extortion 17 crash photos

"[31][32] NBC News reported that the Pentagon released the names of the 30 Americans killed. "All of this raises the distinct possibility of a cover-up as to . Lee had just flown the night before on a similar mission with one of the pilots, David Carter. Nothing tests the capabilities of a young helicopter pilot like flying in the extreme conditions of Afghanistan. Terms of Use We continue our work at the Museum so that theirservice and sacrifice will never be forgotten. So where did it go?? In April 2011, American forces turned over control of Combat Outpost Tangi to Afghan government forces. Lee is 36 now, a civil attorney in Dallas, a world away from Afghanistan. The Chinook helicopter they were aboard was shot down by . Should the Apache pilots have fired into the stand of trees after the two fighters ducked out of sight? He said, "And now, to our honor roll of American Service Personnel killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. On a moonless night, an Army Chinook helicopter swept low over the Tangi Valley, a strip of forbidding terrain in eastern Afghanistan teeming with Taliban and located just 35 miles south of Kabul. Lightboxes. So many unsettling details are coalescing with the resurgence of Extortion 17. "The downing of Extortion 17 was a catastrophic and unprecedented tragedy for our nation," Reid testified. One rocket struck a rotor blade, causing the aircraft to crash almost instantly. 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. [11] At 22:37 (local time) on the night of 5 August, a platoon of 47 U.S. Army Rangers left a forward operating base in Logar Province via two CH-47D transport helicopters, one of which would later be involved in the accident. 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. God sees you, You do see that A-12(1963! But the CH-47D has neither a flight nor voice recorder, only an engine performance data recorder for maintenance. Because unarmed villagers, unaffiliated with the Taliban, could also have been in those trees and among the groups milling about the village, the gunships could not have fired. 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. American intelligence officials identified this individual as "OBJECTIVE GINOSA." The "had Seal team 6 killed" is a likely reference to what's known as the "Extortion 17" incident, the August 2011 tragedy in which a Chinook military helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan,. "[5], Subsequent reports stated that on the night during which the helicopter had been delivering reinforcements to personnel of the 75th Ranger Regiment, another special operations unit engaged in a night raid on a compound to kill or capture a senior Taliban leader. This tactic was highly successful; hundreds of operations were conducted without firing a shot for years. 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. This group grew in number over the course of the night, but American forces were at first too preoccupied to engage. And thats fine; thats what you signed up for, Lee said. The RPG is not a laser. 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. A junior, he was ready to fight, but the war would be over, he figured, before he even got out of college. Naval Special Warfare support personnel: Two, 3 U.S. Army Reserve personnel (Aircrew) from the, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 20:01. [26], The U.S. military helicopter carrying special operations forces to a night-raid in the Tangi Valley of Wardak Province, was most likely brought down by a rocket-propelled grenade, according to military officials. 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. There is still a tremendous level of chance for a tragedy of such huge magnitude.. On August 6th, 2011, the helicopter was fired upon and shot down by a previously undetected group of Taliban fighters. All content is protected by copyright and may not be used for commercial purposes without prior written permission. 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. As the ground assault force rushed toward Tahirs compound, Extortion 17 and 16 sped back to base, where they were refueled, and awaited word to extract the team, evacuate wounded, or race reinforcing troops to Juy Zarin. Hs unit called itself Extortion Company. One of his Chinooks, flying under the call sign Extortion 17 (one-seven), was tasked with the special operations mission the night of Aug. 6. The night before he left to go to Fort Hood, where he would board a plane to Afghanistan, the biggest event of the 10-year war occurred: Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan during a raid by Navy SEALs. 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. Its the worst day in our history by a mile.. A source from the Navys special operations community described the reaction as Shock and disbelief. Intelligence on August 6th indicated Qari Tahir was in Tangi Valley, just a short helicopter flight from the SEAL base camp. 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. [11], At 02:00, the special operations task force commander and the Immediate Reaction Force commander decided to add additional (non-SEAL) reinforcements, increasing the size of the team to 33. To find answers to many of the outstanding questions regarding Extortion 17, a congressional oversight committee held a hearing on February 27, 2014. All rights reserved. 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. Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron Vaughn was one of the SEAL Team 6 operators who died in the crash. Since the shootdown of Extortion 17, the military has continued to gain vital experience and equipment to enable an ever greater understanding of an enemy force, aiming to know every combatant and potential combatant and his weapon system before a raid. His account of the brave pilots, crew, and passengers of Extortion 17 and . [33], The New York Post reported that the Pentagon released 30 names from the crash. This was preventable only if they just had not taken off that night, Lee said. 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. The helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was on a mission to reinforce American and coalition special operations troops. His account of the brave pilots, crew, and passengers of Extortion 17 . With a keen understanding of the propaganda value of downing Coalition helicopters, the Taliban single them out as targets. Upon learning of Tahirs possible location, a U.S. Army Rangers and Afghan Special Forces team was deployed into the valley from the south. We had guys who had flown in Desert Storm, guys who had just come off active duty, Lee said. 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. If this was survivable, that was the right crew to have. 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. The landing zone was small, and the commanders didnt want to split up the strike force. He pushed hard on the cyclic stick to tilt the helicopter forward. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Geneva G. Brier/Released) Advertising Notice Intelligence had revealed Tahir to be the senior Taliban chief of the Tangi Valley region, with probable ties to upper-echelon Taliban leadership in Pakistan. Having studied and directly observed the counter-insurgency campaign in Afghanistan, Ive watched commanders and individual American troops consistently lean far to the side of restraint to encourage Afghans to side with American interests long after U.S. forces have left. Extortion 17 is a name etched in our minds as one of the worst losses our military has ever experienced. Soldiers killed in Chinook shot down on Saturday came from 24 U.S. states First full list of names, ages and hometowns revealed - 17 were Navy SEALs Eye witnesses to the crash describe seeing. The group fired two or three RPG rounds from a two-story building, the second striking one of the helicopter's three aft rotor blades. This hearing also serves to Capable of loitering overhead for hours undetected, small fleets of unmanned craft passed imagery to mission planners before and during the raid at Juy Zarin, allowing them to recognize individual fighters, learn their habits, pinpoint where they slept, and identify the types of weapons they carried. They are not the same SEALs, and these two events are not connected to one another. 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. Several minutes later, a 20-man Pathfinder team (specializing in downed-aircraft rescue and recovery) arrived at the site. The official statement from U.S. Central Command stated that a Taliban fighter scored a lucky shot with a rocket-propelled grenade. Approaching to land or having just taken off, the craft is flying slow and low, so it presents a tempting target. The resulting explosion destroyed the aft rotor assembly. Six minutes from their estimated landing time, Extortion 16 broke away from the lead Chinook and orbited at a location close enough to help if needed. In less than five seconds, the helicopter crashed, killing all occupants, and approximately 30 seconds later, one of the AH-64 Apache helicopters radioed in the crash. 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. At 02:15, one group of three Taliban fighters took a position in a stand of trees; the remaining six or seven men entered a building located some 2km (1.2mi) from the target compound. 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 the afternoon of 6 August, a flash flood swept through the area, washing away parts of the wreckage. [1][2][3][4], The resulting crash killed all 38 people on board including 17 US Navy SEALs, two United States Air Force Pararescue, one United States Air Force Combat Control Team member, one pilot and two crewmen of the United States Army Reserve, one pilot and one crewman of the United States Army National Guard, seven members of the Afghan National Security Forces, and one Afghan interpreter. No evidence has emerged to support any of these claims. Troops", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2011_Afghanistan_Boeing_Chinook_shootdown&oldid=1142506992, 2 U.S. Navy SEALs from Naval Special Warfare Group 1, 4 U.S. I will never forget what they did, he said. The immediate reaction force Extortion 17 carried should have been flown in two helicopters: Senior JSOC and aviation planners both agreed that the best course of action was to put the entire . As for himself, he speaks out about Extortion 17 because he wants to remember the men on that mission. 29 Photos Documentary On a moonless night, an Army helicopter carrying 17 members of the elite Navy SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed Osama Bin Laden, is shot down in Afghanistan. Their target: an Afghan named Qari Tahir and his group of fighters. 2017 The Dallas Morning News. Every mission is potentially life-threatening. 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. But no one died. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Touch device users can explore by touch or with swipe . Lees second deployment started in May of 2011. [34] Kevin Sieff and Greg Jaffe of The Washington Post reported that U.S. officials confirmed the deaths, including 22 SEALs. LOL, Ray Williams 509th RRCUV (Army Security Agency) Feb68-Apr71. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. A few minutes past 2 a.m.on August 6, 2011, at a dusty forward operating base40 miles south of Kabul, Afghanistan, the rotors of two U.S. Army CH-47D Chinooks began to turn. In order to prevent this, American forces called in for support. Call Sign Extortion 17: The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six is a 2015 non-fiction expose, written by best-selling author and former U.S. Navy JAG Officer Don Brown, about the 2011 Chinook shootdown in Afghanistan of a United States Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter. [9][11], Meanwhile, the group of Taliban fighters split in two. At the time of the Juy Zarin raid, the battalion had been flying in Afghanistan for about two weeks. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Florida, Staff Sgt. As he did, he felt the craft leveling off. The helicopters are capacious and fast, and they can perform well in Afghanistans performance-degrading high altitudes and heat. On such missions, the Chinook pilots nearly always fly at night, wearing night vision goggles, or NVGs. [7][27][28] During the battle, American forces observed a small group of Taliban trying to flee the scene. Why was the black box missing from the crash site? [11] Seventeen U.S. Navy SEALs remained in reserve at the forward operating base. On his right wrist, he wears a bracelet with the names of the five crew members of Extortion 17. 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 Thirty Americans perished in the blink of an eye, half of which comprised an entire 'troop' from SEAL Team 6's Gold Squadron. Baseless Claim That Biden Ordered 'Extortion 17' Three months after the raid that killed bin Laden, Taliban fighters shot down a Chinook helicopter carrying 30 U.S. service members, including. Six weeks later, at around 10:40 p.m., an assault team of Army Rangers and Afghan special operations forces were dropped into an LZ on a mission to capture or kill a Taliban commander named Qari Tahir, who had been responsible for a series of attacks and ambushes in the Tangi Valley, not far from Shank. On August 6, 2011, the final flight of Extortion 17 resulted in the single deadliest incident for the US military during the War in Afghanistan. You never want to use the same landing zone twice, Darack said. But Tahir and a group of his fighters escaped. A body went into the ocean, but Ill bet it wasnt Bin Ladens. They reached the site at 04:12 and found no survivors. 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. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan. [2][38], On 10 August 2011, the U.S. military stated that the insurgent who fired the rocket-propelled grenade had been killed only two days afterward in an F-16 airstrike, saying only that intelligence gained on the ground provided "a high degree of confidence" that the person was among those killed in the airstrike from two days earlier, but providing no other details. Lee, now a captain, was placed in command of a Chinook helicopter unit at Forward Operating Base Shank. The second slammed into one of the Chinooks rear rotor blades and exploded, severing 10 feet of it. Theres no precedent for this. The sheer amount of experience with our pilots, flight engineers and back-seaters and mechanics offered a wealth of knowledge, he said. Directors Karl Horstmann Stephen Spivey Writer Stephen Spivey Stars Sean Hannity Raj Kala BUT the Chief Command and those who elected him will pay for there failure to seek Yahwahs guidance before going to war or to vote for a new president! The quick reaction force included SEAL Team 6 and other special operations personnel. 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. Its crazy how many times I can think of where me or the guys I was with had to do that.. [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. Theyre going after in very hostile environments, who know the terrain very well, who know the battlescape very well, Darack said. The 30 American Servicemen killed in action (KIA) with the downing of Extortion 17. Nearby, there were two enemy fighters with rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Were asking people to do incredible things. At any moment, they could come under rocket attack. It was brought down by multiple shots. We were told at that time we were the first unit to make it through a rotation without having anyone killed.. Were handing rifles to 20-year-olds and asking them to shoot people. The image released and purported to be Bin Laden was a blended image of an old Bin Laden pic and an image of a different terrorist that was killed in battle. The IRF also included two SEALs from another team, five Navy special operations support personnel, three Air Force special tactics airmen, seven Afghan National Army commandos, a translator, and a combat assault dog. LZ is ice, transmitted one of the Rangers on the ground, indicating the landing zone was free of enemy activity. The worst of the wounded was one of Lees crew members, who suffered what was later diagnosed as a severe traumatic brain injury. For every one that gets lucky, there are hundreds, even thousands, that zip by you., As weve seen a number of times, theres a point that a lucky shot is going to get you and there is only so much you can do to mitigate it, says Glover, the Marine aviator. The next night, the pair had orders to drop off more troops in the same spot. While Benghazi resulted in four American deaths, Extortion 17 resulted in 38 deaths, including nearly two dozen Navy SEALs. 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. When the Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopter was hit, all 38 onboard were instantly killed. [9][11], Around 02:38, the helicopter was fired upon and shot down by a previously undetected group of Taliban fighters approximately 220m (240yd) south of the helicopter. He would eventually do two tours and become commander of a Chinook unit during his second deployment in 2011. Available for both RF and RM licensing. Six weeks into his deployment, Lee experienced his worst day as a helicopter pilot to that point. The shooters origin remains a mystery. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas, Spc. He presents the Final Flight of EXTORTION 17 (spoken one seven and seventeen), like a Defense Attorney or an investigator. You also want to come in from a different direction for the element of surprise.. Some 30 seconds later, one of the AH-64 Apache helicopters in the area reported: Fallen Angel.. 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. For the last two years, hes been an attorney with the law firm Jackson Walker. Also very suspicious that the only member of Seal Team Six that is still alive and in the public sphere happened to be the guy that killed Bin Laden?? The second round struck one of the three aft rotor blades of the helicopter, destroying the aft rotor assembly. Extortion 17 August 6, 2022 marks 11 years since Extortion 17. Rest in peace, gentlemen; you will not be forgotten. Insurgents fired at the Chinook, severed one of. | One of the things I vowed, I will never forget. extortion 17 crash photos. In that incident, sixteen Navy SEALs and Army special operations troops were killed, and three more SEALs were killed in subsequent fighting on the ground. Ninty-six days after the death of Osama bin Laden by SEAL Team Six, an old Vietnam era Army Reserve helicopter, call sign "Extortion 17," was shot down in the Wardak Province, Tangi River Valley, Afghanistan on Aug 6, 2011. Its like taking a paper towel roll, cutting it in half and strapping it to your eye, Lee said. Editors note: This story originally appeared in October 2017. 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. Two fired at roughly the same time. The second shot hit the rear tail rotor assembly. . Their target was a Taliban commander responsible for ambushes and other attacks against U.S. and Afghan forces. The United States military continually works to improve protection for transport helicopters and their occupants, according to Glover and Brady.

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