Heroes

From the AFA Daily Report:

Air Force Special Operations Command recently released the names and pictures of the three airmen who were killed along with 22 other special operators, seven Afghans, and a civilian interpreter Aug. 6, 2011, when a CH-47 Chinook was shot down in the Maiden Wardak province in eastern Afghanistan. They are: pararescueman TSgt. John W. Brown, pararescueman TSgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, and combat controller SSgt. Andrew W. Harvell. All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Field, N.C.

The SEALs who were KIA received the lion's share of media attention when that helo went down in Afghanistan nearly two weeks ago, and we mean no disrespect by noting that fact.   The initial media reports I read and saw mentioned the dead SEALs and noted "other special operations personnel" had perished, as well.  Those other Special Operators included TSgts Brown and Zerbe and SSgt Harvell, all members of Air Force Special Operations Command.

The Air Force deploys its Special Operators alongside combat teams in contact with the enemy, most notably its combat controllers.  But it's the pararescuemen (PJs) that are arguably the toughest of all USAF Special Operators, mainly because they're the ones who fly low and slow into hot zones to rescue downed pilots and evacuate wounded soldiers and Marines, often under heavy fire.  There are a lot of USAF pilots and naval aviators from the Vietnam era who owe their lives to PJs, and there are probably just as many soldiers and Marines who are thankful today for the combat controllers who call in the Warthogs (or other fast-movers) to take out jihadis in close contact.

RIP, Sergeants Brown, Zerbe, and Harvell.  Salute.

More here, including high-res photos of TSgt Zerbe, TSgt Brown, and SSgt Harvell.