The crash is referred to as Extortion 17 by the callsign of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter involved in the crash. 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. At any moment, they could come under rocket attack. His account of the brave pilots, crew, and passengers of Extortion 17 . 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. The first round sailed past the helicopter. 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 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. [35] The Seattle Times and The New York Times also reported this information. 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. The squadron that this SEAL belonged to was never mentioned. All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, North Carolina. So many unsettling details are coalescing with the resurgence of Extortion 17. 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. We were told at that time we were the first unit to make it through a rotation without having anyone killed.. It was brought down by multiple shots. His father Billy Vaughn recounted Thursday a phone call from his son following the White House . 130 Extortion 17 ideas | extortion, seal team 6, navy seals - Pinterest When the auto-complete results are available, use the up and down arrows to review and Enter to select. "[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. #neverforgotten #screwedbygovt #demmandanswers. 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. When the two Chinooks had first touched down in the village, a group of eight fighters armed with AK-47 rifles and RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers bolted from the compound. 30 US troops died in single deadliest incident of the Afghanistan War Connor Mendez, courtesy of U.S. Army. American intelligence officials identified this individual as "OBJECTIVE GINOSA." In March 2009, the U.S. 10th Mountain Division established a base in Tangi Valley after increased Taliban activity in the area. One rocket struck a rotor blade, causing the aircraft to crash almost instantly. The second slammed into one of the Chinooks rear rotor blades and exploded, severing 10 feet of it. Extortion 17 Is A Bigger Scandal and Betrayal Than Benghazi 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. [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. 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. On Aug. 6, 2011, on the deadliest day in special operations history, 30 Americans, including 17 Navy SEALs, died when a Chinook helicopter crashed. 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?? This remains the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare since the Afghan War started in 2001. The CH-47 "Chinook" was carrying some of this nation's bravest and most capable military . Eleven U.S. servicemen aboard Extortion 17 entered the military after the 9/11 attacks, answering the call to arms as so many brave Americans have done throughout the history of our great country. 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. 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). [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. Play FALLEN ANGEL Call Sign: Extortion 17. Conspiracy Theory Baselessly Claims Biden Had Navy SEALs Killed 360 EXTORTION 17 ideas | extortion, navy seals, seal team 6 Today. 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. As they made their approach, there was a line of thunderstorms nearby. The two may have been those who escaped Apache cannon fire, or they may have split away from either of the groups that formed after the start of the raid. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine The men who serve in the American military are the finest! 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]. Extortion 17 - The Brian Bill Foundation The reality is, every time a helicopter lifts off the ground in a war zone, it might get shot down, Darack said. [22][20] Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, confirmed that eight of the movement's fighters had been killed in the assault on the compound. The incident became known as "Extortion 17" after the helicopter . 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. 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. 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. So the whole team went in one Chinook helicopter Extortion 17. Learnt of this today, very surprising after ladens raid was covered in the media here. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist) Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa, Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Florida, Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah, Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL)Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, California, Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL)Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo. The article stated that the helicopter crashed after an RPG round impacted the aft rotor assembly. 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 board the Chinook CH-47D were 15 members of SEAL Team Six, 15 SEAL Team Six Support personnel, 1 Bomb Dog, 7 . After some time, another group of about 10 Taliban fighters was spotted that we suspected could be Qari Tahir himself fleeing the scene. Fallen Angel: Call Sign - Extortion 17 (2021) - IMDb 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. We were supporting special operations, but not to the degree of the 160th. 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. 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 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. [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. Touch device users can explore by touch or with swipe . Conspiracy theories started almost immediately. At 23:30, one of the Apache support helicopters engaged in a brief skirmish with a different group of eight Taliban fighters 400m (440yd) north of the compound, killing six. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, California, Tech. 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. The crash claimed the lives of 38 personnel, including 22 special operations forces in Afghanistan Aug. 6, 2011. Cart. 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. Its like taking a paper towel roll, cutting it in half and strapping it to your eye, Lee said. Regarding the downing of Extortion 17, all of the DEVGRU Operators aboard were members of the Gold Squadron. Photo by Sgt. Critics blame Biden for Extortion 17 attack. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. They were part of his command. Ryan Last. Another tactic sometimes employed by gunships, according to Glover, is a show of force, in which pilots and crew fire into an empty field or stand of trees just before a transport helicopter prepares to land, using the sound of a gun alone to keep enemy heads down and fingers off triggers. But why? (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 . (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. Extortion 17: What really happened on America's deadliest day in The mission was flown by conventional pilots flying unmodified CH-47Ds. "[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. Recovery of wreckage from the crash site lasted until 9 August 2011. They may have seen Extortion 17 and its landing zone through their own night vision goggles or simply aimed by sound alone. Extortion 17, Seal Team Six and What Really Happened on the - Newsweek 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. [34] Kevin Sieff and Greg Jaffe of The Washington Post reported that U.S. officials confirmed the deaths, including 22 SEALs. At 2:36 a.m., Extortion 17 requested an infrared spotlight, visible only through night vision goggles, to illuminate the landing zone. The Chinook helicopter they were aboard was shot down by . He would eventually do two tours and become commander of a Chinook unit during his second deployment in 2011. 1h 33m "A U.S. Army helicopter carrying 30 Americans, most members of the elite Navy SEAL Team 6 is shot down in Afghanistan. Extortion 17 hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy The crew of Slasher 02, the AC-130 circling above, flipped the switch on their powerful light. The first grenade missed Extortion 17. All 38 passengers aboard Extortion 17, including 30 U.S. military personnel, eight Afghans and a U.S. military working dog, were killed after the transport helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. All rights reserved. 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. Their target was a Taliban commander responsible for ambushes and other attacks against U.S. and Afghan forces. Don Brown, a former U.S. Navy JAG officer stationed at the Pentagon, and former Special Assistant United . To find answers to many of the outstanding questions regarding Extortion 17, a congressional oversight committee held a hearing on February 27, 2014. Save up to 30% when you upgrade to an image pack. Joe Biden, Susan Rice, and Seal Team Six - American Thinker Captain Marquez claims that had the AC-130 been allowed to fire on the remaining enemy insurgents, Extortion 17 would not have been shot down. A junior, he was ready to fight, but the war would be over, he figured, before he even got out of college. Sometimes the enemy succeeds in delivering one of these To whom it may concern projectiles. Should the Apache pilots have fired into the stand of trees after the two fighters ducked out of sight? 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. The helicopter crashed into a creek bed and a flash flood shortly afterward washed away some parts of the wreckage. The torque of the spinning rotor assembly, now catastrophically imbalanced, ripped the rear pylon off the Chinooks fuselage. Extortion 17 and 16 werent MH-47s and their crews were not Night Stalkers. Two fired at roughly the same time. Pentagon names 30 Americans killed in downed Afghan chopper - NBC News Explore. The U.S. Navy SEAL task force assigned to conduct operations in Tangi Valley was well conditioned to the dangerous operating environment. Are all DEVGRUs saved in a sperm bank? Naval Special Warfare Development Groups (DEVGRU) Gold Squadron, No Easy Day (detailing his participation in Operation Neptune Spear), Mark Owen, congressional oversight committee held a hearing on February 27, 2014, 7 Afghan National Army Commandos, part of the Afghan National Army. When the shock subsided, questions arose and persisted. Unidentified Remains Extortion 17 (unknown-2011) - Find a Grave 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. I was terrified. 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. 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. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan. Some 30 seconds later, one of the AH-64 Apache helicopters in the area reported: Fallen Angel.. 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. 2017 The Dallas Morning News. Hi there! Winds whipped through the fir trees. Lee heard the call, and he knew what it meant. extortion 17 crash photos - nftcollectionlab.com [11] Seventeen U.S. Navy SEALs remained in reserve at the forward operating base. (Smithsonian Books, September 2017). The group fired 2-3 RPG rounds from a two-story building from a location some 220 meters south of the helicopter. 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 helicopter carrying the SEALs proceeded to the landing zone alone, without external lighting. 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. There remained many mysteries about the Extortion 17 shoot down. The Afghan soldiers were an essential part of the package; they were trained to move with our forces to the target. [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. Less than five seconds after the RPG round hit, the helicopter spun uncontrollably, plummeting into a dry creek bed and erupting in a ball of fire that killed all on board. Located in a remote and dangerous province in eastern Afghanistan, the base was the target of near-constant rocket attacks from Taliban insurgents. | READ MORE. The events that unfolded that night are commonly referred to as Extortion 17, the call sign for the helicopter transporting the special operations personnel. 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. While classification veils the specifics of these tactics, particularly for special operations raids, manned gunships can detect potential threats through a range of sensors and immediately attack if needed. 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. Monitored and controlled by a Joint Terminal Attack Controller at Forward Operating Base Shank via a General Atomics MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, all six were positively confirmed killed by the bomb strike and subsequent attacks by a Lockheed AC-130 gunship and two Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships. The following was extracted from The Navy Times: If one is to believe the account of Matt Bissonnette, the only possibility of a participant of the bin Laden raid perishing on Extortion 17 is if the one SEAL specifically noted not to be a member of Red Squadron was a member of Gold Squadron and a passenger aboard the ill-fated Chinook. 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. We continue our work at the Museum so that theirservice and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Intelligence on August 6th indicated Qari Tahir was in Tangi Valley, just a short helicopter flight from the SEAL base camp. The forward rotor system then tore off, stressed by the imbalance and the strain of carrying what would normally be a shared load. The crash occurred in Tangi Joi Zareen, in the district of Sayd Abad in Wardak Province after it was struck by an. 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. 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. He said that insurgents had assumed a strong tactical position without knowledge of the helicopter's flight path. David Tarrant, The Dallas Morning News Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. 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. For Lee, there was no time to reflect on how close he had come to dying. Setting the record straight: Myths and misinformation about Extortion 17 Thirty Americans perished in the blink of an eye, half of which comprised an entire 'troop' from SEAL Team 6's Gold Squadron. And now, the government wants to make the Taliban legitamet. When asked what lessons Americans can draw from the crash of Extortion 17, Lees answer is simple: Americans should care about what happens in Afghanistan because theyve sent Americans to war there. 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 workhorse in Army aviation, the tandem rotor, heavy-lift Chinook helicopter is used for carrying troops, equipment, supplies and even the mail. Campbell was one of 30. 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. 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. Did Extortion 17 cover-up sink Rep. Chaffetz? - WND 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.. 2 U.S. Navy SEALs from a west coast-based SEAL team. DISPATCH: Newly Appointed Taliban Official Claims Role in Extortion 17 Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army Helicopter "EXTORTION 17" Shot Down - PBS.org When tactical conditions allow, they initiate operations by calling out enemy forces. Extortion 17: Bodies of the 22 slain SEAL Team 6 members cremated [43][44], American rules of engagement were tightened by Gen. Stanley McChrystal in 2009 in order to improve American counterinsurgency strategy. Through the goggles, the landing zone shone brilliantly. He knew the pilots and crew members aboard Extortion 17. God sees you, You do see that A-12(1963! Those killed ranked among the worlds most highly trained and experienced commandos, including 15 men from Gold Squadron of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, popularly called SEAL Team 6. [9][11], Almost an hour later (01:50), the aviation brigade commander approved a new landing zone for infiltration of the SEAL team. Theres no precedent for this.