A note was attached to his body which said: "Don't work with coalition forces. Afghan contractors were unable to keep the narrow mountain road in safe condition, and convoys were subject to constant ambush from the surrounding mountains that lined the route. Meanwhile, Sgt. Known as COIN and refined by General David Petraeus, Commander of US forces in Afghanistan, the Army and Marine Counter-insurgency Field Manual FM 3-24 was to convert the population of Nuristan to American goals. To avoid damaging the trust they had established with the Afghans, Cali and another semi-hostile dog named Willie Pete were shot by Staff Sergeant Ian Boone and another soldier. Plans were drawn up in the summer of 2006 by the US Army's 10th Mountain Division as part of Operation Mountain Lion. When Cordova and I arrived on set, both of us were astounded. The elder considers this to be a bad omen and demands that there be retribution. Capt. Seven other Americans and one ANA soldier were wounded. An additional 4 Afghan allied fighters also died. Without air support, I dont think we would have made it, considering the number against us and the area we were in, McMurtrey said. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every Friday. Despite some condensing with regard to the timeline and a fictional character or two (Pfc. A deliberate withdrawal had been planned some time before the battle began, and the closing was part of a wider effort by the top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, to cede remote outposts and consolidate troops in more populated areas to better protect Afghan civilians. October 03, 2019. On Oct. 3, 2009, the odds were against U.S. troops at Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistan's Nuristan province, located just 10 miles from the Pakistan border. [8] US Army soldiers at both outposts had been ordered to prepare to evacuate the outposts and had informed local Afghan leaders of their intention to do so. Here's what else we covered in this week's newsletter. I'll have to give it a read sometime. The movie details Keating's November 2006 death, which occurred when his truck fell from a clifftop road during a convoy run. Lieutenant Keating, first commander of the Kamdesh PRT, was determined to make COIN a success in the region. That process helped us heal, but a bad rendering of the battle would leave us talking about what the movie got wrong instead of what actually happened. ", was Keating's assessment. And appearing Holdo's subordinates were well aware of the plain. This article is featured in the 2019 October issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Janie Dyhouse, senior editor for VFW magazine. Their checkpoints[11] and "taxes" was used to finance AAF operations. [2] Combat Outpost Keating is best known as the setting of the Battle of Kamdesh which occurred on October 3rd, 2009. [35] Capt. Or invite someone to subscribe through this link. Members of 10th Mountain Division's 1-32 Infantry Regiment were air lifted to the nearest helicopter landing zone on OP Fritsche and arrived at approximately 2:00pm, as recalled by a soldier on scene. I stood silently in the corner and watched a rendition of the story I previously told through sympathy letters to the families of the fallen, in award write-ups for my soldiers and during lectures for military leaders. At such time the platoon cleared the remaining areas of the outpost which members of 3-61 had not yet retaken. The village leaders elected a representative council of 100 members to form a shura that would produce a regional security plan and obtain an agreement with the American military and the Afghan Karzai government. [7]:1238,1368,18191,407, Combined with difficult conditions for air supply, and little support from the local population, supply to what was renamed Camp Keating on November 26, 2006, was wholly inadequate. Yllescas's charismatic relations with the Shura had supported the transition from 1-91 Cavalry to 6th Squadron, and the Shura's influence and collaboration with ISAF forces declined from this point. In 2006, Allied commanders identified the Kamdesh area to be key to denying anti-coalition militia the required access to supply lines crossing into and out of nearby Pakistan. The PRT site resembled the bottom of a funnel. (Multiple explosions near the ammo supply set off a series of fires at the post.). COP Keating, which was established in the summer of 2006, was put in the valley for the simple reason that it's where the roads are. The Shapleigh native volunteered to drive an Army truck loaded with supplies along a treacherous 200-foot cliff at night . His actions saved the lives of several soldiers, and he alone accomplished the work of four medical professionals without stopping for food or sleep, the battle narrative aptly concluded. The battle is also the main focal point of the 2020 film The Outpost, which was in-turn based on the book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by Jake Tapper. As they filmed one take after another, Cordova clenched his jaw and swallowed back tears, reliving the most traumatic day of his life. The logistical location of the outpost, which was located deep in a valley surrounded by three steep mountains, put the soldiers at an enormous disadvantage. Rather off-topic but wasn't Poe at that moment demoted by Leia beforehand? The attack on COP Keating resulted in 8 Americans killed and 27 wounded while the Taliban suffered an estimated 150 killed. The idea was to stop the insurgents' supply lines coming in from Pakistan. Brown would also note that it was a failure of leadership on Porter's part because of Porter's absolute refusal to explain to his troops why the mortars were being limited. Yes. But I never told the story from my own perspective. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. On Oct. 3, 2009, a force of about 50 Americans faced down as many as 400 enemy fighters intent on overrunning COP Keating in eastern Afghanistan. Two days before the attack, I was en route to a mountaintop observation post when the helicopter I was flying in was hit by enemy fire. As the sun rose on Oct. 3, 2009, about 300 Taliban launched a surprise attack on COP Keating. AAF forces involved fit the pattern of the improved force, in that they were uniformed and equipped as Afghan Army and police forces, with the latest weapons and radios issued to government Afghan forces, along with ski masks. One of the casualties was a bright young specialist named Stephan Mace, whom Cordova kept alive for nine hours by transfusing fresh blood from other soldiers, himself included. In the movie, a dog that some of the soldiers at the outpost are taking care of bites a visiting Kamdesh village elder. The battle unfolded on October 3, 2009. "It is one of the most well-planned and carefully choreographed attacks in the history of the Afghan war," Tapper told NPR. These factors resulted in an attractive target for enemy fighters," the report concluded. This agreement did bring down the level of combat in the Kamdesh area. He discussed their common values as leaders of families and communities working toward a better future. And he was becoming disillusioned with the possibility of what he thought. Commanders of Camp Keating are disciplined for not taking proper measures that led to deaths of eight U.S. soldiers and the wounding of 22 others in a Taliban attack. This had the potential to boost the local economy, which had seen few civic improvements. Harder, from Minnesota, just 29, was in charge of a small team of soldiers at the combat outpost, COP Keating. It also said the commanders had become "desensitized" to reports of imminent large scale attacks because previous warnings had turned out to be on a much smaller scale. You must log in or register to reply here. The U.S. evacuated the camp three days later. A year later COP Keating would be the location for the fateful October 2009 Battle of Kamdesh for . MAJ Porter talks about his first couple of days into country as he was getting set up and received direct attack resulting . Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Army.When the battle ended after more than 12 hours, eight U.S. soldiers were killed and another 22 wounded. Why would the U.S. military put an outpost at the base of three Afghan mountains that were teeming with Taliban fighters who were eager to kill U.S. soldiers? Unlike Donahue, Nicholson was a supporter of COIN in addition to seeing Kamdesh as a decisive control point. [7]:1238,1368,18191,407, On August 8, 2006, 19 days after the first American landing, the PRT was attacked for the first time. He assumed command of CO Keating following the death of Captain Robert Yllescas in a Taliban IED attack in December 2008, and he almost immediately acquired a negative reputation among his new command, who called him "Broward the Coward" for planning . Capt. Shot in the head by a Taliban sniper after being wounded by RPG fire. Captain Bostick was killed by a rocket propelled grenade. The Outpost is a 2020 war film directed by Rod Lurie, based on the 2012 non-fiction book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by Jake Tapper, about the Battle of Kamdesh in the war in Afghanistan.It stars Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, Orlando Bloom, Jack Kesy, Cory Hardrict, Milo Gibson, Jacob Scipio, Will Attenborough, and Taylor John Smith. Matthew McMurtrey a cyber systems operator was attached to the 61st Cav and woke at6 a.m. that day to the walls of his bunk shaking, alerting him to the attack. [14] At the time, Afghan national forces were supervised and trained by members of the Latvian Operational Mentor Liaison Teams. Between each take, the director and actors paused and turned to Cordova, who offered feedback to make the scene match his memory. I witnessed the making of The Outpost, a film about the day my unit fought off 300 Taliban fighters who tried to overrun our camp in Afghanistan. Div. Keating's death, while mostly historically accurate, is pushed up in the film as a way to condense the storyline.Knowing the LMTV armored supply vehicle was too heavy for the road in Kamdesh, Keating volunteered against protocol to drive the truck, choosing to risk his own life instead of the lives of the men serving underneath him. [32] Staff Sgt. [19] At 6:00 a.m, the fighters opened fire from all sides of the outpost with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades,[10] immediately putting the Americans' mortar pit out of action. On Oct. 3, 2009, Keating was the site of the second costliest U.S. firefight of the Afghanistan War. The transfusion was a radical move that brought Mace back to consciousness. So it was something that had its objective changed and wasn't moved due to limited resources and it being 'probably good enough' there? [20] Observation Post Fritsche was attacked simultaneously, limiting available support from that position. During and after the battle, some of the Afghan soldiers stole items, including digital cameras and protein drinks, belonging to American soldiers at the base. [10], OP Fritsche was established to provide overwatch for COP Keating and was manned by a mix of US and Afghan national forces. This separation of the landing zone, and the fact that the site was surrounded by mountains on three sides made the site unappealing because of the difficulty of mounting an effective defense. [7]:327328 The nearest attack helicopters were located in Jalalabad, a thirty-minute flight away. Defense officials confirm that three other Army officers face disciplinary action for their role in the attack on the military outpost in Wanat in July, 2008 that led to nine dead U.S. soldiers and 27 wounded. Mawlawi Abdul Rahman was a local elder impressed with this new approach. Joshua Hardt, who until this time had been MIA. Within the first hour, the American and Latvian defenders had collapsed to a tight internal perimeter, centered on the two buildings that were not burning. I'd have to look more into the specific situation to know more but from the general impression of the situation. The high mountains around the camp provided the perfect perches for Taliban snipers to pick off the soldiers. In May 2016 CBS News profiled Staff Sergeant Romesha, after he published an account of his experiences at the base, entitled Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor. They were commanded by Captain Tom Bostick. Written by CNN journalist Jake Tapper, he tells the story of soldiers living in the remote mountains of Afghanistan and Combat Outpost Keating. Contained between the Landay River and steep mountains, Keating was attacked from multiple directions by 300 enemy fighters. We were all crushed when, later that night, we found out that Mace succumbed to his wounds while undergoing surgery. Ground resupply became almost impossible due to the area's limited roads and the threat of insurgent attacks. American forces formed a thinly held and poorly supplied picket line from Naray to Kamdesh along the river. The 53. JT: First Lieutenant Ben Keating, who is the namesake of the camp, he was, he had Pressfield's book with him, and he was reading it, and it was a lesson to him. The soldiers left so quickly that they didn't take all of the ammunition. Military commanders had already decided to close the base the previous summer, but delayed doing so because of other operations. Soldiers with 1st Plt., B Trp., 3rd Sqdn., 61st Cav Regt., 4th BCT, 4th Inf. U.S. air support directed by Sgt. The first soldier to arrive had profuse bleeding from the skull. It seemed like the entire COP was burning [70 percent did].. [8] Coalition forces responded with small arms fire, mortars, and by the afternoon, helicopters, heavy artillery, and airstrikes. They made sustained attacks over a two-day period, drawing American support forces and widespread air forces into the battle. Urdu and Pashtun HIG warriors brought arms and ammunition from Pakistan. In Afghanistan, MAJ (R) Cordova was involved in the Battle of Kamdesh at Combat Outpost Keating on the 3rd of October 2009. Tears were streaming down his face. Served with United States Army since 2005 and Participated in. Nine years earlier, Cordova and his medics toiled away in the aid station to treat the wounded and save the dying. Stoney Portis, an officer in the Army and a Ph.D. candidate at Duke University, is a guest contributor to the At War newsletter. Quick reaction forces (QRF) from 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment did not reach the outpost until 7:00pm that day, while insurgents remained in parts of the outpost as late as 5:10pm. This page was last edited on 25 January 2023, at 06:49. Extending control further along the river was expected to counter the AAF expansion and activity in the summer of 2007. [15], The Allies planned to close COP Keating by August 2009, but the move was delayed because of other military operations in a nearby district. [17], 27 soldiers were awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat. The report, released to the public in June 2011, concluded "inadequate measures taken by the chain of command" facilitated the attack, but praised the troops fighting at the base for repulsing the attack "with conspicuous gallantry, courage and bravery. Troops", "Outnumbered and With Taliban Overrunning the Base, Clinton Romesha Was Awarded MoH at the Battle of Kamdesh", "4th ID Soldier awarded Distinguished Service Cross", "Army vet honored with Distinguished Service Cross for combat heroics in Afghanistan", "Pilots receive Distinguished Flying Cross for valor", "Airmen honored by college for heroism in Afghanistan", "Army veteran Clinton Romesha receives Medal of Honor for Afghan fight", "Obama awards Ty Carter Medal of Honor for Afghan battle", "US soldiers hold back Taliban attack on COP Keating", COP Keating Report at DefenseTech.org: After Action Report, before and after photos, maps, analysis, Executive Summary - AR 15-6 Investigation re: Complex Attack on COP Keating - 3 Oct 09, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Kamdesh&oldid=1135532495, Served with United States Army since 2003 and Participated in, Killed by a single gunshot wound in the head, Served with United States Army since 2004 and Participated in, Killed by multiple gunshot wounds in the head and body, Served with United States Army since 2006 and Participated in, Served with United States Army since 2005. When it came to infiltration from Pakistan, and setting ambushes, HIG was regarded as the most skillful. Despite the efforts of two Latvian military advisors, First Sergeant Jnis Lais and Corporal Mrti Dboli,[21] who tried to convince the Afghan National Army forces not to flee,[22] the Afghan defenders quickly broke and ran. If they shoot from the hills, US troops can shoot at them without fear of hitting civilians in town, and it makes an enticing target. . Such attacks are not news to men like Capt. [2], The attackers overran Keating's perimeter defenses about 48 minutes into the battle. Constant ambushes and firefights along the road to Naray did little to relieve Keating's doubts. When Captain Aaron Swain of Cherokee Co. had sounded out Afghan Border Police Commander Ahmed Shah about setting up near Kamdesh, he was told that HIG insurgents tried to blow up Shah's jeep on his last trip there and it was a bad place. "[16] Four U.S. Army officersCaptain Melvin Porter, Captain Stoney Portis, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Brown, and Colonel Randy Georgewho oversaw COP Keating were admonished or reprimanded for command failures. They expanded the perimeter all the way back to the entry control point and to the buildings on the western edge of the outpost, which became their final fighting position. Eight U.S. soldiers were killed and 27 wounded; eight Afghan soldiers were wounded, along with two Afghan private security guards. [29], Following the battle, the U.S. Central Command conducted an investigation on what had occurred, led by US Army General Guy Swan. "The investigation concluded that critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets which had been supporting COP Keating had been diverted to assist ongoing intense combat operations in other areas," the report said. In December 2006, it was renamed Camp Keating after the death of ABLE Troop 3-71 Cavalry 10th Mountain Division's Executive Officer Benjamin Keating, who died November 26, 2006, while conducting combat operations south of the camp. Set up new plants in Mirdesh and Gawardesh. It was treacherous and subject to enemy ambush. Villagers and clans who were left out of these projects were resentful, and quick to turn against the Americans. Using a transfusion kit, Cordova began pumping his own blood into the wounded soldier, along with blood collected from other soldiers. The report found that a "mindset of imminent closure" led the unit to not improve the outpost's defenses despite intelligence reports that warned of a possible attack by "a large enemy force.". U.S. soldiers reported that none of the Afghan soldiers held their ground. He was thrown from the truck, which rolled over him and sank into the river. Encased in armor, helmets, and weapons, Americans appeared to be looking for a fight. Read more from At War here or follow us on Twitter. This strategy depended upon extending government control by building and maintaining provincial reconstruction team bases. Several of the dogs that hung around the camp were with them, one of which supposedly bit an old woman working in a field. American outpost in Nuristan, Afghanistan, List of post-Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients, "Latest Medal of Honor brings COP Keating battle back into spotlight", "A Medal of Honor recipient's ongoing burden", "COP Keating battle begins, Medal of Honor nominee Romesha takes action", "This Netflix series will tell the stories of Medal of Honor recipients", "The Battle of Kamdesh, which netted two Medals of Honor, is coming to the big screen twice", "Sony Enlists Director Daniel Espinosa, George Clooney's Smokehouse For 'Red Platoon', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Combat_Outpost_Keating&oldid=1137949129, Military installations of the United States in Afghanistan, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:20. Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha and Staff Sergeant Ty Carter were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the battle. The Outpost real story confirms that rocket-propelled grenades and mortars caused the camp to catch fire. The camp was defended by a combined force of 140 U.S. and Afghan soldiers. The steep mountains rendered two dimensional maps and landmarks useless. While exploring the movie's historical accuracy, we confirmed that during the real-life Battle of Kamdesh, Taliban fighters got inside Outpost Keating. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Omar was the top Taliban leader, but U.S. Intelligence stated that HIG had done the killing, crediting Omar to instil more fear due to Omar's greater reputation. Nearly 20 Air Force and Army aircraft flew close-air support missions throughout the day, helping to kill about 150 insurgents. Breaches occurred at a latrine area close to the perimeter wire; also the main entrance where civilian Afghan security guards were overwhelmed; and from the eastern sidewhere Afghan National Army soldiers were stationed. The camp was defended by a combined force of 140 U.S. and Afghan soldiers. It occurred on October 3, 2009, when a force of 400 Taliban assaulted the American Combat Outpost ("COP") Keating near the town of Kamdesh in Nuristan Province in eastern Afghanistan. It involved a small force of 54 U.S. soldiers (Bravo Troop 3-61), in addition to their Afghan and Latvian allies, at the remote Combat Outpost Keating in northeastern Afghanistan near the town of Kamdesh. [1] Plans were drawn up in the summer of 2006 by the US Army's 10th Mountain Division as part of Operation Mountain Lion. It was adapted for the screen by Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy (Patriots Day and The Fighter). . Scott Eastwood, right, in a scene from The Outpost. The film tells the story of the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan. By now, Porter had strained relations with nearly all of his subordinate leaders. A recreated Red Platoon barracks bunk bed. After Keating's death, a "Night Letter" appeared on the door of the Upper Kamdesh mosque on April 29, 2007. After Keating's death, the camp was renamed Combat Outpost Keating in his honor. Lieutenant Colonel Mike Howard, Squadron Commander, saw COIN as a process of providing three services: This would improve the local economy while providing improved communications with the central government and the rest of the nation. The Distinguished Flying Cross was given to 7 aviators who assisted in defending the base. There was an element of ABLE Troop 3-71 CAV 2nd Platoon still left on the PZ after the crash that worked relentlessly to recover the bodies of their 10 comrades and destroy sensitive equipment in the wreckage. A commander who has no trust for or from his subordinates, keeps them in the dark, and fails to make the intent of his orders clear is making it harder for everyone else to do their jobs and jeopardizing mission success. 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