We were supporting special operations, but not to the degree of the 160th. All of them were men of courage, integrity, and honor. Two of the SEALs were from a West Coast SEAL unit, but the others were from the Gold Squadron of Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU, sometimes known as SEAL Team 6, said the NSW source.. Photo by Sgt. But we are still sending people to another country to fight, and we need to understand why were doing that, he said. On his first deployment, he felt fortunate to be surrounded by veteran pilots he could learn from. Directors Karl Horstmann Stephen Spivey Writer Stephen Spivey Stars Sean Hannity Raj Kala #neverforgotten #screwedbygovt #demmandanswers. You never want to use the same landing zone twice, Darack said. It was the day we learned our son Aaron and other American warriors had lost their lives in a helo crash in Afghanistan. He knew the pilots and crew members aboard Extortion 17. I was terrified. It wasnt preventable. Warnings from her crew to turn the Chinook back or cancel their mission went unheeded. [42], In 2017, Air Force captain Joni Marquez, the firing officer on an AC-130 gunship that had accompanied Extortion 17 on the final flight, made a similar claim. [12][13], Six minutes prior to reaching the landing zone, the empty CH-47D left the formation as planned. August 2011 Attack on U.S. Thirty Americans perished in the blink of an eye, half of which comprised an entire 'troop' from SEAL Team 6's Gold Squadron. While the goggles are better than nothing, they turn everything green, distort depth perception and limit peripheral vision. 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 . Copyright 2023 | National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum, The Museum is a 501(c)(3) organization. He would eventually do two tours and become commander of a Chinook unit during his second deployment in 2011. 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. Six weeks into his deployment, Lee experienced his worst day as a helicopter pilot to that point. Around 02:23, the two helicopters departed the forward base. )/SR-71 blackbird cloud behind the chinook; saying thats safe distance! His father Billy Vaughn recounted Thursday a phone call from his son following the White House . [11], The mission was deemed high risk; two AH-64 Apache helicopters, an AC-130 gunship, and other additional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft supported the troop transports on their approach and remained with the ground forces afterwards. Originally just two people, the group eventually swelled to a total of nine or ten fighters, and the special operations task force commander and the Immediate Reaction Force commander became concerned that it might include Tahir. Ed Darack March 2015 The Chinook's cargo capacity, speed,. 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. He pushed hard on the cyclic stick to tilt the helicopter forward. Lees second deployment started in May of 2011. The 30 American Servicemen killed in action (KIA) with the downing of Extortion 17. 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. At 2:36 a.m., Extortion 17 requested an infrared spotlight, visible only through night vision goggles, to illuminate the landing zone. Lieutenant Commander (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, Louisiana, Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, California, Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Arkansas, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Connecticut, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Massachusetts, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Missouri, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, West Virginia, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, Louisiana, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Michigan, Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, California, Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist) Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, North Carolina, Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah, Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Nebraska, Cryptologist Technician(Collection)Petty Officer 1st Class(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Extortion 17 and its 38 occupants would not return. | Lee had just flown the night before on a similar mission with one of the pilots, David Carter. I am so proud to be an American and I thank all of the families left behind to mourn their loss. Forces Killed in Helicopter Crash", "30 Americans Killed in Afghanistan Helicopter Crash", "Pentagon names 30 Americans killed in downed Afghan chopper", "Pentagon releases names of 30 Americans killed in Afghanistan helicopter crash", "22 Navy SEALs among 30 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan as NATO helicopter is shot down", "30 Americans, including 22 Navy SEALs, killed in Afghan copter crash", "Names of Afghan Helicopter Attack Victims Released", "The OBJECTIVE GINOSA strike Payback for the shootdown of Extortion 17", "Military killed Taliban who downed US helicopter", "Afghan soldiers enter a Taliban nest without U.S. troops by their side", "Congress to probe lethal crash that killed SEAL Team 6 members", "A retired Air Force captain says Pentagon covered up real cause of deadly chopper crash", "A Retired Air Force Captain Says Pentagon Covered Up Real Cause of Deadly Chopper Crash", "Rules of Engagement Are a Dilemma for U.S. The Tangi Valley is a strategic terrain that connects the two primary highways that lead to Kabul. 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. Some 30 seconds later, one of the AH-64 Apache helicopters in the area reported: Fallen Angel.. 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 United States military continually works to improve protection for transport helicopters and their occupants, according to Glover and Brady. (Photo Credit: Senior Airman Anthony Nin Leclerec / U.S. Air Force / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain) There were a total of 38 individuals onboard Extortion 17. Insurgents fired at the Chinook, severed one of. An Afghan official, speaking anonymously a few days after the attack, speculated that the Taliban had laid a trap, that they had purposely put out false information about a meeting involving the Taliban commander. Should the Apache pilots have fired into the stand of trees after the two fighters ducked out of sight? The duo may also have had no ties to Tahir or any of his suspected fighters, and attacked the helicopter on their own. August 12, 2022. by Samantha Franco. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas, Tech. The US soldiers killed in the 2011 Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shoot-down with the call sign Extortion 17 (Photo: XY) SGT Alexander J. Bennett SPC Spencer Duncan (youngest onboard) CWO Bryan J. Nichols When tactical conditions allow, they initiate operations by calling out enemy forces. 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. Monday, 06 August 2012, marks one year since the tragic downing of EXTORTION 17 in Tangi, Afghanistan. The shoot-down of 'Extortion 17' constitutes the greatest loss of American life from a single battle in the history of the Afghanistan War. 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. I had to learn how to land while browned-out, wearing NVGs, on the side of a mountain or an uneven field, Lee said. The helicopter plunged tail first. [11], Separately, ISR aircraft continued to observe the unengaged group from the compound. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash. Near the site of the Extortion 17 crash stands a memorial to Taliban fighters killed in the August 2011 battle during which Extortion 17 was shot down. I thought I hit a tree,he said. 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. That June, the U.S. military launched Operation Hammer Down to drive out insurgents entrenched in remote strongholds of eastern Afghanistan. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine LOL, Ray Williams 509th RRCUV (Army Security Agency) Feb68-Apr71. [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. Sgt. 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. At the pilots request, the AC-130 flashed an infrared spotlight, which could be seen only through night vision goggles, to light up the landing zone. Operating with no lights save for the faint green glow of night vision goggles and cockpit instrument panels, the two helicopters, call signs Extortion 17 (one-seven) and Extortion 16, lifted into the darkness and accelerated toward a destination less than 20 miles west. In her first interview about the incident, Marquez said: "I had the sensor operators immediately shift to the eight insurgents the helicopters had taken out. Extortion 17 could be a bigger scandal and betrayal of Americans than Benghazi. One of the engines flew off, and the other caught fire. According to Glover, improved systems in place enable U.S. forces to monitor a target for days or even weeks prior to an operation, so they theoretically will know of even well-hidden potential RPG shooters throughout a village before transport helicopters first touch down. On his right wrist, he wears a bracelet with the names of the five crew members of Extortion 17. The Chinook smashed into the ground, the force ripping off his goggles. On this day 11 years ago, 30 American military servicemen and a U.S. military dog were killed when a CH-47 Chinook helicoptercall sign Extortion 17was shot down in Afghanistan. The CH-47 "Chinook" was carrying some of this nation's bravest and most capable military . The downing of the Seal Team Six chinook with all of those team members who participated in the Bin Laden raid and the subsequent request by President Obama to destroy the images that were released only adds to the suspicion around the events. Photo by Sgt. Approaching to land or having just taken off, the craft is flying slow and low, so it presents a tempting target. The 30 American deaths represent the greatest loss of U.S. military lives in a single incident in the decade-long war in Afghanistan that began in 2001. Photo by Jake Simkin for Coffee or Die Magazine. It was the deadliest helicopter crash in the history of U.S. special operations. The crash is referred to as Extortion 17 by the callsign of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter involved in the crash. Chance is still part of the battlefield, says Brady. Sgt. The Chinook headed to a different landing zone than the first assault team one in the narrowest part of the Tangi Valley. Whether enemy fire brought down the Chinook or a tree strike would never be known for sure. 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]. The events that unfolded that night are commonly referred to as Extortion 17, the call sign for the helicopter transporting the special operations personnel. But the CH-47D has neither a flight nor voice recorder, only an engine performance data recorder for maintenance. 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. Through sensors on manned and unmanned aircraft, U.S. forces observing the mud walls and terraces of the village saw new groups of fighters gathering and maneuvering. Seconds later, with the Chinook just over 100 feet off the ground and traveling at 58 mph, two or three previously unseen fighters emerged from the tower of a two-story building roughly 220 yards south of the helicopter, shouldering RPG launchers. Gold Star father Bill Vaughn had a heartfelt message to American "leaders" while discussing a documentary that investigates the Extortion 17 helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Seven Afghan National Army commandos and one Afghan civilian interpreter were also killed in the crash. 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 . She had just given birth to their first child. THIS COMBAT MARINE SALUTES YOU ALL WE ALL GET A NEW STATION WHEN GOD OKS OUR TRANSFER I AM QUITE CERTAIN THAT GOD LOVES WARRIORS A BIT MORE THAN WE MIGHT REALIZE, I always suspected ObamaTard had something to do with this tragedy. The Final Mission of Extortion 17: Special Ops, Helicopter Support, SEAL Team Six, and the Deadliest Day of the U.S. War in Afghanistan Hardcover - September 19, 2017 by Ed Darack (Author) 223 ratings Editors' pick Best History See all formats and editions Kindle $13.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover Campbell was one of 30. Available for both RF and RM licensing. As is routine on such missions, two Apache attack helicopters provided extra cover and security for Extortion 17, while circling above was an AC-130 aircraft, a gunship that also provides surveillance. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. On Aug. 6, 2011, insurgent forces in Afghanistan shot down an American aircraft. When the auto-complete results are available, use the up and down arrows to review and Enter to select. [35] The Seattle Times and The New York Times also reported this information. Flying low, the pilots have to maneuver a machine weighing up to 50,000 pounds over mountains, under cover of darkness, in swirling wind and dust, wearing night vision goggles. But no one died. Two fired at roughly the same time. A Black Hawk Down of the war in Afghanistan, the deadliest day for the U.S. in 12 years of that conflictand a military investigation that covered up evidence of an inside job by the Taliban. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. [22][20] Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, confirmed that eight of the movement's fighters had been killed in the assault on the compound. They may have seen Extortion 17 and its landing zone through their own night vision goggles or simply aimed by sound alone. Extortion 17 was attached to a mission to capture or kill a senior Taliban leader, Qari Tahir, near Kabul, Afghanistan. Please take a moment and pause to honor and remember these heroes. The theories suggest that Afghan forces leaked information to the Taliban about the mission. There is a lot of controversy and discussion regarding the operators from the Gold Squadron who died abroad. The helicopter crashed into a creek bed and a flash flood shortly afterward washed away some parts of the wreckage. "Before Benghazi there was Extortion 17.. Saturday August 6 th 2011 was a day that changed the lives of my family forever. We were on goggles the whole time. The tempo of the missions did not decrease. 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. A chief warrant officer 5, a member of the Colorado National Guard, Carter had over 4,500 flying hours, including more than 1,000 hours during combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. That assault team captured Tahirs compound and some of his men. 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. [1][5][6][7][8] At 30 American military personnel killed, the shootdown of Extortion 17 represents the greatest single-incident loss of American lives in Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan, surpassing the 16 lost in the downing of Turbine 33, a 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) MH-47 helicopter, during Operation Red Wings on 28 June 2005.[2]. No evidence has emerged to support any of these claims. They heard a helicopter coming, they grabbed their RPGs, and they fired in quick succession, Darack said. Senior Chief Robert James Reeves was one of those Americans. The SEAL task force was monitoring this activity, and they were soon called upon to deploy quickly into the northern end of the valley to intercept Tahir and capture him and those moving with him. Why was the black box missing from the crash site? It means being informed. 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. The second round struck one of the three aft rotor blades of the helicopter, destroying the aft rotor assembly. The quick reaction force included SEAL Team 6 and other special operations personnel. NFTs Simplified > Uncategorized > extortion 17 crash photos. American forces continued to carry out operations in the area (mostly via helicopter and using special forces), encountering resistance from Taliban fighters on several occasions. He presents the Final Flight of EXTORTION 17 (spoken one seven and seventeen), like a Defense Attorney or an investigator. At 31 U.S. military personnel killed, the shoot down of Extortion 17 represents the greatest single-incident loss of U.S. lives in Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan, surpassing the 16. Thirty-eight boarded Extortion 17 Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilots from the 159th General Support Aviation Battalion. We were told at that time we were the first unit to make it through a rotation without having anyone killed.. In combat, its mission is to transport large teams of elite assault troops, including Army Rangers and Navy SEALs, to and from the battlefield. It was a good crew, it really was. Afghanistan has long been a counter-insurgency campaign: The United States strategy has been to win Afghan trust through cooperation and aid. Burn is on, they radioed. Planners then chose a new landing zone for the IRF, but it was large enough to accommodate only one Chinook. In this week in military history, we explore the aerial attack on a U.S. Army helicopter with the call sign "Extortion 17" in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. 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. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment(General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas, Staff Sgt. Theres no precedent for this. The SEAL Team 6 community was devastated. One of the best crews in my company. ], Four years after the downing of Extortion 17, there were many theories about a possible government coverup. We are here today at the request of many of the families of the fallen heroes aboard Extortion 17 to obtain answers to their ques-tions where answers can be found. Some sources state that at the shootdown, the two AH-64 Apache helicopters were engaged in tracking another Taliban group and were thus unable to provide surveillance (of the landing zone and infiltration route) and fire support the inbound CH-47D helicopter carrying the Navy SEAL team.
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