ambush of the 173rd airborne

Story tips can be sent tolouis.casiano@fox.com. Pfc. [132], Numerous servicemen from the 173rd, mostly from the Vietnam era, gained notability after their military careers ended. These formations were termed "brigade combat teams". On 23 June, the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment (1st Brigade, 1st Air Cavalry Division) arrived to bolster the 173rd. "Melzer joined the U.S. Army in approximately 2018 and infiltrated its ranks as part of an insight role to further his goals as an O9A adherent," the DOJ said. DEDICATION. [15] Four months later, the brigade returned to the United States, and was demobilized with the rest of the division in January 1919 at Camp Dix, New Jersey. [3][27][28][29][30][31] Williamson boldly predicted on arrival that his men would defeat the Viet Cong (VC) quickly and that they "would be back in Okinawa by Christmas". They participated in Operation Crimp in 1966, a failed attempt to root out VC forces from the C Chi tunnels. 1st Cavalry Division units1st Bn., 12th Cav Regt., and 2nd Bn., 8th Cavalryalso played a part in the campaign. . The 173rd had been operating near Bien Hoa Air Base outside Saigon and had been in combat only against NLF guerrillas. [23] The soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade created a patch with a wing on it to symbolize their status as an airborne unit, along with red, white, and blue, the national colors of the United States. PDF Red devils: tactical perspectives from Iraq - Army University Press Have You Heard of the 173rd - YouTube On 14 June 2009, the 173rd IBCT(A) was announced as one of the brigade combat teams deploying to Afghanistan, and the unit prepared to once again return. The brigade returned to Europe and home station after once again proving itself in combat throughout the eastern mountains of Afghanistan. In November 2017, 2-503rd Infantry Regiment (The Rock) traveled in US Air Force C-130s to Belgrade, Serbia to conduct training with the Serbian Airborne Forces where they conducted two combined jumps at drop zones near Belgrade. Sebastian Junger On The Thrill And Hell Of 'War' - NPR.org Some 15 Army artillery batteries along with tactical air support provided immense firepower. Resupply became a necessity, because of high ammunition expenditures and lack of water, but was impossible to accomplish: Six UH-1 helicopters were shot down or badly damaged that afternoon trying to get to 2503.[59]. For example, Melzer subscribed to encrypted online forums where he downloaded and accessed videos of jihadist attacks on U.S. troops and facilities and jihadist executions of civilians and soldiers, in addition to far-right, neo-Nazi, and other white supremacist propaganda. By October, the 173rd, the 4th Infantry Division, and six ARVN battalions were moved to Dak To. According to the Department of Justice, Melzer schemed to ambush soldiers at a base in Turkey, aiming to cripple the bases fire teams and cause a mass casualty attack. [95] The unit then took part in Operation Peninsula Strike, quelling Ba'ath party resistance and other insurgent groups. Plan. B Company counted 21 KIA and 17 WIA after the firefight. He also advised them that PAVN regulars were a much better equipped and motivated force than the VC. The SSI would be given to them in May 1963. Melzer and his co-conspirators used the information that he attained to plan what they referred to as a jihadi attack with the objective of causing a mass casualty event victimizing his fellow service members. Regt ., and supporting units such as the 335th Aviation Company. [71], It was Shinseki's idea to reactivate a few separate brigades and assign them their own support and sustainment units, which would allow them to function independently of division-level headquarters. On Nov. 7- 8, A and D companies of the 3rd Bn., 8th Inf., fought NVA units east of Hill 830, losing 21 KIA and 81 WIA in close combat. He was arrested in May 2020 while in Italy, before he could carry it out. [92] Between 30 March and 2 April, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, along with the Special Forces detachment and the Kurdish forces, engaged and destroyed the 2nd, 4th, 8th and 38th Iraqi Infantry divisions as well as a force loyal to Ansar al-Islam. Nov. 18 saw the 1st Bn., 503rd Inf., lose seven KIA on Hill 882, while D Company of the 4th Battalion had six dead to friendly fire.. Kirkuk. [64], The intense fighting during the Battle of Dak To took a heavy human toll on the 173rd. (the Red Warriors), participated in the final assault on Hill 875. [104][107] The 173rd's tour ended in July 2008, and the last redeploying paratrooper from the brigade returned to Europe by the beginning of August 2008. On Veterans Day, Task Force Black (170 men of the 1st Bn., 503rd Inf.) [82] A few days later, the 173rd and 10th Special Forces Group departed for northern Iraq. The 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment (3-319th) of the 82nd Airborne Division, was attached to the brigade and organized as a maneuver task force (Task Force Gun Devil). By unlawfully disclosing his unit's location, strength, and armaments to other O9A members and jihadists in furtherance of this ambush, Melzer traitorously sought to attack the very soldiers . Step 2 - Use PayPal with the highest . I slept with Joe. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army Contingency Response Force in Europe, capable of projecting ready forces anywhere in the U.S. Europe, Africa or Central Commands' areas of responsibility. U.S. aircraft hit enemy positions as close as 50 meters to the perimeter as GIs dug in for an NVA night attack. Division doctors at Dak To kept busy, too, often getting by on only three or four hours of sleep a night. IE 11 is not supported. The 173rd Airborne Brigade (Sky Soldiers) is the U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapid forces to the United States European, Africa and Central Commands areas of responsibilities. For the medics in the mix, casualties represented far more than statistics. After the new units were integrated into the brigade, the preponderance of the forces within the brigade were stationed in Germany, apart from the brigade headquarters in Italy. He had been quietly discharged from the Ohio National Guard last year after his arrest, Military.com reported. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic response force for Europe.[3]. Prosecutors said Melzer was involved with the group starting in 2017 and joined the U.S. Army the next year specifically to help O9A "infiltrate its ranks," according to a Justice Department statement Friday. Its "glorification of violence and mysticism has found a renewed international audience," he said. The goal of the activity was to exercise the combat, combat support and combat service units of both armies and to achieve a higher cooperation level in airborne operations planning, organization and management tasks. For example, Melzer also promised to leak more information once he arrived at the Military Base including real-time photographs of the facility and the frequency and channel of U.S. Army radio communications in order to maximize the likelihood of a successful attack on his unit or on a replacement unit deployed to the Military Base. Lethal Fire: Enemy and Friendly According to the after-action report, GIs sustained 242 KIA and 876 WIA in the battles between Nov. 2 and Dec. 1, 1967. Junger later wrote a highly acclaimed book, War, and, with Hetherington, produced the award-winning documentary, Restrepo, about the deployment. [26], The brigade arrived in South Vietnam on 7 May 1965, the first major ground combat unit of the United States Army to serve in the country. These include Congressmen Duncan Hunter and Charlie Norwood,[133][134] Archbishop of Baltimore Edwin Frederick O'Brien,[135] Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Robert M. Kimmitt,[136] business owner Barney Visser,[137] activists Stan Goff and Ted Sampley,[138] and Sergeant Major of the Army Gene C. ; and the attached 2nd Sqdn., 1st Cav Regt. These battalions were: the 4th Battalion (Airborne), 319th Field Artillery Regiment, the 173rd Brigade Support Battalion (Airborne), and the Special Troops Battalion[100] stationed at Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany, as well as the 1st Squadron (Airborne), 91st Cavalry Regiment, stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany. O9A espouses neo-Nazi, antisemitic and Satanic beliefs and promotes extreme violence to accelerate and cause the demise of Western civilization. parade field at Caserma Ederle, Vicenza Italy, to help uncase the colors of the most valorous,. Police detained Peters as she allegedly tried to stop an officer from taking the iPad. While stationed abroad, Melzer consumed propaganda from multiple extremist groups, including O9A and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, which is also known as ISIS. [76] The original plan was for the 173rd to be attached to the 4th Infantry Division as a flexible force of airborne troops to complement the heavy weapons of the division's three brigades. During the battle, Father Watters had ventured outside the perimeter at least five times, carrying wounded troops back to the aid station. When he learned in 2020 that his unit would help guard a sensitive military installation overseas, he transmitted location, schedule and security information to the O9A subgroup known as RapeWaffen Division, prosecutors said. The sign had read. Lozadas actions garnered him a posthumous Medal of Honor. Her awards include a 2021 Society of Professional Journalists Washington Dateline Award and an Honorable Mention from the Military Reporters and Editors Association for her coverage of crime at Fort Hood. (47.9 32.5 cm) [40], The attached helicopter unit became the Casper Aviation Platoon, befitting a separate infantry brigade as the only separate aviation platoon deployed in Vietnam. U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade conduct an ambush on Cypriot troops during a force-on-force squad-level blank fire training exercise in Larnaca, Cyprus, Feb. 16, 2023, as part of Exercise Silver Falcon 23. [24] Immediately after its transformation, the brigade began intensive training in both Germany and Italy to prepare itself for future deployments. American and Vietnamese local intelligence was poor, the area was a traditional VC stronghold, and province and district officials were never able to eliminate the local VC infrastructure. The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team ("Sky Soldiers") is an airborne infantry brigade combat team of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. "Operational Report Lessons Learned (1 May 1969 31 July 1969)." Only the battalion's Company B was available for the attack, which was borne by helicopter. III, No. Four days later, A, B, C and D companies of the 4th Bn., 503rd Inf., fought the NVA for four hours in the Ngok Kam Leat chain of hills and adjacent Hill 823, losing 16 KIA and 37 WIA. 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team | Military Wiki | Fandom The 3rd Battalion on Nov. 10-11 sustained another 18 KIA and 118 WIA on Hill 724 during a five-hour ground and mortar attack. Meanwhile, NVA soldiers began a ferocious attack on A Company at the bottom of the hill. One paratrooper said of the enemy: They fight like theyre all John Waynes, three clips and making every bullet count., A Merciless Land Combat was brutal, close and fought in the unforgiving terrain of the Central Highlands. The next day, Pfc. We treated around 1,200 wounded during the period of the battle, said William J. Shaffer, who served as the executive officer of B Co., 4th Medical Bn. Soldiers with the 173rd have faced some of the fiercest fighting in Afghanistan over the past decade. Brigade members received over 7,700 decorations, including more than 6,000 Purple Hearts. According to court documents, Melzer is a member of O9A. To further the attack plan, Melzer and his co-conspirators passed these messages to a purported member of al Qaeda. [3][24], On 26 March 1963, the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) was assigned to the Regular Army and activated on Okinawa. Greeley, a combined search and destroy effort by elements of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division, the U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade, and Army of the Republic of (ARVN) 42nd Infantry Regiment and Airborne units. "[69], From April until August 1971, the unit underwent the process of redeployment to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the first time that the 173rd Airborne Brigade in name had returned to the United States since 1942. The brigade returned to the United States in 1972, where the 1st and 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, were absorbed into the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), and the 3rd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery was reassigned to Division Artillery in the 101st. Former U.S. army soldier sent to prison for planning the murder of At that time, he consumed propaganda from several extremist groups. On 23 November, 2-503 and 4-503 were ordered to renew their assault while the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry assaulted 875 from the south. [79][80][81], The 173rd Airborne Brigade was made part of Task Force Viking, a special operations task force that contained elements of the 10th Mountain Division[82] and the 10th Special Forces Group. Dawn on Tuesday, Nov. 21, revealed a scene on Hill 875 no survivor of that battle could ever forget, Edward F. Murphy wrote in Dak To: Americas Sky Soldiers in South Vietnams Central Highlands. John Barnes of C Company earned a posthumous Medal of Honor when he saved the lives of several wounded men by throwing himself on a grenade. [78] As the brigade had no heavy or mechanized forces and only a few Humvees and an artillery battery, heavier forces were attached to it in the form of two companies of M113 Armored Personnel Carriers, M1 Abrams tanks, and M2 Bradleys from a task force of 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor, which was attached to the brigade. The 173rd participated in the initial invasion of Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, and had four tours in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 200506, 200708, 200910, and 201213. A class of prime youth shredded in seconds. Satanist Soldier Who Plotted To Slaughter Companions Sentenced To 45 Download full-resolution image The 174th set up on Hill 875 about 10 miles southwest of Ben Het and less than a mile east of the Cambodian border. He used his membership in the military to pursue an appalling goal: the brutal murder of his fellow U.S. service members in a carefully plotted ambush. [108] 42 soldiers from the brigade lost their lives during the deployment. The battalion lost 12 KIA. [78] The resulting wear and tear of 4th ID's M1 Abrams and M2 Bradleys made them an ineffective unit in tight urban areas such as Jar Salah. Marvinny and two other attorneys on Melzer's defense team argued in a sentencing memo last year that Melzer should get 15 years, plus 10 years' supervised release. At 6:58 p.m., a Marine Corps fighter-bomber mistakenly dropped two 500-pound bombs on the U.S. position. Melzer told members of O9A in his encrypted electronic communications [y]ou just gotta understand that currently I am risking my literal free life to give you all this and that he was expecting results. Melzer further acknowledged that he could be killed during the attack and described his willingness to die for O9As goals, writing who gives a fuck [. Not long after its reactivation, elements were deployed to Kosovo as part of Operation Rapid Guardian in support of Kosovo Force (KFOR). Gen. John W. Barnes officially ended the unit's pair-off program and replaced it with Operation Washington Green, an intensive area security effort with territorial and paramilitary forces in Bnh nh Province. On 8 November 1965, the 173rd took part in Operation Hump, just north of Bin Ha on the outskirts of Saigon,[35] the capital of South Vietnam. Ethan Melzer infiltrated the U.S. Army in service of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and jihadist group, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in a Department of Justice release on the sentencing. The New York Times. Besides Melzer and O9A, the Neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen whose leader was arrested for plotting to attack Baltimores energy grid and other groups have tried to recruit active-duty and veteran service members or have their own members join the military for training. Web. [99] The brigade returned to Italy in March 2006. The enormous amounts of ordnance expended by both forces had turned the once-lush tropical jungle into a scarred and torn landscape.. The 173rd Airborne Brigade serves as the conventional airborne strategic response force for Europe. In April 1969 Brigade commander Brig. The 1st and 2nd Battalions saw extensive action in eastern Logar and Wardak. In November 1967, the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 4th Infantry Divisions 1st Brigade slugged it out with four NVA regiments in the Central Highlands. She is the spouse of an Army veteran and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism. Interrogators also employed a technique called the "water rag", which involved pouring water onto a rag covering the captive's nose and mouth, which creates the sensatation of drowning and can lead to death by asphyxiation. [34] The 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment[35] and the 161st Battery, Royal New Zealand Artillery[36] were attached to the brigade for one year in 1965. Four additional battalions were activated or designated at Bamberg and Schweinfurt, Germany. Maintenance window scheduled to begin at February 14th 2200 est. [102] In the early 2007, the 173rd again deployed to Afghanistan, as Task Force Bayonet, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF 0709),[102] their first deployment as a fully transformed brigade combat team. In the 1987 movie Lethal Weapon, the patch worn by Danny Glover's fictional character Roger Murtaugh during a retrospective of his time in Vietnam was that of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The 173rd Airborne Brigade prides itself on being a forward stationed high-readiness unit, available to deploy to U.S. African, European and Central Commands within 18 hours of notification. The LRS detachment and 5th Group ODA conducted many combined and individual operations to ensure the stability of the region. contact us. If the allegations are true in the Dominion filing, "this is precisely what Murdoch provided to the Trump campaign," he said. Former Pvt. [3][15] Commanders during the war included:[17], On 24 June 1921, the unit was reconstituted as the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 173rd Infantry Brigade,[15] and was assigned to the Organized Reserve Corps and the 87th Division at Shreveport, Louisiana. O9A members are instructed to fulfill sinister deeds, including insight roles, where they attempt to infiltrate various organizations, including the military, to gain training and experience, commit acts of violence, identify like-minded individuals, and ultimately subvert those groups from within. Melzer and his alleged co-conspirators used this information to plan what they referred to as a "jihadi attack" with the objective of causing a "mass casualty" event victimizing his fellow service members. Americans serving their country overseas should never have to fear a terrorist attack from within their own ranks, and todays sentence holds him accountable for his deadly plan to attack the brave men and women of the armed forces who protect our nation.. PDF ~ The Battle of the Slopes ~ Hill 1338 - corregidor.org A search of the battlefield revealed only 15 dead North Vietnamese. 173rd Airborne Brigade deploys to South Vietnam - HISTORY was inserted into a landing zone on Hill 823 and wound up losing 20 KIA, 154 WIA and two MIA. [79] The force also received force field artillery headquarters from the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery, which brought a Tactical Operations Center, a Q-36 counterfire radar and Combat Observation and Lasing Team (COLT)a pair of Dragoneye Unmanned Aerial Vehicles from the US Marine Corps, to be operated by the Brigades Ground Surveillance Systems (GSS) team. In an instant, he leaped on the device, shielding the blast with his body. [W]ho gives a f---? he wrote. The 173rds 2nd Bn., 503rd Inf., led the assault. In the process the American officers tried to increase pressure on local enemy forces through intensive patrolling and to encourage ARVN battalion, company, and platoon-level leadership through longer, more decentralized operations. The author visited Afghanistan's Korengal Valley five times in 2007 and 2008 as a reporter embedded with part of the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade as it attempted to thwart the Taliban in . Among the first ground combat troops in northern Iraq, Haynes parachuted in this time with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. [66] The company commander, Captain Robert Helmick, was awarded the DSC. Div., at Dak To. Bnh nh was not easily pacified by military action alone. Neo-Nazi Soldier Who Plotted 'Jihadist Attack' on His Unit Gets 45 (47.9 32.5 cm), Frame (outer): 26 3/8 20 3/8 1 1/4 in. [5] Under Williamson, the unit trained extensively, making mass parachute jumps. In essence, Washington Green was a second Operation Fairfax, but without the presence of ARVN regulars. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. [69] Herbert was relieved of his command shortly after reporting to his superior the war crimes he had witnessed. Women in the military: Moving beyond firsts, Issues with the Armys Europe-based equipment trigger readiness alarms, Veterans Affairs drops mask requirement for all agency medical offices, Tax scams How to report them Money Minute, Capitol Hill weighs action on two controversial topics: medical marijuana and abortion, Lockheed wins hypersonics contract | Defense Dollars, Go inside a secret nuclear fallout bunker sealed for decades, Black Vietnam vet at last getting his due: Medal of Honor, Junior NCO promotions have collapsed heres the data, and why, Army artillery officer dies during assignment in Thailand. "Ethan Melzer infiltrated the U.S. Army in service of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and jihadist group. For example, after describing the units weaponry during the deployment and providing information consistent with the briefings he had received Melzer described to his co-conspirators how an attack would essentially cripple the units fire-teams.. The army apologized and promised to improve their procedures for defining training areas. The 4th Infantry Divisions 1st Brigade included the 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 8th Inf. He allegedly pledged his allegiance to O9A and relayed sensitive information about his unit's upcoming deployment including the location, movement and security of the service members. Rick Holmes of C company, 2nd battalion, 503rd infantry, 173rd airborne brigade, sits down on January 3, 1966, in Vietnam. Artillery from A Bty., 3rd Bn., 319th Artillery Regt., and air strikes started ravaging the hilltop. All Rights Reserved. In May 2020, the Army told Melzer he would be assigned to another unit slated for deployment where they would be guarding a military base. The U.S. camps represented a major roadblock at the southern end of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. [3][25] As the Pacific quick-reaction force, they were the first brigade to be sent to South Vietnam two years later when hostilities escalated there. [3] The reorganized brigade consolidated at a single location in Vicenza, Italy. [84] As the preparations for the brigade were in their final stages, it moved 10 trains and 300 trucks worth of equipment to the air base, as well as 120 busloads of soldiers. Training also included securing roads, bridges, and other infrastructure and treating and evacuating casualties. Six helicopters from the 335th Aviation Company attempting to resupply the pinned-down troopers were shot down during the day. [91] Over the next 96 hours, the wing landed in the remaining 1,200 soldiers of the brigade as well as their vehicles. Melzers sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods. As part of his plot, he planned on sharing additional security details of the base once in Turkey in order to maximize damage done in an attack. SENATE GOP PLOTS CONFRONTATION OF WOKE PENTAGON AS MILITARY READINESS, MORALE PLUMMET, U.S Army badge is seen on a uniform of American soldier. The paratroopers esprit de corps, elitism and personal pride would not permit that.. We were ambushed by the NVA a short distance from where we landed. A gavel rests on the judges bench in the courtroom of the 39th Air Base Wing legal office at Nov. 14, 2019, at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team - History - Dak To For the bravery and sacrifices of its paratroopers around Dak To, the 173rd earned the Presidential Unit Citation. Meltzer, who ascribed to the groups ideals of promoting extreme violence to accelerate and cause the demise of Western civilization, aimed to essentially cripple the units fire-teams with the inside information he was providing, according to documents. [119][122][121] The paratrooper was charged with leaking classified information (including the unit's location) to the RapeWaffen Division and the Order of the Nine Angles (O9A), a European Satanic occult-based neo-Nazi and white supremacist group that is also anti-Semitic, and has expressed admiration for Nazis such as Adolf Hitler and Islamic jihadists. Former Army private Ethan Melzer planned to ambush soldiers and cause a "mass casualty" attack in the service of a Neo-Nazi group. [98] On 21 February 2004, the brigade returned to Italy for a one-year rest before a new deployment.[5]. [70] It was decided that the 173rd would be used to help rebuild the division, which had been converted into an airmobile formation during the Vietnam War. The next morning the three companies of 4-503 were chosen to set out and relieve the men on Hill 875. First Military Choice. The 173d Airborne Brigade was constituted 5 August 1917 as an infantry brigade and organized 25 August 1917 at Camp Pike, Arkansas as an element of the 87th Division. The 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, parachuted into Iraq in the early days of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and saw intense combat in Afghanistan. 173rd Airborne Brigade in Kirkuk, Iraq (#152) - Any Soldier The platoon was surrounded and wiped out with 22 killed and one missing.

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