Leaders Praise Troops Who Rescued Downed Airmen in Iran

Enemy forces in Iran downed two airmen in an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet, flying in support of Operation Epic Fury, April 3; both service members were successfully rescued in just under 48 hours from when the mission to save them began. 

During a White House press conference April 6, President Donald J. Trump described his decision to launch the operation as risky because of the significant number of U.S. personnel involved in the rescue mission. 

"It's a hard decision to make, but in the U.S. military, we leave no American behind; we don't do it," Trump said.

A rescue force composed of 21 aircraft, including A-10 Thunderbolt attack planes, KC-130 search and rescue aircraft, HH-60W Jolly Green IIs and a package of Air Force special warfare combat rescue officers and pararescue operators, went into enemy territory to locate and recover the downed pilot and the weapons system officer.

Trump said the first wave of search and rescue forces was able to locate and extract the pilot in an HH-60W while taking on heavy fire, but without casualties.

The president said that the second rescue mission involved 155 aircraft, many of which were involved in subterfuge to trick regime forces into thinking the rescue personnel were looking for the downed airman at various decoy sites.

"We wanted to have them think he was in a different location, because [the regime] had a vast military force out there; thousands of people were looking," Trump said.

In a Pentagon press briefing today, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that he and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited many of the warfighters involved in the missions, from the downed crew to the search and rescue forces.

"Hearing these stories firsthand has only deepened our appreciation for the tenacity, creativity, courage and grit of the American joint force. This is a story that gets to the very heart and soul of who we are as a joint force - who we are as Americans - selfless sacrifice in service of others," Caine said.

The general added that the rescue missions succeeded because the service members trust each other, they trust their leaders and they trust their training.

Mission success depends on the service members on the front lines, partners in the region, teammates in the intelligence community, War Department civilian leaders, American workers who build the platforms and weapons warfighters use, and the American people who support the troops, he said.