A body went into the ocean, but Ill bet it wasnt Bin Ladens. 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. We were on goggles the whole time. 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. The men who serve in the American military are the finest! The following passage, published in The Navy Times, seems to support that assertion. 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. The theories suggest that Afghan forces leaked information to the Taliban about the mission. 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. The Chinook smashed into the ground, the force ripping off his goggles. As they made their approach, there was a line of thunderstorms nearby. The article stated that the helicopter crashed after an RPG round impacted the aft rotor assembly. Through the goggles, the landing zone shone brilliantly. Senior Chief Robert James Reeves was one of those Americans. Theres no precedent for this. The 30 Navy SEALs and other Special Forces personnel, along with the Helicopter flight crew because American Military and Political leaders threw these men under the bus the enemy was driving and then covered it all up with lies and deceit. 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. According to his book, No Easy Day (detailing his participation in Operation Neptune Spear), Mark Owen (the pen name of former SEAL Operator Matt Bissonnette) stated that nearly all of the Operators on that mission were handpicked from Red Squadron. The crash is referred to as Extortion 17 by the callsign of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter involved in the crash. 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. 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. He would eventually do two tours and become commander of a Chinook unit during his second deployment in 2011. 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. Connor Mendez, courtesy of U.S. Army. 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. The U.S. Navy SEAL task force assigned to conduct operations in Tangi Valley was well conditioned to the dangerous operating environment. 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. [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. His account of the brave pilots, crew, and passengers of Extortion 17 and . Were asking people to do incredible things. 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. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan. 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, and one Afghan interpreter as well as a U.S. military working dog. Thirty Americans perished in the blink of an eye, half of which comprised an entire 'troop' from SEAL Team 6's Gold Squadron. Play FALLEN ANGEL Call Sign: Extortion 17. Approaching to land or having just taken off, the craft is flying slow and low, so it presents a tempting target. The extreme G-forces killed everyone on board within a fraction of a second, Darack said. [11][24] These reports were erroneous; the CH-47D airframe does not contain flight recorders, although the MH-47 variant does have a flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. 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. They are not the same SEALs, and these two events are not connected to one another. [9][11], Almost an hour later (01:50), the aviation brigade commander approved a new landing zone for infiltration of the SEAL team. The helicopter fell from the sky, killing all 38 on board. [45] McChrystal cited a previous "overreliance on firepower and force protection" and the need to reduce civilian casualties and win the cooperation of the local population. Don Brown, a former U.S. Navy JAG officer stationed at the Pentagon, and former Special Assistant United . He was probably in the top 1 percent of Army aviators, Lee said. As they started their descent, Lee heard a loud popping noise. These are the words of Billy Vaughn. Whether enemy fire brought down the Chinook or a tree strike would never be known for sure. The events that unfolded that night are commonly referred to as Extortion 17, the call sign for the helicopter transporting the special operations personnel. The next night, the pair had orders to drop off more troops in the same spot. The reality is, every time a helicopter lifts off the ground in a war zone, it might get shot down, Darack said. 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. The tempo of the missions did not decrease. 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. He finished his contract with the Army shortly afterward, and that September enrolled in Southern Methodist Universitys Dedman School of Law. The front rotor shattered, and the back pylon sheared off. Critics blame Biden for Extortion 17 attack. Save up to 30% when you upgrade to an image pack. 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. 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. All rights reserved. [34] Kevin Sieff and Greg Jaffe of The Washington Post reported that U.S. officials confirmed the deaths, including 22 SEALs. . There are no survivors. The official statement from U.S. Central Command stated that a Taliban fighter scored a lucky shot with a rocket-propelled grenade. Will this ever be exposed! Lees wife, Christy, hoped the news would bring a sudden end to the war. You never want to use the same landing zone twice, Darack said. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash. At 2:36 a.m., Extortion 17 requested an infrared spotlight, visible only through night vision goggles, to illuminate the landing zone. [39], During the same Pentagon news conference in which he announced that the F-16 airstrike had incapacitated "less than 10" of the insurgents involved, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander in Afghanistan John R. Allen said that the military investigation would also review whether small-arms fire or other causes might have contributed to the downing. Your Privacy Rights In 2006, he was called into Afghanistan, where he turned 25. See more ideas about extortion, navy seals, seal team 6. Yesterday, the Pentagon released the names of the 30 troops-- Navy SEALs, soldiers, and airmen, killed in the helicopter downed by Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan last weekend. 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. [11], By 16:25, all of the remains were taken from the crash site via ground convoy and transported to Combat Outpost Sayyid Abad. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) The downing of a Chinook helicopter gunship (known by its call sign Extortion 17) in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011, has for years been shrouded in mystery, with the . Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. This remains the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare since the Afghan War started in 2001. Photo by Jake Simkin for Coffee or Die Magazine. Its a math problem. August 6, 2017 marks the 6 year anniversary of the downing of Extortion 17, a bigger scandal than Benghazi in large part due to the fact that America lost 30 of its military personnel, including 17 Navy SEALs, the largest loss of life in the Afghan war. "[30], On 12 August 2011, Jim Lehrer of the PBS NewsHour announced that he would report the Honor Roll at the end of the program with names and photographs of all 30 men. He said that insurgents had assumed a strong tactical position without knowledge of the helicopter's flight path. The CH-47 "Chinook" was carrying some of this nation's bravest and most capable military . ", "Taliban laid trap for Chinook: official", "Honor Roll: Remembering the 30 U.S. The crash claimed the lives of 38 personnel, including 22 special operations forces in Afghanistan Aug. 6, 2011. At any moment, they could come under rocket attack. We had guys who had flown in Desert Storm, guys who had just come off active duty, Lee said. Extortion 17 and 16 weren't MH-47s and their crews were not Night Stalkers. Air Force C-17 Crashes Just After Takeoff in Alaska | Dangerous Aerobatics (With Real Video) TheFlightChannel 2.1M views 1 year ago Feature History - Chinese Civil War Feature History 1.9M views. 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. [41] At the subsequent hearing in February 2014, Pentagon representative Garry Reid defended the decision to undertake the mission and denied that the Taliban had any advance knowledge of it. So much of the war is fought in areas where these helicopters have to fly at high altitudes, where the thin air can strain the performance of the engines and rotor blades, said Ed Darack, author of the recently published book, The Final Mission of Extortion 17: Special Ops, Helicopter Support, SEAL Team Six and the Deadliest Day of the U.S. War in Afghanistan. One AH-64 crew, after identifying the men as enemy combatants, fired on them with their gunships 30mm cannon, killing six. God bless all of them- the bravest of the brave. Some 30 seconds later, one of the AH-64 Apache helicopters in the area reported: Fallen Angel.. To remove the risk of rocket-propelled grenades downing helicopters in Afghanistan 100 percent, youd have to remove the opposable thumbs of every fighting-age male in the objective area, and thats not how we win a counter-insurgency., Ed Darack The helicopter crashed less than 5 seconds later, killing all 38 people on board. The helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was on a mission to reinforce American and coalition special operations troops. The guy was incredibly skilled.. 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. What we saw is that if the enemy knew where you were going to attack, they would back some guys with RPGs off 500 meters or so, to shoot during an ingress, Glover explains. (Smithsonian Books, September 2017). 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. But the CH-47D has neither a flight nor voice recorder, only an engine performance data recorder for maintenance. Nothing tests the capabilities of a young helicopter pilot like flying in the extreme conditions of Afghanistan. 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. [11] Going forward, the two AH-64 Apache helicopters would be engaged in tracking those two groups of Taliban, and hence unable to provide surveillance or fire support to the inbound helicopter carrying the SEAL team. Where was the Chinook's black box cockpit recorder? The 30 American Servicemen killed in action (KIA) with the downing of Extortion 17. Sgt. 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. The SEAL commander assembled his force: 17 Navy SEALs, five Navy combat support specialists, three U.S. Air Force Special Tactics Airmen, seven Afghan Special Forces operators, an Afghan interpreter, and a military working dog. Extortion 17 is a name etched in our minds as one of the worst losses our military has ever experienced. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, California, Tech. Privacy Statement unfolded that night are commonly referred to as Extortion 17, which is the call sign for the helicopter transporting the special op-erations personnel. 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. The Chinook is often used to assist in disaster relief, delivering food and water after earthquakes and floods. If this was survivable, that was the right crew to have. [43][45], 2011 Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shootdown, United States Air Force Combat Control Team, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Tangi Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, Naval Special Warfare Development Group's, Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians, United States House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, Call Sign Extortion 17: The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six, List of aviation accidents and incidents in the war in Afghanistan, "Elite Force Died in Bid to Save Comrades", "Taliban shot that brought down American Chinook killing 30 US commandos was 'lucky', officials believe", "Taliban shoot down US helicopter in Afghanistan; 38 killed", "Worst US loss of life in Afghan war as helicopter crash kills 38", "US military helicopter crash in Afghanistan kills 38", Executive Summary (Crash of CH-47D Aircraft in Wardak Province, Afghanistan on 6 August 2011), "Families suspect SEAL Team 6 crash was inside job on worst day in Afghanistan", "DOD Identifies Service Members Killed in CH-47 Crash", "Tragedy devastates special warfare community", "Friends remember three area soldiers killed in Afghan crash", "Chinook Crewmembers Line of Duty Deaths", "US special forces Afghan helicopter downed by Taliban", "Chopper crash kills 31 U.S. troops, 7 Afghans", "Copter Downed by Taliban Fire; Elite U.S. Unit Among Dead", "Impact on special forces of Navy Seals helicopter loss", "SEAL Team 6 Families Believe the 2011 Chinook Shootdown in Afghanistan was Planned | Navy SEALs Blog by USNavySEALs.com", "Army delayed Chinook helicopter's black box until it was too late", "Obama stonewalls SEAL Team 6 helicopter crash probe, watchdog says", "US helicopter shot down in Afghanistan was sent in after night raid went awry", "US military probes deadly Afghan helicopter crash", "What happened on night of deadly Afghanistan helicopter crash? The Afghan soldiers were an essential part of the package; they were trained to move with our forces to the target. 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. Immediately after Ryan shared an intimate photo of his own, the cybercriminal demanded $5,000, threatening to make the photo public and send it to Ryan's family and friends. At 01:00, they decided to engage the group with the SEAL reserves. He presents the Final Flight of EXTORTION 17 (spoken one seven and seventeen), like a Defense Attorney or an investigator. The Chinook headed to a different landing zone than the first assault team one in the narrowest part of the Tangi Valley. In April 2011, American forces turned over control of Combat Outpost Tangi to Afghan government forces. In June 2005, a rocket-propelled grenade connected with the rear transmission of a 160th MH-47E Chinook as it attempted to come to a hover, downing it; all 16 on board were killed. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Geneva G. Brier/Released) Advertising Notice Chance is still part of the battlefield, says Brady. Extortion 17 and 16 werent MH-47s and their crews were not Night Stalkers. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. The landing zone was small, and the commanders didnt want to split up the strike force. 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?? It also became one of the most devastating death tolls of the U.S. Special Operations Forces. Upon learning of Tahirs possible location, a U.S. Army Rangers and Afghan Special Forces team was deployed into the valley from the south. The group fired 2-3 RPG rounds from a two-story building from a location some 220 meters south of the helicopter. It was brought down by multiple shots. Classified reports, published by Wikileaks, teem with notes from pilots and crew of all types of military helicopters who saw RPG attacks throughout the war. NFTs Simplified > Uncategorized > extortion 17 crash photos. [39], Following the withdrawal of U.S. forces in April 2011, Tangi valley became a major staging area for attacks on Kabul (located just 60 miles away). 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. Photo: We pay Tribute Chief Petty Officer Nicholas H. Null Operation Extortion 17 August 6, 2011 You may leave a condolence for his family on our YouTube channel https://youtu.be/L2lB37qizaI Comebacks Photo Photo: We pay Tribute to Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills Operation Extortion 17 August 6, 2011 Battalion Regiment Warrant Officer On this day 11 years ago, 30 American military servicemen and a U.S. military dog were killed when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter-call sign Extortion 17-was shot down in Afghanistan. There remained many mysteries about the Extortion 17 shoot down. The helicopter made its last radio transmission stating that it was one minute away from the landing zone, then descended to an altitude of 100150ft (3046m) and slowed to a speed of 50kn (58mph; 93km/h) as it approached the landing zone. Buy images; Sell images; Two fired at roughly the same time. August 6, 2017 marks six years since 30 American military servicemen and a U.S. military dog were killed when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter call sign Extortion 17 was shot down in Afghanistan. [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]. 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. The second shot hit the rear tail rotor assembly. [citation needed] Doubts about this story were raised by families and other concerned citizens despite the fact that the Navy SEAL team aboard Extortion 17 was a different squadron than that which had killed Osama bin Laden three months earlier. Its crazy how many times I can think of where me or the guys I was with had to do that.. Landing in deserts or mountainsides, the helicopter rotors kick up clouds of sand and dust, causing brownouts that can blind a pilot. The team boarded Extortion 17 with Dave Carter and Bryan Nichols at the controls. The co-pilot, Bryan Nichols, was one of Lees closest friends in the Chinook company. His account of the brave pilots, crew, and passengers of Extortion 17 . It just wasnt.. ], Four years after the downing of Extortion 17, there were many theories about a possible government coverup. Sometimes the enemy succeeds in delivering one of these To whom it may concern projectiles. Located in a remote and dangerous province in eastern Afghanistan, the base was the target of near-constant rocket attacks from Taliban insurgents. 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. 3 U.S. Army Reserve personnel from the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment. 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. Insurgents fired at the Chinook, severed one of. 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, and one Afghan interpreter as well as a U.S. military working dog. Ill try to reply the best I can. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. In fact, the conflict was heating up. [9][11], Meanwhile, the group of Taliban fighters split in two. The helicopters are capacious and fast, and they can perform well in Afghanistans performance-degrading high altitudes and heat. 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. 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. Flying to the Tangi Valley for the second time, Extortion 17 and 16 took a different route, approaching from the northwest instead of the south. Are all DEVGRUs saved in a sperm bank? Published Aug 6, 2018 5:05 PM EDT.