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. If this was survivable, that was the right crew to have. Landing in deserts or mountainsides, the helicopter rotors kick up clouds of sand and dust, causing brownouts that can blind a pilot. Create an account. The group fired 2-3 RPG rounds from a two-story building from a location some 220 meters south of the helicopter. Intelligence on August 6th indicated Qari Tahir was in Tangi Valley, just a short helicopter flight from the SEAL base camp. All of them were men of courage, integrity, and honor. At 01:00, they decided to engage the group with the SEAL reserves. On his right wrist, he wears a bracelet with the names of the five crew members of Extortion 17. For Lee, there was no time to reflect on how close he had come to dying. Its crazy how many times I can think of where me or the guys I was with had to do that.. The call sign for the Chinook was Extortion 17. The helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was on a mission to reinforce American and coalition special operations troops. 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. The following passage, published in The Navy Times, seems to support that assertion. 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. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. There are a lot of bullets out there that say To whom it may concern,says Major Doug Glover, a U.S. Marine F/A-18D weapons and sensors operator who was a senior watch officer for the Marine air operations center in southern Afghanistan. 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. . 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 Chinook helicopter they were aboard was shot down by . The sheer amount of experience with our pilots, flight engineers and back-seaters and mechanics offered a wealth of knowledge, he said. The SEAL Team 6 community was devastated. 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. 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. As is routine on such missions, two Apache attack helicopters provided extra cover and security for Extortion 17, while circling above was an AC-130 aircraft, a gunship that also provides surveillance. The second slammed into one of the Chinooks rear rotor blades and exploded, severing 10 feet of it. Mission commanders, believing that Tahir was likely among one of the groups, deployed an Immediate Reaction Force (IRF) to interdict them while the Rangers held the compound. Directors Karl Horstmann Stephen Spivey Writer Stephen Spivey Stars Sean Hannity Raj Kala The forward rotor system then tore off, stressed by the imbalance and the strain of carrying what would normally be a shared load. They were part of his command. "[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. 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. I had to learn how to land while browned-out, wearing NVGs, on the side of a mountain or an uneven field, Lee said. On the anniversary of the Extortion 17 tragedy, we remember the heroic men who were felled rushing into battle, as they had done hundreds of times . 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. On 6 August 2011, a U.S. CH-47D Chinook military helicopter operating with the call sign Extortion 17 (pronounced "one-seven") was shot down while transporting a Quick Reaction Force attempting to reinforce a Joint Special Operations Command unit of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Tangi Valley in Maidan Wardak province, southwest of Kabul, The duo may also have had no ties to Tahir or any of his suspected fighters, and attacked the helicopter on their own. So many unsettling details are coalescing with the resurgence of Extortion 17. 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. You also want to come in from a different direction for the element of surprise.. The extreme G-forces killed everyone on board within a fraction of a second, Darack said. By American intelligence officials identified this individual as "OBJECTIVE GINOSA." 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. He would not have hesitated to fly with any of them. 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. One of the engines flew off, and the other caught fire. On the night of 8 August 2011, an F-16 dropped four GBU-54 "Laser JDAM" bombs on the man, his accomplice and four associates in the Chak Valley, which lies to the west of the Tangi Valley. Two were still alive." Darack did extensive research of what happened next. 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. 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. 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. The first grenade missed Extortion 17. The U.S. Navy SEAL task force assigned to conduct operations in Tangi Valley was well conditioned to the dangerous operating environment. We had guys who had flown in Desert Storm, guys who had just come off active duty, Lee said. Ill try to reply the best I can. One rocket struck a rotor blade, causing the aircraft to crash almost instantly. 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). Their target was a Taliban commander responsible for ambushes and other attacks against U.S. and Afghan forces. For the last two years, hes been an attorney with the law firm Jackson Walker. 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. The reality is, every time a helicopter lifts off the ground in a war zone, it might get shot down, Darack said. Pinterest. Recovery of wreckage from the crash site lasted until 9 August 2011. 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. It also became one of the most devastating death tolls of the U.S. Special Operations Forces. Why did it happen? | [7][27][28] During the battle, American forces observed a small group of Taliban trying to flee the scene. Their target: an Afghan named Qari Tahir and his group of fighters. But why? It is also the most disastrous incident in the. The RPG is not a laser. Director Franois Garcia Writer Sandeep Panesar Stars Robert O'Neill (archive footage) Patricia Economo Enrique Garcia Editor's Note: On August 6, 2021, 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. 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. 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. 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. Whether enemy fire brought down the Chinook or a tree strike would never be known for sure. 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. It was the day we learned our son Aaron and other American warriors had lost their lives in a helo crash in Afghanistan. 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. Warnings from her crew to turn the Chinook back or cancel their mission went unheeded. As for himself, he speaks out about Extortion 17 because he wants to remember the men on that mission. "[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. 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 remaining two fighters ducked into a stand of trees and disappeared from the Apaches infrared scanners. In The Final Mission of Extortion 17, Ed Darack debunks this theory and others and uncovers the truth behind this mysterious tragedy. August 12, 2022. by Samantha Franco. The helicopter carrying the SEALs proceeded to the landing zone alone, without external lighting. The front rotor shattered, and the back pylon sheared off. Justin Buddy Lee will never forget that night six years ago. AC-130 gunships orbiting overhead directed two AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to fire on and kill five enemy fighters. Extortion 17 is a name etched in our minds as one of the worst losses our military has ever experienced. David Tarrant, The Dallas Morning News [33], The New York Post reported that the Pentagon released 30 names from the crash. Two investigations of the incident proved inconclusive. At any moment, they could come under rocket attack. Lees second deployment started in May of 2011. What are the odds? On August 6th, 2011, the helicopter was fired upon and shot down by a previously undetected group of Taliban fighters. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas, Tech. The landing zone was small, and the commanders didnt want to split up the strike force. [9][11], Six minutes later, the Rangers concluded securing the compound, detained several people and began to move on foot toward the crash site. For helicopter crews in Afghanistan, the most dangerous times are landing and taking off. It wasnt preventable. LZ is ice, transmitted one of the Rangers on the ground, indicating the landing zone was free of enemy activity. The US soldiers killed in the 2011 Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shoot-down with the call sign Extortion 17 (Photo: XY) SGT Alexander J. Bennett SPC Spencer Duncan (youngest onboard) CWO Bryan J. Nichols Chance is still part of the battlefield, says Brady. While the goggles are better than nothing, they turn everything green, distort depth perception and limit peripheral vision. 3 U.S. Army Reserve personnel from the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment. Lieutenant Commander (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, Louisiana, Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, California, Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Arkansas, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Connecticut, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Massachusetts, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Missouri, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, West Virginia, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, Louisiana, Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Michigan, Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, California, Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist) Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, North Carolina, Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah, Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Nebraska, Cryptologist Technician(Collection)Petty Officer 1st Class(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Fallen Angel.. The helicopter plunged tail first. The co-pilot, Bryan Nichols, was one of Lees closest friends in the Chinook company. Monday, 06 August 2012, marks one year since the tragic downing of EXTORTION 17 in Tangi, Afghanistan. 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. 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. It was a hard landing, but it would have been worse if they had landed tail first. [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. Thirty-eight boarded Extortion 17 Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilots from the 159th General Support Aviation Battalion. 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. Several minutes later, a 20-man Pathfinder team (specializing in downed-aircraft rescue and recovery) arrived at the site. 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. 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. Among the 38 occupants inside the Chinook were some of the most highly trained and battle-seasoned fighters in the U.S. military, including 15 commandos from the Navys SEAL Team 6, the unit that three months earlier had killed Osama bin Laden. Rest in peace, gentlemen; you will not be forgotten. 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. We were told at that time we were the first unit to make it through a rotation without having anyone killed.. That night, nearly 10 years after the U.S. had gone to war in Afghanistan, Lee believed they were the best team for this dangerous mission. In order to prevent this, American forces called in for support. The previous highest U.S. death toll from a single incident in the war came from a rocket attack on a Chinook helicopter carrying Navy SEALs during Operation Red Wings on June 28, 2005. [12][13], Six minutes prior to reaching the landing zone, the empty CH-47D left the formation as planned. 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. 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. In April 2011, American forces turned over control of Combat Outpost Tangi to Afghan government forces. The Extortion 17 chopper was part of Operation Neptune Spear a few months earlier. One of the best crews in my company. A source from the Navys special operations community described the reaction as Shock and disbelief. Early life So many unsettling details are coalescing with the resurgence of Extortion 17. 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. 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. [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. First, the Obama administration's Defense Department's crash report stated that there were no eyes in the sky over the Chinook . Courtesy . 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. Lee earned his wings at Fort Rucker, Ala., then deployed to Pakistan, where he did humanitarian missions, learning to fly into and out of mountainous terrain. American signals intelligence aircraft intercepted these transmissions and subsequently tracked the individual and his accomplice. Spec Ops Magazine 2023 All Rights Reserved. [11], The 30 American deaths represent the greatest loss of U.S. military lives in a single incident in the war in Afghanistan that began in 2001. Night Stalker pilots and crew rigorously train for nighttime raids, like the one in Juy Zarin. The helicopter crashed into a creek bed and a flash flood shortly afterward washed away some parts of the wreckage. Sullivan Senior Center Newsletter, How Much Tryptophan To Take With Collagen, Bulk Pickup San Antonio 2021, How To Disable Microsoft Start In Taskbar, Articles E