The True Story of the Battle of Takur Ghar

TL;DR

A firsthand account of the 2002 Battle of Takur Ghar, detailing how Navy SEAL Neil Roberts fell from a helicopter and triggered a catastrophic rescue operation.

Key Points

• 1.Neil Roberts fell from a Chinook after it was hit by RPG and machine gun fire. The aircraft lost all three electrical systems, disabling the AC-powered miniguns; Roberts fell roughly 12 feet into hip-deep snow while the crew chief, on a tether, dangled beneath the diving helicopter.
• 2.The pilot Al Mack crash-landed in Shahi Khot Valley to save the crew. After diving down the mountain to evade enemy fire, Mack leveled off at 9,000 feet and performed a controlled crash landing roughly 7 kilometers from the Gardez safe house.
• 3.An AC-130 watched approximately 30 enemy fighters surround Roberts's body but did not engage. The aircraft commander hesitated because his crew had killed a friendly the day before; one enemy fighter later found dead was wearing Roberts's Gore-Tex pants.
• 4.A confused field artillery major was placed in command of a complex multi-unit battle he didn't understand. He didn't know Roberts had fallen on Takur Ghar's ridge, nearly directed AC-130 fire onto a 101st Airborne mortar platoon in the valley 5 kilometers from Roberts's actual location.
• 5.The major used the word 'assault' at least 15 times on radio, critically distorting the mission plan. Air Force CCT John Chapman, a new guy hearing 'assault' repeatedly over intercom, apparently believed the plan had changed and charged the enemy bunker alone instead of moving to the planned defilade position.
• 6.Chapman's solo charge of the machine gun position was both a fatal mistake and a heroic act. He made it to the top through five stories of snow; Slab followed but couldn't catch him, and Chapman was killed under withering crossfire from three directions.
• 7.Razor 01, carrying Rangers under Nate Self, was hit by an RPG on approach and crash-landed on the objective. Flight engineer Philak was shot below his body armor and died on his gun; the co-pilot had five or six rounds stopped by his chest armor but was shot through the hand.
• 8.PJ Cunningham was shot by enemy fire from beyond M4 range and died on the mountain after commanders refused to risk another aircraft in the same LZ. Al watched three aircraft go down in the same landing zone and knew a daylight rescue flight would not be approved until dark.