On August 6, 2011 a Chinook helicopter was shot down by Taliban forces in the Wardak Province of Afghanistan killing 38 lives. The following are some pretty significant numbers and facts relating to the crash. On board were a total of 22 Navy SEALs, 2 members of Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD), 5 Air Force crew members, 7 Afghanistan military, 1 Afghan interpreter and 1 dog. This is the single deadliest helicopter crash to date that America’s armed forces have suffered in this war. The Seals that gave their lives were from Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), also known as SEAL Team Six. Although not the same troops that are responsible for Osama Bin Laden’s capture, they are apart of the same group. More SEALs were killed in this single event than in any other dating back to WWII.
Preceding August 6, 2011 the largest SEAL casualties were seen in Operation Red Wings, were a SEAL team of four men were pinned down in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan. a Chinook helicopter that had an additional 8 SEALs and 8 Air Force personnel was shot down while trying to aid in the rescue of the four SEALs. All were killed in the Mission but one SEAL, Marcus Luttrell. LuttrelL went on to write a book, Lone Survivor, that tells the story through his eyes of what happened during the mission and the men that died that day. Among the men that died, was Medal of Honor recipient Micheal Murphy, where we get the famous “Murph” hero WOD, and Micheal Mcgreevy; the hero WOD “Micheal” and Jeff Taylor who also has a hero WOD named after him, “JT”. I highly recommend to read this book. It is extremely moving and it gives you a first hand account of what the men went through that day.
Our community has close ties to our Military, Police and Fire Communities. Many of us CrossFitter’s are in this line of work. I know we are all aware of the different Hero WOD’s that come up every now and then. It may be easy to see why we have workouts for these men that have died in the line of duty. but I think it is important to touch on this message and to make sure it gets across loud and clear. These workouts are intended to be very hard. They should put you into the “Suck Zone”. They should push you physically as well as mentally, more than just our daily WOD’s. We can never pay enough tribute to our fallen heroes in one workout, but I like to think of it as our way of paying our silent respects. For these men that have died for you and I to live free, we can show a small piece of gratitude to their legacy. When a Hero WOD comes up, there is a story behind it. All had families, all had given their lives in the line of duty. Use this as motivation when you find yourself on that last round trying to gut it out. I, like many of the other coaches as CFSB, will try to make it a point to give our classes a little background of the man that is behind the hero WOD posted for that day.
In response to the helicopter crash on August 6, Coach Paul and Myself have decided to pay a small tribute and put ourselves through a week of only hero WOD’s. We have also created our own hero workout that we will be performing today. we will be doing it at 2 0′clock and if anyone wants to attend feel free.
“30 Minutes to Freedom”
Insertion: 2.2 mile run
3o min AMRAP
30 KB Swings (1.5/1)
30 burpees
30 pullups
30 pushups
Extraction: 2,200m Row
Names of the SEALs that gaves their lives on August 6, 2011.
Vaughn, Aaron Carson
Strange, Michael
Brown, John W.
Mills, Matthew
Houston, Kevin
Ratzlaff, Tommy
Reeves, Robert James
Kelsall, Jonas
Bill, Brian
Workman, Jason
Tumilson, Jon T
Spehar, Nicholas
Nichols, Bryan
Mason, Matthew
Langlais, Lou
Campbell, Christopher
Douangdara, Johnny
Benson, Darrik
Robinson, Heath
Pittman, Jesse
Vickers, Kraig
Null, Nick
If anyone feels they want to give more donations can be made through:
It is important that civilians understand what our military personnel go through. The men and families of the military sacrifice so much for the American people, it is imperative we show our respects. Remember the men you are honoring during a hero WOD. They gave the ultimate sacrifice, the least we can do is show how much we appreciate them.
WORKOUT OF THE DAY 8/10/2011
“McGee”