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ROBERTS, NEIL C. Name: Neil C. Roberts Other Personnel in Incident: 6 killed Source: 2002 POW NETWORK, Reuters News, FOX News. REMARKS: AFGHANISTAN/OPERATION ANACONDA |
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Al Qaeda Men Dragged Away U.S. Navy SEAL SIRKANKEL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - One of the helicopter-borne U.S. servicemen killed in battles in eastern Afghanistan in recent days fell into the hands of al Qaeda fighters, U.S. officers said on Tuesday. The officers said the Navy SEAL, Neil Roberts, 32, was left behind when his Chinook helicopter made a rushed take-off after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. "We saw him on the Predator being dragged off by three al Qaeda men," said Maj. Gen. Frank Hagenbeck, referring to an unmanned reconnaissance plane mounted with a real-time video camera. It was not immediately clear from pool accounts whether Roberts, a petty officer 1st class from Woodland, California, was already dead when the al Qaeda fighters dragged him off, or whether they killed him later. The body of Roberts, who was based in Norfolk, Virginia, with a Navy SEAL unit, was later recovered by U.S. troops and was found to have died of a bullet wound. Despite initial setbacks several hundred Taliban and al Qaeda fighters were killed Tuesday by Apache attack helicopters and Air Force fighters, Hagenbeck said. "On Tuesday we caught several hundred of them with RPGs and mortars heading toward the fight. We body slammed them today and killed hundreds of those guys," the general said. U.S. and Afghan forces met far stiffer resistance than expected in the mission to wipe out Taliban and al Qaeda troops holed up the mountains and caves in the Gardez region about 75 miles (120 km) south of Kabul, commanders and soldiers said. "I don't think we knew what we were getting into this time, but I think we're beginning to adjust," said Sgt. Maj. Mark Nielsen, 48, from Indianapolis. Roberts and at least seven other Americans have died in the fighting since Saturday and about 40 have been wounded. Six others died with Roberts after they were put down for battle by CH-47 Chinook helicopters. The operation, code-named Anaconda, had originally called for a small
detachment
of U.S. Special Forces to work with Gen. Zia Lodin, a local Afghan commander, to
enter the town of Sirkankel to flush out suspected al Qaeda and foreign Taliban But many U.S. and Afghan troops were pinned down for hours by the unexpectedly stiff resistance from the Taliban and al Qaeda. Early on the operation ran into problems when Zia was unable to enter
Sirkankel on
Saturday when his force of up to 450 men was caught in a mortar barrage killing
two
of his men, and wounding 24. One U.S. special operations soldier was killed in
that Elements of the 10th Mountain Division were pinned down Saturday after taking fire from the town of Marzak. Lt. Col. Frank LaCamera and a force of about 40 soldiers were caught in a 12-hour battle. Mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades landed as close as 15 yards to their position and 13 American soldiers were wounded. All the U.S. Apache helicopters flying air support during the first day of the battle were damaged. Several took direct hits from RPGs, but all were able to return to base. Also on Saturday, Col. Frank Wiercinski, a brigade commander for the 101st
Airborne, landed on a ridge to the south of Sirkankel to monitor the operation.
Soon
after landing, Wiercinski's detachment of about 11 men was attacked and pinned "We survived three mortar barrages during the day and at one point we had between nine and 10 al Qaeda coming to do us," he said. "But instead, we did them." |
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FOX NEWs Online 03/09/02 NORFOLK, Va. — The Navy SEAL who was slain after falling out of his stricken helicopter in Afghanistan wrote his wife an open-in-the-event-of-my-death letter in which he assured her: "I died doing what made me happy.""Although I sacrificed personal freedom and many other things, I got just as much as I gave. My time in the Teams was special," 32-year-old Neil Roberts wrote. "For all the times I was cold, wet, tired, sore, scared, hungry and angry, I had a blast." Roberts, a Norfolk-based petty officer 1st class from Woodland, Calif., was one of seven Americans who died Monday after U.S. helicopters were hit by enemy gunfire in Afghanistan. Roberts fell to the ground as his helicopter, hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, veered away toward safer ground. He apparently survived the fall and was shot on the ground. Whether he was dragged away by Al Qaeda fighters and shot to death, whether he was already dead when taken away, or whether he was wounded when taken and died later is unclear, said Gen. Tommy Franks, the U.S. war commander. The U.S. military encourages members to update their wills and otherwise get their personal affairs in order before they leave on assignment. The Roberts family is grieving in private, but friend Christina Kalassay released a portion of the letter because Roberts' widow, Patty, wanted to tell people a little bit about her husband, the father of her 18-month-old son. "Neil would want everyone to remember him as a loving husband and father, a loving son and brother, a true friend and warrior who never once questioned his commitment to his family or his country," Kalassay said in a statement. Roberts, who had a twin brother and 10 other siblings, wrote in his letter that he treasured his childhood and that his family's support and care made him the person he was. He also expressed how much being in the Navy meant to him. Following are the excerpts of the letter that were released: "I consider myself blessed with the best things a man could ever hope for. My childhood is something I'll always treasure. My family is the reason I'm the person I am today. They supported and cared for me in the best way possible. "The Navy, although I sacrificed personal freedom and many other things, I got just as much as I gave. My time in the Teams was special. For all the times I was cold, wet, tired, sore, scared, hungry and angry, I had a blast. The bad was balanced equally with the good. "All the times spent in the company of my teammates was when I felt the closest to the men I had the privilege to work with. I loved being a SEAL. If I died doing something for the Teams, then I died doing what made me happy. Very few people have the luxury of that." Donations to a fund that helps families of SEALs killed in action and offers
scholarships to children of SEALs may be
sent to the |
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NOTE: During the daily live Pentagon briefing after the incident, it was stated Roberts was captured and executed after falling off the helicopter. FOX NEWS reports his throat was slashed and he had a bullet in the back of his head - and had been seen running - being chased - by 3 Al Qaeda fighters. |
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Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 Apparently when the helicopter he was being transported in began taking fire
and had to make a radical tactical maneuver to avoid being shot down, 32 year
old Navy Seal, Petty Officer First Class Neil Roberts fell out. Nobody is exactly sure how. When something like that happens there is a lot of
movement, a lot of wind, and a hell of a lot of gravity. When they got closer
to the base and did a head count they were one member shy.
That incident happened in Afghanistan, a long way from the island of Cuba. On
the island of Cuba a couple of hundred captured Al Qaeda prisoners sit in
cells waiting for their lunch. A good Muslim lunch designed to incorporate
their traditional foods and to be respectful of Islam's dietary guidelines.
Just like their breakfasts and their suppers. They eat really good there in
Cuba. Most of them have put on some much needed weight. The weight they lost
while fighting against the soldiers who liberated Afghanistan. Most of them
have been through the camp infirmary. It is a fully functioning Army field
medical hospital where they receive the exact same medical care offered
members of the American military. More treatment, in fact, because in
addition to treating any injuries sustained during their capture, American
specialists have also treated orthopedic and cosmetic injuries sustained in
battle many months - and even years ago. All of the Al Qaeda detainees at GET SOME, Clinton Wisebaker |
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Alliance of Families Newsletter Bits 'n Pieces March 16, 2002 Was Navy Seal Neil Roberts Captured and Executed By Al Qaeda - That was the original report by commanders on site. According to first reports, Navy Seal Neil Roberts fell out of his helicopter but survived the fall. He was seen being taken away by Al Qaeda forces and subsequently executed. All this was filmed by an unmanned Predator aircraft. The following is excerpted from a New York Daily News article, by Richard Sisk, dated March 06, 2002 "Navy SEAL who fell from a helicopter during a mountain firefight was captured by Al Qaeda forces as his commanders watched helplessly on a drone's TV screen and later executed, U.S. battle commanders said yesterday." "We saw him on the Predator being dragged off by three Al Qaeda men," said Maj. Gen. Frank Hagenbeck, who watched the battle in real time by a transmission from a Predator spy drone overhead. Air Force commandos later recovered the body of Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts, 32, after a fierce 14-hour firefight Monday in which seven Americans were killed and two helicopters were lost..." ################### Pentagon spokespersons in Washington, immediately began to downplay this story saying they would need to investigate the incident before they could comment. According to a March 6th Associated Press article by Pauline Jelinek "Some details of the U.S. forces' deadliest day so far in the war in Afghanistan remain unclear, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, including whether a Navy SEAL was captured and murdered by al-Qaida. "We may never know," said Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld and the war's commander, Gen. Tommy Franks, were responding to reporters' questions about what they knew about the death of Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts of Woodland, Calif...." "Asked about reports from a field commander that Roberts had been dragged away by al-Qaida and shot dead, Franks said he wasn't sure. "I think there are a variety of possibilities of the way" Roberts may have died, he said...." "...Commanders watched as an unmanned Predator surveillance aircraft relayed live video of Roberts being taken away by al-Qaida members, said Maj. Gen. Frank Hagenbeck, commander of the operation to encircle and kill enemy fighters. "We saw him on the Predator being dragged off by three al-Qaida men," said Hagenbeck. "Roberts apparently survived the fall and was shot on the ground, said Marine Maj. Ralph Mills, speaking for the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla." "Whether he was taken away to be killed, was already dead when taken away or wounded when taken and died later remains unclear, Franks said Wednesday. "There will be a lot of views on this particular incident," Franks said. "I have talked to three, maybe four people, who were either present or have reviewed the result of this, and it would probably not surprise you that each of the three or four has a different view of what happened." "He cautioned that first and second reports can often prove wrong. "I'm not sure yet," he said. "And I think, as we work our way through this, we will come to some greater clarity." "Rumsfeld said details are not the point. "We know a fine American is dead," he said. "It is not whether the bullet hit him from ground fire while he was still in the helicopter or after he fell to the ground ... or after someone came up and shot him again. We may never know that." The existence of the Predator pictures was revealed by Hagenbeck in Afghanistan and not by Pentagon officials as they described the incident in briefings Monday and Tuesday...." ################### POW or Not - It is amazing to us that the eyewitness statement of Maj. Gen. Frank Hagenbeck, commander of the operation is not deemed a creditable eyewitness report of the capture of an American POW and his subsequent execution. Perhaps the Pentagon doesn't want to acknowledge a POW under any circumstances or are they isolated personnel or detainees..... Looks like evidence and eyewitness reports, including the report of the commanding officer, doesn't mean a thing. The more things change.... the more they stay the same.... |