In this episode of The Spear, MWI’s John Amble is joined by Capt. Lindsay Heisler. She is an aviation officer—an Apache pilot—and on December 5, 2015 she was a platoon leader in 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment and had been deployed in Afghanistan for several months. That night, her aircraft and another were given a mission that the pilots had done a number of times before—provide security for a ground force.
But that night would turn out to be unlike previous missions. When the ground force began taking enemy fire from all sides, the Apaches above had to act immediately. Listen as Capt. Heisler describes what happened that night and the actions she and her fellow aviators took—actions for which she received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Listen to the full story below, and if you aren’t already subscribed to The Spear, be sure to do so on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, or your favorite podcast app.
Note: This episode was originally released in 2019.
Image credit: Capt. Roxana Thompson (adapted by MWI)