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Downloaded from
YTS.MX
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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[intense music]
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00:00:28,741 --> 00:00:32,954
Eight, nine, ten...
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00:00:40,253 --> 00:00:43,673
[indistinct radio chatter]
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00:00:43,798 --> 00:00:46,676
[Kristi] Colossal 31,
it was an NVG mission,
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00:00:46,801 --> 00:00:49,595
night vision goggles,
which means we're
flying at night time
8
00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,807
using nothing but the, uh,
binoculars that we had.
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00:00:52,932 --> 00:00:55,935
-[pilot 1 ] 4143,
you're in the group.
-[pilot 2] South.
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00:01:00,523 --> 00:01:02,233
[Kristi] We had a Chinook unit
that was attached to us
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00:01:02,358 --> 00:01:04,235
called the Washington
Air National Guard,
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00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:06,612
who had been going
in and out of the same LZ
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00:01:06,737 --> 00:01:08,823
during the day time,
weeks prior.
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00:01:08,948 --> 00:01:11,158
So when they heard that we were
gonna be coming out of Bagram
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00:01:11,284 --> 00:01:13,536
doing it under NVGs, they kinda
called us up and said,
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"Don't do it, because it's
really high on the ridgeline,
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00:01:16,455 --> 00:01:19,000
very high winds,
and a very steep valley".
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00:01:19,125 --> 00:01:22,003
But the Ground Force Commander
wanted to be exfilled
under NVGs.
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00:01:22,128 --> 00:01:26,007
-[helicopter whirring]
-[radio chatter]
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00:01:27,425 --> 00:01:30,845
[Kristi] So with that being
said, we put our most
experienced pilot
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00:01:30,970 --> 00:01:33,764
in command on board, we put
our most experienced PI,
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00:01:33,889 --> 00:01:36,726
and we put four crew members
in the back, not just three.
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[control] You got a bad filter?
Hold your fort.
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00:01:42,231 --> 00:01:45,610
- Hold her down.
-[pilot] Roger that.
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00:01:45,735 --> 00:01:47,987
[pilot] Dropping back down
to about 500 AGO.
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-[control] Maintain it at 81.
- Okay.
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00:01:57,288 --> 00:02:02,043
[pilot] Copy that, 06.
Looks like we're
about two clicks from the LZ.
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00:02:03,419 --> 00:02:08,007
[indistinct radio chatter]
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00:02:10,259 --> 00:02:12,428
We've only got 364 days to go.
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00:02:16,599 --> 00:02:21,312
The winds were pretty high,
the landing zone
was essentially
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00:02:21,437 --> 00:02:27,068
a rock ledge that was
probably 20 meters wide.
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00:02:27,234 --> 00:02:29,737
[control] Colossal 31,
be careful on the approach,
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00:02:29,862 --> 00:02:32,531
I see a lot of trees
on that ridge line.
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00:02:32,657 --> 00:02:38,496
What the pilots were trying
to do was back in
with the ramp down,
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00:02:38,621 --> 00:02:43,250
put the lip of the ramp
on the rock, uh, ledge,
have the LRAS team,
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I believe was seven people,
uh, come onto
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the Chinook and then,
uh, fly away.
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00:02:52,218 --> 00:02:54,637
[Kristi] They had to do
a tailgate landing.
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00:02:54,762 --> 00:02:58,432
It's something we'd practiced,
it's in our ATM, this is
what we do.
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00:02:58,557 --> 00:03:00,059
[pilot] Alright,
I'm bringing her down.
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00:03:03,729 --> 00:03:05,731
[alarm beeping]
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[control] Keep it steady,
keep it steady.
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00:03:09,443 --> 00:03:10,820
-[Kristi] So, we were
tearing there.
-[camera clicking]
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00:03:10,945 --> 00:03:13,823
They kinda started drifting aft.
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00:03:18,494 --> 00:03:19,870
[alarm beeping]
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[control] It's coming awful
close to that tree line,
Colossal 31.
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[helicopter whirring]
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00:03:34,051 --> 00:03:35,344
[pilot] We're right
on the ridge.
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00:03:36,387 --> 00:03:40,725
-[alarm beeping]
-[whirring intensifies]
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00:03:40,850 --> 00:03:43,853
-[engine whining]
-[indistinct radio chatter]
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[control] A massive,31.
Come in, come in.
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00:03:46,313 --> 00:03:47,857
[whirring, rattling noises]
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00:03:48,899 --> 00:03:51,861
[dramatic musical sting]
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00:03:55,906 --> 00:03:56,949
[helicopter whirring]
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00:04:05,541 --> 00:04:08,419
[Kristi]
Back at Bagram, probably
about eleven o'clock at night,
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00:04:08,544 --> 00:04:12,673
our SP knocked on the doors
and said that, uh,
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00:04:12,798 --> 00:04:15,426
Eric Totten's aircraft
went down.
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00:04:16,635 --> 00:04:19,096
The aft rotor system hit a tree,
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00:04:19,221 --> 00:04:21,182
causing the forward
and the aft rotor system
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00:04:21,307 --> 00:04:24,935
to collide and completely tore
apart the entire helicopter.
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00:04:25,978 --> 00:04:28,564
Nobody survived,
we lost all ten.
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00:04:28,689 --> 00:04:30,900
There was nothing but burning
embers at the bottom
of the valley.
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00:04:32,985 --> 00:04:35,780
We were in disbelief that like,
"This cannot be happening
right now."
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00:04:39,492 --> 00:04:40,659
[sighs]
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00:04:41,786 --> 00:04:42,870
We were all listening.
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00:04:44,163 --> 00:04:46,165
We were listening
for our friends to come home.
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00:04:51,629 --> 00:04:52,880
And they never came home.
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00:04:53,005 --> 00:04:55,466
[emotional music]
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00:05:14,610 --> 00:05:17,947
What happened with the Apache?
They left our friends.
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00:05:18,072 --> 00:05:21,200
[ominous music]
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00:05:24,578 --> 00:05:27,081
So, this is all the stuff
I have from Afghanistan
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00:05:27,206 --> 00:05:30,376
and, and my time
of active duty in the army.
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00:05:30,501 --> 00:05:32,837
This is the actual patch
that we had on our flight suits,
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00:05:32,962 --> 00:05:35,214
it says, "Ugly but well hung".
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00:05:35,339 --> 00:05:37,591
This is 10th Mountain's,
a patch they gave to us.
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00:05:37,716 --> 00:05:40,970
The Apache, the Hawk and the,
and the Chinook right there.
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[tense music]
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00:05:53,232 --> 00:05:54,984
So, they came in that night,
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00:05:55,109 --> 00:05:56,694
we're standing in between
our B Huts outside,
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00:05:56,819 --> 00:05:58,487
it was already getting dark
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00:05:58,612 --> 00:06:00,948
and the captain starts
telling us about what happened.
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00:06:02,700 --> 00:06:04,910
He starts telling us that,
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00:06:05,035 --> 00:06:08,581
"I guess you heard,
the Chinook crashed last night.
84
00:06:08,706 --> 00:06:12,209
And those guys pretty much
killed themselves and everybody
on board",
85
00:06:12,334 --> 00:06:15,546
and he came across blaming them.
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00:06:17,172 --> 00:06:22,261
Sat there for... what seemed
like forever, I think,
"What, what the hell?
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00:06:23,470 --> 00:06:25,306
That's-- that's horrible."
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00:06:25,472 --> 00:06:26,932
And he said, "No,
that's not the worst of it."
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00:06:27,933 --> 00:06:30,853
You know, you--
"What do you mean
that's not the worst of it?"
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00:06:30,978 --> 00:06:35,524
So, he goes, " 10th Mountain's
blaming us, the Apaches,
for leaving them.
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00:06:35,649 --> 00:06:39,945
Your buddies left them."
At that point he said like,
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00:06:40,070 --> 00:06:42,489
"If y'all hear anything
from 10th Mountain
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00:06:42,615 --> 00:06:45,284
bad about us, just ignore them.
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00:06:45,409 --> 00:06:46,911
They don't know
what they're talking about."
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00:06:47,036 --> 00:06:48,203
And at that point,
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00:06:49,413 --> 00:06:52,541
my blood pressure was
through the roof.
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00:06:52,666 --> 00:06:54,084
I pointed at the captain
and told him,
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00:06:54,209 --> 00:06:55,544
"Who the fuck are you
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00:06:56,462 --> 00:06:58,881
to bad-mouth
American troops like that?
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00:06:59,006 --> 00:07:01,091
Who the hell are you
to leave American troops
on that mountain.
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00:07:01,216 --> 00:07:05,804
Don't you ever do that.
How dare you leave
our guys like that?"
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00:07:08,390 --> 00:07:12,061
I read that every now and then
to remind me also that
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00:07:12,186 --> 00:07:14,438
you got to watch out
for everybody else in life.
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00:07:16,315 --> 00:07:19,526
"He called upon us all
the sum of his knowledge
and made a judgment.
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00:07:19,652 --> 00:07:24,031
He believed in it so strongly
that he knowingly bet
his life on it.
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00:07:24,156 --> 00:07:26,992
That he was
mistaken in his judgment
is a tragedy, not stupidity.
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00:07:28,702 --> 00:07:31,163
Every supervisor
and contemporary who ever spoke
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to him, had an opportunity
to influence his judgment,
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00:07:34,959 --> 00:07:37,628
so a little bit of all of us
goes in with every troop
we lose."
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00:07:37,753 --> 00:07:40,923
[emotional music]
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00:07:46,095 --> 00:07:47,680
Now, got to read that,
every now and then.
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00:07:52,977 --> 00:07:56,188
[tense music]
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00:08:03,153 --> 00:08:05,906
[Deadwood] I haven't been up
here since these guys started
shooting and stuff
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00:08:06,031 --> 00:08:07,741
-[copilot] Oh really?
-[Deadwood] Yeah.
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00:08:08,742 --> 00:08:11,245
[Deadwood] Won't be surprised
if we find some RPGs in
that woodpile down there.
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00:08:19,628 --> 00:08:22,381
[Deadwood] Stay to the right
here, till we can get over
this thing, if not we can make
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00:08:22,506 --> 00:08:25,384
a left turn. Don't descend
unless you have to, alright?
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00:08:25,509 --> 00:08:30,305
-[copilot] Roger.
- Keep the altitude that we got.
[indistinct]
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00:08:33,434 --> 00:08:37,104
[Anthony] What we were being
told to expect coming
into Afghanistan
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00:08:38,230 --> 00:08:41,108
was that the insurgency
was ba-- basically broken.
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00:09:03,922 --> 00:09:04,798
[Dog] Roger and over.
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00:09:06,592 --> 00:09:10,971
[Anthony] So we'd turn on
the lights, we found a lot
of Taliban and Al-Qaeda,
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00:09:11,096 --> 00:09:15,392
and all of a sudden,
we were in contact
just about everywhere.
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00:09:24,193 --> 00:09:25,819
[whooshing sound]
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00:09:27,279 --> 00:09:28,155
Shit.
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00:09:29,364 --> 00:09:34,453
[radio chatter] I'm taking
fire. Just [indistinct]...
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00:09:35,370 --> 00:09:40,084
Yeah, pick up your speed
as fast as you can.
It's really not good up here.
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00:09:40,209 --> 00:09:46,590
[indistinct radio chatter]
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00:09:46,715 --> 00:09:49,426
[indistinct radio chatter]
Nobody up here.
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00:09:50,969 --> 00:09:55,474
[indistinct radio chatter]
We just received fire
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00:09:55,599 --> 00:09:59,103
about two clicks east
of the Lumberyard--
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00:09:59,228 --> 00:10:04,525
-[rockets firing]
-[indistinct radio chatter]
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00:10:06,568 --> 00:10:09,738
[Vandal] That looked
to be a direct hit,
good shooting, Deadwood.
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00:10:14,243 --> 00:10:17,246
[tense music]
135
00:10:24,670 --> 00:10:26,880
[Flores] We were not making
friends when we first
started, so...
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00:10:27,798 --> 00:10:30,926
God help us.
We've got ten months left,
137
00:10:31,051 --> 00:10:32,553
and it will be brutal.
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00:10:34,179 --> 00:10:36,640
We had to be perfect.
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00:10:44,314 --> 00:10:47,860
On this day,
it was a day mission, we were
just to follow several Chinooks
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00:10:47,985 --> 00:10:51,113
as they made it to the different
FOBs dropping off different
things and people.
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00:10:55,826 --> 00:10:59,872
Yeah, Deadwood 6-3,
uh, coming in from the West.
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00:10:59,997 --> 00:11:03,250
We'd like to uh,
open up their [indistinct]
range, give it a sweep here.
143
00:11:03,375 --> 00:11:06,712
- [indistinct radio chatter]
-[control] Roger that.
144
00:11:11,550 --> 00:11:13,510
We're flying across
the Gardez Desert.
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00:11:15,596 --> 00:11:20,225
I was looking around
and just at that point...
[inhales deeply]
146
00:11:20,350 --> 00:11:25,898
...I was thinking, "Jesus,
what is wrong?" It was
like a solid rush of heat.
147
00:11:26,023 --> 00:11:27,107
[white noise]
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00:11:30,903 --> 00:11:32,571
-[white noise]
-[Flores] Something's
going wrong here,
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00:11:32,696 --> 00:11:35,240
something-- I wanna get out
of the helicopter.
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00:11:35,365 --> 00:11:38,118
-[white noise]
-[TV anchor] The Apache
helicopter went down
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00:11:38,243 --> 00:11:41,288
while trying to land
at the Montgomery
County Airport.
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00:11:41,413 --> 00:11:46,501
Jeez, we're roasting across
the desert floor at 120 knots.
153
00:11:46,627 --> 00:11:47,794
[whirring and white noise]
154
00:11:51,173 --> 00:11:52,883
If I just get out of here,
all I got to do,
155
00:11:53,008 --> 00:11:54,927
all I got to do is just--
[white noise]
156
00:11:55,052 --> 00:11:57,846
Maybe just open the door
and jump out-- jump out.
[distorted voice]
157
00:11:57,971 --> 00:11:59,973
[TV reporter] Daniel Flores'
chopper went down.
158
00:12:00,098 --> 00:12:02,392
I got a hotspot under my helmet,
I got to change my helmet here.
159
00:12:02,517 --> 00:12:04,061
- I got to move my helmet around.
-[white noise]
160
00:12:04,186 --> 00:12:05,896
- Jesus, I got to get out of here.
-[white noise]
161
00:12:06,021 --> 00:12:07,731
[distorted voice]
How did I even drive home?
162
00:12:09,191 --> 00:12:10,984
My wife will wake me up
any minute now.
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00:12:11,109 --> 00:12:12,569
[high pitch noise]
164
00:12:14,363 --> 00:12:17,449
- And I'm like Jesus.
-[white noise]
165
00:12:17,574 --> 00:12:19,368
Just take a deep breath.
Just take a deep breath.
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00:12:19,493 --> 00:12:21,453
- I got to get out of here.
This is--
-[white noise]
167
00:12:21,578 --> 00:12:24,164
[inhales deeply] Just take
a deep breath.
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00:12:29,461 --> 00:12:35,300
That was
my first bout of what would
later become claustrophobia,
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00:12:35,425 --> 00:12:38,845
anxiety and anxiety attacks
that go with it.
170
00:12:38,971 --> 00:12:41,223
That was the first time I'd ever
experienced something like that.
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00:12:42,474 --> 00:12:44,685
[TV reporter] Somewhere
in the crumpled metal
of the Apache helicopter
172
00:12:44,810 --> 00:12:48,272
lies a clue as to what made it
fall from the sky.
173
00:12:49,356 --> 00:12:51,566
[Flores] We set up to do
traffic patterns.
174
00:12:51,692 --> 00:12:53,527
I was doing the flying
from the front seat.
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00:12:54,987 --> 00:12:57,823
Just as I was
about to reduce power to land
176
00:12:57,948 --> 00:13:00,117
to the approach end
of runway 1 -4,
177
00:13:00,242 --> 00:13:02,369
a Learjet calls up
on the radio saying,
178
00:13:02,494 --> 00:13:06,290
"Montgomery County traffic,
this is Learjet 6-5 Charlie.
179
00:13:06,415 --> 00:13:10,585
We are four mile final
for runway 1 -4."
180
00:13:10,711 --> 00:13:14,131
I was thinking, "Yeah,
this guy is gonna be bearing
down on us pretty fast".
181
00:13:14,256 --> 00:13:17,551
So as I'm starting to slow down,
even more to land,
182
00:13:17,676 --> 00:13:21,179
Tommy's thinking the same thing.
He took the flight controls,
183
00:13:21,305 --> 00:13:23,181
and we went forward
a little bit.
184
00:13:23,307 --> 00:13:25,392
-[alarm beeping]
-[Flores] That's
the last thing I remember.
185
00:13:30,230 --> 00:13:32,441
[TV reporter] Less than five
minutes after take-off,
186
00:13:32,566 --> 00:13:35,902
the chopper fell to the ground,
it's landing gear mired
in the mud.
187
00:13:36,028 --> 00:13:40,657
Chief warrant officers,
Daniel Flores and Thomas Einhorn
were shaken up in the crash.
188
00:13:40,782 --> 00:13:43,410
Both were taken to Medical
Center Hospital in Conroe,
189
00:13:43,535 --> 00:13:45,704
put under observation,
then released.
190
00:13:46,621 --> 00:13:50,667
How did I survive?
Literally by the grace of God.
191
00:13:53,295 --> 00:13:57,174
[Flores] That was in August
when I had that first bout
of anxiety.
192
00:13:58,508 --> 00:14:00,218
I went and saw
the flight surgeon.
193
00:14:01,303 --> 00:14:03,555
He-- I told him
what was going on.
194
00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:06,600
He worked with me a little bit,
not much. He just said,
"You, uh,
195
00:14:06,725 --> 00:14:09,895
you got to learn to live with it,
or you want me to take you
off flight status?"
196
00:14:10,020 --> 00:14:12,064
And there was no way
I could do that. So...
197
00:14:13,190 --> 00:14:15,233
I did what we all do
in the military.
198
00:14:16,443 --> 00:14:17,986
I fought through it.
199
00:14:18,111 --> 00:14:21,114
[intense music]
200
00:14:29,164 --> 00:14:33,502
On that day,
early October 2006, we had
already set the aircraft up,
201
00:14:33,627 --> 00:14:38,131
as we call them, we cocked
them up for the QRF,
quick reaction force.
202
00:14:38,256 --> 00:14:41,093
We'd just sit around and wait
for the radios to come alive,
to go help somebody.
203
00:14:43,220 --> 00:14:47,349
We were in the chow hall
and our Icom radios came
to life.
204
00:14:47,474 --> 00:14:51,228
The Apache crew Deadwood
launch the QRF right now.
205
00:14:51,353 --> 00:14:52,729
We all looked at the radio,
going like,
206
00:14:53,814 --> 00:14:56,566
"Are they serious?
This has never happened before."
207
00:14:59,319 --> 00:15:02,781
We ran across the flight line.
The other Apache on the QRF,
208
00:15:02,906 --> 00:15:07,035
they were already sitting
at 100 percent RPMs,
waiting for me.
209
00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,037
[Deadwood] Clear right,
clear left. Clear.
210
00:15:09,162 --> 00:15:11,665
[Ross] We were stationed
at Bagram at the time.
211
00:15:11,790 --> 00:15:15,168
Most of our QRF missions were
just escorting Medivacs.
212
00:15:15,293 --> 00:15:17,796
So, it was a little odd
that we were actually dispatched
213
00:15:17,921 --> 00:15:21,842
to a firefight
in the Tagab valley,
because as far as we know,
214
00:15:22,008 --> 00:15:24,886
at the time,
the Tagab was quiet.
215
00:15:32,811 --> 00:15:35,439
[music fades out]
216
00:15:37,065 --> 00:15:38,942
[engine idling]
217
00:15:39,067 --> 00:15:41,528
[speaking Dari]
218
00:15:51,955 --> 00:15:54,332
October 14th was
our first mission
219
00:15:54,458 --> 00:15:57,419
to roll down
through the Valley of Tagab,
220
00:15:57,544 --> 00:16:02,174
and meet with the senior
members of the village,
and conduct a jirga.
221
00:16:05,218 --> 00:16:09,139
And we were also taking
along a donation of, um,
school supplies,
222
00:16:09,264 --> 00:16:12,267
that we were gonna pass along
to the children of the village.
223
00:16:18,148 --> 00:16:21,067
I had turned 50 in 2006.
224
00:16:21,985 --> 00:16:22,986
[camera clicking]
225
00:16:24,196 --> 00:16:27,491
[Best]
And I arrived in Afghanistan.
I was not assigned to a unit.
226
00:16:27,616 --> 00:16:29,075
[camera clicking]
227
00:16:29,201 --> 00:16:32,621
[Best] I was a forces
command fill,
228
00:16:32,746 --> 00:16:36,708
because they needed embedded
tactical trainers, ETTs.
229
00:16:36,833 --> 00:16:37,751
[camera clicking]
230
00:16:38,877 --> 00:16:42,422
[Hall] The job as an ETT,
as an embedded tactical
trainer is--
231
00:16:42,547 --> 00:16:45,008
you're supposed to embed
with the Afghan army,
232
00:16:45,133 --> 00:16:48,136
and you-- you liaise
between the US military
233
00:16:48,261 --> 00:16:49,721
and the Afghan military.
234
00:16:51,097 --> 00:16:54,935
We were two-man
teams, one officer
and one senior enlisted.
235
00:16:55,060 --> 00:16:58,730
"Hall and Best, you go over
there and you guys report
to your unit",
236
00:16:58,855 --> 00:17:01,858
and we reported, and they said,
"Okay, you guys are just
gonna be paired up."
237
00:17:01,983 --> 00:17:03,026
It's total happenstance.
238
00:17:03,151 --> 00:17:05,403
[gunfire]
239
00:17:05,529 --> 00:17:08,907
[Anthony] You would have these
teams embedded and 100
240
00:17:09,032 --> 00:17:11,952
to 200 Afghan national
army personnel, you know.
241
00:17:12,118 --> 00:17:13,578
[speaking Dari]
242
00:17:13,703 --> 00:17:17,415
Because only once
you've got them sufficient
243
00:17:17,541 --> 00:17:21,545
to where they could secure
and govern themselves,
could we leave.
244
00:17:24,548 --> 00:17:28,760
[Best] When we left Nijrab,
my vehicle was commanded
by Lieutenant Hall,
245
00:17:28,885 --> 00:17:31,513
he was sitting
in the team chiefs' seat,
246
00:17:31,638 --> 00:17:34,641
and then I was the gunner
in the, uh, turret.
247
00:17:36,017 --> 00:17:38,937
And we had Naser
as our interpreter in the back,
248
00:17:39,062 --> 00:17:41,273
with radios to allow us
to communicate
249
00:17:41,398 --> 00:17:43,942
with the Afghan forces
that we were working with.
250
00:17:45,318 --> 00:17:48,363
[Naser] I was a civilian
contractor. When I was working
251
00:17:48,488 --> 00:17:50,991
with the coalition forces
and NATO,
252
00:17:51,157 --> 00:17:53,243
my position was an interpreter,
253
00:17:53,368 --> 00:17:55,370
and I was doing
language services.
254
00:17:55,495 --> 00:17:57,956
-[camera clicking]
-[Hall] Naser was,
was one of those kids
255
00:17:58,081 --> 00:18:01,501
who loves his country so much,
he loves Afghanistan so much...
256
00:18:01,626 --> 00:18:04,879
-[camera clicking]
-...that he did
whatever he could to help out.
257
00:18:05,005 --> 00:18:07,007
It wasn't
about the paycheck with him.
258
00:18:07,173 --> 00:18:09,884
It was all about helping
his country.
259
00:18:10,010 --> 00:18:13,013
[intense music]
260
00:18:14,556 --> 00:18:17,100
[engine roaring]
261
00:18:18,810 --> 00:18:19,686
[camera clicking]
262
00:18:20,812 --> 00:18:23,106
[Hall] In Afghanistan,
in the villages as soon as
263
00:18:23,231 --> 00:18:25,442
the light's up and after prayer,
they open up shop
264
00:18:25,567 --> 00:18:27,485
and they close
when they wanna close.
265
00:18:27,611 --> 00:18:30,864
-[camera clicking]
- Uh, so, when we were
going down through,
266
00:18:30,989 --> 00:18:31,865
no shops were open.
267
00:18:31,990 --> 00:18:35,160
[camera clicking]
268
00:18:35,285 --> 00:18:38,371
As we moved through
the little village of Afghania,
269
00:18:38,496 --> 00:18:43,335
we noticed that the kids
weren't out there waving,
giving us thumbs up.
270
00:18:43,460 --> 00:18:46,546
We started seeing women
and children running
from the fields.
271
00:18:46,671 --> 00:18:47,631
[camera clicking]
272
00:18:48,923 --> 00:18:50,550
We continued on up the road
273
00:18:50,675 --> 00:18:53,303
and there was an Afghan
National Police post
274
00:18:53,428 --> 00:18:56,723
that you could always see
Afghan National Police
walking on top of.
275
00:18:56,848 --> 00:18:58,683
[camera clicking]
276
00:18:58,808 --> 00:19:01,478
[Best] The building was
completely abandoned.
277
00:19:02,896 --> 00:19:06,191
So that kind of put your Spidey
senses on tingle a little bit.
278
00:19:08,401 --> 00:19:11,071
[Best] As we roll
past that post,
279
00:19:11,196 --> 00:19:14,449
the Afghan commander
stopped the vehicle
280
00:19:14,574 --> 00:19:17,077
and was calling Naser,
281
00:19:17,243 --> 00:19:19,579
our interpreter on the radio,
and telling us to stop.
282
00:19:21,122 --> 00:19:25,794
Uh, so, I asked them
what's going on. He said,
"Enemy, enemy".
283
00:19:27,253 --> 00:19:28,546
[Best] Stop right here.
284
00:19:31,549 --> 00:19:34,552
[Hall] The Afghan commander
comes out, he walked out,
285
00:19:34,678 --> 00:19:37,097
he snatched the Dragon
off Sniper Rifle.
286
00:19:37,263 --> 00:19:39,599
He stuck it into
a hole in a compound.
287
00:19:41,810 --> 00:19:42,936
[knob clicking]
288
00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,274
[tense music]
289
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:49,484
[safe clicks]
290
00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,323
[intense musical buildup]
291
00:19:58,368 --> 00:20:00,578
[two gunshots]
292
00:20:03,998 --> 00:20:06,835
And he gets back out and smiles
and looks at me and goes,
293
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:08,128
"Two. I got two."
294
00:20:09,838 --> 00:20:10,839
That's when I learned...
295
00:20:12,966 --> 00:20:14,759
what it sounds like
to get shot at.
296
00:20:14,884 --> 00:20:18,263
[rapid gunfire]
297
00:20:23,810 --> 00:20:25,687
I began returning fire,
298
00:20:25,812 --> 00:20:29,023
and Lieutenant Hall called back
to the rear American vehicle
299
00:20:29,149 --> 00:20:32,444
to alert them that we were--
we had troops in contact.
300
00:20:33,403 --> 00:20:36,322
[rapid gunfire]
301
00:20:36,448 --> 00:20:38,825
[Hall] Big, long combo right,
nine, ten vehicles,
something like that.
302
00:20:38,950 --> 00:20:42,704
The front three or four
are the ones getting
engaged right now.
303
00:20:42,829 --> 00:20:46,124
-[gunfire continues]
-[men shouting in distance]
304
00:20:46,249 --> 00:20:50,920
[Hall] I'm lieutenant, I have
a captain, uh, in the Humvee
to my rear.
305
00:20:51,045 --> 00:20:53,423
Their radio's not working
or something, so he gets out
306
00:20:53,548 --> 00:20:56,760
and starts running up to us,
bounding and hopping.
307
00:20:56,885 --> 00:21:00,054
And, uh, he comes up to say,
"Hey, what's going on?"
308
00:21:00,180 --> 00:21:01,848
And that's when I kinda
give him the situation.
309
00:21:02,974 --> 00:21:04,768
[soldier] Hey, get some guns
up high.
310
00:21:06,060 --> 00:21:09,022
When I turned my face,
I saw, uh,
311
00:21:09,147 --> 00:21:11,149
the rounds were hitting
in the Humvees.
312
00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:13,276
[bullets impacting]
313
00:21:14,944 --> 00:21:16,821
[gunner shouting]
Four, shot to four o'clock.
314
00:21:18,364 --> 00:21:20,658
[Hall] The whole time I'm trying
to call for air support.
315
00:21:20,784 --> 00:21:22,368
[rapid gunfire]
316
00:21:23,369 --> 00:21:27,540
Deadwood 6-7, Deadwood 6-7,
this is Vandal 1-6, over.
317
00:21:27,665 --> 00:21:29,918
I know if I can get
some Apaches,
318
00:21:30,043 --> 00:21:32,295
they come with rockets, big guns
319
00:21:32,420 --> 00:21:34,631
and they can s-- They come
with elevated positions.
320
00:21:44,974 --> 00:21:50,438
[Deadwood] Zero-five,
0-5, 6-7 to the
blind and 8-4.
321
00:21:50,563 --> 00:21:52,023
[tense music]
322
00:22:00,323 --> 00:22:04,244
[Ross] You don't wanna
send one aircraft out
on its own ever.
323
00:22:04,410 --> 00:22:07,247
That was policy at the time,
in case one goes down,
324
00:22:07,413 --> 00:22:10,250
you wanna have somebody else
there to be able to provide
support for 'em.
325
00:22:11,835 --> 00:22:16,631
[Deadwood] Stay up high
[indistinct] down in there.
326
00:22:16,756 --> 00:22:20,009
[Ross] When they dispatch us
to these situations,
327
00:22:20,134 --> 00:22:21,803
all we get is a brief,
328
00:22:21,928 --> 00:22:24,055
"Troops in contact
at this grid location.
329
00:22:24,180 --> 00:22:27,600
Here's a radio frequency,
go make contact with them
and help them."
330
00:22:30,687 --> 00:22:34,566
Vandal 0-5,
Vandal 0-5,
this is Deadwood 6-7
331
00:22:34,691 --> 00:22:38,361
to the blind and Deadwood
8-4 inbound here rotations.
332
00:22:38,486 --> 00:22:40,446
[Flores] Their front seaters
got put in their coordinates
to the entrance,
333
00:22:40,572 --> 00:22:42,407
to the Northern entrance
of the Tagab Valley.
334
00:22:43,616 --> 00:22:47,287
Where what we call,
we're buster, we're going as
fast as we can. Military power.
335
00:22:47,412 --> 00:22:50,540
We didn't have any intelligence,
you know, on, you know,
336
00:22:50,665 --> 00:22:52,125
who these guys were
or what their--
337
00:22:52,250 --> 00:22:53,877
what their mission
actually was at the time.
338
00:22:54,002 --> 00:22:57,463
We knew we were supposed
to go talk to a Vandal 1 -6,
339
00:22:57,589 --> 00:23:02,510
which was Lieutenant Hall
and escort him back, uh,
back to their base.
340
00:23:04,220 --> 00:23:08,349
Any Vandal elements, any Vandal
elements. This is Deadwood
6-3.
341
00:23:10,643 --> 00:23:12,186
All these people on the trail
to the right.
342
00:23:14,772 --> 00:23:17,442
[Flores] From the time
we launched, to the time
we got to the north end
343
00:23:17,567 --> 00:23:20,820
of the Tagab, was all
of 15 minutes at the most.
344
00:23:20,945 --> 00:23:23,615
Those guys had already been
in a protracted fight
345
00:23:23,740 --> 00:23:27,577
for easily two hours
before we got called out.
346
00:23:27,702 --> 00:23:30,330
They were getting surrounded
by the Taliban.
347
00:23:30,455 --> 00:23:33,750
[Vandal] Deadwood 6-7, is
that 1-6, we are in convoy,
348
00:23:33,875 --> 00:23:35,543
uh, to evac out of here.
349
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,965
[Deadwood] OK, coming in high?
Big guy roger, are you still in
contact at this time?
350
00:23:44,052 --> 00:23:48,348
[Ross] From the standpoint
of a helicopter pilot,
351
00:23:48,514 --> 00:23:50,600
one of these things
is just like all the others.
352
00:23:50,725 --> 00:23:53,853
It's a lot more
of a significant experience
353
00:23:53,978 --> 00:23:56,731
for the guys who are actually
on the ground swapping bullets
354
00:23:56,856 --> 00:23:58,399
with the bad guys,
back and forth.
355
00:24:00,777 --> 00:24:06,282
[Vandal] 5-3-3-7, this is 5-3-0,
coming hard now, coming hard.
356
00:24:06,407 --> 00:24:09,535
[rapid gunshots]
357
00:24:11,245 --> 00:24:12,246
[Hall] And where's it at?
358
00:24:14,207 --> 00:24:15,917
[Best] Man,
where the fuck are they?
359
00:24:20,213 --> 00:24:22,382
[Best] Fuck, they're shooting at
us from the [indistinct] trail.
360
00:24:24,467 --> 00:24:27,261
-[soldier] And where's it at?
-[Best] Now we're getting hit
from our two o'clock.
361
00:24:27,387 --> 00:24:29,305
[man speaking indistinctly]
362
00:24:29,430 --> 00:24:31,933
[Hall] The Afghans came out
and tried to envelop us
363
00:24:32,058 --> 00:24:34,477
on both sides,
kinda like a bull's horns,
364
00:24:34,602 --> 00:24:38,064
and tried to enclose us in
and circle us on both sides.
365
00:24:39,732 --> 00:24:41,734
[machine guns fire]
366
00:24:45,780 --> 00:24:48,116
[Hall] Now the Afghans,
they fight hard and they fight
367
00:24:48,241 --> 00:24:51,619
with no body armor, they fight
with no pay, no socks,
368
00:24:51,744 --> 00:24:53,079
some of them don't have
boot laces,
369
00:24:53,204 --> 00:24:54,914
I mean, they-- they fight hard.
370
00:24:55,039 --> 00:24:57,000
It was kinda
inspiring to, to work
371
00:24:57,125 --> 00:25:00,044
with these Afghan guys who,
who did so much for so little.
372
00:25:00,169 --> 00:25:02,171
[machine gun fire]
373
00:25:03,881 --> 00:25:07,635
[Best] Damn! I'm out.
Gonna need more rounds,
need more rounds.
374
00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:11,431
Terry's in the gun shooting,
he's focused on,
375
00:25:11,597 --> 00:25:13,641
uh, firing rounds
and suppressing the enemy.
376
00:25:13,766 --> 00:25:14,726
[camera clicking]
377
00:25:16,185 --> 00:25:20,773
[Naser] I thought to myself,
because the Mark 19
had a lot of them,
378
00:25:20,898 --> 00:25:22,734
"Maybe that will be
the next target".
379
00:25:22,859 --> 00:25:25,820
I yelled at them to move,
move, move from that place.
380
00:25:27,739 --> 00:25:29,115
[Naser] Move, move forward.
381
00:25:36,289 --> 00:25:39,000
[whooshing and explosion]
382
00:25:39,125 --> 00:25:40,752
[Naser] That was an RPG.
383
00:25:40,877 --> 00:25:44,589
After they moved,
fortunately, uh,
384
00:25:44,714 --> 00:25:47,008
they had that place
with the RPG,
385
00:25:47,133 --> 00:25:49,594
but the, uh,
Humvee was not there.
386
00:25:49,719 --> 00:25:53,473
And that was our ride back
also to go to the base.
387
00:25:53,639 --> 00:25:57,477
So, uh, to make sure
we don't have to walk.
388
00:25:57,643 --> 00:25:59,395
-[gunfire]
-[men shouting]
389
00:26:05,193 --> 00:26:08,446
-[gunfire]
-[men shouting]
390
00:26:13,910 --> 00:26:16,704
[all] Ceasefire!
Ceasefire! Ceasefire!
391
00:26:16,829 --> 00:26:20,708
Over about a 45-minute period,
we were able to quell
the contact.
392
00:26:20,833 --> 00:26:23,628
-[camera clicking]
-[Naser] We thought
the fight is finished.
393
00:26:23,753 --> 00:26:26,839
One of the company
commanders, he sent
one of his platoon soldiers
394
00:26:26,964 --> 00:26:30,676
-with the squad to go down
see the damages.
-[camera clicking]
395
00:26:30,802 --> 00:26:33,846
[Naser] When those people came
back, they brought the flag
396
00:26:33,971 --> 00:26:36,682
of the Taliban, which was
on top of one of the compounds.
397
00:26:36,808 --> 00:26:39,977
- So we're just taking
some photos.
-[camera clicking]
398
00:26:40,103 --> 00:26:45,358
[Naser] The Taliban already had
the Afghan army radio scanned.
399
00:26:45,483 --> 00:26:48,528
They was listening the Afghan
army communications
on their radio.
400
00:26:48,694 --> 00:26:52,281
One of the Taliban guy,
maybe their leader
or one of their men,
401
00:26:52,406 --> 00:26:56,244
he called the call sign
of the platoon Sargent
when he answered,
402
00:26:56,369 --> 00:26:59,122
and respond, "Yes",
and he start, uh--
403
00:27:00,373 --> 00:27:03,876
Uh, sorry to say that, he said,
"We're gonna fuck you guys up."
404
00:27:04,001 --> 00:27:06,045
[Best] Target in!
405
00:27:06,170 --> 00:27:08,172
[gunfire]
406
00:27:13,010 --> 00:27:16,097
[Best] At this point, we still
had integrity of our convoy,
407
00:27:16,222 --> 00:27:18,933
with an American vehicle
in the lead, uh,
408
00:27:19,058 --> 00:27:22,562
followed by
five Afghan vehicles,
and then an American vehicle.
409
00:27:22,728 --> 00:27:26,566
The senior person on this convoy
was in the rear vehicle.
410
00:27:26,691 --> 00:27:31,362
-[camera clicking]
- And he asked Lieutenant Hall
to have our vehicle
411
00:27:31,487 --> 00:27:34,991
-maintain our position
while they moved up.
-[camera clicking]
412
00:27:36,284 --> 00:27:38,119
Some of his people got out,
Captain got out,
413
00:27:38,244 --> 00:27:40,538
went to aggress
and move to another building.
414
00:27:40,663 --> 00:27:44,876
[camera clicking]
415
00:27:45,001 --> 00:27:51,090
[indistinct radio chatter]
416
00:27:51,215 --> 00:27:55,344
[artillery fire and explosion]
417
00:27:56,387 --> 00:28:02,768
[distorted voice]
Move, move, move!
418
00:28:02,894 --> 00:28:04,312
[Best] Hey, watch
your rifle, Lee!
419
00:28:08,065 --> 00:28:10,735
[man] They got shot on,
leave it, leave it don't touch.
420
00:28:14,697 --> 00:28:18,492
-[man] Oh my God, dude.
-[Best] Where's Gus! We need
air support.
421
00:28:18,618 --> 00:28:21,621
[ominous music]
422
00:28:22,872 --> 00:28:24,624
[Hall] We had been calling
for the Apaches for three hours.
423
00:28:24,749 --> 00:28:27,460
Now we were running out of ammo,
running out of fuel, and--
424
00:28:27,585 --> 00:28:30,171
but I was so focused
on what was going on, uh,
425
00:28:30,296 --> 00:28:33,716
I didn't really worry
about what could happen
if they didn't come.
426
00:28:41,140 --> 00:28:44,977
[Deadwood] I'm out a little
bit further [indistinct].
427
00:28:46,354 --> 00:28:49,065
We get over the northern end
of the Tagab Valley,
428
00:28:50,024 --> 00:28:52,985
and, uh, we're circling,
circling would seem like...
429
00:28:54,153 --> 00:28:55,446
Oh man, at least 30 minutes.
430
00:28:56,822 --> 00:28:59,742
[copilot] I see smoke in the
one o'clock, about two miles.
431
00:28:59,867 --> 00:29:02,912
[Dog] Okay, we're, uh, armed.
We're armed all the way around.
432
00:29:03,996 --> 00:29:07,375
[Deadwood] Deadwood
6-7, do you have eyes
on the Humvee, over?
433
00:29:07,500 --> 00:29:09,377
There's a couple
of Humvees [indistinct].
434
00:29:09,502 --> 00:29:14,882
Vandal 1-6, Vandal 1-6,
this is Deadwood 6-7,
435
00:29:15,007 --> 00:29:17,885
over [indistinct] east now.
This is your location
436
00:29:19,971 --> 00:29:24,100
Sure enough, we find a convoy
that was engaged on an orchard
437
00:29:24,225 --> 00:29:26,519
on the other side of a ravine.
438
00:29:27,770 --> 00:29:30,982
[Deadwood] Vandal 1-6,
just give us the direction
439
00:29:31,107 --> 00:29:34,110
where you're taking fire from,
we can put down some fire.
440
00:29:38,614 --> 00:29:40,491
Roger, Deadwood 6-7, 8- 1.
441
00:29:43,369 --> 00:29:45,788
God dammit, do you have eyes
on our location, over?
442
00:29:47,790 --> 00:29:52,253
[Deadwood] We've got eyes on
several [indistinct]
443
00:29:52,378 --> 00:29:57,383
along the roadway, uh,
kind of hiding behind a wall.
444
00:29:58,676 --> 00:30:02,888
[Vandal] Roger,
Deadwood 6-7,
that's us in the Humvee, over.
445
00:30:04,432 --> 00:30:09,562
[Deadwood] Okay, here is the
situation, what you need
is to put fire on them.
446
00:30:09,687 --> 00:30:14,859
[Vandal] Roger, they are
in the orchard to our east.
[indistinct]
447
00:30:14,984 --> 00:30:19,405
- Anything you can fire up in
there will be granted.
- Roll it out, rolling.
448
00:30:20,489 --> 00:30:23,576
[Ross] He's trying to direct us
where we need to put
fire down on.
449
00:30:23,701 --> 00:30:26,203
It's a little more difficult
for us during the day
450
00:30:26,329 --> 00:30:29,081
to identify specifically
where they're being
attacked from,
451
00:30:29,206 --> 00:30:33,044
because, you know,
at night time you can see
where the rounds are coming off,
452
00:30:33,169 --> 00:30:37,214
you can see where the fires are
coming from, uh, you can utilize
the flare,
453
00:30:37,340 --> 00:30:40,718
but it's more difficult
during the day, 'cause you're
primarily using your naked eye.
454
00:30:43,387 --> 00:30:46,432
[Deadwood] Roger [indistinct]
and there's smoking
going on over here
455
00:30:46,557 --> 00:30:49,852
that could be a village,
and the orchard to the east
that you’re talking about.
456
00:30:51,604 --> 00:30:56,400
[Vandal] Roger that, 6-7,
that's [indistinct]
go ahead and fire that up.
457
00:30:58,152 --> 00:30:59,945
[Deadwood] Okay,
we're gonna put down so fire.
458
00:31:03,616 --> 00:31:07,703
Alright, go ahead. That was
some good shooting right there
that kicked up all the dirt.
459
00:31:07,828 --> 00:31:12,583
Yep, I saw it.
OK, let's come around.
460
00:31:13,542 --> 00:31:16,879
Coming around [indistinct]
Are you gonna fire rockets--
461
00:31:17,004 --> 00:31:18,714
Yeah, I'm gonna
try and fire rockets on this.
462
00:31:18,839 --> 00:31:20,966
Okay, you fire rockets and then
I'll clean up a gun.
463
00:31:21,092 --> 00:31:24,970
I got the gun [indistinct] now.
Finger's on the trigger.
464
00:31:27,306 --> 00:31:30,684
- Follow our guys a little bit
and shoot into it.
- Okay
465
00:31:30,810 --> 00:31:36,357
- Eh, come on, right.
- Alright, coming right.
6- 1 to--
466
00:31:36,482 --> 00:31:38,734
[intense music]
467
00:31:41,362 --> 00:31:43,155
OK, fire when you--
468
00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:49,036
1-6 and 1-6 [indistinct]
469
00:31:49,161 --> 00:31:52,373
[intense music]
470
00:31:58,754 --> 00:32:00,923
[Flores] That's when Vandal gets
on the radio saying like,
471
00:32:01,048 --> 00:32:02,675
"Who are you guys shooting at?
472
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,845
We are a convoy
at the south end of the Tagab."
473
00:32:09,932 --> 00:32:12,685
"We're all standing
behind this wall
and shooting to our east,
474
00:32:12,810 --> 00:32:16,147
is that what you're seeing?"
He says, "Yeah. It--
Every shooting to the east".
475
00:32:16,272 --> 00:32:19,400
I'm, "Well, that's us,
but I don't see you."
476
00:32:24,655 --> 00:32:29,285
[Vandal] 6-7, Deadwood 6-7.
I believe we are
south of your location, over.
477
00:32:30,953 --> 00:32:35,875
- Hold up on this round.
- Alright, holding up.
478
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,627
[Deadwood] Roger that. He said
they're south of our location.
479
00:32:38,752 --> 00:32:42,006
[Dog] 6- 1, see what these
guys are doing right here.
480
00:32:42,131 --> 00:32:45,885
-[Vandal] Deadwood 6-7
[indistinct]
- Get ready.
481
00:32:48,804 --> 00:32:49,763
Go ahead.
482
00:32:50,681 --> 00:32:55,478
[Vandal] W-D-5-8-1-5-5-
483
00:32:55,603 --> 00:32:58,355
6-0-4-3-0.
484
00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:03,903
[Dog] Roger. Good copy.
485
00:33:05,404 --> 00:33:09,742
[Ross] I was talking to, uh,
Lieutenant Hall on the radio,
486
00:33:09,867 --> 00:33:11,494
the radio reception
was crystal clear,
487
00:33:12,745 --> 00:33:15,372
but we were not supporting him.
He was...
488
00:33:16,457 --> 00:33:19,585
What? Five or seven kilometers
maybe further south
of where we were.
489
00:33:20,794 --> 00:33:23,297
Oh my God,
who did we just shoot?
490
00:33:23,422 --> 00:33:24,632
[distorted voice] Shoot.
491
00:33:24,757 --> 00:33:26,008
[explosion]
492
00:33:36,936 --> 00:33:43,734
[distorted shouting]
493
00:33:43,859 --> 00:33:45,945
-[Best] There were three Afghans
that were hurt.
-[camera clicking]
494
00:33:46,111 --> 00:33:50,741
[men shouting]
- Over here! I saw two police!
-Where, where?
495
00:33:50,866 --> 00:33:55,037
[Best] The Captain
got on the radio and
he called for a Medivac.
496
00:33:55,162 --> 00:33:59,208
The Medivac indicated
that they would push one up,
497
00:33:59,333 --> 00:34:03,003
-but they would not land
until the area was secure.
-[camera clicking]
498
00:34:04,588 --> 00:34:07,132
[Best] So the Captain indicated
to Lieutenant Hall
499
00:34:07,258 --> 00:34:10,386
that he was taking half
the Afghans in the ambulance
500
00:34:10,511 --> 00:34:13,222
and they were gonna roll back
to combat output in Nijrab.
501
00:34:13,347 --> 00:34:14,890
"And you continue the fight."
502
00:34:18,561 --> 00:34:22,189
[Best] Lieutenant Hall
indicated he did not think
it was a good idea.
503
00:34:22,314 --> 00:34:27,987
I was, uh, very vocal
from my position that it was
an absolutely horrible idea.
504
00:34:28,112 --> 00:34:30,781
They needed to understand
they still had ten people
pinned down.
505
00:34:31,782 --> 00:34:35,286
[Hall] They took away a big gun,
on top of that Humvee
is a 50-cal.
506
00:34:35,411 --> 00:34:37,538
We have a Mark 19,
an automatic grenade launcher.
507
00:34:37,663 --> 00:34:40,165
You split those up,
and you don't have anybody
508
00:34:40,291 --> 00:34:43,377
to cover for him
while he's reloading.
509
00:34:44,503 --> 00:34:47,464
[Best] Reload. I'm out.
I need more rounds.
510
00:34:47,590 --> 00:34:49,550
[Best] You don't choose
who leads you
511
00:34:49,675 --> 00:34:52,803
in those situations.
They get force-fed to you,
512
00:34:52,928 --> 00:34:55,264
and my job
as an enlisted soldier,
513
00:34:55,389 --> 00:34:58,017
is to mitigate
the mistakes they make.
514
00:34:59,059 --> 00:35:01,186
[gunfire]
515
00:35:01,312 --> 00:35:03,522
[Best] The shots are coming
from right below us.
516
00:35:03,647 --> 00:35:06,567
[machine gun fire]
517
00:35:14,074 --> 00:35:16,744
They left us with only
one American vehicle
and the American vehicles
518
00:35:16,869 --> 00:35:19,788
were out there because we had
the most fire power,
519
00:35:19,913 --> 00:35:22,041
and because we could
communicate with the skies.
520
00:35:22,207 --> 00:35:25,544
[tense music]
521
00:35:29,256 --> 00:35:30,090
[white noise]
522
00:35:31,967 --> 00:35:36,764
[indistinct radio chatter]
523
00:35:38,390 --> 00:35:43,562
So, this was a month
after my first real deal
claustrophobic anxiety attack.
524
00:35:44,688 --> 00:35:48,901
[on radio] There's trails and
everything down here, they could
be hiding in all those trees.
525
00:35:49,026 --> 00:35:55,074
It was on the back of my mind.
If I had a moment to stop
and reflect...
526
00:35:55,199 --> 00:35:58,369
-[white noise]
- Yeah, here it comes.
527
00:35:58,494 --> 00:36:03,874
[Vandal muffled voice] Deadwood
6-7, we are in convoy,
we need evac out of here.
528
00:36:05,250 --> 00:36:07,836
[indistinct radio chatter]
529
00:36:13,467 --> 00:36:16,345
[indistinct radio chatter]
530
00:36:19,139 --> 00:36:25,896
[indistinct radio chatter]
531
00:36:26,021 --> 00:36:29,566
[indistinct radio chatter]
532
00:36:32,528 --> 00:36:34,988
And that's when I started
realizing, that as long as
I can keep
533
00:36:35,114 --> 00:36:38,242
my mind preoccupied
with something else,
534
00:36:38,367 --> 00:36:41,912
yeah, the chances of having
an anxiety attack was
much, much less.
535
00:36:44,623 --> 00:36:50,462
-[Vandal] Roger, Deadwood 7-6,
I'm right underneath you.
-[Deadwood] Roger.
536
00:36:50,587 --> 00:36:53,132
[Ross] What we actually wound up
flying over first
537
00:36:53,298 --> 00:36:55,884
was a ground QRF force,
538
00:36:56,009 --> 00:36:59,847
that had been sent out
from their base to go help them.
539
00:36:59,972 --> 00:37:04,685
And so we supported those guys
at first for a good
10 - 15 minutes or so,
540
00:37:04,810 --> 00:37:08,021
before we realized this is not
where we're supposed to be.
541
00:37:10,482 --> 00:37:14,653
[Vandal] Deadwood 6-7,
we are in the last
vehicle in this convoy.
542
00:37:16,196 --> 00:37:18,073
[Deadwood] Roger,
we have eyes on you.
543
00:37:18,198 --> 00:37:21,660
As soon as
they got over the orchard
where the fighting was going on,
544
00:37:21,785 --> 00:37:27,332
sure enough
there was a volley of RPGs
and smoke from all the shooting.
545
00:37:28,333 --> 00:37:30,878
[indistinct radio chatter]
546
00:37:31,003 --> 00:37:33,672
[Flores] I quickly slammed
the stick to the left,
lined up my rockets
547
00:37:33,797 --> 00:37:36,550
and fired off three high
explosive rockets.
548
00:37:36,675 --> 00:37:39,428
[Deadwood] Oh yeah,
oh yeah, oh yeah.
549
00:37:39,553 --> 00:37:42,473
And I tell you, right now,
that felt great.
550
00:37:42,598 --> 00:37:45,976
[indistinct radio chatter]
551
00:37:52,274 --> 00:37:53,192
Come on back.
552
00:37:53,317 --> 00:37:55,611
[indistinct radio chatter]
553
00:38:03,911 --> 00:38:07,164
[Deadwood] Going in [indistinct]
look good at this point.
554
00:38:09,875 --> 00:38:11,585
Go around, you're in
a good position, over.
555
00:38:11,710 --> 00:38:19,051
Here we go.
556
00:38:19,176 --> 00:38:22,137
[Best] RPG, 0-8. Yeah!
557
00:38:22,262 --> 00:38:27,226
[Vandal] Deadwood 6-7,
we are still receiving fire
from our inside, over.
558
00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:31,313
[Deadwood][indistinct]
north and south so we
get a little more to run.
559
00:38:31,438 --> 00:38:33,398
[Deadwood] Yes, and that way
he's coming in that direction.
560
00:38:33,524 --> 00:38:36,401
- I agree with them. Coming out
[indistinct]
- OK.
561
00:38:41,865 --> 00:38:45,452
[indistinct radio chatter]
562
00:38:50,123 --> 00:38:53,961
-6- 1 is inbound
- Roger. [indistinct]
563
00:39:07,933 --> 00:39:12,563
[overlapping chatter]
564
00:39:12,688 --> 00:39:19,152
[overlapping chatter]
565
00:39:20,529 --> 00:39:22,614
-[Deadwood] Okay.
-[Vandal] Good round,
566
00:39:22,739 --> 00:39:24,992
Deadwood 6-7
you're right on target.
567
00:39:25,117 --> 00:39:28,036
[Deadwood] Okay, 6-7, roger.
568
00:39:31,498 --> 00:39:33,500
[Hall] We had all our Afghans
in the trenches,
569
00:39:33,625 --> 00:39:36,545
so we had to get everybody,
find them all with no radios.
570
00:39:36,670 --> 00:39:38,922
Get them all back
in the vehicles
and I'm calling, I'm trying
571
00:39:39,047 --> 00:39:41,675
to talk to the Afghans and I
don't know, I don't know Dari,
572
00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:44,970
so I'm trying
to find my interpreter,
and he's up on the front line,
573
00:39:45,095 --> 00:39:47,514
you know,
taking ammo to the Afghans.
574
00:39:49,016 --> 00:39:52,644
I had to call him and--
and provide cover fire for him
575
00:39:52,769 --> 00:39:55,564
to start bounding back to me,
and I had to grab him
576
00:39:55,689 --> 00:39:58,609
by the collar and--
and try to yell at him,
577
00:39:58,734 --> 00:40:01,612
"Hey, I need you with me, man.
I need you to stay with me."
578
00:40:02,863 --> 00:40:06,074
We finally got
everybody together, you know,
we started, started to move out.
579
00:40:08,744 --> 00:40:13,874
[Vandal] Deadwood 6-7,
[indistinct] we are loading up
to evac out of here, over.
580
00:40:15,667 --> 00:40:16,585
Roger.
581
00:40:18,837 --> 00:40:23,967
[Hall] There was about 500
enemy insurgents in the valley
at that time.
582
00:40:24,092 --> 00:40:28,931
When we came down, all the--
the enemy insurgents decided
to come out to the road
583
00:40:29,056 --> 00:40:32,643
because they knew
we'd have to come back,
and they laid in probably seven,
584
00:40:32,768 --> 00:40:35,562
eight ambushes for us
along those 17 kilometers.
585
00:40:41,151 --> 00:40:48,200
Roger, Deadwood 6-7, we are
in route and we are gonna
have ambushes all the way home.
586
00:40:48,325 --> 00:40:50,702
-[Deadwood] OK, we're going
with 'em.
-[Dog] OK, we stay with 'em.
587
00:40:50,827 --> 00:40:55,666
Roger won't be, uh,
[indistinct] location
as you are north.
588
00:40:57,584 --> 00:41:00,671
[Flores] I could see
that they were starting
to head north along the road.
589
00:41:00,796 --> 00:41:04,341
I rolled in,
flying as fast as I could,
catching up the convoy,
590
00:41:04,466 --> 00:41:07,678
and roasted over them
at about 100 feet,
591
00:41:07,803 --> 00:41:09,930
to let them know
that we were with them,
592
00:41:10,055 --> 00:41:12,724
and for any other possible
ambushes in front of them
to know
593
00:41:12,849 --> 00:41:15,811
that there's Apaches
that are protecting
our guys on the ground.
594
00:41:15,936 --> 00:41:16,812
[camera clicking]
595
00:41:16,937 --> 00:41:19,147
[tense music]
596
00:41:40,752 --> 00:41:42,337
[Dog] Do you copy, 1-6.
597
00:41:48,093 --> 00:41:51,096
The next village they came
up to, looked literally
598
00:41:51,221 --> 00:41:55,308
like an old western town,
with a dirt road
down the middle.
599
00:41:55,434 --> 00:41:58,061
[kids speaking Dari]
600
00:41:59,521 --> 00:42:02,858
[Hall] It was
a tight one lane road,
with buildings on either side.
601
00:42:15,412 --> 00:42:18,457
That's when Vandal 1 -6
602
00:42:18,582 --> 00:42:20,792
screams down the radio
that they're shooting
from the rooftops.
603
00:42:20,917 --> 00:42:27,007
-[Vandal] Rooftops,
[indistinct] get down! Over.
-[Deadwood] Shit!
604
00:42:27,132 --> 00:42:30,010
[indistinct radio chatter]
605
00:42:30,135 --> 00:42:33,805
They were literally putting
the gun over the edge
and just squeezing
606
00:42:33,930 --> 00:42:37,017
the trigger and letting,
letting them fly.
607
00:42:37,142 --> 00:42:39,603
[Deadwood] We can take out
that house. That's where they
were shooting them from.
608
00:42:39,728 --> 00:42:41,938
I'm checking to see
where the shots came from.
609
00:42:43,482 --> 00:42:48,487
I was in a position right there,
just above the town, saw one
building and I thought,
610
00:42:48,612 --> 00:42:51,156
"Alright, I'm fixing to put
a rocket right through
the top of it."
611
00:42:51,281 --> 00:42:53,408
[indistinct radio chatter]
612
00:42:53,533 --> 00:42:56,620
[Deadwood] Okay, we're armed,
we're armed all the way around.
613
00:43:00,624 --> 00:43:01,625
But it didn't feel right.
614
00:43:03,251 --> 00:43:05,462
-[copilot] He's got nowhere
to go if he get shot at.
-[Deadwood] Yeah, yeah.
615
00:43:10,592 --> 00:43:12,427
-[Deadwood] Alright,
just get ready.
-[copilot] Roger.
616
00:43:16,306 --> 00:43:20,811
I eased off and circled around,
I thought, "Alright. Give them
a little bit of time
617
00:43:21,937 --> 00:43:24,314
before I go make
a shot and possibly
kill innocents in there."
618
00:43:24,439 --> 00:43:26,691
Because it's still, it's
a country where normal people
619
00:43:26,817 --> 00:43:28,902
that don't wanna be in this war.
That's where they live.
620
00:43:29,903 --> 00:43:32,364
So, in my mind,
that was a good--
621
00:43:33,615 --> 00:43:35,617
a good decision
not to take that shot.
622
00:43:37,869 --> 00:43:41,206
[Deadwood] He's pointing that
way somewhere, what the heck?
623
00:43:41,331 --> 00:43:43,333
Those guys are [indistinct]
right in front of us.
624
00:43:43,458 --> 00:43:45,710
[Vandal] Vandal to Deadwood.
625
00:43:45,836 --> 00:43:48,255
[Deadwood] Roger. See if there's
anybody down there as well.
626
00:43:48,380 --> 00:43:50,549
[copilot] I'm looking and lost.
627
00:43:52,509 --> 00:43:56,221
[Flores] So that's
when I started making
runs up and down the road,
628
00:43:56,346 --> 00:43:58,348
popping flares
to let people know that,
629
00:43:59,474 --> 00:44:01,685
"You mess with them,
we will level this town".
630
00:44:02,853 --> 00:44:05,313
-[Deadwood] I'll send some
flares [indistinct].
-[copilot] Go ahead. Roger.
631
00:44:06,815 --> 00:44:09,359
Power. Speed.
632
00:44:11,236 --> 00:44:13,363
[indistinct radio chatter]
633
00:44:14,698 --> 00:44:17,492
[Deadwood] And flares away.
634
00:44:17,617 --> 00:44:20,328
[Dog] We're throwing
flares everywhere.
635
00:44:20,453 --> 00:44:21,329
[camera clicking]
636
00:44:26,042 --> 00:44:28,128
[Best] The Afghans stopped
because they're taking fire,
637
00:44:28,253 --> 00:44:31,173
and they got out of the vehicles
to try and engage.
638
00:44:31,298 --> 00:44:32,257
[gunfire]
639
00:44:34,092 --> 00:44:36,052
[explosion]
640
00:44:36,178 --> 00:44:38,430
[Vandal] Deadwood 6-7,
we have [indistinct]
641
00:44:38,555 --> 00:44:44,603
- We are loading up
to evac out of here, over.
-[Deadwood] Roger.
642
00:44:44,728 --> 00:44:46,688
They were out fighting,
because they didn't wanna
be in their vehicles,
643
00:44:46,813 --> 00:44:49,024
so we get them
back in the vehicles
and we start moving again.
644
00:44:50,692 --> 00:44:51,735
[Best] 2-40!
645
00:44:51,860 --> 00:44:52,861
[gunfire]
646
00:44:56,364 --> 00:44:57,365
[explosion]
647
00:44:57,490 --> 00:44:59,784
[Best] Oh fuck! Go ahead!
648
00:44:59,910 --> 00:45:02,829
We need airborne!
We need airborne!
649
00:45:03,914 --> 00:45:08,627
We were close to being black
on ammo, meaning that we were
out of ammo.
650
00:45:08,752 --> 00:45:12,214
I had used all my Mark 19
rounds, so the guys
in the skies
651
00:45:12,339 --> 00:45:15,759
had the only rounds
that were really being fired.
652
00:45:16,676 --> 00:45:19,596
Considering how many people
were stacked up against them,
653
00:45:19,721 --> 00:45:21,890
they were sitting ducks.
654
00:45:22,015 --> 00:45:23,975
[gunfire]
655
00:45:27,312 --> 00:45:29,064
[explosion]
656
00:45:29,189 --> 00:45:33,485
The FOB was not even a mile away
and that's when Vandal 1 -6
657
00:45:33,610 --> 00:45:37,072
yells out, "They're shooting
from the fields, they're
shooting from the field."
658
00:45:37,197 --> 00:45:41,159
[Vandal] 6-7, 6-7 [indistinct]
659
00:45:41,284 --> 00:45:44,412
They're in the fields,
in the fields. Over.
660
00:45:44,537 --> 00:45:48,667
They're in the fields,
6-7, in the fields.
661
00:45:48,792 --> 00:45:52,921
[Deadwood] Roger, in the
fields. I got it, it's gonna
be a tight turn backing up.
662
00:45:53,046 --> 00:45:57,092
[Vandal] Right down below
us, 6-7, right down below us.
663
00:45:57,217 --> 00:45:59,844
My front seater saw somebody
run into the fields shooting.
664
00:46:00,971 --> 00:46:03,431
-[Deadwood] Here we go.
You see em?
-[copilot] Yep.
665
00:46:06,810 --> 00:46:07,686
[Deadwood] I didn't see 'em.
666
00:46:09,020 --> 00:46:11,189
[Vandal] Good shot, 6-7,
good shot.
667
00:46:11,314 --> 00:46:15,277
[Deadwood] I got it,
alright, coming left.
668
00:46:18,405 --> 00:46:22,951
- Left.
- Yeah, take a left turn, I saw
the guys on the ground.
669
00:46:24,577 --> 00:46:26,955
We'd gotten
so good at this point
with shooting rockets
670
00:46:27,080 --> 00:46:31,710
that I could put a rocket
in a window at a mile away.
No problem.
671
00:46:31,876 --> 00:46:33,503
[Deadwood] Alright, straight on.
672
00:46:33,628 --> 00:46:38,550
- Oh, nice.
- Right there, there you go.
673
00:46:38,675 --> 00:46:41,553
I'm out of, I'm out of--
674
00:46:41,678 --> 00:46:43,888
[Vandal] Good round, 6-7,
good round.
675
00:46:44,806 --> 00:46:47,058
-[Deadwood] Roll out.
-[copilot] Alright out.
676
00:46:48,518 --> 00:46:52,105
By about that time the convoy
made up the last hill
to the FOB.
677
00:46:58,403 --> 00:47:01,448
[calm music]
678
00:47:04,492 --> 00:47:07,954
[indistinct radio chatter]
679
00:47:08,997 --> 00:47:11,666
[Vandal] 6-7, it's 1-6,
we are in the FOB, over.
680
00:47:17,505 --> 00:47:19,132
[camera clicking]
681
00:47:19,257 --> 00:47:20,884
[Flores] If we would not
have shown up
682
00:47:21,009 --> 00:47:22,302
at the time that we did,
683
00:47:23,553 --> 00:47:25,472
the chances are
they would have had
a lot more casualties
684
00:47:25,597 --> 00:47:27,599
if not all of them
getting killed.
685
00:47:27,724 --> 00:47:32,062
They secured our safe passage
out of that valley.
686
00:47:33,813 --> 00:47:35,857
I mean we shot a lot
of ordinance that day,
687
00:47:35,982 --> 00:47:38,401
in those,
in those three and a half hours.
688
00:47:38,526 --> 00:47:40,570
Terry brought
700 rounds of grenades,
689
00:47:40,695 --> 00:47:43,990
700 grenades that he shot.
690
00:47:45,492 --> 00:47:48,578
The Afghan are an amazing
fighting force and, uh,
691
00:47:48,703 --> 00:47:52,832
Matt is the best battle buddy
I've ever had.
692
00:47:57,128 --> 00:47:59,130
[Hall] If we would have had
to run back through
that gauntlet,
693
00:47:59,255 --> 00:48:01,091
without cover fire,
694
00:48:01,216 --> 00:48:02,759
who knows how many people
would have made it back.
695
00:48:04,302 --> 00:48:07,013
We saved them that day,
we saved them that day.
696
00:48:08,723 --> 00:48:11,726
[emotional music]
697
00:48:21,986 --> 00:48:24,114
[Hall] We got back
that night and...
698
00:48:24,239 --> 00:48:26,241
-[camera clicking]
- And we had flat tires
699
00:48:26,366 --> 00:48:27,575
and we had no ammo.
700
00:48:27,700 --> 00:48:29,452
-[camera clicking]
- We were tired,
701
00:48:29,577 --> 00:48:30,995
and there was a point where I--
702
00:48:31,121 --> 00:48:33,039
you know, I sat on a berm
703
00:48:33,164 --> 00:48:34,833
and just kinda looked out
into the distance.
704
00:48:35,750 --> 00:48:38,586
- You know, I needed a minute.
-[camera clicking]
705
00:48:38,711 --> 00:48:41,005
And, uh, Naser came up
and sat down and I said,
706
00:48:41,131 --> 00:48:43,800
"Hey, you know,
I-- we fired a lot of grenades,
707
00:48:43,925 --> 00:48:47,929
and we fired a lot of guns
and, we, we shot a lot
of things, and--
708
00:48:48,054 --> 00:48:51,683
Uh, I'm sure
we killed some bad guys,
but I'm worried that we--
709
00:48:51,808 --> 00:48:56,479
Uh, that we killed,
you know, maybe, maybe women
and children. I don't know.
710
00:48:56,604 --> 00:48:59,190
And he kind of put his hand
on my shoulder and said,
"We did good today."
711
00:49:00,108 --> 00:49:03,403
You know? "We did, we did good,
you did good today."
712
00:49:03,528 --> 00:49:08,616
That was huge. That little
ten seconds probably saved
713
00:49:08,741 --> 00:49:12,495
a lot of, a lot of therapy
and issues for me later in life.
714
00:49:12,620 --> 00:49:13,580
[camera clicking]
715
00:49:13,705 --> 00:49:16,708
[emotional music]
716
00:49:21,713 --> 00:49:24,090
-[helicopter whirring]
-[Deadwood] Got us here in
the nick of time.
717
00:49:27,802 --> 00:49:30,138
[Deadwood] You know, this is
a whole lot of lightning
going on.
718
00:49:31,806 --> 00:49:33,808
And actually it's fixing
to rain like crazy
719
00:49:33,933 --> 00:49:37,020
on us here in just a second.
We need, gonna get on a Hawk,
720
00:49:37,145 --> 00:49:39,522
to get back in this thing,
and here it comes.
721
00:49:39,647 --> 00:49:41,107
[helicopter whirring]
722
00:49:41,232 --> 00:49:42,442
[thunder rumbling]
723
00:49:46,196 --> 00:49:50,533
[Deadwood] Um, like I said,
we didn't-- we didn't make it.
724
00:49:50,658 --> 00:49:55,955
This is just like Jurassic Park,
so as long as we don't move,
we should be okay.
725
00:49:56,873 --> 00:50:00,001
But it's raining like crazy
and we are [indistinct],
726
00:50:00,126 --> 00:50:04,422
in bad guy country. Dust off,
the other Apache and us.
727
00:50:06,341 --> 00:50:09,385
I'm expecting a T-rex any minute
now, so we're not moving.
728
00:50:10,970 --> 00:50:14,432
And I'm scared.
Signing out for now.
729
00:50:14,557 --> 00:50:16,476
[thunder storm rumbling]
730
00:50:19,938 --> 00:50:21,981
-[Flores] Ahem, Chris,
it's 2006.
- Hey.
731
00:50:24,776 --> 00:50:29,155
And what are we doing, all of us
from Texas? Shoveling snow.
732
00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:31,282
- Snow!
- You'd think
we lived in Amarillo.
733
00:50:31,407 --> 00:50:33,868
[Flores laughing] That's true.
734
00:50:35,161 --> 00:50:38,665
Anyway, sometime in the middle
of the afternoon, it's snowing
like crazy.
735
00:50:40,959 --> 00:50:47,006
And it's been snowing
all night, all... our Christmas.
736
00:50:48,841 --> 00:50:51,636
[Flores] We had two weeks left
before we would start packing up
737
00:50:51,761 --> 00:50:55,265
and heading home
after a yearlong battle
there in Afghanistan.
738
00:50:56,224 --> 00:50:58,351
The fighting had
increased tremendously.
739
00:50:59,602 --> 00:51:01,187
At the morning brief,
we got the weather for the day,
740
00:51:01,312 --> 00:51:03,731
and we got all the missions
that were going out.
741
00:51:03,856 --> 00:51:05,942
One of the missions
that I'd heard was
742
00:51:06,067 --> 00:51:09,320
taking The Code
to the Korengal Valley
743
00:51:09,445 --> 00:51:11,489
in a Black Hawk
to go visit the FOBs.
744
00:51:11,614 --> 00:51:14,117
The Code is the General.
745
00:51:14,242 --> 00:51:16,160
[tense music]
746
00:51:23,668 --> 00:51:29,591
[Anthony] I was gonna spend
Christmas Eve of 2006
with Captain McKnight
747
00:51:29,716 --> 00:51:32,135
and his company,
up in the Korengal outpost.
748
00:51:33,636 --> 00:51:35,930
We had been collecting
all these letters...
749
00:51:36,055 --> 00:51:40,435
-[camera clicking]
-...to see the smiles
on troops faces when they open
750
00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:43,730
a "to any soldier" letter, it
just makes a huge difference.
751
00:51:43,855 --> 00:51:44,814
[wind whistling]
752
00:51:46,733 --> 00:51:50,486
Completely socked in,
snow, fog, everything.
753
00:51:50,612 --> 00:51:53,615
I told my aide, "Alright,
we're gonna go New Year's Eve.
754
00:51:53,740 --> 00:52:00,288
And snowed out, fogged out.
And January 5th, 2007 was
a crystal-clear day.
755
00:52:04,542 --> 00:52:08,046
[Deadwood] Alright, okay.
[indistinct]
756
00:52:08,212 --> 00:52:10,965
Flight brakes released,
panels in, lock lights on.
757
00:52:11,090 --> 00:52:14,010
-[Ark Angel] System check?
-[Deadwood] Systems, I got
no crosses, no transfers.
758
00:52:14,135 --> 00:52:17,889
We're full of gas, [indistinct]
are green, 3000 hydraulics,
759
00:52:18,014 --> 00:52:20,975
no caution or warnings.
Supporting systems are checked.
We're good.
760
00:52:21,100 --> 00:52:27,815
[radio chatter continues]
761
00:52:27,940 --> 00:52:32,070
The Korengal Valley was
the most hotly contested
valley in all of Afghanistan.
762
00:52:32,236 --> 00:52:34,614
The Valley of Death
is what some people called it.
763
00:52:34,739 --> 00:52:37,575
Asher, I hear we're on the back
side of the [unintelligible].
764
00:52:40,620 --> 00:52:44,874
[Flores] And we started heading
to the east towards Jalalabad
and then north to Asadabad.
765
00:52:49,545 --> 00:52:52,882
[Anthony] Two types of people
that troops often
766
00:52:53,007 --> 00:52:56,344
talk about regarding
who you'll find in a firefight,
767
00:52:57,345 --> 00:53:03,935
are those that will immediately
return fire or initiate fire,
768
00:53:04,060 --> 00:53:07,105
because their training
kicks in and they execute,
769
00:53:07,230 --> 00:53:11,109
and then, you have some
that are more contemplative
770
00:53:11,234 --> 00:53:14,320
and take a step back
and, and hesitate,
771
00:53:14,445 --> 00:53:18,574
but I didn't see too many
of those. What I saw mostly
772
00:53:18,700 --> 00:53:24,914
were troops that whenever, uh,
we needed fire on target,
773
00:53:25,039 --> 00:53:27,667
uh, rounds on target.
They would put it on target,
774
00:53:27,792 --> 00:53:31,129
and there's no greater
demonstration of that
775
00:53:31,254 --> 00:53:34,590
than that January 5th, 2007 day.
776
00:53:37,802 --> 00:53:40,430
[Dog] Dog 3-7, Deadwood 6-6.
777
00:53:41,556 --> 00:53:44,976
[Deadwood] Deadwood 6-6,
Dog 3-7 read your
[indistinct] over.
778
00:53:46,185 --> 00:53:49,313
[Dog] 0-1-6-6,
hear you loud and clear.
We're about one minute out.
779
00:53:51,315 --> 00:53:53,067
[Deadwood] Dog,
copy that one minute out.
780
00:53:54,360 --> 00:53:57,780
[Flores] We got radio traffic
saying that there's a troops
in contact,
781
00:53:57,905 --> 00:54:01,826
a fight going on in the Pech
River Valley, right before
the Korengal Valley.
782
00:54:01,951 --> 00:54:05,371
So, we had to land at Asadabad
to let that fight play out,
783
00:54:05,496 --> 00:54:09,041
because we could not go past
there. At that point,
The Code gets out,
784
00:54:09,167 --> 00:54:14,630
the Black Hawk runs into the TOC
and a second later, they call us
up on the radio saying like,
785
00:54:14,756 --> 00:54:17,884
"Deadwood, can you go
over there to that TIC,
786
00:54:18,009 --> 00:54:21,471
and help stop it so we can
go on to the Korengal valley."
787
00:54:21,596 --> 00:54:23,848
I probably said like, "We're
the only Apache out here,
788
00:54:23,973 --> 00:54:26,893
we're not allowed to go single
ship anywhere in this country."
789
00:54:27,018 --> 00:54:29,729
And right about then is
when the TOC called up saying,
790
00:54:29,854 --> 00:54:32,190
"The Code has just authorized
you to go single ship."
791
00:54:36,152 --> 00:54:37,653
[Deadwood] OK, copy.
Be looking for them.
792
00:54:39,489 --> 00:54:40,907
[radio chatter]
793
00:54:44,660 --> 00:54:47,205
[Flores] So, we took off,
talked to Dog 3-7 on the ground
794
00:54:47,330 --> 00:54:50,583
and he said, "Up on this ridge
line, the entrance
of the Shuryak Valley,
795
00:54:50,708 --> 00:54:55,129
there's, uh, somebody's shooting
at em with RPGs and some,
you know, small arms fire."
796
00:54:57,298 --> 00:55:00,927
Hey, Dog this is Deadwood
6-6, where are you at
from me right now?
797
00:55:01,052 --> 00:55:04,096
Is that you, uh,
are you on the main road?
798
00:55:06,766 --> 00:55:09,227
Dog 3-7, negative,
we are at control base.
799
00:55:09,352 --> 00:55:13,773
We are east of you right now,
as you're flying, over.
800
00:55:15,858 --> 00:55:18,444
Okay, uh, let's
[indistinct] right now.
801
00:55:18,569 --> 00:55:23,658
[Dog] Fly to is in, and they
just gave us [indistinct]
southeast of that.
802
00:55:26,077 --> 00:55:30,748
Dog 3-7 to Deadwood 6-6.
Dog 3-7, over.
803
00:55:30,873 --> 00:55:35,711
[Deadwood] Yes, that last
coordinate that you gave me,
is that friendly or enemy?
804
00:55:37,296 --> 00:55:42,093
[Dog] That's enemy. You are
safety [indistinct]. Over.
805
00:55:44,262 --> 00:55:46,055
Deadwood 6-6, roger.
806
00:55:48,099 --> 00:55:53,521
Okay, that's enemy position.
Just run on the nose,
right there somewhere.
807
00:55:55,273 --> 00:55:56,274
And some rockets.
808
00:55:56,440 --> 00:55:58,526
[rockets whooshing]
809
00:56:03,990 --> 00:56:05,616
[machine gun fire]
810
00:56:18,754 --> 00:56:22,967
This spot level, I don't like,
but it looks like somebody come
back to get em.
811
00:56:23,092 --> 00:56:25,887
[indistinct radio chatter]
812
00:56:33,519 --> 00:56:35,980
-[Deadwood] No, that is
not working.
-[copilot indistinct]
813
00:56:37,982 --> 00:56:40,318
[Flores] And that's when the,
the gun stopped shooting.
814
00:56:40,484 --> 00:56:43,529
We could hear it cycling,
but no bullets were coming out.
815
00:56:45,156 --> 00:56:47,700
-[Deadwood] Can't be out
of rounds already.
-[copilot] No way.
816
00:56:47,825 --> 00:56:51,120
Sounds like the gun was
running, but it wasn't firing.
817
00:56:51,245 --> 00:56:52,413
Oh Jeez.
818
00:56:53,998 --> 00:56:58,002
OK, Dog 3-7, Deadwood 6-6,
either we're out of bullets
or our gun is broken.
819
00:56:58,127 --> 00:57:03,257
We're gonna get back to ABAD
and continue with the mission,
we'll be back in a little bit.
820
00:57:04,425 --> 00:57:06,719
This is Dog 3-7, copy, over.
821
00:57:09,180 --> 00:57:11,140
[Flores] At that point,
we went back to Asadabad.
822
00:57:12,099 --> 00:57:16,938
The crew chiefs on the ground
there, at Asadabad, said like,
"Hey, do you need any fuel?"
823
00:57:17,063 --> 00:57:21,484
And I said, "No, but could you
check the gun, see if it's
broke or not?"
824
00:57:21,609 --> 00:57:25,112
So, they open the avionics bay
and they check the gun,
825
00:57:25,237 --> 00:57:27,615
and sure enough,
we're just out of bullets.
826
00:57:27,740 --> 00:57:32,370
So the kid comes back with a big
ammo can of 30 millimeter,
827
00:57:32,495 --> 00:57:35,122
and then they look at us
and that's when we find out
828
00:57:35,247 --> 00:57:39,961
that they don't have
the proper equipment to load
the 30 millimeter bullets
829
00:57:40,086 --> 00:57:45,174
into the Apache. Unbeknownst
to us, that was taken away
a week ago.
830
00:57:45,299 --> 00:57:48,386
Bullets, going into
the Korengal Valley
was an absolute necessity.
831
00:57:48,511 --> 00:57:50,846
We had to have bullets.
832
00:57:51,806 --> 00:57:55,935
So, I suggested,
"Hey, how about if we fly
back down to Jalalabad here,
833
00:57:56,060 --> 00:58:00,398
and, uh, get our guys to put
bullets in our Apache,
refill us with gas,
834
00:58:00,523 --> 00:58:02,858
and we'll be back up here
45 minutes tops,
835
00:58:02,984 --> 00:58:05,111
and then we can go on
into the Korengal."
836
00:58:05,236 --> 00:58:08,739
At that point I saw the--
the Code getting out of the TOC,
837
00:58:08,864 --> 00:58:11,200
and running
and getting into his Black Hawk.
838
00:58:11,325 --> 00:58:14,578
And right at that point,
Ark Angel gets on the radio
and says like,
839
00:58:14,704 --> 00:58:17,373
"Hey, you guys.
The Code's ready to go.
840
00:58:17,498 --> 00:58:20,334
You've got rockets and missiles,
let's go."
841
00:58:22,837 --> 00:58:28,050
5-3-7, roger. I just got word
that the General
842
00:58:29,677 --> 00:58:32,763
says that you have to have
an escort with you, over.
843
00:58:34,557 --> 00:58:37,768
- Alright.
- Dog 3-7 copy, over.
844
00:58:46,235 --> 00:58:50,865
This really sucks not having--
us going in here.
845
00:58:52,491 --> 00:58:58,372
So, I took off, Ark Angel,
the Black Hawk with the Code,
takes off right behind me.
846
00:58:58,497 --> 00:59:00,916
Rolling straight
into the Korengal Valley.
847
00:59:01,042 --> 00:59:02,293
[birds chirping]
848
00:59:02,418 --> 00:59:05,421
[tense music]
849
00:59:13,679 --> 00:59:18,142
Korengal outpost, Lumberyard,
this is Deadwood 6-6, getting
down with the Code.
850
00:59:19,852 --> 00:59:23,314
This is Lumberyard COP
control, copy that, over.
851
00:59:25,274 --> 00:59:30,154
I call up the Lumberyard,
or Korengal outpost, or the COP,
852
00:59:30,279 --> 00:59:33,032
tell em that, uh, it's
Deadwood inbound with the Code.
853
00:59:34,867 --> 00:59:38,788
[indistinct radio chatter]
854
00:59:38,913 --> 00:59:42,625
[Dog] Go in, take left turn
now, I'm at your
right five o'clock high.
855
00:59:42,750 --> 00:59:46,087
Roger that [indistinct].
856
00:59:48,422 --> 00:59:52,093
[Dog] Uh, don't go any further
south, make a left turn now,
make a left turn now.
857
00:59:53,844 --> 00:59:57,431
Yeah, pick up your speed
fast as you can,
really not good up here.
858
00:59:58,516 --> 01:00:00,935
[Anthony] We're moving out
at a pretty good clip
because we know
859
01:00:01,060 --> 01:00:04,271
that there's enemy in the area.
860
01:00:04,396 --> 01:00:07,399
Holes started appearing
in the side of the helicopter,
861
01:00:07,525 --> 01:00:10,152
which, you know, either rivets
are popping or somebody's
862
01:00:10,277 --> 01:00:13,239
shooting at us and of course,
it was the latter.
863
01:00:13,364 --> 01:00:17,743
And the left engine catches
on fire as we're landing,
864
01:00:17,868 --> 01:00:20,955
uh, hard landing
inside the Korengal outpost.
865
01:00:22,706 --> 01:00:25,292
[Flores] So, they're on
the ground dropping off
the Code and the package
866
01:00:25,417 --> 01:00:28,295
and whatever else they had,
and I'm circling overhead
867
01:00:28,420 --> 01:00:31,924
and Lessum and myself,
my copilot, were discussing
like, "Okay,
868
01:00:32,049 --> 01:00:35,052
we'll go back to Jalalabad, get
some bullets in this helicopter,
869
01:00:35,177 --> 01:00:37,972
and that should be
about the time we come back
to pick up the-- the Code."
870
01:00:38,931 --> 01:00:41,392
[Deadwood] All he's got to do is
drop off and we go back to Abad.
871
01:00:41,517 --> 01:00:43,686
[copilot] Yeah, as far as we
know that's all he's doing.
872
01:00:43,811 --> 01:00:45,980
[Deadwood] You know, we ought
to, I don't know how much time
873
01:00:46,105 --> 01:00:49,441
they've got, but, I think
we can run down to ABAD,
874
01:00:49,567 --> 01:00:54,071
[indistinct]
and get, get bullets.
875
01:00:55,406 --> 01:00:56,991
Would be nice, wouldn't it?
876
01:01:00,870 --> 01:01:04,039
At that point,
they came under attack.
877
01:01:04,165 --> 01:01:05,708
-[man] Oh my god!
-[explosion]
878
01:01:06,917 --> 01:01:10,713
[muffled shouting]
879
01:01:10,838 --> 01:01:14,008
[gunfire]
880
01:01:14,133 --> 01:01:17,469
Now we're in full-fledged
ambush. There's rocket,
881
01:01:17,595 --> 01:01:21,182
propel grenades, criss-crossing
like Roman Candles.
882
01:01:21,307 --> 01:01:23,809
-[gunfire]
-[man] Open it up, open it up!
883
01:01:23,934 --> 01:01:26,687
[Anthony] And there's machine
gun rounds coming in.
884
01:01:27,813 --> 01:01:28,689
Eh!
885
01:01:34,820 --> 01:01:38,365
[Anthony] Captain McKnight
comes running up
and, and grabs me
886
01:01:38,490 --> 01:01:41,327
by the body armor and says,
887
01:01:41,452 --> 01:01:45,122
"Sir, the last thing I need is
a dead general in my base camp."
888
01:01:45,247 --> 01:01:47,458
Go, get out, get out!
889
01:01:47,583 --> 01:01:49,084
[gunfire]
890
01:01:52,129 --> 01:01:55,591
[Anthony] Coming down the hill,
the young man named
Sergeant Vile.
891
01:01:56,508 --> 01:01:59,220
-[camera clicking]
-[Anthony] And Sergeant Vile
gets shot.
892
01:02:04,767 --> 01:02:08,437
He gets up, ties up his own
tourniquet and we all go piling
893
01:02:08,562 --> 01:02:13,150
into the command post,
be that what it was.
894
01:02:15,069 --> 01:02:16,946
[gunfire]
895
01:02:17,071 --> 01:02:21,158
[Anthony] The Korengal outpost
was under pretty significant
896
01:02:21,283 --> 01:02:22,785
contact at this time.
897
01:02:22,910 --> 01:02:24,828
- Here you go.
-[camera clicking]
898
01:02:24,954 --> 01:02:27,164
[Anthony] And I'm watching
Sergeant Vile,
899
01:02:27,289 --> 01:02:29,875
who is starting
to go into shock.
900
01:02:30,000 --> 01:02:34,255
But he was a mortar ballistic
computer operator, he had
a very important job.
901
01:02:34,380 --> 01:02:38,634
He has a radio and he's punching
numbers into his mortar
ballistic computer,
902
01:02:39,551 --> 01:02:42,346
and his left arm
was severely wounded.
903
01:02:42,471 --> 01:02:45,140
There was blood dripping
on the plywood floor.
904
01:02:46,350 --> 01:02:49,436
I tapped the medic and say,
"You need to check him out,
905
01:02:49,561 --> 01:02:53,524
he's getting ready to go
into shock". Because he was
visibly shaking.
906
01:02:53,649 --> 01:02:56,944
And, uh, the medic sort of
smirked at me and says,
907
01:02:57,069 --> 01:03:00,572
"You don't know Sergeant Vile,
sir." And I said,
908
01:03:00,698 --> 01:03:04,076
"That may be,
but, you know, he looks like
he's gonna--", and so...
909
01:03:04,201 --> 01:03:08,914
-[camera clicking]
- The medic goes over, I guess
not wanting to upset the General
910
01:03:09,039 --> 01:03:13,210
and Sergeant Vile turns at him
and growls, you know, and get
the F away from me.
911
01:03:13,335 --> 01:03:15,963
-[camera clicking]
- And this is,
you know, the beauty
912
01:03:16,088 --> 01:03:20,217
of the American soldier is
that he didn't wanna let
his teammates down.
913
01:03:28,684 --> 01:03:34,523
At this point, there's a string
of bullets coming at me
between myself and Ark Angel.
914
01:03:36,525 --> 01:03:40,446
[Deadwood] Oh shit, what was
that? There, they are
right there.
915
01:03:42,573 --> 01:03:46,410
I rolled in hard left,
and I thought, "Jeez,
I have no bullets."
916
01:03:46,535 --> 01:03:49,204
At that point, I could
not go to our rocket shops
917
01:03:49,330 --> 01:03:52,416
because the Korengal outpost
was right on the other side.
918
01:03:52,541 --> 01:03:54,501
-[copilot] See that smoke
right there?
-[Deadwood] Yeah, shit.
919
01:03:55,753 --> 01:04:01,258
Yeah, you're taking fire, just,
uh, I don't know if you saw
it, it was left low.
920
01:04:03,761 --> 01:04:07,681
I squeezed over and I said,
"I'm gonna kill you.
I'm gonna kill you."
921
01:04:07,806 --> 01:04:11,352
Shoved the helicopter over
into a negative G push,
squeezed that trigger.
922
01:04:12,644 --> 01:04:15,314
-[copilot] It was right there.
Right there, right there.
-[Deadwood] Woah!
923
01:04:15,439 --> 01:04:18,692
[radio clutter]
924
01:04:18,817 --> 01:04:19,777
Come on.
925
01:04:21,779 --> 01:04:25,574
[Flores] Nothing was coming out,
I was in a one and a half
negative G push.
926
01:04:25,699 --> 01:04:29,244
The safety inhibit on the Apache
keeps me from firing rockets
at that point.
927
01:04:30,788 --> 01:04:36,085
You could see flashes
of everybody shooting
at us from that ridgeline.
928
01:04:36,210 --> 01:04:38,420
Was like the paparazzi
was right in front of us.
929
01:04:41,298 --> 01:04:43,425
I pull back on the stick
930
01:04:43,550 --> 01:04:46,720
at that time to get out
of a stream of gunfire
coming at me.
931
01:04:47,971 --> 01:04:51,517
That's when I saw my-- my wife
932
01:04:51,642 --> 01:04:55,312
and my kids at the front
of the door of our house...
933
01:04:55,437 --> 01:04:57,773
[rattling sound]
934
01:04:57,898 --> 01:05:00,818
...thinking that--
935
01:05:00,984 --> 01:05:04,446
"How could dad have
gotten killed with less
than two weeks left?"
936
01:05:04,571 --> 01:05:07,533
[distorted white noise]
937
01:05:08,951 --> 01:05:13,247
And then I looked and I saw
my daughter smiling saying,
"No, uh--
938
01:05:15,416 --> 01:05:16,333
It's not gonna happen."
939
01:05:19,336 --> 01:05:20,212
[grunts]
940
01:05:23,382 --> 01:05:26,718
- My copilot says, "Daniel,
you're hyperventilating."
-[rattling sound]
941
01:05:26,844 --> 01:05:30,097
- That was the point where like
I thought, "No stop."
-[rattling sound]
942
01:05:30,222 --> 01:05:32,724
Finally, I breathe again.
943
01:05:32,850 --> 01:05:35,185
So now, I'm trying
to line up the nose
944
01:05:35,310 --> 01:05:38,814
and trying to get at least
a half a positive G to get
a rocket out.
945
01:05:46,613 --> 01:05:47,739
[Deadwood] Fuck, fuck, fuck.
946
01:05:49,324 --> 01:05:53,829
And sure enough by the grace
of God, I fire one rocket
and it goes right, center mass.
947
01:05:54,830 --> 01:06:00,461
[Deadwood] Combat Main, Combat
Main. They were just shooting
at us underneath me right now.
948
01:06:00,586 --> 01:06:05,174
Combat main, they were just
shooting at us, just now.
Did you see 'em?
949
01:06:07,217 --> 01:06:08,510
[Deadwood] That was a big gun.
950
01:06:10,721 --> 01:06:12,723
[copilot] Yeah, I saw some
big traces coming around here.
951
01:06:12,848 --> 01:06:15,434
[Deadwood] It was a big
machine gun shooting
952
01:06:15,559 --> 01:06:18,187
traces out of the next spot
and we were not allowed
to shoot.
953
01:06:19,938 --> 01:06:22,983
Come back around,
screaming on the radio,
telling the Korengal outpost,
954
01:06:23,108 --> 01:06:26,278
"We're taking
fire from this spot.
Get a fire mission going."
955
01:06:26,403 --> 01:06:29,364
[gunfire]
956
01:06:29,490 --> 01:06:30,407
[explosion]
957
01:06:31,700 --> 01:06:35,537
[Anthony] You hear the loud funk
of the mortar go off.
958
01:06:35,662 --> 01:06:37,498
-[mortar whistling]
-[explosion thundering]
959
01:06:37,623 --> 01:06:39,208
[muffled shouting]
960
01:06:39,333 --> 01:06:41,710
[Anthony] The hang time's
probably about a minute.
961
01:06:41,835 --> 01:06:45,839
It's just silent in there except
from some of the machine gun
rounds coming in.
962
01:06:45,964 --> 01:06:49,218
But nobody was talking
and you hear the explosion.
963
01:06:49,343 --> 01:06:50,677
[explosion thundering]
964
01:06:52,971 --> 01:06:54,848
[Anthony]
The machine gun rounds stop.
965
01:06:54,973 --> 01:06:56,725
-[camera clicking]
- Vile gets confirmation
966
01:06:56,850 --> 01:06:58,936
of a first round direct hit.
967
01:06:59,102 --> 01:07:02,898
He pushes the mortar ballistic
computer across the picnic table
968
01:07:03,023 --> 01:07:06,235
to his private. He turns
to the medic and he says,
969
01:07:06,360 --> 01:07:08,320
"Now you can work on me."
970
01:07:09,780 --> 01:07:13,283
[Flores] At that point,
I could see the Taliban
running on the ridgeline.
971
01:07:14,576 --> 01:07:19,665
Deadwood 6-6, we're engaged
right now, we got them, we got
them straight in front of us.
972
01:07:20,791 --> 01:07:25,295
And that's just when I begin
to fire as fast as I could,
all the rockets I could,
973
01:07:25,420 --> 01:07:29,550
and actually remembering
a World War II pilot
that I know, saying,
974
01:07:29,675 --> 01:07:31,843
"Wiggle the pedals back
and forth a little bit, that way
975
01:07:31,969 --> 01:07:34,388
all your rockets
won't end up in one spot".
976
01:07:35,472 --> 01:07:38,392
I wiggled the pedals just
a little bit right and left,
as I'm squeezing the rockets
977
01:07:38,517 --> 01:07:41,144
and making my rockets hit
everywhere around them.
978
01:07:42,688 --> 01:07:43,897
- Fucking--
- There we go.
979
01:07:44,022 --> 01:07:47,401
[rockets whooshing]
980
01:07:50,821 --> 01:07:56,618
Deadwood 6-6, we got up on that
spot. Combat Main. Lumberyard,
permission to [indistinct].
981
01:07:56,743 --> 01:07:59,663
[Flores] Swing back around
again, we're running out
of high explosive rockets.
982
01:07:59,788 --> 01:08:04,418
We start shooting
flechettes, 2000
983
01:08:04,543 --> 01:08:08,130
two-inch nails coming
at those guys ripping into them.
984
01:08:08,255 --> 01:08:12,718
[rockets whooshing]
985
01:08:14,428 --> 01:08:18,974
[indistinct radio chatter]
986
01:08:21,560 --> 01:08:23,895
After that, run out
of flechettes, come back around
987
01:08:24,021 --> 01:08:25,814
and I start shooting
white phosphorous.
988
01:08:27,107 --> 01:08:30,360
-[firing rockets]
-[overlapping chatter]
989
01:08:31,361 --> 01:08:34,865
At that point, [sighs]
I have nothing left.
990
01:08:35,824 --> 01:08:39,036
I call the-- the, uh, Korengal
outpost, tell them like,
991
01:08:39,202 --> 01:08:41,747
"We are Winchester.
We are out of here."
992
01:08:43,832 --> 01:08:50,047
- Alright, Deadwood 6-6,
Winchester, we're out of here.
- Roger that, over.
993
01:08:50,172 --> 01:08:52,633
Fuck, why wouldn't that rocket
shoot on that first run?
Damn it,
994
01:08:52,758 --> 01:08:56,345
that pisses me off.
And no gun. Dammit of all the--
995
01:08:56,470 --> 01:08:59,139
[copilot] Oh yeah, of all
the times not having
a fucking gun, man.
996
01:09:04,978 --> 01:09:05,937
[copilot] Yes.
997
01:09:07,105 --> 01:09:11,318
[Anthony] The heroism of both
the Black Hawk crew
998
01:09:11,443 --> 01:09:16,573
and the, uh, Apache crew,
was just unbelievable.
999
01:09:16,698 --> 01:09:19,242
They stayed on station
1000
01:09:19,368 --> 01:09:21,953
when it was so risky,
so dangerous,
1001
01:09:23,914 --> 01:09:26,708
to help the troops
on the ground.
1002
01:09:28,251 --> 01:09:30,253
[Deadwood] Alright, you sure
you guys did not take a hit
1003
01:09:30,379 --> 01:09:31,963
cause they were shooting
all over you.
1004
01:09:33,131 --> 01:09:36,093
[Ark Angel] Yeah 1-32, we took
a hit, our generator's out
and our stabilizers out.
1005
01:09:37,969 --> 01:09:40,722
[Deadwood] We're totally viable
but we're gonna have
to shut down
1006
01:09:40,847 --> 01:09:43,684
and take a look at it
when we get to ABAD.
1007
01:09:43,809 --> 01:09:48,605
We're gonna have to fly around
and get another aircraft for
[indistinct].
1008
01:09:49,606 --> 01:09:51,483
[Deadwood] Sounds good.
1009
01:09:51,608 --> 01:09:55,987
Much later that evening,
they sent, uh,
another Black Hawk out
1010
01:09:56,113 --> 01:10:01,368
to recover my team and me.
You know, I had five other stops
1011
01:10:01,493 --> 01:10:05,080
I was gonna make that day,
but that, that sort of changed
the whole dynamic
1012
01:10:05,205 --> 01:10:09,126
of the visit
and so all the "to any soldier",
1013
01:10:09,292 --> 01:10:11,753
uh, packages and letters,
they all stayed right there.
1014
01:10:11,878 --> 01:10:12,838
[camera clicking]
1015
01:10:14,256 --> 01:10:16,425
[Anthony] We put Sergeant Vile
on our aircraft
1016
01:10:16,550 --> 01:10:18,927
and medivacked him to Bagram.
1017
01:10:19,052 --> 01:10:24,433
-[camera clicking]
- And before he got evacked,
I pinned on his purple heart.
1018
01:10:24,558 --> 01:10:28,478
-[camera clicking]
- He's a personal hero
of mine today.
1019
01:10:28,603 --> 01:10:33,734
This was the best teamwork
I've ever seen. It was
completely unrehearsed,
1020
01:10:33,859 --> 01:10:37,821
it was all instinctual.
These pilots knew what to do,
the soldiers knew what to do.
1021
01:10:38,822 --> 01:10:44,536
It was one of those days
where I was never prouder to be
an American fighting soldier.
1022
01:10:44,661 --> 01:10:50,041
Because everybody
did their job above
and beyond the call of duty,
1023
01:10:50,167 --> 01:10:53,920
and avoided
what really could have been
1024
01:10:54,045 --> 01:10:57,340
a catastrophic type of event.
1025
01:10:57,466 --> 01:11:00,969
It was just
an incredible sight to see.
1026
01:11:01,970 --> 01:11:03,180
[emotional music]
1027
01:11:44,805 --> 01:11:49,935
[Eric] It was a, a moment a few
years ago when he had, uh--
1028
01:11:50,060 --> 01:11:53,063
tweaked his elbow pretty bad
and he was in a cast,
1029
01:11:53,188 --> 01:11:56,441
and we were all just sitting
in here watching TV one night,
1030
01:11:56,566 --> 01:12:00,946
and he just started sweating
profusely and got up and just--
1031
01:12:01,071 --> 01:12:03,740
pacing around the room
and cussing saying,
1032
01:12:03,865 --> 01:12:05,826
"I need to get out of this,
I need to get out of this cast
1033
01:12:05,951 --> 01:12:07,911
right now, they need
to take this off."
1034
01:12:08,036 --> 01:12:10,705
'Cause he was having
an anxiety attack
from being claustrophobic.
1035
01:12:10,831 --> 01:12:14,209
Then I started to
think about it more
and looking back at like,
1036
01:12:14,334 --> 01:12:17,629
when we were in Colorado
and packed into that gondola,
1037
01:12:17,754 --> 01:12:21,508
packed in the long car rides
where you would start to notice
1038
01:12:21,633 --> 01:12:25,387
he's a little off
about something,
but he's trying to hide it,
1039
01:12:25,512 --> 01:12:29,724
but he can't just quite do it.
It did humanize him a little bit
1040
01:12:29,850 --> 01:12:34,521
to see him act this way,
you know, have this episode.
1041
01:12:34,646 --> 01:12:39,359
But, uh, for the most part,
I mean, it was maybe
two minutes of that,
1042
01:12:39,484 --> 01:12:43,238
and then he calmed right
back down, and just sat
back down and said,
1043
01:12:43,363 --> 01:12:46,908
"Alright, I need to call
the doctors tomorrow, tell
'em to help me out with this",
1044
01:12:47,033 --> 01:12:50,203
and then, we just went right
back to watching whatever
we were watching.
1045
01:12:50,328 --> 01:12:53,957
For a while there it was pretty
intense and with the cast thing,
1046
01:12:54,082 --> 01:12:58,920
like Eric was talking
about earlier, on his arm,
that surprised me also.
1047
01:12:59,045 --> 01:13:01,381
I really never have even
thought about something
like that.
1048
01:13:01,506 --> 01:13:05,302
I was thinking more of,
you know, the gondola,
being in an enclosed space,
1049
01:13:05,468 --> 01:13:08,889
kind of made sense to me,
but having something
on your arm,
1050
01:13:09,014 --> 01:13:11,308
didn't really make any sense,
why that would bother him.
1051
01:13:11,474 --> 01:13:15,103
He wrote this book and it,
you know, maybe thousands
of people are gonna read
1052
01:13:15,228 --> 01:13:18,648
and he's talking about it
just like it's a normal thing,
but he--
1053
01:13:18,773 --> 01:13:21,067
didn't quite talk about it
to everyone at home.
1054
01:13:21,192 --> 01:13:25,488
And, uh, it was a little
off-putting, you know,
reading it, but I mean,
1055
01:13:25,614 --> 01:13:29,868
you understand it's a part of it
and it's a part of the story
that he needs to tell.
1056
01:13:29,993 --> 01:13:32,370
[calm music]
1057
01:13:42,881 --> 01:13:46,301
- Hey, you must be Matt.
- I'm Matt, nice to meet you.
1058
01:13:46,426 --> 01:13:48,011
- Good to meet you, Ross Hovey.
- Hey Ross.
1059
01:13:48,136 --> 01:13:50,513
- Ross, man.
- Good to see you, brother.
1060
01:13:50,639 --> 01:13:52,724
- It's been a while.
- Yeah, great to see you.
1061
01:13:52,849 --> 01:13:54,517
And who are these guys?
1062
01:13:54,643 --> 01:13:58,104
Naser, my buddy. How are you?
Good to see you, Ross.
1063
01:13:58,229 --> 01:14:01,775
- Naser, I'm Daniel,
nice to meet you, brother.
- I'm Terry.
1064
01:14:01,900 --> 01:14:04,694
-[overlapping speech]
- Terry, nice to meet you, man,
it's been years.
1065
01:14:04,819 --> 01:14:08,156
- Yeah, I know, for sure.
- And you were the translator,
is that right?
1066
01:14:08,281 --> 01:14:10,325
- I was the translator.
- OK, yeah.
1067
01:14:10,450 --> 01:14:12,243
That is too good,
and he was the door guy or--
1068
01:14:12,369 --> 01:14:14,454
I was the gunner
up top the Mark 19.
1069
01:14:14,579 --> 01:14:17,749
- He was the gunner, he was
back seat and I was the TC.
- Alright.
1070
01:14:17,874 --> 01:14:19,125
- So, Vandal 1 -6.
- Yep.
1071
01:14:19,250 --> 01:14:20,794
1 -7.
1072
01:14:20,919 --> 01:14:22,462
- And Naser.
- I was relaxing
in the back seat.
1073
01:14:22,587 --> 01:14:23,838
[laughter]
1074
01:14:23,964 --> 01:14:26,341
He was handing
the rounds up to me.
1075
01:14:26,466 --> 01:14:28,760
That's pretty good,
I like that. Yeah.
1076
01:14:28,885 --> 01:14:31,304
Well guys, you wanna
just step inside the bar,
1077
01:14:31,429 --> 01:14:33,765
we can just hang out, grab a--
grab a cold drink if you'd like?
1078
01:14:35,475 --> 01:14:39,813
A toast to our Afghanistan team,
our army family and friends
1079
01:14:39,938 --> 01:14:42,983
and all those that didn't get
to come back. That didn't
make it home safe.
1080
01:14:43,108 --> 01:14:46,111
I remember that captain,
1081
01:14:46,236 --> 01:14:49,531
from the 2-6 cab, he said like,
"Guys, everything's heating up
1082
01:14:49,656 --> 01:14:53,243
there in the Korengal
and the Pech, but don't
forget the Tagab,
1083
01:14:53,368 --> 01:14:56,663
'cause it is about
to explode and, uh,
1084
01:14:56,788 --> 01:14:59,040
I thought ah, whatever.
Same thing, flew over it
all year long.
1085
01:14:59,165 --> 01:15:01,001
Two months after that,
I've forgotten what he's said
1086
01:15:01,126 --> 01:15:05,046
and then all of a sudden one day
we're on QRF and they say,
1087
01:15:05,171 --> 01:15:07,674
"We got to take a tog out",
and I'm like,
1088
01:15:07,799 --> 01:15:11,177
"Really? There's something
going on? There's firefighting
in the Takab?"
1089
01:15:11,302 --> 01:15:16,057
I say, "There's a convoy that's
been ambushed, and there's 200
1090
01:15:16,182 --> 01:15:19,185
Taliban out there
that are surrounding them."
1091
01:15:19,310 --> 01:15:21,521
I can't remember how long
it was, but it had to have been
1092
01:15:21,646 --> 01:15:25,150
five to ten minutes we were
supporting that QRF team.
1093
01:15:25,275 --> 01:15:27,193
And that it?
It felt like five hours.
1094
01:15:27,318 --> 01:15:29,070
[laughter]
1095
01:15:29,195 --> 01:15:30,238
I thought the same thing too.
1096
01:15:31,614 --> 01:15:34,075
I-- I was looking up to the sky,
I'm like, "You guys are saying,
1097
01:15:34,200 --> 01:15:36,536
'Hey I'm dropping rounds."'
I'm like,
1098
01:15:36,661 --> 01:15:39,414
"I don't see you,
let alone your rounds."
1099
01:15:39,539 --> 01:15:41,708
That's hit me in the leg.
1100
01:15:41,833 --> 01:15:44,461
Like you were saying, there were
ambushes all the way up there.
1101
01:15:44,627 --> 01:15:46,671
- Yeah, you
didn't shoot anybody...
- That didn't need shooting.
1102
01:15:46,796 --> 01:15:50,341
...that were up to good. They
were actually after our QRF.
1103
01:15:50,467 --> 01:15:52,302
We were in the business
of killing and right then,
business was good.
1104
01:15:52,427 --> 01:15:55,221
All I could tell was,
that there was American
1105
01:15:55,346 --> 01:15:58,475
made vehicles with A&A men in
them and they were under attack.
1106
01:15:58,641 --> 01:16:01,686
Yeah, we started moving up
and as we started moving up,
uh, you know,
1107
01:16:01,811 --> 01:16:05,398
it was literally seven
different ambushes
waiting for us.
1108
01:16:05,523 --> 01:16:07,859
They were laying on top,
not accurate firing,
1109
01:16:07,984 --> 01:16:10,403
but to hide themselves
in firing,
1110
01:16:10,528 --> 01:16:16,826
when we got back, I had
a 8k round in between
my vest and my dune.
1111
01:16:16,951 --> 01:16:19,287
- Wow!
- That's I mean, so you know
we were like, "Oh my gosh".
1112
01:16:19,412 --> 01:16:22,791
- Holy mackerel!
- And yeah, they were,
it was crazy.
1113
01:16:22,916 --> 01:16:28,963
God bless the A&A,
they would always leave us
in the [indistinct] Humvee sick.
1114
01:16:29,089 --> 01:16:33,176
We had-- I had to get
Naser out and say, tell them
to move up, move up, move up.
1115
01:16:33,301 --> 01:16:37,764
One of the Taliban,
he already-- he was like,
uh, the radio channel
1116
01:16:37,889 --> 01:16:41,017
of the enemy because he was
scanning the communication.
1117
01:16:41,142 --> 01:16:45,730
He called one of the sergeants,
which he called me, he took his
handset, he answered, "Yes".
1118
01:16:46,689 --> 01:16:48,024
Oh yeah? [laughter]
1119
01:16:48,149 --> 01:16:51,277
He said, "I'm gonna
fuck you all up."
1120
01:16:51,402 --> 01:16:53,279
[laughter]
1121
01:16:53,404 --> 01:16:56,241
So, all you guys alive,
that's what the Taliban said.
1122
01:16:56,366 --> 01:16:58,576
- Wow, it's just--
- Kudos.
1123
01:17:01,621 --> 01:17:03,456
♪ ♪