The duo may also have had no ties to Tahir or any of his suspected fighters, and attacked the helicopter on their own. 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. | God bless all of them- the bravest of the brave. [22][20] Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, confirmed that eight of the movement's fighters had been killed in the assault on the compound. To lose even one precious life is too many, and the United States lost 38 soldiers that day. The shoot-down of 'Extortion 17' constitutes the greatest loss of American life from a single battle in the history of the Afghanistan War. Seven Afghan National Army commandos and one Afghan civilian interpreter were also killed in the crash. Afghanistan has long been a counter-insurgency campaign: The United States strategy has been to win Afghan trust through cooperation and aid. The mission was flown by conventional pilots flying unmodified CH-47Ds. Privacy Statement Lee and his friend Bryan Nichols flew their Chinook into battle several times the first night, dropping off troops at a landing zone (LZ) almost 10,000 feet above sea level. On his right wrist, he wears a bracelet with the names of the five crew members of Extortion 17. 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. Through the goggles, the landing zone shone brilliantly. Just three months earlier, members of a counterpart SEAL Team 6 squadron successfully raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden. 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. Cookie Policy This group grew in number over the course of the night, but American forces were at first too preoccupied to engage. [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. "Over two years after Extortion 17 was shot down, the families still have these unanswered questions," said Klayman. [11], Separately, ISR aircraft continued to observe the unengaged group from the compound. 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 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. 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). A source from the Navys special operations community described the reaction as Shock and disbelief. David Tarrant, The Dallas Morning News 2017 The Dallas Morning News. This remains the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare since the Afghan War started in 2001. Play FALLEN ANGEL Call Sign: Extortion 17. Ill try to reply the best I can. 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. Enterprise. 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. Ranger assault helicopters had already engaged the enemy and killed six of eight Taliban fighters, causing the other two to retreat. So if there was a added black box installed on this Aircraft there should be a maintenance record? Night Stalker pilots and crew rigorously train for nighttime raids, like the one in Juy Zarin. This is the Group Burial for unidentified remains of casualties of the Chinook helicopter (CH-47D 89-00175) which crashed in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. The crash sent shock waves throughout U.S. special operations. Caring is more than just slapping a bumper sticker on your car, he said. The helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was on a mission to reinforce American and coalition special operations troops. Why did it happen? The second round struck one of the three aft rotor blades of the helicopter, destroying the aft rotor assembly. Were handing rifles to 20-year-olds and asking them to shoot people. 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. He presents the Final Flight of EXTORTION 17 (spoken one seven and seventeen), like a Defense Attorney or an investigator. Learnt of this today, very surprising after ladens raid was covered in the media here. Just as ridiculous as saying [President George W.] Bush was responsible for 9/11, Lee said. Lees second deployment started in May of 2011. Photo by Sgt. His account of the brave pilots, crew, and passengers of Extortion 17 and . It was a hard landing, but it would have been worse if they had landed tail first. He is the founder of Darack Research, a company that innovates unmanned systems, which grew out of his July 2014 Air & Space article Build Your Own Drone. Upon learning of Tahirs possible location, a U.S. Army Rangers and Afghan Special Forces team was deployed into the valley from the south. And why was the fire control officer of the AC-130 Gunship flying above denied permission . The incident became known as "Extortion 17" after the helicopter . 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 the afternoon of 6 August, a flash flood swept through the area, washing away parts of the wreckage. Available for both RF and RM licensing. 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. And to this day, people are still debating what really happened. One of the best crews in my company. 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.. [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. [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]. All rights reserved. As they made their approach, there was a line of thunderstorms nearby. All content is protected by copyright and may not be used for commercial purposes without prior written permission. The helicopter carrying the SEALs proceeded to the landing zone alone, without external lighting. 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. 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. (U.S. Army photo by Rachel Larue/Arlington National Cemetery/released). Missions like this one to insert or remove an assault force are the military equivalent of a perfect 10 in the Olympics equal parts skill, experience and daring. The shootdown was the single, deadliest loss of U.S. forces in the war. Extortion 17 and 16 werent MH-47s and their crews were not Night Stalkers. According to one Army report, in the three months prior to the Juy Zarin raid, as many as 17 RPGs were fired at helicopters over Wardak and Logar provinces, a relatively small part of the country. There was a lot of experience in that cockpit, the flight engineers and the door gunners. That assault team captured Tahirs compound and some of his men. Fallen Angel.. The Chinook smashed into the ground, the force ripping off his goggles. Explore. The forward rotor system then tore off, stressed by the imbalance and the strain of carrying what would normally be a shared load. extortion 17 crash photos. Courtesy . There is a lot of controversy and discussion regarding the operators from the Gold Squadron who died abroad. 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. The military's public contradictions raise more questions than answers. 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. 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. Rest in peace, gentlemen; you will not be forgotten. "One. 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. 130 Extortion 17 ideas | extortion, seal team 6, navy seals Extortion 17 119 Pins 9y K Collection by Kim&Pauly Us Soldiers Troops Fallen Soldiers Military Personnel Military Men American Soldiers American Heroes Naval Special Warfare Fallen Heroes In 2006, he was called into Afghanistan, where he turned 25. The men who serve in the American military are the finest! [11] Seventeen U.S. Navy SEALs remained in reserve at the forward operating base. Humm, to have all the Seal Team 6 members in one place at one time?? He pushed hard on the cyclic stick to tilt the helicopter forward. "All of this raises the distinct possibility of a cover-up as to . 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. 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. This remains the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare since the Afghan War started in 2001. LZ is ice, transmitted one of the Rangers on the ground, indicating the landing zone was free of enemy activity. Don Brown, a former U.S. Navy JAG officer stationed at the Pentagon, and former Special Assistant United . The RPG is not a laser. 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,. 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. The torque of the spinning rotor assembly, now catastrophically imbalanced, ripped the rear pylon off the Chinooks fuselage. The crash occurred in Tangi Joi Zareen, in the district of Sayd Abad in Wardak Province after it was struck by an. 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 downing of Extortion 17 spurred a number of conspiracy theories, such as the idea that the shootdown was revenge for bin Laden's death. We continue our work at the Museum so that theirservice and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Its the worst day in our history by a mile.. It was brought down by multiple shots. Connor Mendez, courtesy of U.S. Army. Located in a remote and dangerous province in eastern Afghanistan, the base was the target of near-constant rocket attacks from Taliban insurgents. Over time, certain memories will fade, certain details will fade. 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. Director Franois Garcia Writer Sandeep Panesar Stars Robert O'Neill (archive footage) Patricia Economo Enrique Garcia They were part of his command. 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. His account of the brave pilots, crew, and passengers of Extortion 17 . During a previous deployment to Iraq, Carters unit flew dozens of similar raids, which he often planned and led, and gained a reputation for working well with special operations troops. The Final Flight of Extortion 17 It was the deadliest helicopter crash in the history of U.S. special operations. As they started their descent, Lee heard a loud popping noise. Theyre going after in very hostile environments, who know the terrain very well, who know the battlescape very well, Darack said. In March 2009, the U.S. 10th Mountain Division established a base in Tangi Valley after increased Taliban activity in the area. Instead, two rigorous U. S. military investigations followed every moment of the mission to determine what went wrong on Extortion 17s final flight. In order to prevent this, American forces called in for support. When the auto-complete results are available, use the up and down arrows to review and Enter to select. In The Final Flight of Extortion 17, Ed Darack debunks this theory and others and uncovers the truth behind this mysterious tragedy. At the time of the Juy Zarin raid, the battalion had been flying in Afghanistan for about two weeks. LOL, Ray Williams 509th RRCUV (Army Security Agency) Feb68-Apr71. [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. It wasnt preventable. Theres no precedent for this. Should the Apache pilots have fired into the stand of trees after the two fighters ducked out of sight? [7][20][21], Fifteen of the Navy SEALs that were killed were members of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU),[5][22][20] while the other two Navy SEALs were from an unidentified West Coast-based unit. 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. See more ideas about extortion, navy seals, seal team 6. 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. [35] The Seattle Times and The New York Times also reported this information. Campbell was one of 30 Americans killed when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, with the call sign Extortion 17, crashed in Afghanistan. Thirty Americans perished in the blink of an eye, half of which comprised an entire 'troop' from SEAL Team 6's Gold Squadron. The pilots and crew of Extortion 17, however, had ideal experience and abilities for the mission that night. Winds whipped through the fir trees. [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. 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 front rotor shattered, and the back pylon sheared off. The extreme G-forces killed everyone on board within a fraction of a second, Darack said. 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.
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