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The got him 🇺🇸 To the CSAR community 🍻 TOML!

Godspeed to all in harms way tonight. Lots of reports about the Iranians sending forces to disrupt and they got pummeled.

What I am told is they landed two MC-130Js with 2 X Little Birds each. Both MC-130Js got their nose wheels stuck in the sand. The little birds launched and one picked up the WSO. At the FARP they tried unsuccessfully to get the MC-130J's "unstuck" so they called in other assets from a supporting agency to pick up everyone. 3 X other smaller platforms came in and picked everyone up. USAF aircraft then bombed the 2 X MC-130J's and 4 x Little birds. We lost a couple of Reapers as well. True team effort.

We're getting close to the "put up or shut up" phase of the operation. We've set back the Iranian war machine decades. We've killed the leaders who targeted our people. We can still take the oil island, I'm fine with that, but it's not realistic to actually extract resources from Iran, it would just be another form of crippling economic pressure. Pretty soon we need to leave and let the people of Iran earn their reputation. If they do, then they can welcome us in as partners to help rebuild. They have enough oil and gas to make it worth our efforts. If not, then we pull back and give Israel whatever they need to keep mowing the lawn while the regime withers away.

Wasn't this the whole point of the Osprey?

Agree LR. So many here don’t know (too young) to understand about “Going Downtown”. Lost a few friends flying Thuds on Route Pack 6. Finally, LineBacker 2 brought NV to talking after they had exhausted their SAMs. Unfortunately, many Buff crews suffered. But ended it at a cost. And Desert Storm we lost 75 aircraft. As for the MIA crew member. Hopefully, the best outcome, like the rescue of Roger Locker after 23 days evading. Good friend, Dale Stovall, flew the furthest mission into NV to rescue him. Chased down by 2 MiGs that fired Atolls at him. Time will tell. Check 6, SHFP

The MC-130 community trains to this extensively; the 160th is one of our primary customers. I've worked Little Birds on both prepared strips and dirt LZs; the community as a whole is proficient at both. -130s get stuck from time to time, it happens even in training, especially at strips that haven't been used much. I had a colleague almost get stuck doing Little Bird Infil at Red Devil LZ in CO during a Bi-Lat, was a close thing. The CV discussion is a valid one but people are missing the most likely reason those guys weren't playing on this one (open kimono, I'm speculating). It's probably was a logistics issue. It takes quite a while to deploy Ospreys; they usually have to go by boat if deploying from CONUS. If you fly them any serious distance the TAAR requirement is significant. If you have them do gas and gos you'll leave a trail of broken -22s to your FSB; they just break a lot. Their logistics footprint is also quite large, read a lot C-17 flights to move their support tail. They also aren't a great fast rope/hoist platform and they have pretty serious weight limitations at high DAs.

WSO's new call sign should be Matt Damon, because in 2x movies where he's stranded in space, billions in resources are spent to rescue him. And he can claim some Borne for evading.

Same pilot, great American.

WSJ confirmed. Praise God and get that dude/dudette a beer.🍻

No way to know if true yet, but perhaps some hope for the missing F-15 crewmember.

She can now motorboat her husband.

Awesome everyone extracted safely. I sure hope a lot of lessons learned come out of this as I finished my taxes yesterday. Assuming it was one SA-6 that's a lot of bang for the bad guy's Rial 2 × MC-130J Commando II aircraft 4 × MH-6 “Little Bird” helicopters 1 × F-15E Strike Eagle 1 × A-10 Warthog 2 × Reapers

My record on 2026 predictions has been spotty at best, ok it’s been crappy but mostly in a good way… that out of the way, if we arm the Kurds in Iran we have to keep Turkey from intervening, if encourage the Baluchi and Azeris we can’t leave them hanging, if we get a ceasefire and opening of the Strait then we have to remain in theater to ensure no retrenchment on a ceasefire deal. My guess is that we are headed for a new version of Northern / Southern Watch where we keep immediate retaliation available in theater, daily patrol and observation.

What does he (Trump) think is going to happen? Iranian leadership has nothing to lose at this point. They only want to be in charge at the end of this. Blowing up some power plants and bridges ain't going to do shit. It'll maybe rile up the feckless Iranian people a bit more but I'm sure we're covertly trying to support them and they haven't been able to pull it off yet.

Good video of the F-15E crew that bailed out over Libya in 2011 and what happened after they returned to friendly control; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZvhhTpNFqU Excellent channel, BTW, if you like aviation.

Probably. I'm of the impression that it's a foregone conclusion, all indications from big blue pointed (over the last 5-6 years) in that direction. This could very well be the thing to re-light the fire. Fucking good work everyone. TOML

And his own Dos Gringos song

Dude needs to be given medals and a retirement.

No fucking way. If true, it’s time for that guy to hang up the harness and find a way into some sort of ground combat branch since that’s clearly where Murphy wants him.

Actually, I've dealt with numerous graduates from the AQIT course, and they know their shit. That said, I'd avoid acquisitions like a burrito from Taco Bell! And at least they don't have the word 'weapons' in their name!

Hands down the most wild thing ever said by a president.

Now that’s leadership! Praise Allah, MF’ers! Happy Easter!