A story of courage, resilience, audacity, selflessness and sacrifices at the battlefront…
This is a true story but I have concealed the identities of the major actors until I obtain their clearances to do so. However, I am the author and an eye witness to this classic event during the ECOMOG Operations in Sierra-Leone between 1997-99
In May 98. an Air Task Order from ECOMOG HQ directed that a combat mission be flown to a location on the North eastern part of Sierra-Leone where a unit of the NA has been deployed but were under threat from the RUF rebels. The mission order further stated that the air combat crew remain with the ground troops and provide combat air support to enable the troops fight and extricate themselves from the onslaught of the rebels.
As early as 0830hrs on this fateful day, the fully armed Alpha-Jet aircraft with Two crew members rolled out of the chocks and unto the runway in preparation for a mission to support own troop and neutralize the rebels. The mission was set to go however, little did it occur to the Pilots that their mission will be altered from what was planned due to circumstances beyond the control of the crew.
As they proceeded to the objective with high spirit, the unthinkable happened along the route. Don’t forget that these men with audacity were the 2 best hands at the time and for the Two of them to be paired for a combat mission means the mission was important and require diligent execution that can only be guaranteed by this duo.
However, despite their ratings and proficiency level, they committed an unimaginable error which could have jeopardized the whole mission. Unbelievably, the error became a saving grace for some other Nigerian lives faced with other challenges on another front.
How can this and how did such catastrophe happened to the men with so many flying hours in their kitty?
While navigating to the objective, the crew were supposed to make a right turn at a road junction as depicted on the map. However, on getting to the intersection, there were three roads instead of the two roads shown on the map. One of the roads veered left, one straight ahead and one turned sharply right and they were all untarred.
After a brief discussion by the duo. They chose the middle road hopping it was the right one as there were no navigational aids in both Liberia and Sierra-Leone while the Alpha-Jet aircraft had no GPS. Flying at this time was with inertial navigation and raw data therefore, the chances of getting lost was high.
To the crew, they were on track and heading somewhere to save some ground troops faced with some uncertainties of the warfront. The events that unfolded few minutes later was beyond comprehension. It’s like one of those war stories told by retired Veterans who wants to remain relevant. This however is a true story as witnessed by me. Just two minutes after taking the decision at the intersection, the Pilot in the front cockpit said in a sober tone.
P1. Oga, I think we are lost. We have missed our way
P2. What do you mean my friend? How can we be lost?
P1. Sir, I think we took the wrong turn at the intersection. The road we are currently following is taking us on a different direction. I am seeing a river ahead of us which we shouldn’t have seen if we were on the right course.
P2. So what do we do? Our guys are in dire need of our support and we need to get to them as fast as we can.
P1. Okay sir. I think I have the solution sir. When we get to the river, we shall turn right and follow the river up North. According to our map, the river will take us to the Konnor highway then, we shall turn right and track on the road to Njaima-Sewafe. From Sewafe, we shall then resume our original navigation and continue to the objective. What do you think sir?
P2. Okay B. As long as you are sure that we won’t get lost again. Hurry up please. Push up the throttle.
P1 went into a steep bank and pumped up the power while placing the river slightly to the left.
On getting to the road, he made another steep turn to the right and settled on the Konnor highway with the assurance that that all is now well and will soon be able to accomplish the task at hand. So he assumed, forgetting that, at the Battle-field, the only thing that is certain is uncertainty while uncertainty is the most stressful feeling. What happened next changed the whole scenario and threw all plans out of the window.
As they were flying fast to get to the destination, P1 looked down on the road and saw some people lying motionless on the road. A civil truck was on fire while he noticed an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) in a ditch. He called out to P2.
P1. Oga, can you see what am seeing on the road?
P2. Let’s descent lower to take a closer look as I am not quite clear of this scenario.
P1. I think they are our soldiers; they are wearing our uniforms but looks lifeless.
P2. I am still not sure but continue to descend lower. Oh my God. They are our soldiers. That’s our APC in the ditch and so many soldiers scattered all around. What da hell? They have been ambushed. Let’s continue to circle overhead them and see how best to support them.
P1. I can see some of them moving sir. Some of those close to the APC have started crawling out of the bush. Some of those on the road are also crawling to meet up with the other guys.
At this point, only about Ten of the soldiers out of about Forty were moving. They joined up and in a kneeling position faced a side of the road and started firing at the bush. Since the crew never had any radio contact with the troops, this scene sent a signal to the crew that the rebels must have been attacking own troops from that direction. Now, with this development, what can Airpower do and how does the NAF Combat crew assist and rescue the ground troops?
After brief discussion between P1 and P2, they agreed to cautiously attack the direction where the soldiers were aiming at. Consequently, the 36mm DEFA gun was set to standby for the job at hand.
Haven attained the right altitude and required parameters met, P1 commenced strafing the general area with the cannons. Though they could not talk to the soldiers to get a response to their actions, relief came when the troops changed their arc of fire and faced the other side of the road. The crew followed them and commenced strafing the other side of the road hopping for success.
As the coordinated attacks were ongoing. a small APC code-named Sagay appeared from the west in the direction of Freetown and immediately became the game changer. As soon as it arrived, it started moving from one point to the other as if searching for something. As soon as it settled down, it started pointing the turret at various directions. Subsequently wherever the Sagay’s turret points, the crew attacked.
After about Ten minutes, of the Sagay’s arrival, the troops started loading the trucks with the presumed dead and injured soldiers and prepared to continue their journey.
The Sagay led the convoy of two trucks while the third truck which was unserviceable was tied to the second for towing. When the troops were departing the ambush spot, they left behind Two trucks which were on fire and one APC that was in the ditch.
Throughout this imbroglio, the Alpha-Jet stayed with the ground troops and watch them depart. One emotional aspect that almost made the crew cry was when the rope used in towing the last truck got broken and the truck lagged behind with some troops inside the truck. When the truck finally stopped, three soldiers came down from the truck and started running after the convoy. The convoy was not aware of the situation behind and therefore kept going. As they were running to catch up with the convoy, the distance between them and the convoy was getting longer. At a point, they got tired and started walking dejectedly on the road and after a while, they left the road and went into the bush.
The Alpha-Jet crew climbed to a higher altitude and called the Freetown Control Tower to inform them of the situation and requested that a medical team be sent to receive the soldiers immediately. To ensure that the crew also get home safely, they departed the scene and headed back to the Detachment with a promise to go back to the earlier assignment if the soldiers were still alive.
We indeed owe our soldiers a debt of gratitude and as Nigerians, we must learn to constantly appreciate their efforts as our Heroes deserve all accolades. Who are these men? These men and others like them are the True Heroes of Nigeria who deserves to be recognized and honoured.
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