In essence, Washington Green was a second Operation Fairfax, but without the presence of ARVN regulars. The rifle companies suffered 51% losses in just one month, Murphy wrote. While there, he consumed extremists propaganda from O9A and the Islamic State. 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. 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. 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. On Nov. 20, 1967, Pfc. (U.S. Army video by Sgt. to Italy as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade . . Mississippi, Utah, and South Dakota in the last month have approved bans on health care providers offering gender-affirming care to minors, the report said. At that time, he consumed propaganda from several extremist groups. According to survivors, he was on his knees giving last rites to a dying paratrooper when the bombs hit, killing him instantly. "Jurors found Peters guilty of obstruction of government operations but acquitted her on a charge of obstruction of a peace officer. [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. While several of its units, including the 2-503rd and A/3-319th were ordered to Tuy Ha to repair and refit,[64][65] the 173rd was transferred to Camp Radcliff in An Kh and Bong Son areas during 1968, seeing very little action while the combat ineffective elements of the brigade were rebuilt. The staff judge advocate from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, also based in Vicenza, helped investigate Melzer, and a picture included in his now unsealed criminal complaint indicates he was a . The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army Contingency Response Force in Europe, capable of projecting ready forces anywhere in the U.S. European, Africa or Central Commands' areas of responsibility within 18 hours. As the father of four young boys, I know that childhood is as special as it is short. We need to let kids be kids, and our laws need to set appropriate boundaries that respect the rights and responsibilities of parents, while protecting children from the serious health, safety, and welfare consequences of social agendas that are totally inconsistent with how the overwhelming majority of parents want to raise their children.. We were surrounded, and we were firing in all directions.. Melzer, who held the rank of private while in the Army, was a member of the Order of Nine Angles, a Neo-Nazi and Satanic organization which has praised both Adolf Hitler and al-Qaeda. If the allegations are true in the Dominion filing, "this is precisely what Murdoch provided to the Trump campaign," he said. Online. 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. Of the 3,200 paratroopers from the 173rd deployed to Dak To, 27% were either killed (208) or wounded (645). The unit was supposed to guard an isolated, sensitive military base. Battle for Hill 875 - or the Siege of Dak To - The 2nd battalion of the 173rd Airborne Brigade with over 300 soldiers advanced up this hill with artillery . Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The first of the separate brigades was the 172nd Infantry Brigade, activated in 1998. In 2020 he was told he would be transferred to a sensitive base in Turkey, which is when he allegedly began plotting the attack. [129], Captain Willard, a fictional character portrayed by Martin Sheen in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now, was a member of the 173rd assigned to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group. [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. [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. The Department of Justice described his enlistment as an infiltration. Melzer and O9A also transmitted this information to a purported member of al Qaeda in order to "maximize" the chances of an attack on his unit or future units at the location, the Justice Department said Friday. He was arrested in June 20020 and pleaded guilty in 2022. [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. 1st Cavalry Division units1st Bn., 12th Cav Regt., and 2nd Bn., 8th Cavalryalso played a part in the campaign. Eric Melzer, a 24-year-old from Kentucky, shared location and layout information about a sensitive U.S. military installation to the violent, anti-government, neo-Nazi organization Order of Nine Angles. A former U.S. Army soldier was sentenced to 45 years in prison for attempting to provide a Europe-based neo-Nazi, Satanist, and pro-jihadist group by giving it classified information to attack his. "Combat Operations After Action Report, Operation GREELEY." Under the bill Republican state Sen. Clay Yarborough introduced Friday, any court could intervene if a child is receiving gender-affirming care, the report said. He and others then passed these messages to a purported member of al-Qaida, according to the Justice Department. She is the spouse of an Army veteran and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism. The source of the debate strategy information possibly from reporting not yet publicly revealed or somehow indicated in the ads wasn't immediately clear. [50], In response to the destruction of Alpha Company, MACV ordered additional forces into the area. They were ambushed by approximately 1,200 VC fighters, suffering 48 deaths. [46] During the battle, the brigade operated out of the northeastern part of the war zone along with the 196th Infantry Brigade (Separate), as four other brigades from the 1st and 25th Infantry Divisions attempted to surround and destroy the 9th Division in the War Zone. [3][4] The remaining units of the 173rd were inactivated. [Y]ou just gotta understand that currently I am risking my literal free life to give you all this, he told members of O9A on an encrypted messaging application. (47.9 32.5 cm), Frame (outer): 26 3/8 20 3/8 1 1/4 in. IE 11 is not supported. Prior to its deployment to the highlands, Peers' operations officer, Colonel William J. Livsey, attempted to warn the Airborne officers of the hazards of campaigning in the Central Highlands. In approximately October 2019, MELZER deployed abroad with the Army to Italy as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. (47.9 32.5 cm) [85] Operation Iraqi Freedom began on 20 March with V Corps, consisting of the 101st Airborne Division, 82nd Airborne Division, and 3rd Infantry Division making a forceful push from the south, beginning the Iraq War. In fact, the first significant contacts were made by its elements on Nov. 3-4 around Hill 1338. Deadly Prelude The Battle of Dak To was actually a series of intense clashes culminating in the decisive battle for Hill 875. 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 . The following day was spent in launching airstrikes and a heavy artillery bombardment against the hilltop, totally denuding it of cover. [3] This was the brigade's fifth deployment since 2003, their fourth to Afghanistan as they prepare for a complete transition of the security of Afghanistan to the Afghan National Security Forces. [3][5][25] During their time in Okinawa, they prided themselves as the "toughest fighting men in Okinawa, if not the entire U.S. Armed Forces". Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division. From April 1969 until its withdrawal from South Vietnam in 1971, the brigade served in Bnh nh Province. [5] It was a subordinate unit of the U.S. Army's VCorps and after June 2013, subordinate to US Army Europe. The 173rd Airborne Brigade fielded the 1st, 2nd and 4th battalions of the 503rd Inf. Regt ., and supporting units such as the 335th Aviation Company. [106] The brigade repositioned the base three days later. Melzer was taken into custody by the FBI on June 10, 2020. Melzer, a private, was assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, which was deployed to Italy. 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. 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. In October 2019, Melzer and his unit were deployed to Italy as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Matthew J.C. Hellman and Kimberly J. Ravener for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by Trial Attorneys Alicia Cook of the National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section and Scott Claffee of the National Security Divisions Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. Ethan Phelan Melzer, 24, from Kentucky, planned a jihadist attack on his U.S. Army unit just before he was to deploy to Turkey and sent information about his unit's location, movements, and security to members of the extremist organization Order of the Nine Angles (O9A), a white supremacist, neo-Nazi and pro-jihadist group. This photo provided by the Justice Department seized from an iCloud account belonging to former Army Pvt. [W]ho gives a f---? he wrote. Supported by A/2-503, the Americans moved up the hill and set up for the night. . The 173rd had been operating near Bien Hoa Air Base outside Saigon and had been in combat only against the VC. 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. During this operation multiple buildings belonging to the airfield were secured. Silver Falcon 23 is a bilateral exercise between the United States and Cyprus and is designed to enhance interoperability between both nations militaries to ensure they are prepared for any contingency, particularly those involving crisis response and non-combatant evacuation operations. Federal prosecutors alleged that Melzer intended to spark a jihadist terror attack on his own unit or any other that took up its location in order to undermine the United States abroad and further the goals of O9A, a largely United Kingdom-based group that has sympathized with al Qaeda. The other hit C Companys command post and aid station. The DUI was also inscribed "Sky Soldiers" as homage to the nickname that the Taiwanese soldiers had given them. [7] The 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry colors were moved to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina to serve under the 82nd Airborne Division. [110] The brigade returned in early 2013. The memo depicted Melzer as a product of neglect, abuse and a troubled family who found himself "in thrall to a bizarre satanic cult" and doubled down on his involvement when subjected to a Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 on base, where he was " drinking heavily, and spending far too much time online.". Ethan Melzer infiltrated the U.S. Army in service of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and jihadist group, said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. "Ethan Melzer infiltrated the U.S. Army in service of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and jihadist group. The draws between the ridges are dreary, tangled places of perpetual twilight. It was the first U.S. Army. [5][7][24] This was a significant change as it signified the ability for the brigade to deploy its forces and sustain itself with its newly integrated support teams. The 173rd Support Battalion and the 173rd Combat Support Company provided logistical support from Kandahar, while sending individual soldiers to assist at other forward operating bases. The attached Assault Helicopter Company, the 335th AHC, the "Cowboys", deployed with the brigade all over Vietnam into mid-1968 and comprised the Airmobile capability along with the Caspers. Two more companies arrived after dark and provided much-needed food and water to the exhausted troopers. Melzer traitorously sought to attack the very soldiers he was entrusted to protect.. Conetto, Al, "In the Beginning, there was the Hump,". Washington Green proved to be the final American campaign in Bnh nh Province, and its greatest achievement may have been in training an impressive number of territorial and paramilitary forces. The 173rd Airborne Brigade deployed to Afghanistan in March 2005 under the command of Colonel Kevin Owens, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. 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. Unknown to the Americans, they had walked into a carefully prepared ambush by the 2nd Battalion of the 174th PAVN Regiment. According to the Department of Justice, Melzer, 24, communicated not only with O9A members but also alleged members of al-Qaeda. The battalion lost 12 KIA. Manage Preferences [citation needed], In mid-2013, some of the returning forces reorganized and re-designated the 173rd Airborne Brigade. All rights reserved. [98] On 21 February 2004, the brigade returned to Italy for a one-year rest before a new deployment.[5]. Div., at Dak To. [113], In March 2015, a 173rd Airborne battalion of around 600 American paratroopers headed to Ukraine to train Ukrainian national guard troops. 738 173rd Airborne Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE Collections Project #ShowUs Creative Insights Custom Content EDITORIAL VIDEO BBC Motion Gallery NBC News Archives MUSIC BLOG BROWSE PRICING BOARDS CART SIGN IN Editorial Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO All Stanton, Vietnam Order of Battle, pp. [76] Supported by the 1st Infantry Division and the 10th Special Forces Group, the 4th Infantry Division was to assemble in Turkey and use its heavy mechanized brigades to attack through Tikrit and eventually assist V Corps, which would attack from the south, in surrounding Baghdad. If you served in 173rd Airborne Brigade, Join TWS for free to reconnect with service friends. It is a merciless land of steep limestone ridges, some of them exceeding 4,000 feet, wrote Robert Barr Smith in, Vietnam magazine. This work, B-Roll Package: Squad Ambush with Cypriot Troops, by SGT Mariah Gonzalez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright. Hebert's patrol was caught in a midnight ambush as it crossed what has become known the "Bridge of Death." In 2019, he deployed to Italy as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, prosecutors said. Short Range Ambush Platoon 1968 - 1969. Legal Statement. 74th LRS operated out of FOB Price near the town of Gereshk in the Helmand Province. On 1 December 1951, the troop was inactivated and released from its assignment to the 87th Infantry Division. Sky Soldiers that died in the service of their country while in Iraq. [3][30] The brigade, organized as Task Force Bayonet, assumed control of Regional Command-South (RC South). It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic response force for Europe. One of these was the 101st Airborne Division, which had also been redeployed to Fort Campbell. Some 15 Army artillery batteries along with tactical air support provided immense firepower. Ambush by VC Foiled, March 1970 Ambush by VC Foiled from Vol. Five times troopers tried to hold him back, yet Watters persisted in aiding and carrying the wounded back to safety. However, in the long run the operation appeared no more successful than Fairfax's efforts to clean up Gia Dinh Province around Saigon prior to the Tet Offensive. [82] The brigade would take off from Aviano Air Base in Italy, a 4.mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}12-hour flight from northern Iraq. Regt., and supporting units such as the 335th Aviation Company. Want to write for Task & Purpose? . He was arrested by the FBI on June 10, 2022 after investigators claimed he gave sensitive military information to the Order of Nine Angles, a British neo-Nazi Satanist group with pro-Jihadi views that encourages extreme violence in an effort to destabilize society and attempts to overthrow what it views as Jewish control of global culture and economics. Market data provided by Factset. verso bottom right in pencil "Ambush of 173rd airborne / Iron Triangle 9/1965", Signed in pencil on verso lower right: "Tim Page 8/25", Circular stamp on verso lower right: "chromacolour.com.au * / ARCHIVAL / ILFOCHROME / CLASSIC", Image: 18 3/8 12 3/8 in. 16 December 1967. Melzer also wrote that he was expecting results and was willing to die to further the agenda of the Order of the Nine Angles. . 2/503rd 2014-2015 [78] VCorps was not able to surround Baghdad as quickly as it had hoped because of a lack of available forces in the north. The 3rd Battalion, 503rd joined the brigade at Tuy Ha Province in September 1967 following the former's activation and training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. [82], On 26 March 2003, 954 soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade conducted a combat jump from C-17 aircraft onto Bashur Airfield in Northern Iraq[3][86] under the command of Colonel Mayville. I wouldve died successfully . [144], NATO Training exercise incident in Bulgaria. Ethan Melzer displays personal effects, including paraphernalia associated with the extremist group Order of the Nine Angles. Legal Statement. [67]:396400, The unit then served in An Kh until mid-1969, seeing little in the way of heavy fighting. In September 2014, about 200 soldiers of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Regiment, 173rd BDE participated in the Rapid Trident exercise near Lviv in western Ukraine. [5] The infantry battalions and the brigade headquarters remained in Vicenza, Italy through the transition. In a strictly military sense, the Dak To fighting has been a victory for the allied forces, war correspondent Peter Arnett was forced to admit in an Associated Press report filed after spending 10 days at the scene. The military has been dealing with an extremism problem for years, specifically far-right extremism, which has garnered increased attention recently. Barnes manned a machine gun after its crew had been killed. 88, 93. [26][31] As larger US Army commands were established in Vietnam, the brigade was assigned to the IIICorps and IICorps tactical zone, which they would serve in for the next six years. Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today. Melzer, who also went by the name Etil Reggad, enlisted in the Army in 2018 as part of an insight role to further his goals as part of the terrorist organization, according to the Justice Department. [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. The LRS detachment was also tasked at times for recon and intel gathering for other brigade assets, and target acquisition and designation for U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and RAF aircraft. (46.7 31.4 cm), Sheet: 18 7/8 12 13/16 in. The acrid odor of decaying and rotting flesh combined with the smells of vomit, feces, urine, blood, gunpowder and napalm etched itself permanently into the memories of those who were on Hill 875, Murphy wrote. In an interview with FBI agents, he admitted being a traitor against the U.S. and confessed that he planned to cause the mass casualties of U.S. service members. Consequently, the HHC 173rd Infantry Brigade was designated as the 87th Reconnaissance Troop in February 1942 and activated on 15 December 1942. Members and associates of O9A have also participated in acts of violence, including murders. It was then, they contend, that Melzer broadened his extremism diet, consuming propaganda from the group then known as ISIS, or the Islamic State. The jungle is laced with vines and thorns, and in it live diverse snakes, a million leeches and about half the mosquitoes in the world. Another historian called the terrain probably the wildest in South Vietnam if not all Southeast Asia., CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR SOCIETY PHOTOS. no news. McKinney. The next day, American forces advanced to Kirkuk during Operation Option North, hoping to control oil fields and military airfields in and around the city. Police detained Peters as she allegedly tried to stop an officer from taking the iPad. [108] 42 soldiers from the brigade lost their lives during the deployment. Nva Kia, Dong Lach, After Unsuccessful Attempt to Free POWs. Since its reactivation in 2000, the brigade served five tours in the Middle East in support of the War on Terror. Regt. (Department of Justice). U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade and Cypriot troops train on the M4A1, Tavor x95, MG3, Negev 7.62, and RPG-7V in Larnaca . A former Army private who pleaded guilty last year to plotting to murder members of his own unit with help from satanic neo-Nazis was sentenced today to 45 years in prison, the Justice Department announced. Before this heroic act, according to his citation, Barnes dashed through the bullet-swept area, manned the machine gun [the team had been killed] and killed nine enemy soldiers as they assaulted his position..