Kelsall, Jonas B

Jonas B. Kelsall was a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy. He served with Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), an elite unit commonly known as SEAL Team Six. Kelsall was from Shreveport, Louisiana.

On August 6, 2011, Kelsall was aboard a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, on a mission in the Tangi Valley of Wardak province. The aircraft was reportedly transporting a quick reaction force. It was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade and crashed, killing all 38 people on board. The incident resulted in the single greatest loss of life for U.S. forces in the Afghanistan war.

Kelsall died during Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan that began in October 2001. The mission on August 6 was part of ongoing counter-insurgency operations against Taliban forces in the country's eastern provinces.

The Pentagon confirmed the deaths. A Navy spokesman stated Kelsall was a decorated combat veteran. His death, along with the others lost in the crash, was widely reported and prompted official statements of condolence from military and political leaders.

Kelsall's name is inscribed on the Afghanistan War Memorial at the Museum of the Forgotten Warriors in California. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart. The crash of Extortion 17 remains a subject of official investigation and public remembrance.

Jonas B. Kelsall was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.

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