00:00A rescue operation was launched with the stated purpose of bringing both Americans home safely.
00:06HC-130 Combat King II's, HH-60 Jolly Green II helicopters, and Air Force Special Warfare Airmen,
00:15a package comprised of combat rescue officers and para-rescuement operators,
00:20audaciously penetrated enemy territory in broad daylight to find, fix, and recover
00:28dude 4-4 Alpha from behind enemy lines.
00:31This was an incredibly brave and courageous mission, and a testament to the courage, skill, and tenacity of the joint
00:40force and our leaders.
00:42Their will to survive, their will to evade, their will to recover is everything.
00:49In this case, the backseater's absolute commitment to surviving made much of our efforts possible.
00:55On Thursday, 2 April at 10.10 p.m. Eastern Time, 4.40 in the morning, local Iran time,
01:03the Joint Personnel Recovery Center, which handles the Central Command area of responsibility,
01:08declared an isolated personnel recovery event for a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle,
01:14call sign Dude 4-4, which was down in hostile Iranian territory.
01:18The pilot and weapons system officer had both safely ejected and were isolated behind enemy lines.
01:25Following confirmation of active rescue beacons and on the direction of the secretary and by order of the president,
01:32a rescue operation was launched with the stated purpose of bringing both Americans home safely.
01:38As the secretary said several hours later on the morning, after positively locating the front-seater,
01:45call sign Dude 4-4 Alpha, and aware of an aggressive ongoing search by the enemy,
01:52a U.S. Central Command plan was approved by the secretary and the president.
01:57Shortly thereafter, a U.S. Air Force Combat Search and Rescue Task Force,
02:02comprised of A-10 Warthogs in their Sandy role, and I'll describe what that is in a minute,
02:09HC-130 Combat King IIs, HH-60 Jolly Green II helicopters,
02:15and Air Force Special Warfare Airmen, a package comprised of combat rescue officers
02:20and pararescuement operators, audaciously penetrated enemy territory in broad daylight
02:27to find, fix, and recover Dude 4-4 Alpha from behind enemy lines.
02:34This was an incredibly dangerous mission, an incredibly dangerous undertaking,
02:42but a filled promise made to every American warfighter that you will not be left behind.
02:49We will always come find you, and we will always bring you home.
02:54Over the next hours, the Search and Rescue Task Force crossed the beach,
02:59entered into Iranian airspace, protected by a fighter strike package,
03:04and moved into the objective area, all under fire.
03:08En route, as some of you have seen on social media,
03:11the helicopters took gas off the C-130s and pressed onward and forward up into the objective area.
03:17While this was ongoing and out in front of them,
03:21the Sandy flight of A-10s and other remotely piloted aircraft drones and other tactical aircraft
03:28were violently suppressing and engaging the enemy in a close-in gunfight
03:33to keep them away from the front seater and allow the pickup force to get into the objective area.
03:40During this engagement, one of the Sandy aircraft,
03:43the one primarily responsible for communicating with the downed pilot,
03:48was hit by enemy fire.
03:50This pilot continued to fight, continued the mission,
03:54and then upon exit, flew his aircraft into another country
03:58and determined that the airplane was not landable.
04:01This was one of our A-10 Sandy aircraft.
04:04The pilot then made the decision to eject over friendly territory
04:09and was quickly and safely recovered and is doing fine.
04:14After picking up Dude 4-4 Alpha,
04:17the HH-60 Jolly Green fight was engaged by every single person in Iran
04:23who had a small arms weapon.
04:25And one of the aircraft, the trailing aircraft, took several hits.
04:30The crew sustained minor injury and they are going to be fine.
04:33A note for those of you that do not know what a Sandy does.
04:39Named after the flight call sign that did this very mission in Vietnam,
04:44flying A-1 Sky Raiders and A-7 Corsairs,
04:47a Sandy has one mission.
04:50Get to the survivor, bring the rescue force forward,
04:55and put themselves between that survivor on the ground and the enemy.
05:00They are committed to this.
05:02This is what they live for and this is what they've trained for over many, many years.
05:09The A-10 force and the rescue force did a fantastic job rescuing Dude 4-4 Alpha.
05:18He was recovered Friday afternoon.
05:20As I said, and the nation needs to know this,
05:23this was an incredibly brave and courageous mission
05:27and a testament to the courage, skill, and tenacity of the joint force and our leaders.
05:35And especially a daylight option, having the guts to try means so much to so many.
05:42Meanwhile, the backseater, as the President and the Secretary have said,
05:46had continued to work and survive.
05:49Through the hours of daylight, Dude 4-4 Bravo, the backseater, evaded.
05:55Using every means available, the efforts of the United States military,
06:00the Central Intelligence Agency, and others were attempting to find and locate with precision
06:06Dude 4-4 Bravo, the backseater.
06:09A note on the backseater and the frontseater.
06:13The single most important contributor to a successful rescue operation
06:20is the spirit of attack inside the heart of that downed aviator.
06:25Their will to survive, their will to evade, their will to recover is everything.
06:31In this case, the backseater's absolute commitment to surviving
06:35made much of our efforts possible.
06:39On Saturday, 4 April, after establishing positive communications with the backseater,
06:45we learned, as the President said, that he was injured and actively evading enemy forces.
06:51And thanks to our interagency partners, we were able to get eyes on his location and positively ID him.
06:59Throughout this entire time, the enemy force continued to search for 4-4 Bravo,
07:03and the joint force continued to strike them over and over and over again.
07:09Fighting off marginal weather in Iran and the enemy's search,
07:13for a second time on Saturday,
07:16at the recommendation of the CENTCOM commander and at the approval of the Secretary and the President,
07:21we launched a rescue task force to recover Dude 4-4 Bravo.
07:25Again, this came to the President and the Secretary for approval,
07:29this time with a much larger force package based on the time that the enemy had to prepare to find
07:364-4 Bravo.
07:38Again, this force was protected by A-10 warthogs using the Sandy call sign.
07:43And this force had one single mission, do everything they can to bring an American home.
07:51This meant having a plan, being prepared to execute that plan,
07:55and, more importantly, being prepared for multiple, simultaneous contingencies.
08:03And because of this force's professionalism, grit, and determination,
08:08fight off two enemies at the same time.
08:11The enemy searching for 4-4 Bravo and contingencies,
08:15which anyone who has done these types of missions knows,
08:19we run into every single time.
08:22The force fought off both of those enemies incredibly well.
08:26During the period of darkness on Saturday,
08:29and as the Secretary said, into Easter Sunday and into the daylight,
08:34the force fought its way in and rescued Dude 4-4 Bravo.
08:39They were protected overhead by an air armada,
08:43including tactical drones, strike aircraft, and others.
08:47The force fought through multiple, simultaneous contingencies,
08:52something no other nation, no other military, can do.
08:56And safely returned Dude 4-4 Bravo, the backseater, home.
09:02And all other Americans' home as well.
09:06At midnight 12 local, eastern time, Easter Sunday,
09:11more than 50 hours after the start of this operation,
09:15the Joint Personnel Recovery Center declared Dude 4-4 Bravo,
09:21both the front and backseater, return to friendly territory.
09:26The courage demonstrated by both the pilot and the weapons system officer
09:31while isolated and them invading the enemy cannot be overstated.
09:36Their grit and warfighting tenacity is a direct result of the absolute trust they have
09:42in our rescue forces, their training, and their will to survive and return.
09:47They always knew that we would be ordered to go get them,
09:51and they always knew that we would be coming to get them.
09:55These two operations reflect our nation's most sacred obligation to our military service members.
10:02We leave no one behind. Bless you.
10:04It also perfectly captures the first truth of our special operations forces,
10:10that people are more important than hardware.
10:14That is the standard we live by,
10:16and the rescue forces that execute these missions operate under a clear motto,
10:23these things we do that others may live.
10:28Their actions were a direct embodiment of that commitment to others,
10:32and I could not be more proud of each and every one of them today.
10:39As the Secretary said to our enemies, this operation serves as a clear reminder
10:44of the capability and will of America's Joint Force.
10:49The United States of America will recover our warfighters anywhere in the world,
10:53under any conditions, when we want to.
10:56We will always bring overwhelming skill and firepower to every member of the Joint Force,
11:02our interagency partners, the leadership at CENTCOM,
11:06and our leaders at the department and above.
11:09I'm proud of each and every one of you and thankful to our deployed forces and their families.
11:15And lastly, and most importantly, to Dude44, welcome home.
11:22Job well done.
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