160th SOAR (SGT Philip Svitak) Bracelet [The Benjamin Foundation]

 You are bidding on handmade 550 Paracord Survival Bracelet. These are 160th SOAR bracelets in memory SGT. Philip Svitak who was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment, Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed during a rescue mission during Operation Anaconda on March 4, 2002, in Afghanistan. We are trying to raise money for our nonprofit foundation. The Benjamin Foundation advocates for father's rights in Washington State, and works in domestic violence victim advocacy for women, children and minorities. All proceeds go towards pursuing our efforts to reunite fathers with their children and help families stay amicable following a divorce or separation.

This bracelet is blue and gray with a blue stripe. The standard design is just under 9 inches. Standard bracelets use about 10 feet of paracord. [This item can be custom sized to order. Most wrists sizes vary between 7.5 inches and 9 inches. This item can be made smaller or larger.] Please note your preference at time of checkout.

The Hero from Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri

Enlisted in 1989, as a 67U (Medium Helicopter Repairman)

Left the Army on 1994, returned in 1998.

A/2/160

MH-47, #92-00475 "Razor One"

Takur Ghar, Gardez, Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda

Hostile

Razor One succumbed to small arms fire, and RPGs.

Final Resting Place: Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery, Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri

Nebraska Wing of Civil Air Patrol Cadet Emergency Service medal is named for him.

“Phil was the best of the best. He gave his life for me, for you and for his country.”

Phil Svitak's aircraft came under heavy machine gun fire and received a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade. He was killed during active combat.

 

The Battle of Takur Ghar was a short but intense military engagement between United States special operations forces and Taliban insurgents fought in March 2002, atop Takur Ghar mountain, Afghanistan. For the U.S. side, the battle proved the deadliest entanglement of Operation Anaconda, an effort early in the war in Afghanistan to rout Taliban forces from the Shahi-Kot Valley and Arma Mountains. The battle saw three helicopter landings by the U.S. on the mountain top, each greeted by direct assault from Taliban forces. Although Takur Ghar was eventually taken, eight U.S. soldiers were killed and many wounded. In honour of the first casualty of the battle, Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts, the battle is also known as the Battle of Roberts Ridge.

The battle

In the late evening of March 3, Lieutenant Colonel Blaber, commander of the AFO task force, received notice from Brigadier General Gregory Trebon , commander of TF 11, that two SEAL teams were to arrive in Gardez for immediate insertion into the Shahi-Kot Valley. The two SEAL teams, Mako 30 and Mako 21, planned to establish an observation point on the peak of Takur Ghar, which commanded the Shahi-Kot valley. Due to time constraints, a helicopter insertion would be needed for the teams to reach the peak before dawn. The AFO forces suggested insertion at a point 1300 meters east of the peak, but circumstances led the SEALs to choose the peak itself as the insertion point.

The two teams were picked up by two MH-47 Chinook helicopters, Razor 03 and Razor 04, at 11:23 PM on March 3. However, Razor 03 experienced engine difficulties, and two new MH-47s were dispatched to replace the original helicopters. This delay meant that the SEALs could not be inserted into the LZ east of the peak until 2:30 AM on March 4, with not enough time to reach the peak before daylight. In the fractured command situation at the time, Blaber was not notified that the SEALs were planning to insert at the peak in order.

An AC-130 gunship, Nail 22, flew a reconnaissance mission over the peak prior to the landing and saw no enemy activity, but was called away to support other troops before Razor 03 and 04 arrived at the Landing Zone (LZ). At around 0245 hours, Razor 03 landed at the LZ and was immediately struck in the left side electrical compartment by an RPG. The stricken helicopter took off, but Petty Officer First Class Neil C. Roberts fell out of the open ramp. Razor 03 attempted to return and retrieve him, but the damage prevented proper control and the helicopter was forced to crash-land in the valley approximately 4 miles away. Razor 04 returned to the peak to attempt to rescue Roberts, offloading Mako 30. The team came under immediate fire, and Air Force combat controller Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman was believed killed and two SEALs wounded. Mako 30 was forced off the peak due to its losses and requested the assistance of the Ranger quick-reaction force located at Bagram Air Base, led by Captain Nate Self.

The quick reaction force (QRF) consisted of 19 Rangers, a Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), and a three-man USAF special tactics team carried by two Chinooks, Razor 01 and Razor 02. Due to satellite communications difficulties, Razor 01 was mistakenly directed to the "hot" LZ on the peak at 33°20′34″N 69°12′49″E. As Air Force rules prohibited AC-130 aircraft from remaining in hostile airspace in daylight after the crash of an AC-130 in Khafji in the Gulf War, the AC-130 support protecting Mako 30 was forced to leave before Razor 01 reached the LZ. Further communications difficulties meant that the pilot of the AC-130 was unaware that Razor 01 was incoming. At approximately 0610 hours, Razor 01, under the command of Captain Nate Self, reached the landing zone. The aircraft immediately began taking fire, and the right door minigunner, Sergeant Phillip Svitak, was killed by small arms fire. A RPG then hit the helicopter, destroying the right engine and forcing it to crash land. As the Rangers and special tactics team exited the aircraft, Private First Class Matt Commons, posthumously promoted to Corporal, Sergeant Brad Crose, and Specialist Marc Anderson were killed. The surviving crew and quick-reaction force took cover in a hillock and a fierce firefight began.

Razor 02, which had been diverted to Gardez as Razor 01 was landing on Takur Ghar, returned with the rest of the quick-reaction force at 0625 hours. Razor 02 inserted the other half of the QRF with its force of 10 Rangers at an “offset” landing zone, down the mountain some 800 meters east and over 2,000 feet below the mountaintop. The Rangers’ movement up the hill was a physically demanding 2-hour effort under heavy mortar fire and in thin mountain air. They climbed the 45-70 degree slope, most of it covered in three feet of snow, weighted down by their weapons, body armor and equipment. By 1030 am local time, the men arrived completely exhausted, with the enemy at the top of the hill a mere 50 meters from their position. As the ten men of Razor 02 arrived, the Rangers prepared to assault the enemy positions. As the Air Force CCT called in a last airstrike on the enemy bunkers and with two machineguns providing suppression fire, seven Rangers stormed the hill as quickly as they could in the knee-deep snow - shooting and throwing grenades. Within minutes, the Rangers took the hill, killing several Taliban fighters.

The force was able to consolidate its position on the peak. An enemy counterattack midday mortally wounded Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham, a pararescueman. The wounded were refused medevac during the daylight hours, due to risk of another downed helicopter. However, Australian SAS soldiers had infiltrated nearby prior to the first helicopter crash as part of a long range reconnaissance mission. They remained undetected in an observation post through the firefight and proved critical in co-ordinating multiple Coalition air strikes to prevent the Taliban fighters from overrunning the downed aircraft. This, plus the actions of the two SASR operators working with the 10th Mountain, earned the commander of the Australian SAS force in Afghanistan the U.S. Bronze Star for his unit's outstanding contribution to the war on terrorism.

At around 2000 hours, the quick-reaction force and Mako 30 were exfiltrated from the Takur Ghar peak. As a result of this action, both Technical Sergeant Chapman and Senior Airman Cunningham were awarded the Air Force Cross, the second highest award for bravery. U.S. and Afghan sources believe at least 200 Taliban fighters were killed during the initial assault and subsequent rescue mission.

[edit] Fate of Chapman and Roberts

It is not certain whether the airman and sailor died immediately or were killed by opposing soldiers. There is a possibility that Roberts was captured by the Taliban fighters, and executed later with a single shot to the back of the head. (One of the feeds showed a group of 8–10 fighters huddling around what appeared to be a body; both GRIM 32 and MAKO 30 noted that an IR strobe was active, a video feed showed the fighters passing the IR strobe around.)^[1] This report has not been confirmed. MG Frank Hagenbeck did confirm that Taliban fighters were seen (on live video feed from a Predator drone orbiting the firefight) chasing Roberts, and later dragging his body away from the spot where he fell. Another feed from the same predator showed a puff of heat [from a rifle] and the indistinct figure in front of it fall.^[2] Also, the quick-reaction soldiers reported fighters wearing Roberts' gear and finding "a helmet with a bullet hole in it, [from which] it was clear the last person [Roberts] to wear it had been shot in the head".^[3] Other reports have Roberts surviving for nearly an hour and inflicting serious casualties on opposing forces with his pistol and grenades before his death.^[4]

Predator drone footage also shows the possibility that Chapman was alive and fighting on the peak after the SEALs left rather than being killed outright as thought by Mako 30. A man was seen fighting in a bunker against multiple enemies until hit by an RPG. If this man was Chapman, he succumbed "a mere 45 seconds before... Razor 01 appeared over the mountaintop".^[3]

Note: A paper written by Col. Andrew Milani (Former commander of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment) and Dr. Stephen D. Biddle entitled "Pitfalls of Technology: A Case Study of the battle of Takur Ghar" noted that the Predator was on station 90 minutes after Roberts had fallen; the images that were shot before the Predator had arrived were shot by GRIM-32's Infrared Cameras,^[5] although this has not been confirmed by commanders.

[edit] U.S. casualties

USN SEALs:
Petty Officer 1st Class Neil C. Roberts, born 1970, Woodland, California

USAF COMBAT CONTROL:
TSgt John A. Chapman, born 1965, Springfield, Massachusetts

USAF PARARESCUE:
SrA Jason D. Cunningham, born 1976, Carlsbad, New Mexico

USA RANGERS:
PFC Matthew A. Commons, born 1981, Boulder City, Nevada
SGT Bradley S. Crose, born 1980, Orange Park, Florida
SPC Marc A. Anderson, born 1972, Brandon, Florida

USA 160th SOAR:
SGT Phillip "Spytech" Svitak, born 1971, Neosho, Missouri

We provide mediation services to both fathers and mothers who wish to resolve the complicated and delicate issues regarding children and custody and residential time, following a divorce or separation. It is our hope that through our guidance and assistance fathers and mothers can find a way to maintain a respectful and functional and courteous relationship for the sake of their children, without the necessity of court intervention. We provide guidance and assistance throughout the process of divorce and separation, facilitation and guidance in the preparation of court forms and filings, explanations as to the processes involving the court, and assistance in preparation of parenting plans and parentage actions. We further provide referrals to local attorneys who specialize in Family Law, as well as counselors and other professionals who may provide additional services and guidance throughout the process of a divorce or a separation. We provide these services to both fathers and mothers in an effort to provide the best options and alternatives to court actions, in order to preserve the foundational elements of family, with a focus on the health of children who require both fathers and mothers as a foundation to their social and emotional development from infancy throughout adolescence. It is our hope, that through support, donations, and fundraising, that we will be able to provide legal assistance to fathers who are unable to bear the financial costs associated with attorney's fees and court costs, who wish to be reunited with their children. We also hope to legislate for changes in laws within the State of Washington, in an effort to address the element of "equality" within the law, and a recognition of father's rights to equal access to their children. The Benjamin Foundation's purpose is to ensure that children are able to experience a childhood with both parents, and that equal access to their children is available to both fathers and mothers alike.

In brief, you should know the following about us: our foundation was established in 2009 to address advocacy for victim's of violence, with a focus on domestic violence, women, children and minorities. In 2010, the focus of the foundation was altered to address advocacy for father's rights in Washington State, due to the founder's own experience with being denied access to his son by his son's mother during and after a separation, and learning that father's rights are not recognized in the State of Washington. Through our sister foundation, LAW: Legal Advocacy for Victim's of Violence, we continue to address advocacy efforts for victim's of violence, restorative justice, and the protections for women, children and minorities who have found themselves the victim's of domestic violence. It is the hope and intention of the founders, to be able to provide services to families in Washington State, in an effort to preserve the dignity of all those involved in a divorce and separation, with a focus on the emotional health of the children involved, and equal access to both parents as a foundation to their children's health and future well being.