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He knew the pilots and crew members aboard Extortion 17. Lee remained in Afghanistan flying combat missions for another eight months before returning home in the spring of 2012. 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. In the immediate wake of the tragedy, the military initiated two investigations. The conspiracy theories didnt bother Lee at first. SEAL Team Six Helicopter Crash: Let's Debunk a Myth. SEAL Team 6 and what really happened on America's deadliest day in U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that they believe that . But at least you should care about them and appreciate what were asking of them.. They start the movie showing George W Bush saying that after 9/11 we will hunt down those responsible. Somebody was leaking to the Taliban, said Mr. Still, SEAL Team Sixs bold raid to take down bin Laden was an extraordinary operation that most experts regard as a resounding success. Is Russias Only Aircraft Carrier Cursed? Strange also blamed top military brass for sending the troops into a situation they were allegedly ill-equipped and unprepared to handle. "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. Winds whipped through the fir trees. No one saw two Taliban armed with grenade launchers standing on a mud-brick turret well within range of the descending chopper. Legal Statement. While the goggles are better than nothing, they turn everything green, distort depth perception and limit peripheral vision. How SEAL Team 6 . Apparently, someone tipped them off that the SEALs were coming; the helicopter was attacked from three sides in a coordinated ambush. Due to the sheer magnitude of loss of life, combined with recent news of SEAL Team Six's successful raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, global media outlets lionized the tragedy. On July 25, a Chinook was hit by a rocket propelled grenade fired by the Taliban. 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. The ensuing crash killed all 16 on board, eight Army special operations aviators, and eight Navy SEALs. His father Billy Vaughn recounted Thursday a phone call from his son following the White House decision to credit the highly secretive military unit for the bin Laden raid. 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. The operation to kill the world's most wanted terrorist was the result of years of planning and training. Extortion 17, Seal Team Six and What Really Happened on the Deadliest It's a scary thought. They believe SEAL Team 6 had a target on its back and that persons inside the Afghan National Security Forces may have tipped off the Taliban that night in Tangi Valley. NATO Crash: Communities Mourn Loss of Troops Killed in Afghanistan The next night, the pair had orders to drop off more troops in the same spot. The team was responding to an Army Ranger unit that was engaged in a protracted firefight with Taliban fighters and needed reinforcements. The Graveyard of Empires: Directed by David Boreanaz. 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. The helicopter plunged tail first. It launched in the belly of the aircraft which made a hard landing and only two soldiers were injured in that attack but this time all on board were killed. Extortion 17, however, would never reach that landing zone. "One minuteone minute," transmitted Bryan Nichols, the pilot in command of the helicopter. The front rotor shattered, and the back pylon sheared off. 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. 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 . 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. On April 29, 2011, President Barack Obama authorized a small special operations team, known as SEAL Team Six, to carry out a raid on the compound. DevGru is an emblem of U.S. military power, known worldwide. To minimize the danger as much as possible, pilots will land Chinooks out of range of any weapons they know they enemy to have, and an Apache or a UAV will fly overhead to check for threats before the Chinooks drop off any soldiers. But why? It is not uncommon for commandos to fly some of their missions aboard such aircraft in the war zone, however. The second RPG round had connected with one of Extortion 17's aft rotor blades, severing more than 10 feet of it when it exploded. 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. 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. Furthermore, according to the lore, due to the alleged Iran angle, the Iran nuclear agreement in 2015 was in fact a payoff to Iran for whatever role they played in the earlier conspiracy. In all 38 troops died after the helicopter was shot down by what a review determined to be a Taliban RPG over Wardak Province, Afghanistan, on Aug. 6, 2011. "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,'' President Obama said Saturday. The Obama administration is violating a judges 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 in Afghanistan, a watchdog group is charging. 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. But the CH-47D has neither a flight nor voice recorder, only an engine performance data. Many military experts at the time, including some of Obamas top military advisers, had questioned the White Houses public praise of SEAL Team 6 and said it put members in danger. Since filing a lawsuit, Mr. Klayman says, he has been stonewalled by the Justice Department, the Defense Department, the CIA and the National Security Agency. About a dozen of the 33 troops in the back of the helicopter suffered broken bones, heavy bruises and scrapes. 4:05 p.m. - The first helicopter exits the compound. SEAL TEAM SIX - EXTORTION 17 COVER UP - YouTube All rights reserved. Justin Buddy Lee will never forget that night six years ago. Helicopter raids are dangerous and unpredictable. Only the pilots, crew, and special operations ground forces commanders knew about the planned flight path and time. You never want to use the same landing zone twice, Darack said. 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. 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 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. As for himself, he speaks out about Extortion 17 because he wants to remember the men on that mission. Throughout, he said, Justice lawyers have refused to take his phone calls. Neither did the risk he and his pilots faced every night. This time, they might simply have run out of luck and encountered an RPG-armed enemy who was in the right place at the right time. Osama bin Ladens personal journal was also recovered. Chinooks are American forces' preferred helicopters in Afghanistan because they are powerful enough fly over mountains while carrying a full complement of troops. More than 20 Navy Seals died in the helicopter crash that killed 31 in Afghanistan yesterday. 3 Questions About the SEAL Team Six Helicopter Crash - Popular Mechanics 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. Rowan Scarborough can be reached at rscarborough@washingtontimes.com. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. He probably doesnt. The had Seal team 6 killed is a likely reference to whats known as the Extortion 17 incident, the August 2011 tragedy in which a Chinookmilitary helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan, killing 38 people, 25 of them Navy Seals, in the deadliest day for the U.S. in the entire Afghanistan war. 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. 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. An official report was released in October 2011 but family members say it did little to fill in the details and left more questions than answers. I would say that on the three-minute call is when Gun 2 started looking at the LZ, giving an LZ brief op. The U.S. Army knows the risks when it plans air assault operations in Afghanistan. The World is a public radio program that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter. Are such missiles appearing in Afghanistan? But Tahir and a group of his fighters escaped. There's always the chance that Iran, which has them, or Pakistan, which conceivably could have bought some on the black market, supplied them to the Taliban. Some Arab countries and leaders condemned the actions of the United States. Whether enemy fire brought down the Chinook or a tree strike would never be known for sure. In that incident, 16 Navy SEALs and Army special operations troops were killed when their craft was shot down while on a mission to rescue four SEALs under attack by the Taliban. 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. "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. Our families are in danger,' " Vaughn recalled. When they arrived at the compound, however, the strike force couldn't locate Tahir, and some of his fighters dispersed. 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. For now, let's assume the Chinook was shot down, and by a rocket. The SEAL Team 6 community was devastated. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Two investigations of the incident proved inconclusive. Every mission is potentially life-threatening. There were guys in a tower. 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. It requires the highest level of skills from the pilots because they are some of the most dangerous operations.. Aerial view of Osama bin Laden's compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, made by the CIA. The Taliban silenced him. The ensuing crash killed all 16 on board, eight Army special operations aviators, and eight Navy SEALs. The sheer amount of experience with our pilots, flight engineers and back-seaters and mechanics offered a wealth of knowledge, he 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. Enterprise writer at The Dallas Morning News. So, to do an infil on the X or Y, you know, having that element of surprise in the beginning of an operation is good, but by the time weve been there for three hours, and the partys up, bringing in another aircraft like that, you know, may not be the most tactically sound decision.. An official investigation found no evidence of a pre-planned ambush, though it did suggest that other helicopter activity in the area could have tipped off Taliban fighters that more helicopters could be approaching, according to the report. MARTHA RADDATZ, LUIS MARTINEZ and MIKE BOETTCHER, helicopter was shot down today by Afghan insurgents, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. There are more sophisticated threats out there, such as the SA-16. 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. But Chinooks are at their most vulnerable while hovering in place during raids like the one this team is thought to have been conducting. The route had been carefully planned, and gunships maintained continuous watch over the intended landing zone during Extortion 17's approach. 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. A volley of three rockets total sped toward the general direction of the approaching Chinook, all launched within a few seconds of each other. 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. Portraits of Navy SEALs killed in helicopter crash 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 . 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. House panel probing chopper crash that killed SEAL Team 6 members Planners had created an absolutely sound mission. 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. One of the best crews in my company. Were asking people to do incredible things. What went so terribly wrong? The night her son Aaron died, he was in a helicopter that was built in the 1960s and last retrofitted in 1985. because seals have a habit of writing books once they retire. 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 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. Six weeks into his deployment, Lee experienced his worst day as a helicopter pilot to that point. Although the Taliban have claimed to have shot the helicopter down, U.S. officials have only identified the attackers as insurgents. This critical, but completely uncontrollable, aspect of war, is well-known among fighters like Buddy. Information about the incident is still trickling in, but these are a few of the most important questions in the immediate aftermath. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. As reported on by The Daily Beast, Trump retweeted a message posted by an account called Oscar the Midnight Rider 1111, which alleges that Hiden Biden and Obama may have had Seal team 6 killed! 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. The Rangers were not in need of rescue. 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 helicopter was in great operational shape. What happened to SEAL Team Six? The most serious scandal of all 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. We also mourn the Afghans who died alongside our troops in pursuit of a more peaceful and hopeful future for their country. President Trump has also claimed, including in the first presidential debate, that Biden opposed the raid that took out Bin Laden. He taught helicopter pilots how to fly in high altitudes at an aviation training site in Colorado. Caring is more than just slapping a bumper sticker on your car, he said. On his first deployment, he felt fortunate to be surrounded by veteran pilots he could learn from. Several Afghans were on board and were killed, but trust is in short supply in Afghanistan. U.S. It had been loaded well within its limits. The Chinook smashed into the ground, the force ripping off his goggles. Lees wife, Christy, hoped the news would bring a sudden end to the war. 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. It alleges thatthe 2011 raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, which took place when Biden was vice president, did not actually kill the al-Qaeda leader, but rather a body double, and that Iran had been part of the conspiracy as well. Military officers interviewed by investigators said they could not recall an IRF ever being sent for such a mission. Virginia-based Navy SEALs in a training exercise. 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. Forces to the threat of spying. It was an auspicious day for the two enemy fighters. A junior, he was ready to fight, but the war would be over, he figured, before he even got out of college. The compounds unusual and extensive security features, along with further intelligence information, prompted suspicion that the residence was Osama bin Ladens hideout. The military's public c Read allOn 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 second shot hit the rear tail rotor assembly. This was preventable only if they just had not taken off that night, Lee said. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. I will never forget what they did, he said. Their names and their missions had never been revealed before. 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. Some of the most highly trained and skilled war fighters in history, the Rangers moved overland to a location where intelligence indicated Lefty Grove and his small cadre of fighters would be holding a meeting.