And prose and welcome to p p at the wharf. Thank you very much for coming and for braving this evening of storm warnings and wind and rain. These evening are getting to be too frequent here in washington, dc. Last august, john chapman, an air force combat controller, was posthumously awarded the medal of honor for his heroic actions atop a snowcapped mountain in afghanistan in early 2002. A few months of u. S. Forces began fighting na the done. Champman was the first airman to receive the medal of honor since the vietnam war. He had been attached to a navy seal team, assigned to establish a mountaintop observation post in connection with the major u. S. Sweep against al qaeda and Taliban Forces forces and the vn eastern afghanistan. Approaching the site, the helicopter carrying the special operations unit, came under heavy fire, and one of the team members were thrown from the aircraft. Returning to try to rescue their team meat, chapman and the seals batted al qaeda fighters, dug into the mountaintop. The seals, some of whom were seriously wind, were drew under intense fire and thinking chapman had been killed early in the battle. In fact, he hadnt been. And he continued to fight desperately trying to protect the lives of a rescue force of rangers who landed on the ridgetop not long after and also ran interest a similar ambush, tragically suffering additional casualties. Took the u. S. Military years to sort out all that happened that issue fated day. Even though a predator drone flying above the mountain captured the battle on video. It was grainy but government officials using advanced technology conducted a closer framebyframe analysis of chapmans own actions leading to the decision to award chapman the medal of honor on top of the air force crosby stowed. Out in champ happys heroism was recounted in full in a book called alone at dawn, book that chapmans sister laurie co oed the dan chap happy. Dan retired in to 16 as 30 years of military service, planning to spend this time skiing and climbing mountains, but then laurie approached him with the idea for the book, and he ended up agreeing to help write, not only chapmans story but the broader story of combat control teams, an elite force little known by the general public. Has had newman count bat and clandestine deployments, including the 1993 operation in somalia known as black hawk down, where he is credited with saving the lives of a ranger and a seal under fire. He later founded and then served as the first commander of two special operations squadrons. Dan was going to be in conversation here this evening with a member of the administration from the department of health and Human Services who works on preparedness and response, but he stuck in new york because of the weather. So, im going to wing it with him, and we are going to have a conversation for a little while and then well open it to questions. So here we go. Welcome, dan. Thank you for having me. That was a great introduction. The most comprehensive introduction ive had because you have some familiarity with the subject matter, having written about it as a journalist. Thats right. Was with the washington post, i covered the pentagon at the time this happened, and two months after this tragic series of events i wrote a twopart series for the washington post, but in retrospect i just scratch heed the surface now looking at all youuncovered since. This was artwearyear effort, writing seven days a week. The first year was research and interview through the air force and the dod which granted permission. The and then writing the book, a wonderfully misserrable way to make miserable way to make a living. Its a guaranteed means of a low probability of income in as little as four years and thats been my approach, which is fine. I do enjoy having written, but what i really am after is im on a mission. This is what i teal people wherever i go, any interview i give in promoting this book. Before i tell you what my mission is, i have a question for you audience par business pacing. Ry participation if will say a word and say outload the first two words that comessed to mine. U. S. Navy. Seals. Seals and ships. Seals and ships thats what everybody says, and thats fine. Thats a great marketing and incap layings of what in essence is that people would like to see. When i ask people that about air force, what they say is, pilots. Dont seen applanes. That say loyalties pilots. So my mission is to change the American Publics perception of the entire United States air force with a book. Thats my mission. Its not an easy mission because the air force doesnt do itself any favors. As you mentioned, the book is about john chapman, but its also beyond the heroism of this liked identifiesed hi life on the altar ofburg brotherhood on the top of a mountain and these are the deadliy individuals to walk a battlefield in the history of human warfare. Period. Why dont we know much about combat controllers. You dont hear about them is because they have always existed in the seams and their role is to bee this expert on the battlefield that does things in conjunction with larger groups. Theyre integrated an individuals, but its to an army special forms, a team, seal platoon, australian sas. Controllers work with the best force from around the world in a way nat nobody else does. They have to be able to fight with them and then they do something more. Thats right. In fact thats what thats a perfect segway into what it is a combat controller does that is different. Foundationally, a combat controllers Training Pipeline is directly comparable to what you see a seal going through. They do everything that a seal does, tactically, they jump, they scuba dive, combat died, demolition, weapons, small unit tactics, the foundation of modern special operations warfare, but to that foundation they add a Technical Expertise that is not resident in special operations. I were in a gunfight and you went to be a green beret or sale seal. Seal year, thats what everybody says, youre a seal, im a combat controller. This is the mongol and theyre coming for us and we have to protect the politic and prose poster. You hear gun and youre going to reach out and point it at people and youre going to think in two dimensions, near, far, left, right, and connect with one bullet from you to that gentleman there, and thats how you kill people, one not dave but the guy behind him. And youre going shoot people. As a combat controller dont think in two dimensions. I live on the battle space and occupy a fourdimensional world, nearfar, leftright, up, down, and time. Four dimensions and i view the battle space around me very much in that way, because what the combat controllers dot that that make the deadly u. S. People in the history of human warfare is this. They wield that Precision Power that comes from the air in a manner that nobody else can do because they one thing about being combat controller on the battlefield, i have tomorrow all the call signs of all the air kraft in my area of operations. Have to understand the two dozen types of allied and u. S. Aircraft, theyre capabilities, limitations, how they employ themselves and the 200 types of ordinance on top of that and when i have a battlefield that goes sideway, which is where heroism comes from and this story is no different from that. I have to be able to control them and wield them like a symphony conductor wielding an orchestra and its a symphony of death and nobody can wield that bare people can call in astrikers but nobody is quad they go through air traffic kole school. So theyre Training Pipeline is longer, more intellectually challenging, more complex, most costly, than any other special Operations Training force in the world. How far back do they goo. Founded in 1953 and they were born of the catastrophes that came from poorly executed air born operation Airborne Operations in second world war. When the air force became a separate service in 1947, the air force realized we want this capability because one problem they had is the mayor didnt give it Due Diligence and aircraft were misdirected, they were being shot done by friendlies friendlies and the air force realized it why control these things things and combat they predate the seals and green beret counterparts. Lets get to to the battle of tacker gar, the name of this mountaintop in afghanistan where the battle took place. Apart from the heroism of john chapman, why is this particular battle porsche and why important and why its also embarrassing for the military . Its important because its a great example theres a wellarticulated article on the pitfalls technology and how as a commander, if im far removed and im looking through an intelligence isr feed, we call it, which comes from predator drone or some other remote vehicle, i think i really understand what is happening but its a soda straw. You dont what is happening and you can overrely on that and try to overrule the man on the ground. Thats a fatal mistake welash over and over again thats the biggest takeway when it comes to tactics and lessons learn at a strategic level. The battle itself is important for a couple of reasons. First of all, statistically it is probably the most valorous battle in the history of the United States. 25 americans were on topthis mountain at 6 00 in the morning, and of those 25, 18 would earn a silver star or above. Now, that is an amazing statistic and thats the heroism that was on display that day by everybody on the mountained. There was nobody on the mountain who wasnt a hero and nobody on the mountain who didnt do the base they could and these were the best in the world. But to lead into john chapmans journey, and the end of his life i also asked, why is this battle turning out to be embarrassing for the military . Its true, so many acted so courageously on the top of the mountain but theres question whether they should have been sent there to begin with, right . I maintain as a subject matter expert, no, they should not have they should have been sent to the top of takergar but pot delivered ahelicopter. The guy who was running the operations was delta force officer who is very dear friend of mine, pete blave me and running the operation his enemy lines in support of operation anaconda, the backdrop for the story and the regular army could brave Taliban Forces against the mountains and then hammer and anvil them. The concept. Kind of operation that the army really embraces. Petes job was to put the best special operations forced behind enemy lines which were delta force operators, Seal Team Six operators to call air strikes to destroy the taliban. So the delta force guys and seals there are but their mission is a combat control mission. People dont know about that. What pete did very well, understands history and strategy and tactics very well. He is a great combat leader, if wore going to do this we have to sneak in behind enemy lines. Went about n by foot and atvs and and moved by foot. No helicopters was his edict. Because if you have a helicopter at the top of a mountain behind enemy lines, like Everybody Knows youre there thats not rocket science. And what you were eluding to is the navy decision to force the issue. They pushed the issue because they wanted more gaiers in the fight which is a combat decision. But it has consequences and this case and they delivered these guys to the top of the mountain, which happened to already be occupied by two dozen hardened check knean fighters that chechneyan fighters fighters whd through pakistan to get it on with the american troops and they built the bunkers on the mountain. So, when the helicopter arrived with six seals and john chapman can the helicopter came under fire and was shot down, and a seal named nealert roberts fell out and the helicopter crashed. If youre john chapman and the shells you have a choice but not really. We lost a guy, what are you going to do . You go back. You have to go back. And thats what they did. Their Long Range Reconnaissance behind enemy lines mission is now an assault on this summit where they know they will be outnumbered, the bad guys know youre come bag took direct your guy who theyd already killed so the strip down the gores, lets go. They get thats an important point. The bad guys knew that this was usmo. Helicopters, i, i. Helicopters in. Host no we go back to and get those left behind. They knew we were coming back. And so when the next helicopter came back with five surviving seals and chapman, they land on the mountain and theyre under fire immediately. Theres a Youtube Video we created, i posted ten days ago, had 3 million views. Just google first medal of honor it will populate. This shows fro cia predator drone footage johns action. The first video capturing a medal of honor in the course of being earned. But the events are, they get off the hospital. John chapman on his own, charges into the machine gun nest at 10,000 feet, kneedeep snow, straight uphill, into an enemy bunker on this withering point blank expire them at a distance from me to twice you, ten feet, and saves all the seals lives and eliminated the most freed threat. And he dieses on his own. Seal were behind him. The charged ahead of the seals. Remarkably courageous and the right decision help got shot, was mortally wounded. The seals under fire had an untenable decision and the team leader make the decision to retreat. A decision that happen on the battlefield and it was his decision. They didnt check john chapman but the team leader believed john was dead. We now know he was not. And so when the seals retreat they left a man behind and he was incapacitated. Didnt move for 20 minutes and they retreat off the mountain. So, john chapman recovers, finds himself alone on the mountain. Still dark, 5 00 20 in the morning, sunrise is not for another 40 minutes. And he is in this bunker, and the enemy realizes theres an alive american in there and they start trying to displace him by killing him. How many enemy. Two dozen. So one man mortally wound. He is bleeding out. He is going to die. And john makes this stand. He survives several charges, fights hand to hand, we know this because i have the forensic pathology, the autopsy, i know more but this battle than any person on the planet earth if can said they authoritatively. He has in the autopsy he has contusions on his hands, scalp, face, nose, neck, all antimore tell. He got shot twice and then received schapp nell wounds 16 times. What help did he have. An m 4, so he had . A suppressed m4 and recovers and fines himselfs on the receiving end of rocket propelled grenade and fights hand today hand, kills a number of people and survives until sunrise. Now hes occupying this bunker which came to be called bunker one, that he has had for 40 minutes. And in the sunlight because its now dawn the gunship that refused to leave the gun fight, they were refusing to abandon the man on the ground. They finally ran out of gas and had to leave but theyre flying in sunglasses. John chapman is mortally wounded no advantage, shot eight to ten times, heres the helicopter, a third helicopter, laboring off the mountain, and theres only one place its going to be going, takergar. The helicopter with the ranger force, rescue force. Why are they going back into the same place where all this trouble had just occurred . Hadnt anybody told them . Everybody told them. They knew they were going into a hornets nest. Did not have all the facts and that is the business of warfare. Its an ugly, chaotic, unpleasant, experience that you carry for thes of your life. The rest of your life, a great example of that. Theyre going for the same reason that john chapman and the seals win back to get neil rabbits deash it was rangers an air for t a kp, and and a combat controller named gabe downthe only information was you have to rescue some ceylonese mountain. They didnt know about chapman. Nobody knew but chapman. And didnt know the seals had left. No because the seals werent communicating with anybody and thats the breakdown that happened and these things have cascading effects. So this is at the force coming up the mountain. 18 men including the air crew from 160inch smith operations regiment. This about pilots in the world bar none as many people can attest to in this audience and im one of them. He awaits the decision dirks cant say what the thought but john chapman, bleed ought in shock, heavy blood oh, having fought for 40 minutes alone, alon on a mountain for an hour, makes the decision to climb out of the bunker, and start aggressively attack thing enemy in three different directions. When you watch the video its almost heart wrenching. I have been dealing with the material for these years and sometimes when i watch it i go to pieces. Hes defending the helicopter he knows has to land at this one spot, and he basically sacrificed himself on the altar of brotherhood to protect to the guys and did. Got shot down, but they couldnt displace immigrant, put a heavy usmexico gun in there or robert propelled grenades and the pilot did an exceptional job of hand thing helicopter down upright and then was shot. In the course of the battle john chapman was shot through the heart from behind and his Blood Pressure dropped to zero and he expired and the last things he would have seen was the battle in front of him. So, the air force did ultimately award him the air force cross, which itself was a huge honor for a combat controller. Its a huge honor for anybody. Their highest award you can get from a military service is a Service Cross for the airs force. Its the air for cross and was a big deal. That medal, interestingly enough, only three documents were used to award that medal. And they were the three witness statements from presurviving sales who stated john chapman saved our lives. I he had not done what he did we would all be dead. Now, john chapman, also maintained as a submatt commander expert, earned two medals of honor that day. He was only awarded one last august at the white house conferred by the president to johns widow, valerie but the second medal was earned when he made the decision to climb out of the bunker. Why did it take 16 years to get in the medal of honor. His air force cross was awarded in 2002 in very rapid order and everybody recognize him for the hero he was, and in fact, the navy seals put his name at the Seal Team Six on the Seal Team Six memorial, the only air force member at the time. Only nonseal to be on that wall. Thats what you do when you recognize a very important hero. And the war win on. Air force cross is a big deal and its an incr