Thomas A. Ratzlaff: Twelve Deployments of Quiet Valor, Extortion 17
A Navy SEAL Senior Chief with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group who deployed twelve times in defense of his country. He gave his life on August 6th, 2011, in the Extortion 17 helicopter crash in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, at the age of 34.
Service Record
- Branch
- USN
- Unit
- SEAL Team 2, Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG)
- Station Assigned
- Oceana, VA
- Hometown
- Green Forest, AR
- Family
- Survived by his mother, Nancy Ann Ratzlaff, of Green Forest, AR.
- Fallen On
- August 6th, 2011
Born on November 3rd, 1976, in Harrison, Arkansas, and raised in nearby Green Forest, Thomas graduated from Green Forest High School in 1995. That May, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, leaving small-town Arkansas for Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes, Illinois, and an initial assignment aboard the USS Kidd.
In 1996 Thomas entered Naval Special Warfare Advanced Training in Virginia Beach, and in 1998 he graduated Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL School in Coronado, California, earning his Trident. He went on to serve with East Coast-based SEAL Teams before advancing to the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, where he served alongside some of the community's most decorated operators.
Over the course of his career, Senior Chief Ratzlaff completed twelve combat deployments, nine of them to Afghanistan, in addition to service in Iraq. His valor under fire was recognized five times with the Bronze Star Medal, the final award posthumous, and he was awarded the Purple Heart. He was also honored by the government of Canada with the Star of Military Valor, that nation's second-highest award for valor, making him the only non-Canadian ever to receive it.
On August 6, 2011, Senior Chief Ratzlaff was aboard the CH-47 Chinook helicopter callsign Extortion 17, part of a Naval Special Warfare quick reaction force responding to support U.S. Army Rangers engaged with insurgent forces in Wardak Province. When the helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, all 38 aboard were killed, the greatest single-incident loss of life in Naval Special Warfare history.
Senior Chief Thomas A. Ratzlaff gave twelve deployments and sixteen years of relentless, quiet service to the Teams and to the nation he loved. His courage under fire, recognized by two nations, stands as a lasting testament to the warrior he was.
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On behalf of myself and everyone at BoneFrog Coffee, I want to express our deepest condolences to the family of Thomas Ratzlaff, who gave his life for our country. Words cannot capture the weight of this loss or the gratitude we feel for his courage and sacrifice. He was more than a warrior, he was a brother, a patriot, and a man whose relentless devotion to his teammates crossed even international lines of recognition. His sacrifice will never be forgotten, and his memory will live on in our hearts and in the values we strive to uphold. To his family and all those who loved him, we share in your grief and stand with you, honoring his legacy with unwavering respect and gratitude.
Long Live The Brotherhood!!
Tim Cruickshank LCDR, USN (SEAL) Ret. and the BoneFrog Coffee Team