Who Is “Bravo”? 60 Minutes Iran Rescue Interview Identifies F-15E WSO as Colonel Jonathan Bott
The identity of the U.S. Air Force officer known publicly as “Bravo” in the CBS 60 Minutes interview about the dramatic rescue of an American airman from Iran has become the subject of intense online investigation.
CBS News deliberately withheld the officer’s real name, referring to him by his mission callsign, “Dude 44 Bravo,” and explaining that the decision was made for security reasons. The officer appeared on camera and described, for the first time publicly, how he survived after his F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran, suffered severe injuries during a damaged-parachute descent, evaded Iranian forces for approximately two days, and was eventually recovered by U.S. military personnel.
Soon after the program aired, open-source researchers began attempting to determine who the officer actually was.
One widely circulated identification names Colonel Jonathan W. Bott, a highly experienced U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle Weapons Systems Officer and former commander of the 333rd Fighter Squadron. Bott’s publicly available professional biography contains a striking collection of details that correspond closely with the background described for the anonymous officer: F-15E experience, more than 2,200 flight hours, more than 600 combat hours, command experience, and senior leadership assignments within the 4th Fighter Wing.
The identification has therefore attracted considerable attention among aviation enthusiasts, military analysts and open-source intelligence researchers.
But there is an important distinction.
The public evidence establishes Jonathan Bott’s identity and career, but it does not establish that CBS has officially confirmed that Jonathan Bott is “Bravo.” CBS continues to use the callsign in its published reporting. Accordingly, the identification should be described as an open-source identification or reported identification, rather than an officially confirmed disclosure by CBS or the U.S. Air Force.
Who is Jonathan Bott?
Jonathan W. Bott is a veteran U.S. Air Force officer whose career has been heavily associated with the F-15E Strike Eagle.
According to the Watson Institute at Brown University, Bott served as an active-duty Air Force officer and instructor Weapons Systems Officer and accumulated more than 2,200 flight hours, including more than 600 combat hours, primarily in the F-15E Strike Eagle. His deployments included Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, the Horn of Africa and Europe.
His military career also included some of the most important leadership positions available to an experienced F-15E WSO.
September 15, 2026 | 9:19 am
