920th Rescue Wing recalls 'Lone Survivor' mission

by 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs

1/11/2014 - KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- For this week's edition of Flashback Friday, we travel to the Hindu Kush mountain range in northeastern Afghanistan's Kunar Province, where a group of 920th Rescue Wing reservists made history.

It was there, in June of 2005, that 25 reservists from the 920th Rescue Wing rescued Marcus Luttrell, a Navy SEAL on the run from the Taliban after all the other members of his SEAL team had been killed in an ambush during a covert operation.

Luttrell documented his ordeal in the bestselling novel "Lone Survivor," the Hollywood movie adaptation of which opened in theaters around the country this week.

Wing members also conducted the recovery operation to retrieve the remains of Luttrell's fallen SEAL team, including Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the operation.

Many of the reservists involved with the rescue and recovery missions are still members of the 920th, including wing commander Col. Jeffrey Macrander, who piloted one of the HH-60G Pave Hawks used to rescue Luttrell.

For the colonel, a command pilot with more than 4,500 hours in five aircraft (including four different helicopters), saving the lives of servicemembers caught behind enemy lines is more than just a job.

"My life goal was to be a combat rescue pilot," said Macrander, who began his career in rescue in 1988 as a C/HH-3E mission pilot at the 38th Rescue Squadron, Osan Air Base, Korea.
In addition to Macrander, seven members of the rescue/recovery team are assigned to the 920th RQW at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. They are:

HH-60G Pave Hawk pilots Lt. Col. Paul Nevius and Lt. Col. John Lowe; assistant director of operations Senior Master Sgt. Stephen Schwarz; special missions aviation support Senior Master Sgt. Randolph Wells; and pararescuemen Senior Master Sgt. Michael Ziegler, Master Sgt. Chris Seinkner and Master Sgt. Daniel Murray.

The book and movie versions of Lone Survivor are not the only media adaptations of Luttrell's story. The 920th Rescue Wing was featured in the Smithsonian Channel television series "Helicopter Wars," in which an entire episode, called "The Taliban Gambit,' was devoted specifically to the wing's role in the rescue mission.

Since 1956, the 920th Rescue Wing has saved more than 3,800 lives, including 850 combat rescues and 3,000 peacetime rescues, such as the 1,043 lives the wing saved during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

For more information on the 920th RQW, log onto: Facebook/920th Rescue Wing (Government Organization) or visit their web site at www.920rqw.afrc.af.mil.