Helicopter Crash Casualties Most Costly for SEAL Team Six

An investigation of Saturday’s helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan is underway. In the aftermath of this devastating loss, Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Colt was appointed to spearhead the inquiry in hopes of answering questions surrounding the crash.

According to the Associated Press, insurgents shot down the U.S. military helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade, killing 30 American service members, 7 Afghan commandos and an Afghan interpreter. A current U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity because military officials were still notifying the families at the time, said the crash claimed 22 SEALs and three Air Force air controllers

Most of the Americans were members of SEAL Team 6, officially called the Navy Special Warfare Development Group. The team is known to be the best of the already elite Navy SEALs. Deployment of 22 SEAL personnel to the raid Saturday may have been ordered because the target was a high-ranking insurgent figure. The decision also indicates the increased reliance on special operations forces as the numbers of regular combat troops are reduced.

The overnight raid was made in the Sayd Abad district, 60 miles southwest of Kabul. The region’s terrain provides good cover for the insurgency and the Taliban have continued to use the area as a base, despite repeated NATO assaults.

The casualties are believed to be the largest loss of life in the history of SEAL Team Six and the total death toll surpasses what was previously the worst single day loss of life for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan. That incident occurred on June 28, 2005 and claimed the lives of 16 Navy SEALs and Army special operations troops when their helicopter was shot down in eastern Kunar province during a mission to rescue four SEALs under attack by the Taliban.

Saturday’s losses bring the number of coalition troops killed in Afghanistan this month to 42, raising the total to 365 this year.