US forces suffered a tragic blow in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. A MH-47 Night Stalker was shot down while conducting a support mission for a special operations observation team working in the mountains at about 10,000 feet above sea level, alone in perhaps the most harsh and dangerous territory on the planet. The MH-47 serves in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, and is a specialized helicopter designed for “overt and covert infiltrations, exfiltrations, air assault, resupply, and sling operations over a wide range of environmental conditions.”
The ground team came under heavy fire from al Qaeda/Taliban fighters and called for assistance. Reports indicate the crew of the Night Stalker and a Navy SEAL squad been lost after being shot down with an RPG, however ROFASix reports the likely culprit was an SA-16 Gimlet, an advanced Russian made surface to air weapon. Matt Heidt from Froggy Ruminations states “this would be the largest casualty incident in SEAL Team history.” The impact is felt in Rev. Donald Sensing's home town.
The crash site has been secured, and the BBC is reporting the bodies of 13 Americans have been recovered. The special operations ground team is also unaccounted for at this time. An A-10 Thunderbolt and Predator drone provided air support at the crash site until the relief mission could be conducted.
The composition of the forces lost tells us plenty about the mission. They were supporting Operation Red Wing, which is the hunt for al Qaeda and Taliban leadership on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mullah Omar are specific targets of this operation.
While this is purely speculation, the ferocity of the attack on the ground team, the composition of the US relief force, and the sophistication of the attack on the Night Stalker may indicate the ground team sniffed out an important node in the al Qaeda/Taliban chain of command. CENTCOM states units are moving to blocking positions to prevent the escape of the attacking unit.
The hunt continues. Today, the hunters, their families and America mourns.
Mother told me there would be days like this. The news media revels in bad news. Leftists cheer this sort of thing. The hard job still needs to be done. Pick ourselves up and try to learn something to better defeat the worldwide terror net.
I wish them good hunting. Sounds like some people are overdue for their appointments with Allah (and when they get there, hooo boy will there be a lot of 'splaining to do....)
I'll add that for Rev. (Maj.) Donald Sensing, this one hit pretty close to home.
Thanks, Joe. I updated the post.
#1 Sasha:
All "Leftists" do not "cheer this sort of thing".
Some leftists actually have sons who served in the US Army.
Some of us even raise sons who become conservative military bloggers. I will not reply in kind. I will not paint all rightists with the same brush. Some actually are thinking human beings
so if it WAS a Sam 16, and it came from Iraqi stockpiles, presumably looted shortly after the war, how did it get to Afghanistan?
1. Iran would be the direct route - big news if true. But Iran hasnt been tight with the Taliban, even now (and no, I realize they will make common cause with Sunnis if it suits them, and may be helping some AQ types, but they have thus far played a different game in Afghanistan).
2.Was it smuggle via Pakistan? Made it through the naval net in the Arabian sea, and overland through one of the passes? How big are these things, anyway, and how easy to smuggle?
I ask, as this is redolent of how the Russkies lost. They used choppers to chase folks, and the missiles took out choppers. One of the reasons i said way back in October 2001 that we would NOT share the fate of the Russkies, was that no one would supply Sams to the Taliban. Now one hit does not a massive Stinger campaign make, and there may not be many more where this SAM came from, but still.
Please CROG, Sasha wrote "Leftists cheer this sort of thing." You wrote "All Leftists cheer this sort of thing;" he didn't. That's called setting up a strawman.
Leftists do cheer this sort of thing, and that's a proundly sad and horrible reality. Let no one think it gives anyone on the Right pleasure to be able to say it. I am glad there are those on the Left who respect and mourn the loss of these brave troops. Some of them post regularly at this blog.
Blacks are thieves. Jews eat babies. Americans are fat. Mexicans are lazy. Who needs the word "all" when you can falsely generalise just as easily without it.
Yes, we wish them very good hunting indeed. And sharp teeth.
I think it is far more likely that an RPG was used rather than a manportable SAM.
The altitudes at which this MH-47 was operating would have left it very slow and unresponsive to controls, just the ticket for a jihadi with an RPG to get lucky.
Josh, you're right. It should be: many Americans are fat.
Many leftists cheer this sort of thing.
>>The ground team came under heavy fire from al Qaeda/Taliban fighters and called for assistance.
Hmm. Aren't there lots of different factions of warlords in Afghanistan these days? Maybe one of them got irritated at USG forces poking around his opium crop?
Opium crops high in the mountains. Too funny.
Hm. In your examples, you could actually get away with saying "Most" instead of "Many".
;)
The predominant anger among special ops troops right now is simmering anger and the irresistable urge to take revenge. These men are professionals and will obey the rules of engagement, but they will not provide any extra slack now, where they might have before.
These were not Taliban, they were arab al qaida. It may be time to remove their safe havens, the villagers along the border who give them everything they need to make the world safe for stone age religion.