Lee, now a captain, was placed in command of a Chinook helicopter unit at Forward Operating Base Shank. But no one died. Were handing rifles to 20-year-olds and asking them to shoot people. Led by firebrand Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), Congress is to launch an official investigation into the mysterious helicopter crash that killed several members of the Navy SEAL team 6 in Afghanistan in 2011. An initial investigation indicates the helicopter was shot down by insurgents in the volatile Tangi valley of Wardak province, several hours south of Kabul. The US Navy's elite SEAL Team 6 reportedly recovered two bodies and a flight recorder from the site where a US Air Force E-11A aircraft crashed in Afghanistan on Monday. "The downing of Extortion 17 was a catastrophic and unprecedented tragedy for our nation," Reid testified. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The aircraft jerked. Nearby, there were two enemy fighters with rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Two investigations of the incident proved inconclusive. On his first deployment, he felt fortunate to be surrounded by veteran pilots he could learn from. ", "The hearts and minds of our enemy are more valuable to our government than my son's blood," she said. But it's just as plausible that the Taliban got lucky. 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. It wasnt preventable. And to this day, people are still debating what really happened. 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. He was probably in the top 1 percent of Army aviators, Lee said. Extortion 17's pilots and crew ranked among the very best military helicopter pilots in the world (Carter had amassed more than 4,000 hours of cockpit time), and the helicopter, a CH-47D, the fastest and one of the most powerful and nimble in the U.S. military, had been maintained to the highest standards. One source says the team was thought to include 22 SEALs, three Air Force air controllers, seven Afghan Army troops, a dog and handler, and a civilian interpreter, plus the helicopter crew. President Obama offered his thoughts and prayers to those killed in the crash. It means being informed. As for himself, he speaks out about Extortion 17 because he wants to remember the men on that mission. His father Billy Vaughn recounted Thursday a phone call from his son following the White House decision to credit the highly secretive military unit for the bin Laden raid. U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because families of those killed are still being notified. Located in a remote and dangerous province in eastern Afghanistan, the base was the target of near-constant rocket attacks from Taliban insurgents. 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. But at least you should care about them and appreciate what were asking of them.. The night before he left to go to Fort Hood, where he would board a plane to Afghanistan, the biggest event of the 10-year war occurred: Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan during a raid by Navy SEALs. Its crazy how many times I can think of where me or the guys I was with had to do that.. And they sent our guys right into the middle.. Fallen Angel: Call Sign - Extortion 17: Directed by Karl Horstmann, Stephen Spivey. Extortion 17 then plummeted to the ground and erupted in a massive fireball. They loaded onto Extortion 17, and then Carter and Nichols lifted the Chinook into the night sky. They fail to mention it was Saudis who orchestrated 9/11, yet he elected to go after Iraq and Afghanistan. The Chinook smashed into the ground, the force ripping off his goggles. The immediate reaction force (IRF) was assembled hastily for insertion into Tangi Valley to help Army Rangers capture fleeing Taliban. While the vast majority of attempts to down helicopters failed, the lucky shot that took down Extortion 17 had a precedent. They stayed fixed on enemy squirters, or runners, until just a few minutes before landing. That is why, they say, a fighter just happened to be stationed in a turret within 150 yards of a landing zone that had never been used before. 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 . But this might just take the cake. The compounds unusual and extensive security features, along with further intelligence information, prompted suspicion that the residence was Osama bin Ladens hideout. Darack did extensive research of what happened next. The chopper's manifest. Six weeks into his deployment, Lee experienced his worst day as a helicopter pilot to that point. 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. But some say the official report, which contained no direct criticism of decision-makers that day, did not delve deeply enough. But why? They start the movie showing George W Bush saying that after 9/11 we will hunt down those responsible. I am afraid that with this FOIA case that the government is purposely delaying turning over documents because they need the time to redact and to delete things they do not want the American public to become aware of.. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Market data provided by Factset. This critical, but completely uncontrollable, aspect of war, is well-known among fighters like Buddy. When they arrived at the compound, however, the strike force couldn't locate Tahir, and some of his fighters dispersed. By the time the third sped away from its launcher, however, no target remained. The Taliban, of course, has taken credit, saying it shot down the helo during a special forces raid on a home. A man reads the front page of a newspaper featuring the news that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was shot dead deep inside Pakistan in a night-time helicopter raid by US covert forces, ending a decade-long manhunt for the mastermind of the September 11 attacks. The crash sent shock waves throughout U.S. special operations. Your life is in danger. How SEAL Team 6 . Ten computer hard drives, five computers and more than 100 storage devices were retrieved. Retired Army Lt. Gen. William Boykin, who served as deputy undersecretary of defense for Intelligence and was a commander in the Army's super-secret "Delta Force," denounced politicized rules of engagement as a "deliberate plot" within the American armed forces that he says puts political correctness above the safety of the troops. In the immediate wake of the tragedy, the military initiated two investigations. After the helicopter crash on August 6, 2011. We were told at that time we were the first unit to make it through a rotation without having anyone killed.. It marked the greatest single incident loss of American life in the war in Afghanistan, the deadliest moment in the history of SEAL Team Six and the entirety of the Navy SEALs, and the deadliest single incident in the history of U.S. Special Operations Command. The families accept the fact that a single shot brought down the helicopter. On board were 22 members of the elite Seal Team Six, two U.S. Air Force Para-rescue men, three Army reserve personnel, a U.S. Air Force Combat Controller, the pilot and co-pilot, a U.S . They dont even produce under their own self-imposed deadline, Mr. Klayman told The Washington Times. The helicopter was shot down by insurgents. Finally Sells Japan Tomahawk Missiles. Despite the risk, operations like these were taking place with such frequency in Afghanistan they only made news when they produced a spectacular success, like the bin Laden mission. 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. My life is in danger. 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. I didnt want to die., He remembered the words of his old flight instructor: Never stop flying the aircraft.. The helicopter crashed into a creek bed and a flash flood shortly afterward washed away some parts of the wreckage. The subject of the tweet, per The Beast, is Alan Howell Parrot, a falconer-turned-CIA whistleblower who was once the star of a documentary called Feathered Cocaine.. The team was responding to an Army Ranger unit that was engaged in a firefight with the Taliban and needed backup. The conspiracy has a number of moving parts, all of which have surfaced before, but none of which have any truth to them. The Justice Department said at least 50 documents in the Pentagon have been identified as relevant, but only one has been turned over. Hamburger said. But Chinooks are at their most vulnerable while hovering in place during raids like the one this team is thought to have been conducting. 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. 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. So, to do an infil on the X or Y, you know, having that element of surprise in the beginning of an operation is good, but by the time weve been there for three hours, and the partys up, bringing in another aircraft like that, you know, may not be the most tactically sound decision.. The force included seven Afghan soldiers and an Afghan interpreter. 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. The mission continues, uninterrupted.3:39 p.m. Osama bin Laden is located on the third floor of the compound and is shot in the head, above the left eye.Sometime during the operation, three other men (including one of bin Ladens sons) and a woman in the compound are also killed.3:53 p.m. President Obama receives preliminary word that bin Laden is identified and dead.3:55 p.m. SEAL team members move bin Ladens body to the first floor of the compound and place it in a body bag.3:39 p.m.-4:10 p.m. The team locates and retrieves multiple items from the compound for intelligence investigation.4:05 p.m. The first helicopter exits the compound.4:08 p.m. The team destroys the chopper that crashed.4:10 p.m. A backup helicopter scoops up remaining team members and leaves the area.5:53 p.m. The choppers with SEAL team members return to Afghanistan.7:01 p.m. President Obama receives further intelligence information that the body killed in the raid is likely that of bin Laden.11:35 p.m. President Obama addresses the nation about the raid.12:59 a.m. Osama bin Ladens body is buried at sea within 24 hours to comply with Islamic law. For the last two years, hes been an attorney with the law firm Jackson Walker. 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. 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. 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. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. The Pentagons witness stuck to a theme that no mistakes were made that night, though the investigative file contained testimony from a number of witnesses saying the mission was riddled with missteps. Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Tex., was reportedly the leader of the Navy SEAL team killed in the Chinook helicopter attack on Aug. 6. I will never forget what they did, he said. 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. But it's often foreign to those who observe combat from afar. "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. It's true that members of SEAL Team 6 died tragically in a helicopter crash not long after the Bin Laden mission, but the particular soldiers who perished weren't part of that operation, says O'Neill. they won't view it as wrong, just a "necessary" sacrifice for your country. Hes also sent more than his fair share of curious retweets, often of the accounts of conspiracy theorists and those associated with QAnon and other outlandish conspiracy frameworks. The event was organized by Freedom Watch, a conservative advocacy group, at the National Press Club. Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. In addition to killing the man who was considered the mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, U.S. forces snagged valuable items from the compound during the raid. 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. Military officers interviewed by investigators said they could not recall an IRF ever being sent for such a mission. The entire operation, which lasted only 40 minutes from start to finish, was the culmination of years of calculated planning and training. For Lee, there was no time to reflect on how close he had come to dying. Up to 30 Dead in Afghanistan Following Failed Prison Heist, Total Iraq and Afghanistan Pricetag: Over $4 Trillion. The hearing as it took place was meant to honor the heroes of Extortion 17 instead of to answer our questions, Mr. The hardest LZ Id ever been into, Lee said. . A Defense Department special operations official told a House subcommittee last year that there is no indication the mission was compromised by the Afghans. 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. Fallen Angel.. Things like Benghazi and the NSA. In all 38 troops died after the helicopter was shot down by what a review determined to be a Taliban RPG over Wardak Province, Afghanistan, on Aug. 6, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst. JSOC ground forces and those who flew them knew and trusted each other. Chance, however, a component of war intimately understood by war fighters, can never be completely mitigated. President Trump has been known, over the years, to tweet some bizarre things. Ultimately, bin Laden was found and killed within nine minutes, and SEAL Team Six was credited with carrying out a nearly flawless mission. The second probe, led by Army Brigadier General Jeffrey Colt, explained in excruciating detail what all those familiar with military operations and helicopter aviation in Afghanistan already knew: chance and chance alone, took down Extortion 17. With Robert O'Neill, Patricia Economo, Enrique Garcia, James Obrien. The night her son Aaron died, he was in a helicopter that was built in the 1960s and last retrofitted in 1985. The U.S. military claimed that the Chinook was blown to pieces by a shoulder-fired missile, in which everyone on board was burned beyond recognition. 4:10 p.m. - A backup helicopter scoops up remaining team members and leaves the area. And it even led Robert ONeill, the Trump-supporting Navy Seal who claims to have fired the shot that killed Bin Laden, to tweet that the conspiracy theories both about the Bin Laden double and about the Seals from the raid having been killed arent true. 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. The route had been carefully planned, and gunships maintained continuous watch over the intended landing zone during Extortion 17's approach. To minimize the danger as much as possible, pilots will land Chinooks out of range of any weapons they know they enemy to have, and an Apache or a UAV will fly overhead to check for threats before the Chinooks drop off any soldiers.
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