The Original Sin - John Chapman, Roberts Ridge, and the SEAL Cover-Up, Trident for Truth Podcast
Trident For Truth
17,924 views
On March 4, 2002, Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron was left on Takur Ghar during the battle known as Roberts Ridge. He was embedded with a SEAL Team 6 element. Evidence later showed he regained consciousness and continued to fight alone. What followed was not only a dispute over medals. It was a fight for truth and honor.
In this first episode of the Trident for Truth Podcast, Retired Navy SEAL Eric Deming talks with Rob Harrison, who was overhead that morning in an AC-130 gunship and later part of the Air Force effort to recover the footage and document Chapman’s actions. They examine how Britt Slabinski, Tim Szymanski, Vic Hyder, and Naval Special Warfare are alleged to have shaped, delayed, and diluted the truth of what happened on Roberts Ridge.
Chapman’s actions saved lives. The official story shifted. His Medal of Honor was contested, then split. Awards went forward for men whose decisions that day cost lives. Deming calls that the original sin of the modern SEAL Teams: protecting a marketable NSW brand instead of accounting for a man left behind and the mistakes that put him there.
Later episodes follow what that choice produced. Covering the failure, inflating the narrative, and treating honor as a product weakened training and accountability. The series traces how a culture built on burying mistakes and avoiding responsibility cost more lives in the years that followed.
Names in this account: John Chapman. Rob Harrison. Britt Slabinski. Tim Szymanski. Vic Hyder.
This episode covers:
The battle of Takur Ghar / Roberts Ridge and John Chapman’s actions
What the AC-130 crew observed from overhead, and how that evidence was handled
Allegations that Slabinski, Szymanski, and Hyder helped bury or rewrite when and how Chapman died
The campaign around Chapman’s Medal of Honor and the split citation
Why Roberts Ridge is described as the original sin of modern SEAL Team culture
For viewers searching John Chapman, Roberts Ridge, the Medal of Honor controversy, and the record behind Alone at Dawn: start here. The first episodes are the truth of that mission. What comes next is how the cover-up became a brand.
Watch through. Leave what you know in the comments. Subscribe for the Chapman record, and for the later failures it made possible.
#JohnChapman #SEALTeams #MedalOfHonor #MilitaryHistory #TrueStory #EricDeming #NAVYSEAL #Longlivethebrotherhood #longlivethetruebrotherhood
20 Comments
1.) the AF screwed up this op, from Trebon to the AC-130 to Chapman, and
2.) this whole "alone at dawn/hero CCT" story emerged out of nowhere in 2014 because the AF wanted to get an MoH for one of their guys, and they were willing to concoct a fictitious narrative and destroy the reputation of a heroic SEAL to do it.
First of all, AF didn't screw the pooch on this one. Mistakes were made all around, but if anyone looked at this objectively and asked "who caused this operation to go from a highly successful turkey shoot to the worst loss of US servicemen since Mogadishu?" - there's nowhere legitimate to look other than at Kernan, Szymanski, Hyder, and Slabinski. Trying to pin any responsibility on Chapman is just - it's flat out the dumbest shit ever, full stop. This is one of the main things making so many of us so up in arms about this whole shitshow: dispute the AF's findings all you want, and defend Slabinski all you want...but to call MSgt John Chapman a confused & inexperienced radio operator and say he got himself killed and compromised the team and the mission by being a stupid new guy - that's how you get people to outright hate you. Blaber knows better and should be ashamed.
Second, the notion that Chapman sprang to life and fought for another hour didn't come out of nowhere in 2014. The questions of "why was there a firefight on top of Takur Ghar well after MAKO 30 bounced? Was that Chapman? Or Roberts? Red on red, maybe?" began immediately after the battle, and were documented as anomalies in published writing in 2003. This didn't just pop up in 2014, it was understood as early as March 2002 that Chapman may have been left alive on the mountain, and that weird things had happened on the mountaintop that defied explanation.
As for the AF recklessly besmirching a decorated SEAL's honor just to get one of their own the MoH - that's absolutely BS, and anyone who has served in or around AFSOC knows it. I spent four years in AFSOC during the early part of GWOT, and I can tell you firsthand that folks in that organization go out of their way to maintain solid relationships within the joint SOF community. So the premise that the AF would make up a ghost story and needlessly poke NSW in the eye to get one of their own an MoH is absurd on its face. Blaber knows this and the fact that he's spouting that BS is inconceivable - but also telling.
I know when I was in AFSOC, our sole focus was "the customer, the customer, the customer," as our old commander put it. We strived to give ground forces the best support possible, while staying mostly out of the limelight. It is beyond unthinkable to me that AFSOC would support Material Finding # 2 if its leaders - like Brad Webb, an absolute mensch - weren't totally certain of it's accuracy. Especially given that Chapman still warrants the medal even if he was killed right after clearing Bunker 1, and the AF could have successfully lobbied for his MoH without any of the controversy surrounding him being left alive by his SEAL teammates.
Honestly, knowing how sensitive AFSOC leadership is to maintaining good relations with NSW and JSOC, and their place in the SOF pecking order, I'm surprised the SECAF pressed with M.F. #2 at all, and didn't just call it "good enough" with John dying when Slabinski said he did. That she & DAF didn't back down and took the full package all the way to the top leads me to the conclusion that they all believed without a shadow of a doubt that John got up and fought on until the QRF infil. It would be flat out stupid to come at NSW - a primary and highly valued customer (not to mention an apex predator) - for something they were iffy about, because "we just really want to snag one of them medals for our guy." And for an enlisted bubba? Nahh, no way. Now if it was for a fighter pilot, maybe... I'm kidding. Kinda.
And anyway, there are numerous other Air Force PJs, CCTs, TACPs, and EOD Techs who, objectively speaking, met the criteria for the Medal of Honor through their actions during the GWOT. A few examples that easily come to mind are Jason Cunningham, Robert Gutierrez, Brad Smith, and Joseph Deslauriers. The Air Force has zero need to make stuff up in order to have one of their members awarded the MoH. The kinds of selfless bravery that these airmen and many others displayed - always while in support of their Army, Navy, or USMC brothers, and often because the sister-service element they were supporting did piss-poor planning and made bad decisions - is stuff of legends and it's a travesty that they haven't been recognized in the way that the other branches have recognized their own.
I can attest from personal experience that Air Force senior leadership tends to downplay and downgrade valor displayed from surface to 500 feet - maybe because the pilots running the show can't wrap their heads around it, or out of prudence (risk aversion), or the notion that "these guys get paid to do that," I dunno. But the fact that they went to bat so hard for John Chapman tells me that they felt it was absolutely, 100% warranted.
In Vietnam, PJ SRA Pitsenbarger volunteers to be lowered down into a TIC battle to attend to the wounded. He sent up the wounded, refused to leave the scene and continued to render aid and suppress opposition fire while mortally wounded.
All surviving Army personnel cooperated the story and attended his MOH Ceremony in Dec 2000 at Wright Patterson AFB. I was present as well.
I had just landed in Southern Afghanistan Mar 2002 when I was notified of a failed mission where some AFSW were injured or killed up north.
When I landed at Djibouti, I inquired with Intel and was told two AF personnel were killed.
Much later I learned that my friend CCT TSGT John Chapman and PJ SRA Jason Cunningham were the victims. I then learned that LTC Dan Schilling's (whom I've known from the 24th) investigation discovered that the AC-130 footage, crew's statements, and CIA Drone feed actual footage contradicted the surviving DEVGRU team's written statements. They left TWO personnel behind!
I went to the TX MOH Museum where SMC Slabinski is a member of the board and who's wife is employed by the museum. His "MOH Pedestal" is enormous compared to the plaque on the wall of deceased MOH upgrade recipient MSGT John Chapman’s. He refused to speak with me that day!
I attended John's funeral, and Honors Ceremony in N.C. I stayed at Camp Cunningham in Qatar 2003 and have met his parents who live in my city in CA.
You cannot deny the integrity, patriotism or Service Before Self of these three Airmen! They all three volunteered to save sister service personnel in harm's way. Enough said!
"First There"
As my mom always said “The issue isn’t the issue”.
I say follow the money!!
...as fast as we could"
I choked on my fucking drink man, I was not ready for that.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
At just about 12 mins in, I had to pause to write that this is already intense, and I've looked at many comments and people are really appreciating you bringing this whole situation to light and fighting for what is right. Just like the men who fought, but aren't here to speak!
12 minutes in, damn.
This is going to be painful...
For what it's worth, believers or non-believers, God bless you men, regardless of your role, took each and every one of you to get things done, and it looks like it's going to take each and every one of you to make things right.
🙏♥️
My brother was also a CCT who served with Chapman and JSOC, our family knows the Chapman family and is also a Gold Star family. Because of that connection, this issue carries a deeply personal significance for us. We understand in a very real way that behind these events are families who live permanently with the consequences of service and sacrifice. For that reason, I have tremendous appreciation for those who are willing to stand behind the people who served and sacrificed alongside one another, especially when doing so requires the courage to ask difficult questions and insist that the truth be treated seriously.
It is deeply troubling to see an elite community turn against someone who sacrificed everything in service to others. Whatever agendas may exist, that sacrifice deserves dignity, respect, and an honest account of what happened. Service of this magnitude should never be diminished or lost amid controversy. Those who served together, and the families who continue to bear that loss, deserve a process grounded in facts that honors their sacrifices and treats everyone involved with the dignity their service deserves.
The Original Sin - John Chapman, Roberts Ridge, and the SEAL Cover-Up, Trident for Truth Podcast
Trident For Truth
17,924 views
On March 4, 2002, Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron was left on Takur Ghar during the battle known as Roberts Ridge. He was embedded with a SEAL Team 6 element. Evidence later showed he regained consciousness and continued to fight alone. What followed was not only a dispute over medals. It was a fight for truth and honor.
In this first episode of the Trident for Truth Podcast, Retired Navy SEAL Eric Deming talks with Rob Harrison, who was overhead that morning in an AC-130 gunship and later part of the Air Force effort to recover the footage and document Chapman’s actions. They examine how Britt Slabinski, Tim Szymanski, Vic Hyder, and Naval Special Warfare are alleged to have shaped, delayed, and diluted the truth of what happened on Roberts Ridge.
Chapman’s actions saved lives. The official story shifted. His Medal of Honor was contested, then split. Awards went forward for men whose decisions that day cost lives. Deming calls that the original sin of the modern SEAL Teams: protecting a marketable NSW brand instead of accounting for a man left behind and the mistakes that put him there.
Later episodes follow what that choice produced. Covering the failure, inflating the narrative, and treating honor as a product weakened training and accountability. The series traces how a culture built on burying mistakes and avoiding responsibility cost more lives in the years that followed.
Names in this account: John Chapman. Rob Harrison. Britt Slabinski. Tim Szymanski. Vic Hyder.
This episode covers:
The battle of Takur Ghar / Roberts Ridge and John Chapman’s actions
What the AC-130 crew observed from overhead, and how that evidence was handled
Allegations that Slabinski, Szymanski, and Hyder helped bury or rewrite when and how Chapman died
The campaign around Chapman’s Medal of Honor and the split citation
Why Roberts Ridge is described as the original sin of modern SEAL Team culture
For viewers searching John Chapman, Roberts Ridge, the Medal of Honor controversy, and the record behind Alone at Dawn: start here. The first episodes are the truth of that mission. What comes next is how the cover-up became a brand.
Watch through. Leave what you know in the comments. Subscribe for the Chapman record, and for the later failures it made possible.
#JohnChapman #SEALTeams #MedalOfHonor #MilitaryHistory #TrueStory #EricDeming #NAVYSEAL #Longlivethebrotherhood #longlivethetruebrotherhood