Free Call Sign Extortion 17 by Don Brown Page B

changed.
    That’s how close the military came to burying this information altogether.
    So why were they hiding the mysterious Afghans—if they were even mysterious? Why weren’t they admitting their error and trying to find out who the Afghans were? And why did the Joint Task Force commander so abruptly cut off his subordinate (the J3 operations officer) when the subject of the unidentified Afghans on board Extortion 17 came up?
    It isn’t hard to figure out that they had something to hide, and that whatever they were hiding about those unidentified Afghans was probably very embarrassing to the military.
    But it is just as interesting to consider the great lengths that General Mattis (four-­star general in command of CENTCOM) went to in order to ensure that the Colt investigation stayed away from the topic of the seven missing Afghans.
    Put another way, the cover-­up about the seven Afghans begins much earlier, with the initial instructions given by General Mattis to Brigadier General Colt.

Chapter 10
    CENTCOM Handcuffs Colt’s Investigation
    Billy and Karen Vaughn were informed about the issue of the seven unidentified Afghans being of concern for the first time at the meeting with Admiral McRaven and his enlisted aide on January 11, 2013. This revelation came some sixteen months after Brigadier General Colt finished his investigation.
    Some may believe it odd that Colt’s report failed to attempt to identify the seven Afghans who boarded Extortion 17. Such concern is well placed. But looking further into Colt’s marching orders, it seems evident that the restraints placed on him by General Mattis were designed to whitewash the investigation from the beginning.
    The order from Mattis to Colt was an odd mix which, on the one hand, appeared to give General Colt all the authority he needed to conduct an investigation to get to the facts of what happened, but on the other, tied Colt’s hands and ensured that the final findings would amount to a whitewash designed to suppress the truth about what happened to Extortion 17.
    Why is this? Because Mattis’s order included contradictory parameters and placed legal shackles on Colt’s hands that prevented him (Colt) from even asking all the questions he needed to ask to get to the truth.
    The order commissioning Colt to conduct the official military investigation of the crash of Extortion 17 was handed down by written directive from Mattis on August 7, 2011, the day following the crash.
    Mattis’s order entitled “Memorandum of Appointment” was attached to the Colt Report as “Exhibit A.” Brigadier General Colt was given one month, up to and including September 7, 2011, to complete the investigation.
    Sweeping Powers but Contradictory Orders
    In the three-­page directive, Mattis instructed Colt to “conduct your investigation in whatever matter you believe necessary and proper.” At first blush, nothing was constrained, at least not in the report. General Mattis provided that “you [BGEN Colt] may request any additional individuals or subject matter experts be appointed to accompany you or assist you in your investigation.”
    So Colt, at least it appears at first glance, was given the broad, sweeping power to ask anybody anything about the details of this tragedy. General Mattis told him, specifically, “You may order any witness to provide a statement, if you believe that they have relevant information that would not incriminate themselves.” And Mattis went on to write, “you may consider any evidence that you determine to be relevant and material to the incident.”
    Mattis further ordered Colt to provide (a) an executive summary with both classified and unclassified versions, (b) an index of all exhibits, (c) a chronology of the investigation, and (d) a list of persons interviewed and those from whom no statement was taken.
    Mattis directed that “if it is impracticable to