[Oak, PA.] President Donald J. Trump, speaking at a town hall meeting hosted by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, told the father and stepmother of a Cryptologist 1st Class Technician (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist), killed in Afghanistan while aboard a Chinook helicopter with the call sign Extortion 17, that he would investigate the tragedy in his first week back in the White House.
Noem told Trump that the cryptologist’s father, Charles, and stepmother, Mary Ann, were among the honored guests at the forum when the president called them up to the stage.
South Dakota’s Republican governor handed the microphone to Charles.
“I would ask Mr. President–my son was killed Aug. 6, 2011, with 29 other men,” he said. There were eight Afghan personnel on the helicopter in addition to the U.S. force.
“It was the single biggest loss of life in the Iraq and Afghan war,” he said.
“Twenty-two of them were Navy special warfare, and until this day, we still haven’t gotten any answers–I was wondering, I’m begging you. We would like a congressional hearing,” he said. There were 17 Navy SEALs, 15 of whom were members of SEAL Team 6.
Trump looked right at the Gold Star father.
“Here’s what we’re going to do. In the first week, we will set up a commission,” said Trump, standing with the cryptologist’s father, Charles, and his stepmother, Mary Ann. “We’re going to find out because so many people in your same position want to know what happened.”
Trump said he would not commit to setting up the commission on the first day because it would be too hectic. “Not the first day because I made a lot of promises on the first day. We’re going to drill, baby drill. We’re going to close up the border. We’re going to do a lot in the first day.”
Then, Trump invited Mr. and Mrs. Strange, who, like their son, are Philadelphia natives. “We’re going to do that within the first week, so you get ready to come over to the White House—OK?”
Before the couple left the stage, the father of the petty officer, who was assigned to SEAL Team 6 and contributed to the effort to break down the intelligence collection from the May 2, 2011, raid on Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound, shared memory with the president, Noem, and the audience.
“I want to let America know that in June 2017, President Trump and his wife had me and my wife bring 20 Gold Stars to the White House, and he and his wife stayed the whole time,” the father said.
“They had food and drinks. They did a candle ceremony for us. President Trump stood up every time [we] saluted the Gold Star parents,” he said.
The June 5, 2017, White House event was co-hosted by Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, the national security advisor, and Homeland Security Secretary retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, who lost a son in Afghanistan.
First Lady Melania Trump also spoke to the guests.
“Gold Star families have lost an immediate family member who was serving during wartime, and they are a unique and distinct category of individuals who should be cherished,” the first lady said.
“These families have endured the ultimate in pain and sacrifice on behalf of our country, and I am honored to have spent the evening with them. My husband and I commit to always pay tribute to our active service military, veterans, and the families who love them.”
Trump said he remembered that special night. “That was both a celebration, a remembrance. It had all emotion, right? They were happy, they were sad, they were devastated, but they remembered their beautiful boys, right?”
The president then repeated his promise for the commission to investigate Extortion 17. “Their beautiful boy and we’re not going to forget. We’re going to find out what happened. We’re going to do that within the first week—and you have my word.”
Extortion 17
The Strange family has been at the forefront of the advocacy for more information about the tragic crash of Extortion 17, which killed 38 personnel, including 15 members of SEAL Team 6, which was the unit that executed the bin Laden raid.
Two Chinooks were assigned to the mission that night, Extortion 17 and Extortion 18. Extortion 17 was carrying a quick reaction force, or QRF, to back up nearly 50 Army Rangers looking to wrap up an insurgent leader, Qari Tahir.
Extortion 18, which was empty, pulled off five minutes before Extortion 17 approached the landing zone. As Extortion 17 hovered without lights to its final approach at the LZ, two rocket-propelled grenades were fired at its tail.
One missed, and the other hit the rear propeller mechanisms, disabling the rear propeller and sending the aircraft into its fatal spin—killing all aboard.
Almost immediately, the crash was controversial because of the number of SEALs killed.
Historian Don Brown, who wrote the book “Call Sign Extortion 17: The Shoot-Down of SEAL Team Six,” thinks the Taliban set a trap for Extortion 17 and the Army knew that there was no black box.
Ximena Barretto, who knew Strange and other men killed in the crash, blamed Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who connected SEAL Team 6 to the bin Laden raid at an Atlantic Council dinner–when that connection was never made public before.
Then, there was the guidance to the pilots.
Before committing to the landing, Extortion 17 pilots asked if the landing zone was clear of enemy combatants or hot.
A Ranger on the ground replied: “The LZ is ice.”
Then, two RPG’s were fired, and tragedy unfolded.
