7
MAKO 30 HAD WAITED FOR NEARLY SIX HOURS for extraction since reaching the knoll where Turbo could go no farther. Hyder had passed their grid coordinates on the Iridium cell phone. Slab planned for a helo to hover and lower a basket for Brett and Turbo, and the rest would walk to an LZ where a helo could actually put down. The ravine they occupied was narrow and deep and had served to hide them well. But it was not an acceptable LZ. Slab commented that he could not have thrown a ball without hitting a cliff wall. He set out a strobe when they heard gunships. He wanted to identify himself so the gunships would not mistake them for the enemy. He could hear helos over the southern and eastern ends of the valley. He told Kyle to put his gun's laser on high power and shine it straight up at the sky.
From two miles out, a helo saw the laser and realized that since the enemy didn't have lasers they should check it out. Then they saw the strobe. The Chinook, piloted by Friel, who had brought MAKO 30 to Roberts' rescue, hovered straight over MAKO 30. A SEAL in the helo stood on the ramp and waved. The Chinook made a dog-track circle and flew down a ravine with steep cliffs on either side.
Friel brought the helo to a hover over the SEALs, with rock walls on three sides. He was flying down in the dead of night with only the moon and NVGs to see by. A few feet separated the twin helo rotors from one wall. With the pressure altitude at 8,900 mean sea level, Friel prayed that he had not fudged on the performance levels and could actually maneuver the helo in to pick up the team. He could not set the helo down or the rotors would disintegrate. He dropped down bit by bit. His crew chiefs called out clearances. A rock rise at the chasm's bottom gave Friel enough height to put a single wheel down. He maintained a stable hover, full power, while the rear crew chief lowered the ramp. SEALs jumped off to set up security while MAKO 30 carried their wounded toward the helo.
That the Chinook could fly in such a narrow space amazed Slab, who helped to carry Turbo toward the helo, but the blast of the rotor wash with the engines at full power pushed them backward. Turbo could not reach the ramp, and the helo could not lower power. He crawled on hands and knees under the rotor blast, which pelted him with loose rocks and debris. The ramp crew chief stepped forward and grabbed him. Brett went aboard next, followed by the rest of MAKO 30, and finally, with the security team of SEALs back on board, the helo flew straight up and away.
After they had transferred Brett and Turbo to a medevac aircraft at Gardez, Slab, Kyle, and Randy flew back to Bagram. Turbo and Brett were flown that night directly to Karshi Khanabad, called K-2, in Uzbekistan for medical treatment, and soon after to Landstuhl, Germany, for further care. Brett recovered fully. Turbo lost his leg below the knee.
When Slab, Kyle, and Randy landed at Bagram, no vehicles on the flight line were waiting to pick them up, and they walked back to camp. Slab was limping from a deep bruise on his leg. He walked in the TOC. His nose was swollen, and he silently stood in the door with his gear. His commander gave him a hug and said, “Good job.” Slab's mind was in neutral. His job was done.