Download or read book The Final Mission of Extortion 17 written by Ed Darack and published by Smithsonian Institution. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On August 6, 2011, a U.S. Army CH-47D Chinook helicopter approached a landing zone in Afghanistan 40 miles southwest of Kabul. The helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, was on a mission to reinforce American and coalition special operations troops. It would never return. Insurgents fired at the Chinook, severed one of its rear rotor blades, and brought it crashing to the ground. All 38 onboard perished instantly in the single greatest moment of sacrifice for Americans in the war in Afghanistan. Those killed were some of the U.S.'s most highly trained and battle-honed commandos, including 15 men from the Gold Squadron of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, known popularly as SEAL Team 6, which had raided a Pakistan compound and killed Osama bin Laden just three months earlier. The downing of Extortion 17 spurred a number of conspiracy theories, such as the idea that the shootdown was revenge for bin Laden's death. In The Final Mission of Extortion 17, Ed Darack debunks this theory and others and uncovers the truth behind this mysterious tragedy. His account of the brave pilots, crew, and passengers of Extortion 17 and the events of that fateful day is interwoven into a rich, complex narrative that also discusses modern joint combat operations, the history of the Afghan war to that date, U.S. helicopter use in Afghanistan, and the new and evolving military technologies and tactics being developed to mitigate such tragedies now and in the future. Amazon Best History Book of the Month - September 2017
Download or read book Call Sign Extortion 17 written by Don Brown and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-05-29 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The basis of the provocative hit military documentary Fallen Angel Call Sign: Extortion 17. A Black Hawk Down of the war in Afghanistan, the deadliest day for the U.S. in 12 years of that conflict—and a military investigation that covered up evidence of an inside job by the Taliban. Don Brown, a former U.S. Navy JAG officer stationed at the Pentagon, and former Special Assistant United States Attorney, has in his possession one of four copies of The Colt Report, which reveals a possible cover-up in relation to the August 6, 2011, killing of 30 men from the United States, including 17 members of Navy Seal Team Six—warrior brothers from the same Team that ninety days before killed Osama Bin Laden—potentially by undercover Taliban operatives.
Download or read book Victory Point written by Ed Darack and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-04-07 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In late June 2005, media sources recounted the tragic story of nineteen U.S. special operations personnel who died at the hands of insurgent / terrorist leader Ahmad Shah- and the lone survivor of Shah's ambush-deep in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan. The harrowing events of Operation Red Wings marked an important-yet widely misreported-chapter in the Global War on Terror, the full details of which the public burned to learn. In Victory Point, globally published author and photographer Ed Darack reveals the complete, as-yet untold, story of Operation Red Wings (often mis-referenced as "Operation Redwing"), and the follow-on mission, Operation Whalers. Together, these two U.S. Marine Corps operations (that in the case of Red Wings utilized Navy SEALs for its opening phase) unfurl not as a mission gone terribly wrong, but of a complex and difficult campaign that ultimately saw the demise of Ahmad Shan and his small army of barbarous fighters. Due to the valor, courage and commitment of the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment in the summer of 2005, Afghanistan was able to hold free elections that Fall. Here is the inspiring true account of heroism, duty, and brotherhood between Marines fighting the War on Terror.
Download or read book Betrayed written by Billy Vaughn and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before BENGHAZI, There was EXTORTION 17.... August 06, 2011, 2:20 a.m.-Operation Lefty Grove is underway, a highly dangerous mission to take out another high-level Taliban operative, three months after the death of Osama Bin Laden. In the dark of night, twenty-five US Special Ops Forces and a five-man flight crew on board Extortion 17, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. Seven unidentified Afghan Commandos are allowed to join them. Ground forces have already been engaged in a three-hour exhaustive battle. Extortion 17's specially trained warriors drop into the Hot Landing Zone to help their fellow warriors. But there's a problem: the standard chopper escorts have all been directed elsewhere. Mission directions are unclear. Worse, pre-assault fire to cover the Chinook transporting our brave fighting men is not ordered. On that fateful night, Extortion 17 would never touch down. Taliban fighters fired three rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) in rapid succession. The first RPG shot below the Chinook, but the second made contact in what the military would later describe as a "one-in-a-million shot." The shot struck a rotor blade on the aft (rear) pylon, shearing off ten and a half feet of the blade. The third shot flew above the falling chopper. Within a matter of seconds, the chopper begins to spin violently out of control and then drops vertically into a dry creek bed and is engulfed in a large fireball. There are no survivors. The thirty brave Americans lost that night were more than just warriors. They were husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons. Billy Vaughn's son, Aaron Carson Vaughn, was one of them. Over the next few months as unsettling information on the tragic incident is released to the families, Billy Vaughn becomes increasingly disturbed. Billy discovers that US military forces are not being led to win battles, but have been sent on a fool's errand to "win the hearts and minds" of other nations. He is told that the US Rules of Engagement have prevented our brave defenders from defending themselves. Adding insult to injury, Billy learned that a Muslim Imam was invited by our own US military leaders to "pray" over his son's dead body. As US war heroes lay in their caskets before their last flight home, the Imam damned America's fallen warriors as "infidels" who would burn in hell. As US military leaders observed the ceremony at Bagram Air Base, the Imam boasted over the deaths of US heroes with words such as, "The companions of heaven [Muslims] are the winners." Betrayed is a heart rending account in America's history, an engaging story of faith, patriotism, honor, duty and loss. Betrayed is not just the biography of an American military family, it is a crucial, true-life narrative that every American must read and understand about their government and the danger America's military strategy currently poses to all families. Betrayed is a book Billy Vaughn wishes he didn't have to write. But his son is gone and there are still unanswered questions. He needs to know if finding the truth may prevent another father from standing in his shoes.
Download or read book Relentless written by Charles W. Strange and published by . This book was released on 2021-12-08 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles's son, Michael Strange, was a top cryptologist and SEAL Team 6 member on the Osama Bin Laden raid in 2011. Three months later on August 6, 2011, Michael was killed in Afghanistan along with 30 other Americans on call sign Extortion 17. Charles has been seeking the truth about Michael's death for nearly a decade and has gone to Congress, the Pentagon, and The White House. Simultaneously he leads other Gold Star Families to find peace. This is his story.
Download or read book Relentless Strike written by Sean Naylor and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 692 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the 2015 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History. Since the attacks of September 11, one organization has been at the forefront of America's military response. Its efforts turned the tide against al-Qaida in Iraq, killed Bin Laden and Zarqawi, rescued Captain Phillips and captured Saddam Hussein. Its commander can direct cruise missile strikes from nuclear submarines and conduct special operations raids anywhere in the world. Relentless Strike tells the inside story of Joint Special Operations Command, the secret military organization that during the past decade has revolutionized counterterrorism, seamlessly fusing intelligence and operational skills to conduct missions that hit the headlines, and those that have remained in the shadows-until now. Because JSOC includes the military's most storied special operations units-Delta Force, SEAL Team 6, the 75th Ranger Regiment-as well as America's most secret aviation and intelligence units, this is their story, too. Relentless Strike reveals tension-drenched meetings in war rooms from the Pentagon to Iraq and special operations battles from the cabin of an MH-60 Black Hawk to the driver's seat of Delta Force's Pinzgauer vehicles as they approach their targets. Through exclusive interviews, reporter Sean Naylor uses his unique access to reveal how an organization designed in the 1980s for a very limited mission set transformed itself after 9/11 to become the military's premier weapon in the war against terrorism and how it continues to evolve today.
Download or read book The Last Fighter Pilot written by Don Brown and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-07-31 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *A NATIONAL BESTSELLER!* The New York Post calls The Last Fighter Pilot a "must-read" book. From April to August of 1945, Captain Jerry Yellin and a small group of fellow fighter pilots flew dangerous bombing and strafe missions out of Iwo Jima over Japan. Even days after America dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, the pilots continued to fly. Though Japan had suffered unimaginable devastation, the emperor still refused to surrender. Bestselling author Don Brown (Treason) sits down with Yelllin, now ninety-three years old, to tell the incredible true story of the final combat mission of World War II. Nine days after Hiroshima, on the morning of August 14th, Yellin and his wingman 1st Lieutenant Phillip Schlamberg took off from Iwo Jima to bomb Tokyo. By the time Yellin returned to Iwo Jima, the war was officially over—but his young friend Schlamberg would never get to hear the news. The Last Fighter Pilot is a harrowing first-person account of war from one of America's last living World War II veterans.
Download or read book The Warriors of Anbar written by Ed Darack and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting, edge-of-your seat account of how a battalion of Marines faced off against the most brutal of Al Qaeda at its most desperate and vicious moment--and how the Marines decisively crushed the terroristsWhen the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment ("2/3") arrived in the little-known "Haditha Triad" region of western Iraq's Al Anbar Province in September of 2006, the region exploded in a storm of terrorist violence. The most battle-hardened of Al Qaeda had fled to the Triad, and, taking their last, desperate gasps for survival after years of bloody war, lashed out at the battalion with everything they could muster. The Marines sent into this firestorm of violence immediately lunged into a complex, double-edged mission: crush Al Qaeda and help the locals rebuild their terrorist-smashed lives and homes. After months of grueling, fearsome battle--and the loss of twenty-three of their ranks--the warriors of 2/3 stood tall in victory. This is their incredible story.Warriors of Anbar is one of the greatest untold stories of modern war, one of grit, incredible courage, and utmost sacrifice. It is a story that illustrates the U.S. Marine Corps at its very finest.
Download or read book Among Heroes written by Brandon Webb and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-05-10 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Navy SEAL sniper and New York Times bestselling author Brandon Webb’s personal account of eight of his friends and fellow SEALs who made the ultimate sacrifice. “Knowing these great men—who they were, how they lived, and what they stood for—has changed my life. We can’t let them be forgotten. We’ve mourned their deaths. Let’s celebrate their lives.”—Brandon Webb As a Navy SEAL, Brandon Webb rose to the top of the world’s most elite sniper corps, experiencing years of punishing training and combat missions from the Persian Gulf to Afghanistan. Along the way, Webb served beside, trained, and supported men he came to know not just as fellow warriors, but as friends and, eventually, as heroes. This is his personal account of eight extraordinary SEALs who gave all for their comrades and their country with remarkable valor and abiding humanity: Matt “Axe” Axelson, who perished on Afghanistan’s Lone Survivor mission; Chris Campbell, Heath Robinson, and JT Tumilson, who were among the casualties of Extortion 17; Glen Doherty, Webb’s best friend, killed while helping secure the successful rescue and extraction of American CIA and State Department diplomats in Benghazi; and other close friends, classmates, and fellow warriors. These are men who left behind powerfully instructive examples of what it means to be alive—and what it truly means to be a hero. INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS
Download or read book Delta Force written by Charlie A. Beckwith and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2000-05-18 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only insider′s account ever written on America′s most powerful weapon in the war against terrorism
Download or read book Treason written by Don Brown and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2005 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Muslim terrorists infiltrate the Navy Chaplain Corps, Lieutenant Zack Brewer, just three years out of law school, is pitted against the world's greatest defense attorney in the court-martial of the century.
Download or read book Navy SEAL Sniper written by Glen Doherty and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-03-08 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sniper is a battlefield threat second to none. Mastering the art of marksmanship is critical but is only part of what makes a Navy SEAL sniper. Snipers must be able to apply the craft in an urban environment or alone on a hostile mountain top with equal effectiveness. Today’s sniper must not just leverage technological advances but also have the foreknowledge to select the best rifle and gear for the mission. Increasingly, he must have the mental toughness to adapt to a constantly changing environment, gather intelligence, and truly act as a force multiplier. In this comprehensive look through the eyes of former Navy SEAL sniper instructor Brandon Webb and fellow Navy SEAL snipers Chris Kyle and Glen Doherty, the authors reveal not just the fundamentals of marksmanship but also the science of shooting, stalking, and camouflage and how technological advances have changed the training and increased the effectiveness of the modern sniper. Including maritime, helicopter, and urban sniper operations, this updated edition also goes into detail on the latest research, development, testing, and evaluation of weapons and optics. From the basics like compensating for wind and bullet drop, to camouflage and placing yourself or your team in the best position to take a photo or pull a trigger, Webb and Doherty cover the critical elements that comprise the twenty-first century sniper.
Download or read book No Way Out written by Mitch Weiss and published by Berkley. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Weiss and Maurer recount the story of an elite team of Special Forces who were ambushed while on their mission to capture a terrorist in Afghanistan, and the 10 men from the unit who earned Silver Stars--the Army's third highest award for combat valor.
Download or read book Fearless written by Eric Blehm and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2013-05-21 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Go deep into SEAL Team SIX, straight to the heart of one of its most legendary operators. When Navy SEAL Adam Brown woke up on March 17, 2010, he didn’t know he would die that night in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan—but he was ready. In a letter to his children, not meant to be seen unless the worst happened, he wrote, “I’m not afraid of anything that might happen to me on this earth, because I know no matter what, nothing can take my spirit from me.” Fearless is the story of a man of extremes, whose courage and determination were fueled by faith, family, and the love of a woman. It’s about a man who waged a war against his own worst impulses, including drug addiction, and persevered to reach the top tier of the U.S. military. In a deeply personal and absorbing chronicle, Fearless reveals a glimpse inside the SEAL Team SIX brotherhood, and presents an indelible portrait of a highly trained warrior whose final act of bravery led to the ultimate sacrifice. Adam Brown was a devoted man who was an unlikely hero but a true warrior, described by all who knew him as…fearless. “As a rule, we don’t endorse books or movies or anything regarding the command where I work—and Adam Brown worked—but as the author writes in Fearless, ‘you have to know the rules, so you know when to bend or break them.’ This is one of those times. Read this book. Period. It succeeds where all the others have failed.” —SEAL Team SIX Operator
Download or read book Code Over Country written by Matthew Cole and published by Bold Type Books. This book was released on 2022-02-22 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A hard-hitting exposé of SEAL Team 6, the US military’s best-known brand, that reveals how the Navy SEALs were formed, then sacrificed, in service of American empire. The Navy SEALs are, in the eyes of many Americans, the ultimate heroes. When they killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011, it was celebrated as a massive victory. Former SEALs rake in cash as leadership consultants for corporations, and young military-bound men dream of serving in their ranks. But the SEALs have lost their bearings. Investigative journalist Matthew Cole tells the story of the most lauded unit, SEAL Team 6, revealing a troubling pattern of war crimes and the deep moral rot beneath authorized narratives. From their origins in World War II, the SEALs have trained to be specialized killers with short missions. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan became the endless War on Terror, their violence spiraled out of control. Code Over Country details the high-level decisions that unleashed the SEALs’ carnage and the coverups that prevented their crimes from coming to light. It is a necessary and rigorous investigation of the unchecked power of the military—and the harms enacted by and upon soldiers in America’s name.
Download or read book I Love Jesus But I Want to Die written by Sarah J. Robinson and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.
Download or read book Crimes Committed by Terrorist Groups written by Mark S. Hamm and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Examines terrorists¿ involvement in a variety of crimes ranging from motor vehicle violations, immigration fraud, and mfg. illegal firearms to counterfeiting, armed bank robbery, and smuggling weapons of mass destruction. There are 3 parts: (1) Compares the criminality of internat. jihad groups with domestic right-wing groups. (2) Six case studies of crimes includes trial transcripts, official reports, previous scholarship, and interviews with law enforce. officials and former terrorists are used to explore skills that made crimes possible; or events and lack of skill that the prevented crimes. Includes brief bio. of the terrorists along with descriptions of their org., strategies, and plots. (3) Analysis of the themes in closing arguments of the transcripts in Part 2. Illus.
