screen and the Al Qaeda on the right. There were about fifteen men wearing white sheets and wielding AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The grainy, gray video painted an unmistakable picture.
Navy SEAL Jergens was a dead man if something didn’t happen in the next two minutes. Eversoll felt like he was watching a thriller movie. His palms were sweating, and he could feel himself wishing someone would help the American trapped on the mountaintop.
“ Here comes Colonel Garrett’s aircraft.” Rampert pointed to the UAV video feed. “You can see the AC-130 is still focused on separating the AQ from Jergens.”
“ Doing a pretty good job, sir.” Eversoll had not followed this portion of the picture when he had originally listened to the fight. The AC-130 was providing pinpoint accurate fires, killing the enemy. He could see six or seven dark masses lying in the snow.
“ Roger, now watch what happens here.”
Eversoll saw the second MH-47 come hurtling in toward the very same landing zone the first helicopter had tried. As the aircraft slowed and flared in its descent, the ramp was already down. Four men spilled out of the aircraft to the left and three to the right. About the time Eversoll noticed two men running straight off the back ramp, snow enveloped the entire helicopter.
“ That has to be Colonel Garrett and Sergeant Honeywell,” Eversoll said with conviction.
“ I agree. Honeywell’s the biggest soldier we’ve got, and Garrett’s the kind of guy who would go get Jergens. The radio transmissions tell us that Colonel Garrett ordered Rampage to continue to isolate the enemy. We heard the MH-47 pilots from Garrett’s aircraft tell the pilots from the first aircraft that they were recovering Jergens and then aborting the mission.”
The video streams continued. The AC-130 was clearly focused on destroying the enemy, though they seemed to be able to find good cover and then rush for a few seconds, finding good protection again. The UAV video was solely focused on the helicopter. The blurring white snow would fade just a second and then become thicker than before. Eversoll could clearly see Colonel Garrett emerge from the whiteout with Honeywell at his side.
Honeywell stopped to shoot as the colonel rushed toward a dark spot in the snow—the man that was probably Jergens. The UAV operator must have zoomed in during this section of the film, because Eversoll could see Colonel Garrett clearly now, yelling and shaking something near his chest. Suddenly a suicide Al Qaeda slipped through Rampage’s wall of fire, leaping over the rock providing cover for the two Americans. Eversoll clenched his fists in pride as Colonel Garrett whipped out his knife and impaled the would-be attacker on its sharp edge. Colonel Garrett quickly slipped Jergens into a fireman’s carry. Jergens was firing his M4 as best he could. They ran past Honeywell, who then began to backpedal.
“ Way to go, sir,” Eversoll whispered. He noticed he was sweating now. The film was coming to the part he wasn’t sure he was ready to see. He remembered seeing replays of the Challenger shuttle explosion, and even though he had only been one or two when the tragedy had occurred, he still found it hard to watch. There was something unsettling to him about the confirmation that comes with witnessing the moment of tragic death.
Honeywell, Jergens, and Colonel Garrett all reentered the snow haze around the aircraft. The AC-130 tape remained focused on the Al Qaeda fighters. Eversoll could see about twelve dark masses lying on the ground, presumably dead. On the UAV video, the whiteout had ebbed enough for him to see Honeywell leap up onto the ramp, pulling the wounded Jergens from Colonel Garrett’s shoulders.
Eversoll found himself thinking, What could go wrong; the hard part is over? Just take off. He was clutching the table now with both of his hands. He felt Rampert’s hand on his shoulder.
The whiteout reappeared in full force,
Navy SEAL Jergens was a dead man if something didn’t happen in the next two minutes. Eversoll felt like he was watching a thriller movie. His palms were sweating, and he could feel himself wishing someone would help the American trapped on the mountaintop.
“ Here comes Colonel Garrett’s aircraft.” Rampert pointed to the UAV video feed. “You can see the AC-130 is still focused on separating the AQ from Jergens.”
“ Doing a pretty good job, sir.” Eversoll had not followed this portion of the picture when he had originally listened to the fight. The AC-130 was providing pinpoint accurate fires, killing the enemy. He could see six or seven dark masses lying in the snow.
“ Roger, now watch what happens here.”
Eversoll saw the second MH-47 come hurtling in toward the very same landing zone the first helicopter had tried. As the aircraft slowed and flared in its descent, the ramp was already down. Four men spilled out of the aircraft to the left and three to the right. About the time Eversoll noticed two men running straight off the back ramp, snow enveloped the entire helicopter.
“ That has to be Colonel Garrett and Sergeant Honeywell,” Eversoll said with conviction.
“ I agree. Honeywell’s the biggest soldier we’ve got, and Garrett’s the kind of guy who would go get Jergens. The radio transmissions tell us that Colonel Garrett ordered Rampage to continue to isolate the enemy. We heard the MH-47 pilots from Garrett’s aircraft tell the pilots from the first aircraft that they were recovering Jergens and then aborting the mission.”
The video streams continued. The AC-130 was clearly focused on destroying the enemy, though they seemed to be able to find good cover and then rush for a few seconds, finding good protection again. The UAV video was solely focused on the helicopter. The blurring white snow would fade just a second and then become thicker than before. Eversoll could clearly see Colonel Garrett emerge from the whiteout with Honeywell at his side.
Honeywell stopped to shoot as the colonel rushed toward a dark spot in the snow—the man that was probably Jergens. The UAV operator must have zoomed in during this section of the film, because Eversoll could see Colonel Garrett clearly now, yelling and shaking something near his chest. Suddenly a suicide Al Qaeda slipped through Rampage’s wall of fire, leaping over the rock providing cover for the two Americans. Eversoll clenched his fists in pride as Colonel Garrett whipped out his knife and impaled the would-be attacker on its sharp edge. Colonel Garrett quickly slipped Jergens into a fireman’s carry. Jergens was firing his M4 as best he could. They ran past Honeywell, who then began to backpedal.
“ Way to go, sir,” Eversoll whispered. He noticed he was sweating now. The film was coming to the part he wasn’t sure he was ready to see. He remembered seeing replays of the Challenger shuttle explosion, and even though he had only been one or two when the tragedy had occurred, he still found it hard to watch. There was something unsettling to him about the confirmation that comes with witnessing the moment of tragic death.
Honeywell, Jergens, and Colonel Garrett all reentered the snow haze around the aircraft. The AC-130 tape remained focused on the Al Qaeda fighters. Eversoll could see about twelve dark masses lying on the ground, presumably dead. On the UAV video, the whiteout had ebbed enough for him to see Honeywell leap up onto the ramp, pulling the wounded Jergens from Colonel Garrett’s shoulders.
Eversoll found himself thinking, What could go wrong; the hard part is over? Just take off. He was clutching the table now with both of his hands. He felt Rampert’s hand on his shoulder.
The whiteout reappeared in full force,
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