceiling of 11,000 feet, it features twin SATCOM (satellite communications) links, and is also equipped with an AN/APQ-174A multilode (terrain following, terrain mapping, air-to-ground ranging) radar, an AN/AAQ-16 forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system, and the integrated GPS-based scrolling map display system. The FLIR uses the detection of thermal energy to create a “picture” assembled for the video output that helps pilots and drivers steer at night, in fog, or detect warm objects against a cold background when it is completely dark.