Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Henry. Petithory Hometown

By Franklin Fisher, Taegu bureau chief

That helicopter went down off the coast of the Philippines on Feb. 22.

"The entire crew were recognized for their assignment to the 160th. They earned that through their tour of duty," Polczynski said.

"For their operations that night they were awarded the Air Medal. That was in recognition of their precision and execution of that night’s operation."

In addition, the Philippine government awarded them the Outstanding Service Award, its highest peacetime award, Polczynski said.

On Friday, the Army formally installed a new commander of the elite special ops helicopter unit that lost its first commander in the Philippines crash.

Echo Company of the 160th saw the company’s guidon, the unit’s flag, passed to its new commanding officer in a brief ceremony at K-2 Air Base in Taegu, South Korea.

Army Maj. Mike Welch, a veteran of Army special ops aviation, assumed the command held until Feb. 22 by Maj. Curtis D. Feistner, 34, who died in the crash.

Polczynski welcomed Welch in brief remarks before an audience of about 60. The 160th is headquartered at Fort Campbell, Ky.

"Today, we welcome Maj. Mike Welch as the second commander of Echo, 160th," Polczynski said. "This day, always made significant by the arrival of a new commander, is exponentially more notable because of the emotion and grief experienced by the entire command through the loss of a most cherished crew and aircraft, 4-7-1."

What caused 471 to crash is under investigation.

Feistner and seven other Echo Company soldiers were among 10 servicemembers lost when their MH-47E Chinook went down off the coast of Negros island in the southern Philippines.

Three bodies have been recovered. The rest are missing and presumed dead. The other two were from the Air Force’s 320th Special Tactics Squadron, 353rd Special Operations Group stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.

The Chinook was returning from a mission in support of an anti-terrorism training exercise with the Philippine military, part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

"This company," Polczynski told the audience, "has endured significant hardship achieving its operations excellence, including the frustration of the unknown, the hardship of separation, the stress of waiting and the pain of loss.

"But like steel, the hotter the fire, the better the blade," Polczynski said. "This company is now stronger than most."

Those aiming to recover the helicopter face a tough task, Polczynski said. "I know it’s difficult," he said. "We doubt that the aircraft’s intact.

"There’s a discussion of how deep it lies. Obviously, the deeper it is, the harder it is to get once it hits a certain depth. Right now, we know it’s beyond free scuba-dive depth."

Polczynski also talked of the final mission of the downed Chinook. The crew had flown about 5½ hours at night, over water, using night-vision devices, part of the signature equipment of the Night Stalkers.

"The mission included aerial refueling," Polczynski said. "The 160th is the only Army organization that aerially refuels." They were about 30 minutes from their base when the helicopter crashed. A second Chinook was flying in tandem with 471 at the time of the crash.

At the controls of 471 were Chief Warrant Officer Jody L. Egnor, 32, of Ohio, the pilot-in-command, and Capt. Bartt D. Owens, 30, of Ohio, as co-pilot, Polczynski said.

Staff Sgt. James P. Dorrity, 37, of Goldsboro, N.C., and Staff Sgt. Bruce A. Rushforth Jr., 35, of Massachusetts, were assigned as forward gunners, in addition to their duties as flight engineers, he said.

Three other crew worked as cargo handlers but also held other duties at the rear of the aircraft. They were Staff. Sgt. Kerry W. Frith, 37, of Jamesville, Nev.; Sgt. Jeremy D. Foshee, 25, of Alabama, and Spc. Thomas F. Allison, 22, of Tacoma, Wash.

"It’s a thing of magic," Polczynski said of the teamwork of a Chinook crew. "It’s choreographed through years and years of practice, often without talking because the sheer noise of the airplane prohibits doing it."

Also lost in the crash were the two airmen, Master Sgt. William McDaniel and Staff Sgt. Juan Ridout, Air Force pararescuemen.

Welch’s 17 years of military experience includes service with the Army Rangers, Special Forces — also known as the Green Berets — and the 160th Regiment, including its "Green Platoon," a cycle of rigorous training that all soldiers must complete to be allowed into the regiment.