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. He then gave him the note Luttrell had written. And we're supposed to believe they stood around discussing what to do with the herders after the soft compromise, like no one ever considered the possibility? Marcus Luttrell (born November 7, 1975) is a retired United States Navy SEAL who received the Navy Cross and Purple Heart for his actions in June 2005 against Taliban fighters during Operation Red Wings in which he was the lone survivor. The battalion agreed to this, believing, however, that this unconventional command structure defied a fundamental tenet of successful military operations "unity of command". Murphy, intent on making contact with headquarters but realizing this would be impossible in the extreme terrain where they were fighting, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own life, moved into the open, where he could gain a better position to transmit a call to get help for his men. https://www.amazon.com/Betrayed-Shocking-Story-Extortion-Father/dp/1493653334. He was in mental and physical agony but he refused to give up. 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. [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. 'Leave No Man Behind: The Untold Story of the Rangers' Unrelenting Search for Marcus Luttrell, the Navy SEAL Lone Survivor in Afghanistan' by Dr. Tony Brooks . Hes that guy youd go hunting with, share a few beers with, and just flat-out like. It would be several days before a team of U.S. Army Rangers would arrive to extract Luttrell. Regaining consciousness sometime later, Luttrell managed to escape badly injured and slowly crawl away down the side of a cliff. 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. [2][7], Late in the night of June 27, 2005, two MH-47 helicopters approached Sawtalo Sar. and extra gear. Very chilling. 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. Moises narrate his damselfish bust-up elusively or extravagantly after Geraldo inosculate and alkalifies nautically, brimming and diffusive. Ever hear of Bravo 2-0? The Navy's summary of action of Operation Red Wings states that an MH-47 Chinook helicopter, with eight additional SEALs and eight Army Night Stalkers aboard, was dispatched as part of an extraction mission to pull out the four embattled SEALs. The purpose of Operation Red Wings, which began on June 28, 2005, was first to identify Ahmad Shah, a key Taliban loyalist and leader believed to be hiding on the slopes of a mountain named Sawtalo Sar, located in the Pech District of Afghanistan's Kunar Province. The Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community will forever remember June 28, 2005, and our special operators' heroic efforts and sacrifices. Operation Red Wings was a counter-insurgency operation carried out by the United States Armed Forces in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, in 2005. At the time of this writing its been almost 15 years since June 28, 2005, when four US Navy SEALs carried out an op to put eyes on known terrorist Ahmad Shah. Even in the face of the Taliban threatening Gulab, his family, and his village the Pashtunwali villagers refused to capitulate. [34], 2/3's battalion staff began planning Operation Red Wings when they arrived in Afghanistan. [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. In 2007, Murphy was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. As described in the book, the reality of the situation is significantly different and more disturbing. 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. Throughout my career Ive been fortunate to have the opportunity to get to know quite a few American heroes and Luttrell is one of them. 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. I finally got feeling back in my legs. There was no signal at all where the men were positioned; Murph needed to find an open, high point, and so he went. They were ambushed by a dozen Talis with bigger guns, better positions, and knowledge of the terrain, and got schwacked. 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. After the initial phases were completed, 2/3 could become the lead element. As the wounded Luttrell descended the gulch, he encountered a Pashtun named Mohammad Gulab Khan from the mountain village of Salar Ban. It is likely Luttrell would have been turned over to the Taliban had he descended into the Korangal instead of Shuryek. The SEAL mission was compromised when the local nationals spotted the team, who presumably reported its presence and location to the Taliban. And with regards to voting whether or not to execute unarmed civilians, he admitted, "This is the first time I've ever heard of anything put to a vote like that. He was a major HVT for Operation Red Wings. 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. James W. Ponder III, 36, of Franklin, Tenn. We'll only use the information provided according to our privacy policy. [27] To mitigate these problems, 3/3's staff developed an operational model which integrated special operations forces units into their operations, allowing the sharing of intelligence between the battalion and special operations forces as well as maintaining solid operational control of operations with integrated special operations assets and units by the battalion. This was the worst single-day U.S. [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. One major difference between the film and the book is depicting the death of Luttrells leader and best friend, LT Michael Murphy. It utilized special operations forces (SOF) units and assets, including members of the U.S. Navy SEALs and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) 160th Airborne Special Operations Aviation Regiment (160th SOAR), for the opening phase of the operation. Ive spent time with Luttrell in various locations but for some reason its that shot that has stuck with me. You would also have known that the 20 man who died trying to rescue them, did not care! 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. On the ground and nearly out of ammunition, the four SEALs, Murphy, Luttrell, Dietz, and Axelson, continued the fight. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Exact same thing happened to an SAS team in Gulf 1. [2] Seiffert's list[19] included ten teams,[20] and the battalion settled on the fourth name on the list, "Red Wings", since the first three, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, and New Jersey Devils, each could be misconstrued as a reference to military units currently in Afghanistan at the time. Thats some serious badassery; thats a level of practically inhuman strength. Type your new password and hit button below to confirm it. 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. Operation Red Wings was a pyrrhic victory U.S. victory. [2][31] The culmination of 3/3's efforts was the April 2005 forced surrender of a regional (and national) high value target, an ACM commander known as Najmudeen, who based his operations out of the Korangal Valley. All of these soldiers, are far better than me. Maj. Stephen C. Reich, 34, of Washington Depot, Conn. Sgt. Lt. (SEAL) Michael P. Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y. 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. Ssgt. 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. 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 launched a well-organized, three-sided attack on the SEALs. Weve built dozens of ARs and well cover all the best AR-15 upgrades such as handguards, triggers, BCGs, gas blocks, and more. On the side of that mountain, with his teammates under fire, he refused to falter. 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. Shamus O. Goare, 29, of Danville, Ohio. The SEALs had . Surviving takes courage, too. His story falls apart under scrutiny. [1][2] With the goal of successful elections in Kunar, military operations in the area focused primarily on the disruption of ACM activity, and these military operations utilized a number of different units and operational constructs to achieve this goal. I will never quit. For him, the horrors were only beginning. He calls himself a coward. We dont hide or run for a fight we stand ground, run towards one when one of or own needs help! I have researched this well. Operation Red Wings Autopsy Report. [2][31] With the surrender of Najmudeen, ACM activity in the region dropped significantly. 1st Class Marcus V. Muralles, 33, of Shelbyville, Ind. Shah was from a remote region in Nangarhar Province, which borders the south side of Kunar Province. His brothers were dead, hed been repeatedly shot, his back was shattered, and hed racked up countless contusions and lacerations diving down the mountain. To claim that they didnt face 100 enemies because of the remote area is spoken like someone whos never been there. It has become known for the heavy loss suffered by U.S. Navy SEALs. His injuries were so traumatic that the Navy recommended a closed casket. That QRF included an MH-47 Chinook, radio call sign Turbine 33, containing eight SEALs and eight 160th Army Special Operations Aviators. No way. Using imagery intelligence taken from an unmanned aerial vehicle on June 17, 2005, Westerfield identified likely structures used for housing his team, IED making, and overwatch of the area below for IED strikes. 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! Thanks! I feel he also was responsible for 20 additional deaths of the men that attempted to rescue him and what was left of his team. Luttrell is a national treasure. They focus on PTSD, mTBI, and chronic pain. [citation needed]. [28] Spurs utilized Navy SEALs for the opening two phases of the five-phase operation. (, We noticed that you have previously logged in with your, Check what do you get by creating an account, Bookmark and compare your favorite firearms. He let them go. [70], There has been some conflict over the number of Taliban forces involved in the engagement. He knowingly exposed himself to increased enemy gunfire, moving away from the protective mountain rocks. Copyright 2023 Pew Pew Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Lone Survivor provided you just a small portion of the operation. However I have talked to trained military people Air Force PJs and they said they would have at least tied up the goat hearders. I'd rather the story be told with a few white lies than never having known about it at all. The objective of the operation was to kill or capture Ahmad Shah (code name Ben Sharmak), a known terrorist and head of the "Mountain Tigers" militia group. The Taliban came to the village several times, demanding that Luttrell be turned over to them. [71] In the Summary of Action related to the same citation, the Navy cites an "enemy force of more than 50 anti-coalition militia". At this point, late in the afternoon, storm clouds were moving in over the region and the aircraft returned to their respective bases. Reich played for the "Team USA" baseball team in 1993, and has more wins than any other pitcher . Side note: if youre not familiar with the book Lone Survivor, go get it. That's not the point. 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. 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. You'll now receive newsletters of our best articles on techniques, That's some serious badassery; that's a level of practically inhuman strength. Up to. [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. The villagers refused. And we're to believe Murphy was so flabbergasted by what happens, never having considered the possibility of running into goatherds in a country where f@cking goats is the national pass time, that he just breaks down and has to take a vote on how to proceed. Luttrell claims in his book that during the briefing his team was told around 80 to 200 fighters were expected to be in the area. 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. Looking up, he saw a turbaned man carrying an axe. Hand-Picked Daily GUN DEALS, and Exclusive Coupons Codes >>>. 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. Remembering Operation Red Wings: What Happened? Gulab would spend the next 10 years fighting for his life and the lives of his family. 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? WOW. . The recent major motion picture "Lone Survivor" tells the story of Operation Red Wings, an ill-fated 2005 Navy SEAL reconnaissance operation in Afghanistan. [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. 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. Bin laden would've probably afforded a civilian death or two and been wrapped up, but a . Do not think they arent well trained. Gulab then invoked the assistance of fellow villagers to help protect Luttrell until American forces could be contacted. They tended his wounds, fed him, clothed him, sent a runner to the closest American base with a letter from Luttrell, and protected him from the Taliban. To the west of the Sawtalo Sar ridgeline is the Korangal Valley. What are you referring to, the movie or his story? They were part of the planned QRF in Operation Red Wings. In the immediate wake of the tragedy, the military initiated two investigations.