August 6, 2011 / 6:08 PM / CBS Boston KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A military helicopter was shot down in eastern Afghanistan, killing 31 U.S. special operation troops, most of them from the. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The navigator on the AC-130 gunship said there was simply too much gun and engine noise to think that the Chinook could make an undetected entrance. This incident could be a sign of things to come: The crash happened in Tanji, where the U.S. closed a combat outpost in April. Aaron Vaughn's mother, Karen, also demanded an explanation for why her son and his team were not using a special operations aircraft, such as the Chinooks flown by special operations pilots, which have specialized defenses designed to fly commandos deep behind enemy lines. 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. SEAL TEAM SIX - Extortion 17 EXPOSED theunitedwest 15.8K subscribers Subscribe 4.7K 394K views Streamed 9 years ago AUGUST 6, 2015 - Today, on the fourth anniversary of the shoot down of. Aerial view of Osama bin Laden's compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, made by the CIA. The Taliban shot at the Chinooks all the time with RPGs and rifles, Darack said. "We will draw inspiration from their lives, and continue the work of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied.". The former vice president has become the Democratic front-runner with primary victories across the country. It wasnt preventable. Aug. 6, 2011 -- A helicopter was shot down today by Afghan insurgents as it was rushing to aid troops in a firefight, killing 30 Americans, including 22 Navy SEALs, most of whom belonged to Team 6, the unit whose members were involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials said. Following a helicopter crash, the SEAL Team must proceed with the mission as hostiles bear down on them and an injured and impaired Jason goes after their target alone. Six weeks into his deployment, Lee experienced his worst day as a helicopter pilot to that point. This time, they might simply have run out of luck and encountered an RPG-armed enemy who was in the right place at the right time. His 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. The tempo of the missions did not decrease. Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite unit as the Navy SEALs who killed former Al. A silhouette of a flight engineer manning an M240 machine gun on the ramp of a CH-47D Chinook in eastern 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. 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. He pushed hard on the cyclic stick to tilt the helicopter forward. But at least you should care about them and appreciate what were asking of them.. The had Seal team 6 killed is a likely reference to whats known as the Extortion 17 incident, the August 2011 tragedy in which a Chinookmilitary helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan, killing 38 people, 25 of them Navy Seals, in the deadliest day for the U.S. in the entire Afghanistan war. The team boarded Extortion 17 with Dave Carter and Bryan Nichols at the controls. Onboard were 17 members of SEAL Team 6; five naval special warfare operators, including one to intercept communications and another to handle Bart the war dog; five Army flight crewmen, including a National Guard and an Army Reserve pilot; and three Air Force personnel. The Graveyard of Empires: Directed by David Boreanaz. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, the 2011 raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. They were part of the same Army Reserve unit, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment based in Gardner, Kan. Nichols, with three combat tours of duty, also had plenty of experience flying dangerous missions. All of us know that going into it.". Were very concerned that the administration had disclosed that the Navy SEALs had carried out a successful attack on bin Ladens compound resulting in his death. This story has been corrected to reflect that only some of the families of the fallen SEALs say their loved ones were deliberately endangered. What went so terribly wrong? The loss of a helicopter carrying more than 20 U.S. special forces and as many as 8 other U.S. military service members is an unprecedented one in this war. Were handing rifles to 20-year-olds and asking them to shoot people. In all, 17 members of the SEAL Team 6 counterterrorist force were on board the CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, along with its Army National Guard aircrew, several support personnel and seven Afghan commandos. The military's public c 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. The military's public c Read allOn 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. "A NATO helicopter crashed last night in Wardak province," Karzai said in the statement. There are no survivors. This was preventable only if they just had not taken off that night, Lee said. We were told at that time we were the first unit to make it through a rotation without having anyone killed.. WASHINGTON The families of Navy SEAL Team 6 members killed in a disastrous August 2011 helicopter crash in Afghanistan blamed the government for the tragedy, during an emotional press conference in Washington Thursday. A CH-47D Chinook helicopter (the same model as Extortion 17) speeds through the Sierra Nevada Mountains at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, near Bridgeport, California, during mountain warfare training exercises. The Rangers were not in need of rescue. While the vast majority of attempts to down helicopters failed, the lucky shot that took down Extortion 17 had a precedent. Special forces routinely use helicopters in raids on homes in Afghanistan. Youve got [Apaches] flying around, so theres a lot of noise going on and, basically, this entire valley knows that theres something happening in this area. It is not uncommon for commandos to fly some of their missions aboard such aircraft in the war zone, however. U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because families of those killed are still being notified. The Joint Combat Assessment Team report identified, through detailed metallurgical analysis, the type of projectile that blew Extortion 17 out of the sky: an antipersonnel unguided ballistic rocket propelled grenade. "We simply didn't know those guys with those RPGs were there," he said. Just as ridiculous as saying [President George W.] Bush was responsible for 9/11, Lee said. Navy SEALs. This misinformation persists in part because those unfamiliar with the battlefield aren't taking into account a fundamental part of war: chance. With Robert O'Neill, Patricia Economo, Enrique Garcia, James Obrien. Ohio Republican Secretary of State 'actively' considering Senate run against Sherrod Brown, DeSantis family spends the afternoon at Houston Rodeo ahead of governor's speech, Marianne Williamson launches campaign against Biden, vows to fight 'forces of hatred, injustice and fear', Haley blasts both Democrats and fellow Republicans, including Trump, over exploding national debt. The entire operation, which lasted only 40 minutes from start to finish, was the culmination of years of calculated planning and training. You never want to use the same landing zone twice, Darack said. We had guys who had flown in Desert Storm, guys who had just come off active duty, Lee said. Military officials told her operating outside of these rules "damages our efforts to win the hearts and minds of our enemies. A Defense Department special operations official told a House subcommittee last year that there is no indication the mission was compromised by the Afghans. After Vice President Joe Biden revealed that SEAL Team 6 carried out the operation that killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011, Strange said the members of his son's team gave startling indications to their families they were about to meet their demise. Additional forces were then sent to secure the crash site. For the last two years, hes been an attorney with the law firm Jackson Walker. I would say that on the three-minute call is when Gun 2 started looking at the LZ, giving an LZ brief op. AP sources: Crash kills members of SEAL Team 6. The team was responding to an Army Ranger unit that was engaged in a firefight with the Taliban and needed backup. The story itself is tragic, but tons of war propaganda. Family members are hoping Freedom Watch, a watchdog legal group led by Larry Klayman, can force new disclosures using the power of the FOIA process. However, it would be a very lucky shot to hit a moving Chinook with an RPG and they typically fly high to avoid such dangers as well as small arms fire. But the CH-47D has neither a flight nor voice recorder, only an engine performance data recorder for maintenance. 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. 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Market data provided by Factset. "Their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan," Obama said in a statement. U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that they believe that . The assassination of Osama bin Laden was a significant victory for the U.S. government and the American people at large. By late 2010, analysts were able to link the courier to a large, highly-secured compound in Abbottabad, a town about 35 miles north of Islamabad. The reality is, every time a helicopter lifts off the ground in a war zone, it might get shot down, Darack said. Three months after bin Ladens death, members of the SEAL Team 6 force -- though apparently not the same ones who carried out the bin Laden raid -- were on board the CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, along with its Army National Guard aircrew, several support personnel and seven Afghan commandos. The Pentagon on Thursday identified the Americans as 17 members of the elite Navy SEALs, five Naval Special Warfare personnel who support the SEALs, three Air Force Special Operations personnel and. Its planners and pilots must use whatever intelligence is available (which is usually pretty thin information, and comes from earlier attacks) to plan the flight route. But Chinooks are at their most vulnerable while hovering in place during raids like the one this team is thought to have been conducting. Hours earlier, pilots Carter and Nichols and crewmembers Specialist Spencer Duncan, Sergeant Pat Hamburger, and Sergeant Alex Bennett, along with pilots and crew of a sister Chinook, Extortion 16, inserted a strike force in the central Tangi Valley. In that incident, 16 Navy SEALs and Army special operations troops were killed when their craft was shot down while on a mission to rescue four SEALs under attack by the Taliban. Some of the most highly trained and skilled war fighters in history, the Rangers moved overland to a location where intelligence indicated Lefty Grove and his small cadre of fighters would be holding a meeting. because seals have a habit of writing books once they retire. The tragedy took some of the glow off SEAL Team 6s grand achievement just three months earlier: A team penetrated Pakistan airspace, infiltrated a compound in Abbottabad and killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The fighting lasted at least two hours, he said, the New York Times reported. The military's public contradictions raise more questions than answers. And you know, never before in the history of our county (had) a sitting president released that type of information to the public, especially when he was talking about special forces. Lee, now a captain, was placed in command of a Chinook helicopter unit at Forward Operating Base Shank. David Tarrant. They fail to mention it was Saudis who orchestrated 9/11, yet he elected to go after Iraq and Afghanistan. Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. But Tahir and a group of his fighters escaped. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Image:U.S. PresidentDonaldTrumpholds a campaign rally at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 13, 2020. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver. Aug. 7, 2011 -- American communities are mourning the loss of 30 U.S. troops who were killed when Afghan insurgents shot down a helicopter carrying the most elite forces in the US military -- Navy . Oops, this content can't be loadedbecause you're having connectivity problems, Stay always informed and up to date with our breaking news alerts, - The Washington Times - Wednesday, August 5, 2015. The immediate reaction force (IRF) was assembled hastily for insertion into Tangi Valley to help Army Rangers capture fleeing Taliban. "Their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan,'' President Obama said Saturday. At that time, this marked deadliest moment in the war in Afghanistan. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst. The ensuing crash killed all 16 on board, eight Army special operations aviators, and eight Navy SEALs. How SEAL Team 6 . He finished his contract with the Army shortly afterward, and that September enrolled in Southern Methodist Universitys Dedman School of Law. He would not have hesitated to fly with any of them. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, The Taliban, of course, has taken credit, saying it shot down the helo during a special forces raid on a home. A Marine speaks into a radio and troops unload a CH-47D Chinook in Afghanistan's Kunar Province. They were sitting there, waiting. Were pleading with the judge to do something, and hes just sitting on it., In one of his motions, Mr. Klayman stated: As this Court must be aware, this is not an ordinary Freedom of Information Act case, it involves obtaining records concerning the deaths of Navy SEAL Team 6 and other special operations forces on a mission with the call sign Extortion 17. President Trump has been known, over the years, to tweet some bizarre things. Where was the Chinook's black box cockpit recorder? He probably doesnt. And thats fine; thats what you signed up for, Lee said. On the fourth anniversary of the worst one-day loss of military life in the war on terror, families of the dead say they are aghast that the government will not honor basic requests under the Freedom of Information Act. All but two of the SEALs were from SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed Osama bin Laden, although military officials said none of the crash victims was on that mission in Pakistan against the al . That assault team captured Tahirs compound and some of his men. "Sometimes the enemy just gets that terribly lucky shot. The pilots, crew and Chinook helicopters of "Extortion Company," the conventional Army aviation unit to which Extortion 17 belonged, had supported over 90 percent of raids conducted by Rangers and SEALs of JSOC in that region; the flight in question was nothing out of the ordinary. Due to the sheer magnitude of loss of life, combined with recent news of SEAL Team Six's successful raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, global media outlets lionized the tragedy. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Insurgents in Iraq have used Russian-made SA-7s, shoulder-fired missiles tipped with infrared homing devices, against U.S. and British aircraft. Conspiracy theories over the years have alleged that President Barack Obama and presumably then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and now Joe Biden had somehow been responsible for the attack, supposedly in order to silence the Seals for something having to do with the Bin Laden raid three months earlier. 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.On board the Chinook CH-47D were 15 members of SEAL Team Six, 15 SEAL Team Six Support personnel, 1 Bomb Dog, 7 unidentified members of the Afghan National Army, and 1 . The Obama administration is violating a judges order to turn over documents in the Aug. 6, 2011, shootdown of a U.S. helicopter call sign Extortion 17 that killed members of SEAL Team 6 in Afghanistan, a watchdog group is charging. A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., he remains obsessively curious about Texans and the Lone Star State culture. The hearing as it took place was meant to honor the heroes of Extortion 17 instead of to answer our questions, Mr. "We will draw inspiration from their lives, and continue the work of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied. Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft that supported the raid, including a Predator drone, and a variety of highly specialized spy planes, had kept continuous watch over the region during the operation. On his first deployment, he felt fortunate to be surrounded by veteran pilots he could learn from. The investigation of events surrounding the crash of a C H-47D Chinook , call sign Extortion 17, took military command officials just two months to complete. What the men on the Chinook didn't know was that cloaked by darkness, two fighters had emerged from the small village of Hasan Khel, on the south side of the valley. Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. It was an auspicious day for the two enemy fighters. The quick reaction force included SEAL Team 6 and other special operations personnel. The families hope to raise awareness of the incident, which they say the government has largely forgotten since the official report was released in October 2011. Charlie Strange, whose Navy cryptologist son, Michael, was on Extortion 17, told The Times last year that it was too much of a coincidence for Taliban to be standing so near the landing zone. But over time, they became more disturbing, including one that suggested the Taliban had been tipped off by someone inside the Afghan government as revenge for bin Ladens killing. As for himself, he speaks out about Extortion 17 because he wants to remember the men on that mission. But why? Furthermore, according to the lore, due to the alleged Iran angle, the Iran nuclear agreement in 2015 was in fact a payoff to Iran for whatever role they played in the earlier conspiracy. Up to 30 Dead in Afghanistan Following Failed Prison Heist, Total Iraq and Afghanistan Pricetag: Over $4 Trillion. The team began intense training for the operation, which included practicing in a life-sized replica of the compound. He taught helicopter pilots how to fly in high altitudes at an aviation training site in Colorado. The crash killed 38 people, including 15 Navy SEALs. They are also pretty tough; the only comparable loss to this one was a Chinook shot down in 2005. or redistributed. "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. The SEALS intentionally . Afghan President Karzai's office released a statement on the incident. Planners selected a landing zone that had never been used before. Family members question SEAL Team 6's most deadly incident. Conspiracy theories started almost immediately. The operators from SEAL Team Six were flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the same regiment that flew the bin Laden raid. They knew. The alleged hit on SEAL Team 6 is a reference to the downing of a Chinook transport helicopter by insurgents a few months after the bin Laden raid. Landing in deserts or mountainsides, the helicopter rotors kick up clouds of sand and dust, causing brownouts that can blind a pilot. While the press conference was long on speculation and short on concrete evidence, the family members and their supporters didn't pull any punches. The guy was incredibly skilled.. The helicopter was shot down by insurgents. WASHINGTON - The families of Navy SEAL Team 6 members killed in a disastrous August 2011 helicopter crash in Afghanistan blamed the government for the tragedy, during an emotional press. "President Karzai expressed his deep condolences because of this incident and expressed his sympathy to Barack Obama.". Some Arab countries and leaders condemned the actions of the United States. Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. ", Tags: Navy SEALs, Navy, Afghanistan, Allen West, Michele Bachmann. Only the pilots, crew, and special operations ground forces commanders knew about the planned flight path and time. The pilots ranked among the most proficient in this type of flying and the Department of Defense. Your life is in danger. "In releasing their identity, they put a target on their backs," said Doug Hamburger, whose son, Army Staff Sgt. The front rotor shattered, and the back pylon sheared off. Although the Taliban have claimed to have shot the helicopter down, U.S. officials have only identified the attackers as insurgents. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. This is all, needless to say, completely unsubstantiated if not outright false. As reported on by The Daily Beast, Trump retweeted a message posted by an account called Oscar the Midnight Rider 1111, which alleges that Hiden Biden and Obama may have had Seal team 6 killed!
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