08/06/2011 The fallen heroes of Wardak

The attack in Wardak Province killed seven Afghans.
The helicopter, on a night-raid mission in the Tangi Valley of Wardak Province, to the west of Kabul, was most likely brought down by a rocket-propelled grenade, one coalition official said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, and they could hardly have found a more valuable target: American officials said that 22 of the dead were Navy Seal commandos, including members of Seal Team 6. Other commandos from that team conducted the raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that killed Bin Laden in May. The officials said that those who were killed Saturday were not involved in the Pakistan mission.

President Obama offered his condolences to the families of the Americans and Afghans who died in the attack. “Their death is a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifice made by the men and women of our military and their families,” Mr. Obama said. President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan also offered his condolences to the victims’ families.

Saturday’s attack came during a surge of violence that has accompanied the beginning of a drawdown of American and NATO troops, and it showed how deeply entrenched the insurgency remains even far from its main strongholds in southern Afghanistan and along the Afghan-Pakistani border in the east. American soldiers had recently turned over the sole combat outpost in the Tangi Valley to Afghans.

Gen. Abdul Qayum Baqizoy, the police chief of Wardak, said the attack occurred around 1 a.m. Saturday after an assault on a Taliban compound in the village of Jaw-e-Mekh Zareen in the Tangi Valley. The fighting lasted at least two hours, the general said.

A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, confirmed that insurgents had been gathering at the compound, adding that eight of them had been killed in the fighting.

The Tangi Valley traverses the border between Wardak and Logar Province, an area where security has worsened over the past two years, bringing the insurgency closer to the capital, Kabul. It is one of several inaccessible areas that have become havens for insurgents, according to operations and intelligence officers with the Fourth Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, which patrols the area. The mountainous region, with its steeply pitched hillsides and arid shale, laced by small footpaths and byways, has long been an area that the Taliban have used to move between Logar and Wardak, local government officials said.




Aaron Carson Vaughn



Aaron Carson Vaughn, 30, joined the Navy SEALS right out of boot camp and joined SEAL Team 6 in 2010. Vaughn leaves behind his wife Kimberly, a Fairfax county native, and two children, a 2-year-old son and a 2-month-old daughter.




Aaron Vaughn's wife Kimberly told CNN Sunday, “I want to tell the world that he was an amazing man, that he was a wonderful husband. And a fabulous father to two wonderful children. He was a warrior for our country and he wouldn't want to leave this earth any other way than how he did."


Aaron Vaughn and his wife Kimberly. Vaughn deployed two weeks after welcoming his daughter into the world.

Robert Reeves



Chief Petty Officer Robert Reeves, 32, died alongside a good friend he’d grown up with in Shreveport, La. He and Lt. Commander Jonas Kelsall, 33, were both on the doomed chopper. Reeves became a SEAL in 1999, and was a member of SEAL Team 6, earning four Bronze Stars for Valor.






Jonas Kelsall


Lt. Commander Jonas Kelsall, 33, was one of the first members of SEAL Team 7, and had trained in San Diego. Kelsall’s father says his son met his wife of three years while studying at the University of Texas.




Matt Mills


Matt Mills, 36, was a recently married father of three who had served in the Navy for about 14 years. He saw combat every year since the war in Afghanistan began, his family told KEYE-TV in Austin. They described him as humble and funny.


J.B. Abbott, Mills’ Counsin, said, “he served his country with pride. He loved his brothers he fought with. He was a loving person…he was a very respectful person.”

Jason Workman


Petty Officer First Class Jason Workman, 32, had always wanted to be a Navy SEAL. He grew up in the small town of Blanding, Utah, but made his home in Virginia Beach with his wife and 21-month-old son. Described as smart, athletic and outgoing, his childhood friend Tate Bennett told Salt Lake City’s Deseret News, “We are so proud of someone like Jason being from a small town to become an elite special forces soldier. “His family is extremely heartbroken right now,” Blanding Mayor Toni Turke told ABC4 in Salt Lake.

Brian Bill


Brian Bill, 31, hoped to return to school and one day become an astronaut, the Associated Press reports. He was already a pilot, a mountain climber and a triathlete. "He set his standards high," Kimberly Hess, a friend who graduated with him in 2001 from Vermont's Norwich University, told The Advocate newspaper. "He was remarkably gifted and very thoughtful. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for you no matter the time or day." The Stamford, Ct., native had just been promoted to Chief Petty Officer his family says. "Brian had so many dreams and things he wanted to do," his father Scott Bill told the Herald-Tribune. "We're very proud of everything he accomplished."



Darrik Benson


Darrik Benson, 28, was born and raised in Angwin, a small town in Napa County, Calif. Friends say he was one of only 19 to finish his SEAL class in 2003. The Napa Valley Register says Benson family spokesperson Jodi Kelly told the paper the family is “devastated.” The Virginian-Pilot says Benson was working toward becoming a commercial pilot.


Jon Tumilson



Jon Tumilson, 35, from Rockford, Iowa, "was going to be a Navy SEAL since I can't remember when," said Jan Stowe, a neighbor to the Tumilson family for more than 30 years. "He's like a hero to everyone here." Tumilson was an avid marathon runner and triathlete, the Virginian-Pilot says.






Kevin Houston


Kevin Houston, 36, from Barnstable, Mass, was a father of three who enlisted right out of high school to pursue his dream of being a Navy SEAL. “He said hi, I’m Kevin and I’m going to be a Navy SEAL,” friend Joe Kennedy remembers. Raised by a single mother, he was the captain of his high school football and basketball teams.

John Douangdara


At 26, John Douangdara was the lead dog handler for the elite SEAL Team Six, his family says. A 2003 South Sioux City, Neb., High School graduate, the the son of Laotian immigrants dreamed of joining the Navy. "I didn't even know Johnny was a Navy SEAL," his mother Sengchanh Douangdara said. "I know that he loved his job, it was a job he chose.”


Master at Arms, Class 1 John Douangdara, was the son of Laotian immigrants.

Tommy Ratzlaff


It was Tommy Ratzlaff’s childhood dream to be in the military, his relatives told Arkansas TV station KY3. The 34-year-old joined the Navy in 1995, starting SEAL training the next year. He leaves behind two sons, ages 6 and 11, and his wife, who is pregnant with a baby girl due in November. Ratzlaff’s sister told the TV station, "Tommy would want the focus of his sacrifice to be on the cause, not on the sacrifice itself."

RIP for all these warriors.

Jesse Pittman



Jesse Pittman was a firefighter in California who dreamed of becoming a Navy SEAL - and fulfilled his dream. According to the Santa Rosa The Press-Democrat newspaper, friends describe him as smart, hardworking and determined. He joined the Navy after graduating from Willits High School in California in 2002.

Lou Langlais



Lou Langlais, a SEAL, was killed in the weekend incident. He worshipped at the Atlantic Shores Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. "Here, you have a connection with Navy SEALs and you want to protect them and protect their families and people don't disclose information about them," Ira Towns, executive pastor at the church, told the Associated Press. Langlais once parachuted into Pro Player Stadium in Miami dressed as Billy the Marlin, the mascot of MLB's Florida Marlins. During the job, a gust of wind tore the mascot head off.

Michael Strange



Petty Officer First Class Michael Strange, 25, a Navy SEAL, was known for making people laugh, especially those he thought were in need of a smile. He loved snowboarding, surfing, scuba diving, running, and shooting his family says. He grew up in Philadelphia, joining the military while still in high school and had climbed the enlisted ranks to E-6 in less than six years.


Nick Spehar


Nicholas Spehar, a Navy SEAL from Chisago City, Minnesota, was known as being focused and doing things 110 percent. He graduated from the Chisago Lakes High School and was described as a stand-out performer.


Chris Campbell


Chris Campbell, 36, was a U.S. Navy SEAL killed in the crash. According to The Daily News of Jacksonville, N.C., Campbell grew up playing sports for his entire life. In his will, he insisted that in any article written about him post mortem, that an appeal for donations to the Wounded Warrior Fund be made. Campbell met his wife Angelina during a surfing trip, The Daily News reports. "We ask that people pray for us," Diane Campbell, his mother, told the local newspaper.

Nick Null


Nick Null, pictured here being lifted into a MH-605 Seahawk during a training mission, was killed in the crash.


Nick Null was killed in the Afghanistan helicopter incident. He was described on a Facebook tribute page as kind person who often tried to get others to smile and laugh. “The world lost a very 'H'onest, 'E'nergetic, 'R'adiant, 'O'utstanding= HERO! My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and 3 boys!” wrote one friend.


On the Facebook tribute page for Nick Null: "Rest In Peace Nick. You touched the lives of many. Praying for God's blessing and strength for your family during this very very difficult time. Thank you for serving our country. GOD BLESS!"

Jared William Day


The family of Jared William Day say in a statement that their son was among the 30 U.S. Troops killed in Saturday’s helicopter crash. According to the Associated Press, Day was from Salt Lake City, and joined the Navy in 2002. His family says he was an Information Systems Technician First Class with the SEALs, and served in multiple missions in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. “Jared was incredibly brave and determined, with a fierce sense of humor,” the family said in a statement on Foreign Policy Magazine.

Kraig Vickers





In this 2007 photo provided by Robert Vickers, Kraig Vickers, of Maui, Hawaii, is shown in Afghanistan. Vickers, who would have turned 37 on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011, is one the 30 American service members killed when a military helicopter was shot down Aug. 6, 2011, in Afghanistan


John Weston Faas


Chief Petty Officer John Weston Faas, 31, was on the shot-down helicopter, according to his former school, the ABC affiliate in Minneapolis is reporting. Faas is from Minnesota. KMSP-TV reports Faas had been in the military for 12 years. "Words cannot describe the loss of our son,” his family writes in a statement. “John was a man of unquestionable integrity and courage, as were those he served with. He became a SEAL to serve his country and to make the world a better place for those less fortunate. John made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting the ideals of our nation; while doing a job he loved, and while serving with the people he loved. Although his life was tragically cut short, his spirit will live on in his family and friends, and the brave men who served by his side until his death.” Photo courtesy of KMSP-TV.

Michael Strange



Rest in peace!






Aqui os dejo mi pequeño gesto en honor a estos valientes!

RIP.

R I P



THX !!! for share " Doc "

RIP

Rest in peace men.

RIP

R.I.P

Excelente post. RIP warriors.

excelente post chicos!
R.I.P

May they Rest In Peace.

CORONADO, Calif. – Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command, Rear Admiral Sean A. Pybus, released the following statement:



“Early Saturday morning, Aug. 6, Naval Special Warfare suffered a tremendous loss of 22 men while conducting critical special operations combat in Afghanistan. They cannot be replaced. We will honor their service and sacrifice, and embrace their families as our own, in this time of immeasurable grief. The outpouring of support and sympathy from the Armed Services, the Government, Communities and the Public is well beyond my ability to properly thank. The Naval Special Warfare Community is deeply humbled and appreciative.



Our NSW men were in company with U.S. Army aircrew, U.S. Air Force para-rescue and combat controllers, and an Afghan security element. We grieve for all of them, and admire their teamwork, commitment and courage. I have great hope for the future knowing that extraordinary men dedicate themselves completely to the idea and the actions of freedom and security, not only for ourselves but for others. We are truly blessed that such men answer a call to military service at the highest levels of professionalism and capability, but also deeply saddened by their loss. In the days and weeks ahead, I would ask for your thoughts, prayers and support for NSW, our Families, the Special Operations Community, and all of our Armed Forces.”

RIP


adjunto informacion adicional.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20517103,00.html

http://www.spokesman.com/picture-stories/navy-seals-killed-afghanistan-crash/

Un vídeo muy duro, lo pienso y se me ponen los pelos de punta.

Burnt first aid instructions are seen near the wreckage of Chinook helicopter shot down last week at Tangi Valley in Wardak province some 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. The Chinook helicopter that insurgents shot down over the weekend burst into flames before hitting the ground, leaving wreckage scattered on both sides of a river in eastern Afghanistan and killing 30 Americans and eight Afghans, witnesses told The Associated Press on Thursday. The crash of the Chinook CH-47, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, was the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the nearly 10-year Afghan war.





A part of a gun stamped "Made in Germany" is seen among the wreckage of Chinook helicopter shot down last week at Tangi Valley in Wardak province some 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011.

This undated family photo, provided by the U.S. Navy shows Special Warfare Operator Chief Petty Officer, Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Conn. Bill was killed along with other SEALS in the Afghan Helicopter crash on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011.



This undated image provided by the U.S. Navy shows Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif. Benson was killed along with other SEALS in the Afghan Helicopter crash on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2011.



This undated family photo provided by the U.S. Navy shows Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 2nd Class Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minn. Spehar was killed along with other SEALS in the Afghan Helicopter crash on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011.



This undated image provided by the U.S. Navy shows Senior Chief Petty Officer Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Ark. Ratzlaff was among the Navy SEALs killed in the helicopter downing in Afghanistan on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011



This undated family photo provided by the US Navy shows Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Senior Chief Petty Officer, Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist, Kraig M. Vickers 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii, Vickers was killed along with other SEALS in the Afghan Helicopter crash on Saturday.

Doc, los que van con Hk 416 son Devgru? veo por ahí un MC...

El DEVGRU utilizo MC

De todas formas es EOD

qué años? porque yo tengo un MC

Matt (el Team Leader)