US Special Operations Aviation - OEF

This sub-section examines the operations of Army and Air Force Special Ops aviation assets during the first months of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Air Force Special Operations

	AC-130 Gunships Flying under the cover of night, AC-130H Spectre and AC-130U Spooky II gunships provided close air support to SOF units on the ground on numerous occasions. watch video of the AC-130 in action over Afghanistan
	MC-130 Operations During OEF AFSOC MC-130 Combat Talons : dropped Ranger parachutists close to Kandahar air dropped supplies to SF / CIA forces in the north dropped BLU-28 'Daisy Cutter' munitions airlifted SEAL recon teams and 160th SOAR AH-6 helicopters into place on the ground dropped leaflets during psychological ops
	MH-53 Pavelow III Operations The first Special Forces unit to enter Afghanistan, ODA 555, was flown over the Hindu Kush mountains by MH-53 helos from a base in Uzbekistan. AFSOC MH-53s also provided a Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) cover for allied pilots in the region. Before coalition forces had seized key Afghani airfields, MI-17s flown by CIA Air Branch pilots provided provisional CSAR coverage.
	Psychological Warfare PSYOPS specialists from the 193rd Special Operations Wing, operating from onboard EC-130J 'Commando Solo' aircraft, broadcast television and radio programs to Afghani civilians. AFSOC MC-130 aircraft also dropped leaflets onto Taliban troops, calling for their surrender.

	MH-47 Chinook Operations The only Army Special Ops helicopter able to cross certain routes over Afghanistan's mountains, the MH-47 Chinook became SOAR's workhorse. Activities included : Inserting numerous Special Forces ODAs into the North insertion/extraction of Delta Force near one of Mullah Omar's compounds during which a MH-47 lost its undercarriage during a hot extraction Inserting AFO recon teams into the Shakikot Mountains for Operation Anaconda 2 MH-47s were forced down during the battle of Roberts Ridge at Takur Ghar during Op Anaconda
	AH-6 Operations During one operation on the night of November 13th, 4 AH-6j helos were flown in 2 MC-130 Combat Talons to a Forward Arming Refueling Point (FARP) established by Rangers and AFSOC CCTs to the southwest of Kandahar. The AH-6j 'Little Birds' preceded to attack targets around Kandahar. Once the mission had been completed, d all personnel were flown out on the MC-130s.
	MH-60 Black Hawk Operations MH-60K/L heliocpters flew a number of SOF insertion, extraction and resupply operations during the opening stages of OEF. A MH-60K acting as a CSAR bird for the October 19th Rangers parachute incursion close to Kandahar crashed landed in Pakistan, killing two of its Ranger passengers. The crashed helo was stripped of sensitive equipment then destroyed by an air strike. MH-60L DAPs, the heavily-armed gunship variant of the MH-60 often flew as escorts to the MH-47 Chinooks.