by Scott McEwen
There is good reason why a president’s first question in a crisis is “Where are the carriers?” They are still the preeminent and undisputed master of force projection on the face of the planet. The United States maintains eleven carrier strike groups (CSGs): each consists of one aircraft carrier, two guided missile cruisers, two antiaircraft warships, and one to two antisubmarine destroyers or frigates. The United States Sixth Fleet is based in Gaeta, Italy. On September 11, 2012, the flagship for the Sixth Fleet, the USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20) had just finished commemoration services for the 9/11 victims.9
As the fighters were catapulted down the deck of the nuclear-powered carrier, the flight leader and his wingman would have already been running through the contingencies during the fifty-minute flight time to Libya.
Takeoff went down without a hitch, and the two planes leveled off at ten thousand feet. The night was calm with very little wind, and there was virtually no air traffic. The communications with the ground forces were now patched into the coms for the aircraft. The individuals on the ground were not identified by name or military branch, but they were clearly either current or former special forces personnel, responding coolly and professionally to the questions being posed to them by naval command. They were also clearly well versed in the terminology of forward aircraft control, and their need to direct fire “danger close” in the area in front of them. They were giving exact GPS coordinates of the attackers’ positions and had indicated their ability to use their laser designators for guidance of precision ordinance onboard the approaching aircraft. They had clearly directed aircraft to targets while under fire before.
Approximately halfway into the flight, the pilots were told that the ground troops conducting the defense were former Navy SEALs and that the information given by them should be considered accurate and reliable in directing their fire. Neither of the pilots were surprised by this revelation. Both had had the honor of working with SEALs previously. Knowing they had naval brothers on the ground in need of help merely raised their resolve to get it done right.
The pilots were now also able to view the video being transmitted by the aerial drone circling over the scene of the attack in Benghazi. The images showed dozens of terrorists surrounding the position held by the SEALs and CIA officers.
The SEALs were now asking for immediate air support as soon as they could get it. They had their laser designators prepared to light up the targets as soon as the American aircraft arrived. The pilots directly radioed the SEALs on the ground. They said that they were “ten minutes out and hot.”
The acknowledging voices of the SEALs on the ground seemed uplifted by this news, as the crackle of small arms fire erupted in the background.
The Heads Up Display (HUD) on the FA-18s illuminated the inside of the cockpit as the planes approached Libya’s eastern coast. Clear, with very little cloud cover, the conditions presented no visibility issues from a pilot’s perspective.
Now the ROE meant everything—their orders determined what the pilots had to do and not do. They had been given the green light to use precision-guided munitions as long as the offending individuals were clearly identified as “hostile” by the personnel on the ground. The approximate number of bad guys was one hundred, and they were concentrated fifty to one hundred yards from the compound where the Americans were sheltered. Dropping bombs with friendlies this close was difficult and required exact planning both in the approach and drop of the ordnance. While collateral damage was to be avoided if at all possible, dropping their bombs on the Americans that they were trying to save was their worst nightmare.
The two experienced naval aviators elected to do a single high-altitude pass before starting their bombing run. This approach had two advantages: It could provide a warning to those civilians who are not affiliated with the bad guys to flee immediately, as the roar of passing fighters was hard to mistake for anything else. It would also give the pilots a chance to do a final recon of the drop zone.
During the flyby, the pilots asked the Navy SEAL located on the roof of the CIA compound to activate the laser designator for identification and targeting. Ty Woods did so, just as he had many times in the past. The guidance systems immediately locked on the position “painted” by the laser.
Time to get final clearance to engage the enemy.
The lead pilot radioed the Tactical Air Command center and requested clearance to use Hellfire missiles to engage trucks and personnel that have been identified as firing mortars and rockets on the trapped Americans.
Clearance given, the pilots did a 180-degree, three-G turn, leveled off at approximately 3,000 feet, and requested that the position of the mortar crews again be painted by the SEAL on the ground through his laser designator. The SEAL lit up the bad guys for the final time, and he watched as the missiles left the FA-18s at almost identical times.
The missile blast was sudden and sun-hot. The blinding explosions were quickly followed by multiple secondary explosions, where the gas tanks of the trucks explode, as well as the mortars and other ammunition being carried in enemy vehicles.
The images from the overhead drones confirmed two direct hits on the vehicles and crews operating the mortars, with the immediate killing of over two dozen jihadis. Dozens more were injured, and they attempted to crawl away from the carnage.
Believing another bombing run imminent, the remainder of the attacking force dispersed. Some broke out in a wild run down Benghazi’s serpentine streets. Others cowered in doorways or hid under burned trucks.
The pilots hit their afterburners as they turned in for another run, purposely identifying their intentions to hit the enemy again. Their ambassador had just been killed, and his body was still unrecovered and being dragged through the streets. They were far from exacting the payback this group of terrorists deserved.
There was no doubt left in the minds of the surviving attackers: the Americans intended on exacting some revenge, and the superpower’s wrath was measured in precision-guided munitions. Forgetting the reasons they were there in the first place, several more attackers desperately tried to flee and were killed by the SEALs and other diplomatic security personnel sniping from the rooftops.
The overhead drone identified the area of escape of the greatest mass of the attackers. The fighter pilots requested permission to clean up the rest of the mob by using their 20 mm cannons.
They were asked if the attackers appeared to be dispersing or were still moving toward the compound.
The pilots and SEALs responded almost simultaneously that the attackers appeared to be melting away.
The order was then given for the FA-18s to return to base. There was no need to make the rubble bounce.
The next wave of FA-18s would remain at altitude to confirm there would be no more attacks on the American diplomatic personnel.
The SEALs responded to the planes with a heartfelt “Thank you, Bravo Zulu.”
The leaders of the attacking party were identified through several of the people wounded on the night of the incident. Their camps east of Benghazi were also identified. The next day a single cruise missile was launched and detonated over the camps. The camps disappeared in a blinding blast.
The Libyan government in power was grateful for the extermination of the individuals who had attacked the American consular facility and killed the American ambassador, as these armed radicals were a threat to their government as well.
Since the fighter jets arrived within a few hours of the initial attacks, Woods and Doherty were not killed. (It cannot be forgotten that Woods and Doherty did not die until the mortar attack on the CIA facility at 5:15 on the morning of September 12. This was well over seven hours after the attack had begun the day before.)
Rescue Scenario Three
Drone Attack
10:00 P.M.
The original drone arrived over the Temporary Mission Facility (TMF) and started transmitting images at 9:59 p.m., barely seventeen minutes after from Ambassador Stevens’s frantic call
for help: “We are under attack.” Even though dimly lit, the infrared cameras on the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) clearly showed the scene unfolding below it was one of complete pandemonium: Heat signatures from bodies laid out in the courtyard and areas surrounding the entrance to the TMF, not moving and clearly dead or dying, fire spraying from the barrels of the guns being carried by the attackers, and RPG blasts all over the area. The attackers numbered in dozens, perhaps over one hundred.
Eventually flames started shooting from various windows in the diplomatic outpost, showing that the attackers had set fire to the buildings in the compound. Desperate radio transmissions coming from the Diplomatic Security officers on site also made it clear that some people there were still alive, and searching for the ambassador.
One thing was certain: amid the confusion, the Americans still alive on the ground were in need of help—now. Air Force personnel monitoring the images from the drone rang their superiors and put in the request for immediate help to be sent to Benghazi. They asked for clearance to send the only type of help they could personally supply, another armed version of the UAV: the MQ-9 Reaper. This drone could deliver thermal imaging showing militants cowering inside buildings.
(The original drone that arrived in Benghazi, minutes after Stevens’s call, was unfortunately a Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk. Unfortunate, because it was unarmed. Had it been armed, and if the controllers of an armed UAV had been authorized to use force to defend the lives of the American diplomats, there was a very real possibility, if not a probability, that the entire Benghazi debacle could have been nipped in the bud. Ambassador Stevens and Sean Smith very probably would also still be alive.)
Given its rapid response time, the Global Hawk was already in Libya observing other matters and was retasked immediately to Benghazi. The Global Hawk has a cruise speed of 404 miles per hour, and a range of more than 8,000 miles. However, this Hawk was based out of NAS Sigonella, only some 400 miles north of Benghazi.10
The Global Hawk’s infrared camera systems easily identified dozens of heat signatures both in and surrounding the diplomatic post. Viewing these images dispelled any remaining doubt as to whether the ambassador and his staff were in grave danger. Clearly the situation had degraded to the point of complete chaos.
As senior officials viewed the images coming back from the Global Hawk, the decision was made to send another drone. This one would be armed: the fearsome MQ-9 Reaper. Given the widespread use of these drones over Pakistan and Afghanistan against the Taliban, our research and interviews made it clear that it could have been used effectively in this scenario. The armed version of the Reaper drone is a game changer.
The Reaper was aptly named.
Thirty-six feet long with a wingspan of 65 feet, the Reaper was first put into service in 2007. Built by General Atomics, the Reaper is powered by a 950-horsepower turboprop engine and is capable of speeds in excess of 300 miles per hour. Of greater importance to those under attack was the Reaper’s payload. The Reaper sent to Benghazi was armed with four of the newest 14 AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles. These missiles are capable of destroying tanks. Used extensively in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, this drone has been responsible for total reported kills of over four thousand terrorists and others. Used against an armed mob as close air support for the trapped Americans, it would be a game changer.
Cruising at a speed of 250 miles per hour, the drone arrived in Benghazi at 1:30 a.m. The attack had now been going on for approximately 3.5 hours. Approaching at over five thousand feet, it could barely be heard over the gunfire and chaos going on below. However, the operators monitoring its video and missile guidance technologies immediately picked up the laser designator painting the mortar crew just two blocks from the CIA compound where the SEALs and other State Department personnel were holed up. The enemy could be hit without hurting the SEALs.
Even though the hostile forces were located two blocks from the compound, they were in a clear line of sight from the SEALs located on the roof of the CIA compound that the Americans had fled to. The laser was pointed directly at the side of one of the vehicles with the symbol for Ansar al-Sharia painted on it. A perfect and fitting place for the Hellfire to impact.
The guiding system for the Hellfire immediately indicated that it had found and locked on the laser. Whatever was located at this point on Earth was about to experience the reason Hellfire got its name. The operators at the drone command confirmed, through their satellite patch, that the laser was in fact the target the SEALs had chosen for the strike. Even though distance was some two blocks from the SEALs’ location, the operator gave the last warning: missile locked on and engaged, danger close.
The Air Force drone operators were given the green light by their superiors. They hit the Launch button on the computer joystick. The Reaper cameras recorded the flash as the missile left the wing of the UAV and reached supersonic speed almost instantly. The Reaper operator watched the red trail from the missile honing in on its target.
The leader of the mortar team only had an instant to realize that they were under air attack before the Hellfire hit them—within inches of where the laser had marked. The blast wave radiated outward like a fiery red circular saw, slicing apart all it touched. Twenty attackers vaporized into pink mist. The secondary explosions rattled off like an oil drum thrown down a flight of stairs.
Within seconds, two more trucks exploded in a shower of hot metal. The explosion showered engine parts into the mass of attackers, wounding them with their own war machines. The shattered chassis were licked by flames, sending plumes of oily black smoke into the night sky. Those not lucky enough to die in the first few seconds lay dismembered and dying.
The second Hellfire pulverized another clump of jihadis fifty yards closer to the safe house. Another fifteen terrorists died in the Hellfire’s thunder. It also took out a militant leader, who had been barking out orders to his officers. The burning claws of the Hellfire explosion soon reached a cache of RPG rounds that the enemy had brought. The RPGs exploded immediately like a devilish series of fireworks.
The panicked remainder of the mob fled for their lives down the narrow streets. They couldn’t see the circling drone overhead but felt its wrath. They abandoned their vehicles and started to run wildly away from the blast radius.
The battle for the CIA station was over within minutes of the first missile being fired. More than fifty attackers lay dead or dying. The broken remnants of the mob were running for their desert hideouts.
Both Ty Woods and Glen Doherty and almost forty other Americans were saved. The Americans were delighted by their sudden deliverance from evil.
Rescue Scenario Four
QRF (Quick Reaction Force)
10:00 P.M.
The Global Response Staff (GRS) is an elite group of fewer than 150 specialists worldwide. Hired by the CIA to work in the most despotic hellholes on the planet, they are modern-day gunslingers and quite possibly the most highly qualified set of warriors in the world. Their hiring qualifications are not put out in public government-bid documents. Instead, members are selected and quietly tapped to apply by those who are already part of the crew. More than 75 percent come from parts of three very elite groups: Navy SEALs, Delta Force, and Marine Special Operations Force.
The GRS’s best are known as “scorpions” for good reason. Not only have they proven themselves in gunfights, but also their knowledge of traps, bombs, setups, ambushes, kill zones, and unconventional tactics separates them from an already bad-ass bunch.
True samurai that live solely by the warrior code, they know they could be betrayed by their masters at any time and would be left to fend for themselves in ungodly parts of the world. They are not asked to learn foreign languages where stationed, and generally do not even interact with the local populace, unless it is to obtain a specific item they are sent to retrieve. Their job is relatively simple and dangerous: safeguarding diplomats and spies in places where they are prized only as targets or capti
ves.
The GRS use the full panoply of intelligence—human assets, signal intercepts, orbiting satellites—to identify and defeat threats. They protect diplomats and other government personnel in some of the most dangerous parts of the world. When left with no other options, they do what they arguably do best—they shoot their way out. This is probably one of the most dangerous paramilitary jobs in the world. Glen Doherty and Ty Woods were both highly respected members of this group.
The GRS agents in Tripoli received the word that an attack was underway almost immediately after Ambassador Stevens made his last fateful call for help at 9:40 p.m. The initial word was received from the State Department, as Greg Hicks was trying desperately to put together a force to help his friend Stevens in Benghazi. Not knowing the exact circumstances of the attack, it was enough for the GRS guys to know it was time to get ready to roll. This was what they trained for.
They were pumped and primed; other people’s crises were their motivation. Soon thereafter they tapped into the communications networks in Benghazi and quickly realized Woods was on the scene and Doherty, his friend, was going in as well.
The agents in Tripoli were largely located in a CIA facility. Little more than a large compound that had been fortified with concrete block and concertina wire, it was a very permeable Fort Apache in Indian country, nothing more.
Those that were located in other parts of Tripoli began to appear at the safe house. They knew that the situation was dire. Thus, most of the men showed up with their usual load-out of weapons and were each also carrying an additional large military duffel bag filled with special weapons and ammo. They knew they were in for a fight and wanted to have enough ammo and gear to finish it.
The word was then put out through the secure CIA channels: the operators were to assemble at a designated hangar at the Tripoli airport for further instructions.
The group that showed up would have made Wyatt Earp happy. They were quiet, sober men who knew how to handle a gunfight. They were veterans, experienced at killing men within six feet of their gun barrels, with some having made sniper shots approaching a mile away. Among the fifteen men, there was nearly a century of experience in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, and other war zones. Some had recently separated from the military. Others had been out for years and working for various security contractors from Blackwater to Triple Canopy. Each sidelong glance told the same story: These are the brothers I go to war with, and some of us may not return.