While Benghazi resulted in four American deaths, Extortion 17 resulted in 38 deaths, including nearly two dozen Navy SEALs. 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. Extortion 17 August 6, 2022 marks 11 years since Extortion 17. 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. A hearing was set to get answers to questions surrounding the high-profile shoot-down of an American helicopter in Afghanistan and how the remains of the fallen service members were handled. 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 The military's public contradictions raise more questions than answers. New documentary investigates events surrounding Extortion 17 helicopter May God give them the strength to carry on without them. Tragically, as Extortion 17 was nearing its landing zone, Taliban fighters, hidden in a building, fired two or three rocket-propelled grenades at close range, leaving the pilot no chance to perform evasive maneuvers. 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 catastrophic crash seemed unavoidable. There are no survivors. 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 mission was flown by conventional pilots flying unmodified CH-47Ds. On this night, Aug. 6, 2011, something went terribly wrong. 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 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. This remains the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare since the Afghan War started in 2001. Two fired at roughly the same time. Why was the black box missing from the crash site? These are the words of Billy Vaughn. On such missions, the Chinook pilots nearly always fly at night, wearing night vision goggles, or NVGs. The official statement from U.S. Central Command stated that a Taliban fighter scored a lucky shot with a rocket-propelled grenade. Lee, now a captain, was placed in command of a Chinook helicopter unit at Forward Operating Base Shank. The Costliest Day in SEAL Team Six History - HISTORY Landing in deserts or mountainsides, the helicopter rotors kick up clouds of sand and dust, causing brownouts that can blind a pilot. I am so proud to be an American and I thank all of the families left behind to mourn their loss. Are all DEVGRUs saved in a sperm bank? Extortion 17 could be a bigger scandal and betrayal of Americans than Benghazi. 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. 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. I thought I hit a tree,he said. Fallen Angel: Extortion 17 Facts and Documentary 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. 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. A Black Hawk Down of the war in Afghanistan, the deadliest day for the U.S. in 12 years of that conflictand a military investigation that covered up evidence of an inside job by the Taliban. As the ground assault force rushed toward Tahirs compound, Extortion 17 and 16 sped back to base, where they were refueled, and awaited word to extract the team, evacuate wounded, or race reinforcing troops to Juy Zarin. Lee had just flown the night before on a similar mission with one of the pilots, David Carter. 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. Explore. So many unsettling details are coalescing with the resurgence of Extortion 17. The IRF commander then made a critical decision: In order to get everyone on the ground as quickly as possible and deny the Taliban time to react, he ordered the entire force to fly in Extortion 17. NFTs Simplified > Uncategorized > extortion 17 crash photos. He presents the Final Flight of EXTORTION 17 (spoken one seven and seventeen), like a Defense Attorney or an investigator. And why was the fire control officer of the AC-130 Gunship flying above denied permission . Extortion 17: The deadliest day in the DEVGRU history - Spec Ops Magazine To lose even one precious life is too many, and the United States lost 38 soldiers that day. Some 30 seconds later, one of the AH-64 Apache helicopters in the area reported: Fallen Angel.. [11], The mission was deemed high risk; two AH-64 Apache helicopters, an AC-130 gunship, and other additional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft supported the troop transports on their approach and remained with the ground forces afterwards. 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. The second round struck one of the three aft rotor blades of the helicopter, destroying the aft rotor assembly. As he did, he felt the craft leveling off. 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. However, the Afghan government forces did not occupy the base, which was seized by the Taliban shortly after the departure of American forces. This was preventable only if they just had not taken off that night, Lee said. He said that insurgents had assumed a strong tactical position without knowledge of the helicopter's flight path. The co-pilot, Bryan Nichols, was one of Lees closest friends in the Chinook company. 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. The Final Mission of Extortion 17: Special Ops, Helicopter Support Thirty Americans perished in the blink of an eye, half of which comprised an entire 'troop' from SEAL Team 6's Gold Squadron. He taught helicopter pilots how to fly in high altitudes at an aviation training site in Colorado. [34] Kevin Sieff and Greg Jaffe of The Washington Post reported that U.S. officials confirmed the deaths, including 22 SEALs. Play FALLEN ANGEL Call Sign: Extortion 17. God bless all of them- the bravest of the brave. There is still a tremendous level of chance for a tragedy of such huge magnitude.. [11], In 2013, Congressman Jason Chaffetz said that he would hold an investigation of the United States House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security into the matter. 360 EXTORTION 17 ideas | extortion, navy seals, seal team 6 - Pinterest So the whole team went in one Chinook helicopter Extortion 17. American signals intelligence aircraft intercepted these transmissions and subsequently tracked the individual and his accomplice. Sgt. [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. Some news stories reported that investigators couldnt find the helicopters black box, referring to the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. At the time of the Juy Zarin raid, the battalion had been flying in Afghanistan for about two weeks. This would not be the first time that an Afghan military member has been an undercover Taliban Terrorist and shot our US Military! All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, North Carolina. 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. 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. Directors Karl Horstmann Stephen Spivey Writer Stephen Spivey Stars Sean Hannity Raj Kala The second shot hit the rear tail rotor assembly. The SEAL Team 6 community was devastated. 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. Caring is more than just slapping a bumper sticker on your car, he said. 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. Please take a moment and pause to honor and remember these heroes. An official investigation found no evidence of a pre-planned ambush, though it did suggest that other helicopter activity in the area could have tipped off Taliban fighters that more helicopters could be approaching, according to the report. Senior Chief Robert James Reeves was one of those Americans. Here, in silence, are the names and photographs of all 30 men. 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. Lee remained in Afghanistan flying combat missions for another eight months before returning home in the spring of 2012. But the CH-47D has neither a flight nor voice recorder, only an engine performance data recorder for maintenance. Downing of Extortion 17: The Single Deadliest Incident of the US War in 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. He pushed hard on the cyclic stick to tilt the helicopter forward. The conspiracy theories didnt bother Lee at first. At 2:36 a.m., Extortion 17 requested an infrared spotlight, visible only through night vision goggles, to illuminate the landing zone. The following was transcribed from the above video press conference. Extortion 17 and 16 werent MH-47s and their crews were not Night Stalkers. The pilots and crew of Extortion 17, however, had ideal experience and abilities for the mission that night. Instead, two rigorous U. S. military investigations followed every moment of the mission to determine what went wrong on Extortion 17s final flight. 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. 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. [29], Other reports alleged that the Taliban had laid an elaborate trap for American special-operations forces, luring them in with false information. 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. Bissonnette also said that there was one DEVGRU Operator on the mission who was not a member of Red Squadron and that he was chosen for the mission because of his linguistic abilities. extortion 17 crash photos - nftcollectionlab.com [9][11], Around 02:38, the helicopter was fired upon and shot down by a previously undetected group of Taliban fighters approximately 220m (240yd) south of 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. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos There remained many mysteries about the Extortion 17 shoot down. Theyre going after in very hostile environments, who know the terrain very well, who know the battlescape very well, Darack said. (Smithsonian Books, September 2017). Editors note: This story originally appeared in October 2017.
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