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 Rangers were not in need of rescue. In the immediate wake of the tragedy, the military initiated two investigations. The guy was incredibly skilled.. Nothing tests the capabilities of a young helicopter pilot like flying in the extreme conditions of Afghanistan. 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. They have to slow down to land or allow troops to rappel to the ground. 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. There are no survivors. The tempo of the missions did not decrease. ", "The hearts and minds of our enemy are more valuable to our government than my son's blood," she said. A CH-47D Chinook helicopter lands at a small landing zone at Firebase Blessing, in eastern Afghanistans restive Kunar Province at the start of a combat operation. "We simply didn't know those guys with those RPGs were there," he said. 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. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst. or redistributed. The actual mission, dubbed Operation Neptune Spear, officially started in the early-morning hours of May 2, Pakistan time (afternoon of May 1, Eastern Daylight Time). The Associated Press is reporting that a rocket attack took down the Chinook (probably a MH-47) , quoting an unnamed source in Washington D.C., but this has yet to be confirmed officially. Lees wife, Christy, hoped the news would bring a sudden end to the war. They are also pretty tough; the only comparable loss to this one was a Chinook shot down in 2005. The military's public contradictions raise more questions than answers. The crash killed 38 people, including 15 Navy SEALs. JSOC ground forces and those who flew them knew and trusted each other. "It's something that a lot of people who have never been in combat have a hard time understanding," he said. This was preventable only if they just had not taken off that night, Lee said. It's certainly possible. The Justice Department said at least 50 documents in the Pentagon have been identified as relevant, but only one has been turned over. 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. 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. Its lawyers have told the judge that the process of locating relevant documents and removing classified information takes time. I would say that was the first time that we really had eyes on the LZ.. 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. 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. 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. 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. A Marine speaks into a radio and troops unload a CH-47D Chinook in Afghanistan's Kunar Province. Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, was one of the U.S. Navy SEALS killed in the helicopter crash. In interviewing Buddy for background research for my book, The Final Mission of Extortion 17, which chronicles the people, events, and circumstances of the downing of Extortion 17, I realized that this tragedy illustrates Buddy's words more convincingly perhaps than any other incident. Only the pilots, crew, and special operations ground forces commanders knew about the planned flight path and time. 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. When the shock subsided, questions arose and persisted. It was exactly four years ago, at 2:22 a.m., that a rebuilt conventional CH-47 Chinook helicopter took off from a forward operating base, carrying some of the most skilled and advanced warriors ever molded by U.S. special operations. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. .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. A collection of moments during and after Barack Obama's presidency. PRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402. Joe Pappalardo is a contributing writer at Popular Mechanics and author of the new book, Spaceport Earth: The Reinvention of Spaceflight. The helicopter was in great operational shape. 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. The chopper's manifest. A catastrophic crash seemed unavoidable. Navy SEALs. AP sources: Crash kills members of SEAL Team 6. We had guys who had flown in Desert Storm, guys who had just come off active duty, Lee said. The Taliban, of course, has taken credit, saying it shot down the helo during a special forces raid on a home. "One minuteone minute," transmitted Bryan Nichols, the pilot in command of the helicopter. Men he knew. Theyre going after [enemy fighters] in very hostile environments, who know the terrain very well, who know the battlescape very well, Darack said. Nearby, there were two enemy fighters with rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Two investigations of the incident proved inconclusive. The hearing as it took place was meant to honor the heroes of Extortion 17 instead of to answer our questions, Mr. How SEAL Team 6 . It was a good crew, it really was. Asked for comment, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. James Gregory said: "We share in the grief of all of the families who lost their loved ones. In fact, Chinooks are better protected from newer, more sophisticated threats than from older, more crude ones. 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 . 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. Some of those Seals were members of Seal Team 6 that took part in the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, the AP reported today; although they were not actual participants in the Pakistan raid, according to the New York Times. But Chinooks are at their most vulnerable while hovering in place during raids like the one this team is thought to have been conducting. All rights reserved. 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. Special forces routinely use helicopters in raids on homes in Afghanistan. That assault team captured Tahirs compound and some of his men. However, a shoot down does not necessarily mean insurgents have changed their tactics or hardware. He knew the pilots and crew members aboard Extortion 17. 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. On his first deployment, he felt fortunate to be surrounded by veteran pilots he could learn from. "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 families accept the fact that a single shot brought down the helicopter. But why? "No amount of training, skill, or technology will ever defeat chance on the battlefield. Strange. Get everything off your social media. The next night, the pair had orders to drop off more troops in the same spot. File: A US Army CH-47D Chinook helicopter in flight. The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DevGru)better known by its former name, Team 6-reportedly suffered the bulk of the casualties. 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. Back in May, the families of the SEALs went public with concerns that the Obama administration was at least partially responsible for the deaths [] In fact, the conflict was heating up. Although the Taliban have claimed to have shot the helicopter down, U.S. officials have only identified the attackers as insurgents. As he did, he felt the craft leveling off. Lee heard the call, and he knew what it meant. Fallen Angel.. Their target was a Taliban commander responsible for ambushes and other attacks against U.S. and Afghan forces. I mean, at any time if we would have found these squirters, or they would have found weapons, we were the way I was understanding it, we were going to be clear to engage due to the fact that they had weapons, but we had to [positively identify] them first., He added: So we hadnt started looking at the LZ yet, just due to there was so much more of a threat to the east with the squirters. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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. File: A US Army CH-47D Chinook helicopter in flight. The team boarded Extortion 17 with Dave Carter and Bryan Nichols at the controls. Extortion 17 then plummeted to the ground and erupted in a massive fireball. As more responsibilities fall on the shoulders of special forces, the risk of more losses like this one will continue to increase. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. A chief warrant officer 5, a member of the Colorado National Guard, Carter had over 4,500 flying hours, including more than 1,000 hours during combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. 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. 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. 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. During the event organized by a group called Freedom Watch, family members and former military personnel claimed President Obama turned the SEALs group into a Taliban target after the administration revealed they had conducted 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. At that time, this marked deadliest moment in the war in Afghanistan. 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.. Caring is more than just slapping a bumper sticker on your car, he said. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. September-11-pentagon-attack-survivors-evacuation. At that time, this marked deadliest moment in the war in Afghanistan. One helicopter crashes, but there are no injuries. A junior, he was ready to fight, but the war would be over, he figured, before he even got out of college. The World is a public radio program that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter. 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. because seals have a habit of writing books once they retire. That same day he obtained a medical waiver he needed to pursue an Army commission -- to serve an eight-year hitch before going to law school. 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. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. Darack did extensive research of what happened next. While the press conference was long on speculation and short on concrete evidence, the family members and their supporters didn't pull any punches. 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. Its like taking a paper towel roll, cutting it in half and strapping it to your eye, Lee said. Copyright 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. Here are the . Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver. The next day, a DNA test confirmed that the body was indeed that of Osama bin Laden. The hardest LZ Id ever been into, Lee said. 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 team began intense training for the operation, which included practicing in a life-sized replica of the compound. 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 resulting crash killed all 38 people on board including 17 US Navy SEALs, two United States Air Force Pararescue, one United States Air Force Combat Control Team member, one pilot and two crewmen of the United States Army Reserve, one pilot and one crewman of the United States Army National Guard, seven members of the Afghan National Security 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. The story itself is tragic, but tons of war propaganda. The insurgents had no way of knowing the helicopter would be coming in, at the speed it was coming and at the altitude, Darack said. Originally published August 6, 2011 at 10:50 am Updated August 6, 2011 at 3:16 pm. This critical, but completely uncontrollable, aspect of war, is well-known among fighters like Buddy. He was probably in the top 1 percent of Army aviators, Lee said. An initial investigation indicates the helicopter was shot down by insurgents in the volatile Tangi valley of Wardak province, several hours south of Kabul. But why? The helicopter crashed into a creek bed and a flash flood shortly afterward washed away some parts of the wreckage. He was too busy. And Justice unilaterally set a new deadline for the release and then ignored it, Mr. Klayman said. Then they have to stick the landing. Ultimately, bin Laden was found and killed within nine minutes, and SEAL Team Six was credited with carrying out a nearly flawless mission. But special forces don't get such a cushion: Because they can react more quickly, they undertake more dangerous missions; their risk tolerance is much, much higher. Lee remained in Afghanistan flying combat missions for another eight months before returning home in the spring of 2012. David Tarrant. With Sean Hannity, Raj Kala, Justin Torrence, Vee Bhakta. Copyright 2023 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved, the 2011 raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. But this might just take the cake. Or when something went terribly wrong. One of the other things that we did talk about kind of what youre hitting on, sir, is about the fact that, you know, for three hours we had been burning holes in the sky, the officer told investigators. EXPLOSIVE: CIA Whistleblower Exposes Bidens Alleged Role With the Deaths of Seal Team- Claims to have Documented Proof. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Helicopter raids are dangerous and unpredictable. Additional forces were then sent to secure the crash site. Coincidence or not, any Chinook shoot-down is a coup for the Taliban. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Things like Benghazi and the NSA. On July 25, a Chinook was hit by a rocket propelled grenade fired by the Taliban. The Chinook had no Apache escort, as did the Ranger team that enjoyed the element of surprise when it touched down hours earlier. 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. The Graveyard of Empires: Directed by David Boreanaz. 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. By what name was Fallen Angel: Call Sign - Extortion 17 (2021) officially released in Canada in English? Today, some family members are not just disappointed in the investigation and the FOIA process, but also in how the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on national security conducted a brief hearing in Feb. 2014. Navy SEAL Team Six, the heroic unit that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011, is in grave danger due to the reckless actions of the Obama administration. Some Arab countries and leaders condemned the actions of the United States. Could an enemy have specifically targeted the U.S. special forces team that took down bin Laden? "Sometimes the enemy just gets that terribly lucky shot. I find it quite disturbing that the government is not willing to give us the answers we deserve. It has now been four years since Extortion 17 was shot down, said Doug Hamburger, whose Army air crew son, Patrick, was one of the 30 Americans killed. It was the worst day for fatalities in the history of naval special warfare. On this night, Aug. 6, 2011, something went terribly wrong. Enterprise writer at The Dallas Morning News. 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. These helicopters have been well protected from long-range missile attacks for years, but still have few defenses against a simple RPG fired at short range while the Chinook hovers in place. 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. 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. 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. The parents of three SEALs. 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. So the whole team went in one Chinook helicopter -- Extortion 17. Soon after US Navy Cryptologist Michael Strange and the elite SEAL Team 6 capture and kill Bin Laden, they are deployed to Afghanistan, where their Chinook is shot down. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. After the crash, the forces that were involved in the firefight "broke contact" with the enemy so they could go provide perimeter security for the crash site, the official said. "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. Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. 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. SEAL TEAM SIX - EXTORTION 17 COVER UP theunitedwest 15.8K subscribers Subscribe 683 53K views Streamed 7 years ago WOW, watch author Don Brown blow the lid off of the official government report. There is still a tremendous level of chance for a tragedy of such huge magnitude.. But the Team Six connection makes it a major symbolic victory for them. The operation to kill the world's most wanted terrorist was the result of years of planning and training. But why? 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. 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. The route had been carefully planned, and gunships maintained continuous watch over the intended landing zone during Extortion 17's approach. 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. Military officers interviewed by investigators said they could not recall an IRF ever being sent for such a mission.