Perozeni and the team of lying and mischaracterizing [the mission plan] is to somehow absolve the chain of command above them and basically say, because they went out under false pretenses, they put themselves in a bad situation and are therefore responsible for what happened," Mitchell said. His concerns were based on being lightly armed, having no backup force available and no medevac capability, and operating alongside 35 Nigerien soldiers who had not slept in 24 hours and were out of food and water. "There's been a lot of ink spilled on this incident in Niger, and I think a lot of mischaracterization of what actually occurred," retired Col. Mark Mitchell, a decorated Green Beret who was the acting assistant secretary of defense in 2017, said in an interview in the documentary. Jeremiah Johnson is a 1972 American Western film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Redford as the title character and Will Geer as "Bear Claw" Chris Lapp. Bryan C. Black, as well as Blacks mother and widow, released a joint statement Friday. Perozeni was originally recommended for a Silver Star for his efforts in rallying his 11-man ODA team and 30 Nigerien soldiers against an ambush force three times their size, according to the New York Times. We aim to provide a wide range of injection molding services and products ranging from complete molding project management customized to your needs. Families receive apologies and sympathy. What happened next to ODA 3212, and why, was hugely significant -- but the information was omitted from AFRICOM's thick report and family briefings, the ABC News investigation found. ABC News filmed the families of the fallen soldiers -- Staff Sgt. The leader of Operational Detachment Alpha 3212, Capt. "We've had an American citizen by the name of Jeffery Woodke who has been captured and held hostage somewhere in that area for the last year and a half, and there was a possibility that what they might find at that target would be a piece of the puzzle of the whole-of-government approach, to try to return an American who's been held hostage.". The Defense Department conducted an investigation into the ambush and briefed reporters at the Pentagon Thursday. It's not clear why Wright's medal was downgraded, but his father Arnold noted that such awards are presented at White House ceremonies, which brings additional scrutiny to the underlying incident. They do high-risk missions. I wont go into details here, but we have increased the firepower, weve increased the ISR capacity and weve increased various response times, said Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, Africa Commands top leader. Four Americans were killed: St.- Sgt. And in the strangest twist of all, they had been trying to locate an American aid worker who was being held hostage by the terrorist commander they were trying to kill. At Furnel, Inc. our goal is to find new ways to support our customers with innovative design concepts thus reducing costs and increasing product quality and reliability. La David Johnson was born on January 2, 1992, in Miami, Florida. White House releases after action reviews on Afghanistan withdrawal, Navy must broaden recruitment pool, chief of Navy Reserve says, VA secretary worries mistrust, ignorance holding back benefits claims, Lockheed unit loses protest of Army tiltrotor award to Textrons Bell, Largest air exercise in NATO history to include hundreds of Guardsmen, Webcast: Lessons Learned From Ukraine Shape Industrial Base Policy, Deputy VA Chief speaks, and mind controlled drones | Defense News Weekly Full Episode 4.1.23, Coast Guard asks for $1.5 billion more to rebuild its capability, Outgoing VA Deputy chief on electronic records, diversity efforts, Military still mismanaging troops traumatic brain injury care. His two arms were tied behind his back, he said. Through the course of his investigative efforts, Meek found that the plan for the special forces unit to go on the hunt for Cheffou did not come from the unit leaders on the ground but rather from higher-up military leaders. La David Johnson and Staff Sgt. The reconnaissance drone had been soaking the village where he was thought to be for roughly six hours. "It's all about 'The Club,' all about protecting the establishment. Meek said he plans to continue uncovering elements of the 2017 ambush as he learns about them. During the ambush, four Nigeriens, four US soldiers, and at least 21 The assault lasted over half an hour until Frenchfighter jets frightened off the remaining ISIS belligerents. After the initial investigative conclusions came out, the families of the four soldiers killed that day started to question whether they were getting the full story. The AFRICOM report in its entirety was deleted from the Department of Defense's own websites two months after its release in June 2019, according to cached copies on the nonprofit site Archive.org. Bryan Black, Sgt. And they all believe he was one of the finest officers in the Army and that his record should be expunged and that his reputation should be restored.. The combination of scaled back ground operations and bulked up air cover will, it is hoped, ensure missions that do get approved in the future are properly resourced. WebJeremiah Johnson's deliberate pace demands an investment from the viewer, but it's rewarded with a thoughtful drama anchored by a starring performance from Robert Redford. Jeremiah W. Johnson, Staff Sgt. WebJeremiah Johnson (mayor) (17661852), mayor of Brooklyn, New York. LaDavid Terrence Johnson,http://www.fredhunters.com/obituary/213255/Sgt-La-David-Johnson/#obituary. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson, was one of four U.S. special operations soldiers killed in Niger on October 4, 2017, when Islamist fighters ambushed their team. FILE - These images provided by the U.S. Army show, from left, Staff Sgt. Had there still been a drone providing over-watch for the team, they may have been forewarned about the enemy ambush that had staged along their departure route a force outnumbering the U.S. and Nigerien soldiers three to one. Read critic reviews. But that site wasnt where the battle took place. Still, I am very sorry it happened," she said in the documentary. Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson and Dustin Wright and Sgt. Wrights father said he was told that his son Dustin was put up for the Medal of Honor, but that it was downgraded twice before he received a posthumous Silver Star, according to ABC News. "If this [mission] was indeed on my husband's behalf, I would have to say, 'Thank you so very much.' That story, as presented by the Pentagon, sounded like an outlandish tale -- but it was all offered as fact by U.S. generals whose stiff uniforms sparkled with the glint of their stars and ribbons as they sat in the Pentagon's press room in the spring of 2018. "We saw Bryan Black fall first, watched Dustin and Jeremiah try to pull him back to safety, realizing that Bryan had lost his life," Ray Gannon, Jeremiah's stepfather and a retired FBI special agent, said in an interview. Wright asks at one point. The Bengals re-signed Johnson on April 24, 2009. I think that the battalion commander, who was actually not in Niger he was headquartered in Chad, overruled the captain who led ODA 3212 when he was on the ground, 24 hours into a mission, Meek said. The base will eventually also house fighter jets. Senior leaders within Africa Command and First Special Forces Command presented their findings to the families of the fallen based on circumstantial evidence, which left them with more questions than answers," he added. While the French jets saved the lives of the remaining U.S. and Nigerien soldiers, it was too late for Staff Sgts. USAFRICOM is aware of a post on Twitter purporting to show a U.S. soldier from the Oct. 4 ambush in Tongo Tongo, Staff Sgt. The reason the CIA wanted to help the Green Berets locate Doundoun Cheffou's cell phone during the initial recon mission, according to U.S. intelligence officials, was that the ISIS commander had been suspected of holding an American Christian aid worker, Jeffery Woodke, since he was kidnapped in Niger in October 2016 -- so finding Cheffou could eventually lead to finding Woodke, CIA officers believed. All Rights Reserved. In a scene from National Geographics documentary series, Chain of Command, Sgt. Log in, Ethics be damned: Legal experts aghast over bombshell report on Clarence Thomas luxury lifestyle, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Secretly Accepted Luxury Trips From Top GOP Donor: Report, Lindsey Grahams shameless Trump-esque physical do-over, Trump, History, Coincidence, Crime and Karma. As the enemy moved in on motorcycles and pickups with mounted heavy machine guns, the last two remaining vehicles returned fire, with mechanic LaDavid Johnson using an M240 machine gun, a sniper rifle, and his M4 carbine to suppress the advancing enemies. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Jeremiah Johnson, Black and Wright were outside the same vehicle when the ambush started. We provided periodic notifications to the families and Congress throughout the process. Bryan Black, told Army Times on Friday. They had two children, AhLeesya Johnson and La David Johnson Jr., with a third unborn, LaShee Johnson, on the way. "And I don't recall that ever being part of the instructions that were given to Capt. The region, which frequently hosts clashes between French forces and militants in Mali, is flush with activity by groups associated with the Islamic State and al-Qaida. Johnson was then sent to live with Richard and Cowanda Johnson. So we have beefed up a lot of things posture wise with regard to these forces.. Johnson decided to enlist in the U.S. military in 2012. During the October mission, the team was participating in a capture or kill operation against a high-value militant leader named Dondou Chefou. Johnson left for his second deployment with the U.S. Army. But Perozeni was told that his battalion commander, Lt. Col. David Painter in Chad, had overruled him and that the changed mission would go forward. There, he was known by friends as the Wheelie King due to his frequent antics involving a one-wheeled bicycle. ODA 3212 was assisted by a pair of Nigeriens working for the CIA with their own vehicle, whom the Agency had trained to use a cellular surveillance device inside their white SUV to lock onto Cheffou's cell phone, according to intelligence officials and Special Forces soldiers in Niger. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. While initial characterizations of the Army units mission showed they had been tasked to advise and assist Nigerien troops on a mission to collect information from the local population, investigators said that the special forces unit instead went on a hunt for Cheffou with the intent to capture or kill him. And he screwed up and carried my son off and got him killed -- because that's what I was led to believe," Arnold Wright said. But the Green Berets were not told of any such suspicion about Cheffou's link to Woodke, Army officers including Maj. Van Saun told ABC News. It downplays the reported pushback by team commander CPT Michael Perozeni against the mission which led to the deaths of our soldiers, and portrays an overall misleading narrative.. Johnson was a standout for Ballard High School, rushing for over 2,000 yards and scoring 35 touchdowns in his junior and senior seasons.. College career Indiana. Seven months after the gunfight, Gen. Waldhauser laid out AFRICOM's litany of allegations about the ambushed team, ODA 3212, and its Green Beret commander, Capt. He became scapegoated, Meek said. He looks sad: CNN panel sees reality sinking in on Trumps face, How the indictment of Donald Trump is a strange and different event for America, according to political scientists, Trump to turn himself in, faces day in court, Trump arrives in New York for surrender, opposes TV court coverage, Factbox-A look at past state leaders who faced international justice, Trump to face criminal charges, sending US into uncharted waters, Manhattan grand jury votes to indict Donald Trump, showing he, like all other presidents, is not an imperial king, Trump indictment wont keep him from presidential race, but will make his reelection bid much harder, Boom or bust? Mike Perozeni, the officer leading ODA 3212, also received two letters of reprimand. La David Johnson, one of four soldiers killed in the October ambush in Tongo Tongo, Niger, is shown speaking with a fellow soldier while moonlighting as a barber on base. A new documentary 3212 Un-Redacted, available on Hulu on Thursday exposes the corruption and coverups that tainted the investigation into the truth. She wasn't alone. Painter, since 2018, has declined more than a dozen ABC News requests for comment, including for this story. They attempted to bound away when Johnson fell. La David Johnson found in Niger, military says,The Washington Post, November 21, 2017; Siobhn OGrady, What the Hell Happened in Niger?,The Atlantic(October 2017); Sgt. Missions need a strategic value and must target groups that pose a strategic threat to the United States, according to Waldhauser. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson, after Johnson was shot and fell as they tried to break contact with the enemy on foot. "It hurt really bad to hear that," Van Saun said. He was drafted by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. "It's clear that if he had been listened to, my son, and Jeremiah, LaDavid and Dustin would be here today," Black said. The direct cause of the enemy attack in Tongo Tongo is that the enemy achieved tactical surprise there, Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Valor, but Gannon wonders why he did not receive a Silver Star, as others in the unit received, or Medal of Honor. Yes, sir. Part of The War against the Islamic State, Operation Juniper Shield, Operation Barkhane, and the Jihadist insurgency in Niger. On October 4, 2017, the soldiers intended to visit village leaders to gather intelligence. The team sergeant, another senior non-commissioned officer, and the company intelligence warrant officer also received reprimands. Waldhauser said at the Pentagon press conference in 2018. Is there something you havent been able to fix or do that youve been asked to do on this trip?. 11:40 to 14:58 (local time) Location. But as Perozeni's vehicle departed, Perozeni was shot in the side and the driver, Bartels, was shot in the elbow. The U.S. military has identified the three soldiers found together Oct. 4 as Staff Sgt. Join our brand new verified AMN Telegram channel and get important news uncensored. 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Bryan Black and Sgt. Van Saun, who is now out of the Army, wrote an opinion piece about his experience in the wake of the ambush that was published in the New York Times Friday. Jeremiah Johnson's father, J.W. Like regular maintenance on the daily, Johnson responds. And based on my observations, this particular -- this particular team is not indicative of what they do," Waldhauser said, looking into TV cameras. ABC News has learned that two other Tongo Tongo-related investigations followed AFRICOM's, one by U.S. Army Special Operations Command and the other by U.S. Special Operations Command, neither of which the families and public were ever told about. Staff Sgt. We offer full engineering support and work with the best and most updated software programs for design SolidWorks and Mastercam. Furnel, Inc. is dedicated to providing our customers with the highest quality products and services in a timely manner at a competitive price. 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