HOW A JTAC SAVED HIS TEAM WITH 50% CASUALTIES
SSgt Richard B. Hunter was moving through Kunduz with special forces to hit a Taliban hideout when the team ran into crossfire from small arms and grenades. During the withdrawal that followed, Hunter volunteered to take the last man position to cover the pull-back and keep his comrades out of enemy fire.
On 2 November 2016, the Special Forces had been sent against an insurgent safe house and were just turning into a narrow alley near the objective. What they did not know: the enemy had beaten them to it and had heavy machine guns in position, which opened fire on the patrol all at once and left several men wounded. When Hunter saw his comrades go down, he sprinted forward on his own, put himself in front of the wounded and suppressed the enemy with his assault rifle.
Once the team had picked up the wounded and was falling back, the JTAC again volunteered as last man to give his brothers covering fire. The insurgents pushed after the special forces, so Hunter kept turning around and passing precise data to the aircraft overhead, without letting the enemy fire rattle him. He put several 105 mm rounds from the notorious AC-130 down 13–20 meters behind his own team, even though the Danger Close radius for that kind of blast starts at 190 meters.
He then secured a compound with 4 comrades, only to hear calls for help from the street a short time later and carry a wounded man 30 meters to safety under enemy fire. Over the full 8 hours of fighting, Hunter was always at the most exposed point of the team so he could bring the best firepower to bear for his comrades. Even when the team exfiltrated in daylight, he was the one who ran out onto the open ground to mark the landing zone.
Hunter’s selfless, courageous and professional conduct saved the lives of 57 soldiers, while 27 insurgents were killed.
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