#150 Combat Search & Rescue: HH-60 Pave Hawk Into a Firefight to Save 2 Wounded Marines
#150 Combat Search & Rescue: HH-60 Pave Hawk Into a Firefight to Save 2 Wounded Marines  
Podcast: The Afterburn Podcast
Published On: Sun Aug 02 2026
Description: Today we sit down with an HH-60G Pave Hawk combat search and rescue (CSAR) pilot who flew through some of the worst fighting in Afghanistan, and the single mission that changed how he trains the mind for combat. John "Rain" Waters talks with retired Lt. Col. John Mangan, a decorated CSAR pilot with more than 200 combat missions who commanded the 33rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron in Kandahar. They get into the leave-no-one-behind ethos, the honey-buns story that got a grounded rescue bird fueled in a combat zone, the command chaos of Operation Anaconda, why wounded troops died on runways waiting for approval to launch, and the Helmand rescue of two dying Marines that became the basis for his book, The Three Rings Mindset. Along the way, the science of why a trained pilot froze into his habits under fire, and how repetition and purpose beat fear. John Mangan: www.JohnManganBooks.com Subscribe to Afterburn Defense for combat aviation and defense breakdowns, grab The Three Rings Mindset, and subscribe to The Lowdown newsletter at lowdownnews.us. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/@AfterburnPodcast The Lowdown Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/ Support The Afterburn Podcast for on Patreon and gain early access and AD Free episodes. Plus access to "There I was…" stories. https://www.patreon.com/theafterburnpodcast Please leave us a review on Apple/Spotify Podcasts: Apple - https://apple.co/3dLradT Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3SAeSUr 00:00 Intro 02:39 Growing up around gunships and A-10s 07:28 Pilot training and the barany chair 17:11 Why he chose combat rescue: leave no one behind 24:41 Iceland and the pre-9/11 "end of history" Air Force 33:59 Operation Anaconda and the honey buns fuel story 43:44 How Anaconda became a war-college lesson in failure 47:24 Wounded troops dying while the chain of command froze 49:28 The four motivations behind every warrior 55:35 Manda Bay: the rescue that never launched 1:01:47 Improvising under fire with a broken minigun 1:04:30 Army dust-off vs Air Force combat rescue 1:11:37 The Pave Hawk flying combat at 12,000 hours 1:14:13 Flying into a firefight for two dying Marines 1:36:21 Why a trained pilot flew over the enemy twice Have a story? Want to Connect? Advertise? https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.