He knew the pilots and crew members aboard Extortion 17. The Costliest Day in SEAL Team Six History - HISTORY In The Final Mission of Extortion 17, Ed Darack debunks this theory and others and uncovers the truth behind this mysterious tragedy. Deadliest Day in Spec Ops History: The Extortion-17 Chinook Crash Available for both RF and RM licensing. Extortion 17 and its 38 occupants would not return. It wasnt preventable. Their target was a Taliban commander responsible for ambushes and other attacks against U.S. and Afghan forces. No one is planting victory gardens, and were not rationing. The Taliban shot at the Chinooks all the time with RPGs and rifles, Darack said. This tactic was highly successful; hundreds of operations were conducted without firing a shot for years. Naval Special Warfare support personnel: Two, 3 U.S. Army Reserve personnel (Aircrew) from the, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 20:01. 2 U.S. Navy SEALs from a west coast-based SEAL team. Monitored and controlled by a Joint Terminal Attack Controller at Forward Operating Base Shank via a General Atomics MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, all six were positively confirmed killed by the bomb strike and subsequent attacks by a Lockheed AC-130 gunship and two Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships. But the CH-47D has neither a flight nor voice recorder, only an engine performance data recorder for maintenance. Extortion 17: 6 Years Later Retired Air Force Captain Says Pentagon [39], Following the withdrawal of U.S. forces in April 2011, Tangi valley became a major staging area for attacks on Kabul (located just 60 miles away). He was also an instructor at the High Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (see Triple Threat: High, Hot, and Heavy, Aug. 2014), where many U.S. and foreign helicopter pilots train for mountainous and high-altitude flying, often before deployment to Afghanistan. Obama 'Put a Target on Their Backs', SEAL Team 6 Family Members Say Call Sign Extortion 17 - Wikipedia In fact, the conflict was heating up. It was a good crew, it really was. Air Force Officer Speaks Out for First Time About Downing of Extortion Downing of Extortion 17: The Single Deadliest Incident of the US War in 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. This remains the greatest single loss of life to Naval Special Warfare since the Afghan War started in 2001. Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron Vaughn was one of the SEAL Team 6 operators who died in the crash. Photo by Jake Simkin for Coffee or Die Magazine. Following a scorched earth tactic may have killed the two shootersand possibly a greater number of innocentsprior to Extortion 17s return that night, but counterinsurgency doctrine dictates that such tactics lead to potentially far worse long-term consequences. The crash occurred in Tangi Joi Zareen, in the district of Sayd Abad in Wardak Province after it was struck by an. Commanders frequently request CH-47 Chinooks to insert troops. Sat 6 Aug 2011 19.08 EDT. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Photo by Sgt. Extortion 17 was attached to a mission to capture or kill a senior Taliban leader, Qari Tahir, near Kabul, Afghanistan. A Department of Defense official asserted that there were no leaks from the Afghans. Caring is more than just slapping a bumper sticker on your car, he said. The Chinook helicopter they were aboard was shot down by . In light of that raids success, the shootdown of Extortion 17 incited a flurry of conspiracy theories: The Taliban were tipped off; it was a trap; it was retribution for the killing. He said, "And now, to our honor roll of American Service Personnel killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. [11] At 22:37 (local time) on the night of 5 August, a platoon of 47 U.S. Army Rangers left a forward operating base in Logar Province via two CH-47D transport helicopters, one of which would later be involved in the accident. The first round sailed past the helicopter. As they started their descent, Lee heard a loud popping noise. The mission was flown by conventional pilots flying unmodified CH-47Ds. One rocket struck a rotor blade, causing the aircraft to crash almost instantly. 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. I am so proud to be an American and I thank all of the families left behind to mourn their loss. 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. Extortion 17 and 16 werent MH-47s and their crews were not Night Stalkers. Pinterest. A source from the Navys special operations community described the reaction as Shock and disbelief. The torque of the spinning rotor assembly, now catastrophically imbalanced, ripped the rear pylon off the Chinooks fuselage. 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.. On August 6, 2011, a U.S. Boeing CH-47 Chinook military helicopter was shot down while transporting a quick reaction force attempting to reinforce an engaged unit of Army Rangers in Wardak province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. Theyre going after in very hostile environments, who know the terrain very well, who know the battlescape very well, Darack said. Troops", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2011_Afghanistan_Boeing_Chinook_shootdown&oldid=1142506992, 2 U.S. Navy SEALs from Naval Special Warfare Group 1, 4 U.S. Lee remained in Afghanistan flying combat missions for another eight months before returning home in the spring of 2012. The crash killed all 38 people on board including 25 American special operations personnel, five United States Army National Guard and Army Reserve crewmen, seven Afghan commandos, and one Afghan interpreter as well as a U.S. military working dog. [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. Oct 26, 2016 - Explore Concerned Citizen's board "EXTORTION 17", followed by 829 people on Pinterest. After some time, another group of about 10 Taliban fighters was spotted that we suspected could be Qari Tahir himself fleeing the scene. Extortion 17 could be a bigger scandal and betrayal of Americans than Benghazi. 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. The Chinook is often used to assist in disaster relief, delivering food and water after earthquakes and floods. While the goggles are better than nothing, they turn everything green, distort depth perception and limit peripheral vision. Monday, 06 August 2012, marks one year since the tragic downing of EXTORTION 17 in Tangi, Afghanistan. The crash claimed the lives of 38 personnel, including 22 special operations forces in Afghanistan Aug. 6, 2011. On his right wrist, he wears a bracelet with the names of the five crew members of Extortion 17. 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: What really happened on America's deadliest day in First images of mangled Chinook crash revealed as Pentagon names all 30 Spec Ops Magazine 2023 All Rights Reserved. Courtesy . The duo may also have had no ties to Tahir or any of his suspected fighters, and attacked the helicopter on their own. The Final Flight of Extortion 17 It was the deadliest helicopter crash in the history of U.S. special operations. The Final Flight of Extortion 17 - Smithsonian Magazine With 38 people killed on board, it was the largest single-day loss of life in naval special warfare history and the largest single-day loss of life during the war in Afghanistan. The next night, the pair had orders to drop off more troops in the same spot. The 30 American deaths represent the greatest loss of U.S. military lives in a single incident in the decade-long war in Afghanistan that began in 2001. Copyright 2023 | National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum, The Museum is a 501(c)(3) organization. Over time, certain memories will fade, certain details will fade. 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. Lee had just flown the night before on a similar mission with one of the pilots, David Carter. This was preventable only if they just had not taken off that night, Lee said. 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. 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 second slammed into one of the Chinooks rear rotor blades and exploded, severing 10 feet of it. Extortion 17 - National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum U.S. Army Helicopter Extortion 17 Shot Down - YouTube Are all DEVGRUs saved in a sperm bank? by FighterSweep Staff Apr 25, 2017 Retired Air Force Captain Joni Marquez is claiming the Pentagon hid the truth and lied about the circumstances that led to a Chinook helicopter crash that. The events that unfolded that night are commonly referred to as Extortion 17, the call sign for the helicopter transporting the special operations personnel. Their target: an Afghan named Qari Tahir and his group of fighters. 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. Pentagon names 30 Americans killed in downed Afghan chopper - NBC News In her first interview about the incident, Marquez said: "I had the sensor operators immediately shift to the eight insurgents the helicopters had taken out. Classified reports, published by Wikileaks, teem with notes from pilots and crew of all types of military helicopters who saw RPG attacks throughout the war. REMEMBERING EXTORTION 17 - Survival Magazine & News [43][44], American rules of engagement were tightened by Gen. Stanley McChrystal in 2009 in order to improve American counterinsurgency strategy. Create an account. Save up to 30% when you upgrade to an image pack. 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. Extortion 17 August 6, 2022 marks 11 years since Extortion 17. Around 2:40 a.m., an Apache pilot flying in support came on the radio and shouted: Fallen Angel. 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. In March 2002, two MH-47s were downed by machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire while close to ground level. For helicopter crews in Afghanistan, the most dangerous times are landing and taking off. He pushed hard on the cyclic stick to tilt the helicopter forward. Neither did the risk he and his pilots faced every night. Two were still alive." You also want to come in from a different direction for the element of surprise.. In March 2009, the U.S. 10th Mountain Division established a base in Tangi Valley after increased Taliban activity in the area. August 2011 Attack on U.S. Troops in Afghanistan | C-SPAN.org He presents the Final Flight of EXTORTION 17 (spoken one seven and seventeen), like a Defense Attorney or an investigator. Donald Trump Retweeted A Conspiracy Theory that Biden Had Seal Team 6 Then they have to stick the landing. Night Stalker pilots and crew rigorously train for nighttime raids, like the one in Juy Zarin. Our area of operation was the entire country of Iraq, and every mission was at night, says David Pat Gates, a pilot with Carters unit , the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (2-135th), a Colorado Army National Guard unit based in Aurora, Colorado. 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. [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? 2 U.S. Army personnel from the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, part of the Colorado Army National Guard, PO1 John Douangdara & Navy SEAL Dog Bart, Of the 22 NSW members killed, 17 were SEALs, and five were direct support personnel, according to the source in the NSW community. Im a 25 year veteran involved in many support missions and I find this downing of Ext 17 very suspect indeed! Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Humm, to have all the Seal Team 6 members in one place at one time?? Several minutes later, a 20-man Pathfinder team (specializing in downed-aircraft rescue and recovery) arrived at the site. Yesterday, the Pentagon released the names of the 30 troops-- Navy SEALs, soldiers, and airmen, killed in the helicopter downed by Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan last weekend. This group grew in number over the course of the night, but American forces were at first too preoccupied to engage. 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 The squadron that this SEAL belonged to was never mentioned. Senior Chief Robert James Reeves was one of those Americans. The co-pilot, Bryan Nichols, was one of Lees closest friends in the Chinook company. Approaching to land or having just taken off, the craft is flying slow and low, so it presents a tempting target. [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. 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 Robert J. Reeves: A Navy SEAL who died in Extortion 17 - Spec Ops Magazine 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. They reached the site at 04:12 and found no survivors. Director Franois Garcia Writer Sandeep Panesar Stars Robert O'Neill (archive footage) Patricia Economo Enrique Garcia First, the Obama administration's Defense Department's crash report stated that there were no eyes in the sky over the Chinook . The vast majority miss. At that moment, Extortion 17 slowed to 58 mph, at no more than 150 feet, approaching a spot framed by trees and mud-brick huts, and "sparkled" by the infrared designator on an AC-130 gunship. God bless all of them- the bravest of the brave. The U.S. Navy SEAL task force assigned to conduct operations in Tangi Valley was well conditioned to the dangerous operating environment. August 12, 2022. by Samantha Franco. (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. Trump endorses Bin Laden Navy SEAL conspiracy theory - Audacy 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. Setting the record straight: Myths and misinformation about Extortion 17 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,. The resulting explosion destroyed the aft rotor assembly. The crash is referred to as Extortion 17 by the callsign of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter involved in the crash. 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. [42], In 2017, Air Force captain Joni Marquez, the firing officer on an AC-130 gunship that had accompanied Extortion 17 on the final flight, made a similar claim. He was too busy. The helicopter fell from the sky, killing all 38 on board. The IRF also included two SEALs from another team, five Navy special operations support personnel, three Air Force special tactics airmen, seven Afghan National Army commandos, a translator, and a combat assault dog. Sgt. Six weeks into his deployment, Lee experienced his worst day as a helicopter pilot to that point. 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. The immediate reaction force Extortion 17 carried should have been flown in two helicopters: Senior JSOC and aviation planners both agreed that the best course of action was to put the entire . [11][12], As the Rangers approached the target compound, ISR aircraft observed several people leaving the compound. Joining the 15 members of SEAL Team 6, two pilots and three-man crew inside Extortion 17: ten other Navy and Air Force personnel, eight Afghans and a combat assault dog named Bart. Were handing rifles to 20-year-olds and asking them to shoot people. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Grand Island, Nebraska, Sgt. This is the Group Burial for unidentified remains of casualties of the Chinook helicopter (CH-47D 89-00175) which crashed in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. Play FALLEN ANGEL Call Sign: Extortion 17. Mission commanders, believing that Tahir was likely among one of the groups, deployed an Immediate Reaction Force (IRF) to interdict them while the Rangers held the compound. The first grenade missed Extortion 17. 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. | In 2006, he was called into Afghanistan, where he turned 25. Extortion 17 BRIAN BILL FOUNDATION 31 MILE RUCK FOR THE 31 HEROES OF EXTORTION 17 IN WASHINGTON, DC AUGUST 3, 2019 On 6 August 2011, a U.S. Boeing CH-47 Chinook military helicopter was shot down while transporting a quick reaction force attempting to reinforce an engaged unit of Army Rangers in Wardak province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. Early media reports suggested that the Army had been tardy to recover flight recorders from the downed Chinook, and, as a consequence, the recorders had been swept away by the flood. AC-130 gunships orbiting overhead directed two AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to fire on and kill five enemy fighters. The group fired 2-3 RPG rounds from a two-story building from a location some 220 meters south of the helicopter. At the time of the Juy Zarin raid, the battalion had been flying in Afghanistan for about two weeks. A body went into the ocean, but Ill bet it wasnt Bin Ladens. EXTORTION 17 COVER-UP OF SEAL TEAM SIX SHOOT-DOWN | BWCentral While Benghazi resulted in four American deaths, Extortion 17 resulted in 38 deaths, including nearly two dozen Navy SEALs. August 6, 2022 marks 11 years since Extortion 17. On 6 August 2011, a U.S. CH-47D Chinook military helicopter operating with the call sign Extortion 17 (pronounced "one-seven") was shot down while transporting a Quick Reaction Force attempting to reinforce a Joint Special Operations Command unit of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Tangi Valley in Maidan Wardak province, southwest of Kabul, Immediately after Ryan shared an intimate photo of his own, the cybercriminal demanded $5,000, threatening to make the photo public and send it to Ryan's family and friends. Find the perfect extortion17 stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. The men who serve in the American military are the finest! What are the odds? It is considered the worst loss of American lives in a single incident in the Afghanistan campaign, surpassing Operation Red Wings in 2005. [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. Also very suspicious that the only member of Seal Team Six that is still alive and in the public sphere happened to be the guy that killed Bin Laden?? Air & Space/Smithsonian contributing editor Ed Darack is the author of The Warriors of Anbar; War Moments; The Final Mission of Extortion 17; Victory Point; and three other books. They may have seen Extortion 17 and its landing zone through their own night vision goggles or simply aimed by sound alone. Extortion 17: The deadliest day in the DEVGRU history - Spec Ops Magazine (Smithsonian Books, September 2017). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Geneva G. Brier/Released) Captain Marquez claims that had the AC-130 been allowed to fire on the remaining enemy insurgents, Extortion 17 would not have been shot down. Two fired at roughly the same time. SEAL Team 6 & Extortion 17 Families Suspect Crash Was Inside Job Instead, two rigorous U. S. military investigations followed every moment of the mission to determine what went wrong on Extortion 17s final flight. 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. [9][11], Six minutes later, the Rangers concluded securing the compound, detained several people and began to move on foot toward the crash site. Lees second deployment started in May of 2011. "[5], Subsequent reports stated that on the night during which the helicopter had been delivering reinforcements to personnel of the 75th Ranger Regiment, another special operations unit engaged in a night raid on a compound to kill or capture a senior Taliban leader. The previous highest U.S. death toll from a single incident in the war came from a rocket attack on a Chinook helicopter carrying Navy SEALs during Operation Red Wings on June 28, 2005. LZ is ice, transmitted one of the Rangers on the ground, indicating the landing zone was free of enemy activity. . He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas, Spc. 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). The shootdown was the single, deadliest loss of U.S. forces in the war. His account of the brave pilots, crew, and passengers of Extortion 17 . Your Privacy Rights The True Story Behind the Recovery of Extortion 17 On 6 August 2011, a U.S. CH-47D Chinook military helicopter operating with the call sign Extortion 17 (pronounced "one-seven") was shot down while transporting a Quick Reaction Force attempting to reinforce a Joint Special Operations Command unit of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Tangi Valley in Maidan Wardak province, southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan. Since the shootdown of Extortion 17, the military has continued to gain vital experience and equipment to enable an ever greater understanding of an enemy force, aiming to know every combatant and potential combatant and his weapon system before a raid. The helicopters are capacious and fast, and they can perform well in Afghanistans performance-degrading high altitudes and heat. Its almost always a miss.. His account of the brave pilots, crew, and passengers of Extortion 17 and . 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. Theres no precedent for this. So the whole team went in one Chinook helicopter Extortion 17. That's the only route, so they took positions on either side of the valley on mountains and as the helicopter approached, they attacked it with rockets and other modern weapons. The conspiracy theories didnt bother Lee at first. Thirty members of the American special forces have been killed in Afghanistan in the deadliest day of the 10-year war for US military personnel when the Taliban shot down . Gold Star father Bill Vaughn had a heartfelt message to American "leaders" while discussing a documentary that investigates the Extortion 17 helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
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