Details of Marines’ pilot rescue released
An operation to recover the downed Air Force pilot of an F-15 that crashed in Libya just before midnight Monday involved dozens of Marines, seven Marine aircraft and two dropped bombs, a senior Marine officer said.
The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., was called to perform the Tactical Recovery of Aircraft Personnel (TRAP) mission about 12:55 a.m. local time, more than an hour after the pilot and a backseat weapons officer ejected at 11:33 p.m. It’s the first high-profile TRAP mission for the U.S. military since Lejeune’s 24th MEU rescued Air Force Capt. Scott O’Grady in Bosnia in 1995, although other TRAP missions have occurred since, Marine officials said.
The 26th MEU responded early Tuesday by launching two CH-53E helicopters, two MV-22B Ospreys, two AV-8B Harriet jets from the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge and a KC-130J tanker from an undisclosed location. The Harriers provided close-air support, one of the Ospreys recovered the pilot and the CH-53Es carried a quick reaction force for security in case anything went wrong, the senior Marine official said, speaking at the Pentagon. The tanker was called on for refueling.