Joe Biden, Susan Rice, and Seal Team Six - American Thinker Warnings from her crew to turn the Chinook back or cancel their mission went unheeded. 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 . Their deaths are the greatest single loss of life ever suffered by the U.S. Special Operations community in the 24-year history of the U.S. Special Operations Command. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan. 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. [26], The U.S. military helicopter carrying special operations forces to a night-raid in the Tangi Valley of Wardak Province, was most likely brought down by a rocket-propelled grenade, according to military officials. [33], The New York Post reported that the Pentagon released 30 names from the crash. To lose even one precious life is too many, and the United States lost 38 soldiers that day. In this week in military history, we explore the aerial attack on a U.S. Army helicopter with the call sign "Extortion 17" in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011. FALLEN ANGEL Call Sign: Extortion 17 | SalemNOW Intelligence on August 6th indicated Qari Tahir was in Tangi Valley, just a short helicopter flight from the SEAL base camp. 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. Retired Air Force Captain Says Pentagon Lied About Cause of - SOFREP Burn is on, they radioed. They are not the same SEALs, and these two events are not connected to one another. 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. Critics blame Biden for Extortion 17 attack. [11], At 02:00, the special operations task force commander and the Immediate Reaction Force commander decided to add additional (non-SEAL) reinforcements, increasing the size of the team to 33. At 31 U.S. military personnel killed, the shoot down of Extortion 17 represents the greatest single-incident loss of U.S. lives in Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan, surpassing the 16. In Memoriam: The 31 Heroes of EXTORTION 17 - American Thinker As the Chinook CH-47 transport helicopter (call sign: Extortion 17) carrying 30 U.S. troops, seven Afghan commandos, an Afghan civilian interpreter and a U.S. military dog approached, the. 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. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash. According to officials, the team included 17 SEALs, five Navy special operations troops who support the SEALs, three Air Force airmen, a five-member Army air crew and a military dog, along with. But why? 2 U.S. Navy SEALs from a west coast-based SEAL team. [41] At the subsequent hearing in February 2014, Pentagon representative Garry Reid defended the decision to undertake the mission and denied that the Taliban had any advance knowledge of it. 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. Restrained by strict rules of engagement in force at the time, the helicopter crews could not have fired without a strong indication of hostile intent. 2017 The Dallas Morning News. 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. Explore. The group fired two or three RPG rounds from a two-story building, the second striking one of the helicopter's three aft rotor blades. ], Four years after the downing of Extortion 17, there were many theories about a possible government coverup. 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. It would never return. Around 2:40 a.m., an Apache pilot flying in support came on the radio and shouted: Fallen Angel. 5 U.S. - Afghanistan: Honoring the Heroes of Extortion 17 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. He said: "They wanted to attack our Mujahideen who were in a house, but our Mujahideen resisted and destroyed a helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade. Lawmakers hold hearing on deadly 'Extortion 17' helicopter crash in Lightboxes. 360 EXTORTION 17 ideas | extortion, navy seals, seal team 6 For helicopter crews in Afghanistan, the most dangerous times are landing and taking off. The crash claimed the lives of 38 personnel, including 22 special operations forces in Afghanistan Aug. 6, 2011. Call Sign Extortion 17 - Wikipedia 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. Available for both RF and RM licensing. The team boarded Extortion 17 with Dave Carter and Bryan Nichols at the controls. The worst of the wounded was one of Lees crew members, who suffered what was later diagnosed as a severe traumatic brain injury. [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. [9][11], Around 02:38, the helicopter was fired upon and shot down by a previously undetected group of Taliban fighters approximately 220m (240yd) south of the helicopter. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. New documentary investigates events surrounding Extortion 17 helicopter [2][38], On 10 August 2011, the U.S. military stated that the insurgent who fired the rocket-propelled grenade had been killed only two days afterward in an F-16 airstrike, saying only that intelligence gained on the ground provided "a high degree of confidence" that the person was among those killed in the airstrike from two days earlier, but providing no other details. The first round sailed past the helicopter. Naval Special Warfare support personnel, two EOD technicians, one MWD Handler, one Cryptologic technician, and one Information systems technician. 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. LZ is ice, transmitted one of the Rangers on the ground, indicating the landing zone was free of enemy activity. The crash occurred in Tangi Joi Zareen, in the district of Sayd Abad in Wardak Province after it was struck by an. The helicopter fell from the sky, killing all 38 on board. Extortion 17: 6 Years Later Retired Air Force Captain Says Pentagon On his first deployment, he felt fortunate to be surrounded by veteran pilots he could learn from. The crash sent shock waves throughout U.S. special operations. You never want to use the same landing zone twice, Darack said. Should the Apaches, or the AC-130 overhead, have fired upon the groups of suspected Taliban that gathered in the village after the raid began? August 2011 Attack on U.S. Troops in Afghanistan | C-SPAN.org The following was extracted from The Navy Times: If one is to believe the account of Matt Bissonnette, the only possibility of a participant of the bin Laden raid perishing on Extortion 17 is if the one SEAL specifically noted not to be a member of Red Squadron was a member of Gold Squadron and a passenger aboard the ill-fated Chinook. Whether enemy fire brought down the Chinook or a tree strike would never be known for sure. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a62b75e7a99f5de39e28d378788f7ec9" );document.getElementById("c08a1a06c7").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Content on this website is free to use and share, but please provide a link back to Spec Ops Magazine as a source. The helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was on a mission to reinforce American and coalition special operations troops. To find answers to many of the outstanding questions regarding Extortion 17, a congressional oversight committee held a hearing on February 27, 2014. In combat, its mission is to transport large teams of elite assault troops, including Army Rangers and Navy SEALs, to and from the battlefield. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pennsylvania. I was terrified. On his right wrist, he wears a bracelet with the names of the five crew members of Extortion 17. 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. And thats fine; thats what you signed up for, Lee said. I had to learn how to land while browned-out, wearing NVGs, on the side of a mountain or an uneven field, Lee said. During the Ranger insertion earlier that night, the CH-47D had approached from the south; this time, it approached from the northwest. "It's a math problem.