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. 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. Honestly, sir, I dont think anybody had really looked at the LZ, said the pilot of Gun 1. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. 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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.". The Joint Combat Assessment Team report identified, through detailed metallurgical analysis, the type of projectile that blew Extortion 17 out of the sky: an antipersonnel unguided ballistic rocket propelled grenade. Conspiracy theories started almost immediately. 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. Nearby, there were two enemy fighters with rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The military's public contradictions raise more questions than answers. or redistributed. 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. A junior, he was ready to fight, but the war would be over, he figured, before he even got out of college. Darack did extensive research of what happened next. Back in May, the families of the SEALs went public with concerns that the Obama administration was at least partially responsible for the deaths [] The workhorse in Army aviation, the tandem rotor, heavy-lift Chinook helicopter is used for carrying troops, equipment, supplies and even the mail. After the helicopter crash on August 6, 2011. 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. And Justice unilaterally set a new deadline for the release and then ignored it, Mr. Klayman said. 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. 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 In 2006, he was called into Afghanistan, where he turned 25. I find it quite disturbing that the government is not willing to give us the answers we deserve. 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. Just last week the Afghans arrested an Army officer for aiding Taliban suicide bombers through checkpoints, and doing so under employ by Pakistan. 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. Related: Marcus Luttrell's savior claim's 'Lone Survivor' got it wrong. The quick reaction force included SEAL Team 6 and other special operations personnel. ", Ed Darack's The Final Mission of Extortion 17, published by Smithsonian Books, will be available on September 19. Does Donald Trump believe that Joe Biden played a part in murdering those Navy Seals? Insurgents in Iraq have used Russian-made SA-7s, shoulder-fired missiles tipped with infrared homing devices, against U.S. and British aircraft. Chance, however, a component of war intimately understood by war fighters, can never be completely mitigated. There was a lot of experience in that cockpit, the flight engineers and the door gunners. Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond. 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. However, the AP has reported, the Afghan forces never staffed the outpost after American forces left, and the Taliban moved back in. "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. He would eventually do two tours and become commander of a Chinook unit during his second deployment in 2011. In all, 17 members of the SEAL Team 6 counterterrorist force were on board the CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, along with its Army National Guard aircrew, several support personnel and seven Afghan commandos. 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. Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. Everyone on board died within a fraction of a second30 Americans, eight Afghans and one American military working dog. By The Newsroom 6th Aug 2011, 6:30pm The Obama administration is violating a judge's order to turn over documents in the Aug. 6, 2011, shootdown of a U.S. helicopter call sign Extortion 17 that killed members of SEAL Team 6 . It just wasnt.. 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. Were handing rifles to 20-year-olds and asking them to shoot people. As they made their approach, there was a line of thunderstorms nearby. Lee is 36 now, a civil attorney in Dallas, a world away from Afghanistan. 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. AP sources: Crash kills members of SEAL Team 6. 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. The story itself is tragic, but tons of war propaganda. 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. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Aerial view of Osama bin Laden's compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, made by the CIA. 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. The two Apaches, Gun 1 and Gun 2, on scene were never emphatically told to move near the landing zone to scan for threats. Still, SEAL Team Sixs bold raid to take down bin Laden was an extraordinary operation that most experts regard as a resounding success. They start the movie showing George W Bush saying that after 9/11 we will hunt down those responsible. They were sitting there, waiting. The second shot hit the rear tail rotor assembly. 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 . A US helicopter crashed in Afghanistan yesterday killing 31 special operation troops, most of them from the elite Navy Seals unit that killed Osama bin Laden. ", While not commenting directly on the allegations, he called those who were lost "warriors" who represented "the diversity and talent of America and its military.". That assault team captured Tahirs compound and some of his men. Their names and their missions had never been revealed before. The aircraft jerked. President Trump has also claimed, including in the first presidential debate, that Biden opposed the raid that took out Bin Laden. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The pilots, crew and Chinook helicopters of "Extortion Company," the conventional Army aviation unit to which Extortion 17 belonged, had supported over 90 percent of raids conducted by Rangers and SEALs of JSOC in that region; the flight in question was nothing out of the ordinary. Several Afghans were on board and were killed, but trust is in short supply in Afghanistan. No one is planting victory gardens, and were not rationing. 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. Flying 250 feet above the valley floor at just under 70 miles per hour, Dave Carter, the pilot to the right of Nichols, guided the helicopter toward a carefully chosen landing zone just over a mile away. Additional forces were then sent to secure the crash site. Onboard were 17 members of SEAL Team 6; five naval special warfare operators, including one to intercept communications and another to handle Bart the war dog; five Army flight crewmen, including a National Guard and an Army Reserve pilot; and three Air Force personnel. The helicopter plunged tail first. 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. The U.S. Army knows the risks when it plans air assault operations in Afghanistan. Members of Navy SEAL Team Six formed the core of the IRF, with other American special operations personnel and highly-vetted Afghans playing integral roles. Afghan President Karzai's office released a statement on the incident. Family members question SEAL Team 6's most deadly incident. 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. Extortion 17, however, would never reach that landing zone. The chopper's manifest. The reality is, every time a helicopter lifts off the ground in a war zone, it might get shot down, Darack said. Nigerians await election results in competitive race. 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. Virginia-based Navy SEALs in a training exercise. Throughout, he said, Justice lawyers have refused to take his phone calls. You also want to come in from a different direction for the element of surprise.. My life is in danger. 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. No family members were allowed to testify. By the time the third sped away from its launcher, however, no target remained. International reactions to bin Ladens death ranged from favorable to mixed. The ensuing crash killed all 16 on board, eight Army special operations aviators, and eight Navy SEALs. SEAL Team Six was assigned three pre-invasion missions: two clandestine political missions relating to regime change on the island, and reconnaissance from the sea of the new airfield under construction on the island's southwest coast. Neither did the risk he and his pilots faced every night. This crash is incredibly demoralizing. 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. How SEAL Team 6 . . He was too busy. U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that they believe that . 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Men he knew. "No amount of training, skill, or technology will ever defeat chance on the battlefield. It had been loaded well within its limits. Somebody was leaking to the Taliban, said Mr. Could an enemy have specifically targeted the U.S. special forces team that took down bin Laden? Its one reason Twitter has put in place safeguards encouraging users to read links before retweeting them. Information about the incident is still trickling in, but these are a few of the most important questions in the immediate aftermath. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Although the Taliban have claimed to have shot the helicopter down, U.S. officials have only identified the attackers as insurgents. 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. Strange also blamed top military brass for sending the troops into a situation they were allegedly ill-equipped and unprepared to handle. "A NATO helicopter crashed last night in Wardak province," Karzai said in the statement. 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. Strange. 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. The compounds unusual and extensive security features, along with further intelligence information, prompted suspicion that the residence was Osama bin Ladens hideout. In the immediate wake of the tragedy, the military initiated two investigations. In fact, Chinooks are better protected from newer, more sophisticated threats than from older, more crude ones. Hamburger added. "It's something that a lot of people who have never been in combat have a hard time understanding," he said. 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. All but two of the SEALs were from SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed Osama bin Laden, although military officials said none of the crash victims was on that mission in Pakistan against the al . 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 former vice president has become the Democratic front-runner with primary victories across the country. Just after entering the Tangi, as Extortion 17 continued to descend and decelerate toward its landing zone, the helicopter passed through the narrowest portion of the valley. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon in February signed an order requiring the Obama administration to release documents on a continual basis through the spring and summer. See production, box office & company info, Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words. 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. Are such missiles appearing in Afghanistan? We had guys who had flown in Desert Storm, guys who had just come off active duty, Lee said. A collection of moments during and after Barack Obama's presidency. Special forces routinely use helicopters in raids on homes in Afghanistan. Then they have to stick the landing. The hardest LZ Id ever been into, Lee said. (AP). "The downing of Extortion 17 was a catastrophic and unprecedented tragedy for our nation," Reid testified. Market data provided by Factset. They knew. Its almost always a miss.. By what name was Fallen Angel: Call Sign - Extortion 17 (2021) officially released in Canada in English?