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Families suspect SEAL Team 6 crash was inside job on worst day in They heard a helicopter coming, they grabbed their RPGs, and they fired in quick succession, Darack said. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pennsylvania. . God bless all of them- the bravest of the brave. 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. 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. Find the perfect extortion17 stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. 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. One of the best crews in my company. The helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was on a mission to reinforce American and coalition special operations troops. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a62b75e7a99f5de39e28d378788f7ec9" );document.getElementById("c08a1a06c7").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Content on this website is free to use and share, but please provide a link back to Spec Ops Magazine as a source. 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. The crash occurred in Tangi Joi Zareen, in the district of Sayd Abad in Wardak Province after it was struck by an. Available for both RF and RM licensing. [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. He pushed hard on the cyclic stick to tilt the helicopter forward. As the Chinook CH-47 transport helicopter (call sign: Extortion 17) carrying 30 U.S. troops, seven Afghan commandos, an Afghan civilian interpreter and a U.S. military dog approached, the. The article stated that the helicopter crashed after an RPG round impacted the aft rotor assembly. Some news stories reported that investigators couldnt find the helicopters black box, referring to the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. He said that insurgents had assumed a strong tactical position without knowledge of the helicopter's flight path. 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. Connor Mendez, courtesy of U.S. Army. On Aug. 6, 2011, insurgent forces in Afghanistan shot down an American aircraft. A senior Afghan government official, speaking anonymously, said that Taliban commander Qari Tahir had fed American forces false information about a meeting of insurgent leaders and fighters waited for the helicopter from both sides of a steep valley: "The Taliban knew which route the helicopter would take. If this was survivable, that was the right crew to have. Why was the black box missing from the crash site? In The Final Flight of Extortion 17, Ed Darack debunks this theory and others and uncovers the truth behind this mysterious tragedy. [22][20] Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, confirmed that eight of the movement's fighters had been killed in the assault on the compound. The men who serve in the American military are the finest! Carter and Nichols continued the descent. One of the engines flew off, and the other caught fire. Directors Karl Horstmann Stephen Spivey Writer Stephen Spivey Stars Sean Hannity Raj Kala In Memoriam: The 31 Heroes of EXTORTION 17 - American Thinker (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Geneva G. Brier/Released) The crew of Slasher 02, the AC-130 circling above, flipped the switch on their powerful light. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment(General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas, Staff Sgt. Enterprise. We continue our work at the Museum so that theirservice and sacrifice will never be forgotten. It wasnt preventable. The following passage, published in The Navy Times, seems to support that assertion. Just three months earlier, members of a counterpart SEAL Team 6 squadron successfully raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden. When the auto-complete results are available, use the up and down arrows to review and Enter to select. 2011 Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shootdown - Wikipedia 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. 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. The extreme G-forces killed everyone on board within a fraction of a second, Darack said. David Tarrant, The Dallas Morning News 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. The reality is, every time a helicopter lifts off the ground in a war zone, it might get shot down, Darack said. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos One of the things I vowed, I will never forget. 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. To reach the crash site, one must wind slowly through the ancient, narrow streets of the villages of Logar to reach the Tangi Valley in Wardak. Whether enemy fire brought down the Chinook or a tree strike would never be known for sure. No one is planting victory gardens, and were not rationing. 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. This tactic was highly successful; hundreds of operations were conducted without firing a shot for years. Not feelin it! And thats fine; thats what you signed up for, Lee said. Chance is still part of the battlefield, says Brady. Its crazy how many times I can think of where me or the guys I was with had to do that.. Campbell was one of 30. 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. Fallen Angel.. On his first deployment, he felt fortunate to be surrounded by veteran pilots he could learn from. On Aug. 6, 2011, on the deadliest day in special operations history, 30 Americans, including 17 Navy SEALs, died when a Chinook helicopter crashed. 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. Here, in silence, are the names and photographs of all 30 men. Humm, to have all the Seal Team 6 members in one place at one time?? Explore. 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. 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. 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. "All of this raises the distinct possibility of a cover-up as to . Then they have to stick the landing. Extortion 17 - The Brian Bill Foundation 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? Extortion 17 and 16 werent MH-47s and their crews were not Night Stalkers. by FighterSweep Staff Apr 25, 2017 Retired Air Force Captain Joni Marquez is claiming the Pentagon hid the truth and lied about the circumstances that led to a Chinook helicopter crash that. Cookie Policy 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. Lightboxes. Buy images; Sell images; His father Billy Vaughn recounted Thursday a phone call from his son following the White House . I had to learn how to land while browned-out, wearing NVGs, on the side of a mountain or an uneven field, Lee said. Hi there! And now, the government wants to make the Taliban legitamet. At the time of the Juy Zarin raid, the battalion had been flying in Afghanistan for about two weeks. 1h 33m "A U.S. Army helicopter carrying 30 Americans, most members of the elite Navy SEAL Team 6 is shot down in Afghanistan. DISPATCH: Newly Appointed Taliban Official Claims Role in Extortion 17 To find answers to many of the outstanding questions regarding Extortion 17, a congressional oversight committee held a hearing on February 27, 2014. The Tangi Valley is a strategic terrain that connects the two primary highways that lead to Kabul. At 2:36 a.m., Extortion 17 requested an infrared spotlight, visible only through night vision goggles, to illuminate the landing zone. 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 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. They may have seen Extortion 17 and its landing zone through their own night vision goggles or simply aimed by sound alone. 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. Joe Biden, Susan Rice, and Seal Team Six - American Thinker 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. I thought I hit a tree,he said. A source from the Navys special operations community described the reaction as Shock and disbelief. So where did it go?? The mission was flown by conventional pilots flying unmodified CH-47Ds. You also want to come in from a different direction for the element of surprise.. FALLEN ANGEL Call Sign: Extortion 17 | SalemNOW Extortion 17: The deadliest day in the DEVGRU history - Spec Ops Magazine Critics blame Biden for Extortion 17 attack. The shootdown was the single, deadliest loss of U.S. forces in the war. Two investigations of the incident proved inconclusive. He finished his contract with the Army shortly afterward, and that September enrolled in Southern Methodist Universitys Dedman School of Law. 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 first round sailed past the helicopter. The United States military continually works to improve protection for transport helicopters and their occupants, according to Glover and Brady. All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, North Carolina. Lees second deployment started in May of 2011. 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. Some 30 seconds later, one of the AH-64 Apache helicopters in the area reported: Fallen Angel.. The CH-47 "Chinook" was carrying some of this nation's bravest and most capable military . 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. Or when something went terribly wrong. [35] The Seattle Times and The New York Times also reported this information. The suspicious August 6th, 2011, CH47-D Chinook helicopter crash in Wardak Province, Afghanistan which claimed the lives of 38 American military personnel. Caring is more than just slapping a bumper sticker on your car, he said. First images of mangled Chinook crash revealed as Pentagon names all 30 Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. Night Stalker pilots and crew rigorously train for nighttime raids, like the one in Juy Zarin. Downing of Extortion 17: The Single Deadliest Incident of the US War in It just wasnt.. )/SR-71 blackbird cloud behind the chinook; saying thats safe distance! He was also an instructor at the High Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (see Triple Threat: High, Hot, and Heavy, Aug. 2014), where many U.S. and foreign helicopter pilots train for mountainous and high-altitude flying, often before deployment to Afghanistan. 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 SEAL Team 6 community was devastated. For helicopter crews in Afghanistan, the most dangerous times are landing and taking off. Navy SEAL Foundation - Extortion 17 Tragedy Assistance. Honor and Tangi valley remained under Taliban control until April 2013, when more than 1,000 Afghan security forces personnel launched an offensive in an effort to clear the area of Taliban fighters. The duo may also have had no ties to Tahir or any of his suspected fighters, and attacked the helicopter on their own. The mission was flown by conventional pilots flying unmodified CH-47Ds. Over time, certain memories will fade, certain details will fade. The shoot-down of 'Extortion 17' constitutes the greatest loss of American life from a single battle in the history of the Afghanistan War. "It's a math problem. All of them were men of courage, integrity, and honor. The hardest LZ Id ever been into, Lee said. 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. As Extortion 17 moved into final approach of the target area at 0238 local time, the Rangers on the ground watched in horror as it took a direct hit from an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade). Don Brown, a former U.S. Navy JAG officer stationed at the Pentagon, and former Special Assistant United . Nothing tests the capabilities of a young helicopter pilot like flying in the extreme conditions of Afghanistan. The true story behind the recovery of Extortion 17 extortion 17 crash photos - nftcollectionlab.com [34] Kevin Sieff and Greg Jaffe of The Washington Post reported that U.S. officials confirmed the deaths, including 22 SEALs. 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. The helicopters are capacious and fast, and they can perform well in Afghanistans performance-degrading high altitudes and heat. Sgt. What are the odds? Play FALLEN ANGEL Call Sign: Extortion 17. [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. Connor Mendez, courtesy of U.S. Army. Your Privacy Rights [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." AC-130 gunships orbiting overhead directed two AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to fire on and kill five enemy fighters. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash. This group grew in number over the course of the night, but American forces were at first too preoccupied to engage. The helicopter fell from the sky, killing all 38 on board. Copyright 2023 | National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum, The Museum is a 501(c)(3) organization. [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). He was probably in the top 1 percent of Army aviators, Lee said. They were part of his command. When tactical conditions allow, they initiate operations by calling out enemy forces. Photo by Jake Simkin for Coffee or Die Magazine. Lees wife, Christy, hoped the news would bring a sudden end to the war. A Taliban fighter shot the helicopter out of the sky with a rocket-propelled grenade and all aboard were killedthe single greatest loss of American life in the Afghan war. Joining the 15 members of SEAL Team 6, two pilots and three-man crew inside Extortion 17: ten other Navy and Air Force personnel, eight Afghans and a combat assault dog named Bart. Extortion 17: Bodies of the 22 slain SEAL Team 6 members cremated Spec Ops Magazine 2023 All Rights Reserved. Two were still alive." For Lee, there was no time to reflect on how close he had come to dying. Three hours after disembarking from the Chinooks, the assault force had secured the compound and detained a number of Tahirs men, but they hadnt found Tahir himself. There are no survivors. Cart. "Over two years after Extortion 17 was shot down, the families still have these unanswered questions," said Klayman. 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. These are the words of Billy Vaughn. He was too busy. As for himself, he speaks out about Extortion 17 because he wants to remember the men on that mission. "The downing of Extortion 17 was a catastrophic and unprecedented tragedy for our nation," Reid testified. Pentagon names 30 Americans killed in downed Afghan chopper - NBC News He presents the Final Flight of EXTORTION 17 (spoken one seven and seventeen), like a Defense Attorney or an investigator. 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]. Where was the Chinook's black box cockpit recorder? The theories suggest that Afghan forces leaked information to the Taliban about the mission. 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 . [9][11], Six minutes later, the Rangers concluded securing the compound, detained several people and began to move on foot toward the crash site.