A US airman has spoken of climbing a 7,000ft ridge with a broken back, arm and shoulder after he was shot down in Iran – and of being rescued by a team of American special forces as hostile locals closed in on him. The air force colonel, identified only by his codename Bravo, appeared on camera Sunday night on CBS’s 60 Minutes in a segment some critics have labelled Pentagon propaganda to boost public perception of Donald Trump’s unpopular war. Pete Hegseth, the president’s defense secretary; Dan Caine, chair of the joint chiefs of staff; and Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command; all appeared on the show to talk about the rescue operation.
The airmen were recovered in April in an operation involving thousands of military personnel, including the elite Army Delta Force, Navy Seal Team Six, and a CIA decoy operation to distract and deceive Iranians chasing a bounty for their capture, the 60 Minutes segment said. Bravo, who was reportedly also initially hesitant to take part, told interviewer Norah O’Donnell that his aircraft was struck by an Iranian shoulder-fired missile – and he realized his parachute was damaged after he and his co-pilot ejected. And I prayed: ‘Lord, your will be done.
But if I’m getting through this, I need help.’” Bravo said he was unable to fully untangle his chute and hit the ground hard. In addition to the broken bones, Bravo said he also sustained a sprained ankle in the hard landing, and serious wounds to his head and face. Declassified video broadcast by 60 Minutes showed a “risky” daytime raid by US forces to rescue Alpha, who landed about 5 miles away from his colleague.
More than 20 helicopters took part in that operation – and the video showed two of them under fire. And then we began to, immediately, I mean you’re celebrating that Alpha’s back, but you realize the job’s only half done.” While Alpha was retrieved about six hours after they were shot down, Bravo’s ordeal lasted about 50 hours. OK, let’s keep planning.” US bombers and drones hit Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces nearby, according to CBS, which showed separate video of those attacks.
Two large search and rescue planes with special forces troops and small helicopters landed on a makeshift desert airstrip several miles from where Bravo was hiding. His first glimpse of the US soldiers was, he said, “one of the greatest moments of my life” – and came with about 1,500 Iranian personnel inside a 10-mile radius, Cooper said. The extraction did not conclude without incident.
One rescue plane became lodged in the desert sand, was abandoned and then bombed to avoid it falling into enemy hands. Cooper said more than 90 Americans were involved on the ground, supported by several hundred more in the air, and up to 5,000 people involved overall. CNN reported on Saturday that getting the airmen to appear on television was a priority for Hegseth, who was eager to present a success story in Trump’s ongoing war that has killed 18 US troops, wounded more than 800 and sent oil and gasoline prices soaring.
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