In the end it doesnt really matter, Marcus knows the truth and he is the only one who has to live with himself and what he did or didnt do. The military intelligence estimate cited by Darack is based on research sourced from intelligence reports, including aerial and eye-witness studies of the battlefield after the fact, including the men sent in to rescue Luttrell, as well as reports from Afghan intelligence. They knew the tremendous risk of going into an active enemy area in daylight without their attack support and the cover of night. W. Stanley Proctor sculpted a work for the Veteran's Memorial Park in Cupertino, California, called The Guardians, which commemorates the SEALS killed in the operation. You see the 8 Taliban fighters that ambushed him were yelling over gun fire in Pashto and English for Murphy and his team to surrender and drop their guns. The 2013 film is an adaptation of the title characters autobiography, Marcus Luttrell, titled Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Red wings and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 (2007). The MH-47 Chinook was escorted by heavily-armored Army attack helicopters. By the time of the book, that number had inflated to 200, and their target, who they never even laid eyes on, Ahmed Shah, was hardcore AQ and promoted to an OBL top lieutenant, lies no one but Luttrell has ever even tried to defend. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. 2/3's operations officer, Major Thomas Wood, began planning the five-phase Red Wings operation off the Operation Stars model. Fact is, those Seals were pulled last minute from an SDV team,, and their hard infantry and recon skills had gotten a little soft. They were after Ahmad Shah a cruel insurgent in his mid-30s who grew up in the same mountains. Night Stalkers (160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment): Its been fifteen years since 19 men were killed in what could easily be called the darkest day in the SEAL teams history. Shah had two videographers with him during the ambush and As-Sahab Media released their video of the ambush and images of the items recovered from the SEALs. At this point, late in the afternoon, storm clouds were moving in over the region and the aircraft returned to their respective bases. I dont think any seal post 911 has ever been mistaken as a quiet profesional! Lt. (SEAL) Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y. Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew G. Axelson, 29, of Cupertino, Calif. Machinist Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Eric S. Patton, 22, of Boulder City, Nev. Senior Chief Information Systems Technician (SEAL) Daniel R. Healy, 36, of Exeter, N.H. Quartermaster 2nd Class (SEAL) James Suh, 28, of Deerfield Beach, Fla. Gunners Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny P. Dietz, 25, of Littleton, Colo. Chief Fire Controlman (SEAL) Jacques J. Fontan, 36, of New Orleans, La. Luttrells book was, what I believe to be, a spot-on first-hand account of the events and therefore accurate. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe. [2][27] Each operation lasted between three and four weeks. Ed's a photographer and the author of "Victory Point: Operation Red Wings and Whalers - The Marine Corps' Battle for Freedom in Afghanistan," as well as his latest, "The Final Mission . Of course, Murph kept going. I may earn a small part of the sale from links to any products or services on this site. Axe: A Brother's Search for an American Warrior is a beautifully crafted, action-filled biography of an elite commando's inspiring life and tragic deatha final chapter in the story of the Operation Red Wings mission, made famous in Marcus Luttrell's #1 New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor. The forces were participating in Operation Red Wing, an effort to defeat terrorists operating in Kunar province," a military press release stated. The autopsy report outlining Dietz's wounds is five pages long. [4] The team members were team leader Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy of SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1, based out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Petty Officer Second Class Danny Dietz from SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2, based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Petty Officer Second Class Matthew G. Axelson from SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1; and Navy Hospital Corpsman Second Class Marcus Luttrell, of SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1. Operation Red Wings (often incorrectly referred to as Operation Redwing or Operation Red Wing),[13] informally referred to as the Battle of Abbas Ghar, was a joint military operation conducted by the United States in the Pech District of Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Deep behind enemy lines, a very committed 4-man SEAL team had a vital task. [71] In the Summary of Action related to the same citation, the Navy cites an "enemy force of more than 50 anti-coalition militia". The insert point was roughly one and one half miles from the nearest Named Area of Interest. His book says they fought, what, 100 insugents, killing 35? Phase 2 - Action on the Objective: A SEAL, Phase 3 - Outer Cordon: Marines, along with, Phase 4 - Security and Stabilization: In the days after the first three phases, U.S. Marines, Afghan National Army soldiers, and U.S. Navy. Murphy picked it back up, completed the call, and continued firing at the enemy closing in. [46] Known simply as Gulab, he took Luttrell into his home that first day in accordance with the Pashtunwali custom of Nanawatai, whereby asylum is given to a person to protect them from their enemies. I was disappointed in the movie on several levels, not the least was it implied the SEALS in this TEAM were startled by the force of the enemy. https://www.amazon.com/Betrayed-Shocking-Story-Extortion-Father/dp/1493653334. Being struck by the bullet caused him to drop both the phone and his rifle. James W. Ponder III, 36, of Franklin, Tenn. [6] Initial intel estimated approximately 10 to 20. Maj. Stephen C. Reich, 34, of Washington Depot, Conn. Sgt. And of course hero Marcus makes the tough call. I have researched this well. The Joint Combat Assessment Team report identified, through detailed metallurgical analysis, the type of projectile. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. Even if it was a choice instead of an command. Danny Dietz was shot at least fives times and continued to fight. Do not think they arent well trained. She is a contributor for an array of major industry publications including USCCA Concealed Carry Magazine, Outdoor Life, and SHOT Business. Due to his helping an American, Gulab was marked for death by the Taliban. What injuries did Matt Axelson receive while in Operation Red Wing From running him off the road to planting a grenade outside his daughters bedroom, wounding his daughter, the Taliban didnt quit. PDF OPERATION RED WINGS - The (Mis)Information Aftermath - Darack As the wounded Luttrell descended the gulch, he encountered a Pashtun named Mohammad Gulab Khan from the mountain village of Salar Ban. Red Wings was planned as a five-phase operation: While the Marines planned the overall operation, the SEALs planned the specifics of their roles of Red Wings. He moves quickly, silently, and effectively I watched him go from stalking and moving mode to proned out and on target before I could blink, and of course he dropped the running antelope with a single, precise shot in the same heartbeat. One major difference between the film and the book is depicting the death of Luttrells leader and best friend, LT Michael Murphy. Operation Red Wings was a pyrrhic victory U.S. victory. A quick reaction force finally launched, consisting of two MH-47 Special Operations Aircraft of the 160th, two conventional Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, and two AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. [60] In April 2008, Shah was killed during a shootout with Pakistani police in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Remembering Operation Red Wings - The Truth About Guns Doesn't matter anyway, cuz the Talis already knew where they were: they heard their infil bird, found the fast rope the SEALs kicked under a bush at the LZ, and followed their big Salomon boot prints up the mountain. This is an insult to Mike Murphy, as any officer who didn't plan for an obvious contingency like this would be incompetent. Now if you want to research something.and draw sobering conclusions..research and read the book BETRAYED by Billy Vaughn. I spent 3 years with a support team of Operation Enduring Freedom mostly at Bagram. The battalion began planning a new operation, tentatively called Operation Stars, which was named after the Dallas Stars professional hockey team (3/3's battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Norman Cooling, hailed from Texas,[32] hence most operations were named after Texas sports teams)[33] Stars, like the other operations before it, focused on disrupting ACM activity, although Najmudeen's surrender caused activity to drop, and specific groups proved difficult to pinpoint. [72] In his book, Victory Point: Operations Red Wings and Whalers the Marine Corps' Battle for Freedom in Afghanistan, military journalist Ed Darack cites a military intelligence report stating the strength of the Taliban force to be 810. That is the literal definition of a liar. -- When Ed and Suzanne Kristensen first heard about a Chinook helicopter being shot down in eastern Afghanistan on June 28, 2005, at first they feared for their Navy SEAL son Erik, who was deployed there at the time, but were reassured by a Navy friend that he likely wouldn't have been aboard. Two of the team members killed in action, Gunners Mate Second Class Danny P. Dietz and Sonar Technician Second Class Matthew G. Axelsson, received the Navy Cross posthumously in 2006. Operation Red Wings should never have gotten approved. When Murph made that call on his SAT phone a QRF quick reaction force team was sent. anything extra and your Parents of slain Navy SEAL meet men who recovered their son's body I have researched this well! ANA and Coalition forces still are actively. An estimated 35 Taliban were also dead. It is what we do, when we must fight only when we must! I had to turn it off. During the following weeks of Red Wings II, ground units of 2/3 undertook a number of patrols, as did members of the Afghan National Army, Army Special Operations units, and Navy Special Operations units. Theres a movie, too, and its fairly well done but the book is much better and Marcus Luttrell himself wrote it with established author Patrick Robinson. Thank you Pew Pew for running this, lest we forget. Najmudeen's surrender, however, left a power vacuum in the region. The battalion agreed to this, believing, however, that this unconventional command structure defied a fundamental tenet of successful military operations "unity of command". Lone Survivor True Story vs Movie - Real Marcus Luttrell, Mike Murphy The operation then became known as Red Wings II and lasted approximately three more weeks,[1][2] during which time the bodies of the killed SEALs and Army Special Operations aviators were recovered and the only surviving member of the initial SEAL team, Marcus Luttrell, was rescued. Gulab claims when they found Marcus he still had his full load out. I persevere and thrive on adversity. He was shot at least nine times, three times in the head and neck. [24], 2/3 eventually abandoned this naming convention out of sensitivity to the local population, instead opting for using Dari names for animals,[2] including "Pil" (elephant)[25] and "Sorkh Khar" (red donkey). There was practically zero chance that such a poorly-planned operation could have succeeded. you a link to reset your password. All content is protected by copyright and may not be used for commercial purposes without prior written permission. That's some serious badassery; that's a level of practically inhuman strength. The attendees were given a standing ovation by the more than 25,000 there to watch the game. Hand-Picked Daily GUN DEALS, and Exclusive Coupons Codes >>>. I, like many other people who saw the movie and heard the story, had a LOT more support for not just the SEALs but the military in general. And I don't care how pious these guys were, a reinforced company-sized element that was mauled the way Luttrell claims (at least 50% casualties) does not bury 40 bodies in a few hours (graves no one ever finds) and then vanishes with all their wounded. They were carless and paid for it. [47][48], In the years following Operation Red Wings more details emerged about the circumstances surrounding Luttrell survival, including that he was given sanctuary by local villagers. In my opinion, calling those who tell the stories 'liars' is worse than making a white lie movie that makes you think about those who die to keep us free. [68] It was dedicated by Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter in November 2007. 'Lone Survivor' SEAL embellished his story, Afghan who - Mail Online All of these soldiers, are far better than me. Consequently, Shah and his group were one of the primary targets of the American military operation. That there believes, there standards and their honor means more to them then any risk, or a whole lot of shit coming their way! In reply to Mike Washburne I think you are too harsh on LT Murphy, according to Mohammed Gulab the local tribesman who saved Lutrell the Taliban were already aware of the SEALs insertion and had heard the Helicopters and were close to being in a position to attack at the time the SEALs were debating what to do with goatherders. The password should contain at least 8 characters with at least one number or special character. AXE Although Shah was a relatively unknown entity in the region, he apparently held regional aspirations and possibly had the assistance of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. This act ultimately led to the rescue of Luttrell and the recovery of the remains of the three who were killed in the battle. Rare footage of the disastrous Operation Red Wings from the - reddit [39][failed verification], Further intelligence, including human intelligence and signals intelligence, indicated that Shah based his operations out of some small structures outside of the village of Chichal, high on the slopes of Sawtalo Sar mountain in the upper Korangal Valley, approximately 20 miles (32km) to the west of Kunar's provincial capital Asadabad. Matt Axelson invented chill. Instead he was posthumously awarded the MOH. But before he could, he was shot in hand, the blast shattering his thumb. There are hopefully few among us unfamiliar with Operation Red Wings. In actuality, LT Murphy successfully made the call while taking gunfire. The team discovered two young sheepherders. Read it, and then see if you want to make intelligent statements about our Spec Ops guys. They determined that Shah and his men would be occupying the area of Chichal in late June, a time of low lunar illumination. Lone Survivor provided you just a small portion of the operation. Shortly thereafter the team was surrounded and outnumbered by at least 4-1. the enemy had the high ground and shot the shutout of the team. It was only several months later that the truth came out that he was killed by friendly fire. By Lt Murphy not eliminating the two young Afghanis by tying them up and gagging them or killing them, I feel that he brought down the hell on his teams head. Whatever. Ret. Army Ranger tells the untold story of rescuing 'Lone Survivor That QRF included an MH-47 Chinook, radio call sign Turbine 33, containing eight SEALs and eight 160th Army Special Operations Aviators. I finally got feeling back in my legs. After the initial phases were completed, 2/3 could become the lead element. [41] The SEALs made a number of attempts to contact their combat operations center with an AN/PRC-148 multi-band radio and then with a satellite phone. Operation Red Wings - LT Michael P. Murphy Navy SEAL Museum Based on Luttrell's descriptions of the area, Appel and Piercecchi returned to the site of the battle two days later and retrieved the remains of Dietz, Murphy, and Axelson. [45], Since the SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team had been ambushed, the focus of the operation immediately shifted from disrupting ACM activity to finding, aiding, and extracting the team members. He called the operation Redwing, when it was actually called Red Wings, journalist Ed Darack said in his book, Victory Point. [49][50], The SEALs' firefight with Ahmad Shah's Taliban forces began along a high-elevation ridgeline called Sawtalo Sar[51] (whose highest peak is 2,830m (9,280ft)). Stephen C. Reich - Wikipedia He regained consciousness and was rescued by local Pashtun, who ultimately saved his life. [2][40], The team, surmising that they would likely be compromised, retreated to a fallback position. Wanting to do something more tangible with the events of June 28, 2005 Luttrell decided to start the Lone Survivor Foundation in 2010. U.S. Navy SEALs from SEAL Team 10 and SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 expressed interest.[1][2]. When the helicopter got close and attempted to insert the SEALs into the firefight, Shahs men fired an RPG-7 at the Chinook and took it down, killing all sixteen men. This reminds of of when Larry Wilson was killed. Luttrell's own AAR said 20-35. [56], Ahmad Shah and his group recovered a large amount of weapons, ammunition, and other materials, including three SOPMOD M4 Carbines fitted with M203 40mm grenade launchers, a ruggedized laptop with an intact hard drive containing maps of embassies in Kabul, night-vision devices, and a sniper spotting scope, among other items from the Navy SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team,[58] items which they could then use against American, Coalition, and Afghan government entities. We'll send you the latest guides and training tips geared On June 28, 2005, the 4-man SEAL team was sent on a reconnaissance mission to locate an HVT (high-valuable target) at the unforgiving altitude of approximately 10,000 feet. I thought he was a hero for a long time. guns & Meanwhile, Marcus Luttrell had been taken in by a local Afghan, Gulab, from the village of Salar Ban, roughly 0.7 miles (1.1km) down the northeast gulch of Sawtalo Sar[4] from the location of the ambush. Erik Samsel Kristensen (March 15, 1972 - June 28, 2005) was a Lieutenant commander of the United States Navy SEALs who was killed in action during Operation Red Wings. We dont hide or run for a fight we stand ground, run towards one when one of or own needs help! Within an hour, the SEAL Reconnaissance and Surveillance team was attacked by Shah and his men who were armed with RPK machine guns, AK-47s, RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenades, and an 82mm mortar. In an article by Sean Naylor, Army Times senior correspondent, Navy Special Warfare Command spokesman Lieutenant Steve Ruh stated that with respect to making command decisions in the field, "Whether they're officer or enlisted, the senior guy ultimately has the ultimate authority." Lone Survivor and The Truth The Havok Journal It takes an enormous amount of strength, character, and bravery to tell the world the truth about such a sensitive situation when no one would ever have known the difference. I saw the movie first and then read the book after. Entering a hot combat zone, attack helicopters are used initially to neutralize the enemy and make it safer for the lightly-armored, personnel-transport helicopter to insert. There is staggering power to the sacrifice of the brotherhood. I am a non-combat US Army Vet I LOVE our military. Insurgent activity in Kunar Province during this time came from 22 identified groups,[2][7] some of which had tenuous ties to the Taliban and al-Qaeda while the majority were little more than local criminals. But no, they took a vote, like boy scouts, and it was up to our hero to make the call, which he then blames on CNN. And I dont have access to the heart and mind of another. Members of SEAL Team 10, U.S. Marines, and aviators of the 160th SOAR were prepared to dispatch a quick reaction force, but approval for launch from higher special operations headquarters was delayed for several hours. It's a journey of innocence lost and the scars of war etched into the minds of service members. [2][7], The name has been widely mis-stated as "Operation Redwing" and sometimes "Operation Red Wing". They focus on PTSD, mTBI, and chronic pain. According to the Navy's summary of action, the four SEALs were "deep behind enemy lines," in difficult and rugged terrain in Afghanistan, on a reconnaissance mission scouting Ahmad Shah a. Al Blake must be filled with a terrible amount of hate. I did not see that in Marcuss book. In reply to Mike Washburne, Im afraid you did not research this quite as well as you said you did. Who invented chill? [citation needed], Command and control was lost and neither visual nor radio contact could be established with the SEAL team.

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