There's a new book coming out about some of this country's best SpecOps guys, and a letter I wrote back in 2002 was included. I stumbled across it by accident while I was reading it before publication.

Sorry for the uneven spacing, but that's how it came out of the .pdf format.

You can also go here
http://www.arrowmaker.com/download/CC ... S%20-%20CHAPTER%206.1.pdf
and go to p. 239-240 to read it as it appears in the book.

My letter follows the blow-by-blow of the battle.

Mark


THE BATTLE OF ROBERTS RIDGE
March 4, 2002 - Takhur Ghar Mountain, Afghanistan

In the early morning of 4 March, an MH-47, call sign “Razor 03,” approached Takhur Ghar Mountain, preparing to deploy a joint special operations team. The helicopter was met with a fusillade of enemy fire as it prepared to land. The pilot immediately departed the helicopter landing
zone (HLZ) despite a crippling blow from an RPG. In the chaos, US Navy SEAL Petty Officer 1st class Neil Roberts
fell out of the helicopter. With the controls freezing up, it was all the pilot could do to limp North and put the
helicopter down in an area about 7 kilometers away out of immediate danger. Once on the ground, Combat Controller
TSgt John Chapman rapidly established communications with an AC-130 gunship to ensure their area was secure. He
then directed the AC-130 gunship to fly over the initial insertion point to search for his missing teammate. He quickly
coordinated the movement of his team and aircrew from their emergency landing area, thus limiting exposure to
enemy attack.
Sergeant Chapman, and his team, volunteered to mount a rescue mission, back into the enemy hornet’s nest where
PO-1 Roberts had fallen. The team reinserted and almost immediately made contact with the enemy. Sergeant
Chapman immediately advanced toward the fortified position, from where they last taken fire; he dispatched two of
the enemy with his M-4. Simultaneously, he and his team came under withering fire from three different directions.
From close range and with minimal cover, Sergeant Chapman engaged a well-dug-in heavy machine-gun position;
allowing his team time to take cover and provide flanking fire. While engaging this heavy machine gun, he was
mortally wounded. TSgt John Chapman was the first CCT combat death since Vietnam; he died with his weapon in his hand, providing covering fire in an effort to save his teammates’ lives.
A quick reaction force (QRF) was inserted to rescue the SEALs and eliminate the enemy. One of the QRF’s insertion
helicopters was hit with another RPG and amazingly was able to land safely, if the middle of a firefight can be
considered “safe.” Enemy troops were less than 20 meters from where the helicopter came to rest.
SSgt Gabe Brown was the combat controller attached to the QRF. For the next 15 hours, he directed close air support
in a series of “danger close calls” that can be only described as heroic. A senior Air Force pilot said, “It was the most
incredible close-in close air support operations that I’ve ever seen.”
On that day in March, seven brave Americans died on Roberts Ridge. But countless others were saved by SSgt
Brown’s actions.
As of September 2002, Combat Control, in Afghanistan, had controlled the delivery of more than 2 million pounds of
CAS-ordnance. Although steel on target is a more direct and visceral methods to fight the war on terrorism, all the
skills of a combat controller are needed to win. DZ/LZ surveying, CSAR, and especially ATC were essential to
combat operations in Afghanistan.


March 10, 2002 – WE TOASTED CHAPPY; THEN DRANK HIS BEER an email vignette from Mark J. Hughes,
SrA, Pope CCT, 1981-1985

Guys
Just got back from the Chapman funeral in PA yesterday.
The town really treated us with a great deal of respect and dignity. They closed off streets and the whole 9 yards.

Tons of media coverage, and there were American Flags everywhere. All of the services were quite moving and
tastefully carried out. I guess the family wanted the casket open to show that war is hell, and to let us all say a proper farewell. No sugar coating the harsh reality of what we do (or did). Considering what he’d been through,
I guess he looked pretty good. Not much like himself though. I’d never met Val before Monday night, but she
seems like a great lady, and Combat Controller’s wife. What a tragedy.

About 3/4 of the way through the second viewing, Don Robinson, Randy Blythe, and 15 or so of us walked down
the street to one of the local bars, with a picture collage of Chappy in tow that one of the other guys brought along
from the funeral home. We set it up on the bar and bought him a beer in absentia, which we placed in front of the
photo. When it was time to leave, we toasted him, and then passed Chappy’s beer all around and everyone took a
drink until it was gone. Oh, well. CCTers have never been known for our good hygiene practices. Too bad Jeff
Hitchcock didn’t arrive until later that night with Col. Holmes. It just wasn’t the same for me without him there.
It would have been nice if John Scimeca could have made it too. Has it really been over 20 years since CCS? Anyway…

Later, I bought out the bar for everyone back at the hotel after the wake, and it wasn’t over until about 2am. It
was nice to meet Lt. Col. Rodriguez, and many others over a couple beers. There must have been more than a few
headaches the morning of the funeral and burial to be sure. We had those two girls behind the bar hopping. The
USAF sent one of its official honor guard units for the burial, and they were flawless. Three A-10s did a fly-by to
wrap-up the graveside service.

In 20 years, I’ve never seen so many active duty CCTs in one place before. As out-of-place as I must have looked
to outsiders with my long hair, beard, and diamond earring, I was seated and or standing in formation right in
the middle of that sea of blue and scarlet, and feeling the warm embrace of our Brotherhood. For those
moments, we were all the same. The reception afterwards in the basement of the church had some excellent home
cooked food that was actually brought to the tables instead of the usual buffet thing.

I just wanted to post this for you guys that couldn’t make it, so consider yourselves filled-in. As somber an
occasion as this obviously was, it was still great to see a lot of old friends and make some new ones of the young
kids. I’m glad I took the time to go, and hope it’s a good long time before we have to do anything like this again.

Mark Hughes, CCA LM-746

RIP Sergeant Chapman, and much gratitude for your service and sacrifice.

Thank you all for your service and sacrifices for this Country. You are indeed, The Best of the Best..