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The 30-month review process of Chapman’s case began in March 2015, about a year after the services were ordered to review its cases of heroism to see if any merited upgrades to higher awards. This is Mako Three Zero Charlie….” Then it fell silent. But it could have been much worse for Razor 1. “From the Air Force side of the equation, our disappointment at that point is absolute. He could have stayed safe within its hardened walls, which provided plenty of cover. But one thing on the video is indisputable, said the special tactics officer: The bravery of Chapman and the SEALs and Rangers he fought alongside. One of the examples I like sharing is the [2010 earthquake in Haiti]. By July, Dunford and Work recommended that the awards for both Slabinski and Chapman be upgraded to Medals of Honor. John Chapman earned America’s highest military award, the Medal of Honor, for the actions he performed to save fellow Americans on a mountain in Afghanistan more than 16 years ago,” Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said in a statement. Chapman and Slabinski headed uphill, slogging through the knee-deep snow to reach a bunker from which they were taking fire. “It got bounced back,” says James, who blamed the SEALs’ alleged stalling tactics for the failure to get the award approved in time. According to two former Air Force officials, Thomas said he was more than willing to support an upgrade based on Chapman’s actions up to the moment the SEALs retreated, but he wanted the Air Force to drop the second part of Chapman’s citation, which summarized his actions after the SEALs withdrew. Diane Tedeschi is a Senior Associate Editor at Air & Space. Chapman then opens fire on the second Al-Qaeda bunker, about 30 feet away. What separates combat control from all the others is the understanding and application of four-dimensional space on the battlefield. A few weeks before Trump’s inauguration, the defense secretary signed Chapman’s upgrade package. The SEALs, however, reject the claim that Chapman was alive when they fled. Illustrations by Ryan Inzana. “That was all I needed,” she tells Newsweek. Illustrations by Ryan Inzana. “A hundred percent, it caused that delay.”. Within weeks, Chapman’s colleagues in the 24th STS concluded that he had still been alive when the SEALs retreated and had fought on alone against impossible odds, he adds. When Mako 30’s Chinook helicopter, known as Razor 03, arrived over the mountaintop, however, militants encamped there fired on the aircraft, badly damaging it. But valuable time had been lost. In fact, Tony was given a letter from the president of Haiti granting him sovereignty of all Haitian airspace. “They go right over him,” says the former combat controller, who is familiar with the footage. ), When word of the Navy’s plan spread through the special ops community, some were shocked. Yes, in the sense that they are not with other combat controllers. Aware that the militants were unlikely to spare Roberts if they captured him, six members of Mako 30 quickly boarded another special ops aircraft that flew them back to the mountain. Slabinski has told others that when he arrived back at Bagram, bruised and exhausted from the ordeal, Szymanski was the only person to hug him and tell him he’d done a good job. Chapman lies dead in the first bunker. This story is a selection from the September issue of Air & Space magazine. “You kicked me in the nuts when you told me that,” he says. Besides the Predator video, the evidence included testimony from his SEAL teammates and other troops, as well as ISR records and air crew testimony from an AC-130 known as Grim 32, which had “eyes on” for the entire engagement. Work ultimately reinserted that language, James says. “That happens to be my theory.”, The SEALs are on the peak of the mountain for less than four minutes. The helicopter crew agreed to do what Slabinski had asked. In making the case for this award, the Air Force relied heavily on witness statements from three of the surviving members of Mako 30, who all described him in heroic terms. James says she asked Thomas if she could count on his support regarding her recommendation to upgrade Chapman’s award. 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The video has never been made public, and Air Force Special Operations Command declined to comment for this story. Chapman’s three actions up to that point — his voluntary decision to return with the rest of the SEALs to try to rescue Roberts, his charge into withering fire and seizure of the bunker, and his risky emergence from the first bunker’s cover to assault the second bunker — were, alone, enough to merit the posthumous award in early 2003 of the Air Force Cross, the second-highest award for valor an airman can receive. “They’re on top of each other,” he adds. Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, the former commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, told Air Force Times in 2015 that the Air Force planned to recommend an unidentified post-9/11 Air Force Cross recipient for the Medal of Honor, citing new information that had emerged. Next was Chapman, the team’s only non-SEAL. “They knew it had a significant chance to be a one-way mission, but they felt like that was the only chance Roberts would have to survive,” the special tactics officer said. Video excerpts from the Takur Ghar battle, which the Pentagon posted earlier this month on its public DVIDS website, show the SEALs and Chapman emerging from their Chinook, Razor 04, at 4:27 a.m. A green circle superimposed on a blurry, pixelated figure shows how Chapman pressed on toward two chest-deep pillbox-like bunkers housing several al Qaida fighters. He had been the 1st Ranger Battalion commander in Afghanistan at the time of the battle. Then Chapman surges ahead and arrives at the bunker, shooting into it for several seconds before Slabinski reaches him, about 90 seconds after getting off the helicopter. The Air Force decided not to oppose Slabinski’s Medal of Honor recommendation. "As [the SEALs] were moving, they were under fire from three directions. What Chapman did next cost him his life — but the military believes his actions also saved the lives of the Rangers. But he also noted that the SEALs were operating under exceptionally difficult circumstances, and the fact that they originally went back for Roberts showed their intention was to not leave anyone behind. The reconnaissance effort and Team 6 were each part of a task force composed of units from Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC (pronounced “jay-sock”), the secretive organization that runs many of the military’s most sensitive missions. “We wanted to make sure that those who would make the final decision were aware of the incident,” a former defense official says. Chapman engages in hand-to-hand combat with an Al Qaeda fighter in bunker. Outgoing Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, the last stop in the Navy’s approval chain for the upgrade, did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story. Known by its members as “the Two-Four,” the unit is the Air Force equivalent of Delta Force or SEAL Team 6, and it works exclusively for JSOC. Less than three minutes after arriving, the SEALs begin their retreat. The Rangers poured out of Razor 01 — two were killed as soon as they emerged — and then fought for seven more hours to get to where Chapman fell. The DShK ("dishka") 12.7 mm heavy machine gun that Al-Qaeda used in the second bunker. James says she walked away from the conversation with renewed confidence that the upgrade would proceed smoothly. Because it’s like, you guys, in order to protect your image, will sully the legacy of a man who you all agreed saved everyone’s life 15 years ago, but now to protect the [SEAL] brand you’ll throw him under the bus.”, The SEALs’ alleged attempt to change the narrative about Chapman’s initial actions also failed to persuade senior Pentagon officials who would ultimately make the decision whether or not to forward the recommendation to the White House. On a dark, snowy mountaintop in Afghanistan in 2002, combat controller Technical Sgt. James chokes up at the memory of the conversation. (Through a spokesperson, Goldfein declined to comment for this story.). Air Force combat controllers largely believe John Chapman alone deserves the Medal of Honor for fighting on after being left behind, while SEALs largely believe Chapman …

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