How Two A-10 Pilots Saved A Group Of Marines Under Seige By The Taliban

An A-10C Thunderbolt II, or Hog, as seen from the rear of a HC-130. USAF Photo

FoxTrot Alpha: How Two A-10 Pilots Saved A Group Of Marines Who Were Cornered And Under Siege By The Taliban

In late October 2008 in northwestern Afghanistan, six members of a Marine Special Operations Team were minutes away from being overrun by Taliban fighters. Surrounded by a larger enemy force, the Marines had called for air support, but dense cloud cover over the valley the Marines were trapped in was making it impossible for Navy F/A-18s to reach them. For a minute, it looked like all would be lost, until two A-10s arrived, flown by pilots who risked their own lives to save the Marines’, just as night began to fall. The narrative below is based on official statements from Marines in addition to an extensive interview with one of the Hog pilots, all of whom might not have lived to tell the tale.

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WNU Editor: These stories never get old.