Free Republic

"In his new book, “Dark Forces: The Truth About What Happened in Ben­ghazi” (Broadside Books), writer Kenneth R. Timmerman explains how the US government’s efforts to arm the Libyan rebels backfired, flooding weapons into Syria, and as he ­reveals here, Afghanistan: The Obama administration isn’t only giving the Taliban back its commanders — it’s giving them weapons. Miliary records and sources reveal that on July 25, 2012, Taliban fighters in Kunar province successfully targeted a US Army CH-47 helicopter with a new generation Stinger missile...."

The top NATO commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday that the doomed Navy SEALs mission that claimed 30 American lives was intended to stop fleeing Taliban fighters and not necessarily a rescue mission as first reported. After the crash Saturday, news reports quoted NATO officials as saying commanders dispatched the CH-47 Chinook helicopter with 22 SEALs onboard to rescue an Army Ranger team pinned down by the Taliban. The huge twin-engine CH-47 was downed by a rocket-propelled grenade as it approached a “hot” landing zone. U.S. Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, told Pentagon reporters via...

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — The fallen come home here with such dignity that every American flag on every case of remains is inspected for the tiniest smudge. The dead are treated with reverence by everyone. Including their commander in chief. For the second time in his presidency, Barack Obama was at Dover on Tuesday, saluting troops who died on his watch. Sadness hung everywhere. For Obama, it was a day to deal with the nation's single deadliest day of the decade-long war in Afghanistan. For the families of the 30 Americans who were killed, it was a...

President Obama has arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Tuesday to pay tribute to 30 U.S. service members, including 22 Navy SEALs, killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Obama led a delegation of administration and military officials to salute the remains of the fallen troops, whose helicopter was shot down by insurgents Saturday. It marked the highest single-day death toll for U.S. forces since the long war began a decade ago. The scene has been closed to the public and the press, with Obama's trip chronicled by a small group of pool reporters.

A NATO helicopter was shot down in the eastern province of Afghanistan last night, killing 31 U.S. special forces and seven Afghan soldiers. The aircraft, belonging to NATO's International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, went down in the Maidan Wardak province, according to a statement from the office of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The helicopter was completely destroyed, shot down by the Taliban, Shahidullah Shahid, a spokesman for the Maidan Wardak province said in a phone interview. The incident marks the biggest single loss of life for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001, Associated Press reported. Establishing...

President Obama praised the sacrifice of 31 U.S. troops who died early Saturday morning in helicopter crash in Wardak Province, Afghanistan. The Taliban has claimed it shot down the aircraft with a rocket-propelled grenade. Seven Afghan soldiers on board the helicopter also died. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of the Americans who were lost earlier today in Afghanistan,” Obama said in a statement. “Their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan.” Obama said...

KABUL, Afghanistan — In the deadliest day for American forces in the nearly decade-long war in Afghanistan, insurgents shot down a Chinook transport helicopter on Saturday, killing 30 Americans, including some Navy Seal commandos from the unit that killed Osama bin Laden, as well as 8 Afghans, American and Afghan officials said.

WASHINGTON -- The Associated Press has learned that more than 20 Navy SEALs from the unit that killed Osama bin Laden were among those lost in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/08/06/afghan-president-31-americans-killed-in-helicopter-crash/#ixzz1UGZcWiEh

A US helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan has killed 31 US special forces and seven Afghan soldiers, President Hamid Karzai's office says. US media reports that many of those killed were from the elite Navy SEALs. Neither the US nor Nato have confirmed the cause, but witnesses, officials and the Taliban say it was shot down. The incident is believed to be the biggest single loss of life for US forces in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001. The Chinook helicopter went down overnight in Wardak province, the statement from President Karzai's office said. It was returning from an operation...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A helicopter crash in Afghanistan's eastern Wardak province has killed 31 U.S. special operation troops and seven Afghan soldiers, the country's president said on Saturday. It was the highest number of casualties recorded in a single incident in the decade-long war. More than 20 U.S. special operations forces killed, most of them Navy SEALs. They were not members of SEAL Team 6, as some reports claim. The crew of five U.S. servicemen was also killed along with seven Afghan commandos, a civilian interpreter and a dog. Bodies are being evacuated from the crash site.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A military helicopter was shot down in eastern Afghanistan, killing 31 U.S. special operation troops, most of them from the elite Navy SEALs unit that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, along with seven Afghan commandos. It was the deadliest single incident for American forces in the decade-long war. The Taliban claimed they downed the helicopter with rocket fire while it was taking part in a raid on a house where insurgents were gathered in the province of Wardak late Friday.

Twenty-five U.S. special forces killed early Saturday in Afghanistan were on a mission to rescue another team of military personnel pinned down by insurgents, a U.S. military official told CNN. The helicopter that went down in eastern Afghanistan carried 30 U.S. military members, including 22 Navy SEALs and three other special forces. They were part of a "quick reaction force" sent in to pick up others engaged in a fierce firefight, the official said. In the single deadliest incident since the start of the decade-long Afghan war, the Army Chinook carrying a team of U.S. special forces and U.S. and...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A military helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing 31 U.S. special operation troops and seven Afghan commandos,

KABUL, Afghanistan — Insurgents shot down a NATO Chinook helicopter during an overnight operation in eastern Afghanistan, killing 37 people on board, a military official said on Saturday.

: Less than three years after establishing an Air Wing in a combat zone (Afghanistan), Canada is seeking buyers for the Wing's major asset, five recently purchased CH-47 medium transport helicopters. Canadian troops are leaving Afghanistan later this year, and the government feels there is too little use for the CH-47s in Canada, nor any likely use for them in future peacekeeping operations. Canada spent over $250 million to buy six CH-47s for use in Afghanistan, and one was later lost to ground fire. The Canadian Air Wing has six leased Russian made Mi-8 transport helicopters, five U.S. made CH-47...

By almost any standard, US Army aviation has never looked in better shape. With an annual budget of $7 billion, three active production lines for manned helicopters and the Afghanistan war emphasising the value of vertical lift, the army's pocket of aviators enjoy unprecedented support. The long-term outlook for the army's aviation branch, however, is not ideal. No new combat helicopter has entered service in nearly 30 years. All three active production lines are scheduled to shut-down within the next 15 years. Fielding a new vertical lift technology could take billions of dollars and more than a decade, but the...

An employee has been arrested in the vandalism of an aircraft in a Philadelphia-area Boeing plant, U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan said Tuesday. Inspectors found a cut wire in a Chinook helicopter and a washer left inside another, Philadelphia television station KYW-TV reported. Police said Matthew Montgomery, a Boeing employee for 18 months, was charged with damaging one aircraft. Officials said at least one other suspect was wanted in connection with the damage of another aircraft.

Afghan Loss of Seals & CH47: Final Update The following was received from my West Point “old grad” network. The information is not validated, but appears to reflect what I know of operations in Afghanistan.-SG Afghan Loss of Seals & CH47: Final Update This tells the story of what happened when the Navy SEALS died in Afghanistan several weeks back. Some of you may have already seen this, but for those who have not it is well worth reading. In the age of emails and blogsites, the soldiers themselves are best at telling the news from the front lines....

KABUL (Reuters) - All 17 U.S. troops aboard an American helicopter that crashed after being hit by ground fire in an anti-militant operation in Afghanistan are believed to have died, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.