Basher 5-2: The Story of Scott O'Grady

Basher 5-2: The True Story of Scott O'Grady

With me is Scott O’Grady, an F-16 pilot who was shot down and forced to survive for six days in enemy controlled Bosnia. This incident, known as the Mrkonjić Grad incident, occurred on June 2nd, 1995, when Air Force Captain Scott O’Grady was flying wingman in his F-16, patrolling the ‘No-Fly Zone’ in Bosnia. O’Grady was stationed in Aviano Air Base, a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) airbase in Italy, and volunteered to fly a sortie (mission) over the No-Fly Zone in Bosnia. Their mission, codenamed Operation Deny Flight, was to prevent planes from any faction, the Bosnian-Serbs, Croatians, and Muslims, from bombing each other. The three factions were fighting over control of Bosnian territory, and NATO sent peace-keeping forces, including fighter jets, to try to limit the violence and provide aid in Bosnia. About two hours into his flight, his flight buddy’s radar warning went off, but the pair dismissed it as a false alarm. About two minutes later, O’Grady’s own radar signal ‘spiked’, and he radioed to ‘Magic’, NATO’s air intelligence center. Magic radioed him back, and told him that there was a Soviet SAM missile launcher almost directly underneath them. Seconds later, a radar-guided SAM missile whizzed directly in between the two pilots, and blew up. Moments later, O’Grady collided directly with a missile, sending his jet plummeting towards the Earth.

Before his brain could take over, O’Grady instantly pulled the ejection lever, sending him rocketing out of the plane. It took nearly a half hour for him to reach the ground, floating down slowly, suspended by his parachute. By then, he could see Military convoy truck was headed for him on a road just outside the town of Mrkonjić Grad, but gust of wind carried him out of their reach. When he landed, he took his survival pack, which consisted of a radio, a compass, water, and a topo map of Bosnia, among other things, and ran. Hiding in a bush, Serbian paramilitary patrols passed within five feet of him, and throughout the next six days, O’Grady survived on grass, leaves, and the water from his survival kit. Moving only at night, he was eventually able to make it to the top of a hill, where he desperately tried his radio before the batteries were nearly depleted. He had tried the radio many times before, but got nothing but the faintest transmission back. The survival radio worked on two frequencies: The Guard channel and the Alpha channel. The Guard channel broadcasted a signal to all radio frequencies, including the Serbians’ radios. This greatly increased his chance of being heard by NATO, but it also proved risky because the Serbs could pick up his signal and pinpoint his location. Up until the fifth night, the radio had not worked. But then, as an F-16 pilot of a small patrol sent into the No-Fly Zone to patrol for O’Grady was flying on fumes, the pilot heard a faint signal from below. He heard O’Grady read out his call sign: Basher 5-2, this is Basher 5-2. Is anyone there? The following conversation was one of emotion, as the pilot relayed O’Grady’s coordinates back to Magic. Their conversation was brief, but restored O’Grady’s hopes that he would once again see his family.
Back at NATO, commanders were already assembling a task force to rescue O’Grady. It consisted of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, who were stationed on the USS Kearsarge off the coast of Bosnia. The unit could either operate more safely under the cover of darkness the next day, or do a day-time rescue immediately, which would prove much more risky. NATO commanders decided to risk a day-time assault, and rescue O’Grady as soon as possible. About two hours later, O’Grady heard the hum of two Super Cobra Helicopter gunships, followed by three Marine Corps Super Stallion Helicopters. The whole mission consisted of over 16 aircraft; NATO took no chances.

O’Grady boarded a Super Stallion in an emotional moment; his six days of surviving in enemy territory had taken a toll on his body and mind. The helicopters took light enemy fire, but safely returned to the USS Kearsarge. From there, he was flown to Aviano Air Base, and eventually back to Washington, D.C. O’Grady was welcomed home as a national hero, although he didn’t think of himself as one. He only took pride in the fact that he served his country and that he was there to defend the United States of America.

I am here to interview Scott O’Grady about his experiences in Bosnia.

Q- Mr. O’Grady, how did you manage to survive; what was the driving force that kept you going?

A- There were three things that got me through the whole experience: My faith in God, the love of my family, and the love of my country. Without those things, I would have had nothing left to fight for.

Q- Do you consider yourself a hero?

A- Absolutely not; I only consider myself a man who served his country and served it well. If anyone should be recognized as heroes, it should be the young Marines of the 24th Expeditionary Unit who rescued me, as well as the pilot who stayed out flying on fumes to look for me. They are the real heroes; not me.

Q- If you could have stopped the shoot-down from happening, would you have?

A- Well, nobody enjoys being shot down and having to eat grass for six days, so all I can say is that the experience strengthened my relationship with God, my family, and renewed the pride that I have for my country.

Q- If you were offered the chance, would you go back to Aviano and fly the same missions as you flew when you were shot down?

A- Absolutely, I love flying F-16s, and I take great pride in serving my country. If that was what I was called upon to do, then I would willingly go to serve my country.

Q- What advice do you have for anyone who is put in such a survival situation as you were?

A- As I told you before, the things that really kept me alive throughout the whole ordeal were my faith, my family’s love, and the love of my great country. As long as you can keep these values, your will to survive will be very strong, as mine was. Also, I’m no survival expert, but failure to prepare is preparation to fail.

Thank you, Mr. O’Grady. As you have seen, this pilot’s will to survive was infinitely stronger than anything and everything that nature or his enemies could throw at him. He is a true American hero, and will always be remembered.