Seal Team 6 Helicopter crash

[Wolfy 51]

http://www.app.com/article/20110806/NJNEWS18/308060039/Sources-Helicopter-crash-killed-SEAL-Team-6-members?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|Frontpage

 

 

Please take a moment to pray for these selfless heros and their families. They took a hard loss today. They said 31 were killed including 20 from Team 6.

[Smokin .50 1,907]

Prayers Sent!

[Duppie 73]

Prayers Sent!

+1

[CageFighter 236]

+1

 

+2

[hd2000fxdl 422]

Prayers sent is all I can say.

 

Harry

[vjf915 456]

What a shame that these hardened men can take on just about any situation presented to them, and this was their biggest loss.....a heli crash. I wonder what happened...

[MedicYeti 96]

I hope this is a fabricated story to protect the brave men of the team. In case it isn't I hope the lord welcomes them into his loving arms.

[tony357 386]

prayers go out to all the families..

 

 

+3

[Nick T 4]

Not fabricated, Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for downing the chinook with RPGs and small arms fire on their way to a raid in Kabul

[vjf915 456]

Not fabricated, Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for downing the chinook with RPGs and small arms fire on their way to a raid in Kabul

That's got to be the only way those SOB's could take down 1 SEAL, let alone 20......

[Nick T 4]

That's got to be the only way those SOB's could take down 1 SEAL, let alone 20......

Pure cowardess they will get theirs

[Old School 611]

Prayers and God's Speed to all and their families!

 

Last week I found out about Brian, a friend of the family, took a RPG hit on a HV that he was driving in. Fikin thing came

through the windshield. And the exact story I'm not sure of but it may have detonated on exit of the HV. All four GI's

in the HV survived. Brian has schrapnel wounds from the waist up and damage to his face.

 

Last week I was so sick of this sandbox **** I didn't post because I couldn't do so rationally.

 

When the fuk are we gonna get outta there?

[bbk 188]

In my personal experience Sh-thooks are as precarious of a ride as they get. I know that their super unreliable reputation is probably a myth, but I never, ever liked stepping foot in one of those birds. They weren't bad for taking a quick nap in though.

 

Regarding the details of this incident, I personally am going to wait until the proverbial dust settles, and the investigation is complete. Even then, I would take everything with a grain of salt considering we are talking about JSOC (or so I would assume), and they aren't necessarily known for making details privy for public consumption.

 

As for the gentlemen, my thoughts are with their families. They knew the task they were faced with, but it's always unfortunate to those they leave behind that have to really bear the burden for their sacrifice.

[Caine 147]

RIP

[Tactical Monkey 51]

These guys make all the sacrifices you can imagine to be part of the team, tip of the spear. God rest their souls - heroes every one of them...

[Wolfy 51]

It's a tragedy those guys didn't have a chance to get on the ground and a gun in their hands.

[siderman 1,139]

this is upsetting beyond words. Why was such a force all on one clunker of a ride. You'd think they would be a bit more diverse and stealthy.We need to re-evaluate whats important to us over there.Is it the occasional Taliban or local fighter we come across? Awfull lot of lives and resources being thrown around over there and for what gain?

[mipafox 438]

In my personal experience Sh-thooks are as precarious of a ride as they get. I know that their super unreliable reputation is probably a myth, but I never, ever liked stepping foot in one of those birds. They weren't bad for taking a quick nap in though.

 

I've only been on them a handful of times, but never experienced a landing. Crash or normal.

 

This is really bothering me. The death of the SEALs breaks my heart. But this is very bizarre.

 

25 SEAL Team 6 killed in a Shithook? Now, I know the press gets it 90% wrong early, and 80% wrong once it's settled history, and back to 90% wrong with SEALs, but there is no reason for 25 SEAL Team 6 to be killed in a Shithook. WTF? That's a platoon or even a weak company. This is not the first time this has happened. They had to have SEALs land dingys to capture an airfield in Panama and they were discovered and all shot up. Ummm... Guess who captures airfields for a living? That wouldn't even be necessary. Army or Marines could have driven in there and simply said, "Get bent or get shot." And that's what ended up happening after many of the SEALs died. Because the SEALS were all gathered in tiny little groups on tiny little boats on water near the shoreline.

 

Didn't we loose a shitload of SEALs in a a Shithook shoot-down about 5 years ago in Afghanistan?

 

Why TF do we need to send dozens of SEALs to do a job over land? Marines have SF now. Send top SF Marines led by SEALs. Like Special Forces does with Rangers.

 

WTF do I know. I don't know. I've just been watching this crap for over 20 years and during that time large groups of SEALs get killed over and over again. I'm sure I only hear about what goes wrong and not what goes well, but it just seems like they are misused.

[bulpup 98]

Because "supermen" are still mortal.

 

We should be heartened by the fact that they win more than they lose, but there is always 'the odds.'

[tanghan 1]

pray for all. Also, I wonder why such a large team board the single heli.

[bbk 188]

Chinooks carry 30-50+ personnel, so, the *reported* numbers aren't abnormal. They're also not to mobile (compared to other birds), so, if there is enough target saturation, it is also not difficult to fathom one being knocked out of the air.

 

As for SEALs being ground-pounders, that's a role they've played since the get-go of OEF. Why they were sent in to reinforce a unit is odd, unless it was an operational thing-- but eh, that's pure speculation, and it's probably better for operational integrity if that isn't necessarily published.

[njpilot 671]

Chinooks carry 30-50+ personnel, so, the *reported* numbers aren't abnormal. They're also not to mobile (compared to other birds), so, if there is enough target saturation, it is also not difficult to fathom one being knocked out of the air.

 

 

Actually I've flown civilian Chinooks and have friends that have flown them in the military and they are pretty maneuverable.

 

RIP.

[GRIZ 3,369]

As for SEALs being ground-pounders, that's a role they've played since the get-go of OEF.

 

Ground ops has been a SEAL role since their inception. Rudy Boesch (from the first Survivor) is possibly the longest serving SEAL (along with their forerunners). He started with the Amphibious Scouts and Raiders at the tail end of WWII and IIRC was the most senior NCO in the SEALs since they started (1961?). Rudy's last job IIRC was Senior Enlisted Advisor for Special Operations Command retiring after 45 years in the special ops business.

[Shawnmoore81 623]

In my opinion they may have shot down a chopper but I doubt all the members that killed bin laden were in it. But hey now their identities have been erased and no retaliations can be done in the future. Whatever soldiers were lost are in my prayers but I think this was a perfect situation to make them disappear.

[vjf915 456]

but I think this was a perfect situation to make them disappear.

I'm sorry.....can you elaborate? I'm a little confused.....this sounds like the start of some government conspiracy theory, correct me if I'm wrong.

[PeteF 1,044]

Condolences to the families of these brave men.

 

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but why would Navy Seals be on a Chinook? I thought the Navy used the CH-53 for heavy troop movements?

[bbk 188]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but why would Navy Seals be on a Chinook? I thought the Navy used the CH-53 for heavy troop movements?

 

This is not fact (regarding my following comment, not your comment, ha, sorry. I re-read it, and realized that it didn't sound as intended), but my assumption is that they were working in coordination (or a member of) with JSOC

[GRIZ 3,369]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but why would Navy Seals be on a Chinook? I thought the Navy used the CH-53 for heavy troop movements?

 

Chinooks are most likely from the 160 Special Operations Aviation Regiment (an Army unit) who generally do the rotary wing stuff in SOCOM.

[mipafox 438]

Chinooks carry 30-50+ personnel, so, the *reported* numbers aren't abnormal. They're also not to mobile (compared to other birds), so, if there is enough target saturation, it is also not difficult to fathom one being knocked out of the air.

 

I've parachuted out of them on several occasions.

 

As for SEALs being ground-pounders, that's a role they've played since the get-go of OEF.

 

No, it's the role they have played since they started. The point is, over land, there don't use SEALs as infantry companies. They are for special work when not in furtherance of naval necessities. Especially SEAL Team 6. I'm questioning why Seal Team 6 is sent in like an Infantry (or even RANGER) platoon or company. Seal Team 6 is not a line unit.

 

Like I said, I don't know how they work. Just seems like they are frequently missused and sent to die for missions that don't make any sense and could have been safely accomplished by regular troops. No way for me to know that was the case this time. This is a horrible loss

[bbk 188]

No, it's the role they have played since they started. The point is, over land, there don't use SEALs as infantry companies. They are for special work when not in furtherance of naval necessities. Especially SEAL Team 6. I'm questioning why Seal Team 6 is sent in like an Infantry (or even RANGER) platoon or company. Seal Team 6 is not a line unit.

 

Like I said, I don't know how they work. Just seems like they are frequently missused and sent to die for missions that don't make any sense and could have been safely accomplished by regular troops. No way for me to know that was the case this time. This is a horrible loss

 

As I've said prior, being a ground-pounder is a role they have played since the get-go of OEF (and of course prior). However, I wouldn't go as far as to say they are fulfilling the role of a line unit though. While USSOCOM units as a whole have seen a shift in usage, they are still, for the most part, fulfilling specific tasks unique to specialized units. A good and obvious example is how Special Forces were business as usual leading up to the invasion (in early, rallying local nationals, etc), but once there were boots on the ground, their mission changed radically. This has been the case, as I noted earlier, with a lot of the units that participate in JSOC. As a whole, SOCOM and the IC (intelligence community) have evolved rapidly over the past few years, and what "was" is not necessarily what "is".

 

What is more interesting is the usage of regular units/troops being used for specialized tasks. To me this shows either the lack of troops that are fulfilling the slots needed in USSOCOM/IC, or the heavy and increasing need for SOCOM/IC moving forward. I couldn't really say which one makes me more worried.

 

In this case, as I said in an earlier post, while this specific group of troops were moving to a location to reinforce a dinged up unit, chances are it was tied to the ongoing operations that they were already involved in regarding that AO. I would be hard-pressed to believe that they were fulfilling the role of a QRF, which, yes, could be fulfilled by any line unit. It's also the same reason why I said that the details are probably better left unsaid to the public for the time being in order to protect operational integrity. Because yes, insurgents and terrorists read the internet and watch the news.