Combat· Libya Intervention (Op ODYSSEY DAWN/UNIFIED PROTECTOR)
TRAP Mission (22 Mar 2011)
The TRAP mission was a tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel mounted during the Libya intervention, when an American Air Force fighter went down over hostile territory and the Marines launched a rapid operation to extract the downed crew before they could be captured.
Marines of an expeditionary unit flew from an amphibious assault ship offshore deep into Libya to reach the crew, recovering the airmen and bringing them out from the dangerous ground where they had ejected. The mission was a textbook execution of one of the Marine Corps' core capabilities, the swift insertion to rescue downed aviators from enemy-held territory, accomplished under the pressure of speed and the threat of capture. The TRAP brought the crew safely back to the fleet, a successful recovery that became one of the notable Marine actions of the Libya campaign. It demonstrated the value of the Marine expeditionary force afloat, ready to project power ashore at a moment's notice to recover its own.
Record no. 838