Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. This was preventable only if they just had not taken off that night, Lee said. Their target was a Taliban commander responsible for ambushes and other attacks against U.S. and Afghan forces. The Benghazi attack in 2012 plays a part in some other versions of the tale. Are such missiles appearing in Afghanistan? The crash took the lives of 17 SEALs and five special warfare development group operators, making it the worst one-day loss in the history of U.S. naval special operations. No one saw two Taliban armed with grenade launchers standing on a mud-brick turret well within range of the descending chopper. The team began intense training for the operation, which included practicing in a life-sized replica of the compound. Originally published August 6, 2011 at 10:50 am Updated August 6, 2011 at 3:16 pm. Extortion 17 then plummeted to the ground and erupted in a massive fireball. Doug Hamburger, whose son Patrick was killed, called the incident an ambush that could have been prevented. On May 2, 2011, U.S. Special Forces raided an al-Qaeda compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed the worlds most wanted terrorist: Osama bin Laden. 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. I would say that on the three-minute call is when Gun 2 started looking at the LZ, giving an LZ brief op. But this might just take the cake. Nothing tests the capabilities of a young helicopter pilot like flying in the extreme conditions of Afghanistan. Military Faces Challenge In Rebuilding SEAL Team 6 - NPR.org The loss of a Chinook helicopter carrying members of Navy SEAL Team Six made yesterday the deadliest single day in the entire Afghan War for the U.S., 3 Questions About the SEAL Team Six Crash, Russian Cargo Plane Explodes During Pressure Test, better protected from newer, more sophisticated threats, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. They loaded onto Extortion 17, and then Carter and Nichols lifted the Chinook into the night sky. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. Many of these family members are undergoing psychological care over what has become a double tragedy: the deaths of their sons and the cover-up for which these family members feel betrayed by their own government.. "A NATO helicopter crashed last night in Wardak province," Karzai said in the statement. 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. .css-v1xtj3{display:block;font-family:FreightSansW01,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:100;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-v1xtj3:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.1387rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-v1xtj3{line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.18581rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-top:0rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.2;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}Russian Cargo Plane Explodes During Pressure Test, Air Force's IRON Wireless Network Protects Nukes, Watch Opposition Group Land Drone on Russian Jet, Pentagon's Mysterious Aircraft Won't Need a Runway, The Secret War to Take out Iran's F-14 Fighters, Meet the E-7 Wedgetail, the Air Forces New Plane, Report: Pilot Error Ruined a $112 Million F-35 Jet, Air Force Grounds Jets: Their Tails May Fall Off, The Messy Battle to Build the F-35's Next Engine, Russia Dredges Up Ancient BTR-50 Vehicles. One by one, fathers and mothers of the victims of the crash spoke about what they see as gaping holes or inconsistencies in the review of what U.S. Special Operations considers its most deadly incident. 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. The route had been carefully planned, and gunships maintained continuous watch over the intended landing zone during Extortion 17's approach. U.S. Central Commands official investigation concluded that a rocket-launched grenade from a Taliban fighter standing near the landing zone clipped a rotary wing, sending the Ch-47 Chinook into a violent downward spin. Add in the fact that more sophisticated foreign intelligence agents are on the ground, with signals intelligence assets and deep pockets, and you have a recipe for a plot. The front rotor shattered, and the back pylon sheared off. Faces of the Fallen: Helicopter Dead - ABC News A catastrophic crash seemed unavoidable. EXPLOSIVE: CIA Whistleblower Exposes Bidens Alleged Role With the Deaths of Seal Team- Claims to have Documented Proof. Navy's SEAL Team 6 Recovered 2 Bodies From Afghanistan Crash Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. Portraits of Navy SEALs killed in helicopter crash He grew up in Tyler, went to Texas A&M, joined the Corps of Cadets and stared in shock at the news thattwo planes slammed into the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Everyone on board died within a fraction of a second30 Americans, eight Afghans and one American military working dog. I will never forget what they did, he said. During a press conference on Washington Thursday, family and advocates for the fallen troops called into question the rules of engagement that they say prohibited their sons from being able to return fire, and the White House's decision to announce shortly after the killing of Osama bin Laden that SEAL Team 6 was responsible for the raid. Patrick Hamburger, served among the helicopter's crew. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Up to 30 Dead in Afghanistan Following Failed Prison Heist, Total Iraq and Afghanistan Pricetag: Over $4 Trillion. List of operations conducted by SEAL Team Six - Wikipedia The family members, speaking at the National Press Club, tried to reopen the book on the crash, in which 30 Americans were killed, most of them belonging to the same unit as those who carried out the raid on Usama bin Laden earlier that year. That means more raids, more targets and more reliance on Afghan competenceall of which add up to more special forces casualties. A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, confirmed that insurgents had been gathering at the compound, adding that eight of them had been killed in the fighting. They were sitting there, waiting. They have to slow down to land or allow troops to rappel to the ground. In fact, Chinooks are better protected from newer, more sophisticated threats than from older, more crude ones. Military officials told her operating outside of these rules "damages our efforts to win the hearts and minds of our enemies. 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. But why? For now, let's assume the Chinook was shot down, and by a rocket. Portraits of Navy SEALs killed in helicopter crash | Fox News 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. Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. All rights reserved. At the pilots request, the AC-130 flashed an infrared spotlight, which could be seen only through night vision goggles, to light up the landing zone. 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. . Over time, certain memories will fade, certain details will fade. 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. He has written about soldiers returning home from war and the mental health crisis facing young people. Ultimately, bin Laden was found and killed within nine minutes, and SEAL Team Six was credited with carrying out a nearly flawless mission. Finally Sells Japan Tomahawk Missiles. The last worst one-day U.S. casuality record in Afghanistan was on June 28, 2005 when 16 U.S. soldiers were killed in Kunar province after a helicopter was shot down by Taliban insurgents. Mills, a 13-year veteran of the military . He was too busy. The guy was incredibly skilled.. The conspiracy has a number of moving parts, all of which have surfaced before, but none of which have any truth to them. ", Ed Darack's The Final Mission of Extortion 17, published by Smithsonian Books, will be available on September 19. The helicopter was shot down by insurgents in August 2011; many of those killed were part of the same Navy SEAL Team 6 unit that carried out the raid on Usama bin Laden's compound three months . All rights reserved. SEAL TEAM SIX - Extortion 17 EXPOSED - YouTube Theyre going after [enemy fighters] in very hostile environments, who know the terrain very well, who know the battlescape very well, Darack said. 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. "No amount of training, skill, or technology will ever defeat chance on the battlefield. 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. This critical, but completely uncontrollable, aspect of war, is well-known among fighters like Buddy. The World is a public radio program that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter. Lee is 36 now, a civil attorney in Dallas, a world away from Afghanistan. Obama stonewalls SEAL Team 6 Extortion 17 helicopter crash probe At that time, this marked deadliest moment in the war in Afghanistan. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. President Obama offered his thoughts and prayers to those killed in the crash. "Chance will always play a role in war," stated Justin "Buddy" Lee, the commander of Extortion Company, who had flown with Dave Carter the night before Extortion 17's demise on a similar raid, and who had co-piloted a number of missions with Bryan Nichols. They happened to be in the right place at the right time. 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. I thought I hit a tree,he said. No one is planting victory gardens, and were not rationing. They are also pretty tough; the only comparable loss to this one was a Chinook shot down in 2005. With Sean Hannity, Raj Kala, Justin Torrence, Vee Bhakta. A Defense Department special operations official told a House subcommittee last year that there is no indication the mission was compromised by the Afghans. Caring is more than just slapping a bumper sticker on your car, he said. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 3 Questions About the SEAL Team Six Helicopter Crash - Popular Mechanics The military's public contradictions raise more questions than answers.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. 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. Navy SEALs. Lee had just flown the night before on a similar mission with one of the pilots, David Carter. The Chinook smashed into the ground, the force ripping off his goggles. At that time, this marked deadliest moment in the war in Afghanistan. The workhorse in Army aviation, the tandem rotor, heavy-lift Chinook helicopter is used for carrying troops, equipment, supplies and even the mail. I didnt want to die., He remembered the words of his old flight instructor: Never stop flying the aircraft.. . It's unclear how far away the helicopter was from the initial firefight when it went down and unclear how the troops in the firefight got to the crash location, the official said. 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.. I had to learn how to land while browned-out, wearing NVGs, on the side of a mountain or an uneven field, Lee said. Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, was one of the U.S. Navy SEALS killed in the helicopter crash. Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, BroadStreet Review and Splice Today. Special forces routinely use helicopters in raids on homes in Afghanistan. 4:08 p.m. - The team destroys the chopper that crashed. Click here for reprint permission. He taught helicopter pilots how to fly in high altitudes at an aviation training site in Colorado. We had guys who had flown in Desert Storm, guys who had just come off active duty, Lee said. International reactions to bin Ladens death ranged from favorable to mixed. Around 2007, U.S. intelligence officials discovered the name of one of bin Ladens closest couriers, whom they speculated may have been involved in supporting or harboring the terrorist. 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,. Lee remained in Afghanistan flying combat missions for another eight months before returning home in the spring of 2012. As for himself, he speaks out about Extortion 17 because he wants to remember the men on that mission. 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. But why? What in the world was that Navy Seals conspiracy that Trump retweeted? U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that they believe that . Some congressional lawmakers demonstrated their support for the group, including former Florida Republican Rep. Allan West -- an Iraq war vet -- and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. The families of some of the 17 SEAL Team 6 commandos who were killed in an ambush in Afghanistan during a helicopter flight to help Army Rangers pinned down by Taliban gunmen accused the Obama administration of deliberately endangering their loved ones for political ends. The families accept the fact that a single shot brought down the helicopter. While the goggles are better than nothing, they turn everything green, distort depth perception and limit peripheral vision. The assassination of Osama bin Laden was a significant victory for the U.S. government and the American people at large. Market data provided by Factset. The attack on August 6 was the most devastating day in SEAL Team Six history, as well as the single largest loss of life for U.S. forces since the war in Afghanistan began in October. SEAL Team 6 Families Force Congress To Investigate Mysterious Chopper Crash Military officers interviewed by investigators said they could not recall an IRF ever being sent for such a mission. The Chinook is often used to assist in disaster relief, delivering food and water after earthquakes and floods. By the time the third sped away from its launcher, however, no target remained. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. At this difficult hour, all Americans are united in support of our men and women in uniform who serve so that we can live in freedom and security.". Back in May, the families of the SEALs went public with concerns that the Obama administration was at least partially responsible for the deaths [] This is all, needless to say, completely unsubstantiated if not outright false. The SEALS intentionally . Still, SEAL Team Sixs bold raid to take down bin Laden was an extraordinary operation that most experts regard as a resounding success. Virginia-based Navy SEALs in a training exercise. Darack, a writer and photographer, is the author of four previous books, including Victory Point: Operations Red Wings and Whalersthe Marine Corps' Battle for Freedom in Afghanistan, Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. 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. Not all U.S. presidents are missed once they leave the White House. Its one reason Twitter has put in place safeguards encouraging users to read links before retweeting them. Two investigations of the incident proved inconclusive. The helicopter crashed into a creek bed and a flash flood shortly afterward washed away some parts of the wreckage. Although the Taliban have claimed to have shot the helicopter down, U.S. officials have only identified the attackers as insurgents. A number of the DEVGRU SEALs were devastated by this loss . 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 Chinook was descending on a noisy battlefield where Apache helicopters and a C-130 gunship had been buzzing overhead for three hours, alerting Taliban fighters. Navy SEAL Who Killed Bin Laden Tears Into Conspiracy Trump Boosted Fallen Angel: Call Sign - Extortion 17 (2021) - IMDb 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. EXTORTION 17 COVER-UP OF SEAL TEAM SIX SHOOT-DOWN | BWCentral Men he knew. The Taliban shot at the Chinooks all the time with RPGs and rifles, Darack said. Mr. Klayman said the NSA has agreed to provide some information. 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. So the whole team went in one Chinook helicopter -- Extortion 17. 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.. 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. Here are the . "We will draw inspiration from their lives, and continue the work of securing our country and standing up for the values that they embodied. Nearby, there were two enemy fighters with rocket-propelled grenade launchers. It is not uncommon for commandos to fly some of their missions aboard such aircraft in the war zone, however. 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. Things like Benghazi and the NSA. Every mission is potentially life-threatening. Osama bin Ladens personal journal was also recovered. In addition to the 30 Americans, the official said there were seven Afghan army soldiers and an interpreter on the helicopter. 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. And needless to say, it was the real Bin Laden who was killed, not an incredible facsimile. 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. Lee and his friend Bryan Nichols flew their Chinook into battle several timesthe first night, dropping off troops at a landing zone (LZ) almost 10,000 feet above sea level. 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. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The incident comes just months after DevGru's raid that killed Osama bin Laden. The first of the unguided projectiles missed, as the vast majority of rocket propelled grenades shot at helicopters did over the course of the war in Afghanistan. Obama 'Put a Target on Their Backs', SEAL Team 6 Family Members Say During the last several years it is evident that our government has spent a lot of time and resources covering up the truth on many things from both our allies and the American public, Mr. More than 20 Navy Seals died in the helicopter crash that killed 31 in Afghanistan yesterday. 20+ Members Of SEAL Team Six Killed In Afghanistan Helicopter Crash Several Afghans were on board and were killed, but trust is in short supply in Afghanistan. One of the engines flew off, and the other caught fire. The mission itself has proven controversial to some family members. 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. 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. On his first deployment, he felt fortunate to be surrounded by veteran pilots he could learn from. Apparently, someone tipped them off that the SEALs were coming; the helicopter was attacked from three sides in a coordinated ambush. House panel probing chopper crash that killed SEAL Team 6 members Around 2:40 a.m., an Apache pilot flying in support came on the radio and shouted: Fallen Angel. By The Newsroom 6th Aug 2011, 6:30pm Its lawyers have told the judge that the process of locating relevant documents and removing classified information takes time. How SEAL Team Six Took Out Osama bin Laden - HISTORY 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. In the immediate wake of the tragedy, the military initiated two investigations. It was a hard landing, but it would have been worse if they had landed tail first. She had just given birth to their first child. JSOC and aviation commanders, prepared for virtually any outcome, quickly formulated a plan: they would send a team on one helicopter to bolster the Ranger-led force. "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. Lees wife, Christy, hoped the news would bring a sudden end to the war. We also mourn the Afghans who died alongside our troops in pursuit of a more peaceful and hopeful future for their country. Extortion 17, Seal Team Six and What Really Happened on the Deadliest September-11-pentagon-attack-survivors-evacuation. Karen Vaughn says she wants to know why her son Aaron and his team were not using special operations aircraft which have defenses in place to help allow helicopters to go deep behind enemy lines. But some say the official report, which contained no direct criticism of decision-makers that day, did not delve deeply enough. PRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, the 2011 raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. 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. 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 . The landing zone was small, and the commanders didnt want to split up the strike force. 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 . Call Sign Extortion 17: The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six is a 2015 non-fiction expose, written by best-selling author and former U.S. Navy JAG Officer Don Brown, about the 2011 Chinook shootdown in Afghanistan of a United States Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter. No family members were allowed to testify. Landing in deserts or mountainsides, the helicopter rotors kick up clouds of sand and dust, causing brownouts that can blind a pilot. You never want to use the same landing zone twice, Darack said. The conspiracy theories didnt bother Lee at first. Hamburger added. The chopper's manifest. 30 Americans Killed Including 22 SEALs When Afghan - ABC News On board were 22 Navy SEALs, rushing to support troops in firefight. And the shooters had no reason to know that Extortion 17 or any other helicopter would be flying through their quiet extremity of the valley.