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HEAVY METAL THUNDERMarine Corps CH-53E Training During WTI 2-13

Credit: Joe Copalman, Ned Harris & Dave ShieldsPhotos: as cited

On April 2nd, 1972, an Air Force EB-66 Destroyer with thecallsign BAT21 was shot down in South Vietnam whileflying an escort jamming mission just south of theDemilitarzed Zone. Of BAT21’s six-man crew, only the

Navigator, Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton, was able to ejectsafely. The rescue effort launched to recover Lt. Col.Hambleton wound up being the largest personnel-recovery mission ever launched up to that point,spanning ten days and ultimately costing Americanforces another five aircraft lost, with many others

RESCUE ME

CSAR Operators From Around the World Meet in Arizona for

Angel Thunder 2013Angel Thunder is a comprehensive, multi-scenario, and multi-national, military exercise that provides anopportunity for the Combat Search and Rescue community to practice their important challenging missionof personnel recovery. Born out of lessons learned from the past, Angel Thunder is as adaptive as it iscomprehensive. With scenarios pulled from present day situations, evolutions are presented to players thatwill require them to think, communicate and adapt to difficult, and often hostile and threatening situations; allskills theymustmaster in order to execute their mission successfully. Some of the units and players involvedwill utilize Angel Thunder as their last pre-deployment exercise to validate the skill sets they may very wellbe called upon to use during a forthecoming deployment.

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damaged, and eleven servicemen killed in action

while attempting to rescue Hambleton. While the

BAT21 rescue was ultimately successful, many –

including Lt. Col. Hambleton himself – questioned

whether the high cost in both lives and aircraft was

worth it. Since abandoning the American military’s

“no man left behind” ethos was not an option, the

solutionwas to restructure, re-equip, and re-train the

air rescue service to mitigate the kinds of threats that

made the BAT21 rescue so costly. With the continued

importance of the personnel recovery mission, the

United StatesAir Force – designatedas the leadagency

for search and rescuemissions – is still looking forways

to improve their mission effectiveness. The most

effective tool used to address the training needs of the

rescue community in recent years has been AngelThunder, the world’s largest and most complex

personnel recovery exercise.

Angel Thunderwas founded in 2006 by then-Major BrettHartnett, who was an HH-60G Pave Hawk pilot assigned

to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base at the time. Along with

his colleagues in the Pararescue (PJ) and Combat King

(HC-130) communities, Hartnett realized that existing

Air Force exercises did not place much emphasis on the

personnel recovery mission. “We didn’t get what we

needed out of Red Flag, Green Flag, any of the

exercises,” Hartnett explained. “So we decided – Air

Force rescue, the rescue guys – we will start our own

rescue exercise on our own. Nobody funded it, nobody

told us to do it, we just did it because we needed it.”

Angel Thunder 2013 was the most comprehensive of

these exercises yet, comprised of eight different sub-

exercises encompassing virtually the full spectrum of

real-world personnel recovery scenarios. These eight

sub-exercises were RESCUE RODEO, OperationAUDACITY, Operation RESLIENT, OperationTENACITY, UNITED FRONT, Task Force BACA,MIDNIGHT RIDER, and RESOLUTE ANGEL. While some

of these were standalone exercises, in many cases,

Angel Thunder 2013, scenarios support two, three,or even four of these exercises at a given time.

RESCUE RODEO comprised the first week of AngelThunder 2013 (April 7th through 12th) and was geared

toward task training and task validation for all

exercise participants. This training ranged from

aerial live fire work on the Barry M. Goldwater Range

to swift water rescue training on

the Salt River to high-angle rescue

training on Mount Lemmon, from

marksmanship training on the Pima

County Sherriff’s rifle range to

overwater parachute jumps into

Lake Roosevelt. These are all skills

that participants would likely be

called upon to utilize once the

scenario-based exercises kicked off

the following week. RESCUERODEO also allowed all of the

exercise participants to

demonstrate their capabilities to

their peers to give them a better

understanding of what they do

Pararescue Jumpers (PJs) fast-rope from HH-60G Pave Hawkrescue helicopters. PJs are part of a “Guardian Angel”weapons system that also includes Combat Rescue Officers(CROs) and Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE)Specialists. Photo: Ned Harris

Angel Thunder exercises often involve military rescue personnel interfacing with

civilian healthcare systems. Here an HH-60G prepares to depart from a Phoenix-

area hospital after delivering several simulated casualties. Photo: Joe Copalman

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and how they do it, which would be critical

knowledge for commanders and operators to have

before moving into the scenario-based training the

following week.

RESOLUTE ANGEL was the first of the scenario-based

exercises, taking place on Saturday, April 13th to

allow the state and local agencies involved to

participate more effectively than they could during

the Monday-through-Friday work week. The purpose

of RESOLUTE ANGEL was to train relevant military

units in supporting federal and state emergency

management and disaster relief agencies, and to

emphasize the importance of interoperability

between civilian first-responders and those military

units that might be tasked to assist them. Such

assistance is coordinated through a process known as

Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA), and is

most often requested in the wake of massive natural

disasters such as Hurricane Katrina.

The centerpiece of RESOLUTE ANGEL was a mass-

casualty scenario at the Grand Canyon involving a car/

bus crash. In the scenario, civilian first responders were

already to have been stretched thin by a magnitude 8.0

earthquake, meaning the military would be called upon

to assist. In this case, it was the PJs from the 58th Rescue

Squadron at Nellis AFB who answered the call. The 58th

deployed to Afghanistan shortly after Angel Thunderand used their participation as their pre-deploymentwork-up. Alongside the PJs, firefighters, paramedics,and search and rescue personnel from the National ParkService and the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office helpedwith triage and vehicle extraction aswell as assisting thePJs with the high-angle rescue of survivors severalhundred feet below the rim of the canyon. Addingrealism to the exercise were dozens of active dutyairmen from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base who playedthe role of victims in the RESOLUTE ANGEL scenarios.

The third major component of Angel Thunder 2013wasOperation AUDACITY. With nearly twelve years of

experience with irregular warfare (IW) since the

beginning of the Global War on Terror, the United States

Armed Forces are among the best IW troops in theworld.

With operations in Afghanistan drawing down and the

strategic focus shifting to the Pacific Rim and toward

more conventional threats, it is important to not lose the

A California Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawkassigned to A Co, 2-238th AVN over the Goldwater Rangeen route to NATO Hill. Photo: Ned Harris

An HH-60G Pave Hawk from the 101st RQS flies at low-

level on the Barry M. Goldwater Range. The 101st is a

subordinate unit of the New York Air National Guard’s

106th Rescue Wing, which sent a sizeable contingent of

personnel to DMAFB for Angel Thunder 2013. Photo:

Ned Harris

Door gunners from the New York Air National Guard’s

101st Rescue Squadron engage simulated urban targets

with their .50 caliber machine guns on the Barry M.

Goldwater Range during a RESCUE RODEO sortie early

on in Angel Thunder 2013. Photo: Ned Harris

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ability to meet IW threats competently, should they

arise, and that is what AUDACITY was aimed at.AUDACITY consisted of a number of scenarios, primarily

in Playas, New Mexico, that put participants’ IW skills to

the test, dealing with enemies who blend in with the

local population (all portrayed by role-players).

Operation RESILIENT was the fourth component of

Angel Thunder 2013, and focused on contested/

degraded operations. The premise of the RESILIENTscenarios was that a conventional adversary had

captured or destroyed one or more airbases through

Anti-Access/AreaDenial (A2/AD) operations, forcing the

US and coalition forces to operate from roads and

austere/unimproved surfaces. RESILIENT was one ofthe operations that reflected theDOD’s strategic shift to

the Pacific, where potential adversaries possess thecapability to degrade operations in this manner, makingthis skillset more important than it has been since theend of the Cold War. The centerpieces of RESILIENTwere a Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP)

scenario on a dry lakebed on the White Sands Missile

Range and a similar operation at Bisbee Municipal

Airport.

RESILIENTwasn’t the only component ofAngel Thunder2013 that involved training for missions in the Pacific

Rim. Angel Thunder’s fifth component was OperationTENACITY,which focused onAir-Sea Battle scenarios offthe coast of Southern California. Angel Thunder itselfwas planned in coordinationwith three other large-scale

joint exercises as part of the Joint National Training

Capability, and one of those exercises was the JointWar

Fighting Center Training and Exercise (JTEX) in

conjunction with the US Navy’s 3rd Fleet and numerous

Naval SpecialWarfare units. TENACITY’s scenarios tookplace near San Clemente Island off the coast of SanDiego, pushing the endurance of the HH-60G PaveHawksto their limits while staging out of Davis-Monthan AFBand Brawley, California.

One of the hallmarks of Angel Thunder has been a high

degree of realism. This goes for the kinetic side of the

scenarios as well as the administrative and planning

Commandos approach the driver of an unknown vehicle during

an Irregular Warfare evolution as part of OperationAUDACITY. Photo: Dave Shields

Commandos from the Chilean Air Force’s Unidad Táctica de Fuerzas

Especiales, or Tactical Special Forces Unit, stand guard during an

operation in Playas, New Mexico. Photo: Dave Shields

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sides. Brett Hartnett and the other Angel Thunderplanners have gone to great lengths to give participants

a real taste of what it is like to work with various

military, civilian, and foreign agencies in an operational

environment, so that when they are tasked with similar

missions in the real world, the process – if not the very

players themselves – are familiar. To this end Hartnett

states “If I need a US ambassador, I just bring a US

ambassador in, versus trying to train some guy how a US

ambassador acts. It’s a lot easier to just go get the real

guy. If I need a real general, we go get a general. If we

need a real congressman, we’ll bring in a real

congressman.” Angel Thunder 2013 was no exception

to this, with Ambassador Charlie Ray, former U.S.

Ambassador to Zimbabwe, and both a longtime advocate

of and participant in Angel Thunder, playing the role of

a U.S. Ambassador in the exercise. Ray’s presence was

part of the sixth component of Angel Thunder 2013,

Operation UNITED FRONT. UNITED FRONT scenarios

involved personnel recovery in nations where the

authority to green-light PR missions does not lie with a

U.S. military commander, as it has in war zones like Iraq

and Afghanistan, but rather with the U.S. Chief of

Mission, most often the U.S. Ambassador. A familiar

scenario in which this command arrangement is found is

with kidnappings of U.S. citizens in foreign countries like

Colombia (a strong participant inAngel Thunder 2013),where the Ambassador’s job would be coordinating withhost-nation government officials on rescue options. Thistraining is as important for themilitary participants as itis for the Department of State officials participating, asthe DOS is in the process of setting up its own personnelrecovery office.

Branching off of UNITED FRONT’s focus on non-wartime

Chief-of-Mission scenarios is TASK FORCE BACA, the

seventh major component to Angel Thunder 2013.BACA scenarios dealth with interagency/host-nation

partnerships with joint military support. In a situation

in which a personnel recovery mission is necessary

outsideof a combat zone,U.S. personnel recovery forces

would have to coordinate with host-nation law

enforcement and military organizations. Playing the

role of such law enforcement agencies were various

Sheriff’s departments throughout Arizona.

The last component of Angel Thunder 2013 was

operation MIDNIGHT RIDER, which focused on Non-

conventional AssistedRecovery (NAR). MIDNIGHTRIDER

scenarios involvedmostly Army Special Forces and otherSpecial Operations Command assets, but little else wasdivulged about this portion of the exercise. In a briefingon Angel Thunder a few weeks prior to the exercise,Hartnett summed up what he could say aboutMIDNIGHTRIDER with the following statement: “Go see the movie

Argo.”

During Angel Thunder 2013, SoAR was able to observe

aRESOLUTEANGEL scenario at theGrandCanyonandanAUDACITY irregular warfare evolution in Playas, New

Mexico.

An HH-60G Pave Hawk prepares to refuel from anHC-130J Combat King II. The 79th Rescue Squadronprovided four of the new HC-130Js for Angel Thunder2013. Photo: Ned Harris

Ten A-10 Warthogs were provided for the exercise

by the Michigan Air National Guard’s 107th Fighter

Squadron “Red Devils.” The A-10s operated in the

“SANDY” search and rescue role during the exercise.

Photo: Joe Copalman

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WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS . . .

A massive earthquake in the American Southwest haspushed civilian first responders to the brink. An exodusof panicked tourists fleeing from the Grand Canyonresults in amassive, multi-car and tour bus pile-up, withinjuries ranging from head trauma to pinned extremitiesto full-scale vehicle ejections. A few people have alsogone over the edge of a nearby cliff, furthercomplicating the challenges that await those whorespond to scene. With the accident victims in dire needof rescue and medical assistance, but with all but ahandful of on-scene emergency workers alreadyovertasked as a result of the earthquake (which has alsodowned bridges and slowed an already traffic-jammedground response), civilian first-responders are still hoursaway from being able to assist. In this simulation, theincident commander at the Grand Canyon initiated an IR– “Immediate Response” – request for military supportthrough Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. All stategovernors have the authority to intiate a DSCA request inresponse to numerous types of domestic crises; such asfloods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. In thisscenario, Governor Brewer contacted Colonel KevinBlanchard, the Commanding Officer of Davis-Monthan’s355th Wing to request support. Using local assets in theform of Davis-Monthan-based HC-130J COMBAT KING IIsearch and rescue aircraft, Colonel Blanchardauthorized the movement of Pararescue Jumpers (PJs)from the 58th Rescue Squadron to the Grand Canyon.

At the Canyon, Fire and EMDpersonnel from theNationalPark Service andTusayan FireDepartments extinguishedvehicle fires, extricated casualties from the cars andtour bus using tools such as pry-bars and the “jaws oflife,” and performed patient triage and treatment.Additionally, these rescue personnel also performed on-scenepatient triage and treatment to thewoundedaftertheir rescue and/or extrication. Meanwhile, the PJs,assisted by the NPS and Coconino County Search andRescue personnel engaged in the high-angle rescue ofthose casualties who were ejected into the canyon.

This was a slow, methodical process in which the safetyof the PJs who rapelled down the canyon and thecasualties they treated and prepared for extraction wasparamount. All told, the PJs and civilian SAR personnelrescued six casualties from inside the canyon. Allcasualties, including those who were extricated from

the vehicles, were evacuated from the area aboard theDavis-Monthan-based HC-130J and a Columbian AirForce C-130.

The multi-vehicle accident at the rim of the GrandCanyon involved fires, pinned victims, ejections,compound fractures, and even victims stranded hundredsof feet down in the canyon itself. Photo: Ned Harris

Personnel from the National Park Service FireDepartment use the “Jaws of life” to extricate asimulated casualty. Photo: Ned Harris

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Pararescue Jumpers from the 58th Rescue Squadron

performing a high-angle rescue inside the Grand Canyon.

The 58th participated in Angel Thunder 2013 as part oftheir pre-deployment training. Photo: Ned Harris

In an image that captures the interagency cooperation

that was the centerpiece of RESOLUTE ANGEL, searchand rescue personnel from the National Park Serviceand the Coconino County Sherriff’s Office confer with aPJ from the Air Force’s 58th Rescue Squadron prior tocarrying out a high-angle rescue in the Grand Canyon.Photo: Ned Harris

PJs work together to pull a “wounded” role-player outof the Grand Canyon. Photo: Ned Harris

Enlisted airmen from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base

wear make-up simulating various traumatic injuries

prior to being transported to the Grand Canyon for

the main Resolute Angel scenario. Photo: Ned Harris

A C-130H from the Fuerza Aerea Colombiana at theGrand Canyon Airport. Photo: Ned Harris

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LIFE AND DEATH IN PLAYAS

The scene is a desert bazaar on a gently-sloping hillside

overlooking a vast, windswept valley. Merchants

dressed in traditional shalwar kameez blouses and

citrali caps haggle with customers while a group of

burqa-clad women cluster in a remote corner.

Conversations, while lively, are drowned out by strong

gusts of wind that kick up clouds of dust and mask the

distant engine hum of the Air Force MC-12W Liberty

reconnaissance plane orbiting high overhead. Several

American servicemen and women are among the

bazaar’s patrons, moving casually among the various

dirt-floored stalls that line the long alleyway. The

merchants and their patrons have grown accustomed to

the Americans, and friendly conversations in broken

mixes of pidgin English and phrasebook Pashto take

place all along the length of the bazaar, while chickens

move about freely underfoot.

BOOM!

An IED, hidden in a far corner of the bazaar detonates,

sending fragments of shrapnel flying out at several

thousand feet per second. Well over a dozen of these

jagged missiles find targets, tearing through flesh and

bone and muscle. Voices that were seconds ago

engaged in friendly banter now scream out in pain and

horror. The dusty alleyway is littered with wounded –

men and women, soldier and civilian, all maimed

indiscriminately by an insurgent’s bomb. Within a

quarter-mile radius of the bazaar, three quickly-

dissipating mushroom clouds confirm that this was part

of a coordinated attack. An American soldier, his right

leg blown off below the knee, crawls to cover in a

butcher’s stall. A comrade of his, blinded by shrapnel,

stumbles while feeling his way to cover, calling out the

names of his buddies for help. The cries of thewounded

come fromeverywhere, and the unwoundedquickly get

to work assisting the wounded to find cover and

beginning rudimentary care such as applying

tourniquets to buy some timeuntil help arrives. Finding

cover is essential, since whoever set these four bombs

offmayuse thechaos andconfusion toengage in further

attacks from snipers, mortars, rockets, suicide

bombers, or combinations thereof. With all of the

Americans wounded and unable to employ their

weapons if needed, they are all sitting ducks,

desperately waiting for the cavalry – and much needed

medical evacuation – to arrive. While scenarios like this

have been all-too-common occurrences over the past

13 years during the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan,

fortunately this attack was simulated. The four IEDs

were littlemore thanmid-grade commercial fireworks,

the blood is fake, and the wounds are the hasty-but-

convincing work of make-up artists who specialize in

Role players in the market at the Playas Training and

Research Center. PTRC provides military and law

enforcement with immersive, high-fidelity training

environments, going to great lengths to replicate the

sights, sounds, and even the “cultural terrain” of other-

than-America areas of operation. Photo: Joe Copalman

An MC-12W Liberty from the 427th Reconnaissance Squadron

at Beale AFB orbits high overhead, providing Intelligence,

Surveillance, and Reconnaissance support to the ground

forces and their commanders. Photo: Joe Copalman

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simulated injuries. Though the sights, sounds, language,

and even smells can trick one into believing he or she is

actually in a dusty Afghan open-air market, this is not

Afghanistan. This is Playas.

The Playas Training and Research Center (PTRC),

located 20 miles north of the Mexican border in the

Playas Valley in southwestern New Mexico, is a unique

complex of urban and desert training ranges used by

law enforcement, first responders, government

agencies, and the military primarily for tactical

training. The town of Playas was built in the 1970s by

Phelps, Dodge and Co. to house the employees who

ran a nearby copper smelter, along with their

families. With over two hundred individual homes, six

apartment buildings, stores, a bank, a post office, an

airfield, and other facilities common to larger

municipalities, Playas was a largely self-contained

community. When Phelps Dodge closed the smelter

down in 1999, the town was abandoned, save for a

small group of residents tasked with the demolition of

the smelter and environmental upkeep.

Playas gained a second lease on life in 2003, when New

Mexico Tech, a University located in Socorro, New

Mexico, purchased the town and the surrounding land

from Phelps Dodge for $5 million. New Mexico Tech

developed the site into the PTRC, one of the world’s

preeminent tactical training facilities for military and

law enforcement professionals from all over the US and

internationally as well. Brett Hartnett and the AngelThunder planning cell have used the PTRC for scenario-

based training for the past several years, as its proximity

to Davis-Monthan, diverse range of realistic training

venues, and terrain similarities to Afghanistan and the

presence of role-players with relevant cultural and

language skills provides them with the ease of access,

flexibility, and immersive training environments needed

to make Angel Thunder as realistic and effective as

possible. In termsof tactical training facilities, thePTRC

hosts shooting ranges that offer numerous target sets at

known and unknown distances, an airfield, a multitude

of structures in which to practice breach-and-clear

tactics, bothpavedandoff-road tactical driving courses,

Villagers assist in moving the wounded out of the street and into

the cover of the buildings nearby. Photo: Joe Copalman

A simulated IED explodes at the Afghan

market. Seconds later, role-players will lay

in the street simulating various types of

injuries, including shrapnel wounds,

amputations, and eye and ear injuries. The

market was one of four sites at the Playas

Training Center that were hit

simultaneously by coordinated IED blasts.

Photo: Joe Copalman

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and several clearings that can beused as landing zones throughoutthe area. The services offered byNew Mexico Tech’s staff at thePRTC, however, go far beyond justtactical training. With severalsites simulating “Other ThanAmerica” locations that are oftenpopulated by locally-hired role-players and native-born speakersof Arabic, Pashto, or Africandialects, Playas also serves as anenvironment in which to train forthe cultural andpolitical aspects ofcounterinsurgency and irregularwarfare, with the main goal beingto give troops a holistic andimmersive training experienceprior to deploying overseas. It wasthis later role that Playas playedduring the irregular warfareevolution of Angel Thunder 2013that SoAR observed.

Shortly after the blast in the

marketplace, a blue pickup truck

stopped at the T-intersection,

off-loading three men in a mix of

civilian and military clothing,

each armed with an AK-47. The

trio quickly but methodically

made their way through the

market, sweeping through the

individual stalls to check for any

insurgents. These were the good

guys, described by AngelThunder ground boss Kyle Sauls

as “diplomatic security, Triple

Canopy-types.” They were first

on-scene due to the “embassy”

being located nearby. With the

scene somewhat secure, two of

the contractors left the market

to go to the other blast sites,

while one remained behind at the

market, taking a position

allowing him to observe the three

main approaches into the area.

In addition to the bomb blast at

the marketplace, further

coordinated attacks occurred on

a civilian bus (a simulated IED)

along with a simulated rocket

attack on a civilian vehicle.

These additional blasts served to

increase the operational stress on

the Quick Reaction Force and the

pararescue personnel who would

shortly be inbound to secure the

attack sites, treat the casualties,

and evacuate those who needed

it. Instead of dealing with an

isolated incident in the market,

there were now blasts and

related casualties (both civilian

and military) at multiple

locations within the immediate

area, along with an unknown

number of insurgents.

The civilian role-players stayed

in character the entire time,

with the wounded continuing to

cry out in pain, and the villagers

continuing to provide whatever

comfort they could until

legitimate medical help arrived

while the women continued to

wail in despair. After roughly an

hour since the bomb blasts, the

sounds of salvation could be

heard in the distance. The

steady, throbbing ‘whump’ of a

CH-47D Chinook provided by the

Army Reserve’s B Company,

7-158th Aviation Battalion and a

Sikorsky UH-60L flown by the

California Army National Guard’s

A Co, 2-238th AVN grew in

intensity as the helicopters

approached Playas. The pair

landed simultaneously, with the

H-60 landing in a clearing

surrounded by houses while the

larger H-47 landed on a dusty

soccer pitch across from the

market. Each helo offloaded a

small squad of Force Recon

Marines from the 2nd Force

Reconnaissance Company, who

cleared their respective landing

zones very quickly and advanced

toward rally points where they

could assess the situation and

plan their next move. They

moved out quickly, methodically

clearing the houses surrounding

the LZs. After about ten minutes

on the ground, the Marines made

contact with the lone security

contractor guarding the market.

“I’m the only one here!” he

shouted, to which a Marine

replied “Not anymore!”

During the scenario, three servicemembers

played the role of civilian/diplomatic

security personnel who provided security at

each incident site while waiting for allied

troops to arrive. Photo: Joe Copalman

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While the Marines had boots on the ground, their jobwas to secure the landing zones for the main body ofthe rescue force. Shortly after the LZs had beensecured, the call was made for the helos carrying therescue forces to come in to Playas. First on-scenewas a Boeing-Vertol CH-47SD Chinook belonging tothe Republic of Singapore Air Force. The pilot setdown in the soccer field, kicking up a massive cloudof dust that completely obscured the aircraft fromview. Before the dust had settled, the the crewchief had dropped the rear ramp, and a squad offourteen commandos from the Chilean Air Force’sUnidad Táctica de Fuerzas Especiales (UTAFE),accompanied by a Force Recon Marine attached tothem stormed out, weapons raised to meet anyunseen threat. They quickly moved to the cover ofsome nearby buildings, establishing a rally point inthe yard of a house about a block north of the

market. Once settled, they communicated with theForce Recon Marines who cleared the LZ,determining their own position relative to themarket and the other units on the ground. As thiswas happening, another Singaporean Chinookappeared over the horizon, quickly making its way toPlayas and settling down on the soccer field theprevious Chinook had cleared only minutes before.Again, the ramp dropped, and a group of commandosdisembarked the massive chopper, againaccompanied by a Force Recon Marine. Thecommando team on the second Chinook reflected thetrue multinational nature of Angel Thunder, being a

mix of seven Colombian Air Force Commandos

A simulated IED explodes near a bus in one of four

coordinated, simultaneous attacks within a quarter-mile

area at the Playas Training and Research Center. Photo:

Dave Shields

A role-player acting as an insurgent flees from the scene

after serving as the “triggerman” for the coordinated

attacks at Playas. Photo: Dave Shields

Casualties await rescue and evacuation in one of the

numerous stalls lining the Afghan market. Photo: Dave

Shields

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(Agrupación de Comandos Especiales Aéreos) and

seven Brazilian commandos, arriving on a

Singaporean helicopter and accompanied by a US

Marine. With boots on the ground, the Colombians

and Brazilians made their way to the rally point that

had been secured by the Chileans.

It is important to note that Angel Thunder scenariosare not scripted. The Brazilians, Chileans, andColombians only knew what the Force Recon Marinesalready on the ground knew, who in turn really onlyhad information from the contractor guarding themarket, and whatever information the MC-12Worbiting overhead could provide. Once all unitswere on the ground, they formulated a plan based

on the information they had – three IED blasts in thearea with wounded at all three sites, contractorsproviding security at each location, and an unknownenemy presence in the area.

Throughout the PTRC grounds, there are numerousobservation decks, towers, and key vantage pointsthat are used by planning personnel, VIP visitors,and official observers (often personnel from sisterunits of foreign militaries). From these locations,the planning personnel are able to coordinate eventsintegral to the scenario and to provide commentaryand explanation to the observers with minimaldisruption to/interference with the players involvedin the exercises. During the irregular warfareevolution at Playas, there were numerous personnelrecovery personnel from foreign militaries (both onthe operator level as well as command and control)that were observing and learning lessons to use both“back home” and in preparation for their ownparticipation in future Angel Thunder exercises. An

additional benefit for all countries involved, whether

they are participating or observing, is that by

learning and operating from a similar playbook,

when the time comes to conduct a real-world

integrated personnel recovery operation, all the

players are able to function in a coordinated fashion,

thus reducing risk, increasing the team’s

effectiveness, and greatly improving the odds of

success in such operations. Evidence of this

coordination and cooperation between and among

the foreign and US personnel was observed

Marines from 2nd Force Recon disembark from an ArmyCH-47D Chinook. The Recon Marines secured the landingzones to ensure that helicopters bringing additional troopsin and to evacuate the wounded could do so safely.Photo: Joe Copalman

A Blackhawk from A Co, 2-238th AVN emerges from its own

brownout on departure from the Playas Training Center

after unloading a squad of Marines from 2nd Force Recon.

Photo: Joe Copalman

“You’re not alone anymore!” – A Force Recon Marine

communicates with the security contractor guarding the

blast site at the market. Photo: Joe Copalman

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repeatedly throughout the day at Playas.

Within a matter of minutes of all units gathering at therally point, they moved out. The Chileans were first,peeking out onto the street from the corner of a blockwall tomake sure the path to themarketwas clear of anyvisible insurgents. Within seconds, the rescue force wasmaking its way – slowly and silently – toward themarket.Once at the market, the Marine attached to the FAChCommandos spoke with the contractor standing guard,getting an up-to-the-minute status on the situation inthemarket before sending troops in to treat and recoverthe wounded. The Chileans again led the way, swiftlyclearing the market. Upon their first encounter withwounded, the Chileans began shouting “MEDICO!

MEDICO!,” calling for medics to enter the market totreat the wounded. At this point, the Colombians, whowere tasked with triage and initial treatment of thewounded, entered the market along with the Brazilians,whose task it was to assist the Colombians withtreatment, assisting in the movement of casualties, andproviding security for the market along with theChileans.

Chilean Air Force Commandos secure the LZ afterdisembarking from a Singapore Air Force CH-47SD Chinook.Photo: Joe Copalman

RSAF Chinook about descending into its own brownout

upon landing on the soccer field at Playas. Photo: Joe

Copalman

A Marine Force Recon adviser points out a rally point to amixed force of Brazilian and Colombian Air Force Commandosafter disembarking from a Republic of Singapore Air ForceCH-47SD Chinook. Photo: Joe Copalman

Brazilian commandos arrive at a rally point near the LZ to

coordinate with Force Recon Marines and Colombian and

Chilean Air Force Commandos on moving toward the four

incident sites at Playas. Photo: Joe Copalman

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While this was happening, the Force Recon Marines who

had inserted via H-47 into the soccer field LZ were

establishing a casualty collection point – CCP – a block

north of the market. The same blue pickup that carried

the initial group of contractors to the market arrived to

start ferrying the wounded to the CCP for evacuation via

helicopter. The “wounded” role players were still very

much in character, responding to treatment or crying

out in pain while the Colombians tended to their wounds

or attempted to move them. As the critical cases were

moved via truck, ambulatory casualties, were escorted

to the CCP on foot, with those simulating blindness as a

result of the attack moving in a conga-line-like

Observers from several foreignmilitaries watch as the multinationalforce secure the market and triagecasualties in preparation forevacuation. Foreign participation isstrongly encouraged, but nationsinterested in being a part of AngelThunder must first send observers.Photo: Dave Shields

Another group of observers watch, and discuss with US

personnel, as forces arrive to evaluate and secure the area

surrounding another simulated IED detonation. Among the

militaries represented with personnel in this image are

Italy, India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. Photo: Dave

FACh Commandos take the lead in clearing the way from

the rally point to the Afghan Market. Photo: Joe Copalman

“¡MEDICO! ¡MEDICO!” FACh commandos search the Afghanmarket for threats, instead finding large numbers ofAmerican military casualties sheltered in the variousstorefronts and calling for medics to treat the wounded.Photo: Joe Copalman

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formation led by a Brazilian commando,with eachman’s

hands on the shoulders of the one in front of him. As this

was happening, a US Air Force Joint Terminal Air

Controller was calling in the medevac helicopters to

transport the critically-wounded to the care they

urgently needed.

As the majority of the casualties had been

transported to the CCP, two HH-60Ms from the US

Army’s F Company, 1-214th Aviation Battalion arrived

overhead and landed in the soccer field. Shortly after

landing, the crew chiefs met Recon Marines and

Colombian Pararescuemen to help move stretcher-

bound casualties aboard the waiting Blackhawks,

while some of the more critical cases among the

walking wounded were assisted aboard by their less-

severely wounded comrades. By this point, most of

the Brazilian and Chilean commandos had joined the

Marines in moving to the other incident sites to secure

them, and to evaluate and stabilize any casualties

there for movement to the CCP for extraction. This

process was repeated into the afternoon, as the H-60s

and H-47s shuttled “wounded” role-players from

Playas to Davis-Monthan until all had been accounted

for and evacuated.

All told,Angel Thunder 2013 sawa total of 32 personnel

recovery events involving 109 aircraft and 3017

participants from 14 different nations, with an

impressive 282 “saves” made throughout the exercise.

The scenarios that SoAR observed showcased the lengths

to which Angel Thunder’s planners go to ensure that the

exercise provides realistic, high-fidelity training for all

participants. The involvement of over a dozen armed

forces from around the world, domestic law

enforcement, and governmental agencies afforded

participants the opportunity to work alongside

organizations they likely would not have any other

training opportunities with outside of Angel Thunder.And with another Angel Thunder exercise planned for

late Spring 2014, it is a sure bet that more nations will

be sending personnel recovery operators to Arizona for

this training.

Colombian and Brazilian commandos litter-carry a casualty

to a nearby truck for transport to the Casualty Collection

Point. Photo: Dave Shields

Pickup trucks are used to transport the wounded from thefour incident sites to a Casualty Collection Point near theLZ. Once at the CCP, casualties are triaged to determinewhose injuries are the most critical and thus which patientsneed to be evacuated first. Photo: Joe Copalman

A Marine assists Colombian and Brazilian troops in loading a

casualty with severe leg injuries into the bed of a pickup

truck for transport to the CCP. Photo: Dave Shields

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An F Co, 1-214th AVN HH-60M Medevac emerges from itsown brownout upon landing. Photo: Joe Copalman

A US Air Force Joint Terminal Attack

Controller (JTAC) discusses the

medevac plan prior to calling in the

helicopters to pick up the wounded.

Photo: Dave Shields

CAT ALPHA. A critically-wounded American is loaded ontoan HH-60M for transport to a hospital for surgery. Photo:Joe Copalman

The Walking Wounded – Force Recon Marines and several ofthe role players with minor injuries prepare to departPlayas aboard a CH-47D belonging to the “Spartans” of theArmy Reserve’s B Co, 7-158th AVN. Photo: Dave SHields

Ambulatory casualties are escorted by

Brazilian and Colombian commandos.

Photo: Dave Shields

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A UH-60L Blackhawk preparing to depart Playas carrying the higher-ranking officers of the foreign observer delegation.Photo: Dave Shields

Credit & Appreciation

SoAR would like to thank the following for their assistance and coordination in preparing this article:Brett Harnett and Kyle Sauls, both with ACC and 1st Lt. S. Godfrey with ACC PAO.