Once, there were four girls who joined the Royal Air Force…

They’re not Charlie’s Angels, but to the soldiers whose lives they save when they swoop in to a hot landing zone to evacuate wounded, they are angels.

Meet Flight-Lieutenant Michelle Goodman, her co-pilot Flight-Lieutenant Joanna Watkinson and loadmasters Sergeant Stephanie Cole and Sergeant Wendy Donald. They are part of the British contribution to the ISAF in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

Hot pilot Flight-Lieutenant Michelle Goodman has been noted here before. Not hot as in attractive, though she is very much so, but hot as in daring, skilled, and courageous. Hot enough to have been awarded the Brit’s Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).

Four female combat helicopter aircrew are on their way to Afghanistan to fly the RAF’s Merlin aircraft into action against the Taliban.

The four female aircrew will form part of a pool of Merlin pilots and loadmasters and will be assigned to aircraft as individuals.

The four – two pilots and two loadmasters – include Flight Lieutenant Michelle Goodman, the first woman ever to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The women, aged from 24 to 32, have been training hard in California to cope with the ‘high, hot and dusty’ conditions of southern Afghanistan.

The team will be expected to pick up casualties and fly resupply missions into the teeth of hostile fire in Helmand province.

The four women have been focusing on night-time dust landings and gunnery and expect to come under enemy fire frequently.

The two loadmasters, Sergeants Stephanie Cole, 24, and Wendy Donald, 32, have been honing their weapons skills on the helicopter’s three 7.62mm general purpose machine guns in order to be able to defend their aircraft in Afghanistan.

And Flight Lieutenants Goodman and Joanna Watkinson, 28, have been practising evasive flying manoeuvres to minimise their exposure to enemy fire.

U.K. Ministry of Defence

The Tornado is the British military’s premier fighter bomber. Over Afghanistan, it is providing close air support to Afghan and NATO forces fighting the Taliban.

And the Talibs are being killed by GURRLS!

Helmand Blog – Afghanistan: All female Tornado crew cruise over Afghanistan

Tornado Pilot Flight Lieutenant Juliette Fleming and her navigator, Squadron Leader Nikki Thomas, are currently the only all female Tornado crew working in Afghanistan. Their role is to provide close air support to troops on the ground.

Flt Lt Fleming, known as Jules, is actually the only female Tornado pilot in Afghanistan at the moment, but she insists, she is just ‘one of the boys’ amongst her colleagues from 31 Squadron, based at Royal Air Force Marham in Norfolk.

She joined the RAF ten years ago, and after a tour in Iraq last year, Christmas 2009 will see her flying as part of the Tornado Force on Operation HERRICK. She said:

“Our role out here is Close Air Support. It’s all about supporting the troops on the ground, whether that is searching for Improvised Explosive Devices [IEDs], providing armed over watch of patrols taking place or being on ground alert, on call, for when troops are in contact with the enemy.

“Since October I’ve flown over 20 missions, which has been almost 100 hours in the air. We’ve been supporting all the Allied troops, including the Americans and our British Army colleagues.”

Flying in the back seat of the Tornado jet is navigator Sqn Ldr Nikki Thomas, making them the only female crew on their Detachment.

Sqn Ldr Thomas, who is Flt Lt Fleming’s Flight Commander on the ground, said:

“We usually fly together as it makes it easier to share a bedroom, just the one alarm clock going off at the same time in the morning!”

She already has several tours of Iraq under her belt and is the ‘Warlord’ for the Squadron in HERRICK, responsible for running the day-to-day operations:

“Really for me the best bit of my role is the operational flying. To spend years training to do a job and to do it well it is very satisfying, and you really get to see the results on Operations.

“It may also sound really cheesy but life on a Squadron is brilliant, everyone pulls together to get the job done and everyone has a vital role to play.”

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My sister: The war lady in the all-female Tornado crew

Jules, 30, and Nikki, 31, live, work and fly together. It’s no different to working with a man, according to Nikki, but I’m not sure a bloke would have had so much fun singing Madonna songs and vogueing in the plane when flying back from a long sortie.

Flying in itself has specific drawbacks for women. The effects of G-force on the female body is something that hasn’t been investigated. There is a possibility that it can damage the ovaries; and the weight of the helmet with night-vision goggles puts a huge strain on your neck. As Nikki points out, no girl wants a thick neck, it’s not a good look.

On an eight-hour mission, going to the loo is easy for a guy, who simply unzips his flying suit, but these outfits were not built for women. There are gadgets to aid the process (I’ll spare the details), but they involve wriggling out of G-pants and basically getting undressed in the plane.

Until recently there weren’t flying boots small enough for female feet: “I used to have to wear two pairs of thick socks and hope they didn’t come off if I ejected,” Nikki laughed.

This Christmas I sent her cashmere socks and mascara, tons of trashy magazines and moisturiser. While I went to drinks parties and complained about the cold weather, she flew eight-hour sorties, saving lives and fighting the Taliban.

She’s on her way home, so it’s time to recognize this young woman and the work she has done in Afghanistan. This 26 year old teacher deployed to Afghanistan as part of the 143d Expeditionary Sustainment Command, as a photographer and reporter in the Public Affairs area.

This is what her boss says about her:

Of all the tough guys in our unit, you are the only one who actually went out on an infantry foot patrol into Afghan villages, and went on at least two convoys through extremely dangerous territory during the most dangerous season in southern Afghanistan. I’m sure you will have plenty of stories to tell the kids.

Go to this link for some of the stories we’ve published that were written and photographed by this soldier.

We feature our women warriors in the Our Best: Military Women category. This continuing feature is intended to show the women of the United States military, and of our allies, doing their jobs in the War on Terror and doing them well.

More from her boss:

When I lost the noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) that was assigned to me before the 143d Expeditionary Sustainment Command (the unit I deployed with) left the U.S., I deployed only with my Private First Class (PFC) who is a print journalist fresh out of Advanced Individual Training (the school that teaches recruits in their military occupational specialties). But, I would later learn that she was worth her weight in platinum.

My PFC, who was later promoted to Specialist, proved invaluable. During her time here, her writing has blossomed to a point where she can compete with writers from the Washington Post and New York Times.

Job well done, Spc. Freeburg!

2009 saw America’s North Shore Journal cover the stories of many American warriors, and many who were recognized for their heroism in action. One Medal of Honor was awarded, posthumously, to an Army noncom. The Commandant of the Marine Corps also hinted that a living Marine would receive the Medal but it did not happen. There were other heroes, firefighters and police officers and EMTs who gave their lives in the line of duty. There were the civilian heroes, who couldn’t just stand by and watch and some of them paid the ultimate price for their actions. So, there are not just ten, but these ten represent all of America’s heroes this year.

Sergeant First Class (SFC) Jared C. Monti, Tenth Mountain Division – Medal of Honor

The enemy fighters had established two support-by-fire positions directly above the patrol in a densely wooded ridgeline. SFC Monti immediately returned fire and ordered the patrol to seek cover and return fire. He then reached for his radio headset and calmly initiated calls for indirect fire and close air support (CAS), both danger-close to the patrol’s position. He did this while simultaneously directing the patrol’s fires.

When SFC Monti realized that a member of the patrol, Private First Class (PFC) Brian J. Bradbury, was critically wounded and exposed 10 meters from cover, without regard for his personal safety, he advanced through enemy fire to within three feet of PFC Bradbury’s position. But he was forced back by intense RPG fire. He tried again to secure PFC Bradbury, but he was forced to stay in place again as the enemy intensified its fires.

The remaining patrol members coordinated covering fires for SFC Monti, and he advanced a third time toward the wounded Soldier. But he only took a few steps this time before he was mortally wounded by an RPG. About the same time, the indirect fires and CAS he called for began raining down on the enemy’s position. The firepower broke the enemy attack, killing 22 enemy fighters. SFC Monti’s actions prevented the patrol’s position from being overrun, saved his team’s lives and inspired his men to fight on against overwhelming odds. SFC Monti epitomizes what it means to be an NCO. Because of his personal sacrifice and selfless service to the Army, the men of his patrol are alive today and continue the fight.

Sgt. 1st Class Jarion Halbisengibbs, Operational Detachment – Alpha 083 – Distinguished Service Cross

With Chaney and Lindsay blown from the building, Halbisengibbs realized he was wounded and alone inside the target building. As enemy fire had destroyed his radio and damaged his night vision device, his vision was impaired and he was unable to contact the remainder of the assault force to request support. Taking immediate and decisive action, Halbisengibbs leapt to his feet and quickly cleared the room.

Making his way out to the courtyard, SSG Halbisengibbs immediately passed a verbal status report to his ODA indicating his status but could continue to fight. During the course of relaying this message, he immediately came under small arms fire at close range from an enemy position not yet cleared by the national police assault force.

As Halbisengibbs reacted to the threat, he was shot in the abdomen; the bullet traveling through his stomach and exiting at his hip. Ignoring this second debilitating gunshot wound, he engaged and killed the enemy within 12 feet of his position.

Halbisengibbs then took cover and rallied the remainder of the Iraqi National Police and assisted in securing the objective area. Only when the enemy was eliminated and the objective was secure, did he reveal the seriousness of his wounds and accept medical attention.

Lance Cpl. Brady Gustafson, 7th Marine Regiment – Navy Cross

The patrol came under heavy fire from machine guns as well as rocket-propelled grenades from hidden insurgent positions.

One of the RPGs hit Gustafson’s MRAP, piercing its armor, rendering the driver unconscious and partially amputating Gustafson’s right leg.

Despite his injuries, Gustafson remained vigilant on his M240B machine gun, locating and accurately firing on several insurgent positions, some as close as 20 meters from the vehicle.

He remained in the turret, reloading twice and firing over 600 rounds, while Lance Cpl. Cody Comstock, an Anderson, Ind. native, applied a tourniquet to his leg.

After regaining consciousness, the driver, Cpl. Geoffrey Kamp, an Indianapolis native, put the vehicle in reverse and pushed the disabled vehicle behind them out of the kill zone.

Not until both vehicles were safe from the heavy insurgent fire and all the Marines had evacuated the burning vehicle did he allow himself to be removed from the turret for medical treatment.

Staff Sgt. Zachary J. Rhyner, 21st Special Tactics Squadron – Air Force Cross

Within the first 15 minutes of fire, Sergeant Rhyner was wounded along with three team members.

“I was pulling security when I got shot in the leg,” he said. “The rounds hit my left thigh and went through my leg and hit another guy in the foot.”

He immediately felt pain and adrenalin.

“There was nowhere to go. I grabbed the wounded guys, but we were trapped by the enemy,” he said. “I was calling in air strikes and firing, while moving the wounded down [the cliff].”

Sergeant Gutierrez could see insurgent fire coming from the buildings on the hilltops above them and was trying to get across the river to meet up with Sergeant Rhyner.

“Zach and I were in constant radio contact,” he said. “I could hear the ammunition, sniper fire and rocket-propelled grenades with multiple blasts. We tried to push to the north to collocate with Zach’s team, but every time we pushed up river, it put us in an open line of fire.”

“My team ran across the freezing river. The water came off the mountains and we were 100 to 200 feet beneath the enemy, like fish in a barrel,” said Sergeant Gutierrez.

As the enemy surrounded them, Sergeant Rhyner, who was being treated for his injuries by Capt. Kyle Walton, the special forces team leader, directed multiple rockets and gun runs from AH-64 helicopters against enemy positions.

Staff Sgt. Travis Atkins, Tenth Mountain Division – Distinguished Service Cross -more-

Atkins and several other U.S. soldiers were on patrol at about 11 a.m. on Friday, when they observed four suspicious Iraqi citizens, according to a U.S. Army incident report. The Iraqis tried to run away, but Atkins caught one of them and took him onto the ground in an effort to restrain him.

The Iraqi man detonated a suicide bomb attached to his vest, killing himself and Atkins, according to the report.

Staff Sgt. Conrad Begaye, 503rd Infantry Regiment – Silver Star

Keeping his composure against overwhelming odds, Begaye directed and encouraged his fellow soldiers under heavy fire. One paratrooper had been shot in both legs and was still taking fire. Begaye called out to him to play dead, knowing the enemy would shift their fire away if they thought the soldier was killed — quick thinking that likely helped to save that soldier’s life.

Ignoring his own injuries, Begaye moved a wounded soldier to a nearby cave to protect him from enemy fire. Using a radio, he called his higher headquarters and directed mortar fire onto enemy positions – essentially ending the battle. Then he motivated a soldier to organize a defensive perimeter of Afghan soldiers to prevent their unit from being harassed or overrun.

Specialist Michael Carter, Combat Documentation & Production Specialist 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) – Silver Star

On Dec. 12, 2008 Spc. Michael Carter, Combat Documentation & Production Specialist 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) was awarded the Silver Star for actions in the Shok Valley of Nuristan Province, Afghanistan April 6, 2008.

Spc. Carter was one of 10 Soldiers awarded Silver Stars for that engagement, but unlike the Soldiers of Operational Detachment A (ODA) 3336 on the raid, Spc. Carter is a Combat Cameraman.

Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Moe, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) – Bronze Star with Valor Device

In order to provide covering fire for the movement of the trapped team, Moe voluntarily stepped directly in to the line of enemy fire and began suppressive fire on the enemy position.

“I just wanted to do the right thing and help my fellow Soldiers out,” Moe explained. “I didn’t think too much about it, I just reacted. I knew things were getting pretty thick and they needed help to get out.”

Despite rounds of small arms fire impacting inches from his head and being shot in the right leg, Moe continued to place effective fire on the enemy until the sniper team was safely under cover.

His courage and selflessness allowed the sniper team to move to a secured position where the wounded sniper could receive immediate medical treatment and be evacuated out of the area.

Sgt. James Carter, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment – Bronze Star with Valor Device

During this patrol, a massive improvised explosive device detonated inside a culvert, causing a catastrophic effect under a U.S. Navy EOD vehicle. The enormous explosion threw the vehicle high into the air, causing it to land on its side; trapping the three Navy EOD personnel inside.

Carter risked his life by entering the burning vehicle in order to extract the trapped personnel. As a result of the attack, two of the EOD members were killed in action, however Sgt. Carter’s was able to save one member of the team in an act of true bravery.

1st Lt. Colin P. Boynton, training team leader embedded with 1st Infantry Company, 2nd Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 201st Corps, Afghan national army – Bronze Star with Valor Device

As his team walked along a ravine near a river, about a mile from post, Boynton and 13 others were separated from the patrol, he said.

Boynton had been involved in firefights with the enemy before but never on a patrol, he said.

“We did all the preplanning, but the enemy knew we couldn’t fire into the village, and they were very patient, attacking us at a weak moment,” Boynton said. “They waited where most of the patrol had turned on a bend in the trail. We were stuck in a kill zone.”

One Afghan soldier was shot through the knee and within minutes three others were hit with enemy fire from the village boundaries about 250 yards in the distance, Boynton said.

“We were able to suppress the fire and get the casualties out and into safety,” Boynton said of the Afghan soldiers caught in the kill zone. Boynton coordinated fire support with coalition helicopters and the casualties were evacuated, all survived the firefight, he said.

Within minutes of leaving the protective barriers of Observation Post Khers for a security patrol Dec. 21, a squad of Marines and Afghan national army soldiers heard the sharp pops of small arms fire nearby.

“They always shoot at us,” said Sgt. Mike L. Osburn, a squad leader with 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, who led the patrol. “It wasn’t very close. They don’t really want to fight today.”

For Marines operating from the joint Marine and ANA outpost, referred to by Marines simply as “ManBearPig,” getting shot at by Taliban insurgents from a distance is a daily occurrence in this remote northwestern area of Nawa district. ManBearPig is argued to be one of the most dangerous and isolated posts Marines maintain in Nawa.

“Sometimes the shots come close, but usually they’re not very accurate,” said Osburn, a 25-year-old from Raleigh, N.C., who has completed previous combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with 1/3. “A few days ago we took machine gun fire that hit our guard tower and around the barricades. You always have to keep an eye over your shoulder.

“It’s kind of like the ‘Wild West’ out here,” said Osburn, who leads his Marines on security patrols through what he describes as very muddy, flat and unforgiving terrain where Afghans farm the desert landscape using irrigation canals. “It’s not gun slinging every day, but it’s not very friendly. When our patrol walks by, kids run into homes, people stop farming and just kind of disappear. It’s like an old western where everyone in town knows the bad guys are about to show their face around the corner.”

Another danger for Marines and ANA soldiers at ManBearPig is the threat of improvised explosive devices, both on and off of roads. One nearby road is so scarred by blasts and visibly peppered with waiting bombs that Marines, civilians and insurgents alike know to keep well clear of it. Not long ago, Marines discovered an unlucky insurgent who tried planting a bomb and was killed when he accidentally stepped on another bomb’s pressure activation plate, said Osburn.

Bravo Company Marines say conducing counterinsurgency operations and working with the population at Nawa’s northwestern edge is challenging due to the Taliban’s undermining influence and intimidation of local citizens who are afraid to come forward. Sometimes the only way Afghan citizens will speak with Marines is behind a wall or building, where they know insurgents can’t see.

“We embed ANA soldiers in each of our patrols,” said 2nd Lt. Victor P. Barnes, Jr., platoon commander, 1st Platoon, Bravo Company. “They notice a lot of the little things in town faster than we do. They can tell when something’s out of the norm.”

Typically, ANA soldiers enlist from Afghan provinces other than Helmand and speak mostly Dari, but an advantage of serving alongside this unit of ANA soldiers is nearly all of them speak Pashto, the primary language in Nawa. This allows the ANA to take the lead in interacting with local citizens if an interpreter is not around, said Osburn.

“Living here with the ANA is very interesting, and we all get along great,” said Barnes. “Thankfully, we have an interpreter, but we’ve learned some Pashtu, they’ve learned some English, and we’re teaching them some of our tactics.”

Last week, Marines also included ANA soldiers in their Marine Corps Martial Arts Program training to further enhance the soldiers’ combat effectiveness.

When not on patrol in the often knee-deep mud which can stop vehicles in their tracks, Marines spend time at ManBearPig standing guard posts or enjoying precious hours of rest.
Some Marines pursue personal interests in their off time, like Lance Cpl. Ryan C. Jensen, a machine gunner with Scout Sniper Platoon, Bravo Company. Jensen said he has goals of developing his creative skills in many different ways over the months he expects to spend at the small camp.

At night Jensen often plays his harmonica, guitar, drumsticks, reads and writes, or draws in his sketchbook. Recently, he has begun writing rap lyrics for a satirical music video in which he and his platoon mates will star.

“I think we got the lucky card and will be at ManBearPig the whole deployment,” said Jensen, a 24-year-old from Sonoma, Calif. “When you’re not getting bullets flying over your head, this is a peaceful place. There’s a lot to see here for inspiration you can write about. I really want to leave here having bettered myself.”

But ManBearPig is certainly not all quiet or fun and games, Jensen warned.

“We’ve trained hard and we want to be where the action is,” he said of his platoon. “We took a [rocket-propelled grenade] attack the first day we were out here and it was a real wakeup call. Right now, this is the place for fighting bad guys.”

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. Brian Tuthill