Inside America's Deadly 160th SOAR ✈️

The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is America’s most lethal and versatile projection of combat power. When our Special Operations Forces require precision insertion, extraction and fire support, the pilots of the 160th deliver.

Born from the need to develop an aviation regiment capable of anything, anywhere, anytime, the 160th SOAR is the only Special Operations unit to have been deployed continuously since its inception.

To discuss the critical role of the 160th, COL Steve Smith and CW5 Pete Sullivan invited host Fran Racioppi for a ride on an MH-47 Chinook and demonstration of the AH-64 Little Birds in action.

From the tail ramp, they unpack the mission of the 160th, their interoperability supporting Green Berets, Navy SEALs and Army Rangers, and the aircraft in their arsenal. They also explore the recruiting, assessment, and selection process for pilots, crew, and maintainers; the culture of an organization that has a no-fail mission; and how technology is changing aviation as they prepare to combat both near-peer adversaries and terrorist organizations.

We Cover:
-The Mission of The 160th SOAR
-Defining a Night Stalker
-The Role of Precision Aviation Support


About the Guests:
COL Steve Smith is the Commander of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. CW5 Pete Sullivan is the Chief Warrant Officer of the 160th SOAR. Together, they lead America’s premier special operations aviation unit, known as the Nightstalkers.

Highlights:
00:00 Introduction
02:38 Mission of the 160th SOAR
03:40 Creating the 160th SOAR
06:24 Interoperability of the 160th
10:23 Assessment & selection process
22:08 Support from non-SOF
25:08 Importance of cross-training
30:18 Preparing for the next fight
34:44 The role of unmanned aircraft
37:00 Defining a Night Stalker
41:19 Why join Army Aviation?
48:46 Nightstalkers Don’t Quit

Quotes:
“Our mission is to provide precision rotary wing support and ISR support to our SOF operators.”
“A plan is only something to deviate from.”
“The backbone of any great organization and what makes DoD so successful is our non-rated crew members, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted team.”
“Your importance has nothing to do with your proximity to the target.”
“The standard is a standard. Regardless of what your job is, if you can’t meet the standard, you won’t be employed in the Regiment.”
“You can’t do precision if you do anything else.”
“We can’t always look at one adversary because something else might happen that we have to react to fairly quickly.”
“If we can increase our range, survivability, and lethality, we have a major advantage for any adversary.”
“Man and unmanned teaming is the future.”
“Don’t let a speedbump become a roadblock.”
“Not everything is going to go right the first time, but you can’t make the same mistake three times and expect to be successful.”
“Our people are critical problem solvers.”
“I’ve had the highest of highs and lowest of lows in the regiment, but because of the people I’m around, they’ve made it the best of the situation that it could be.”

The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are an official program of The Green Beret Foundation.

The Jedburgh Podcast is brought to you by University of Health and Performance, developing the next generation of fitness entrepreneurs from our Veterans.

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The opinions presented on the The Jedburgh Podcast and the Jedburgh Media Channel are the opinions of our guests and creator and host Fran Racioppi. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Beret Foundation and the Green Beret Foundation assumes no liability for their accuracy; nor does Green Beret Foundation endorse any political candidate or any political party.

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