Cleared Hot Episode 45 - Jessica Lynch

At the age of 19 Jessica Lynch joined the Army, and just over one year later she found herself staged for the invasion of Iraq.  During the initial surge towards Baghdad, her unit became separated from their convoy, and found themselves in the town of Nasiriyah.  Her smaller unit was ambushed, and she became the first American POW (Prisoner of War).   As Jessica and her unit were staging for the invasion in Kuwait, my unit was in Saudi Arabia, doing the same thing.  As the war began, we began working through our target deck, until actionable intelligence was received about her location.  After a quick forward staging, planning, and limited rehearsal, we assaulted the hospital, and recovered her on 1 April 2003.  It was the first successful of an American POW since WW2.  Jessica was immediately taken to a higher level of medical care, and slowly began her journey home to the US via Germany.  There has been much controversy over what happened during the events leading up to the rescue, and of the rescue itself.  It is safe to say, in my opinion, that the military used the operation to serve their needs at the time.  I had not spoken to her until this recording, and it was great to revisit the events of 15 years ago from both sides of the same coin.