Photo By Staff Sgt. Jadyn Eisenbrandt | U.S. Air Force pilot, 1st Lt. Matt Donnellan, assigned to the 190th Fighter Squadron,...... read more read more
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Concealed in a dried creek bed, deep in the U.S. Army’s National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, 1st Lt. Matt Donnellan, a pilot assigned to the 190th Fighter Squadron, is nearly invisible to the training scenario’s opposing forces.
The scenario that day entailed Donnellan evading the enemy, in this case the participating Army units, long enough to signal for support and be evacuated.
“Combat search and rescue is a vital mission that speaks to the heart of the warrior ethos,” said Donnellan. “We will leave no Airman, Soldier, Sailor, or Marine behind and ensure that any American who is shot down or finds themselves stuck behind enemy lines for any reason will have the effort of the entire U.S. Air Force to rescue them. We are most proud of this mission and we take care of our own.”
The development of the U.S. Air Force’s sophisticated CSAR program was a product of the Sandy mission in the late 60’s.
“Combat Search and Rescue is a mission near and dear to the A-10 Thunderbolt II,” said Donnellan. “It goes back to Vietnam. The A-1 Sandies would help find and fix the survivor that's on the ground.”
During the Vietnam War, a search and rescue task force determined that lone helicopters were too vulnerable to conduct SAR missions. In 1965, the USAF SAR task force came to the conclusion that helicopters would work in pairs and USAF Douglas A-1 Skyraider aircraft would provide rescue escort. This additional combat element effectively transitioned the SAR mission into the CSAR mission we train for today. The A-1s operated under the call sign Sandy for all of their rescue missions. The Department of Defense has since designated the Air Force as the lead service for CSAR.
Because this was his first time being involved in an exercise of this scale, Donnellan teamed up with Senior Airman Josh Manshke, a survival, evasion, resistance and escape specialist assigned to the 414th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
As an expert in navigating situations in which one might be isolated, injured, and alone, Manshke was tasked with observing Donnellan’s decision making throughout the process.
“We teach people how to survive should they be isolated somewhere risky,” Manshke said. “Staying calm and being able to think clearly is a critical element of success in a real downed-pilot situation.”
Donnellan began the exercise at an unknown location on the NTC. From there, he had to find a suitable place to hide from opposing forces and call for evacuation. After hiking a half-mile through the rugged terrain of the NTC, Donnellan found a location he felt was secure enough to stop and make contact with rescue assets.
In a dried creek bed on the slope of a ravine, opposing forces zeroed in on Donnellan’s location. But the Army’s use of thermal imaging cameras were of little help when trying to locate the downed pilot.
When Donnellan felt the area was secure enough to seek evacuation, he maneuvered to the top of the ravine to establish a line-of-sight with the support helicopter. Unfortunately, that move allowed opposing forces to locate and detain him.
“I’ve never been able to actually train real world like that and hide out,” said Donnellan, when reflecting on his experience during the exercise. “I’m taking away a lot of lessons learned. Trust. Trust the team and trust the process. Hunker down and you’ll get rescued. That’s why we train.”
| Date Taken: | 10.29.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.02.2024 15:08 |
| Story ID: | 484526 |
| Location: | CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 227 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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