Scott O'Grady
Scott O'Grady | |
---|---|
Birth name | Scott Francis O'Grady |
Nickname(s) | "Basher 52" |
Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | October 12, 1965
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Air Force |
Years of service | 1989–2001 |
Rank | Captain |
Battles/wars | |
Other work | Joint author of Return With Honor, and Basher Five-Two, speaker |
Scott Francis O'Grady (born October 12, 1965) is a former United States Air Force fighter pilot. On June 2, 1995, he was shot down over Bosnia and Herzegovina by a 2K12 Kub (NATO designation SA-6 "Gainful") mobile SAM launcher and forced to eject from his F-16C into hostile territory. US Marines from heavy-helicopter squadron HMH-464 and the 24 MEU(SOC) on AC number 21 eventually rescued O'Grady after nearly a week of his evading the Bosnian Serbs. He was previously involved in the Banja Luka incident where he fired upon six enemy aircraft. The 2001 film Behind Enemy Lines is loosely based upon his experiences.
In September 2011, O'Grady announced a run for the 2012
Career
NATO: Operation Deny Flight
The
Shootdown
On the ground, a Bosnian Serb army 2K12 Kub surface-to-air missile battery near Mrkonjić Grad was readying to fire its missiles on NATO aircraft. The Serbs had moved the mobile-tracked missile battery and laid a trap. They switched on their missile radars intermittently, giving F-16 fighters little warning. Waiting until a plane was directly overhead, where the aircraft's warning and countermeasures would be at their weakest, they fired two missiles. In the cockpit, O'Grady's instruments alerted him that a missile was coming, but, because he was flying through an overcast sky, he could not see it. The first missile exploded between the two aircraft. The second struck the F-16 piloted by O'Grady.[9] His flight lead, Captain Robert Gordon "Wilbur" Wright, saw O'Grady's plane burst into flames and break in two. Wright did not see a parachute, but O'Grady survived by ejecting from the aircraft.[8]
O'Grady landed among a Bosnian Serb population that he was briefed would be unfriendly. He quickly secured a 29-pound (13 kg) survival bag, ran, and hid. Rubbing dirt on his face, he hid face-down as Bosnian Serb forces came upon his parachute, half a dozen times shooting their rifles only feet from where he was hidden in an effort to flush him out or kill him.[9]
During the next six days, he put to use the lessons learned during a 17-day Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training session he had undertaken near his hometown of Spokane, Washington. He ate leaves, grass, and bugs, and stored the little rainwater he could collect with a sponge in plastic bags. He also met two cows who came up to his hiding spot multiple times, he named them Leroy and Alfred. Scott also named the cow herded, although he never saw him/her, he named him/her Tinkerbell because of the cowbell she/he would always ring.[10]
O'Grady radioed for help immediately but had to remain quiet with paramilitaries coming within feet of him; he used the radio following standard operating procedures as the U.S. Air Force had taught him so as not to give away his position to unfriendly forces. On his 6th night on the ground he made radio contact, signalling his location using his radio's limited battery power.
Rescue
Just after midnight on June 8,
Two
At 0635, the helicopters approached the area where O'Grady's signal beacon had been traced. The pilots saw bright yellow smoke coming from trees near a rocky pasture where O'Grady had set off a flare. The first Sea Stallion, commanded by Major William Tarbutton, touched down and 20 Marines jumped off the aircraft and set up a defensive perimeter.[9] As the second Sea Stallion, commanded by Captains Paul Fortunato and James Wright, landed, a figure with a pistol who turned out to be the missing pilot appeared running towards the Marines and immediately went to the Sea Stallion.[13] As the side door opened, he was pulled in before the second 20 Marines poised to leave by the rear ramp could even move. They were called back to their seats, and those who had formed the defensive perimeter reboarded the other helicopter. After a quick head count, the Stallions took off. They had been on the ground no more than seven minutes.[8]
Return
The Marines, with O'Grady, flew low over Serb-held Bosnia. However, American aircraft detected a Serb missile radar along the Croatian coast, scanning for targets. An American plane recommended destroying the Serb radar, code-named Giraffe. The request was denied, partly out of concern that a strike could spark wider conflict.[12]
Minutes later, the Marines reported they were under fire. Three shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles had been fired at them but missed, as the helicopter pilots—flying 150 feet (46 m) off the ground at 175 mph (282 km/h)—jinked to evade them. Serb small arms pocked both helicopters; the Marines aboard heard the bullets hit inside the fuselage.[8][12] One door gunner returned fire. One round hit some communication gear in the chopper and the bullet ended up against Sergeant Major Angel Castro Jr.'s armor without injuring anyone. At 0715 local time, 30 minutes after picking up O'Grady, the rescuers reported "feet wet", meaning they were over water.[8][12] O'Grady was back aboard the Kearsarge at 0730.[11] All of the aircraft landed without further incident.
Aftermath
On August 11, 1995,[14] a USAF RQ-1 Predator drone was shot down by Serb forces in the same area.[15] The Serbs recovered the wreckage and handed it over to Russia for technical evaluation.[14] On August 30, NATO launched Operation Deliberate Force, a massive airstrike campaign which eventually lifted the siege of Sarajevo and led to the end of the war in Bosnia.[16]
O'Grady received a
Nomination: Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
In November 2020, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate O'Grady to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs).[18] The President justified this intent to appoint by citing O'Grady's combat experience, his book Return With Honor, and Master's degree in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from the University of Portland in Oregon.
Shortly before and during the nomination period, O'Grady was reported to have re-tweeted posts about the
On January 3, 2021, his nomination was returned to the President under
Defense Policy Board
On December 14, 2020 the Department of Defence announced that the Trump administration nominated O'Grady to the Defense Policy Board, as a part of a slate of replacement nominations for the 11 board members who were abruptly fired in November 2020.[23] O'Grady was sworn in as the board member on January 19, 2021, the last full day of Trump's presidency, under pressure from the White House to complete his and other similar nominations.[24] Following the election of President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a "zero-based review" of all the Pentagon advisory boards and fired all of the members appointed by the DoD, including all the Defense Policy Board members, effective February 16, 2021.[25]
Personal life
O'Grady was born in
O'Grady is an active
In popular culture
The shootdown incident was depicted and described on the documentary television program
The 2001 film
O'Grady co-wrote two books, collaborating on one, with Michael French, that detailed his experiences of being shot down over Bosnia and his eventual rescue, Basher Five-Two: The True Story of F-16 Fighter Pilot Captain Scott O'Grady.[10] He first wrote a book that was a New York Times Bestseller about his experience in Return with Honor with Jeff Coplon.[36] Another book has also been written; this one, "Good To Go:" The Rescue of Capt. Scott O'Grady, USAF, from Bosnia, was written by Mary Pat Kelly.[37]
Bibliography
- O'Grady, Scott; Coplon, Jeff (1995). Return with Honor. New York: OCLC 260203342.
- O'Grady, Scott; French, Michael (1995). Basher Five-Two: The True Story of F-16 Fighter Pilot Captain Scott O'Grady. New York: OCLC 39659863.
- Kelly, Mary Pat (1996). "Good to Go": The Rescue of Capt. Scott O'Grady, USAF, From Bosnia. Annapolis, MD: OCLC 34410723.
References
- ^ a b "Shapiro not seeking reelection; O'Grady announces". Austin American Statesman statesman.com. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
- Dallas Morning News. January 30, 2012.
- ^ "US hero of Bosnia war named to the Pentagon". Yahoo!. November 18, 2020.
- National Archives.
- ^ "PN2363 — Scott Francis O'Grady — Department of Defense". U.S. Congress. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
- ^ a b "Trump Pentagon nominee spreads debunked conspiracies and tweets suggesting Trump declare martial law". CNN. December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- AFSOUTH. July 18, 2003. Archived from the originalon May 13, 2011.
- ^ Time Magazine. Archived from the originalon January 9, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Bruce B. Auster (June 19, 1995). "One Amazing Kid – Capt. Scott O' Grady escapes from Bosnia-Herzegovina". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on May 29, 2011.
- ^ a b O'Grady & French 1995.
- ^ a b "DoD News Briefing: Admiral William Owens, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff". U.S. Department of Defense. June 8, 1995. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Thomas, Evan (June 18, 1995). "An American Hero". Newsweek. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
- New York Times. Archived from the originalon January 12, 2015.
- ^ a b RQ-1 Predator/MQ-9 Reaper June 2019, p. 30
- ^ Major Robert C. Nolan II: The Pilotless Air Force?. The Research DepartmentAir Command and Staff College, March 1997, page 6
- ISBN 0-375-75360-5.
- ^ "Former Air Force Fighter Pilot Scott O'Grady Announces Republican Primary Candidacy For Texas State Senate District 8 :: Scott O'Grady for State Senate". Archived from the original on October 9, 2018.
- National Archives.
- ^ "Unmasked: The Truth About the 2020 Election Uncovered".
- ^ Thompson, Elizabeth (December 4, 2020). "Scott O'Grady, Texas war hero and Trump defense nominee, spreads conspiracy theory alleging Biden 'coup' on Twitter". Dallas News. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
- ^ Myre, Greg. "Backing Trump, Some Ex-Military Officers Spread Conspiracies, Urge Martial Law". NPR. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
- ^ "PN2363 - Nomination of Scott Francis O'Grady for Department of Defense, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". www.congress.gov. January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ Connor O'Brien (December 14, 2020). "Gingrich among Trump loyalists named to Pentagon advisory board". Politico. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ^ Lara Seligman (January 28, 2021). "Pentagon halts Trump appointments to advisory boards". Politico. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ^ Lara Seligman; Conor O'Brien (February 2, 2021). "Austin ousts Pentagon advisory board members as he roots out Trump appointees". Politico. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ "Former fighter pilot Scott O'Grady running for new Rockwall Co. House seat". The Rockwall News. August 3, 2011. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
- ^ Convention Notes (Monday night). CNN. August 12, 1996.
- ^ O'Grady: Kerry's actions after Vietnam constituted treason. Associated Press (via Minnesota Public Radio). August 13, 2004.
- ^ "Endorsements of Brian Birdwell". brianbirdwell.net. Retrieved September 11, 2010. [dead link]
- Dallas Morning News. February 2, 2012.
- ^ Duration: 45 min. "Watch National Geographic Documentaries Season 3 Episode 2 Situation Critical: Downed Pilot". Ovguide.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - IMDb
- ^ "Pilot sues over Bosnian escape film". BBC News. August 20, 2002. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ Sarah Hall (January 21, 2004). ""Behind Enemy Lines" Suit Settled". Archived from the original on October 1, 2012.
- ^ Jaasma, Keith (2009). "Star Power in the Lone Star State: The Right of Publicity in Texas" (PDF). Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal. 18 (1). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 28, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ O'Grady & Coplon 1995.
- ^ Kelly 1996.
External links
- Bellamy, Christopher (July 7, 1995). "All-American hero's errors bring Nato down to earth". The Independent. London, UK. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- "O'Grady calls rescuers who saved American pilot 'heroes'". CNN. March 30, 1999. Retrieved July 30, 2006.
- Bjorn Claes. "One Amazing Kid – Capt. Scott O' Grady escapes from Bosnia-Herzegovina". F-16.net.