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SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A member of an elite Army helicopter unit was killed and two crew members suffered injuries when their aircraft slammed into the ground as they tried to land at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, a military spokesman said Thursday. The MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was returning from a routine training flight when it made a "hard landing" just before 11:30 p.m. Wednesday on or near the airstrip at the base in coastal Georgia, said Army Maj. Allen Hill, a spokesman for the crew's aviation unit. The three-man crew was assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation...

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — The Army has identified four soldiers killed in a helicopter training accident in Colorado. Those killed in Wednesday's crash were 40-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Terrance Geer, 41-year-old Chief Warrant Officer Robert Johnson, 33-year-old Staff Sgt. Paul Jackson and 28-year-old Staff Sgt. Chad Tucker. The soldiers identified Friday were all members of Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Fort Campbell. Army Special Operations Command officials say their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed while conducting mountain and environmental training near Colorado's second-highest summit, Mount Massive -snip-

LEADVILLE, Colorado — Four soldiers died after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training mission on Colorado's second-highest mountain, the Army's Special Operations Command said Thursday. The helicopter crashed Wednesday afternoon near the summit of 14,421-foot Mount Massive. The Army initially said two were killed, one was injured and one was missing. The missing man was found dead late Wednesday, and the injured man died on the way to the hospital Wednesday, said Lt. Col. John Clearwater, a spokesman for the command at Fort Bragg, N.C. All were male soldiers from Fort Campbell, Ky., he said. Their names haven't...

Profiles of valor: USA CWO Cooper On the afternoon of 27 November 2006, Chief Warrant Officer 5 David Cooper of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment—the “Night Stalkers” —was leading a formation of six helicopters north of Baghdad. The formation comprised two AH-6 Little Bird attack helicopters (one flown by Cooper), two MH-6 troop-carrying Little Birds, and two MH-60 Black Hawks carrying Special Operations soldiers. When the formation was 50 kilometers from Baghdad, Cooper heard his wingman shout “Mayday!” An insurgent had hit the helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade, severing the tail rotor. Despite the damage, Cooper’s wingman was able...

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The White House announced Oct. 11 that the family of U.S. Navy SEAL, Lt. Michael P. Murphy will be presented the U.S. Navy Medal of Honor, awarded posthumously, during a ceremony at the White House Oct. 22. The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military award for valor in action against an enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Murphy’s father, Daniel, will accept the award on behalf of his son. Murphy will receive the award for his extraordinary, selfless heroism and steadfast courage while...

This is a "headsup" for a couple of books being covered on BookTV (C-Span2 weekends). I'd say these two books fall in the general category of "fighting the savages". The Night Stalkers is written by Michael Durant, the downed helicopter pilot held captive by Aideed during the "Blackhawk Done" incident. The "Becoming Charlemange..." book sounds like it might be an interesting coverage on how Europe was stictched together.

On September 13, 2006, at a solemn ceremony at the U.S. Navy’s “Lone Sailor” Memorial in our Nation’s capital, a crowd of 300 friends, family, and warriors gathered to watch and hear the Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter, honor the lives and sacrifices of our two most recent Navy Cross heroes by presenting posthumous medals to the wives of Gunner’s Mate Second Class (Sea, Air and Land (SEAL)) Danny P. Dietz, and Sonar Technician Second Class (SEAL) Matthew G. Axelson, United States Navy. -snip- Petty Officers Dietz and Axelson were part of a four-man Special Reconnaissance ground element...

The last radio contact was an urgent appeal for help. Night was falling, a rainstorm threatening, and four U.S. Navy SEAL commandos were surrounded by about a dozen militants in rugged, wooded mountains. They needed reinforcements. That hurried call set in motion a chain of events that would lead to the U.S. military's deadliest blow in Afghanistan, and the greatest loss of life ever for the elite force of SEALs. Nine days after the ambush and subsequent downing of a U.S. special forces helicopter with 16 troops aboard, U.S military officials in Kabul and Washington are starting to draw...

RELEASE NUMBER: 041001-01DATE POSTED: OCTOBER 1, 2004 Special ops crewmen get Army award for heroic in-flight actions By Kelly Tyler160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) Public Affairs Office FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (USASOC News Service, Oct. 1, 2004) — Two 2nd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) crewmembers received the Army Aviation Broken Wing Award here Sept. 29. The award was given for heroic actions taken by Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Hemp and Spc. Lucas E. Dunaway in Afghanistan in October 2002. A third award was given to Chief Warrant Officer David Gross earlier this year for the same...

Sunday, August 29, 2004 Atsugi welcomes returning unit By Juliana Gittler, Stars and StripesPacific edition, Sunday, August 29, 2004 Courtesy of U.S. Navy Lt. Shaun Lynch and family — wife Jessica, six-year-old daughter Siena, and two-year-old Isabella — embrace Friday after he returned from a five-month deployment. Courtesy of U.S. Navy Four-year-old Dominick plays with his father, Petty Officer 1st Class Marlon Chavez, Friday after the sailor returned from a five-month deployment. Courtesy of U.S. Navy Lt. Bobby Maslar hugs his wife Tamara after returning from a five-month deployment on Friday. Courtesy of U.S. Navy Four-year-old Alexa hugs her dad,...

For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.   Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!     US Special Forces (Click on the graphics for links to sources and additional information) Part IV - A: DELTA FORCE Part IV - B: 160th SOAR"These are guys that are putting their lives on the line, taking on some very serious bad guys. The less anyone knows about the unit, the better." — Former Delta Force soldier quoted in Stars and Stripes. WHO ARE THEY: The super-secret...

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - The FBI has put a swarm of eyes in the skies. More than 80 aircraft - some equipped with night surveillance and eavesdropping equipment - are tracking and collecting intelligence on suspected terrorists and other criminals, a sharp increase since the 2001 attacks. "You want to watch activity and you want to do it discreetly - you don't want to be sitting around in cars," said Weldon Kennedy, a former FBI deputy director. "Aviation is one way to do that. You don't need to get close to that person at all," he said. Among...

<p>WASHINGTON — The FBI has a fleet of aircraft, some equipped with night surveillance and eavesdropping equipment, flying America's skies to track and collect intelligence on suspected terrorists and other criminals.</p> <p>The FBI will not provide exact figures on the planes and helicopters, but more than 80 are in the skies. There are several planes, known as "Nightstalkers," equipped with infrared devices that allow agents to track people and vehicles in the dark.</p>

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- The four soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan were all members of an elite aviation regiment based at Fort Campbell, military officials said Friday. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment -- known as the Night Stalkers -- was one of the first units deployed to fight in Operation Enduring Freedom, America's war on terrorism. "These men gave their lives in the defense of freedom, doing what they loved most, flying with the 160th," Lt. Col. Emmett Shaffer, the regiment's deputy commander, said Friday. "I ask for your prayers, both for those we have lost,...