Hi everyone, Please note that the photo at 9:21 has been confirmed to be airsoft and not in fact members of the Special Boat Service at Qala-i-Jangi. Unfortunately, the site I got it from, a well-trusted Military forum, labelled it as 'British SBS in Qala-i-Jangi'. Additionally, the F/A-18 should read 'F/A-18 Hornet', not 'F/A-18 Super Hornet'; the latter variant wasn't in service at the time of the uprising. Apologies for this, completely my mistake. Thanks, LfE
Hey mistakes happen. Must be a nightmare with reenactors and airsoft players trying to recreate battles and scenes so precisely. They get every detail right and then label their photos as the original battles. Keep up the Awesome Work! You the best on RU-vid.
Great presentation as always thank you. I know I've suggested a few things for you to consider since finding your channel but being of Irish descent I'd like you to consider the role of the 14 intelligence group that operated in Ireland & do a piece on Robert Niarac & his kidnapping & death in Ireland. Another soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice for queen & country who's story I'm sure remains a mystery to most. Again hats off to the bravest of all who returned & heads bowed to those who who'll never be forgotten thanks to channels like your own!..
Capt Johnny Michael Spann was my platoon commander and I was his platoon sergeant in the USMC. After serving with him for a couple of years we knew each other well. The last time I saw him was in Norway January 1999 as he was resigning his commission to inter the CIA. I left 2nd Force Recon soon after and was with another command when this happened. My heart still mourns to this day. I have visited him and other friends at Arlington National Cemetery, they are honored well there. I have a daughter stationed in the area who makes sure a Christmas wreath is placed on his grave every year. SALUTE old friend, you died well. Thank you for honoring him.
I'm not buying the "the dudes radioed in their own position" excuse. That's standard procedure when calling for fire. You give your position (so you don't get dropped on) and then the enemy position relative to your own. It's safe and efficient, as long as the support unit has basic competency. If that pilot didn't get brutally thrown out of the military and imprisoned, they are likely a politician by now.
Adam Collins: Frustrating = causing annoyance or upset because of an inability to change or achieve something. I find it frustrating when we forget to buy milk at the supermarket. I would imagine a guy would be devastated when an air strike hits friendlies, just sayin’.
@@buckstarchaser2376 dude. That's not how jdams or airstrikes work. They're gps bombs, knowing the coords of friendlies doesn't help the pilot in the slightest. And even then, the pilot is talked to the target by the jtac. When the jtac drops a 9-line(basically attack instructions), he will give target location and elevation (which the pilot needs to read back and confirm with jtac) and then friendlies RELATIVE TO TARGET. Notice how friendly coords are never given? This reduces confusion and probability of friendly fire. Would look a bit like this: Line 1-3: attack run setup 4*: elevation 43ft 5: tank (target type) 6*: N43°25'57.23' E43°25'57.23' 7: marked by laser, code 1688 8: friendlies west 150m 9: egress west Remarks: restrictions* and other useful info -pilot reads back items marked with * and must be cleared hot by jtac before dropping munitions- The dude probably did give the wrong coords or made a really unlucky calculation
@@Bravo-Too-Much You clearly never worked with them pal. Some bloody good eggs among them. Might seem like a bit of a rabble at times but when the metal hornets start coming in they get right on it like a tramp on chips. At least the ones I worked with.
I remember SBS Commandos coming on board my ship when we were in the Falklands. The guy in charge of the unit had to be one of the hardest looking men i've ever seen. Thank F*ck he was on our side.
John Dillon The forgotten ship of the Falklands, the other ships being hit seemed to take precedence in the history books. I know the ship got battered by those Skyhawks, it must have been a traumatic experience. My friends father was LT CDR Sephton DSC. RIP.
@@Marshall_Thompson Very... I remember from the Black Hawk Down book a story involving 'The Lost Convoy' when they apparently came across a woman carrying bags of groceries. When the convoy, and essentially the battle, drove by, she put her bags down, covered her ears, and went on her way when they were gone. Not only that, but the convoy actually came across her *AGAIN* to which she did the same thing: put her bags down, covered her ears, and went on her way when they were gone. I wish we could learn more of weird details of conflicts like these.
To the best of my memory, the Operator firing the "Bitch" sadly lost his Life, not long after these Pictures were taken. My prayers and thoughts to the Family. R.I.P. Trooper! The "Clock Tower" gains another Plaque. And your Gnocchi Boots were bought at auction. "We will always go that little further. It may be over the next Hill or over the next horizon..." Until Valhalla! From a British Veteran
There was a US military camp on the outskirts of Mazar-e-Sharif named after him. I was at Camp Mike Spann several times in 2012-2013. We used to call the fort "The Sand Castle" not knowing it's history at the time.
I am Croatian. I was at a German base at Mazar e Sharif in 2011. Almost 9,000 soldiers, mostly Germans and Americans and about fifteen other nations. We, Croats, together with the Germans, kept all patrols out of the base (10 km radius), two entrances to the base and towers. Good old days...
"There's four hundred heavily armed, mightily pissed of Taliban trying to take over the prison!" "Shit, that sounds serious! We'll send two dozen guys right away." Love it.
@@keeshans5768 LfE did, but he also mentioned they didn't come In till later, t'was the next day I believe or at least much later after the Spec-Ops went in.
Remember guys, this was very very early in the war. There were very few, if any pilots that had actual combat experience dropping this amount of large ordnance in very close proximity to friendly troops. Over the years, as the wars progressed, both US and British pilots became extremely good at this and blue on blue incidents like this have become exceedingly rare.
The US forces at that point would give the loitering aircraft two sets of coordinates, their own and the enemies and this created confusion, it was soon changed
Andrew Richards yes, that’s exactly right. Around that time early in my career, I was a TACP assigned to work in a JTAC capacity while attached to conventional army
Andrew Richards Yes sir, that’s exactly right. Around that time early in my career, I was a TACP assigned to work in a JTAC capacity while attached to a conventional army unit late 2001 to mid 2002(there was not an abundance of JTACs in the Air Force at that point because the need had been low for years and there was no shortage of TACPs) and that was a major point of contention for us because of the amount of confusion it can create in high stress events. In late 2002, I finished my deployment and broke off into the CCT pipeline. By he time I was finished and assigned to a non conventional military unit in early 2004(the training pipeline is longer now), that whole coordinate issue had been dealt with and resolved. Blue on blue incidents did, in fact, decrease as time went on. By the time I was working with small military units, controlling was very refined and deliberate, danger close drops were more common than not. I have a story to flex on you a little bit to show how much in the shit I got(said with sarcasm). I had been a CCT about 2.5 years when a junior guy was assigned to my unit, at this point in time it was an army unit that “bridged the gap” from conventional forces to non conventional forces, take that as you will. My junior CCT shadowing me(typically one is assigned to a small intermilitary unit, sometimes 2, rarely 3) called a drop danger close and the initial blast wave actually knocked me off balance and the second drop damn near put me unconscious. It’s incredible how powerful blast waves are and how they can kill you outright with not one external injury. Had we been 50-75 yards closer, we likely would have died from it. The target was acquisitioned approx 300 yards away, danger close for what we were working with then. He and I learned a strong lesson that day, don’t call in for a heater at that distance, call in for a spitter. Thank me for my service. USAF 1999-2011, TACP/brevetJTAC/CCT.
I remember my sergeant-major (Dutch Air Assault) telling me about his experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. Calling in strikes 50 meters out. Holy shit. That guy was also in Kosovo. He got kidnapped by the local militia, held him hostage. When they allowed him to stretch his legs, he bumped into a guy in the hallway. Understandably annoyed by this, and the whole hostage situation, he punched that guy in the face. Turns out that guy was general Mladic... didnt tell me what happend after that.
Impressive indeed. But ultimately, they and the US lost the war. American and NATO allies are long gone and today the Taliban are still there and negotiating with the US on a "peace" deal.
@@matrixsenior Actually I think its very helpful to acknowledge that we lost and paid a terrible price for the stupidity in staying there for 20 years. We achieved absolutely nothing except making billions in profits for the industrial service providers who got the lucrative contracts.
I’d like to see one about the red caps that sadly died in Iraq I think it was as this was brushed under the carpet here in the uk...those hero’s deserve recognition
@@bremnersghost948 You'd think after nearly 19 years years of occupying middle eastern warzones, we'd realize that soldiers shouldn't be used as a police force. It's not what we're trained to do, it puts the local population on edge, and it's enormously expensive.
thesexybadger Don’t know if it’s true but friend of mine who was in Iraq said that regarding this incident that 1 Para were the closest friendly unit but just left those guys to die.
My condolences to Johnny Spann, the Northern Alliance fighters, and the T-55 crew that perished in the battle. But also the Tomcat pilot who has to carry the mental burden of the friendly fire accident for the rest of his life. Another fantastic video.
I am Croatian, in infantry. I was in the German base in Mazar e Sharif in 2011. I had all kind of duties, patrols outside of the base (10 km radius), guard in the towers, guarding two entrences to the base, patrols inside the base etc. 9000 soldiers in the base, over 15. nations, base 3,5 x 2,5 km, two or three runways in the base. Helicopters, transport planes land and take off all the time. But most of all I remember, once a month, the coffins driving along the longest road at the base towards the runway on the way home. And about a thousand of us salute them on both sides of the road.
Lol youre racist as fuck northern alliance were some of the most dedicated enemies of the insurgents you nut case 🤦♂️🤦♂️ You're shameful to ur countrymen
Mark Mitchell, thats the same man the movie "12 Strong" is based on. Where he and his men (Task Force Dagger) were the first US soldiers in Afghanistan, went on horseback and took over Mazar E Sharif in under a month (Military analysts said it would've taken two years). So in the space of two months he took over Mazar E Sharif and was in the battle of Qala I Jangi... Legend!💯
One of my best memories in infantry(usa) was getting into group fist fight with regiment (united kingdom of shit talkers lol) over board game risk and mountain dew.. GOD BLESS OUR ALLIANCE . Great warriors good friends
@Jason Salazar you've come across as a complete asshole in every reply you've made.. Whether your right or not. Am sure all the British and Americans reading your comments. All agree on one thing...your a 🔔🔚
Another outstanding video! I'm constantly impressed at the high production value of your content. The SBS don't get anywhere near enough credit in comparison to the SAS. I know the former prefer it that way, but still.
Because they haven’t got as much history they got shelved for years and years SAS was getting all the jobs look up Ducan falconer on Chris thrall podcast tells you everything about the past
True. They love being under the radar. They let Hereford's finest take all the credit but they, you could walk past a UKSF Operator in Tesco and not notice them.
when I was at bragg, the guy that lived a few doors down was one of the group guys wounded by the friendly fire CAS. according to him, the guy that sent the coordinates had just changed the batteries in his plugger, which is an army gps device, and when it reboots it gives your current position and in the thick of things he forgot this and sent his own location to the CAS patrol.
I feel people never understand most friendly fire incidents, and are quickly to blame, however they’ve also (obviously) not experienced the heat of a firefight, which change you. R.I.P to the guys who give their lives to fight for our countries! 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 Edit: also many would blame the pilots of the F18s, but from that far up, normally you can't tell the difference between our guys and foes!
In the "12 Strong" book doesn't mention this thing. It says that the pilot messed up the enemy coordinates with those of the soldiers on the ground and dropped the bomb at their position.
"The Afghans built the fort in 1889 for defense against potentially invading British after the Second Anglo-Afghan War. It took 18,000 workers 12 years to complete it." source Wikipedia.
My Dad Specialist Roland William Miskimon was part of this and in Doug Stantons book as well as 12 Strong so thankful to have a Dad like him hes a great guy although he misses his boys he tells me stories all the time never gets old he was also the one in this video with the cigarette in his mouth
It’s a shame how a majority of Brits and Americans don’t know about our two countries special relationship. Americans think of Brits as snobby and Brits think Americans are loud and dumb. With no regards for what our two countries have been through together. It’s really sad to see people from both sides of the pond having nothing to say about our countries fighting side by side. When you ask Americans what they know about Britain they say tea, soccer and the royal family. Brits will say Hollywood, American football, basketball and Donald Trump. We are brothers in arms, we’ve won 2 world wars together and defended democracy from fascism, communism and the nazis.
I think that's a generalisation. People from both counties who are interested in military tend to know - as do intelligent people in general who are prepared to look beyond stereotypes. I have American friends I met at university and I'm still friends with them now. It's something I treasure and I think they do too.
We’re cousins, share a same language and the same love of liberties...our armed forces are awesome when paired together, the Anglo-sphere in general (USA, U.K., Can, NZ & Aus) are a family spread around the globe but come together when needed.
@@thejudge-kv2jk I'm British Army Veteran and I worked with Americans in Afghanistan and they were amazing very professional and had the best food 👍👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇸
Steph Bass was my master Chief whilst I was a corpsman at BUD/S in 2013, I heard an account of his actions during those days, I get chills still to this day, the guy is beyond badass...
Well they sure as hell sent the best forces on the planet in to rescue those trapped men, as a British man, you've got to love the SAS and SBS. Fantastic soldiers, God bless them all, all damn heroes!!!
Hey, I saw some months ago now you were having some trouble with your channel. Glad it is all sorted. Keep doing what you're doing, because it is great and much needed content. Thanks a lot.
@PeterBergen Well to be fair if you try to do all those things at once it's probably not going to end well.. Whichever it was I can't help but wonder how he would've preferred to go. R.I.P.
Love this channel. You might have already but could you do one on the brits that strapped themselves to apache helicopters to rescue one left behind . Cant remember the mission name. God bless , stay safe.
Chris That would be the Royal Marines who assaulted Jugroom Fort and went in on the Apaches to retrieve the body of Corporal Mathew Ford, who it emerged, had been killed by friendly fire. It was called Operation Glacier.
Camcs12: That sounds more logical, I was wondering where they would obtain a sufficient supply of freezing cold water. I had thought they might have used phosphorus grenades, despite the use of such being illegal, (as I understand it), for this purpose.
weirdly enough, I recall that from news reports of the day. Although (from memory) it was reportedly petrol, I do recall there is footage of black soot marks on the basement windows
That's correct. Oil was initially poured into the basement, but, when the Northern Alliance fighters struggled to ignite it, cold water was used. As for where the source of the water came from, a U.S. Army report notes that it came from a well.
You didn’t mention an important event in the battle - the discovery and capture of John Walker Lindt. There is an excellent doco available on RU-vid on the uprising and battle, with footage of the legendary Afghan fighter Dostum working with US and UK SF troops called “Horse Soldiers - Battle of Qala I Jangi”
A recent declasified report by the MOD disclosed that the SBS losses were heavy...3 kettles, 4 cups, 300 teabags and 2 packets of hobnobs( 1chocolate) despite this the SBS managed to maintain consisent brewing until extracted.
The British SBS are as good as it gets. Predominately Royal Marine Commandos who's then gone and passed SAS selection and further SBS selection. Super tough. These guys are involved in action worldwide and are a credit to the UK. Proper impressive.
This was my father's u.s. special forces team growing up and still to this day these men are my heros. They are the reason I enlisted in the army to serve my country and be like my role models. I heard their stories and saw the sadness in their faces when they came home. One thing they don't mention here is when the SF team medic was alone holding off the enemy where multiple hallways came together a he was overwhelmed. His rifle and arm were broken so he pulled out his side arm and expended all amo. This man fought on and took on the enemy in hand to hand by himself and killed 4 enemy fighters with his bare hands.
@@reallyhappenings5597 It could be the sequel to 12 Strong. The film was about the same Green Berets (nicknamed the Horse Soldiers) who fought in this battle, only showing their initial arrival to Afghanistan and how they helped capture Mazar-I-Sharif just before this uprising.
