How U.S. forces conduct search and rescue for a downed combat crew

[0:00] AMNA NAWAZ For insight on what it takes to conduct a search and rescue operation [0:03] for a downed combat air crew, we turn to retired Master Sergeant Wes Bryant. He spent his career [0:09] in Air Force special operations and participated in these kinds of missions. Welcome back to the [0:14] NewsHour, Wes. Can you just tell us, based on what we know at this hour, walk us through what would [0:20] be happening right now in a search and rescue mission? What are they trying to do to locate [0:25] and rescue this second crew member? WES WRIGHT Well, it's twofold here. Obviously, [0:34] it's prioritizing all assets available. That's not just all air assets, but all intelligence assets [0:41] and anything we have potentially on the ground, Iranian sources, for example, [0:47] people that are pro-U.S. causes here, to locate this downed F-15 air crew member. [0:57] And then, secondarily, [0:59] it's ensuring that we have protection of air assets that are going to push into Iran. [1:04] I mean, what we've seen here is clearly the collapse of what we call air superiority. [1:13] The Trump administration, Hegseth himself, military leadership, [1:17] has almost kind of in a propaganda-like manner, not almost, but in a propaganda-like manner, [1:23] told the world and the American people how much we've won in Iran. We've established [1:28] dominance. We've established air superiority. There's no air defenses. There's no air force. [1:35] That's never the case in any combat environment. And as we can see here, Iran [1:39] still has sophisticated air defense capabilities. They have to be sophisticated in order to bring [1:46] down something like an F-15. So, that's twofold. That's securing the pilot's location [1:54] on the ground, and then ensuring that the assets that are going to be sent in, [1:59] to get that air crew member, will be safe when they get sent in. [2:03] And that's a difficult task at this point, because things are, as we've been told. [2:08] AMNA NAWAZ Well, let me ask you, if I may, [2:09] about the specifics in this case with this war in Iran, because there are examples [2:14] of rescue missions for U.S. service members behind enemy lines in other nations, right, [2:18] Afghanistan more recently, earlier than that, Vietnam, Korea. Of course, [2:23] everyone remembers the infamous Black Hawk Down mission in Somalia in the early 90s. What are the [2:29] challenges here that are different from those previous episodes? [2:32] DR. CHRISTOPHER L. Well, we have really no ground forces to speak of, no partner force [2:41] of any substantial nature that can push in and, what we say, cordon and secure an area. [2:48] In many of those cases, we had at least some kind of aligned partner forces that could [2:54] help in these situations. And then, of course, there's this shock factor for the U.S. military, [3:00] frankly. [3:01] Where we don't have the superiority from an air platform standpoint that we apparently believed [3:09] we did. So now getting forces in, getting those ground components in, which are going to be a lot [3:16] more at risk in low-flying helicopters, those can be shot down with rocket-propelled grenades, [3:23] for example, even rifles at times. So you don't need sophisticated air defense assets to shoot [3:31] these troop carriers down. So getting those forces in is going to be far more risk, [3:39] far more difficult to plan here. [3:40] AMNA NAWAZ We see the Iranians, of course, [3:42] offering a reward for the capture of this U.S. airman. If that ends up happening, [3:48] if the service member ends up in the custody of Iranians or in the Iranian regime, [3:53] what would that change? What does that mean for the landscape moving forward? [3:56] DR. CHRISTOPHER L. Well, the Trump administration here, Hegseth himself, really our senior military, the [4:02] senior military leadership have presented really an utter failure to foresee the implications of [4:09] this war. I mean, it's an illegal war. They have not foreseen the impact to regional partners here, [4:16] the global instability, the regional instability, the energy crisis itself. That's one problem of [4:23] many. And then, most importantly, the incredible risk, the undue risk to U.S. forces here. [4:31] DR. CHRISTOPHER L. And so, you know, [4:32] AMNA NAWAZ You know, I think, you know, I think, you know, I think, you know, I think, you know, [4:32] I would hope that Iran wants to keep this air crew member safe for sake of ethics and morality [4:38] and adhering to Geneva Conventions. My guess would be that they want the leverage. And that will be [4:43] incredible leverage because, you know, the U.S., for better or for worse, we have a very low [4:48] tolerance for U.S. casualties and especially for U.S. prisoners of war in the hands of a regime [4:56] like the Iranian regime. That's going to be a whole lot of leverage against the Trump [5:01] administration, unfortunately. DR. CHRISTOPHER L. [5:02] And the most important part here is that we get, you know, our airmen back safe and sound. [5:09] AMNA NAWAZ In the minute or so I have left, [5:11] you mentioned how this is a bit of a revelation in terms of what it shows us about Iran's existing [5:16] capabilities. They were able to shoot down an F-15. It looks like also that A-10 Warthog. [5:21] They shot at a Blackhawk helicopter that was able to return safely to base. [5:26] Does all of this and could all of this change the U.S. war effort moving forward? How, [5:32] operations are planned and carried out? [5:33] DR. CHRISTOPHER L. You know, I certainly hope so. It absolutely should. [5:37] There should be a pause to operations. You know, typically, with downed aircraft, [5:42] downed crew members, there will be a pause, sometimes theater-wide, and all assets, [5:48] all priorities are put to that recovery effort. But there should also be a pause and a reassessment [5:54] of, you know, what we call risk to the force, to U.S. forces, versus risk to the mission. [6:00] DR. CHRISTOPHER L. You know, continue — we've — the U.S. [6:03] has bombed so many targets in the last few weeks. You know, making the decision [6:09] to just continue forward and continue a strike campaign with a risk that we haven't properly [6:15] assessed yet to our armed forces would be, frankly, just incredibly irresponsible at this [6:20] point. So, I hope there is a halt and a reassessment strategically and operationally here. [6:25] AMNA NAWAZ That is retired Master Sergeant Wes Bryant [6:28] joining us tonight. Thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it. [6:31] DR. CHRISTOPHER L. Thank you. [6:33] AMNA NAWAZ Support journalism you trust. [6:46] Support PBS News. Donate now, or even better, start a monthly contribution today.