TAPS
RIP Brave Protectors of Freedom
Posted on 09/25/2005 12:18:42 AM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. military says a U.S. military Chinook helicopter has crashed in Afghanistan, killing all on board.
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Prayers up.
Please ping me if there's further info.
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Oh no!!! Prayers for their families.
Please ping with any further news. Thank you.
RIP dear troopers.
Wolf
My prayers for the family and friends of the fallen soldiers.
May God comfort them.
ping
More grief, and my prayers are going up for the families of all lost.
And, Cindy Sheehan, please shut up! Some of us also grieve, but we do not blame others. Life is hard.
I'm filled with anger and sorrow.
Zabul province. That's 173rd AB country, however, SOF usually use the Chinooks in their operations.
An RPG has the same effect.
RIP Brave Protectors of Freedom
Ditto and Amen.
KABUL, Sept. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- A US military helicopter Sunday crashed in the restive southern Zabul province in south Afghanistan, a US army press release said.
"A US military CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed southwest of Deh Chopan today," the statement said.
The cause of the crash is unknown at this time, the press release added.
U.S. military ground forces are at the crash scene providing security and recovery operations are ongoing.
The aircraft was supporting operations in the area at the time of the crash.
The mountainous Deh Chopan district in Zabul has been scene of increasing militancy since last year.
Another US military helicopter was crashed in eastern Kunar province late last June killing all 16 on board. Enditem
By DANIEL COONEY, Associated Press Writer
24 minutes ago
KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. Chinook helicopter crashed Sunday in southern Afghanistan, killing all five crew members on board, the U.S. military said. It did not appear to have been shot down.
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The CH-47 chopper was supporting military operations when it went down near Daychopan district in southern Zabul province, a military statement said. U.S. ground forces had reached the crash scene and were providing security for recovery operations.
"There is no indication at this time that this is a result of hostile fire," U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara told The Associated Press. "There are no survivors."
A separate statement said all five crew members had been killed.
Gulab Shah, a spokesman for Zabul's governor, said there had been no fighting in the area at the time of the crash. He said he had been told by U.S. forces in the region that the chopper crashed while returning to a U.S. base after dropping off troops for a raid on a suspected militant target.
Daychopan is about 180 miles southwest of the capital, Kabul, and has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting with Taliban rebels.
The deaths bring to 195 the number of U.S. military service members killed in and around Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in late 2001.
The crash comes amid a major upsurge in rebel violence that has left more than 1,200 people dead in the six months leading up to landmark legislative elections a week ago.
There have been a string of helicopter crashes in Afghanistan this year, including two U.S. military Chinooks.
In late June, suspected insurgents shot down a U.S. Chinook in volatile eastern Kunar province near the border with Pakistan. All 16 U.S. forces on board were killed. In April, 15 U.S. service members and three American civilians were killed when their Chinook went down in a sandstorm.
The twin-rotor Chinook — an all-purpose cargo and troop-carrying helicopter — was one of the workhorses of the Vietnam War, where it was first used. It has been in service in all wars since. It is able to carry a platoon of troops, lift large loads of fuel or ammunition, or retrieve smaller helicopters.
It has a crew of five, including two pilots, and three others who man M60 machine guns to protect it.
The crash comes just days after President Hamid Karzai questioned whether U.S. air strikes are effective and challenged the need for major foreign military operations.
They've been calling those things "flying coffins" since they were first accepted for testing.
Why can't we get our boys better transportation?
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