Rescued Air Force Officer Describes Two Days Evading Iranian Forces After Ejection

A U.S. Air Force weapons systems officer identified as “Bravo” has publicly described being shot down over Iran in April and surviving two days behind enemy lines before an American rescue team reached him, in an interview aired on “60 Minutes.”

Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, told the program the U.S. had flown “broadly 13,000 missions” during the fighting and held air superiority, but, as he put it, “we weren’t flying over Kansas.”

Bravo said the moment his aircraft was hit felt “like getting hit by a freight train.” The pilot, referred to as “Alpha,” ejected safely and was rescued within six hours. Bravo was not as fortunate: his parachute was damaged and failed to fully open, sending him into what he called a “free-fall.”

“At one point when I looked up and saw no parachute, that was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen,” Bravo said. “So I paused, right then, and I prayed, ‘Lord, your will be done. But if I’m getting through this, I need help.'”

Military debriefers estimated he struck the ground at between 70 and 100 mph. He broke his back, an arm and a shoulder, sprained an ankle, and was bleeding from cuts and scrapes. He called his survival “a modern-day miracle,” saying it was “a testament to God’s provision in my life to bring me through that moment in a way that didn’t prevent injuries, but prevented any catastrophic injuries that would have affected my ability to survive.”

A climb to avoid capture

Despite his injuries, Bravo moved away from his landing site immediately to avoid capture and decided his best chance was to climb a 7,000-foot ridgeline. Asked how he managed it, he said: “Never let a lack of motivation put you on Iranian TV.”

He evaded Iranian search teams for two days. At one point, according to U.S. military sources, Iranian forces came within a few hundred meters of his position.

Bravo was able to send a message to U.S. forces confirming he was hurt but alive: “God is good.”

The rescue operation

The CIA assisted the operation, using deception and technology to help pinpoint Bravo’s location. U.S. forces struck nearby Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel before deploying roughly 92 ground personnel, along with additional air and support elements, to retrieve him. It marked the first American boots on the ground in Iran in 46 years.

Bravo described spotting the rescue team as “one of the greatest moments of my life,” referring to the pararescue specialists, known as PJs, who reached him on the ridgeline.

The extraction was not simple. Aircraft involved in the rescue experienced landing gear failures, prompting a separate clandestine unit to evacuate everyone before the disabled aircraft were bombed to keep their technology out of Iranian hands.

Once safe, Bravo was able to call his wife back in the United States for the first time since being shot down.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Bravo said he hoped Americans would take away a broader lesson: “It’s a story of the teamwork, the training, of the faith, of the decisions and the leadership to do something that will live in history as an example of what America’s willing to do, in order to uphold our promise and leave no man behind.”