another hit-and-run raid conducting more aerial attacks on the Taliban. Then the attack helicopters returned and were loaded onto the MC-130s. All the Rangers, Air Force STS personnel, desert vehicles, and equipment were loaded onto the MC-130s. The entire American raiding force on board the MC-130 transports departed into the air and safely withdrew after completing their objectives. Attempted Deployment at Tora Bora During the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001, a CIA Jawbreaker team (small group of CIA SAD ground branch operators) requested that the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment be inserted into the mountains to establish blocking positions along potential escape routes out of Tora Bora into Pakistan. They would serve as the 'anvil' while Green Berets with the AMF (Afghan Militia Forces) would be the 'Hammer,'. With attached Air Force Combat Controllers, the Rangers could direct airstrikes onto enemy concentrations or engage them in ambushes, but the Jawbreaker team's request was denied. Capturing an air base and a dam in the Iraq War In 2003, the 3rd Battalion was called upon to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. On 24 March 2003, 3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment conducted a combat drop onto H-1 Air Base, securing the site as a staging area for operations in western Iraq. On the night of 31 March/April 1, 2003, Delta Force and 3/75th captured the Haditha Dam complex and held it for a further 5 days. Further Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan At the end of 2003, the battalion deployed again, this time sending elements of the battalion to both Afghanistan and Iraq. The battalion deployed multiple times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom until summer 2010. The battalion continues to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Primary tasks include: direct action, national and international emergency crisis response, airfield seizure, airborne and air assault operations, special reconnaissance, intelligence and counter intelligence, combat search and rescue, personnel recovery and hostage rescue, joint special operations, and counter terrorism. Raid on a terrorist safe house in Iraq On 18 April 2010, ISOF troops, supported by US troops, carried out a night-time raid on a terrorist safe house near Tikrit in Iraq. The ISOF killed Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the two leaders of ISI; 16 others were also arrested. A US UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter supporting the mission crashed, killing a Ranger NCO from 3/75th and wounding the aircrew. Ranger