Downloads
Download the complete dataset on the Extortion 17 shootdown as a machine-readable JSON (v. 3.0.1, May 2026; CC BY 4.0). You can cite all versions by using the DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20348946.
Download the Extortion 17 flight route map, showing the shooter position, as a KML file Mar 2026 (suitable for use with Google Earth).
Download the full text, “Upon Another Shore” (May 2026)
Download an audio summary and interrogate the website content via NotebookLM (AI)
References
The author is grateful to all the authors named.
Colt, Jeffrey. Army Regulation 15-6 Investigation of the 6 August 2011 Hard Landing of a CH-47D in Wardak Province, Afghanistan (The Colt Report). United States Forces – Afghanistan, September 9, 2011.
https://www.scribd.com/document/519019190/Colt-Report-Extortion-17-Plus-Additional-Information (accessed 27 February 2026)
Colt, Jeffrey. Executive Summary: Investigation of the 6 August 2011 Hard Landing of a CH-47D in Wardak Province, Afghanistan. United States Forces – Afghanistan, 9 September 2011. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UYtWQPLwFCufwC_QiBOCK19IcNNQD4Oe/view?usp=drive_link
Joint Combat Assessment Team (JCAT). Extortion 17 Shootdown Assessment. 22 August 2011. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1To_Y5xodErf4_dl5KxxNV5zWmIrOkeaZ/view?usp=drive_link
Darack, Ed. The Final Mission of Extortion 17: Special Ops, Helicopter Support, SEAL Team Six, and the Deadliest Day of the U.S. War in Afghanistan. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 2017.
Vaughn, Billy, Monica Morrill, and Cari Blake. Betrayed: The Shocking True Story of Extortion 17 as told by a Navy SEAL’s Father. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013.
Strange, Charles, and Steven Leuschel. Relentless: A Gold Star Father’s Pursuit of Truth. Relentless Book LLC, 2022.
Ahmed, Akbar S. Pukhtun Economy and Society: Traditional Structure and Economy in a Tribal Society. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980.
Open Society Foundations and The Liaison Office. “The Cost of Kill/Capture: Impact of the Night Raid Surge on Afghan Civilians.” Kabul, Afghanistan: Open Society Foundations, 19 September 2011.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/111ACeXFSuijg5GEiyn97z8BmQuueEQTE/view?usp=drivesdk
Khan, Azmat.”Night Raids: Disrupting or Fueling the Afghan Insurgency?” Frontline, PBS, 17 June 2011.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/night-raids-disrupting-or-fueli/
Speck, Gyula. “SALW Proliferation and State Fragility: The Case of Afghanistan.” Research internship report, Institute of World Economics, Budapest, funded by the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium, February 2024.
https://www.nonproliferation.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Next-Gen_Gyula-Speck_EUNPDC_SALW-proliferation_Case-of-Afghanistan_V3-1.pdf (accessed 28 February 2026).
Headquarters, Department of the Army. “Patrols and Patrolling.” Chap. 9 in The Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad. FM 3-21.8. Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army, 2007. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qYfvEHFkZ6EeMNh5CyrvBwjMhO3ec-45/view?usp=drivesdk
Headquarters, Department of the Army. Operator’s Manual for Army CH-47D Helicopter. Technical Manual TM1-1520-240-10. Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army, 2003. https://drive.google.com/file/d/16Y5wktUxXhjV1-P2hIEBFR7vgGWjgO0Z/view?usp=drive_link
Schomer, Paul D., Aaron J. Averbuch, Richard Raspet, and Richard K. Wolf. Operational Noise Data for CH-47D and AH-64 Army Helicopters. USA-CERL Technical Report N-88/04. Champaign, IL: U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, 1988.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QK6FW3kiNj07XM6lSkmYq5DAt9IlUt8c/view?usp=drivesdk
Министерство обороны СССР [Ministry of Defence of the USSR]. Бинокль ночной 1ПН33Б: Техническое описание и инструкция по эксплуатации [Night Binoculars 1PN33B: Technical Description and Operating Instructions]. Document no. Г 36.16.067. Moscow: Военное издательство, n.d.
Vazovski Mashinostroitelni Zavodi EAD (VMZ). OG-7VMZ Round with 40mm OG-7MZ Fragmentation Grenade: Technical Data Sheet. NSN 1310-50-0001560. Sopot, Bulgaria: VMZ, n.d.
Map images are based on terrain maps drawn from MapCarta, © OpenStreetMap and Mapbox, for which the author was massively grateful: they were absolutely pivotal to sharing the story told here.
Drone flight from Do Ab to Khan Khel (2024). Afghan Anar. YouTube. Visual reference at altitude ~500 feet AGL. Drone flight begins approx. (34.037530,68.769179) close to where Extortion 17 entered Logar Valley and ends at approx (34.0340408, 68.7751252) 1km from the shootdown location. The road in the shot is the Tangi Rd not the Kabul / Kandahar Highway asserted by the narrator (Lang: Dari).
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxFwtlsj_HKvmeFSDDG0vVpXFPcFW83pRM?si=cGmJlxIixaoVNOl8
Halo: Reach Multiplayer Trailer (2010).” Bungie / Microsoft Game Studios. YouTube. Visual reference for the “brightly coloured science fiction settings” and “comedy space weapons” described in the text.
https://youtu.be/E95PeZ0qsLY?si=S4JWHQ3D_cjffybN
D.’s Restored Playlist (“Men Don’t Suck Party”). YouTube. Accessed December 2025. Audio archive of tracks frequented by the group, circa 2011. Includes The Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, and The Wolfe Tones
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMOoEzfSyQROKf9huwSLJVqkpqrVUM3Ua&si=q81NbtSeO0xawiUM
Homer. The Iliad. Translated by E.V. Rieu. London: Penguin Classics, 2003.
Reference for the character of Hector, the “Defender of the City,” and the nature of the “rage-filled” Achilles.
hooks, bell. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Boston: South End Press, 1984. Develops themes around militarism, care, family underpinning especially part 3 of the narrative.
Photo: Kukri presented to the author on 4 October 2008 on behalf of United British Gurkha Ex-Servicemen’s Association by Sher Bahadur Deuba, who served as the 32nd prime minister of Nepal for five terms (1995–1997, 2001–2002, 2004–2005, 2017–2018 and 2021–2022). This for her advocacy work for Gurkha ex servicemen. Included here as a “Nishan”.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eO0X5VhP7iPMReVf0oERNnebVQuPvoDF/view?usp=drivesdk
Finally, the reference to, “Upon Another Shore, and in a Greater Light” comes from:
Benson, Edward. “The Service of Nine Lessons with Carols.” The Church of England. Accessed November 2025. https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/times-and-seasons-0#mmm40
The full quote is:
“Lastly, let us remember before God all those who rejoice with us, but upon another shore, and in a greater light, that multitude which no man can number, whose hope was in the Word made flesh, and with whom in the Lord Jesus we are for ever one.”