- Soon after US Navy Cryptologist Michael Strange and the elite SEAL Team 6 capture and kill Bin Laden, they are deployed to Afghanistan, where their Chinook is shot down. There are no survivors.
- On August 6, 2011, 38 people are killed in Afghanistan when their Chinook helicopter, call-sign "Extortion 17", is blown out of the sky. How, why, and by whom? Told through the eyes of the family of perished SEAL TEAM 6 Cryptologist Michael Strange, we discover alarming discrepancies between the US government's version of the story, and the facts that are revealed when the family digs for the truth. This emotional and shocking journey leads to three disturbing questions: What is being hidden from these families? Why would the government obfuscate the facts? And - Did these Navy SEALs die because they had been involved in the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden?
- What happened to Michael Strange and his fellow Navy SEALS on August 6, 2011 - mere months after their heroic raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound? Why were they sent on a mission when it was deemed unnecessary? Why were they in the line of fire on a slow-moving, easy- target Vietnam-era refurbished Chinook? Why were they sent home cremated? Why did the government lie about the Chinook being burnt to a crisp Why will nobody tell the soldiers' families the truth?
Charles Strange was always proud of his son, Michael Strange was born good. When kids were bullied, he defended them. When there was injustice, he stepped in to right the wrong. All Michael wanted was to serve and protect the United States of America, and so he did.
Athletic and intelligent, his ability to train and accomplish obstacle courses with record-breaking speed, and his superior cryptology skills drew the attention of the Navy. He quickly rose the ranks to join the most elite SEAL team: SEAL team 6. Serving in silence to stop attacks and capture terrorists, Michael kept the true nature of his missions from his family, while always ensuring to inform them of his whereabouts and safety. He hinted to the importance of his work humbly, and without jeopardizing its top secret nature. He was proud to be an American and serve his country. There was always a shimmer in his eye; a smile across his face.
All that changed after he and his team eliminated Osama Bin Laden. When the government went public with the name of the SEAL team that accomplished the mission - and with news of a movie in the works, his cover was blown. Michael became nervous and distant, knowing that there was a bounty on their heads. Reasonably safe in America, he was anxious to be deployed again overseas and dreaded the call that sent to Afghanistan. Charles Strange begged him not to go...
There, he and 37 others were put on a mission to reinforce a rangers unit that seemed to be in trouble south of Kabul. Only, it turns out that they were not in trouble and asked that the mission be aborted. The request fell on deaf ears and the Chinook entered enemy territory.
Airforce Captain Joni Marquez was hovering the scene providing air support in heavily armed AC-130 gunship. She had eyes on the alleged insurgents and requested to permission to engage. She was repeatedly denied and watched helplessly as the Chinook was shot down.
When the families of the killed soldiers gather in Virginia for the government briefing, they are told that the Chinook was shot down at night by a rocket propelled grenade from 200 yards away. They call it a lucky shot. They're also informed that the Chinook burned to a crisp, rendering the bodies too destroyed to ship home. The families would have to settle for ashes. When Michael's father asks what happened to the black box - hoping that they could better understand their son's final moments, he is told that it got washed away in a fluke flash flood....
Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defence and President Obama promise to get to the bottom of what happened. Soon after, folders are delivered to the families containing the supposed answers, but most of the information is redacted. The words that remain are barely legible - it seems that the Pentagon ran out of ink in their printers. When Michael's father asks for a new copy, he is told that the originals have been destroyed. However, there is a CD included in the folder. The CD contains 1300 pages of information, which begin the family's investigation, and the revelation that everything they - and the public - are told is a lie.
Was this was a coordinated attack, planned in advance?
This remains the single largest loss of life in the history of the war in Afghanistan, perpetrated on the best of the best
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