1980s and 1990s After the April 1980
Operation Eagle Claw attempt to rescue
American hostages held in
Tehran, Iran, failed, President
Jimmy Carter ordered former
Chief of Naval Operations Adm.
James L. Holloway III to determine how the U.S. military could best mount another attempt. At the time there were no U.S. helicopter units trained in this kind of stealthy, short-notice Special Operations mission. The Army looked to the 101st Aviation Group, the air arm of the
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), which had the most diverse operating experience of the service's helicopter units, and selected elements of the 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Aviation Battalion, 229th Aviation Battalion, and the 159th Aviation Battalion. The chosen pilots immediately entered intensive training in night flying. This provisional unit was dubbed Task Force 158, since most of its pilots were
Black Hawk aviators detached from the 158th. Their distinctive 101st "Screaming Eagle" patches remained on their uniforms. The Black Hawks and
Chinooks continued to operate around
Campbell Army Airfield at the north of the post, and
Saber Army Heliport at the south.
OH-6 Cayuses, aircraft that had vanished from the division after Vietnam, were hidden on base in an ammunition holding area still known as the "SHOC Pad", for "Special Helicopter Operations Company". As the first batch of pilots completed training in the fall of 1980, a second attempt to rescue the hostages was planned for early 1981. Dubbed
Operation Honey Badger, it was called off when the
hostages were released on the morning of President
Ronald Reagan's inauguration. Task Force 158 was the Army's only special operations aviation unit, and its members had already become recognized as the Army's premier aviation night fighters. Their capability was judged too useful to lose, and so instead of returning to the 101st, the pilots and modified aircraft became a new unit. Original members of the Night Stalkers refer to it as "the day the Eagles came off". They were originally created as Task Force 160, when the 101st Airborne Division was commanded by
Jack V. Mackmull from June 1980 to August 1981. When the command was formally organized as a regiment, Mackmull was chosen to serve as its honorary colonel. The unit was officially established on 16 October 1981, when it was designated the 160th Aviation Battalion. In 1983, the 160th first saw combat during
Operation Urgent Fury, the U.S. invasion of
Grenada. In 1986, it was renamed the 160th Aviation Group (Airborne). In May 1990, their name changed to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). As demand for highly trained special operations aviation assets bloomed, the regiment activated three battalions, a separate detachment, and incorporated one
Army National Guard unit, the 1st Battalion, 245th Aviation (OK ARNG). In 1987 and 1988, its pilots took part in
Operation Earnest Will, the protection of re-flagged Kuwaiti tankers in the
Persian Gulf during the
Iran–Iraq War. They flew from
US Navy warships and leased oil barges in a secret sub-part called
Operation Prime Chance. They became the first helicopter pilots to use
night vision goggles and
forward looking infrared (FLIR) devices in night combat. out of Chad, known as
Operation Mount Hope III In June 1988, the unit received a short-notice directive to recover a Soviet made Mi-25 Hind (
Mi-24 Hind export version) attack helicopter from a remote location in
Chad. The Hind was abandoned by the Libyans after 15 years of fighting, and was of great intelligence value to the U.S. In April 1988, two CH-47 Chinooks, a
U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy, and 75 maintenance personnel and crew flew to
White Sands AFB,
New Mexico, to rehearse the mission. In late May 1988, an advance team went to
Ndjamena, Chad, to await their aircraft. Two weeks later, two Chinooks and 76 crew members and maintenance personnel arrived by C-5. At midnight on 11 June 1988, two MH-47s flew 490 miles at night without outside navigational aids to the target location, the Ouadi Doum Airfield in northern Chad. The first Chinook landed and configured the Hind, while the second hovered overhead and sling loaded it for return to Ndjamena. A surprise sandstorm slowed the return trip, but less than 67 hours after the arrival of the C-5 in Chad, the ground crew had the Hind and Chinooks aboard and ready for return to the U.S. In the evening of 18 October into 19 October 2001, two SOAR
MH-47E helicopters, escorted by MH-60L (Direct Action Penetrators) (DAPs), airlifted U.S. troops from the
Karshi-Khanabad Air Base in
Uzbekistan more than across the
Hindu Kush mountains into Afghanistan. The pilots of the Chinooks, flying in zero-visibility conditions, were refueled in flight three times during the 11-hour mission, establishing a new world record for combat rotorcraft. The troops—two 12-man
Green Beret teams from the
5th Special Forces Group dubbed Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 555 and 595 plus four
Air Force Combat Controllers—linked up with the CIA and
Northern Alliance. Within a few weeks, the Northern Alliance, assisted by U.S. ground and air forces, captured several key cities from the Taliban. In November 2001, Night Stalker AH-6J Little Birds took part in
Objective Wolverine and Raptor missions and Operation Relentless Strike. In December 2001, Night Stalker crews resupplied more than 150
Delta Force, British
Special Boat Service, and CIA
Special Activities Division operatives as they
hunted for
Osama bin Laden in the
Tora Bora mountain complex. On 21 February 2002, while scouting Islamist terrorists on
Basilan Island as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines and seeking to rescue a nurse and an American missionary couple, a MH-47 crashed at sea in the southern
Philippines'
Bohol Strait, killing 10 servicemen (eight from E company, 160th SOAR and two from the
353rd Special Operations Group). In March 2002, Night Stalkers from B Company, 2nd Battalion, 160th SOAR supported coalition troops during
Operation Anaconda. At the
Battle of Takur Ghar on 4 March, one of their MH-47Es, callsign Razor 03, was damaged by rocket-propelled grenades and crash-landed carrying Mako 30. A second MH-47E, callsign Razor 01, responded with a
Quick Reaction Force; it was damaged by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, and crash-landed. One Night Stalker was killed in the battle. In June 2002 in the Philippines, Night Stalker MH-47Es were involved in the operation that killed
Abu Sabaya, a senior leader in
Abu Sayyaf. A U.S. Predator drone marked Sabaya with an infrared laser as he tried to escape in a smuggler's boat. The MH-47Es trained searchlights on the boat while operators from the Philippine
Naval Special Operations Group opened fire, killing the terrorist leader and capturing four other terrorists with him. . During the
2003 invasion of Iraq, 3rd Battalion, 160th SOAR, deployed as the Joint Special Operations Air Detachment-West under CJSOTF-West (Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-West/Task Force Dagger). It was equipped with eight MH-47E Chinooks, four MH-60L DAPs, and two MH-60L Black Hawks. At 9 p.m. on 19 March 2003, the first strike of Operation Iraqi Freedom was carried out by members of the 160th SOAR, on Iraqi visual observation posts along the southern and western borders of Iraq. The strike groups included one flight of MH-60L DAPs and four "Black Swarm" flights, each consisting of a pair of AH-6M Little Birds; a FLIR-equipped, target-spotting MH-6M; and a pair of U.S. Air Force A-10As. atop a building using the
Fast Rope Insertion Extraction System (FRIES). In seven hours, more than 70 sites were destroyed, effectively depriving the Iraqi military of any early warning of the coming invasion. As the sites were eliminated, the first heliborne SOF teams launched from
H-5 airbase in Jordan, including vehicle-mounted patrols from the British and Australian special forces, who were transported by the MH-47Es of the 160th SOAR. Night Stalkers from 1st Battalion 160th SOAR, they were based at
Ar'Ar, supported
Task Force 20 with MH-60L/K Black Hawks, MH-60L DAPs, MH-6M transport, and AH-6M Little Birds. On 26 March, the 160th SOAR took part in the
Objective Beaver mission, a raid by DEVGRU on al Qadisiyah Research Centre, which was suspected to have stocks of chemical and biological weapons. In 2004, they took part in the rescue of three Italian contractors and one Polish businessman held for ransom by Iraqi insurgents. In Afghanistan in 2005, eight Night Stalkers (four from
HHC and four from Bravo company of 3rd Battalion) were killed along with eight
Navy SEALs on a rescue mission for
Marcus Luttrell, after their
MH-47 Chinook helicopter was hit by a rocket propelled grenade. They were sent out to look for Luttrell after
Operation Red Wings, in which he was involved with three other SEALs, was compromised and Luttrell's teammates killed.
2006–2009 In March 2006, SEALs from DEVGRU and Rangers were flown by the 160th SOAR into in
North Waziristan,
Pakistan, to assault an al-Qaeda training camp, allegedly under the codename: Operation Vigilant Harvest, the assaulters killed as many as 30 terrorists including the camp's commandant. On 14 May 2006, helicopters from the 160th SOAR brought operators from Delta Force's B Squadron to
Yusufiyah, Iraq, to fight al-Qaeda fighters in several buildings. As the operators disembarked their helicopters, they came under fire from a nearby house, and more al-Qaeda fighters soon joined the firefight. The door gunners of the 160th's Black Hawks fired at the insurgents; a pair of AH-6M Little Birds carried out strafing runs. One Little Bird from the 160th's 1st Battalion, B Company, was shot down. An estimated 25 al-Qaeda fighters were killed. In July 2006, a pair of MH-47Es from 160th SOAR attempted to insert a combined strike element of DEVGRU, Rangers, and Afghan commandos in
Helmand Province, Afghanistan, to attack a compound. With some troops on the ground, a large insurgent force ambushed them. Both helicopters were struck by small arms fire. One MH-47E pilot put his aircraft in the line of fire to protect the other MH-47E as its assault team disembarked. An RPG hit the shielding MH-47E, whose pilot crash-landed with no serious injuries to operators or aircrew. The Ranger commander and an attached
2nd Commando Regiment operator organised an all-round defence while the other MH-47E held back the advancing insurgents until its miniguns ran out of ammunition. An
AC-130 Spectre joined the battle and kept the down crew and passengers safe until a British Immediate Response Team helicopter recovered them. The AC-130 then destroyed the MH-47E wreck, denying it to the Taliban. Elements of 3rd Battalion 160th SOAR have conducted episodic deployments in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom—Caribbean and Central America, begun in 2008. Night Stalker helicopters were present during the 2008 SOCOM counter-terror exercises in Denver. On 24 April 2008, Company D, 3rd Battalion, 160th SOAR was inactivated at a ceremony conducted at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, as part of a regimental transformation plan. The 160th SOAR also took part in the
2008 Abu Kamal raid. onto the deck of a
U.S. Navy submarine. On 19 August 2009, four Night Stalkers from D Company, 1st Battalion, 160th SOAR lost their lives in a
MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crash in
Leadville, Colorado, during mountain and environmental training. On 9 September 2009 in Afghanistan, Night Stalkers inserted the British SBS and
SFSG into
Kunduz Province to rescue
Times journalist
Stephen Farrell after he and his Afghan interpreter were captured by the Taliban. In September 2009 in Somalia, the Night Stalkers took part in
Operation Celestial Balance, whose target was a senior terrorist leader connected to al-Qaeda affiliated organizations. The assault force (4 AH-6M Little Birds and 4 MH-60L Black Hawks) carried in DEVGRU operators to kill or capture the leader. AH-6Ms strafed the two-vehicle convoy, killing the leader along with three other
al-Shabaab terrorists, then carried out an overwatch while DEVGRU cleared the vehicles and recovered the body.
2010–2020 In May 2011, the Night Stalkers took part in the
raid on Osama bin Laden's compound. The operation involved flying covertly into
Abbottabad,
Pakistan in a pair of MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, specially modified for stealth and piloted by the 160th SOAR, to take a team of Navy SEALs directly to bin Laden's compound. While one of the helicopters crash landed on arrival, On 28 May 2012,
Operation Jubilee took place: Black Hawks from the 160th SOAR flew in teams from the British
22 SAS and
DEVGRU into
Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan to rescue a British aid worker, a Kenyan NGO worker and 2 Afghans who were taken hostage by bandits in the province. The rescue was a success. On 15 January 2014, a MH-60M Black Hawk of the 160th performed a hard landing at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. One soldier, CPT Clayton Carpenter of NY, posthumously promoted to MAJ, was killed, with another two injured. On 4 July 2014, during
Operation Inherent Resolve, the Night Stalkers inserted
Delta Force operators into Syria to
rescue James Foley and other US hostages. One American was wounded, no hostages were found, but a substantial number of terrorists were killed.
CENTCOM mistakenly posted a video on the internet of a flight of four MH-60Ms of the 160th SOAR conducting a mid-air refueling over Iraq in October 2014, the video was hastily taken down. On 26 November 2014, MH-60s flown by Nightstalkers took part in the first raid in the
2014 hostage rescue operations in Yemen. On 22 October 2015, the 160th SOAR provided airlift support to a joint task force composed of Delta Force operators and members of the Kurdish
Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) during the
2015 Hawija prison raid, which aimed to rescue hostages held by the
Islamic State (ISIS) who were facing imminent execution. The Night Stalkers continue to be deployed to Afghanistan as part of NATO's
Resolute Support Mission after Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan ended in late 2014 and was replaced with
Operation Freedom's Sentinel. Throughout the night of 5 December 2015, a group of Rangers engaged in a firefight with enemy troops near the Afghan-Pakistan border. After about 5 a.m. their commander called for an extraction after they learned of a larger enemy group approaching. An arriving helicopter from the 160th SOAR and came under heavy enemy fire. An
AH-64 Apache from the 1st Battalion,
101st Aviation Regiment, which was escorting the helicopter, positioned itself directly between the U.S. troops, the extraction helicopter, and the enemy forces to draw fire. As a result, the extraction was successful. On 29 January 2017, the 160th SOAR took part in the
Yakla raid in Yemen, distinguishing itself when its helicopters flew repeatedly into heavy enemy fire to support U.S. Navy SEALs pinned down on the ground. On 25 August 2017, a Black Hawk helicopter flown by the 160th SOAR crashed off the coast of Yemen while conducting hoist training, when it lost power and crashed into the sea. Six servicemen survived, one US service member remained missing. On 27 October 2017, a US helicopter from 4th Battalion 160th SOAR crashed in Logar province, Afghanistan, killing one and injuring six more US service members. The crash was not a result of enemy action. On 20 August 2018, CW3 Taylor Galvin died from injuries resulting from an MH-60M crash while conducting a partnered counter-terrorism mission in support of the Operation Inherent Resolve.
2021–present On September 18, 2021, a man wielding a
katana attacked several SOAR soldiers at
Inyokern Airport in California, wounding two and forcing more than twenty of them, including at least one staff sergeant and one captain, to "hunker down" in a hangar. On November 10, 2023, five SOAR troops died when a
UH-60 Black Hawk crashed in the Mediterranean Sea 30 miles off the coast of
Cyprus during a training exercise. On September 17, 2025, an MH-60 crashed near
Summit Lake, in Washington, forty miles from Joint Base Lewis–McChord, killing the four soldiers on board. In October 2025 SOAR elements were
deployed to the Caribbean in the wake of the Trump administration's declaration of a "non-international armed conflict" with "unlawful combatants" alleged to be involved in trafficking drugs to the US. In January 2026, during the
2026 United States strikes in Venezuela, SOAR elements flew over Caracas to capture Venezuelan president
Nicolás Maduro and his wife
Cilia Flores prior to him being indicted for Narcotics and Terrorism charges. == Aircraft ==