"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
– John 15:13
This event is in memory of EXTORTION 17, the callsign for the Chinook helicopter shot down while attempting to insert reinforcements for a unit of Rangers on 6 August 2011 in Wardak province, Afghanistan. EXTORTION 17 remains the single greatest loss of life in that war. Of the 38 KIA, 17 were SEALs. All were willing to risk their lives for their brothers on the ground. At your challenge, expect the scenarios to build in concert with how the mission unfolded that fateful day. The initial insertion of Rangers, the follow on mission for the Taliban commander, the “Fallen Angel”, and the aftermath. Rest in Peace. Participants are requested to bring a laminated picture of a service member who passed on EXTORTION 17.
After completing over 20 years in Special Operations, this California kid decided to put down roots in the South even picking up on the local colloquialism of y’all and fix’n. However, not to stray too far from his Mexi-Cali heritage, LDB does enjoy the occasional Margarita (or 2, or 3), and ordering Taco Bell in Spanish.