NOV 2010 > Air Assault
Deep in Taliban Territory
November 2010 CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE (Source: US Department of Defense) |
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U.S. Army Spc. Roy D. Cunningham (kneeling) and U.S.
Army Spc. Jeremy D. Hunt fire 60mm mortar rounds at
insurgents on a remote hilltop in the Shal Valley,
Afghanistan on November 8th, 2010. |
By
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Mark Burrell
AFGHANISTAN - At a remote forward operating base in
eastern Afghanistan, Task Force "No Slack" soldiers were
sitting in a tent waiting impatiently at 2 a.m. November 7th.
To idle away the minutes, they passed around a
thick-bound book of the 101st Airborne Division's World
War II feats, some hoping to become immortalized in a
similar book years from now about Operation Enduring
Freedom.
They were waiting for a call to head out. The call came
and soldiers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 327th
Infantry Regiment donned combat gear and ventured into
the night to catch a helicopter to the top of a mountain
deep within Taliban territory in the Shal Valley in
eastern Afghanistan's Nuristan province.
Under the light of the stars, the 101st Airborne
soldiers conducted an air assault onto the mountain to
provide security over-watch for a convoy of supplies on
the road far below.
"Historically, the patrol has been ambushed along the
route at multiple points," explained U.S. Army Capt.
Juan Garcia, company commander from New London, N.H.
"The combat logistics patrol becomes the focus of enemy
fire along the route, and if you stop one or two
vehicles, the supplies can't keep going up."
The company was briefed beforehand it was going to be a
relatively hostile area and that no Americans have been
on that mountain before, added Garcia.
Once on the ground, the soldiers quickly got to work
building fighting positions out of the rocky hillside
around them, unsure of what was next.
"This is going to be a sleeping hole for me tonight to
keep me out of the wind and [provides] a little more
protection for what comes my way," said U.S. Army Pfc.
Bobby Rey, an infantryman from Mobile, Alabama, while
digging a hole with an entrenching tool. "If they shoot
rocket-propelled grenades or rounds at us, the rocks
will stop them, hopefully."
The sun slowly crested the eastern mountaintop
overlooking their fighting positions, throwing an
intense glare in their eyes.
First contact
"My biggest fear out here, especially in Afghanistan, is
the difference between being successful and being a
failure is one or two of your guys being killed," said
Garcia. "If you're not successful, that means people are
dying."
After intense planning and leadership from the lowest
level on up, the soldiers braced themselves in the
frigid morning light for what was going to be a long
day. They were determined to be successful.
Then the firing started
"Best plans don't always survive first contact," Garcia
said. "We got into position and were like, If we get
attacked from here, this is what we're going to do. If
we get attacked from there, this is what we're going to
do.'"
Soldiers quickly scrambled to get behind cover and call
out the muzzle flashes from the enemy locations. Bullets
whizzed overhead cracking the rocks and ground all
around.
"I was fixing my fighting position when the first round
came and hit the rock next to me and threw it off the
side of the mountain. I just watched it drop down," said
U.S. Army Pfc. Dustin Feldhaus, a squad-designated
marksman from Glendale, Arizona. "I really couldn't see
where anything was coming from. I got down and behind
cover. A couple tree branches in front of me got knocked
down from the rounds coming in."
Automatic machine gun fire filled the air. The
anticipation was gone, and their infantry experience and
training kicked in.
"It's a good adrenaline rush, I mean, that's what I
joined for," said U.S. Army Spc. Nathan Allen, a team
leader from Atlantic, Iowa. "You got to worry about all
your guys and making sure they're getting behind cover
calling out if they see something and what they see."
From the east, north and south, Taliban fighters were
attacking the soldiers with well-aimed shots, keeping
them pinned down.
"Initially, I thought just my position was suppressed,
just because the nature of the way the rounds were
coming in," said Garcia. "But as I started to move
around and get better eyes on where they were shooting,
I could see my entire element was taking heavy enemy
fire ... so I was worried about my guys taking
casualties."
Fighting back and continually communicating with each
other, the soldiers called for air support and heard the
relief of AH-64 Apache helicopters on their way.
"When bullets get closer, they make different sounds,"
explained Garcia. "When they're very far away, they make
a snap or a whiz. As they get closer, you can feel a
crack or a pop, then you can feel the rocks hitting you
the positions we were in, most of the guys could hear
the crack and the pop and have rounds hitting the rocks
and equipment right there by you."
"You hear the snaps and it gets your blood pumping,"
said Allen. "Like a good cup of coffee in the morning,
but it gets your blood flowing a little faster. You have
to wait for the coffee to kick in."
The reality of their situation was getting worse with
one of the soldiers wounded. Garcia quickly rallied his
troops and repositioned his Soldiers into fighting
positions at better vantage points on the West side of
the ridge.
Turning of the Tide
"Vince Lombardi used to say, It all comes down to
blocking and tackling,'" said Garcia. "If you don't
block and tackle well, then you won't win. And I think
we did the basics well."
In their new fighting positions, soldiers could better
see where the enemy fire was coming from and figured out
how to suppress it with the help of air support. For the
next eight hours, sporadic fire was exchanged. Then, as
the sun disappeared behind the western mountains, the
soldiers perseverance began to pay off.
"We started to get inside the enemies' minds and
start[ed] to catch them with their pants down," Garcia
said. "Morale started going up and from the first day to
the next day, morale was about one million times
higher."
The temperature dropped almost 30 degrees, but the
soldiers were safe inside their new positions. Under the
cover of darkness, they fortified their positions,
continually calling for artillery shells and bombing
runs.
"It was really loud between the grenade rounds, shooting
and exploding, the bombs being dropped, the machine gun
fire going off next to my head." said U.S. Army Spc.
James Piccolo, an infantryman from Longview, Wash.
"Rounds were being thrown at us, and we had to keep
reloading and keep firing. In between doing that, I was
looking for more people at the base of the hill."
Confidant in their air support, the soldiers called up
enemy fighting positions for bombing runs throughout the
bone-chilling night.
"They definitely dropped two bombs at the base of our
hill, danger close," added Piccolo. "It was welcomed,
but it rocked us up here. I think they're definitely
wishing they stayed at home."
The course of the battle shifted toward the more
equipped, more professional and more tenacious Cougar
Company troops throughout the next two days. Soldiers
seldom walked around and everyone slept, ate and lived
in their combat gear staying protected by their
makeshift bunkers.
"I've got to thank my mom for buying me all those Legos
and Lincoln Logs," said a dirt-caked Allen. "It's
helping me build all these different sizes of rocks and
boulders and filling them up with dirt to stop the
bullets. It makes it a little better cover and makes it
more comfortable at night sleeping knowing you got
something around you that can stop shrapnel and
bullets."
The convoy arrives
Late on the third evening, a radio reported news of the
convoy passing on the road below.
"I'm a driver whenever we're in vehicles," said Feldhaus.
"I know that I wouldn't want to be shot at, so it's a
good feeling helping these guys out
We're doing what
we're supposed to be doing."
With the enemy's ability to maneuver taken away and
intelligence reporting the enemy's morale crushed, they
were on the run.
The logistics convoy creeped through the valley without
being attacked.
This was the first time that this particular convoy
wasn't disturbed by insurgents, said Garcia.
"I always take being selected for a mission as an honor.
They always select a company for a reason to do things,"
said Garcia. "It was more like a killer bee's nest with
red ants thrown on top of it
The heroic mentality in
this group is incredible. I wouldn't have made it if it
wasn't for these guys."
Off the mountain
As most of these young men's civilian counterparts are
worried about grades and upcoming tests, these soldiers
knew they had just passed one of their toughest exams.
"I think overall, it's been a pretty good mission," said
Piccolo with dirt smeared across his lips. "We came up
here and are doing what we're supposed to be doing. The
first day sucked. They had us suppressed pretty good,
but since then, we've been pretty much kicking their
ass."
With whatever adrenaline the dirty, tired and hungry
soldiers had left, they mounted the helicopters. The
mission was successful, everyone was coming home alive.
As the UH-60 Black Hawks veered away from the
mountaintop, the soldiers looked down on a long string
of lights far off in the distance. The logistics convoy
pressed on, safely out of danger because of the
dedicated 101st Airborne soldiers content in their
accomplishments. Just like the soldiers in previous wars
with pictures in hard-bound books. |
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