Fallen Angel Call Sign: Extortion 17 - SEAL Team Six Documentary (2021 Trailer)

On a moonless night in Afghanistan, on August 6, 2011, at approximately 2:22 AM local time, Gold Squadron of SEAL Team Six boarded a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, and lifted off for their mission. Flying just above the treetops, the helicopter rapidly entered the Tangi valley, headed for a small village. The team readied themselves as the pilot gave the signal to prepare the troops to exit the bird, “One minute… one minute.”

But Extortion 17 and the personnel aboard would never reach their destination. Thirty Americans and one American military working dog were shot out of the sky – no survivors. This was the greatest single-incident loss of life in the history of the Navy SEALs, U. S. Special Operations, and in the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

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Immediately following the military’s investigative report of the shootdown, questions were raised. Why did it take 17 minutes to fly a 10-minute mission? Why was the black box missing from the crash site? Why was the Fire Control Officer of the AC-130 Gunship flying above denied permission to engage the enemy preparing to mount an attack against the helicopter? Ten years later, these same questions are still being asked, but now as military personnel come forward, so do long awaited answers.

Streamed Aug 2, 2021
Fallen Angel - Trailer
Available Now On SalemNow
https://fallenangel.film

TRANSCRIPTION (auto-generated)

0:04
we understand that a plane
0:06
has crashed in
0:11
the people who knock these buildings
0:13
down
0:14
will
0:17
[Applause]
0:20
the biggest and most costly manhunt in
0:23
us history
0:24
is building to a crescendo the united
0:27
states
0:28
killed osama bin laden sources say
0:32
an elite division of the navy seal
0:34
carried out the operation
0:36
there are reports surfacing that al
0:38
qaeda has placed a 50 000 us dollar
0:40
bounty on the heads of
0:41
any u.s navy seals dead all alive
0:50
nobody's going to survive that there's
0:52
nobody in that
0:54
this is the single largest loss of life
0:56
in Afghanistan in a single
0:59
incident most of them are u.s navy seals
1:02
my job was to protect and that night
1:05
i wasn't able to do that this flight
1:08
should have been 10 minutes from wheels
1:09
up the wheels down
1:11
but we lost communication with him we've
1:14
had
1:14
two u.s army pilots verified that a
1:17
black box
1:18
was installed on extortion 170. one of
1:21
the more
1:21
sensational stories is that the black
1:24
box
1:25
was washed away in a flash flood was
1:27
there a black box
1:29
no sir so without a doubt that black box
1:32
was installed
1:33
we discovered bullets in the bodies of
1:35
the navy seals
1:36
the military threw them away more likely
1:40
than not that supports a shootout on
1:42
board
1:44
some of the families were told that the
1:46
bodies were not identifiable
1:48
that is absolutely not the case and in
1:50
fact their sons were cremated i called
1:52
the commander
1:53
why'd you cremate my son my son didn't
1:56
want to be cremated
1:57
every american should be taught about
1:59
what happened
2:00
in extortion 17. the families want to
2:03
know the why
2:04
we owe that to them the tragedy is the
2:06
caliber of men that were lost
2:09
what we do know is that it is clear that
2:12
someone
2:13
wanted the truth out there
2:23
[Music]

New Film Reveals Shocking Story of What Really Happened to SEAL Team Six

On the night of Aug. 6, 2011, a U.S. Army Chinook flew its risky mission over Afghanistan. Inside were 30 Americans, most from SEAL Team Six. Outside were dangerous forces plotting against it. No one could have predicted the truth.

Released on Aug. 2 from RPM Films and Triple Horse Studios comes Fallen Angel Call Sign: Extortion 17, the dramatic new documentary that reveals the shocking story of the greatest single-incident loss of life in the history of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, the Navy Seals and U.S. Special Operations. Fallen Angel debuted on SalemNOW, the streaming platform of Salem Media.

The film is available to rent or buy via SalemNOW at this link.

Don Brown is the author of Call Sign Extortion 17: The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six, the 2015 nonfiction military exposé on which the project is based. Brown says of Fallen Angel, “The film reveals the truth behind what happened to SEAL Team Six and the other brave Americans on board Extortion 17 that August night in 2011. We had the rare opportunity, along the lines of Lone Survivor and Zero Dark Thirty of complete access to tell the story of the heroism and sacrifice of an elite SEAL Team.”

On Aug. 6, 2011, a U.S. Army helicopter carried SEAL Team Six members into the skies of Afghanistan. The elite fighting team was ready to exit the Chinook—call sign Extortion 17—for its vital mission to help capture or kill Taliban leader Qari Tahir. But Extortion 17 and its personnel would never reach their destination. Instead, 30 Americans and one American military working dog were tragically killed when a Taliban-controlled rocket shot out of the sky.

But what really happened that night? Why was the black box missing from the crash site? And why was the fire control officer of the AC-130 gunship flying above denied permission to engage the enemy? Ten years later, long-awaited answers to these and other pressing questions are here. The explosive truth is that government missteps put our dedicated troops in harm’s way.

Says Brown of Fallen Angel, “The film is supplemented by the official military record of the mission, which has discrepancies—showing the possibility of negligence or the concealment of key facts.”

As Fox News’ Sean Hannity noted of this story, “Every American, every kid in school, should be taught what happened with Extortion 17.”

Check out the dramatic trailer for Fallen Angel above or at this link.

Don Brown is a former U.S. Navy JAG officer and the author of 15 books on the U.S. military, including the national bestsellers Last Fighter Pilot, Treason and Call Sign Extortion 17. Brown is also an attorney, perhaps best known for representing Lt. Clint Lorance, the U.S. Army paratrooper sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by the Obama administration stemming from a firefight on an Afghanistan battlefield. President Donald J. Trump pardoned Lt. Lorance on Nov. 15, 2019. Brown’s book, Travesty of Justice, tells that story. Brown has been a featured speaker at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, and has appeared nationally on Fox News, One America News, The Larry Elder Show, The David Webb Show, On Point with Tomi Lahren and many other media outlets.

Karen Vaughn, the Gold Star mother of Aaron Vaughn, has been outspoken on behalf of her son. The day her son’s life ended, hers began again. She is a powerful spokesperson for not only our defenders still on foreign soil as they attempt to secure peace around the globe, but also as an advocate for a better, stronger and more resilient America. Karen Vaughn has gone through the halls of Congress, appeared in national press conferences and been featured on multiple television and radio programs. She has also taken to large stages across the country as a keynote speaker and was a guest speaker position on the opening night of the 2016 Republican National Convention. Karen and Billy Vaughn have been married for nearly 37 years and believe that their greatest accomplishment on this earth was raising their three children: Aaron, Tara and Ana.

For more information about the new film Fallen Angel, produced by RPM Films and Triple Horse Studios and streaming beginning Aug. 2, 2021, on SalemNOW, visit its website at fallenangel.film.

ARTICLE: https://www.charismanews.com/video/new-film-reveals-shocking-story-of-what-really-happened-to-seal-team-six/

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Deadliest Day in Spec Ops History: The Extortion-17 Chinook Crash

Names of those killed in the Extortion-17 crash

These are the names, ranks and units of those killed in the Extortion-17 crash, according to the Navy SEAL Museum.

Sailors killed in the Extortion-17 crash:

Lieutenant Commander (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, Louisiana

Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, California

Special Warfare Operator Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Arkansas

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Connecticut

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Massachusetts

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Missouri

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Chief Petty Officer(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, West Virginia

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, Louisiana

Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Michigan

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, California

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist) Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, North Carolina

Information Systems Technician Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah

Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Nebraska

Cryptologist Technician(Collection)Petty Officer 1st Class(Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist) Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Florida

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, California

Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL)Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minnesota

Soldiers killed in the Extortion-17 crash

Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Aurora, Colorado

Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment(General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas

Staff Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Grand Island, Nebraska

Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas

Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan. He was assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kansas

Airmen killed in the Extortion-17 crash:

Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Florida
Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, California
Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York, Pennsylvania

All three airmen were assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, North Carolina.

In response to the tragedy, Marine Corps Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said at the time, "In the immediate aftermath, they press on with the mission ... It's an unfortunate part of the business we're in -- we take casualties. But our folks are well-trained to realize that they can't let the loss of their comrades deter them from the mission, and especially because this is a very dangerous undertaking, you can't afford to lose your focus and make the situation worse. Specifically, in the special operations community, they know very well how to soldier on."

In the aftermath of the crash, questions were raised about operational security, as well as the wisdom of having such a large number of special operators together on one aircraft. A subsequent official investigation conducted by Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Colt concluded that everyone involved did what they always do on special operations raids, and there was no problem with commanders, the troops or the procedures involved.

Three years later, the crash still haunts the special operations community and the families of the victims. In October 2013, The Washington Times acquired investigative files regarding the crash, suggesting that "the helicopter's landing zone was not properly vetted for threats nor protected by gunships, while commanders criticized the mission as too rushed and the conventional Chinook chopper as ill-suited for a dangerous troop infiltration."

Others have suggested that the attack was a pre-planned retaliation against SEAL Team 6 for their part in the mission that had taken down Osama bin Laden a few months earlier. Charlie Strange, the father of Petty Officer Michael Strange, a Navy cryptologist who was among those who died in the crash, stated that he was convinced the attack was an "inside job."

"Somebody was leaking to the Taliban," Charlie Strange said. "They knew. Somebody tipped them off. There were guys in a tower. Guys on the bush line. They were sitting there, waiting, and they sent our guys right into the middle."

In 2014 a hearing was held by Congress to address these and other issues, including the belief that when a Muslim clerk had uttered words of prayer during a memorial in Afghanistan for the victims, he actually was condemning them to hell as infidels.

In response, Garry Reid, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, said, "We have had people in our government listen to what he was saying. I'm told that there are verses that he is citing. He is commemorating the fallen -- all of the fallen. There are some interpretations that I have seen on the internet that he was condemning the Americans, the infidels. It's not my expertise, but what we have been told on good authority is that he is commemorating all of our fallen and condemning the enemy."
ARTICLE: https://www.military.com/special-operations/2014/08/06/remembering-chinook-crash-2011.html

VIDEO SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r86Js2aIN7o