Donald J. Trump spoke at a South Dakota Governor’s town hall. Kristi Noem told the father and mother of a Cryptologist, 1st Class Technologist (Expeditionary Warfare specialist) who was killed in Afghanistan aboard a Chinook helicopter carrying the callsign Extortion 17 that he will investigate the tragedy during his first week in the White House.
Noem informed Trump that his father Charles and stepmother Mary Ann were honored guests and Trump called them to the podium.
Charles received the microphone from South Dakota’s Republican Governor.
“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 to this day, we haven’t received any answers. I was wondering, I beg you. He said, “We would like to have a hearing in Congress.” The Navy SEALs were seventeen, with 15 being members of SEAL Team 6
Trump looked directly at the Gold Star Father.
Here’s what we are going to do. “We will create a commission in the first week,” said Trump standing alongside the father of the cryptologist, Charles, and Mary Ann, his stepmother. We’re going to find out because so many other people who are in the same situation as you want to know what went on.
Trump stated that he wouldn’t commit to establishing the commission on the first day, as it would be too busy. “Not on the first because I made many promises on the day before. We are going to drill. We will close the border. We’re going do a lot on the first day.”
Trump then invited Mr. Strange, who are Philadelphian like their son. “We will do that in the first week. So get ready to go to the White House, OK?”
The father of the petty officers, who was part of SEAL Team 6 during the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan (May 2, 2011), shared his memories with Noem and the president before the couple left.
The father told the audience: “I would like to inform America that, in June 2017, both President Trump and his spouse had me and my family bring 20 Gold Stars into the White House. He and his wife were there the entire time.”
They had food and drink. They performed a candle-lighting ceremony for us. “President Trump stood up each time we saluted Gold Star Parents,” he said.
The White House event on June 5, 2017, was co-hosted with Lt. General H. R. McMaster as national security advisor and retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly who is the Homeland Security Secretary. Both men lost a child in Afghanistan.
The First Lady Melania also addressed the guests.
The First Lady stated that “Gold Star Families have lost a member of their immediate family who served during wartime. They are a special and distinct group of individuals and should be treasured.”
“These families have suffered the most in pain and sacrifice for our country and I am proud to have spent an evening with them.” We both pledge to pay tribute to the active military, veterans, and their families.
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 reiterated his promise that the commission would investigate Extortion 17. We will not forget “their beautiful boy.” We will find out what has happened. “I promise to do it within a week.”
Extortion 17
The Strange family is at the forefront in advocating for more information on the tragic crash that occurred during Extortion 17. This crash killed 38 people, including 15 SEAL Team 6 members who were part of the unit which executed the bin Laden raid.
Extortion 18 and Extortion 17, two Chinooks, were assigned the mission. Extortion 17 carried a quick response force (QRF) to support nearly 50 Army Rangers who were looking to capture an insurgent leader named Qari Tahir.
Extortion 18 – which was empty – landed five minutes before Extortion 17. Two rocket-propelled grenades were fired as Extortion 17 approached the landing zone without lights.
The rear propeller was disabled and all those aboard were killed.
The crash became controversial almost immediately because of the SEALs who were killed.
Don Brown, the author of “Call Sign Extortion 17 : The Shoot-Down of the SEAL Team Six”, believes that the Taliban had set a trap to catch Extortion 17 while the Army was aware there wasn’t a black box.
Ximena Barreto, who knew Strange, and other men who died in the crash blamed Vice-President Joseph R. Biden Jr. for linking SEAL Team 6 with the bin Laden raid during an Atlantic Council Dinner, when that connection had never been made before.
There was also the issue of pilot guidance.
Before landing, the Extortion17 pilots checked if there were any enemy combatants in the landing zone.
The LZ is ice, said a Ranger on the ground.
Two RPGs were then fired and the tragedy unfolded.
