During the Ranger insertion earlier that night, the CH-47D had approached from the south; this time, it approached from the northwest. No one is planting victory gardens, and were not rationing. But one thing that doesnt fade is never forgetting what they did.. Extortion 17 and 16 weren't MH-47s and their crews were not Night Stalkers. We continue our work at the Museum so that theirservice and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Please take a moment and pause to honor and remember these heroes. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Ryan Last. The pilots and crew of Extortion 17, however, had ideal experience and abilities for the mission that night. 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.. Conspiracy Theory Baselessly Claims Biden Had Navy SEALs Killed [29], Other reports alleged that the Taliban had laid an elaborate trap for American special-operations forces, luring them in with false information. 2011 Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shootdown - Wikipedia - Afghanistan: Honoring the Heroes of Extortion 17 Justin Buddy Lee will never forget that night six years ago. For the last two years, hes been an attorney with the law firm Jackson Walker. | Two fired at roughly the same time. (U.S. Army photo by Rachel Larue/Arlington National Cemetery/released). 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. Senior Chief Robert James Reeves was one of those Americans. The helicopter crashed into a creek bed and a flash flood shortly afterward washed away some parts of the wreckage. 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 Downing of Extortion 17: The Single Deadliest Incident of the US War in The missions commanders decided to insert another team to go after Tahir while the Rangers held the compound. REMEMBERING EXTORTION 17 - Survive the News The crash is referred to as Extortion 17 by the callsign of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter involved in the crash. Setting the record straight: Myths and misinformation about Extortion 17 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. Extortion17 hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy But even a precisely aimed shot fired from an unguided weapon by a seasoned fighter is subject to the ballistics-altering whims of atmospheric variation, subtle and undetected flaws in launcher or projectile, and uncontrollable environmental factors such as wind gusts, large temperature variations, or even particulates in the air. Just three months earlier, members of a counterpart SEAL Team 6 squadron successfully raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden. He pushed hard on the cyclic stick to tilt the helicopter forward. [9][10][11] After a 20-minute flight (around 23:00), the two Chinook helicopters landed near the compound ostensibly containing Tahir, offloaded the Ranger platoon and returned to base. 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. The reality is, every time a helicopter lifts off the ground in a war zone, it might get shot down, Darack said. Ed Darack March 2015 The Chinook's cargo capacity, speed,. 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. 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. 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. 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. In the afternoon of 6 August, a flash flood swept through the area, washing away parts of the wreckage. The second slammed into one of the Chinooks rear rotor blades and exploded, severing 10 feet of it. 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,. Around 2:40 a.m., an Apache pilot flying in support came on the radio and shouted: Fallen Angel. [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. Planners then chose a new landing zone for the IRF, but it was large enough to accommodate only one Chinook. The 30 American Servicemen killed in action (KIA) with the downing of Extortion 17. Conspiracy theories started almost immediately. The SEAL Team 6 community was devastated. One rocket struck a rotor blade, causing the aircraft to crash almost instantly. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas, Spc. The men who serve in the American military are the finest! Published Aug 6, 2018 5:05 PM EDT. 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. 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. So many unsettling details are coalescing with the resurgence of Extortion 17. 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. [12][13], Six minutes prior to reaching the landing zone, the empty CH-47D left the formation as planned. Terms of Use 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. Caring is more than just slapping a bumper sticker on your car, he said. Its like taking a paper towel roll, cutting it in half and strapping it to your eye, Lee said. What are the odds? unfolded that night are commonly referred to as Extortion 17, which is the call sign for the helicopter transporting the special op-erations personnel. It was brought down by multiple shots. Connor Mendez, courtesy of U.S. Army. The call sign for the Chinook was Extortion 17. About a dozen of the 33 troops in the back of the helicopter suffered broken bones, heavy bruises and scrapes. But the CH-47D has neither a flight nor voice recorder, only an engine performance data recorder for maintenance. Also if an Afghan soldier member of this team opened fire on this seal team then way was all the bodies Cremated and evidence destroyed?? 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. On this day 11 years ago, 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. The tempo of the missions did not decrease. 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. Unidentified Remains Extortion 17 (unknown-2011) - Find a Grave Extortion 17 hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy 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 downing of Extortion 17 was a catastrophic and unprecedented tragedy for our nation," Reid testified. 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. Theres no precedent for this. 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. Obama 'Put a Target on Their Backs', SEAL Team 6 Family Members Say The two military investigations, one conducted by United States Central Command and one by the multi-service Joint Combat Assessment Team, pored over the details of the crash with excruciating focus and concluded that no planners or participants bore any fault regarding the circumstances leading to the shootdown of Extortion 17. He knew the pilots and crew members aboard Extortion 17. Night Stalker pilots and crew rigorously train for nighttime raids, like the one in Juy Zarin. Hs unit called itself Extortion Company. One of his Chinooks, flying under the call sign Extortion 17 (one-seven), was tasked with the special operations mission the night of Aug. 6. Call Sign Extortion 17 : The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six On such missions, the Chinook pilots nearly always fly at night, wearing night vision goggles, or NVGs. A few minutes past 2 a.m.on August 6, 2011, at a dusty forward operating base40 miles south of Kabul, Afghanistan, the rotors of two U.S. Army CH-47D Chinooks began to turn. 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. There is still a tremendous level of chance for a tragedy of such huge magnitude.. On August 6th, 2011, the helicopter was fired upon and shot down by a previously undetected group of Taliban fighters. He presents the Final Flight of EXTORTION 17 (spoken one seven and seventeen), like a Defense Attorney or an investigator. Every mission is potentially life-threatening. All rights reserved. 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. So many unsettling details are coalescing with the resurgence of Extortion 17. For every one that gets lucky, there are hundreds, even thousands, that zip by you., As weve seen a number of times, theres a point that a lucky shot is going to get you and there is only so much you can do to mitigate it, says Glover, the Marine aviator. Many of these SEALs were made famous, credited with the killing of Osama bin Laden. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. June 5, 2022 Posted by: Category: Uncategorized; No Comments . This remains the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare since the Afghan War started in 2001. God bless all of them- the bravest of the brave. Where was the Chinook's black box cockpit recorder? . This tactic was highly successful; hundreds of operations were conducted without firing a shot for years. 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. | All hand picked by Red Squadron really makes your neck hair standup! The mission was flown by conventional pilots flying unmodified CH-47Ds. Burn is on, they radioed. [43][45], 2011 Afghanistan Boeing Chinook shootdown, United States Air Force Combat Control Team, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Tangi Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, Naval Special Warfare Development Group's, Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians, United States House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, Call Sign Extortion 17: The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six, List of aviation accidents and incidents in the war in Afghanistan, "Elite Force Died in Bid to Save Comrades", "Taliban shot that brought down American Chinook killing 30 US commandos was 'lucky', officials believe", "Taliban shoot down US helicopter in Afghanistan; 38 killed", "Worst US loss of life in Afghan war as helicopter crash kills 38", "US military helicopter crash in Afghanistan kills 38", Executive Summary (Crash of CH-47D Aircraft in Wardak Province, Afghanistan on 6 August 2011), "Families suspect SEAL Team 6 crash was inside job on worst day in Afghanistan", "DOD Identifies Service Members Killed in CH-47 Crash", "Tragedy devastates special warfare community", "Friends remember three area soldiers killed in Afghan crash", "Chinook Crewmembers Line of Duty Deaths", "US special forces Afghan helicopter downed by Taliban", "Chopper crash kills 31 U.S. troops, 7 Afghans", "Copter Downed by Taliban Fire; Elite U.S. Unit Among Dead", "Impact on special forces of Navy Seals helicopter loss", "SEAL Team 6 Families Believe the 2011 Chinook Shootdown in Afghanistan was Planned | Navy SEALs Blog by USNavySEALs.com", "Army delayed Chinook helicopter's black box until it was too late", "Obama stonewalls SEAL Team 6 helicopter crash probe, watchdog says", "US helicopter shot down in Afghanistan was sent in after night raid went awry", "US military probes deadly Afghan helicopter crash", "What happened on night of deadly Afghanistan helicopter crash? 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.. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, California, Tech. The helicopter made its last radio transmission stating that it was one minute away from the landing zone, then descended to an altitude of 100150ft (3046m) and slowed to a speed of 50kn (58mph; 93km/h) as it approached the landing zone. The helicopters are capacious and fast, and they can perform well in Afghanistans performance-degrading high altitudes and heat. Chance is still part of the battlefield, says Brady. Lee is 36 now, a civil attorney in Dallas, a world away from Afghanistan. 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. 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. The next night, the pair had orders to drop off more troops in the same spot. LZ is ice, transmitted one of the Rangers on the ground, indicating the landing zone was free of enemy activity. In combat, its mission is to transport large teams of elite assault troops, including Army Rangers and Navy SEALs, to and from the battlefield. 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 There is a lot of controversy and discussion regarding the operators from the Gold Squadron who died abroad. Sometimes the enemy succeeds in delivering one of these To whom it may concern projectiles. 2017 The Dallas Morning News. The five other Navy casualties were NSW (Naval Special Warfare) support personnel; in addition to these, three AFSOC operators, one Combat Controller and two Pararescuemen, all members of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, died in the crash. 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. But U.S. forces didnt know about every fighter during the raid, and they lost track of at least twoone of whom fired the deadly shot. 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). Some 30 seconds later, one of the AH-64 Apache helicopters in the area reported: Fallen Angel.. Over time, certain memories will fade, certain details will fade. A 17-year-old boy died by suicide hours after being scammed. The - CNN 3 U.S. Army Reserve personnel from the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment. In March 2002, two MH-47s were downed by machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire while close to ground level. But at least you should care about them and appreciate what were asking of them.. It was a hard landing, but it would have been worse if they had landed tail first. Fallen Angel.. 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. Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. 360 EXTORTION 17 ideas | extortion, navy seals, seal team 6 - Pinterest Upon learning of Tahirs possible location, a U.S. Army Rangers and Afghan Special Forces team was deployed into the valley from the south. Because unarmed villagers, unaffiliated with the Taliban, could also have been in those trees and among the groups milling about the village, the gunships could not have fired. (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. [11], Separately, ISR aircraft continued to observe the unengaged group from the compound. 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. Its almost always a miss.. The duo may also have had no ties to Tahir or any of his suspected fighters, and attacked the helicopter on their own. 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 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. 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. Extortion 17 August 6, 2022 marks 11 years since Extortion 17. Pentagon names 30 Americans killed in downed Afghan chopper - NBC News The team boarded Extortion 17 with Dave Carter and Bryan Nichols at the controls. 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. 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. [11][24] These reports were erroneous; the CH-47D airframe does not contain flight recorders, although the MH-47 variant does have a flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. I am so proud to be an American and I thank all of the families left behind to mourn their loss. 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. The helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was on a mission to reinforce American and coalition special operations troops. All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, North Carolina. The Chinook helicopter they were aboard was shot down by . The helicopter crashed less than 5 seconds later, killing all 38 people on board. He was probably in the top 1 percent of Army aviators, Lee said. Theyre going after in very hostile environments, who know the terrain very well, who know the battlescape very well, Darack said. 30 US troops died in single deadliest incident of the Afghanistan War Cookie Settings, 5,000-Year-Old Tavern With Food Still Inside Discovered in Iraq, Archaeologists Discover Wooden Spikes Described by Julius Caesar, The Surprisingly Scientific Roots of Monkey Bars, Kids Start Forgetting Early Childhood Around Age 7, Artificial Sweetener Tied to Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Finds.