Between 2010 and 2018 the Lone Survivor Foundation provided more than 25,200 hours of therapeutic services in a military-friendly environment to vets and their families, all at no cost to those receiving it. Bin laden would've probably afforded a civilian death or two and been wrapped up, but a . The northeastern gulch in which the SEALs became trapped was in this direction, above the village of Salar Ban. Red Wings' goal was disrupting ACM activity, with an emphasis on disrupting Ahmad Shah's activities, which were based near the summit of Sawtalo Sar. I have researched this well! Same with the villagers who rescued Luttrell and all the videos those insurgents made themselves. Following the call, Murphy managed to drag himself to a semi-covered position, where he began to cry out to Luttrell for help. They were ambushed by a dozen Talis with bigger guns, better positions, and knowledge of the terrain, and got schwacked. 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. It would be several days before a team of U.S. Army Rangers would arrive to extract Luttrell. "Operation Red Wings" Navy SEAL "Matthew Axelson" recovery 92,724 views Jan 21, 2016 460 Dislike Share Save Downrange Film 29K subscribers Anyone who claims Matthew Axelson was beheaded is a. His injuries were so traumatic that the Navy recommended a closed casket. We already have an account registered for email address During this time, 2/3's intelligence officer, Captain Scott Westerfield, focused further on learning about Ahmad Shah. That's some serious badassery; that's a level of practically inhuman strength. Finally, after far too long, the American government assisted him in coming to the USA and he now lives with his family in Texas. 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. Operation Red Wings was a Marine Corps conceived operation informally referred to as Battle of Abbas Ghar. 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. During an attempt to insert SEALs riding in one of the MH-47 helicopters, one of Ahmad Shah's men fired an RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade which struck the transmission below the rear rotor assembly, causing the aircraft to immediately plummet to the ground. The fourth SEAL, Luttrell, was blasted over a ridge by a rocket-propelled grenade and was knocked unconscious. I spent 3 years with a support team of Operation Enduring Freedom mostly at Bagram. To the west of the Sawtalo Sar ridgeline is the Korangal Valley. After the initial phases were completed, 2/3 could become the lead element. If Gulab is to be believed then Murphys decision to release the goatherders was irrelevant to the eventual ambush as the Taliban were already well on their way. Chief Warrant Officer Corey J. Goodnature, 35, of Clarks Grove, Minn. Sgt. After Axelsons death, Luttrell would say of Axelson that he fought the encroaching Taliban forces with a calm demeanor, methodically supplying suppressive fire and precise, surgical shots as required to defend their lives. There was practically zero chance that such a poorly-planned operation could have succeeded. Through intimidation, Shah was able to ascertain which house sheltered the wounded man and demanded that he be turned over. [68] It was dedicated by Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter in November 2007. He had to do this because the areas rocky structure blocked any transmission from his satellite phone. Today is the 15th anniversary of Operation Red Wings, which claimed the life of 19 U.S. service members in Afghanistan. Lt. (SEAL) Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y. Luttrell wrote about realizing there was no possible way to help his best friend because the enemy would surely kill him long before he reached Murphy. The Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community will forever remember June 28, 2005, and our special operators heroic efforts and sacrifices. [citation needed]. Operation Red Wings was a pyrrhic victory U.S. victory. [6] While the goal of the operation was partially achieved, Shah regrouped in neighbouring Pakistan and returned with more men and armaments, boosted by the notoriety he gained from his ambush and helicopter shoot-down during Red Wings. It appeared Axe, who must have been in unspeakable agony, had continued fighting for approximately 30 more rounds. As the Chinook raced to the battle, a rocket-propelled grenade struck the helicopter, killing all 16 men aboard. 1st Class Michael L. Russell, 31, of Stafford, Va. Chief Warrant Officer Chris J. Scherkenbach, 40, of Jacksonville, Fla. HQ Company, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Ky. Master Sgt. He calls himself a coward. Those Marines found no bodies at all, btw, pretty surprising for a supposed company sized Tali unit that had just suffered at least 50% casualties. [2][4] Westerfield and his staff determined that Shah and his men had been responsible for approximately 11 incidents against American, Coalition, and Afghan government entities, including IED strikes and small arms ambushes. After refusing to open fire on civilians who discovered his SEAL team, Murphy and his unit found themselves confronted by many Taliban and al-Qaeda infantry who were determined to wipe out the small force. "[40][73][5], For the 1956 series of U.S. nuclear tests, see, Planning stages and intelligence gathering, Insertion of SEAL team, compromise and attack, Red Wings II: search, rescue, recovery, and presence operations, NOTE: Many of the details regarding the Afghans who aided Luttrell were reported incorrectly in the American press during the days after the events occurred. 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. Wanting to do something more tangible with the events of June 28, 2005 Luttrell decided to start the Lone Survivor Foundation in 2010. Exact same thing happened to an SAS team in Gulf 1. What are you referring to, the movie or his story? [62] The sculpture depicts Matthew Axelson and James Suh in full combat equipment. purchase helps support my work in bringing you more awesome gun and gear articles. This isn't me just grinding some axe, though I see Luttrell's account as stolen valor. [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)). Military protocol, United States and international military doctrine, and rules of engagement strictly forbid harming unarmed non-combatant civilians, with one of the specific rules of engagement in effect at the time stating, "Civilians are not targets! Finding blood pools and body parts are usually what post battle assessment comes up with unless you are the ones conducting the raid. They were carless and paid for it. Ever hear of Bravo 2-0? He was shot in the back at one point, causing him to drop the transmitter. I couldnt put it down. Deep behind enemy lines, a very committed 4-man SEAL team had a vital task. Due to his helping an American, Gulab was marked for death by the Taliban. A massive search began, at first from the ground, and then with aviation assets which was able to retrieve the bodies of the 16 killed in the MH-47 shootdown. 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 . While one of the aircraft performed a number of "decoy drops" to mislead any enemy observers, the other inserted a four-man Navy SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team via fast rope in a saddle between Sawtalo Sar and Gatigal Sar, a peak just to the south of Sawtalo Sar. Specifically the clear audio of Murphy yelling marcus come back. His overall intelligence picture of Shah took a substantial leap when 2nd Lieutenant Regan Turner, a platoon commander with 2/3's "Whiskey Company" a weapons company augmented to function like an infantry line company, gathered a wealth of human intelligence about Shah during a patrol including his full name: Ahmad Shah Dara-I-nur (Ahmad Shah of the Valley of the Enlightened ones); his birthplace, the Kuz Kunar District of Nangarhar Province; his primary alias: Ismael; his chief allegiance: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who was based out of the Shamshato Refugee Camp near Peshawar, Pakistan; his group's size: fifty to one hundred fighters; and his goals: to impede the upcoming elections and attempt to aid a resurgent Taliban in the region. It would be six days before he was rescued by American forces. ANA and Coalition forces still are actively. Commander Erik S. Kristensen, was sent as part of an extraction mission to pull out the four embattled Navy SEALs. In his condition, without assistance, he would probably have been killed or captured by the Taliban. I can say or do NOTHING regarding the events because quite simply I wasnt there. Thats some serious badassery; thats a level of practically inhuman strength. Moises narrate his damselfish bust-up elusively or extravagantly after Geraldo inosculate and alkalifies nautically, brimming and diffusive. Battle of wanat for example was in korengal and the 173rd are without saying some of the best warriors the army produces but they were attacked by a battalion size element in this remote area you claim cant support those numbers. Forces death toll since Operation Enduring Freedom began. And when it became clear all of the men would die unless Murph used the SAT phone meant for only the direst of emergencies, he knew he had to make it work. The previous highest U.S. death toll from a single incident in the war came from a rocket attack on a Chinook helicopter carrying Navy SEALs during Operation Red Wings on June 28, 2005. The list of those lost that day are as follows: Navy SEALs SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. To rid themselves of Taliban forces in the area, led by a warlord named Ahmed Shah, the Marines put together Operation Red Wings, then called on the Navy SEALs based near Kabul. [3] Official media reports from the military estimated the size of the Taliban force to be around 20 as well, while in the Medal of Honor citation for Murphy, the Navy cited 3040 enemies. You can learn more about the foundation here and, if you are a veteran suffering from combat trauma, you can apply to attend here. [2][7] 2/3 continued the use of hockey team names for large operations. [31] 3/3 planned and executed approximately one of these operations per month, maintaining a consistent operational tempo. Im not so sure after we were there, we should have left, like we did. Murphy called for assistance and eventually ensured that the surviving member of his team reached safety. We'll send you the latest guides and training tips geared [18], When the 2/3 took the Operation Stars model and developed the specifics of it, 2/3's operations officer, Major Thomas Wood, instructed an assistant operations officer, 1st Lieutenant Lance Seiffert, to compose a list of hockey team names. Al Blake must be filled with a terrible amount of hate. The forces were participating in Operation Red Wing, an effort to defeat terrorists operating in Kunar province," a military press release stated. He calmly provided his units location and the enemy forces size while requesting immediate support for his team. [2][7], Late in the night of June 27, 2005, two MH-47 helicopters approached Sawtalo Sar. Spec Ops Magazine 2023 All Rights Reserved. [2] A team of four Navy SEALs, tasked with surveillance and reconnaissance of a group of structures known to be used by Shah and his men, were ambushed by Shah and his group just hours after inserting into the area by fast-roping from an MH-47 Chinook helicopter. Operation Red Wings Autopsy Report The black rifle coffee. Operation Red Wings . [18], On September 14, 2006, Dietz and Axelson were posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for "undaunted courage" and heroism. Look up Ed Darack, ex-SF guy, who spent years researching the entire fiasco for a book called Victory Point, dealing with a number of missions in that area. She is a contributor for an array of major industry publications including USCCA Concealed Carry Magazine, Outdoor Life, and SHOT Business. When now-retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell saw MatthewAxelson alive for the last time the two men were hunkered down in a small hollow and Axelson was down to his handgun. [3] Three of the four team members were killed and the only survivor, Marcus Luttrell, was left unconscious with a number of fractures and other serious wounds. The SEALs had . In actuality, LT Murphy successfully made the call while taking gunfire. More like 8-12 fighters according to multiple sources, including video shot by those Talis during the fight, Gulab and the other villagers who rescued Luttrell, and the Marine rescue team who were there a day later. Ahmad Shah was known to be the HVT behind numerous attacks on American forces, although there were other HVTs with more blood on their hands and considered to be bigger fish. Only two U.S. soldiers or Marines died in Kunar province in 2005 before Operation Red Wings. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a857c309eceeeba4679db7021855f495" );document.getElementById("c08a1a06c7").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Content on this website is free to use and share, but please provide a link back to Spec Ops Magazine as a source. I watched a portion of one of his paid speeches where he claimed his back was broken and he had 11 through and throughs as he referred to them. All the obvious bs in his book, makes me wonder just how Luttrell managed to be the only one to make it off that mountain. [2][31] With the surrender of Najmudeen, ACM activity in the region dropped significantly. This was the worst single-day U.S. On the side of that mountain, with his teammates under fire, he refused to falter. Medical services had been provided and a girls' school was built at Nangalam. I am never out of the fight. (SEAL Ethos), You Stay Alive, Marcus. (Sonar Technician 2nd Class Matthew Axelson). In the week before Operation Red Wings, only 2 soldiers died in the entire country. It was the single largest loss of life for Naval Special Warfare since World War II. 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. Through his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and inspirational devotion to his men in the face of certain death, Lt. Murphy was able to relay his units position. There's no way such a remote area in the Korengal could support a third that many fighters. No AARs from missions before and after Red Wings, no HUMINT, SIGINT, or any other kind of INT corroborates the number of hostiles in Luttrell's story. However, Gulab had invoked the assistance of fellow villagers in protecting Luttrell until American forces could be contacted. . But the reality is that mission was a shit show from the beginning. The insert point was roughly one and one half miles from the nearest Named Area of Interest. Phase 1 - Shaping: A U.S. Navy SEAL reconnaissance and surveillance team is tasked to insert in the region of the suspected safe buildings of Ahmad Shah, observe and identify Shah and his men and specific locations, and guide a direct action team of phase two to structures in which Shah and his men are observed to be staying. The autopsy report outlining Dietz's wounds is five pages long. [54] Luttrell was subsequently moved to different places until forces could arrive to extract him. We reverence the ultimate sacrifice they made while engaged in that fierce firefight on the global war's front lines on terrorism (GWOT). Yes there are better units like you stated for this type of mission but lets not get it twisted in 2005 afghan there wasnt a tremendous amount of warriors to choose from maybe 20-25 thousand troops total in country and maybe 1/10th of those were combat units. While Larry Wilson was a great football player for the Cardinals, and was inducted into the pro football Hall of Fame, he was not killed in action by friendly fire. Instead he was posthumously awarded the MOH. Type your new password and hit button below to confirm it. [1][2] While many of Afghanistan's provinces at this time had stable security environments, one of the most restive continued to be the Kunar Province, which lies in eastern Afghanistan, on the border with Pakistan. [34], 2/3's battalion staff began planning Operation Red Wings when they arrived in Afghanistan. They were after Ahmad Shah a cruel insurgent in his mid-30s who grew up in the same mountains. [2][27] Operations that 3/3 conducted based on this model proved successful in disrupting ACM activity. Then theres the fact that the pain of survivors guilt cannot be understood unless it has been lived. Its the story of all these men on the most courageous day of their lives. There is staggering power to the sacrifice of the brotherhood. 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. 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. On a hunt a few years ago on his familys property out here in Texas we did a spot-and-stalk on Blackbuck and let me tell you, the man may have been injured and is most certainly still in pain, but he can move. And of course hero Marcus makes the tough call. [citation needed], Command and control was lost and neither visual nor radio contact could be established with the SEAL team. I dont think any seal post 911 has ever been mistaken as a quiet profesional! [52] This required a longer journey down the trails of the Shuryek valley to Matin, where he then hired a cab to drive the Pech road to Nangalam. This is an insult to Mike Murphy, as any officer who didn't plan for an obvious contingency like this would be incompetent. Gulab then invoked the assistance of fellow villagers to help protect Luttrell until American forces could be contacted. Side note: if youre not familiar with the book Lone Survivor, go get it. Darack lists these on p. 167-168, Learn how and when to remove this template message, 160th Airborne Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10, September 18, 2005, Afghan national parliamentary elections, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan, Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Red wings and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10, "Operation Red Wings: What Really Happened? Operation Red Wings was a counter-insurgency operation carried out by the United States Armed Forces in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, in 2005. But when a team was finally able to locate and take the bodies of the fallen men home they found Axelson not in that spot but a short distance from where hed been last seenand down to one mag. That QRF included an MH-47 Chinook, radio call sign Turbine 33, containing eight SEALs and eight 160th Army Special Operations Aviators. Operation Red Wings On June 28, 2005, deep behind enemy lines east of Asadabad in the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan, a very committed four-man Navy SEAL team was conducting a reconnaissance mission at the unforgiving altitude of approximately 10,000 feet. He passed away peacefully in 2020. I'm sure areas of the Korengal are teeming with bad guys, but Sawtalo Sar? Absolutely an amazing article, well written and timely. Shah could not risk a fight at that stage as he was outnumbered. Luttrell vividly recalls the blood pouring from Murphs abdomen after Murph was shot in the stomach near the beginning of the firefight. His brothers were dead, hed been repeatedly shot, his back was shattered, and hed racked up countless contusions and lacerations diving down the mountain. So what if its not exactly true? Are you serious? Luttrell said one of the last things Axe said to him in that hollow was, You stay alive, Marcus.. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe. But i will tell you this! Who are way more effective fighters than Taliban but the media and books and stuff say taliban because its easier for peoples heads back home. You cannot discuss Operation Red Wings without talking about the men of Turbine 33. As with the specifics of the planning of this phase, 2/3 played no direct role in command and control, as this was the "SOF supported" portion of the operation. All eight 160th SOAR aviators and crew and all eight Navy SEALs onboard were killed, including commander of the 160th, Major Stephen C. Reich, and ground commander LCDR Erik S. Kristensen, of SEAL Team 10. During the opening phases, the Marines of 2/3 would act in a supporting role. That is the literal definition of a liar. The MH-47 Chinook was escorted by heavily-armored Army attack helicopters. It's free to sign up and bid on jobs. Get proficient on YOUR time. Making it work meant sacrificing himself. This would pose a threat to their activities, some of which included attempting to aid a resurgent neo-Taliban and lumber smuggling. Marcus Luttrell writes the book Lone Survivor about Operation Red Wings. He began the foundation to help service members and their families who were and are recovering from combat trauma. Being struck by the bullet caused him to drop both the phone and his rifle. [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. Maj. Stephen C. Reich, 34, of Washington Depot, Conn. Sgt. Murphy contacted the SOF Quick Reaction Force at Bagram Air Base and requested assistance while continuing to be fired upon. The size of Shah's group increased as additional fighters joined his ranks. Shah, they determined, was responsible for approximately 11 incidents against coalition forces and government of Afghanistan entities, including small arms ambushes and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks. The operators of the 4-man SEAL team were: Under the assumed name Muhammad Ismail, Shah led a guerrilla group known to locals as the Mountain Tigers, aligned with the Taliban and other militant groups close to the Pakistani border. [69] Because of his scrupulous devotion to realistic depictions of humans, Proctor was the personal choice of Axelson's family for the project, and they made that recommendation to the committee. If you research operation red wings. Basic Details: A four-person recon element comprised of LT Michael P Murphy, HM1 Marcus A Luttrell, STG2 Mathew G Axelson, and GM2 Danny P Dietz was Inserted (MGRS: 42S XD 78186 58123) via Fast-Rope at approximately 27170ZJUN05 to conduct a sensitive recon (SR) mission. Just another Texas blowhard like Chris "I shot looters from the roof of the Superdome and knocked out Jesse Ventura" Kyle, who's made a post service career getting paid to tell anyone who will listen, books films, interviews, podcasts, you name it, about his time as a "silent" professional. [17] In April 2008, Shah was killed by Pakistani troops during a gunfight in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. [53] Gulab was aware of these developments and had introduced himself to the Marine commander at Nangalam, Matt Bartels, when he was visiting Matin. He evaded the enemy for nearly a day by traveling seven miles on foot. and extra gear. The above article is sadly lacking to say the least. [2][3] Ahmad Shah's group in Kunar Province was neutralized, and Shah was seriously wounded during Operation Whalers weeks later in August 2005. That being said, I read the book first, then saw the movie. gear. -- 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. [52], In the weeks following Marcus Luttrell's rescue, Gulab and his family received threats from the Taliban, and they were relocated to Asadabad. You do not pay For days, Gulab and his village sheltered the wounded Luttrell. They launched a well-organized, three-sided attack on the SEALs. "Lone Survivor," the story of SEAL heroism in the mountains of Afghanistan, resurfaced in May 2016 after an article in which Mohammed Gulab, the man who saved lone SEAL survivor Marcus Luttrell, disputed some of the most important aspects of Luttrell's story.Lone Survivor was eventually made into a major motion picture, but that . The film shows Murphy deciding to expose himself to enemy fire to get a message to a waiting Quick Reaction Force and hopefully save as many of his men as possible. [2] The team could not establish consistent communication other than for a period long enough to indicate that they were under attack. I watched the taliban video on youtube and it changed my mind. [58], A large amount of resources were devoted to the search, rescue, and recovery operations of Red Wings II. Awards. The password should contain at least 8 characters with at least one number or special character. I'd rather the story be told with a few white lies than never having known about it at all. Because Gulab had previously met the Marine commander based at Nangalam, he asked an older man, Shina, from another part of the village of Salar Ban to make the trek with the note to the base in his stead and gave him 1,000 Afghanis (about twenty U.S. dollars) for the trip. But decided that your not worth it. [16] At the time, Taliban ACM activity in the region was carried out predominantly by a small group led by a local man from Nangarhar Province known as Ahmad Shah, who had aspirations of achieving regional prominence among Muslim fundamentalists. [46] The Taliban leader, Ahmad Shah, knew that the wounded man he was tracking had to have passed through the village of Salar Ban as he made his way downhill. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. You could ask Luttrell what he learned from Operation Red Wings, what he would change, and whether he is happy with the choices he made that day but it all comes down to this: never quit. [69] Proctor offered his opinion to the Tallahassee Democrat that it is "my best work yet". Thank you Pew Pew for running this, lest we forget. With the withdrawal of American and Coalition troops at the end of Red Wings II, Shah and his group were able to return to the Kunar Province and begin attacks again. Kat is heading into her second decade of concealed carry, has been an avid hunter for decades, and has never met a firearm she didnt want to run (she also has a penchant for big bores).