Former hostage talks to Airmen about experiences

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Joe McFadden
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  A former hostage held by Colombian terrorists for more than five years addressed Airmen about his ordeal at the Commando Auditorium Nov. 19.

Keith Stansell was a contractor working with a drug surveillance team in the jungles of Colombia when their plane crashed Feb. 13, 2003. He and the survivors were taken captive by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia and lived among them until being rescued by the Colombian military on July 2, 2008.

"At first, we thought it would be three weeks and it would be over," Mr. Stansell said. "That just shows you how we had to adjust our expectations and time frame. But we still thought, 'If we survived the crash, we will survive this.'"

Throughout his captivity, Mr. Stansell and fellow hostages were forced to move through the jungles and mountain ranges while wearing 40 pounds of chains and supplies on their backs. He said his time spent with the guerillas, many of them teenagers, gave him an insight into the desperation and poverty that led many to become "married to the revolution."

"Imagine dealing with people who were 20 years old and hadn't spent one day in school. There's an ignorance there that we cannot understand, and it was being used against them," Mr. Stansell said. "One had seen the movie "The Matrix" and asked 'How do your special forces do that?' I was sympathetic, because he really believed it."

Mr. Stansell said he never gave up hope about his country eventually rescuing him.

"The terrorists have an hour glass of time that is different from ours. But even they knew the Americans always got their people," he said.

In the months leading to his rescue, Mr. Stansell and fellow hostages were on a nonstop run throughout the jungle. Finally when the Colombian military tricked FARC into handing over the hostages, he found out from one of the agents that he was actually going home.

"It was the greatest hostage rescue of all time without a single shot being fired," he said.

Upon returning to the United States, Mr. Stansell reunited with his family and attempted to get caught up with everything that he had missed over the last five-and-a-half years.

"When we left, we had phones that only allowed 30-character text messages and thought we were ahead of the curve," he said.

But he said the growth of his family and technological advances that occurred while in captivity only underscored the meaning of freedom to him.

"Freedom, which we often take for granted, is something we don't understand until we lose it," he said. "I always make a list of things that I'm grateful for and found a reason to be positive every day."

Since returning, Mr. Stansell co-authored a book with fellow hostages about their time in Colombia. He was later presented the Congressional Medal of Freedom by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and continues to speak to military audiences about his experience.

"It took a lot of time and effort toward his rescue," said Col. Greg Lengyel, 1st Special Operations Wing commander. "Hurlburt Field led the air component and many of the assets came from here." Colonel Lengyel presented Mr. Stansell with a specialized framed photo of Air Force Special Operations components including unit patches.

"Every time we heard the C-130 fly over us, it gave us the motivation to keep going and have faith," Mr. Stansell said. "People like you gave me hope when I was a hostage."