During the writing of “The Final Mission of Extortion 17,” I learned of a very interesting type of operation Extortion Company Chinooks supported: MAF, or Mobile Assault Force. During an MAF raid, Chinooks of Extortion Company (the Army aviation unit to which Extortion 17 belonged) would insert members of DEVGRU SEALs using dirt bikes and quads. They would insert them at a far enough distance from a target not to audibly alert an enemy. The SEALs would then move over land and gain a visual on their target(s), hide their vehicles, and then move over land to the target(s). One video shows an AH-64 Apache gunship helicopter view of an insert (in thermal infrared), and another shows helmet cam footage of an extract.
MAF was but just one type of mission Extortion Company supported for members of Joint Special Operations Command.
BOOK INFORMATION:
THE FINAL MISSION OF EXTORTION 17: Special Ops, Helicopter Support, SEAL Team Six, And The Deadliest Day In The U.S. War in Afghanistan.
ISBN-13: 978-1588345899
TADS/PNVS FLIR footage from a Task Force Nighthawk AH-64 Apache:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy3GlTWDArw
Exfil:
Featured image courtesy of YouTube.
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