LtCol Dave Greene "Rhino"

20 years ago today, we were Marine Corps Cobra attack helicopter pilots with HMLA-775, 3rd MAW, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, stationed at Al-Taqaddum Air Base Iraq, between the cities of Ramadi and Falluja, Iraq.Wednesday July 28th 2004 started out like any other day, by 1500 it would become one of the defining moments in my life.

Casevac = Casualty evacuation usually from point of injury (Landing Zone)

Medevac = Medical evacuation usually from one base to another

1000 = 10AM 1300 = 1PM

CH-46s = twin rotor transport helicopter

31st CASH = 31st Combat Army Surgical Hospital

BIAP = Bagdad International Airport

Blackwater = Government contract company

VBIED = Vehicle Borne Improvised explosive device (car bomb)

3/24 = 3rd Battalion 24th Marine regiment

2/4 = 2nd Battalion 4th Marine regiment

DASC = Direct Air Support Center (controls the flow of aircraft into the objective area)

MSR = Main supply route (Highway)

MGT = Measured Gas Temperature (The temp of the engine, or health of the engine)

NATOPS = Naval Aviation Training and Operations Procedures (Our checklists and guidebook for our aircraft)

HMMWV = Military Vehicle

My morning brief with LtCol David Greene (Rhino) started off like any other, “What seat do you want, front or back?” My reply was “front”. About 1000 we started running to our aircraft as the bell rang. The dinner bell ringing was the indication that a medevac/casevac was going out. Our job was to escort the CH-46s (Phrogs) that carried the medical team and the patients. This one was a medevac that originated from Al Taqqadum (TQ) airfield, our home base. We started, armed our weapons systems and checked-in on the radio with Brillo (the CH-46). We followed the CH-46 over to the ambulance pad and watched them load the patient into the aircraft. It was one 46 with their patient and us as their escort, headed for the 31st CASH pad in downtown Baghdad. We stayed North of the Euphrates most of the way until we approached the edge of the city. We came South across the river staying west of BIAP. Near the center of town we button hooked left to come in from the south. We passed some Army helicopters and some Blackwater helos on the way in, looked like one of the Army outposts was having a ceremony on the ground, formations, flags etc. As we crossed over the Tigris river we slowed down and set-up for the approach into the LZ. It is a concrete pad big enough for 2 or 3 helos so we landed next to the 46. The medical team came out of the hospital and wheeled the patient away. I watched a couple of curious Iraqis to our left that watched us from their 2 story house, my hand on the gun controls, secretly wishing they would raise a weapon but knowing they were just some guys doing work on a house. The LZ was very close quarters nestled in amongst 2 and 3 story apartments and houses. We were easy targets for an RPG or small arms fire. Within 5 minutes we were lifting out of the LZ and headed west. This time we took the southern route, south of Fallujah and into TQ. We went into the fuel pits, the ordnance Marines de-armed us and then the fuel Marines hooked us up to the hose and we started taking on fuel. We checked-in with the operations duty officer (ODO). He said he might have another mission for us and asked us to go secure on our radio. We went to secure mode and he told us a VBIED had detonated at the front gate and the base security (3/24) wants us to be overhead for security in case this was the beginning of an attack on the base. Rhino and I could see the pillar of black smoke over our right shoulder near the front gate. We finished the fueling and signaled the ordnance Marines that we would need to arm again before departing. We were overhead the VBIED location in a minute and could see that a water truck had put out the fire. It was just outside the gate before the bridge. There were two blackened cars next to each other facing opposite directions in adjacent lanes of traffic on the two lane road. We could not raise anyone on the radio and since the fire was out and no other enemy activity existed we went back to the pits and went through the same routine, this time ending it with a taxi back to our line where we shutdown the aircraft. About 1230 our turn came up for going to the chow hall for lunch. This was something that we truly looked forward to doing, as sometimes missions or other circumstances would not allow it, which resulted in an MRE or nothing at all. Rhino elected not to go since he had some work he wanted to get caught up on. As I returned about 1300, walking down the concrete porch to our building, I heard the dinner bell ringing again. I thought, “it’s the other division’s turn so I was not hurried”, until I saw Rhino run out of the building in front of me. I ran in to get my helmet and proceeded to our aircraft. Rhino was already strapped-in and getting ready to hit the starters as I was putting on my flight vest. I asked “what is it this time”? “Casevac in Ramadi” came the reply. We concentrated on the typical start up items, aircraft systems, radios, frequencies, arming checklist items and then put our hands in the air as the ordnance crews came in to pull the jettison pins, plug the rocket pod into the aircraft cable, seat the TOW missile launcher, arm the Hellfire missile system, arm our ALE buckets and plug the 20mm gun into its aircraft cable. This time 2 CH-46s and 2 Cobras were going out. That meant there were several casualties. We followed the 46s into the Ramadi area as they set up for their approach into the LZ, Blue Diamond. We stayed airborne to the west over the Army post to stay out of the way. As they loaded the litters onto the 46s one Phrog notified the other that he had one urgent and one Angel. Rhino and I discussed our disappointment at that news, Angel was the term used for a fatality (KIA). The phrogs had to know what each aircraft had on board to determine their destination. They would call the DASC and notify them of the status of the patients on board and their intended destination. Sometimes a field hospital would fill up so DASC would direct the phrogs and their cargo to an alternate destination. This time both aircraft were headed back to TQ, to drop off the Angel and stabilize the others. TQ had a mortuary affairs platoon to take care of the Angel and also a field surgical unit to stabilize combat injuries. There were 5 total passengers between the two aircraft. We departed Ramadi taking a different route to the east along the Euphrates river. As we cleared the town to the east, DASC informed Brillo that Tycoon 35 and 36 (our callsign) were to break off from the escort duties and contact Bastard 101 (The air officer for 2/4) for a close air support mission (CAS). Bastard 101 informed us that several friendly positions had been receiving indirect fire for the last hour or so. The casualties that Brillo had just picked-up were the result of this indirect fire. We held southeast of Ramadi partly over open land and partly over the lake. Bastard 101 had us take a look at MSR Michigan for a red Opal that was suspected of shooting at friendlies. We made one run in from south to north, pulled off and then went back to our holding position. I did see a Maroon Opal at one point but it went North and disappeared into the town. About ten minutes later Bastard 101 told us a friendly position had taken some indirect fire. They had a good solution with the counter battery artillery and were preparing to fire a response. We stayed southeast to remain clear of the gun target line. After the counter battery was finished 102 passed us the grid coordinates for the point of origin (POO) and asked if we wanted to investigate. Since the poo was northeast of the town, just north of the river and had a fairly dense population around it we decided to pass. Bastard 102, a Forward Air Controller (FAC) started to talk to us as he prepared to move into the town with his patrol. Eventually, bastard 101 handed us off to 102. 102 informed us that he was starting to head south along canal road, the road that defined the eastern edge of the town. A few minutes later 102 gave us the grid coordinates of his position. I programmed the position into our navigational system so we would know his exact position. Looking at his position on the map the patrol had moved about 2000 meters south of MSR Michigan. Approximately 5 minutes later 102 transmitted “we have troops in contact, sporadic small arms fire”, we could hear the gunfire in the background as he transmitted. Showtime. We told bastard 102 we were inbound. I put my face into the sighting unit (TSU) and used the 13X zoom to try and see the friendlies or the enemy position from a distance. Since it was daylight it was difficult to see anything except a bunch of buildings. One of the many reasons that makes fighting in the urban environment difficult and dangerous. I leaned back, away from the TSU as we approached the edge of town, about 100 ft above the ground. We still couldn’t see the good guys or the bad guys so Rhino said “coming left” before we got to the edge of the town. Just as he turned the aircraft there was a loud bang, almost like someone hit the side of the aircraft with a baseball bat, we were hit. This was not the first time I had heard that sound. The aircraft rolled back straight for some reason so I yelled “come left, come left!” The aircraft gradually started back to the left with a slight descent. I then asked Rhino “What did we get hit by?” then the master caution started beeping, I looked at the panel and saw the #1 Eng/Oil Press Bypass light was on (left engine), I then looked at the MGT’s and saw the #1 engine MGT rapidly decreasing, I pushed the master caution button to stop the beeping and then reported “We have lost our #1 engine”. Still no response from Rhino. Why isn’t he answering me? The aircraft was still turning and descending, the rate of turn and descent rapidly increasing. I came on the aircraft controls, first I moved the cyclic to the right to level the aircraft, then I pulled back to stop the descent since we were approaching some high power lines. There was no resistance on the controls. I turned left to head east, once clear of the town and power lines I moved the cyclic left and right, then moved the pedals left and right. I was the only one on the aircraft controls. I turned over my left shoulder to see if I could make eye contact with Rhino. I saw a hole in the left side of the canopy then I saw the blood splattered on both sides of the canopy, I could not see his head because he was slumped forward. I turned around and tried to comprehend what I just saw, what it meant and what I was supposed to do. There is no procedure in the NATOPS for this. I wanted to let everyone know what was going on but I was concerned that the bad guys had scanners and might be listening, I did not want to give them the pleasure. I reported to Bastard 102 that we had to go back immediately. I don’t remember what his response was. I then told my CO who was –2 to come alongside “Tramp, get up here!” I notified him on our inter-flight radio that “I am single engine and I think, single pilot”. He immediately responded with “yes, it looks like you are single pilot”. I told him I am proceeding back to TQ and will land at the ambulance pad on Kilo taxiway. As we proceeded over the lake I let him know that I wanted to minimize our time over the water. I wasn’t sure what the cause of the engine failure was and didn’t want to be over the water if the other engine failed. At that point my radios went dead. We proceeded across the northern tip of the lake and then went feet dry over the desert heading straight for the airfield. I could not talk to anyone or hear any radio transmissions. I contemplated jettisoning our ordnance, but again I did not know what we had been hit by and was hesitant that the act of jettisoning the ordnance would cause more problems. I also elected to forego the engine shutdown checklist for the same reason. I could not ask my wingman about the extent of our damage either. I was all alone, with Rhino in the back seat. Even though I had never met her I thought of his wife, his two kids, one boy and one girl, just like me. My arms and legs started to tremble on the controls of the aircraft. I think I remember him talking about a brother, not sure if his parents were still alive. I tried to come back to flying the aircraft; airspeed, power setting, altitude, what else is wrong? The front seat of the Cobra only has the minimum gauges required to fly the aircraft, I could not crosscheck anything like pressure or temperature gauges. It was flying great on the remaining T-700GE engine. I was doing 110 kts with 65% torque on the remaining engine, MGT 810C, not bad. I wonder if Rhino is just hurt real bad, maybe he has a chance if I hurry. I decided to increase the power to see if I could get some more out of her, a slight increase in torque resulted in an exponential increase in MGT. I’ll just leave it where it’s at. We are not far now. What were the winds? I remembered sitting on the front porch earlier in the morning and the wind was blowing pretty hard and kicking up a lot of dust, from the Northwest. We took off 30R and were now coming in the opposite direction since that was the most direct route. I looked for the wind sock, no joy. The CO got in front of me as we entered the airfield boundary, he wanted me to follow him, he was trying to tell me which way to land, into the wind. The airfield is fairly wide since there are parallel runways. We approached on 12R, I looked left to see the ambulance pad and saw medical personnel, several ambulance HMMWV’s, Crash fire rescue (CFR) trucks and SUVs parked on Kilo taxiway waiting for us. I thought it might be better to land it on the runway, 30R, just for safety and more room. I decided to button hook left, a fairly wide turn actually, cut in front of the crowd and land onto the kilo taxiway, the original plan. I was limited with power, not enough to hover. The 20-25 knot headwind was now helping me, requiring less power for the landing. The trembling had subsided for a moment. We made a gradual descending and decelerating normal approach. I got close to the ground, it felt comfortable in airspeed and power. As I approached the asphalt, I leveled the aircraft, increased power slightly and touched the ground. I dropped the power slightly after touchdown and let the aircraft slide to a screeching halt on the aluminum skids, about 20 or 30 feet. We were safe on deck. I then realized that I had never shutdown the aircraft from the front seat, that was something we only did from the back seat. I cut the throttle on engine #1 and wondered for a second why I didn’t hear the engine wind down, oh yeah. I cut #2 and that was about all I could do from the front until the rotor blades stopped turning. Then I would cut all power to the aircraft by using the emergency power switch, something else I had never used before. The CO landed in front of us, 1stLt Hardin jumped out and came over to dearm the aircraft. He opened the rearseat canopy and switched the master arm switch to off. We made eye contact and he shook his head. Damn! He proceeded around the aircraft dearming the ALE pods, wing stores and the gun. The CFR and medical folks came into view on the rightside of the aircraft just outside the rotor arc. I waved them in. I continued to hold the controls of the aircraft while the inertia of the rotor blades kept them turning. No rotor brake in the front seat either. One of guys took a look in the cockpit at Rhino and turned around with a horrified, helpless look on his face and walked away. Damn! I leaned out of the cockpit and yelled to 1stLt Hardin if he could get to the rotor brake. At this point they were already trying to get to Rhino so he could not get back in the cockpit. The rotors finally came to a stop, I cut all power to the aircraft and got out as quick as I could. They were having trouble pulling him out. His flight suit and harness were soaked with blood. No movement. Finally a CFR Marine wearing his silver fire suit and helmet leaned into the aircraft and got Rhino’s arms over his shoulder. Rhino’s helmet got stuck on the first two tries, then the Marine adjusted Rhino’s helmet over his shoulder and pulled him out. Blood ran down the back of the Marine’s fire suit. He laid Rhino on the stretcher, I then saw the entrance wound, low on the left side of his neck. Still no sign of life. Into the ambulance he went. The surgical tent was only a few hundred feet away. I stood there in a daze with my helmet in one hand and my kneeboard in the other. Someone came up to me and told me to get in the other ambulance. I looked down at my legs thinking I might have some sign of an injury. I hadn’t even thought I might be hurt. I’m not hurt. Oh well, so I got in the ambulance. The ambulance let me out near the tent Rhino was in. I stood outside the door and watched a dozen people trying to save his life. Someone yelled “make a hole!” I stepped back as they brought a young Marine out on a stretcher that had shrapnel in his leg. An injury that had just come in from the phrogs we escorted out of Ramadi. I could see the faces of some of the doctors and nurses, I didn’t know any of them but I had seen them in the chow hall over the last several months. Someone came up to me and said “are you the other pilot?” Yes. “Are you injured?” I don’t think so. Come with me so we can check you out just to be sure, OK. I sat on the elevated girny in a room. Some of the corpsman and doctors didn’t really know what to say to me, the things they tried to say didn’t seem to help either. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to act. I was too numb to cry, in some ways I was still in pilot mode, going over the events, thinking of the landing, wondering if I had done everything right. They took my blood pressure, it was high. I felt like I had way too much coffee even though I don’t drink coffee. When they were done with me I wasn’t sure if I should go back to the ready room or the tent. Not the tent, not alone, yet. In the ready room everyone had a look of disbelief on their faces. Every once in awhile a night crew pilot would filter in and not know. Someone would tell them and the story would start all over. Many were concerned for me, I was the lucky one though. Again, I didn’t know how I was supposed to act. An hour or so later Capt Jim Hamblin was going back over to the aircraft, I went with him. A few senior maintenance Marines were standing around the aircraft. They wanted to get to work but were told to leave the aircraft alone for the Combat assessment team. I wanted to see the damage, Rhino’s cockpit. Although Rhino was unconscious immediately his heart continued to work until he was empty. Rhino’s heart pumped his entire blood volume onto the floor of the aircraft. Much of it was making its way below into the ammo bay where our 20mm rounds were stored. We had taken 5 rounds of 7.62mm, most likely from a machine gun. I could see the hole in the canopy, the round entered on the left side, went through his neck, through the a/c duct and then exited the right side of the canopy. One round hit down by the 20mm gun by my left foot, another hit our APR-47 sensor to my left and shattered the glass cover, another round hit directly on the leading edge of our main rotor blade, the last round hit just above the oil site glass on the left engine causing the engine failure. I eventually went back to my empty tent, as I sat down in my chair I collapsed and finally dumped all the emotions that had to come out. I went to chow that night for dinner, most of us at the table didn’t say much, we had the 1000 yd stare. The next night I wrote Rhino’s wife a letter about the events of the day. I wanted her to know the details however upsetting, of her husbands death. Maybe his kids would want to know some day, or his parents or siblings. I wanted to get it on record while the details were still fresh in my mind. I would also be back flying again in 3 days. I waited 2 days before I sent word to my family. The only details were that we had lost a pilot and everyone else was OK. A couple of days later I talked to my wife on the phone, I did not tell her the role I had played since I did not want her to worry. She even asked me how his co-pilot was doing and my reply was “he’s doing OK”. She also informed me that there were news articles all over the internet from many towns across the US about Rhino’s death. That was when I discovered that Rhino became the most senior Marine killed in the Iraq war and I became the “unidentified co-pilot” that returned safely to base.