War Journal: One Day at Forward Operating Base Salerno

• Afghanistan
• Army
• helicopters
• warfare
• Al Qaeda
• Special Forces
• military

"Choose your story," says Maj. Phillip Cain Baker, brushing past me on his way into the headquarters of Task Force Attack.

Maj. Baker has many talents and abilities—he's an Apache pilot with more than 600 combat hours and the executive officer of a task force comprising hundreds of people—but he's also a master of concision. In a matter of seconds he's filled me in on the twin crises that have befallen his command this Wednesday afternoon in eastern Afghanistan: A Kiowa scout helicopter patrolling roads for signs of improvised explosive devices has crash-landed due to an engine malfunction and needs to be retrieved; in addition, Special Forces are asking his aviators for support in hunting for the recently kidnapped father of the Afghan minister of education.

While PM photographer Chad Hunt chases down the chopper crash, I follow Baker into a meeting to discuss the rescue operation. There I see an amazing display of military planning that crams what's usually a six-day process (called a "deliberate" operation) into about 45 minutes.

Information is flying fast. At the center of the storm are two SOF members, both with requisite beards and stout frames. One wears a filthy brown ball cap and tan fatigues; the other, the green-and-black splotchy camouflage of Afghan National Army (ANA) commandos. We gather around a long horseshoe-shaped wooden table and get a quick briefing. It seems the ANA has a lead that the kidnapped 80-year-old man might be held in one of three mountain villages. Afghan troops searched two villages but were shot at while entering the third. They sealed the village, they claim, and are looking for additional manpower to secure the hostage.

There are too many unanswered questions, and the tense meeting breaks up with Army aviators and support staff scattering on the run. Everyone wants to see satellite images, most of all the SOF guys. I follow them, fly-on-the-wall quiet.

Hunt and I watch a Black Hawk land and disgorge the two Kiowa pilots who crashed; they are shaken but able to walk. They landed hard, and their craft rolled onto its side. After climbing out through the shattered windscreen, the pair headed for defensible high ground until infantry troops in the aviation task force called Pathfinders made it to them, which took scant minutes.

Now, the Kiowa has to be recovered to repair the helicopter for future service, keep sensitive electronics in U.S. hands and prevent an insurgent PR coup. Chief Warrant Officer and flight safety guru chief Tim Burke, along with a group of mechanics called the Downed Aircraft Recovery Team (DART), quickly loaded into another Black Hawk and took off for the scene, leaving Hunt behind. There was an offhand invitation for him to join them, one that didn't make it past the flight line. The Black Hawk is filled with personnel and gear, which left no room for an ambitious photographer.

Meantime, the unfolding Special Operations mission is looking challenging. In the Tactical Operations office, sometimes called the Plan Shop, all eyes are on Chief Warrant Officer Jenice Henderson. The tobacco-chewing Apache pilot is also the task force's tactical operations officer. She plugs the coordinates given to her by the SOF guys and a detailed sat map appears—a horror show of steep ledges and sheer facades. "It's a f***ing mountain, sir," she reports.

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