Afghanistan heating up
- Thread starter Armymedic
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It looks like Canadian soldiers are going to find themselves in a place much more dangerous than Kabul, and more dangerous than when I served there only a few months ago. While I believe we very much need to step up to the plate for this challenge (for a whole bunch of reasons...) I wish you all a safe tour and a speedy return. God bless, and remember who you are. 
Cheers
Cheers
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8391112/
NBC News and news services
Updated: 6:57 p.m. ET June 29, 2005
KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. military officials said Wednesday they feared all 17 troops aboard a special operations helicopter were dead after hostile fire downed the craft and it slid or rolled into a rugged mountain ravine in eastern Afghanistan.
If those aboard were confirmed killed, the crash would be the deadliest blow yet to American forces in Afghanistan, already grappling with an insurgency that is widening rather than winding down.
The officials said they knew of no communications from the crash site, accessible only by foot.
Stormy weather hampered rescue efforts after the MH-47 helicopter crashed Tuesday while ferrying in reinforcements for troops already on the ground pursuing al-Qaida militants near the border with Pakistan.
The officials cited reports from the region that the helicopter struck or landed badly on the side of a mountain then went down into the ravine, suggesting little hope of survival. They said, however, they could not confirm the deaths, and spoke on condition of anonymity since rescue operations were still underway.
Relative calm gives way to chaos
Only eight months ago, Afghan and U.S. officials were hailing a relatively peaceful presidential election here as a sign that the Taliban rebellion was finished. That bravado has been yet another casualty in a war some feel could escalate into a conflict on the scale of Iraq's.
The loss of the helicopter follows three months of unprecedented fighting that has killed about 465 suspected insurgents, 43 Afghan police and soldiers, 125 civilians, and 29 U.S. troops. Afghan and U.S. officials have predicted the situation will deteriorate before legislative elections are held in September â †the next key step toward democracy after a quarter-century of war.
The Taliban have stepped up attacks, and there are disturbing signs that foreign fighters â †including al-Qaida â †might be making a new push to sow mayhem. Afghan officials say the fighters have used the porous border with Pakistan to enter the country, and have called on the Pakistani government do more to stop them.
Copter took direct fire
U.S. military spokesman Col. James Yonts said the helicopter was fired on as it was approaching a landing zone while rushing reinforcements to a battle in an area known to harbor â Å“terrorist organizations.â ? It flew on, but crashed about a little over a mile away at dusk, he said.
â Å“The aircraft was taking indirect fire and direct fire from elements on the ground,â ? he said.
Coalition and Afghan troops â Å“quickly moved into position around the crash to block any enemy movement toward or away from the site,â ? a U.S. military statement said. Yonts said fighting was continuing Wednesday.
Beside the bad weather, recovery operations were also hampered by the rugged terrain of the remote crash site, reachable only by foot, officials said. The crash took place in the mountains near Asadabad, in eastern Kunar province.
The helicopter was carrying forces into the area as part of Operation Red Wing against al-Qaida militants.
Afghan Defense Minister Rahim Wardak told The Associated Press this month that intelligence indicates at least half a dozen al-Qaida agents had slipped into the country recently, and that two of them blew themselves up in car bombs.
Movement was detected
Earlier, Pentagon sources told NBC News that aircraft using infrared surveillance had detected movement just after the crash but that due to darkness couldn't tell if those were survivors or the enemy.
The 17 service members included eight Navy SEALs, the sources added.
Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told senators Wednesday that the incident â Å“appears to be a shootdown of one of our special operations helicopters.â ?
â Å“We think it was an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade), but are not 100 percentâ ? sure, Pace told a Senate committee during a hearing on his nomination to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs. â Å“And that will come out in time as we're able to get to the scene and the investigation required.â ?
â Å“Our hearts go out to their families,â ? Pace said.
The troops were on a mission against al-Qaida fighters when the helicopter went down in a mountainous region near Asadabad and close to the border with Pakistan.
Site secured
â Å“Coalition troops on the ground in this area came in contact with enemy forces and requested additional forces to be inserted into this operation,â ? Yonts said. â Å“That is why there was an aircraft, that is how it arrived on the battlefield.â ?
The U.S. military knew from its contacts with local leaders and residents that â Å“terrorist organizationsâ ? were operating in the area of the crash, Yonts said.
â Å“That did not come as a surprise to us, this area has been known to harbor those terrorist organizations or personnel,â ? he said.
Taliban claim
Provincial Gov. Asadullah Wafa told The AP the Taliban downed the aircraft with a rocket. He gave no other details.
Purported Taliban spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi telephoned the AP before news of the crash was released and said the rebels shot the helicopter down.
He said the rebels filmed the attack and would release the video to the media. He also claimed that rebels killed seven U.S. soldiers in an attack in the same area, although U.S. spokeswomen Lt. Cindy Moore said no such attack had been made on an American convoy.
Hakimi often calls news organizations to claim responsibility for attacks on behalf of the Taliban. His information has sometimes proven untrue or exaggerated, and his exact connection to the group's leadership is unclear.
'Further our resolve'
â Å“This is a tragic event for all of us, and our hearts and prayers go out to the families, loved ones and men still fighting in the area,â ? said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Greg Champion, deputy commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-76. â Å“This incident will only further our resolve to defeat the enemies of peace.â ?
The crash was the second of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan this year. On April 6, 15 U.S. service members and three American civilians were killed when their chopper went down in a sandstorm while returning to the main U.S. base at Bagram.
The U.S. military has launched operations in several areas along the border with Pakistan. Those offensives target remnants of al-Qaida and the hard-line Taliban movement, as well as foreign fighters using high mountain passes to cross the largely uncontrolled border from Pakistan.
The violence has left much of Afghanistan off-limits to aid workers and has heightened concerns that the war here is escalating into a conflict on the scale of that in Iraq.
NBC News and news services
Updated: 6:57 p.m. ET June 29, 2005
KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. military officials said Wednesday they feared all 17 troops aboard a special operations helicopter were dead after hostile fire downed the craft and it slid or rolled into a rugged mountain ravine in eastern Afghanistan.
If those aboard were confirmed killed, the crash would be the deadliest blow yet to American forces in Afghanistan, already grappling with an insurgency that is widening rather than winding down.
The officials said they knew of no communications from the crash site, accessible only by foot.
Stormy weather hampered rescue efforts after the MH-47 helicopter crashed Tuesday while ferrying in reinforcements for troops already on the ground pursuing al-Qaida militants near the border with Pakistan.
The officials cited reports from the region that the helicopter struck or landed badly on the side of a mountain then went down into the ravine, suggesting little hope of survival. They said, however, they could not confirm the deaths, and spoke on condition of anonymity since rescue operations were still underway.
Relative calm gives way to chaos
Only eight months ago, Afghan and U.S. officials were hailing a relatively peaceful presidential election here as a sign that the Taliban rebellion was finished. That bravado has been yet another casualty in a war some feel could escalate into a conflict on the scale of Iraq's.
The loss of the helicopter follows three months of unprecedented fighting that has killed about 465 suspected insurgents, 43 Afghan police and soldiers, 125 civilians, and 29 U.S. troops. Afghan and U.S. officials have predicted the situation will deteriorate before legislative elections are held in September â †the next key step toward democracy after a quarter-century of war.
The Taliban have stepped up attacks, and there are disturbing signs that foreign fighters â †including al-Qaida â †might be making a new push to sow mayhem. Afghan officials say the fighters have used the porous border with Pakistan to enter the country, and have called on the Pakistani government do more to stop them.
Copter took direct fire
U.S. military spokesman Col. James Yonts said the helicopter was fired on as it was approaching a landing zone while rushing reinforcements to a battle in an area known to harbor â Å“terrorist organizations.â ? It flew on, but crashed about a little over a mile away at dusk, he said.
â Å“The aircraft was taking indirect fire and direct fire from elements on the ground,â ? he said.
Coalition and Afghan troops â Å“quickly moved into position around the crash to block any enemy movement toward or away from the site,â ? a U.S. military statement said. Yonts said fighting was continuing Wednesday.
Beside the bad weather, recovery operations were also hampered by the rugged terrain of the remote crash site, reachable only by foot, officials said. The crash took place in the mountains near Asadabad, in eastern Kunar province.
The helicopter was carrying forces into the area as part of Operation Red Wing against al-Qaida militants.
Afghan Defense Minister Rahim Wardak told The Associated Press this month that intelligence indicates at least half a dozen al-Qaida agents had slipped into the country recently, and that two of them blew themselves up in car bombs.
Movement was detected
Earlier, Pentagon sources told NBC News that aircraft using infrared surveillance had detected movement just after the crash but that due to darkness couldn't tell if those were survivors or the enemy.
The 17 service members included eight Navy SEALs, the sources added.
Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told senators Wednesday that the incident â Å“appears to be a shootdown of one of our special operations helicopters.â ?
â Å“We think it was an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade), but are not 100 percentâ ? sure, Pace told a Senate committee during a hearing on his nomination to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs. â Å“And that will come out in time as we're able to get to the scene and the investigation required.â ?
â Å“Our hearts go out to their families,â ? Pace said.
The troops were on a mission against al-Qaida fighters when the helicopter went down in a mountainous region near Asadabad and close to the border with Pakistan.
Site secured
â Å“Coalition troops on the ground in this area came in contact with enemy forces and requested additional forces to be inserted into this operation,â ? Yonts said. â Å“That is why there was an aircraft, that is how it arrived on the battlefield.â ?
The U.S. military knew from its contacts with local leaders and residents that â Å“terrorist organizationsâ ? were operating in the area of the crash, Yonts said.
â Å“That did not come as a surprise to us, this area has been known to harbor those terrorist organizations or personnel,â ? he said.
Taliban claim
Provincial Gov. Asadullah Wafa told The AP the Taliban downed the aircraft with a rocket. He gave no other details.
Purported Taliban spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi telephoned the AP before news of the crash was released and said the rebels shot the helicopter down.
He said the rebels filmed the attack and would release the video to the media. He also claimed that rebels killed seven U.S. soldiers in an attack in the same area, although U.S. spokeswomen Lt. Cindy Moore said no such attack had been made on an American convoy.
Hakimi often calls news organizations to claim responsibility for attacks on behalf of the Taliban. His information has sometimes proven untrue or exaggerated, and his exact connection to the group's leadership is unclear.
'Further our resolve'
â Å“This is a tragic event for all of us, and our hearts and prayers go out to the families, loved ones and men still fighting in the area,â ? said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Greg Champion, deputy commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-76. â Å“This incident will only further our resolve to defeat the enemies of peace.â ?
The crash was the second of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan this year. On April 6, 15 U.S. service members and three American civilians were killed when their chopper went down in a sandstorm while returning to the main U.S. base at Bagram.
The U.S. military has launched operations in several areas along the border with Pakistan. Those offensives target remnants of al-Qaida and the hard-line Taliban movement, as well as foreign fighters using high mountain passes to cross the largely uncontrolled border from Pakistan.
The violence has left much of Afghanistan off-limits to aid workers and has heightened concerns that the war here is escalating into a conflict on the scale of that in Iraq.
P
pappy
Guest
Semper Fi Lt. McGreevey, U.SN. (SEAL)
Lets have a moment of silence and remmber those who give thier all for the rest of us...
This one hits home, Mike was the nephew of a Marine friend of mine I've know for over almost 30 years, as far as I'm concered Mike was family.
It makes no difference if your for or againest the war or the politics behind it. The results is this man and his men died to protect us all, God bless them all.
Below is an part of a email I recieve today, I share it with you all to remember those wonderful heros who no longer walk this earth.
"LT. MIKE McGREEVEY U.S.N. (SEAL)...
MIKE'S MH-47 CHINOOK HELICOPTER WAS SHOT DOWN YESTERDAY OVER THE MOUNTAINS IN EASTERN AFGHANISTAN WHILE CONDUCTING SPECIAL OPS, IN CONJUNCTION WITH OPERATION RED WING...MIKE LEAVES BEHIND HIS BEAUTIFUL BRIDE, LAURA, OF FIVE YEARS, AND HIS 14 MONTH OLD DAUGHTER, MOLLY.
MIKE WAS THE PLATOON COMMANDER FOR THE SEAL TEAM OPERATING IN EASTERN AFGHANISTAN SINCE APRIL...HE AND HIS TEAM HAD ONLY THREE WEEKS LEFT ON THIS TOUR BEFORE ROTATING BACK TO GERMANY FOR THEIR LAST TWO MONTHS OVERSEAS, THEN RETURNING BACK TO NORFOLK, VA...MIKE AND I WERE VERY CLOSE, AND I HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK TO HIM THE NIGHT BEFORE HE LEFT NORFOLK...HE HAD ALWAYS TOLD ME THAT I WAS HIS INSPIRATION TO JOIN THE ARMED FORCES...MIKE GRADUATED WITH HONORS FROM THE NAVAL ACADEMY IN JUNE 1997, AND THEN GRADUATED AS THE HONORMAN FROM BUDS SCOL (SEAL) IN AUGUST 2000...I'LL BE FLYING BACK FOR THE FUNERAL ONCE WE KNOW THAT ALL THE GUY'S BODIES HAVE BEEN RECOVERED, AND RETURNED BACK TO CONUS...RESCUE/RETRIEVAL OPERATIONS ARE CURRENTLY HAMPERED BY BAD WEATHER, AND THE EXTREME LOCATION OF THE CRASH SITE...THE NAVY CASUALTY REPORTING TEAM HAS TOLD MIKE'S WIFE, LAURA, THAT THEY DON'T EXPECT TO FIND ANY SURVIVORS....MIKE DIED THE WAY HE WANTED...AS A WARRIOR WITH HIS BOOTS ON, HIS WEAPON AT THE READY, AND LEADING THE MEN HE WAS SO DEARLY PROUD OF...EACH OF THEM WERE HAND-PICKED FOR THIS MISSION.
MIKE, I WANT TO WISH YOU FAIR WINDS AND FOLLOWING SEAS....YOU WILL BE SADLY MISSED BY ALL"
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Four Navy SEALS are still missing. :-\
July 01, 2005
Searchers work amid hope that some SEALS survived crash
By Sean D. Naylor
Times staff writer
There was guarded optimism this morning some or all of four members of a SEAL team missing in the mountains of Afghanistan could be alive.
A Pentagon official said today that â Å“radio transmissionsâ ? had given U.S. forces more hope than they had had the previous day that the missing SEALs had survived. He said he was not able to be more specific.
As first reported Thursday on Armytimes.com, a SEAL reconnaissance team remained missing after the crash Tuesday of a helicopter rushing in 16 special operations troops on a mission to rescue the commandos.
All 16 aboard the MH-47 Chinook were killed, apparently after the helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. The dead included members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and members of SEAL Team 10.
Three days after the event, details were still murky and many questions remained unanswered.
The events that led to the tragedy began when a helicopter inserted a small reconnaissance element from SEAL Team 10, based at Little Creek, Va., into the mountains near Asadabad, in Kunar province. Intelligence had indicated a large concentration of enemy forces in the region, according to military sources.
The SEALs landed and hiked to a spot in rugged terrain where they established an observation post. Within several hours, Al Qaida or Taliban forces attacked the SEALs with small arms fire, and the SEALs called for a quick reaction force, or QRF, to help them, the sources said.
The QRF, consisting of at least two MH-47 Chinooks from the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, flew toward the beleaguered SEALs, sources said. It is not clear whether the SEALs on the ground were still at the observation post, or had moved in an attempt to evade their attackers. When the helicopters arrived in the vicinity of the observation post, more than an hour after the SEALs called for help, a military source said, one of the Chinooks was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
the pilots of a second aircraft on the mission saw and reported that their sister ship had been hit by an RPG, said Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway, director of operations on the Joint Staff, in a June 30 Pentagon press conference.
The Chinook was fired on as it approached its landing zone at dusk, Col. Jim Yonts, spokesman for the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan, told the Associated Press. The aircraft flew on but crashed about a mile away, he said. If Yonts' account is accurate, that would indicate that the SEALs had not been picked up.
The stricken Chinook, from the 160th's 3rd Battalion, stationed at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., either crashed into or tried to land on a mountainside, but rolled down the steep slope into a ravine, according to military officials.
â Å“We were right in that valley,â ? said an Army aviation officer who was previously deployed to Afghanistan. â Å“It's very steep and it's unforgiving terrain.â ?
A Predator unmanned aerial vehicle captured images of movement around the crash site and infrared strobes of the type U.S. special operators use in emergencies, a military source said. â Å“There was definitely movement around the aircraft,â ? the source said.
The Washington Post reported that the Predator also crashed or was shot down.
In addition, U.S. forces detected a PRC-112 survival radio beacon emitting from the vicinity of the helicopter, the military source said. The beacon appeared to be moving. â Å“The last location was a good distance away from the crash,â ? he said.
By June 30, U.S. forces had secured the crash site and recovered â Å“all 16 bodies of those servicemen who were on board the MH-47 helicopter that crashed,â ? Conway said.
As part of the U.S. military rescue operation, Marines established â Å“blocking positionsâ ? to prevent enemy forces from reaching the site, a Pentagon official said. Rangers secured the crash site itself, he added.
The 16 casualties aboard the aircraft included eight members of SEAL Team 10 and the Chinook's eight-man crew, according to the Pentagon official. However, there were still four men â Å“unaccounted for,â ? the official said â “ â Å“the original four that were in trouble.â ?
Conway was evasive on this in the June 30 press conference. When asked in the press conference whether any other troops had been lost in the operation, Conway replied: â Å“No. At this point, not that we're aware of.â ? But, he added shortly thereafter, â Å“We don't have full accountability.â ? Pressed to explain what he meant by that, Conway declined to be more specific, other than to say, â Å“We do not have any people classified as missing at this point.â ?
But by the next day U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara acknowledged that some U.S. service members were missing, and U.S. forces were using â Å“every available assetâ ? to search for them. â Å“Until we find our guys, they are still listed as unaccounted for and everything we got in that area is oriented on finding the missing men,â ? he said. He declined to identify the missing men or say how many they were.
The Chinook is the third MH-47 lost by the 160th since the September 11, 2001 attacks. One crashed at sea off the Philippines Feb. 22, 2002, and another was shot down March 4, 2002, during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan's Shahikot valley.
The latter episode also featured an MH-47 full of special operations troops attempting to come to the rescue of a SEAL reconnaissance element. In that case, the SEALs had attempted to land on the top of the 10,469-foot Takur Ghar mountain, the most dominant piece of terrain on the battlefield, only to find it was already occupied by Al Qaida forces, who fired on the helicopter. One of the SEALs fell out of the badly damaged helicopter as it flew away. His teammates returned to the mountain on another Chinook to search for him, but were also taken under fire and forced to seek cover. When a third Chinook flew to the top of the mountain full of Rangers, it was shot down.
Seven special operations troops were killed in the battle.
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-948742.php
------------------
Let's hope they make it out alive.
July 01, 2005
Searchers work amid hope that some SEALS survived crash
By Sean D. Naylor
Times staff writer
There was guarded optimism this morning some or all of four members of a SEAL team missing in the mountains of Afghanistan could be alive.
A Pentagon official said today that â Å“radio transmissionsâ ? had given U.S. forces more hope than they had had the previous day that the missing SEALs had survived. He said he was not able to be more specific.
As first reported Thursday on Armytimes.com, a SEAL reconnaissance team remained missing after the crash Tuesday of a helicopter rushing in 16 special operations troops on a mission to rescue the commandos.
All 16 aboard the MH-47 Chinook were killed, apparently after the helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. The dead included members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and members of SEAL Team 10.
Three days after the event, details were still murky and many questions remained unanswered.
The events that led to the tragedy began when a helicopter inserted a small reconnaissance element from SEAL Team 10, based at Little Creek, Va., into the mountains near Asadabad, in Kunar province. Intelligence had indicated a large concentration of enemy forces in the region, according to military sources.
The SEALs landed and hiked to a spot in rugged terrain where they established an observation post. Within several hours, Al Qaida or Taliban forces attacked the SEALs with small arms fire, and the SEALs called for a quick reaction force, or QRF, to help them, the sources said.
The QRF, consisting of at least two MH-47 Chinooks from the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, flew toward the beleaguered SEALs, sources said. It is not clear whether the SEALs on the ground were still at the observation post, or had moved in an attempt to evade their attackers. When the helicopters arrived in the vicinity of the observation post, more than an hour after the SEALs called for help, a military source said, one of the Chinooks was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
the pilots of a second aircraft on the mission saw and reported that their sister ship had been hit by an RPG, said Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway, director of operations on the Joint Staff, in a June 30 Pentagon press conference.
The Chinook was fired on as it approached its landing zone at dusk, Col. Jim Yonts, spokesman for the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan, told the Associated Press. The aircraft flew on but crashed about a mile away, he said. If Yonts' account is accurate, that would indicate that the SEALs had not been picked up.
The stricken Chinook, from the 160th's 3rd Battalion, stationed at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., either crashed into or tried to land on a mountainside, but rolled down the steep slope into a ravine, according to military officials.
â Å“We were right in that valley,â ? said an Army aviation officer who was previously deployed to Afghanistan. â Å“It's very steep and it's unforgiving terrain.â ?
A Predator unmanned aerial vehicle captured images of movement around the crash site and infrared strobes of the type U.S. special operators use in emergencies, a military source said. â Å“There was definitely movement around the aircraft,â ? the source said.
The Washington Post reported that the Predator also crashed or was shot down.
In addition, U.S. forces detected a PRC-112 survival radio beacon emitting from the vicinity of the helicopter, the military source said. The beacon appeared to be moving. â Å“The last location was a good distance away from the crash,â ? he said.
By June 30, U.S. forces had secured the crash site and recovered â Å“all 16 bodies of those servicemen who were on board the MH-47 helicopter that crashed,â ? Conway said.
As part of the U.S. military rescue operation, Marines established â Å“blocking positionsâ ? to prevent enemy forces from reaching the site, a Pentagon official said. Rangers secured the crash site itself, he added.
The 16 casualties aboard the aircraft included eight members of SEAL Team 10 and the Chinook's eight-man crew, according to the Pentagon official. However, there were still four men â Å“unaccounted for,â ? the official said â “ â Å“the original four that were in trouble.â ?
Conway was evasive on this in the June 30 press conference. When asked in the press conference whether any other troops had been lost in the operation, Conway replied: â Å“No. At this point, not that we're aware of.â ? But, he added shortly thereafter, â Å“We don't have full accountability.â ? Pressed to explain what he meant by that, Conway declined to be more specific, other than to say, â Å“We do not have any people classified as missing at this point.â ?
But by the next day U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara acknowledged that some U.S. service members were missing, and U.S. forces were using â Å“every available assetâ ? to search for them. â Å“Until we find our guys, they are still listed as unaccounted for and everything we got in that area is oriented on finding the missing men,â ? he said. He declined to identify the missing men or say how many they were.
The Chinook is the third MH-47 lost by the 160th since the September 11, 2001 attacks. One crashed at sea off the Philippines Feb. 22, 2002, and another was shot down March 4, 2002, during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan's Shahikot valley.
The latter episode also featured an MH-47 full of special operations troops attempting to come to the rescue of a SEAL reconnaissance element. In that case, the SEALs had attempted to land on the top of the 10,469-foot Takur Ghar mountain, the most dominant piece of terrain on the battlefield, only to find it was already occupied by Al Qaida forces, who fired on the helicopter. One of the SEALs fell out of the badly damaged helicopter as it flew away. His teammates returned to the mountain on another Chinook to search for him, but were also taken under fire and forced to seek cover. When a third Chinook flew to the top of the mountain full of Rangers, it was shot down.
Seven special operations troops were killed in the battle.
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-948742.php
------------------
Let's hope they make it out alive.
McG
Army.ca Legend
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Franko said:
Franko,
We are going dry on 1 Sep (basically once Roto 3 has cleared AStan). Messes will be dry. Commanders can still request permission to serve beer when it is appropriate - and will be allowed to do so without cards etc.
Kandahar will be dry from the get go, and will remain so through put the tour.
Dave
- Reaction score
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its unfortunate that when the snow comes and they go to ground that we don't seek them out.
P
pappy
Guest
2 Navy SEALS Found Dead in Afghanistan
By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
59 minutes ago
KABUL, Afghanistan - Two Navy SEALS missing in Afghanistan have been found dead, a senior U.S. defense official said Monday night. Another SEAL was rescued on Sat Gourday, and the fate of a fourth SEAL was unknown. The official who confirmed the recovery of the two bodies spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing effort to account for the missing U.S. servicemen in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, an American airstrike in Afghanistan's rugged eastern mountains killed 17 civilians, including women and children, an Afghan official said Monday. The U.S. military confirmed civilian deaths but said the numbers were unclear.
An initial airstrike destroyed a house, and as villagers gathered to look at the damage, a U.S. warplane dropped a second bomb on the same target, Kunar provincial Gov. Asadullah Wafa told The Associated Press.
The team of SEALS was reported missing last Tuesday in Kunar province. A rescue effort the same day ended in tragedy when the transport helicopter seeking to extract the team was shot down, killing 16 troops aboard.
The serviceman rescued on Saturday had taken shelter in an Afghan village elder's home in the province before American forces were notified of his location and picked him up, Wafa said.
Earlier, Wafa said a second missing service member had been located in his province. His information came from Afghan intelligence sources, he said. But a senior Defense Department official in Washington said a second Navy SEAL had not been found.
A purported Taliban spokesman, Mullah Latif Hakimi, claimed last week that militants had captured one team member. He said the "high-ranking American" was caught in the area where the helicopter went down.
Hakimi, who also claimed insurgents shot down the helicopter, often calls news organizations to take responsibility for attacks, and the information frequently proves exaggerated or untrue. His exact tie to the Taliban leadership is unclear.
U.S. officials said they had no evidence indicating any service members had been taken into captivity.
The Navy SEAL rescued from Kunar province was being evaluated Monday, officials said. He was in stable condition and receiving medical treatment at the main U.S. base at Bagram.
An unprecedented spate of rebel attacks across the country have left about 700 people dead and threatened to sabotage three years of progress toward peace. Afghan officials insist the violence will not disrupt landmark legislative elections slated for September.
The U.S. airstrike came Friday in the same province where the transport helicopter was downed.
The military said the attack was carried out "with precision-guided munitions that resulted in the deaths of an unknown number of enemy terrorists and noncombatants."
"The targeted compound was a known operating base for terrorist attacks in Kunar province as well as a base for a medium-level terrorist leader," it said. "Battle damage assessment is currently ongoing."
The statement added U.S. forces "regret the loss of innocent lives and follow stringent rules of engagement specifically to ensure that noncombatants are safeguarded. However, when enemy forces move their families into the locations where they conduct terrorist operations, they put these innocent civilians at risk."
Wafa said it was unclear who was killed in the initial attack in the tiny village of Chechal. "Maybe some militants were killed, but I don't know," he said. "The 17 people were killed in the second bombing."
AP Military Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report from Washington.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
59 minutes ago
KABUL, Afghanistan - Two Navy SEALS missing in Afghanistan have been found dead, a senior U.S. defense official said Monday night. Another SEAL was rescued on Sat Gourday, and the fate of a fourth SEAL was unknown. The official who confirmed the recovery of the two bodies spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing effort to account for the missing U.S. servicemen in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, an American airstrike in Afghanistan's rugged eastern mountains killed 17 civilians, including women and children, an Afghan official said Monday. The U.S. military confirmed civilian deaths but said the numbers were unclear.
An initial airstrike destroyed a house, and as villagers gathered to look at the damage, a U.S. warplane dropped a second bomb on the same target, Kunar provincial Gov. Asadullah Wafa told The Associated Press.
The team of SEALS was reported missing last Tuesday in Kunar province. A rescue effort the same day ended in tragedy when the transport helicopter seeking to extract the team was shot down, killing 16 troops aboard.
The serviceman rescued on Saturday had taken shelter in an Afghan village elder's home in the province before American forces were notified of his location and picked him up, Wafa said.
Earlier, Wafa said a second missing service member had been located in his province. His information came from Afghan intelligence sources, he said. But a senior Defense Department official in Washington said a second Navy SEAL had not been found.
A purported Taliban spokesman, Mullah Latif Hakimi, claimed last week that militants had captured one team member. He said the "high-ranking American" was caught in the area where the helicopter went down.
Hakimi, who also claimed insurgents shot down the helicopter, often calls news organizations to take responsibility for attacks, and the information frequently proves exaggerated or untrue. His exact tie to the Taliban leadership is unclear.
U.S. officials said they had no evidence indicating any service members had been taken into captivity.
The Navy SEAL rescued from Kunar province was being evaluated Monday, officials said. He was in stable condition and receiving medical treatment at the main U.S. base at Bagram.
An unprecedented spate of rebel attacks across the country have left about 700 people dead and threatened to sabotage three years of progress toward peace. Afghan officials insist the violence will not disrupt landmark legislative elections slated for September.
The U.S. airstrike came Friday in the same province where the transport helicopter was downed.
The military said the attack was carried out "with precision-guided munitions that resulted in the deaths of an unknown number of enemy terrorists and noncombatants."
"The targeted compound was a known operating base for terrorist attacks in Kunar province as well as a base for a medium-level terrorist leader," it said. "Battle damage assessment is currently ongoing."
The statement added U.S. forces "regret the loss of innocent lives and follow stringent rules of engagement specifically to ensure that noncombatants are safeguarded. However, when enemy forces move their families into the locations where they conduct terrorist operations, they put these innocent civilians at risk."
Wafa said it was unclear who was killed in the initial attack in the tiny village of Chechal. "Maybe some militants were killed, but I don't know," he said. "The 17 people were killed in the second bombing."
AP Military Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report from Washington.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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PPCLI Guy said:
:crybaby: .....just kidding.
Oh well....I'm not that heavy of a drinker anyways...YOU of all people should know that.
Geesh...I didn't drink for most of Roto 13...unless I was on R&R or HLTA. :blotto:
Regards
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