War Reporter on Op Red Wings and Extortion 17 | Ed Darack | Ep. 210

Writer / Photographer Ed Darack has covered the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment since their pre-Afghan mountain warfare training in the spring of 2005 and has stayed with them through their subsequent deployment to Afghanistan and tour in Iraq’s Anbar province. He is the author of numerous articles on military issues for such publications as Smithsonian Air and Space, the Marine Corps Gazette, and Proceedings of the Naval Institute Press, among others. Darack continues to write articles on a broad spectrum of subjects and is the author of three previous books. His photography has been used by National Geographic, Outside Magazine, The Sunday London Times, the BBC, Time, ABC, NBC, IBM, Volkswagen, and Bank of America, among many other editorial and corporate clients.
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#operationredwings #extortion17

[@11bravo1789]

As an Infantryman who was in Iraq in 2005 with Alpha Troop 1/11 ACR, I approve this message. Our war, our time, so Many stories. Truth and lies, it needs to be told

[@WordToMomsYo]

Wow, this exceeded expectations... But then again, i honestly had no idea who this man was prior to watching the interview. Fascinating career, and he gave a great interview... Definitely need to read his books. Thanks for another great episode, guys.

[@warzone0331]

I can vouch for the books... As someone who he was with they are really accurate.

[@suttonmatthew]

Semper Fidelis, Ed Darack. You have a clear understanding of the MAGTF and combined arms concept. Thank you for sharing your experience while engaged forward. I particularly appreciate your reference to the Goldwater - Nichols Act. It’s so important to understanding our force integration. Fallujah in November 2004 was a grand example of the fruits of the Goldwater Nichols Act. I can personally attest to that.

[@Newbobdole]

This is the first journalist interview I've ever encountered that made me understand that the journalistic process is very similar to mechanical engineering, but for complex human interpersonal systems.

[@KirstenBayes]

Huge fan of Ed's book on Extortion 17: thanks for having him on, especially this weekend.

[@zemog1025]

Awesome interview with a "legit warrior poet slash mad scientist".

[@donny_doyle]

Go look at Ed's work- his photography is art. Historical art, in real time.

[@modestogonzalez182]

Awesome guest!!! He is an honorary Marine in my view!!

[@briangregory6303]

Takur Ghar comes to my mind as well.

[@JackTavern629]

Watching the taliban propaganda film of red wings, with the seals screams looped over the music, and showing Danny's body, is still to this date, some of the most horrific footage I've seen.

[@brendondowdy5651]

Have you seen the blackwater massacre? Literally bothered me more than I can explain. Made me want our men to go and be the fucking savages they are trained to be and get revenge.

[@AirborneAnt]

Link?

[@JackTavern629]

@@AirborneAnt shit. Idk if it's still out there. I found it on an isis propaganda website. I'll take a deep dive tonight and try to find it. It's not the original video shown on KZbin. This version is from the second camera man.

[@caleb2568x]

Just google different things about what your looking for it’s out there!

[@brendondowdy5651]

@caleb2568x yeah it's still out there. It will sadly probably always be out there.

[@Error_404_Account_Deleted]

Never Forget John Chapman! 🇺🇸

[@bradleydennis1263]

Marcus even said in his speech that Danny Dietz was "the most lethal man" he's even been around

[@caleb2568x]

He didn’t even hardly know Danny! He linked up with him for that mission. Shane Patton was supposed to go, but made a last min switch.

[@jimallen-nx8hz]

Probably the only thing luttrel ever said that was true

[@wbrockstar9550]

@@caleb2568x Well that's saddening news to hear about Patton.So first,he dodges a bullet by making a last minute switch that removed him from the original 4 man team just to turn around and be placed on Turbine 33 so that he & his other SEAL team brothers could go & try to help the 4 man team that he was originally one of the members of then died anyway as soon as he got there to help when Turbine 33 was blown out of the sky by a rpg.Talk about bad luck or maybe fate as I believe you die exactly at the time you're meant to die regardless of where you're at and what you're doing.

[@Error_404_Account_Deleted]

Sadly we can’t trust Marcus’ word on ANYTHING now.

[@jeffschwarz9069]

​​​Was. You there ? Definitely not. Marcus and all 3 of the other seals where absolute warriors and they went out fighting with everything they had on that day , the exact number of enemy fighters that attacked them will never be known but what is a matter of fact 100 percent they were outnumbered.. severely out numbered and they took out so many enemy fighters with just 4 navy seals... They were absolute warriors... Bro your taking keyboard commando to a whole other level​@@Error_404_Account_Deleted

[@petercummins8145]

Guys I'm just wondering if you could get Kevin Owens ón. Ex irish army sof and American green beret

[@ningenJMK]

Colonel Donahue is now Lieutenant General Donahue. He was the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan.

[@jacxbsteele]

^ The most accurate account of Operation Red Wings.

[@eduardosuarez2414]

They touched on something that I always thought was a little weird about US SOF, namely that you can join most of the tier 2 units "off the street." I'm not sure how common it is in other countries, but in the UK you can't just go into a recruiter and say "I want to be in [X special operations unit]" and they just put you in the pipeline. Granted there aren't many direct equivalents to US units, but for instance, the nearest UK counterpart to the 75th would be SFSG. To get into that, you need to have served time in one of three particular units first; two of which are already "elite" infantry units. This just seems logical to me, because it means you have a solid infantry background before entering the special operations world. The point Dave alluded to was that SEALs, not being a conventional force, might not have much use or appreciation for bread and butter infantry concepts like fire support. It also seems like SOF units sometimes "bid" for missions, selling a particular skillset that is not necessarily the best or only one for the task. So in the case of Red Wings, the SEALs were like "We're the sneaky guys, we can go in with a 4-man team and no support," because that is the image they have of themselves. Whereas a different unit might have thought that was crazy. Obviously the "off the street" concept works alright, or they wouldn't keep doing it. But I wonder if at least some parts of selection and training could be more standardized across the branches. Again I would refer to the UK, where at least the initial stages of SF selection are more or less the same, no matter if you're going into SAS, SBS, Reconnaissance, or SF communications. I'm not saying it's definitely better that way, and I'm sure there are arguments for and against both. But it seems like having several units under the JSOC banner who all have completely different ways of doing things could cause problems.

[@AnyProofOfTheseClaims]

Only SEALS can you direct pipeline from the jump. Rest require some time in service.

[@dannycalder1638]

Humble professional

[@jackedwards1207]

I think I’ve seen just about everything out there on this story. I have been infatuated with it. Unfortunately I don’t think much of the book or move is accurate. Here’s my take….Shah was tracking them immediately, with a force of really no more than 14 or so. Not sure if I believe the goat herders story but if that happened, I highly doubt there was a vote taken. Dietz made the call. Murphy and Dietz were found together, not apart like they portray. Marcus was shot in the butt only from what I’ve gathered. I think the whole thing was a complete cluster and was spinned to control the narrative. Marcus was told there would be a book, and from what I’ve seen, he didn’t really have much input. Imo it’s propaganda, they did the same thing to Dakota Meyer, although I think his story is much more believable. The team had no chance, they were out manned and out gunned from a triangulated higher position. So sad .

[@Dismay992]

It was confirmed to be 8-10 ACM fighters by HUMINT and SIGINT collected in Pakistan. The COC at Jalalabad received a radio transmission stating the team was soft-compromised by goat herders but the "vote" to murder them was definitely fabricated. Sad to see the movie portraying the goat herders as "Taliban" to cover up the fact that the ACM insurgents heard their helo insert and were tracking them the entire time.

[@FortesFortunaJuvat1]

Thank you for interviewing Mr. Darack he is great. It would be awesome if you could interview retired Col. Tom Wood the badass Marine Mr. Darack mentions.

[@jumpmastermp21]

I think I remember Mike Glover saying that recon mission was offered to his SF unit. They declined the mission because they knew they couldn’t get commo in that area.

[@a.N.....]

I've heard it was offered to the army first and the seals bid on the mission saying they could do it with less.

[@kriskennedy82]

DG and RRC also knocked it back

[@diggdanks]

It was the marines mission first. It was a night op they needed the 160th the marines requested for that and they got turned down pretty much a "we wont fly you, but we know some guys that could do this mission no problem" thats how the seals got the OP. The marines told the seals everything they needed and the seals didnt listen on alot of fronts. Army was never involved in the planning of redwings. It was a low pro conventional op.

[@michaelray5023]

@@diggdanksThat and the SEAL teams didn’t have close ties with the locals. The Army and Marine Corps were the only branches that established relationships with the locals in both GWOT theatre. The SEAL teams operated off of Air Bases and they said winning the ‘Hearts & Minds’ wasn’t their job. They just wanted to kick down doors and kill bad guys. The Marines also knew the guys that ambushed the team, they were not Taliban, and those weren’t the guys they were after. They wanted support from the Taliban, but I guess you have to earn their trust and that’s why they made the video of them killing the SEAL team. Those wannabe Taliban guys would’ve ran if the Marines had the element of surprise and larger force. This story is all kinds of fucked up. What a mess.

[@jamesleet8330]

I appreciate this man's dedication to war photography and journalistic integrity, and I acknowledge Red Wings had many issues, but why did that topic dominate this interview? He just keeps saying that he doesn't know enough about SEALs or "I don't want to get into that" over and over. It seems like 100 minutes of this interview passed before we got into his area of expertise.

[@andrewrrdn]

I think he’s probably writing a book on it and didn’t want to get into it yet. It’s literally the only thing in the entire episode he couldn’t expound upon in depth.

[@rodvikvr]

Read his book Victory Point and you'll get an understanding of what he does understand.

[@scorchedearth7211]

This guy read the “Dictionary of Military Lingo & Acronyms” and memorized everything in it to use in this interview. We get it buddy, you know things. Great interview nonetheless.

[@chrisswanner4279]

At around 40:19 he’s talking about mike Murphys father I think. There was a little bit of a disagreement between him and Marcus’s story and the portrayal of the story on the film. He says (I’m just add-libing from memory btw) that when they goat herders where detained, that in the book, Marcus’s public events, and the movie it shows them standing around deciding on what to do weather to kill, leave tied up to die, or let go. It depicts the men having that discussion and then making a vote but them murph says the final decision is to let them go. Murph was the oic of that misson and he would never have had a discussion or let there be a vote that he was a natural leader and he would not let the men have a vote or consider a vote he would have taken charge and made the decision weather the others agreed or not. And I think that comes from him (his dad) being a combat Vietnam vet himself also going through a harrowing battle that he was injured and fought off enemy alone and hurt for hours one night. Which is a whole other interesting story. But I think he has the deep embedded old school military mindset and I personally believe Marcus’s depiction is probably more accurate because they were only a four man recon team and although from different teams they all were very close with the exception of Danny I believe that Marcus had only worked with him a few times prior. But I believe that in that situation as dire as it could and would inevitably evolve to be. That they may have begun to take a vote because killing them would probably have been the more desirable as far as outcome possibility but they could face court martial if they had broken there r.o.e. And with Danny refusing to vote murph took the initiative and made the decision to remain honorable and follow the code of conduct that arguably got them in the tic that set off the whole engagement. But another note is later intel showed allegedly that it wasn’t the herders that blew there cover that’s why they were on them so fast afterward, because it was found that even though the seals and night stalkers did multiple decoy drops that night that the enemy was able to figure out the actual drop and was tracking them anyways..

[@Dismay992]

Luttrell's after-action report has no mention of any "vote". In reality, they likely tied them up, searched them for weapons, then released them without incident. IMO, thinking Michael Murphy and the other SEALs would even consider a vote to murder unnamed civilians is disrespectful to their names.

[@davids8127]

They have rules of engagement, there were never a vote. The leader is responsible the first place by rank for any break of those rules. The taliban knew they were there since they left the rope which they used to drop. Marcus story is a propaganda fairytale to cover up a failed mission that costed unnecessary casualties and a 39 million dollar military asset. The guy probably fell off the mountain and that's why he survived. Logic and other people's account is backing that as well.

[@Erodkp08]

46:35 this is what I am really interested in and what was the Root Cause of Red Wings. There is always some middle management decision(s) that you wouldn't know they were made by people who didnt know that existed that led to what happened later. I would love to listed to the 13 Hours in Benghazi version of the events and decisions leading to the events!

[@whata86]

Just out of curiosity , if anyone can answer this, do combat photographers/ journalist carry weapons when they go on patrols.

[@samfisher2306]

Joe Galloway did in the battle of IA Drang Valley a.k.a "We were Soldiers, once and young"

[@shaneallen5030]

Did the Americans ever recover the Seal's equipment and personal effects from Shaw and his men?

[@KC-UT4rmAZ]

This was hard episode to get through. I don’t think he just directly answered one question. He was all over the map with his answers and info. Red Wings was a complete disaster right from the start. Not to mention it’s come out now that Marcus embellished a lot of the story.

[@GATOR_MCLUSKY]

cuz he dont know hes a writer he just repeats shit and forms a idea based on imagination .

[@Cavediver762]

Can you guys reach out to or possibly have on Field McConnell?

[@shermrock345]

Im watching this after watching one about a ranger that was actually sent in with the PJs to do search and rescue on the helicopter and then the seals and hearing his point of view about what he found is interesting.

[@timothyoreilly6571]

link?

[@klk1900]

so here’s the basics of what they wanted accomplished. The marines 53Es couldn’t handle the altitude so they needed 47s. the 160th had a rule where they wouldn’t fly conventional units unless socom was involved. So the seal LCDR wanted to score a good mission simultaneously. So they worked an angle; If they would let them do the DA assault portion. they would work with the marines to get them helo support. The original plan NO BS was send in a 4 man SR team to get eyes on the target. Then they would call back and bring in the full assault force (Probably 2 chalks) seal team 10 / SDV. I think the intention was for the 4 of them to provide some security/sniper overwatch for the 47s when they start coming in loaded with guys. (Keep in mind even the MH-47D it was the stripped down heavy lifter. But it could only carry 8 Seals because the altitude was a problem. The MH-47E would’ve only been able to carry 4-6 guys. So this is why when it was shot down. Originally they had 12-16 seals onboard turbine 33. But they had just landed and unloaded 4-8 guys. Because the altitude/Iift capacity issue. -- but it appears some officers wanted to get that check mark next to there name. Jon M. Sorta turned down the operation. He felt it was a bad idea. -- keep in mind delta and Devgru had learned this lesson in 2002. But the regular teams, didn’t have much experience yet. Remember 2005 was the beginning of the end. Afghanistan was relatively safe. So I think it was innocence is what got them. Coupled with emotions. -- where the mixup comes in is the white house or navy basically tried to pat tillman the hell out of the story. Or Jessica lynch it! Those that were around know what I’m talking about. It was for recruiting purposes. But honestly I have zero trust in history books after those 3 incidents.

[@FortesFortunaJuvat1]

What part of Afghanistan were you located in 2005?

[@SlimSlashie]

You have a great point, in the helicopters not having lift that high up. Yet the Chinook that got shot down was WAY heavier, with 25 guys on board, and had zero problems with lift. It doesn't make sense that one helicopter can barely make it and another is just flying around like altitude doesn't matter... The more I learn about this operation, and the more Marcus speaks on it, the more little things start changing. And you brought up Lynch... Question the official story and you're on a list somewhere!

[@GATOR_MCLUSKY]

you right on alot of fronts also they dont want anyone talking bout it was shot down with a stinger missle that i personally have found shit ton of em and had many report they been targeted. holy smoked dont let the wrong brass hear ya say it out loud cuz its just lies then,and we was in this fucking valley early on the rangers came out to set up fob blessing we all had experience in the altutude and the mountains but seems like lesson learned doesnt get passed on , just wash repeat

[@billbigsby7463]

Marcus details of his injuries never made sense to me.If you watch any of his recent interviews his legs have no gunshot wounds and his face was not crushed like he says.Still i have the utmost respect for him and his team of brothers so unfortunate.😢

[@eriktruchinskas3747]

Yeah I noticed that too, for being as bad off as he said he was he didnt look that bad in the pic of him getting rescued

[@GATOR_MCLUSKY]

its a reason they dont tell ya what happened to axe

[@stevenroyer8731]

I'm an hour in and all I'm gathering is that this guy should be a politician with how he answers questions or lack there of with rambling on and on off topic and that he's a massive fan of the Marines lol

[@michaelmeredith9141]

Ex 17 Mark Torres Stingers Benghazi Rip Rone Rip Bud

[@chrisswanner4279]

Also the choice to send in a four man recon team. You have to remember that this was 2005 and so the seals training was still mostly comprised of peacetime seals the only combat seals that were in these train ups before the war kicked off were either Vietnam vets, or the few seals in Mogadishu, and the few other combat engagements they weren’t exactly the go to tier one and two spec ops since the helicopter crash that killed a bunch of seal team six members during the Iran hostage rescue attempt witch is what formed Jsoc. Delta was. And in Vietnam the reconnaissance mission units that the seals used were usually four man fire teams. The army rangers learned the same lesson with LRRP they used four man reconnaissance teams as well as army mac v dog were doing recon,rescue,sabotage, and all kinds of supper sneaky squirl stuff in Laos with four to six man teams with no back up due to being in a “non hostile” country. So they were stilll honing there craft and coming into there own by 2005 I mean look at Robert’s ridge after they were compromised on the insert and the choppers aborted when Neil roberts fell out only a six man seal team went back up immediately to try and recover or rescue him on a very entrenched Czech soldiers. And we’re unfortunately overwhelmed and unable to which caused the abandonment of John Chapman. And that force was so strong that the fifty plus ranger qrf that went back were shot down in. A controlled crash and a bunch were massacred by small arms fire trying to get out of the chopper to engage. So hindsight is twenty twenty yes mistakes where made and those brave seals paid for it. I understand going back over an event like that and scrutinizing the situation for lessons to be taken I just hate when I hear a lot of the rangers and other forces that went and did the recovery and the follow-up mission to take out shaws mountain tiger militia, but I hate when they do it in a cynical almost patronizing fashion. Those men died with the boots on in a warriors death and the chopper was shot down for abandoning safety of gun ship cover because these men where determined to save there guys and those where army aviators that died with that same determination so allthough I wish that maybe there when better plans implemented or decisions made saving a lot of hero’s lives. I don’t fault them in any way for doing what they did and am grateful for there sacrifice and the sacrifices of there family😢

[@GhostWave.1]

Did lutrell really high tail it and let them die? What did Murphy say in the SAT call

[@modestogonzalez182]

I'm not too sure cause I haven't listened to it in a long time, but I believe Mr. Lutrell did describe his actions that day along the lines you described on the Ed Young show.

[@a.N.....]

You can find the multiple videos of him explaining what happened, but what anyone knows for sure is impossible, the only one who could have told the tale is Luttrell. If you are eager to find another version of events goodluck.

[@GhostWave.1]

Real unfortunate op, Murphy was from my hometown on LI. The details aren’t really important I was just curious. Til Valhalla.

[@modestogonzalez182]

@@GhostWave.1 agreed

[@oswaldcobblepot502]

It was instant chaos and confusion as soon as the ambush started. Some of the SEALs were shot immediately. Marcus Luttrell was simply the fasted one to cover and was lucky he wasn't hit during the initial volley of fire. That in itself is not bad. What is bad is when you make millions of dollars telling a phony story of how you were blowing tali heads off left and right when in reality you ran away and hid under some rocks...

[@jackreacher.]

1:11:27 ''...joint failure in unity of command....''; ...after the fact situational awareness informed by the universality of Murphy's Law. Murphy taught me most of what I know. Decisiveness derived from inexhaustible experiences constrained by the demands of field expediency increases the potential of optimal outcome. Only the few and the brave can honestly say: ''I have done so much with so little, for so long, that I can do anything with nothing.''. Operation Red Wings was a success although the material losses were significant. The indefatigable and unforgiving lesson we learn and fully recognize is that war is hell. God bless Ed Darack, and his desire to communicate the obvious, but providing him this opportunity to express his naive cynicism is a bitter (experimental drug) for me to swallow.

[@therealjohnsmith4811]

To be a great “reporter” you have to be clinical. Its great that you looked at it completely objectively and just followed the facts to logical conclusions.

[@brydawg2020]

Turn down the audio for your podcast mics. Or mute your mics while the guest is talking. We can hear breathing and lip smacking the whole episode and it’s SUPER annoying

[@Russellsagecline]

Danny likely took the fatal shot to the back-top of his head that exited through his jaw and cheek, taking quite a few teeth with it. He died in the first 5-10 minutes of the fight, killed by high-ground shooters. Danny's and Mike's bodies were pretty close to each other in the two Tali videos. As far as everyone jumping or falling off the mountain 3 times......I don't see much evidence of that in the Tali videos. There were around 12-20 Tali's with AKs, PKMs, RPGs, and possibly a few grenades. They commanded the high ground the ENTIRE battle. They easily flanked the SEALs. The entire fight lasted 20-25 minutes. There are 0, ZERO wounded or dead Tali's shown in the video. The SEALs were out-played, out-gunned and out-maneuvered. 4 guys against 20 fighting uphill and in the enemy's backyard has always ended badly for Americans, especially when there is no airpower or artillery available. I'm no expert and want to believe the three dead sailors fought like like we ALL expect SEALs would, given the same worst case scenario. All three earned their medals for uncommon valor.

[@wbrockstar9550]

I apologize ahead of time for such long questions/sentences.Its just how my mind works I guess. Do you guys feel as if the goat herders were a concoction by Lutttell or the head brass for the purpose of creating a narrative that was much better than the true one,in terms of who/what was responsible for the outcome or do you think it really happened?Also, since this podcast and a few others touched on the subject of their theory that the 4 man SEAL team had most likely been tracked from the get-go the same morning after the helo insert (if you believe the goat herders story) do you believe that Shah himself already knew the SEAL teams location & sent the herders there as nothing more than a simple distraction/diversion to the SEAL team &/or did the herders actually stumble upon the team or were they sent to actually pinpoint the teams location if Shaw didn't know their location?? The herders showing up would have given Shah & his scumbags time to get setup for the ambush with little to no detection of them by the SEAL's since they were concentrating on what to do with the herders?? Of the three following scenerios,what is your theory/opinion on the sole involvement of the herders only?? 1) Is it your opinion that the goat herders story was a fictional tale made up either by Luttrell or even the head brass afterwards just to make the OP appear as though it had failed horribly only/ primarily because of this soft compromise instead of the truly horrible planning?? 2) Is it your opinion that the herders story was really true and they actually showed up & created the soft compromise then ran down the mountain to update Shah & his scumbags to the teams actual location?? 3) Is it your opinion that Shah had already located the team way before the herders arrived and the herders were sent in only as a means of distracting the SR team by keeping the SEAL's attention focused completely on the herders instead of paying attention mostly to who/what was closing in on them?? Thanks for any insight you can offer. Edit: If the herders we're really herders vs Taliban or other ACM combatants,I've always wondered if the elder(s) that were part of that 3 man herder group ever felt bad about the outcome/fate of our guys because of the decision his group made to give up the SEAL's location considering those same SEAL's allowed them to walk away with their lives and return back to their families?? Not to mention Marines & other elements would be coming to their village to clean house of Shah & his scumbags just a day or so later and the villagers would no longer have to be pushed around/bullied by groups like Shah...

[@6.8SuperDutyDriver]

#3.

[@themotofro1778]

Yes most accounts point to the latter, the research I’ve done has multiple accounts that actually point to the seals being engaged by shahs men while they had the herders detained, they never sent them down the mountain. And Mohammed Gulab (the man who saved Marcus) had said that the herders were 100% a scouting party- he goes on to say that not only did shahs men hear the helo’s that dropped the seals off, but he himself and his village heard the bird that dropped them.

[@erickgutierrez6743]

Thank you. I was in 2/3 and a first responder to this. Yes, 100% the goat herder thing was concocted. There is no way Shah didn't know they were there. It's as simple as this, 6-10 taliban got the drop on the seals because of their own arrogance. My question is, if the goat herder was real, why not detain them and take them back? They'll release once they get back on base. Why on God's green earth the only options kill or let go? I'm genuinely shocked why people don't press Marcus on this

[@GATOR_MCLUSKY]

man u can hear the chinooks coming the valley for miles, they had no experience the seal mentality was their undoing and the damn terrain fucked em off we got up there years before and u cant breath but the locals ball out . its same shit they did at roberts ridge mad a fuck up in to a hero story to cover that brand

[@klk1900]

A dark humor story on training. Michael Murphy was more than trained! He actually shot a teammate in training in the chest/back 5-7’ away. This guy A#€¥ was bleeding out like crazy. Marcus was the medic. Which probably saved Murphy his job. Normally that’s hard to get over. But I’m sure it was still weighing on him when red wing started happening -- . The 4 man SR Team was from SDV 2 (Seal Delivery Vehicle) Which is actually a Tier 1 (As in budget). Because it’s a one of a kind National security Asset. It was temporarily disbanded. The premise of the SDV is they travel in the Mini wet Sub. They swim to shore go do SR (Special Reconnaissance) then swim back to the SDV. Then go back to the Mother nuclear Submarine. -- keep in mind they were attached to seal team 10 for this deployment. So I’m assuming seal team 10. Used them since they had “SR Experts” at there finger tips. But understand in vietnam it was perfectly acceptable. It’s just Americans have softened up. So they literally were out searching for the enemy and they found them! This happened with MACVSOG in laos / Cambodia multiple 4 man SR teams went missing and never returned. So it’s relatively normal for 4 man teams to get wiped out.

[@joeys7483]

How do you know this

[@Russellsagecline]

​@@joeys7483I've read this exact story. It's true

[@tmusic6005]

This guy just acts all high and mighty and in need of having his ego stroked.

[@vitigaymer1053]

Interesting to hear that some SEALs assert that Dietz was the one who made the call...

[@a.N.....]

Only the people who received the call would know what really happened. If there is a data trail that would be helpful.

[@larryjones2794]

I didn't hear that . Did he actually say this ?

[@LRRPFco52]

In a live speech I attended, Luttrell said Dietz tried to get comms but couldn’t, which would make sense given the terrain. They located their hasty hide site in a high altitude, triangular-shaped bowl/draw where one side of the triangle was a cliff. Shah’s guys split into 2 groups to skirt the converging ridge lines that formed the triangle. They coordinated with small radios to form a 2-side ambush facing down into the draw on the SDV guys, and cut them to shreds with PKM, RPG, and AK fire. Not much they could do at that point.

[@tigertwoactual2495]

So Ed is both right and wrong in some of what he’s saying, but wrong is prob due to some things he just doesn’t know. Redwings as a plan was offered to other units before team 10 took it. Every one of them turned it down due to various issues. That’s at least 4 different tier one units. Now with the plan that redwings went with on the R&S part has the same issues that mako 30 had with insertion. Pete Blaber talked about this in depth with what happened with Roberts ridge during op anaconda. You don’t helo insert unless it’s miles away. The smartest insert plan for this would have been helo to blessing, walk out of there or hitch a ride with the marines in the area to a closer area and as they did a TCP, have a seal team walk off to start infil. AFO teams had so much success due to silent insert to infil. This also all goes back to planning. These kind of land centric plans have been a repeat issue to seal teams since 01. I also think Luttrell was controlled in his story in the same way Slab was from Roberts ridge. NSWC shaped the narrative to control optics, not to reflect facts on the ground or to correct mistakes. All that said Ed’s books are great and in my lead up to a kunar deployment his book was a great source of info.

[@GATOR_MCLUSKY]

hes talking shit he is a parrot repeating what he heard standing around and the rest is his perspective .

[@GATOR_MCLUSKY]

problem is with the insert just like roberts ridge is they didnt wanna walk cuz it sucks ass likes its bad , u go about 3000 meters ina couple hours so they was just bein lazy

[@RM-pg4js]

Tss..Darack was not crystal clear with the evidence of redwings operation in his book..he knew what had happened..but to me was afraid of creating drama in his life if he told the thruth

[@thechadillac1211]

Interesting. The Marines in Vietnam altered their Recon teams depending on mission. Stingray teams were heavier 8ish to a squad sized teams with a more kinetic mission. Mainly calling in 155s on juicy targets. Butthey still behaved like a recon team and not a raid force. I’m sure this knowledge remained in the Marine Corps Recon and sniper communities.

[@dustyrhodes1655]

RIP JK and RR 🇺🇲🙏

[@internet_internet]

My opinion: Danny was the best among them.

[@shermrock345]

Some of his details are off from what one of the rangers that was there with the PJs said. They did fast rope in to look for survivors of that first helicopter crash they found all 16 bodies. Another seal team did join up with them but he did say how they got there.

[@johngoodell2775]

He spends a lot of time patting himself on the back about how much he knows about military acronyms and basic journalism competency. When asked for details he starts off then veers back into random blabber about acronyms.

[@american9245]

This guy is the greatest Monday morning quarterback ever. 🐐

[@russellsmith80]

Bet he always wanted to be in the military though! What made me laugh was when he asked if the Army did AARs after combat…..WTF

[@chickreeves3413]

I actually feel as if he did not want to get into the controversial part of what happened,,, and I don't blame him...

[@shermrock345]

Im not saying this guys info is wrong but sime of it differs wildy from people that went in to save them but i also see that hes just most trying to find out what went wrong and may not have been focused on the other stuff.

[@a.N.....]

They both could have made many phone calls but from Luttrell's timeline, Danny was already incapacitated before the LT made the call in the open.

[@therealjohnsmith4811]

It has been well established that Marcus’ timeline, and story in general, is far from the reality of the way it happened.

[@TroubleActual]

I agree with some of this sh*t, but this is a reporter?! Love you guys' channel. Has this reporter interviewed Luttrell???

[@scr4370]

👍

[@Herecomesthethruth]

The book was good,not saying true.same for the movie

[@GATOR_MCLUSKY]

sorry hes wrong in a ton of aspects it boiled down to a botched mission by seals with no experience in that enviroment and completely under estimating the enemy. was there 3 years prior and elevation kicked our ass.

[@maserrano1975]

What’s he wrong about?

[@AnyProofOfTheseClaims]

Nah he's not wrong in the slightest, sorry about it.

[@GATOR_MCLUSKY]

@@AnyProofOfTheseClaims yeah hes off on alot, he argued about the drones and now what do ya know ?drone footage is confirmed ,i can go on and on . no that has tryin to deceive but all his info is off a ear hustle

[@SF-rl7hl]

Ed let me help you out. First it's not uncommon for special forces "Green Beret" units to send in very Top Secret small 2 men Recon teams with no enemy contact at all cost. How do I Know? If you can find Colonel William "Bill" Rhodes retired Green Beret Vietnam. In 1964-65 He and his teammate were in Cambodia for months just two of them doing recon. So fast forward Afghanistan. This mission Red Wings was planned via SEAL command as a spacial ops small team operation to hunt down & find this guy Kill him! Now reason is because they had been hunting him and his small contingent for over two years without luck! He was a master hiding in Mountains getting away from larger raiding teams. The marines failed themselves many times. You left that out? And remember this SEAL team of 4 were considered Expendable! Yeah sad but true story. I don't agree with it but thats how this SEAL Command looked at this specific mission. Not uncommon with Bill Rhodes teams back in Cambodia they were Expendable. But they never got compromised thank God. Some teams did and they were all killed.

[@GATOR_MCLUSKY]

i been in those same mountains doing the longest was 27 days recon and over watch in 02 , they was just lazy as fuck and the terrain is a big factor its hard to breath till u had time to adapt . then u got the pissing contest with jsoc and task force devil and seals left there guys on ground dead for 2 days then let other units help who are close by and did reovery on top of the mts but dont get recocnized as bein there

[@auroreg600]

It’s disrespectful to smoke when a guest is speaking about fallen soldiers. Not to mention the annoying sounds..

[@TheTeamHousePodcast]

Not gonna stop.

[@samfisher2306]

😅​@@TheTeamHousePodcast

[@MrKedab]

They're not teenage wannabe gangsta, pal.

[@KC-UT4rmAZ]

They do every episode. You don’t like it go find a different podcast.

[@kylev8905]

Dont disagree. The response was kinda childish from the hosts. But that's to be expected on youtube.

[@falconmoose5435]

Brush your hair.

[@FallenUnicorn11]

Shave your balls

[@coldc7]

A journalist slash reporter. Fuck me....if course he knows how to walk the walk.

[@lona0540]

I have a real problem with Reportes in general & in combat zones in particular. I was in DaNang, Vietnam & there was a Zapper Attack, (an Enemy Solder in Civilian cloths), they planted an explosive device under a table in a restaurant, & when it exploded it killed a couple of people & Injured several more. We were a few blocks away when the explosion went off, so we got there pretty quickly. I heard some injured people screaming in pain & as I made my way to the injured I found a young girl, maybe mid teens, with injuries to her head, torso & leg. They didn’t seem to be life threatening, but the kids were so scared. I put some gauze pads on the wounds to reduce or stop the bleeding, then picked up the girl and carried her to the door, then outside to an ambulance. Just as I got through the door, this idiot reporter turned on his spot light to take some film of me carrying this injured & scared kid to an ambulance. When he turn on his spot lights it blinded me & I almost tripped & dropped the kid I was carrying. I yelled for him to kill the fucken lights, & he hesitated, then turned them off. I was so pissed, as soon as I passed the kid to the ambulance team, I pulled out my 45 & grabbed this idiot by his throat, pointed my gun at his face, & said something like “NEVER GET IN MY WAY AGAIN”. Holstered my 45, & went back to pulling bodies out of the rubble. To this day I have no use for reporters.

[@GATOR_MCLUSKY]

if u see a film crew iin all my experience they already know theres gonna be contact cuz the enemy has told them but they want that footage instead of tellign you