Simultaneously, Black was slightly ahead of the SUV and was hit by small arms fire, killing him instantly. [41] The meeting lasted 30 minutes longer than the team leader expected. [87] On the day of the ambush, Trump was briefed by telephone by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. The first call for additional support was relayed by the US forces nearly an hour after they first came under fire. The new footage provided a more comprehensive understanding of Johnsons actions during the ambush, and directly led to the decision for the upgraded award, Army spokesman Matt Leonard confirmed. Bryan . After passing the colored smoke, Black ran and took cover behind a nearby tree while Jeremiah Johnson fired over the hood of the vehicle towards the tree line. Air Assault Badge The 2017 ambush pitted the outmanned and outgunned 11 U.S. troops and their 30 Nigerien partners against scores of enemy fighters armed with mortars, truck-mounted heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. The version shown to defense reporters was 10 minutes long, compared to the 22-minute version shown to members of Congress. The patrol's leader, an Army captain who was not identified in the summary; the Nigerien commander; and several Nigerien soldiers worked their way around from the south in an effort to outflank the attackers. Jeremiah Johnson. Army Commendation Medal w/ C Device About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . Under heavy fire, seven American and four Nigerian soldiers would run through the wooded area and break contact with the enemy. [62] Black graduated from Puyallup High School in 2000. Global War on Terrorism Service Medal The team leader, Capt. The account was in the form of an unclassified eight-page summary of a classified 3,600-page Article 15-6 fact-finding investigation ordered by Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the AFRICOM commander, and led by his chief of staff, Army Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier. The mothers of two of the four soldiers killed in a 2017 ambush in Niger say recently discovered video from the battle is more proof that their sons' valor awards should be reevaluated. The parents of U.S. Army Sgt. They were: Sgt. He enlisted in the Army October 2007. From the truck bed of his vehicle, Sgt. The four are, from left, Staff Sgt. The French jets did not drop any bombs for fear of hitting friendly forces, but the low passes were effective in scattering the enemy. [19] After completion of the meeting, the soldiers walked back to the rest of the unit and their unarmored pickup trucks. [86], The ambush was the deadliest combat incident involving US soldiers since Donald Trump took office as president on 20 January 2017. Dustin Wright, who were all killed in the fight . U.S. forces are in Niger helping train and advise Nigerien security forces; they are not serving in a combat role, according to officials at U.S. Africa Command. so the convoy stopped near the village of Tongo Tongo to resupply. Jeremiah Johnson, Sergeant Wright and Sergeant Black were in the black S.U.V. History of the United States Army Special Forces, Jeremiah Johnson, La . [112], On 23 October, Myeshia Johnson said on ABC's Good Morning America that Wilson's account of the call with Trump was "100 percent correct" and that the call "made [her] cry even worse". Yacouba Issoufou was a soldat de 2nde classe (private) of the BSR. The Tongo Tongo ambush or the Niger ambush occurred on 4 October 2017, . The team circled the area and recovered the injured team leader. [91] On CNN, Wilson said, "This might wind up to be Mr. Trump's Benghazi". Wright and Jeremiah Johnson were shot multiple times at close range by the militants, killing them.[50]. Jeremiah Johnson. [13] ISIS release helmet camera footage of soldiers Byan Black, Jeremiah Johnson, Dustin Wright and La David Johnson being killed in Niger. [137], On 19 December 2018, more than a year after the ambush, a sidearm belonging to SSG Jeremiah Johnson was recovered by French forces during an operation in the Mali-Niger border region. [123], Interviewed in a 2020 documentary, United States Army veteran and author Paul Rieckhoff described the significance of the incident:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, When I watch that video I think of the worst-case scenario. The Tongo Tongo ambush occurred on 4 October 2017, when armed militants from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) attacked Nigerien and U.S. soldiers near the village of Tongo Tongo, Niger, while they were returning to base from a mission. [36], In a video recorded before the ambush, young men can be seen on motorbikes armed with rifles and machine guns, repeating Islamist slogans, and discussing what they would do in the event they captured soldiers, with one of them saying that they would decapitate them. On October 4, 2017, four U.S. soldiers from the Africa Command were ambushed and killed during a mission near Tongo Tongo, Niger. [10] On 8 November, the US Department of Defense said that the investigation would be completed in January 2018. Army Commendation Medal The four team members who split from the second position would regroup with the remainder of the team and partner force. Parachutist Badge He was from Springboro, Ohio. [131] On 5 December, people with knowledge of the operation told BuzzFeed that what happened in Niger "was the result of reckless behavior by US Special Forces". When found, SGT L. Johnson's hands were not bound and he was laying on his back with his arms to his sides. All three were assigned to the Armys 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The graphic footage was recorded on the helmet cameras of Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright died Wednesday. Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson, 39; Sergeant La David Johnson, 25; and Staff . The . All soldiers had their serviceable equipment including their body armour and boots taken from them. As they advanced toward the ambush site they engaged and killed several militants before retreating to a safe position due to overwhelming fire. "As enemy fighters advanced through the ambush site, they fired several additional bursts into the bodies of the three soldiers.". While there, the Team OUALLAM commander conducted an . Adjutant Chef Bagu Soumana and Soldier 2nd Class Abdoul Rachid Yarima were posthumously awarded, while four surviving soldiers received their awards in an October 2019 ceremony in Niamey. Waldhauser did not specify the three cases, but the report and statements by Waldhauser and Cloutier singled out two captains, and a superior officer. Jeremiah W. Johnson, Sgt . https://www.armytimes.com/flashpoints/2017/10/06/dod-releases-names-of-3rd-special-forces-group-soldiers-killed-in-niger/. La David Johnson (left) and Sgt. [57] His body was nearly 1.5 kilometres (1 mile) away from the scene of the ambush. Dustin Wright and Sgt. At the Pentagon briefing, Cloutier was asked if the captains had lied. Purple Heart La David Johnson of the 3rd Special Forces Group were killed Oct. 4 when their 12-man team and roughly 30 Nigerien soldiers were ambushed near the village of Tongo Tongo. . Two US soldiers who were wounded in the ambush were transferred to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Dustin Wright, Staff Sgt. They would establish a perimeter and began treating the wounded. Army Commendation Medal w/C Device Jeremiah Johnson, and Sgt. Amid the fallout from the ambush, scrutiny placed on U.S. Africa Command highlighted more problems across missions in the region, including poor medical evacuation capabilities and a lack of air support. Air Assault Badge Soon after leaving Tongo Tongo, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) north of Niamey, Niger's capital, they were ambushed by Islamic State-linked militants carrying small arms and machine guns. They worked around to the south, intending to outflank the enemy and sweep the treeline, but were forced to retreat. It was shot near Tongo Tongo in Niger last October and shows Isis militants in pickups en route to the attack. [97] On 19 October, McCain said that a subpoena may be required to determine what happened in Niger. Black, Wright and Jeremiah Johnson "were never captured alive by the enemy," the summary said. He previously deployed to Jordan in 2012. [132], After a Twitter user published a series of posts claiming to have footage from the ambush, AFRICOM said on 24 January 2018, "We are reviewing the post and determining the veracity of the tweet and the assertions that there is an associated video". 5 min read. Jeremiah Johnson joined the active-duty Army in 2008 after a year in the Army Reserves. [40] The US soldiers were divided in two groups: one that would stay back and guard the vehicles and another that would attend the meeting. His hands "were not bound and he was not executed but was killed in action while actively engaging the enemy," the summary said. Purple Heart [53] Two French Super Puma helicopters were brought in from Mali to evacuate the injured Nigeriens and Americans, while Berry Aviation, an independent contractor, evacuated the bodies of the fallen US soldiers. . [110] Jones-Johnson said, "President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband". [122], On 10 November, local villagers told The Washington Post that La David Johnson's body was found with his arms tied,[57] but the Associated Press reported on 17 December that there were no indications he was shot at close range, had been bound, or taken prisoner. [75], A small section of Georgia Highway 1 was named in memorial of Wright in April 2019. 1st Class Jeremiah . The last moments of SSG Jeremiah Johnson was brutal. The battle of Tongo Tongo was over, and the search for four fallen members of Team Ouallam would begin. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnsons mother, Debra Gannon, said helmet camera footage that militants took from the Americans kit helped trigger an upgrade for her sons award, which was previously a Bronze Star with Valor. That was downgraded to an Army Commendation Medal by Thomas in early 2019. Black, Wright and Jeremiah Johnson were fighting could not disengage. Niger: June 2016 November 2016 ISIS has released a sickening video appearing to show their fighters ambushing and killing four US soldiers in Niger. This information can be obtained through a FOIA request. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, were killed fighting in one location near the . Johnson was married to Crystal and had two daughters, Addie and Elisa. The ambush left five Nigeriens, [11] four Americans, [7] and 21 militants dead. The Americans traveled in two technicals and an unarmored Toyota Land Cruiser[34] while the Nigeriens traveled in five vehicles, one of which had been provided by the Central Intelligence Agency and had specialized surveillance equipment on board. The Defense Department released the results of the U.S. Africa Command-led investigation into the Oct. 4, 2017, ambush on U.S. and Nigerien forces near Tongo Tongo, Niger. Niger Cross of Valor with Star Ranger Tab A much shorter, edited version was disseminated by the Islamic State group a year after the ambush outside the village of Tongo Tongo, near the Niger-Mali border. Johnson "continued to evade, running west for an additional 450 meters before eventually seeking cover under a thorny tree," the summary said. Purple Heart SFC Jeremiah Johnson was promoted posthumously to the rank of Sergeant First Class. Despite the concerns, the team was directed by their battalion commander in Chad to continue the mission anyway. If we have drones and satellite eyes in space, how do we let American troops get abandoned? Staff Sgt. 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[65] A memorial service was also held for Black on 19 November in Puyallup. Jeremiah Johnson, and continued to engage the enemy until each was shot and killed . The T-6B Texan II is a two-seat turboprop used to train Navy and Marine Corps pilots in flight school. [128] The US Department of Defense released military records on 26 October that showed that the killed US soldiers had little to no experience in combat. [105] Officials from the Department of Defense said that soldiers had carried out 29 similar operations in the past six months with no problems, and such operations were considered routine by the time of the ambush. The Tongo Tongo village elder first notified and then led Nigerien forces to the location of SGT L. Johnson's remains. Army Service Ribbon I still would like to have somebody get up and apologize and tell everybody that [the team] didnt go rogue and they damn well performed above and beyond what they had to do, Gannon told Army Times. Jeremiah Johnson, American soldier killed in the Tongo Tongo ambush. National Defense Service Medal The nine-minute video is shot from the helmet cams of the tragic Americans who died on October 4 in Tongo Tongo after being attacked by 50 brainwashed jihadis. Staff Sgt. [36], The eight vehicle convoy left the village at 11:35a.m. on their planned route back to base. "[93], On 25 October, Trump told reporters that he did not "specifically" authorize the mission in Niger. Jeremiah Johnson. ", Staff Sgts. The militants, who had arrived with a dozen technicals and about 20 motorcycles and were equipped with small arms, vehicle mounted heavy machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, and mortars had allowed the convoy to move through the kill zone before attacking, trapping the rear of the convoy.[43][44][45][46]. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. La David Johnson and Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Last Assignment: Deceased. Believing he had successfully reentered his vehicle, the other vehicles had left the area. [115] La David Johnson's sister, Richshama, said, "We find out everything via social media". The attack built in intensity as enemy fighters on motorcycles threatened to overrun them. "Dismounted enemy then maneuvered on [Sgt. La David Johnson was born on January 2, 1992, in Miami, Florida. Niger: June 2016 October 2016, Awards: [12], When the soldiers were found, one US soldier was found lying next to an enemy pickup truck while two other US soldiers were found in the bed of the pickup. Driver and Mechanic Badge Staff Sgt. Officials at the Pentagon refused to provide further details on the incident during a televised briefing on Thursday, citing ongoing operations and force protection issues. Two . This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Little information has been made public about the incident, and the attack is still under investigation. [120] On 26 October, Phillip Carter and Andrew Swick wrote on Vox, sharing a similar view that missions similar to the one in Niger "have never been specifically authorized by Congress, let alone discussed and debated by the American public". . [54] Nevertheless, the presence of the fighter jets brought the engagement to an end. [17][26][28] The expectations were that construction of the base would be completed in 2018, which would allow the US to conduct surveillance operations with the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper to monitor ISIL insurgents flowing south and other extremists flowing north from the Sahel region. La David Johnson was separated from his comrades when he and two Nigerien partners were unable to reenter their vehicle due to concentrated enemy fire. The content available is no longer being updated and may no longer be applicable. [102] McCain said the ambush was "a direct result" of budget sequestration. [104], In October 2017, Defense Secretary James Mattis said that the ambush was "considered unlikely". [121] On 27 October, The New York Times editorial board wrote that "the lack of clarity about the Niger operation is one more reason for Congress to replace the 2001 law authorizing military force against Al Qaeda with legislation to address current threats like the Islamic State, limit American interventions, and ensure regular congressional oversight". The two remained with Black's body and further assessed his wounds. First Class Jeremiah Johnson posthumously received the Bronze Star with Valor. [129], On 26 October, Dunford announced that Army Major General Roger Cloutier would lead the investigation into the ambush. This account was disputed by Trump, who said that he "had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife" and accused Wilson of "fabricating" her account. The investigators learned that Wright jumped back into the vehicle and slowly began driving south while Staff Sgts. [55] Within three to four hours after the soldiers called in for support, a French special operations team arrived at the scene. Djibouti: April 2016 September 2016 The Americans and their Nigerien partners fought back fiercely, but they were outnumbered and outgunned. They tried a textbook maneuver to end the threat. In addition to the summary, the Pentagon released an abbreviated version of an animated video prepared by AFRICOM depicting the firefight. ", "What Are U.S. Honoring those who fought and died in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom Army Commendation Medal w/C Device The families of four soldiers killed in an October 2017 ambush in Tongo Tongo, Niger, have started receiving posthumous medals on the soldiers' behalves. [61] While in school, Black learned to play chess and, by the sixth grade, had earned a national ranking. Helene Cooper, Thomas Gibbons-Neff & Eric Schmitt, Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Defense Department briefing with Pentagon spokesperson Dana White and Joint Staff Director Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, 12 October 2017, Statements by US Secretary of Defense James Mattis regarding the 4 Oct. incident in Niger, 19 October 2017, Defense Department briefing with Dana White and Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, 19 October 2017, Operation Enduring Freedom Trans Sahara, "An Operation in Niger Went Fatally Awry. On the anniversary of the Oct. 4, 2017, ambush that killed four American soldiers near the village of Tongo Tongo, Niger, .
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