God sees you, You do see that A-12(1963! Instead, two rigorous U. S. military investigations followed every moment of the mission to determine what went wrong on Extortion 17s final flight. Photo by Sgt. The military's public contradictions raise more questions than answers. Not feelin it! Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron Vaughn was one of the SEAL Team 6 operators who died in the crash. In 2006, he was called into Afghanistan, where he turned 25. Call Sign Extortion 17 - Wikipedia When asked what lessons Americans can draw from the crash of Extortion 17, Lees answer is simple: Americans should care about what happens in Afghanistan because theyve sent Americans to war there. New documentary investigates events surrounding Extortion 17 helicopter REMEMBERING EXTORTION 17 - Survive the News At 10:58 p.m., they were inserted by the same CH-47D helicopters that would later conduct the mission to insert the SEAL team. "Before Benghazi there was Extortion 17.. Saturday August 6 th 2011 was a day that changed the lives of my family forever. (Smithsonian Books, September 2017). [11], In 2013, Congressman Jason Chaffetz said that he would hold an investigation of the United States House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security into the matter. He was probably in the top 1 percent of Army aviators, Lee said. Extortion 17 was the call sign of a special operations mission in Afghanistan on Aug. 6, 2011, that responded to an Army Ranger unit engaged in a firefight with the Taliban and in need of backup. The remaining two fighters ducked into a stand of trees and disappeared from the Apaches infrared scanners. The official statement from U.S. Central Command stated that a Taliban fighter scored a lucky shot with a rocket-propelled grenade. Lees second deployment started in May of 2011. The insurgents had no way of knowing the helicopter would be coming in, at the speed it was coming and at the altitude, Darack said. Thirty members of the American special forces have been killed in Afghanistan in the deadliest day of the 10-year war for US military personnel when the Taliban shot down . Monitored and controlled by a Joint Terminal Attack Controller at Forward Operating Base Shank via a General Atomics MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, all six were positively confirmed killed by the bomb strike and subsequent attacks by a Lockheed AC-130 gunship and two Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships. Will this ever be exposed! In The Final Flight of Extortion 17, Ed Darack debunks this theory and others and uncovers the truth behind this mysterious tragedy. All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, North Carolina. In July 2010, an RPG-wielding fighter put a round into the tail boom of a Marine AH-1W Super Cobra, downing it and killing both pilots. Conspiracy Theory Baselessly Claims Biden Had Navy SEALs Killed On this night, Aug. 6, 2011, something went terribly wrong. That night, nearly 10 years after the U.S. had gone to war in Afghanistan, Lee believed they were the best team for this dangerous mission. On such missions, the Chinook pilots nearly always fly at night, wearing night vision goggles, or NVGs. Cookie Settings, 5,000-Year-Old Tavern With Food Still Inside Discovered in Iraq, Archaeologists Discover Wooden Spikes Described by Julius Caesar, The Surprisingly Scientific Roots of Monkey Bars, Kids Start Forgetting Early Childhood Around Age 7, Artificial Sweetener Tied to Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Finds. Troops in Afghanistan Defense Department officials and military leaders testified at a hearing on the investigation of the August 20111 death of 30 U.S. servicemen in. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Should the Apaches, or the AC-130 overhead, have fired upon the groups of suspected Taliban that gathered in the village after the raid began? [11], By 16:25, all of the remains were taken from the crash site via ground convoy and transported to Combat Outpost Sayyid Abad. And I condemn anyone who would dare denigrate the flag of the greatest country in the world which is made so by the heroic actions of these great men. Early media reports suggested that the Army had been tardy to recover flight recorders from the downed Chinook, and, as a consequence, the recorders had been swept away by the flood. Nichols had deployed three times to combat zones, and Carter, with more than 4,000 hours of flight time, was one of the most experienced helicopter pilots in the U.S. military. It requires the highest level of skills from the pilots because they are some of the most dangerous operations.. The SEAL Team 6 community was devastated. [9][10][11] After a 20-minute flight (around 23:00), the two Chinook helicopters landed near the compound ostensibly containing Tahir, offloaded the Ranger platoon and returned to base. As for himself, he speaks out about Extortion 17 because he wants to remember the men on that mission. There are a lot of bullets out there that say To whom it may concern,says Major Doug Glover, a U.S. Marine F/A-18D weapons and sensors operator who was a senior watch officer for the Marine air operations center in southern Afghanistan. In combat, its mission is to transport large teams of elite assault troops, including Army Rangers and Navy SEALs, to and from the battlefield. With 38 people killed on board, it was the largest single-day loss of life in naval special warfare history and the largest single-day loss of life during the war in Afghanistan. First images of mangled Chinook crash revealed as Pentagon names all 30 Warnings from her crew to turn the Chinook back or cancel their mission went unheeded. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas, Spc. Captain Marquez claims that had the AC-130 been allowed to fire on the remaining enemy insurgents, Extortion 17 would not have been shot down. We were told at that time we were the first unit to make it through a rotation without having anyone killed.. The reality is, every time a helicopter lifts off the ground in a war zone, it might get shot down, Darack said. American, French and Afghan National Police forces carried out a three-day sweep of the area, and the area was then deemed secure. There are more operations than can be supported by the 160th at any given time," says Major Matthew Brady, a former 160th pilot and company commander. Lightboxes. U.S. Army Helicopter Extortion 17 Shot Down - YouTube One AH-64 crew, after identifying the men as enemy combatants, fired on them with their gunships 30mm cannon, killing six. The Final Flight of Extortion 17 - Smithsonian Magazine There are more operations than can be supported by the 160th at any given time, says Major Matthew Brady, a former 160th pilot and company commander. Extortion 17: The Mission and the Tragedy in Afghanistan Austin Williams visits the gravesite of U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher C. Campbell in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 30, 2016. A typical combat mission in Afghanistan leaves little margin for error, requiring Chinook pilots to land on tiny, makeshift sites on mountain slopes where any tree, bush or rock could be hiding an enemy fighter with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. During the Ranger insertion earlier that night, the CH-47D had approached from the south; this time, it approached from the northwest. Now deep in the Tangi Valley, their night vision goggles showing the world around them in greenish hues, the IRF team members readied to hit the ground running as the pilots slowed Extortion 17 and descended toward the village. He grew up in Tyler, went to Texas A&M;, joined the Corps of Cadets and stared in shock at the news that two planes slammed into the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. When tactical conditions allow, they initiate operations by calling out enemy forces. Deadliest Day in Spec Ops History: The Extortion-17 Chinook Crash Extortion 17 could be a bigger scandal and betrayal of Americans than Benghazi. He was too busy. Cookie Policy It was reported that the Taliban fighters had no information of the helicopter's flight path and that they had been in the right place at the right time. Bissonnette also said that there was one DEVGRU Operator on the mission who was not a member of Red Squadron and that he was chosen for the mission because of his linguistic abilities. The call sign for the Chinook was Extortion 17. To address some unanswered questions, the committee received briefings, classified and unclassified, on the operational component leading up to the loss of the 30 servicemen and eight Afghan nationals and the postmortem handling of the 30 American servicemen on Extortion 17. "[31][32] NBC News reported that the Pentagon released the names of the 30 Americans killed. If this was survivable, that was the right crew to have. Burn is on, they radioed. Extortion 17 - IMDb He would not have hesitated to fly with any of them. The five other Navy casualties were NSW (Naval Special Warfare) support personnel; in addition to these, three AFSOC operators, one Combat Controller and two Pararescuemen, all members of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, died in the crash. Its almost always a miss.. In mid-2011, combined with a U.S. Army aviation battalion, they had spent weeks conducting operations nearly every other night in Wardak and surrounding provinces south of Kabul to capture or kill Taliban forces, disrupt attack plots, and deny them sanctuary on this strategic approach to Kabul City. [25][original research? Extortion 17: The deadliest day in the DEVGRU history - Spec Ops Magazine Im a 25 year veteran involved in many support missions and I find this downing of Ext 17 very suspect indeed! AC-130 gunships orbiting overhead directed two AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to fire on and kill five enemy fighters. Less than five seconds after the RPG round hit, the helicopter spun uncontrollably, plummeting into a dry creek bed and erupting in a ball of fire that killed all on board. REMEMBERING EXTORTION 17 - Survival Magazine & News Photo by Sgt. I am so proud to be an American and I thank all of the families left behind to mourn their loss. Unidentified Remains Extortion 17 (unknown-2011) - Find a Grave Senior Chief Robert James Reeves was one of those Americans. Approaching to land or having just taken off, the craft is flying slow and low, so it presents a tempting target. August 2011 Attack on U.S. Troops in Afghanistan | C-SPAN.org Your Privacy Rights However, the Afghan government forces did not occupy the base, which was seized by the Taliban shortly after the departure of American forces. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. [36][37], After the shootdown of Extortion 17, the insurgent responsible used a two-way radio to brag to others about the act. I didnt want to die., He remembered the words of his old flight instructor: Never stop flying the aircraft.. August 12, 2022. by Samantha Franco. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment(General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas, Staff Sgt. Available for both RF and RM licensing. Donald Trump Retweeted A Conspiracy Theory that Biden Had Seal Team 6 He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas, Tech. Extortion 17 hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy Tragically, as Extortion 17 was nearing its landing zone, Taliban fighters, hidden in a building, fired two or three rocket-propelled grenades at close range, leaving the pilot no chance to perform evasive maneuvers. Their deaths are the greatest single loss of life ever suffered by the U.S. Special Operations community in the 24-year history of the U.S. Special Operations Command.[5][22][15][23]. As the operation got underway, our airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, including an MQ-9 Predator, detected a group evading the Rangers, moving towards the north. Worst US loss of life in Afghan war as helicopter crash kills 38 Why did it happen? On the Extortion 17 crash, credible journalism was produced on this subject by Ed Darack in his book, "The Final Mission of Extortion 17." The SEALs who died in the crash belonged to Gold Squadron, while the SEALs who killed bin Laden belonged to Red Squadron. Extortion 17 sped alone toward the landing zone. Following a scorched earth tactic may have killed the two shootersand possibly a greater number of innocentsprior to Extortion 17s return that night, but counterinsurgency doctrine dictates that such tactics lead to potentially far worse long-term consequences. The shootdown was the single, deadliest loss of U.S. forces in the war. Its a math problem. In light of that raids success, the shootdown of Extortion 17 incited a flurry of conspiracy theories: The Taliban were tipped off; it was a trap; it was retribution for the killing. Extortion 16 flew empty. First, the Obama administration's Defense Department's crash report stated that there were no eyes in the sky over the Chinook . That's the only route, so they took positions on either side of the valley on mountains and as the helicopter approached, they attacked it with rockets and other modern weapons. Insurgents fired at the Chinook, severed one of. In March 2002, two MH-47s were downed by machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire while close to ground level. We didnt do fast-rope inserts, building insertions, or anything like that. Subsequent to their Iraq deployment, the unit flew the SEALs of Team 6 on practice raids around Fort Carson, Colorado, and during nighttime urban training in Denver, further cementing the 2-135ths reputation with special operations units. A catastrophic crash seemed unavoidable. Hi there! In order to speed disembarkation, all troops were loaded on a single CH-47D helicopter for transport; the other Chinook would approach the landing zone second as a decoy. I thought I hit a tree,he said. One of the most significant tactical evolutions of the Afghanistan conflict is the ever-heavier use of unmanned aerial systems and other airborne intelligence-gathering systems. Connor Mendez, courtesy of U.S. Army. Lees wife, Christy, hoped the news would bring a sudden end to the war. Darack did extensive research of what happened next. All topics Extortion 17 Documentary Soon after US Navy Cryptologist Michael Strange and the elite SEAL Team 6 capture and kill Bin Laden, they are deployed to Afghanistan, where their Chinook is shot down. The first grenade missed Extortion 17. The Chinook headed to a different landing zone than the first assault team one in the narrowest part of the Tangi Valley. While Benghazi resulted in four American deaths, Extortion 17 resulted in 38 deaths, including nearly two dozen Navy SEALs. The helicopter fell from the sky, killing all 38 on board. [11], The 30 American deaths represent the greatest loss of U.S. military lives in a single incident in the war in Afghanistan that began in 2001. )/SR-71 blackbird cloud behind the chinook; saying thats safe distance! The aircraft jerked. The 30 American Servicemen killed in action (KIA) with the downing of Extortion 17. Directors Karl Horstmann Stephen Spivey Writer Stephen Spivey Stars Sean Hannity Raj Kala She had just given birth to their first child. The mission had begun about four hours prior to the shootdown, when the two helicopters touched down side by side in Juy Zarin, a village in the bare rock-walled Tangi Valley of Wardak Province. Call Sign Extortion 17: The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six Night Stalker pilots and crew rigorously train for nighttime raids, like the one in Juy Zarin. There's also that little issue that came up when 6 Navy SEALs' funerals were conducted by a Muslim Cleric that condemned them to Hell during the service. Though both noted that airborne sensor coverage and closer AH-64 gunship escort should be considered in future operations, nothing could have kept the shooters from firing their RPGs that night. One of the best crews in my company. And while all military helicopters carry countermeasures for guided missiles, nothing can interdict the dumb luck of an unguided RPG round sailing through the air. Terms of Use Why did it happen? 360 EXTORTION 17 ideas | extortion, navy seals, seal team 6 The crash sent shock waves throughout U.S. special operations. Or when something went terribly wrong. Two fired at roughly the same time. It was a hard landing, but it would have been worse if they had landed tail first. Air & Space/Smithsonian contributing editor Ed Darack is the author of The Warriors of Anbar; War Moments; The Final Mission of Extortion 17; Victory Point; and three other books. He said, "And now, to our honor roll of American Service Personnel killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Enterprise. For the last two years, hes been an attorney with the law firm Jackson Walker. Humm, to have all the Seal Team 6 members in one place at one time?? Mission commanders, believing that Tahir was likely among one of the groups, deployed an Immediate Reaction Force (IRF) to interdict them while the Rangers held the compound. The group probably contained the commander and a few of his bodyguards, while the remaining Taliban fighters offered resistance in an effort to buy the group enough time to escape. It was the deadliest helicopter crash in the history of U.S. special operations. Privacy Statement On Aug. 6, 2011, on the deadliest day in special operations history, 30 Americans, including 17 Navy SEALs, died when a Chinook helicopter crashed. The SEALs who assaulted Osama bin Ladens compound were drawn from Naval Special Warfare Development Groups Red Squadron, according to several sources in the special operations community.. The Joint Combat Assessment Team report further noted that despite a robust deck of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets, none identified the location from which the shooters fired prior to the helicopter downing. Retired Air Force Captain Says Pentagon Lied About Cause of - SOFREP 2 U.S. Army personnel from the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, part of the Colorado Army National Guard, PO1 John Douangdara & Navy SEAL Dog Bart, Of the 22 NSW members killed, 17 were SEALs, and five were direct support personnel, according to the source in the NSW community. The crash killed all 38 people on board including 25 American special operations personnel, five United States Army National Guard and Army Reserve crewmen, seven Afghan commandos, one Afghan interpreter, and a U.S. military working dog. Extortion 17 August 6, 2022 marks 11 years since Extortion 17. Chance is still part of the battlefield, says Brady. Extortion17 hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy Lee is 36 now, a civil attorney in Dallas, a world away from Afghanistan. This remains the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare since the Afghan War started in 2001. Carter and Nichols continued the descent. U.S. Navy Seals At 2:38 a.m. on August 6, 2011, a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, entered the western opening of Afghanistan's restive Tangi Valley, flying alone. It also became one of the most devastating death tolls of the U.S. Special Operations Forces. 3 U.S. Army Reserve personnel from the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment. Of those 38 lost, 22 were members of Navy SEAL Team 6, the Naval Special Warfare unit responsible for the killing of notorious 9/11 mastermind Osama 2 U.S. Navy SEALs from a west coast-based SEAL team. The downing of Extortion 17 spurred a number of conspiracy theories, such as the idea that the shootdown was revenge for bin Laden's death. In Memoriam: The 31 Heroes of EXTORTION 17 - American Thinker The helicopter fell from the sky, killing all 38 on board. Restrained by strict rules of engagement in force at the time, the helicopter crews could not have fired without a strong indication of hostile intent. On 6 August 2011, a U.S. CH-47D Chinook military helicopter operating with the call sign Extortion 17 (pronounced "one-seven") was shot down while transporting a Quick Reaction Force attempting to reinforce a Joint Special Operations Command unit of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Tangi Valley in Maidan Wardak province, southwest of Kabul, That same day he obtained a medical waiver he needed to pursue an Army commission to serve an eight-year hitch before going to law school. Upon learning of Tahirs possible location, a U.S. Army Rangers and Afghan Special Forces team was deployed into the valley from the south. There is a lot of controversy and discussion regarding the operators from the Gold Squadron who died abroad. In March 2009, the U.S. 10th Mountain Division established a base in Tangi Valley after increased Taliban activity in the area. Extortion 17 and the Truth The Havok Journal At that moment, Extortion 17 slowed to 58 mph, at no more than 150 feet, approaching a spot framed by trees and mud-brick huts, and "sparkled" by the infrared designator on an AC-130 gunship. Memorial for anniversary of Extortion 17 helicopter crash For example, on 8 June 2011 another Chinook helicopter was engaged from five to six locations (i.e., points of origin) with 14 rocket-propelled grenades, forcing the crew to abort their mission. One of the things I vowed, I will never forget. extortion 17 crash photos. It wasnt preventable. It was the day we learned our son Aaron and other American warriors had lost their lives in a helo crash in Afghanistan. This remains the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare since the Afghan War started in 2001. But one thing that doesnt fade is never forgetting what they did.. Qari Tahir, the man our forces were attempting to capture or kill on August 5, 2011, isone of many Taliban leaders who dedicate their lives to a corrupt agenda that seeks to eliminate freedom, equality, and prosperity in exchange for a medieval society built on violent extremism and wanton destruction. Just three months earlier, members of a counterpart SEAL Team 6 squadron successfully raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden. Our area of operation was the entire country of Iraq, and every mission was at night, says David Pat Gates, a pilot with Carters unit , the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (2-135th), a Colorado Army National Guard unit based in Aurora, Colorado. Regarding the downing of Extortion 17, all of the DEVGRU Operators aboard were members of the Gold Squadron. Fact check: Biden did not leak SEAL Team 6 identities - USA TODAY The U.S. Navy SEAL task force assigned to conduct operations in Tangi Valley was well conditioned to the dangerous operating environment. But no one died. August 2011 Attack on U.S. [40], In October 2011, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that an investigation following the shootdown concluded "that all operational decisions, linked to the incident, were deemed tactically sound." In a new book The Final Mission of Extortion 17 published by Smithsonian Books, journalist and photographer Ed Darack revisits the shootdown of Extortion 17, a Chinook bearing U.S. and . This was preventable only if they just had not taken off that night, Lee said. Commanders frequently request CH-47 Chinooks to insert troops. [11], Separately, ISR aircraft continued to observe the unengaged group from the compound. According to officials, the team included 17 SEALs, five Navy special operations troops who support the SEALs, three Air Force airmen, a five-member Army air crew and a military dog, along with. As two U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, an Air Force AC-130 gunship, and a small fleet of unmanned surveillance aircraft orbited overhead, a platoon of the 75th Ranger Regiment and members of an Afghan special operations unit stormed down the rear ramps of the Chinooks and into the night.
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