"held off enemy troops for more than 30 minutes with a high-powered belt-fed machine gun." I bet he ran out of ammo, that's what the popular press says when a machine gun stop working.
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[url]http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/05/17/ret.seal.death/index.html[/url]

CNN.com - Report details SEAL's last stand in Afghanistan - May 17, 2002

Report details SEAL's last stand in Afghanistan

A classifed reports estimates that Petty Officer Neil Roberts
held off enemy troops for more than 30 minutes.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Navy SEAL survived a fall from a U.S. helicopter
March 4 and fought off enemy fighters for over 30 minutes before being
killed at close range when his gun jammed, according to a classified
report.
Petty Officer Neil Roberts died in the opening hours of Operation
Anaconda, a mission targeting Taliban and al Qaeda in eastern Afghanistan.

A source familiar with the report said Roberts was thrown from the
helicopter as it lurched violently after being hit by rocket-propelled
grenades. In April, a classified internal Special Forces report said the
MH-47 Chinook helicopter was trying to drop off troops, including Roberts,
on a ridge when it came under fire.
Roberts, the source said, had unhooked his safety harness because he was
preparing to be the first off the aircraft. The tail gunner, who was
tethered to the aircraft, was also thrown from the helicopter but was
pulled back in.

The classified report described Friday estimates Roberts, the only U.S. or
allied soldier on the ground, held off enemy troops for more than 30
minutes with a high-powered belt-fed machine gun.
Roberts was overrun and killed at close range -- a shooting some of his
colleagues have described as an execution -- when his weapon jammed. He
was dead by the time a six-man rescue team arrived on the scene, an
official said.
The team, believing the SEAL was still alive, came under heavy fire when
it reached the site. One member of this rescue group, Air Force Technical
Sgt. John Chapman, was killed by gunfire.
Four more men died in a second rescue effort, including Senior Airman
Jason Cunningham, who was on his first combat mission. The fighting did
not end until U.S. Air Force gunships came in and attacked the al Qaeda
mortar positions, and U.S. personnel had cleared the area within 12 hours
after arriving.
The military plans to give summaries of the report to relatives of those
killed in the mission, followed by a congressional briefing. Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may ultimately decide whether the full report
ever becomes public.
U.S. troops have since named the area where the March 4 fighting took
place "Roberts Ridge," in memory of their fallen comrade.

© 2002 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.

"held off enemy troops for more than 30 minutes with a high-powered belt-fed machine gun."




OOH-RAH!!!

If I were that pilot, I'd have had a tough time leaving.  Is this the fight where the air support didn't show up on time?

I'm sure the confusion was incredible - unexpected heavy resistance on the LZ, taking RPG hits and MG fire, a guy tossed off and having to be hauled in.  They probably did not not realize Roberts was gone for a while after they aborted.  Sh!t happens in combat, unfortunately.  The sad part of it is they were surprised, with all the recon capabilities we have over there.  That should never have happened.

Usually the press reserves the term "high-powered" as an attempt to compare certain civilian weapons to their military counterparts.  This time it [b]is[/b] a military weapon, thus no need to put "high-powered" in the definition.

Did that make sense?

Makes sense to me because I was thinking the same thing.


Forgive me if I don't swallow everything CNN tries to feed me.

I still don't know if Petty Officer Roberts ran out of ammo or if his gun jammed. Really, it's inmaterial.

What does matter is he died on his feet. He didn't throw up is hands and surrendered like lesser men would and have done.

He behaved like the quintessential American Hero. And THAT is what really matters.



[marines]

Never have the words,



been more fitting.

Well said JonnieGTyler, Well said. I am sure the enemy paid a price for his sacrifice. Special Ops do not know the meaning of the word "quit"

[img]http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2002/timeline.servicemen.deaths/images/story.neil.roberts.jpg[/img]

-T.

He probably ran out of ammo. After 30 minutes blasting away with an M249/M240 you'd be out of ammo too.