Rescuing a CNN Reporter from Behind ISIS Enemy Lines

In November of 2016, Mosul was the epicenter of the intense battle to drive ISIS out of Iraq. CNN reporter Arwa Damon, her cameraman, and an Iraqi security convoy were ambushed and trapped behind ISIS enemy lines. A US Navy SEAL platoon quickly activated to save them. However, as hundreds of ISIS fighters were closing in, the only chance of a rescue was with the assistance of incredibly precise and powerful air strikes. Luckily, embedded with the SEALs that day was our guest: former US Air Force Technical Sergeant Josh Apple.

When most people hear about air strikes they think of missiles launched from miles and miles away. However, when Americans are in contact with the enemy, ‘Danger Close’ air strikes often turn the tide of the battle. These strikes are not possible without the incredible work of a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC), also often referred to as Air Combat Controllers, who are on the ground directing lethal air assets in real-time with remarkable precision. Under-appreciated and under-reported, it is impossible to overstate the critical role JTACs play in US military operations worldwide. 

When Josh Apple and the SEALs received word that a reporter and her cameraman were being closed in on in urban Mosul, they knew the stakes were enormous. The race to save them was a race against fatal consequences, which likely would have played out in the very public fashion which ISIS prefers. 

Josh Apple is the recipient of the Bronze Star Medal for Combat Action. We are honored that he took the time to tell this amazing story and we thank him and all of our Air Combat Controllers for their vital and truly spectacular work.

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