Since January, TF Duke, which is responsible for CF’ ops in Khowst and Paktya Provs, conducted several major ops alongside their ANSF partners designed to shape the battlefield, by eliminating insurgent safe havens, targeting insurgent weapons caches, securing key routes, and clearing insurgents from populated areas. Tofan I largely confirmed what Duke’s cmdr., Col. Chris Toner, suspected. “We had to do it. We had to get in there and see,” said Toner, referring to the suspected enemy support zones in Musa Khel, a sparsely populated, mountainous area located in the center of the TF Duke AO. “What the op did was allow us to confirm or deny our enemy template, where we think these support zones are, and what they consist of. Now we’ve narrowed down the hunt, so to speak, and know where we're going to go next.”
The op, which began on July 27, originally called for all units to pull out before Aug 1, the first full day of Ramadan. For one unit, however, the op didn’t end as planned. “We were directed to stay, search out, and engage the indirect fire teams that were engaging us the entire time,” said Capt. Josh Wiles, the self-proclaimed “army-brat,” who commands Co D. He was referring to what he described as the consistent and incredibly accurate insurgent mortar and rocket teams that rained down explosive fire against the Musa Khel District Center, during the op. “Every one of their rounds was effective; they had our location locked in,” said Wiles.
The effectiveness of these indirect fire teams compelled Toner to cancel a pre-planned shura, scheduled at the Musa Khel D.C., between Khowst Provincial Gov. Naeemi, and local elders toward the end of the op’s original timeline. “I expected enemy contact, but didn't expect a mortar attack, and certainly didn't expect mortar attacks in those numbers,” said Toner, adding that the conditions were too dangerous for the gov., and local officials to hold the meeting.
He continued, "citing the boldness of the insurgents who didn't stop firing despite the presence of air weapons teams AWTs, or teams of attack helicopters. I certainly didn’t expect them to continue firing mortars with AWT overhead.” He said, "normally indirect fire teams as accurate as those in Musa Khel are found near coalition bases. I would say it’s a good assumption to make, that having a mortar team of that quality in that remote of an area, indicates to me that they're protecting something,” said Toner.
Wiles and his Co. D “Dragoons” took their orders, and began an intense search of the area to locate enemy fire teams. “At times it was rough,” said Wiles, referring to the intensely steep terrain that his Soldiers had to negotiate, in the effort to locate the menace, at elevations above 8,000 feet. “This was a different situation than my Soldiers were used to,” said Wiles, whose primary area of responsibility is in Tani District, a relatively calm area in southern Khowst, where his focus is mostly on supporting good governance and training ASF.
After 14 days searching the hillsides, the Dragoons ultimately did not locate the mortar and rocket teams, and returned to their home base at COP Narizah, Aug. 7. All was not lost during the extended mission, however. “While patrolling, we visited 3 villages that reportedly had never seen Americans before this op,” said Wiles. “Musa Khel is my responsibility now, and me and my Soldiers will be back regularly to promote good governance, and extend the reach of the brigade to an area we need and want to influence,” he said.
For Toner, the overall results of Tofan I are extremely positive. “It’s clear to me, because we got out to these support zones, and these areas where the insurgents stage their attacks, they immediately had to respond to us, and it prevented them from doing what they wanted to do. I disrupted his pre-Ramadan attack cycle, no doubt in my mind,” said Toner. “To me that’s success.”
Individuals like supply asst. Spc. Adam Cole, Co. A, 700 BSB, 45th IBCT jumped at a moment’s notice to fly to COP Xio Haq. Like others in the chosen crew, it would be his first experience with an air assault op. During training, his supervisor Sgt. William Nation, Co. A, 700 BSB, asked, “You don’t have a phobia of large aircraft flying over your head, do you?” Cole claimed such fears didn’t develop until after he found himself hooking up sling loads, under a descending UH-60 Black Hawk, as it buffeted him with rotor wash.
However, once trained by experienced NCOs, this supply Soldier transformed tangled lines into orderly nets around pallets of critical supplies. Once loads were set, their mission was far from finished. Supplying an air assault means waiting for aviation assets gathered on the landing zone. Unexpected changes meant the whole team needed to come running any time of day or night, whenever they heard the sound of incoming helicopters. The 2nd day of ops began with troops in contact with the enemy. The unplanned, but not unexpected exchange, meant that scouts from the 1st Bn., needed to be resupplied, and they needed it quickly. “You can plan and hope it goes according to plan, but it never works out that way,” said Capt. John Fagan, logistics officer for HHC., 1st Bn., “but, we’re prepared for that.” According to Master Sgt. Jeffery Patterson, logistics NCO-in-charge for HHC., 45th IBCT, the solution is known as a “speedball,” a quick resupply load of approx 450-lbs. Each speedball is quickly filled with emergency supplies of water, food, and ammo, then loaded onto Black Hawks for rapid delivery. Sometimes emergency resupply missions include a laundry list of additional necessary items. Patches and uniform items were scrounged, and Patterson said Soldiers are quick to give up their clean clothes, if it means helping a buddy in the field. Fagan credited pathfinder-qualified 1st Lt. Jason Smith, and the volunteers from throughout the brigade, with the success of the mission. “Resupply is the lifeblood of the op,” said FagKABUL – Members of the Afghan Ministry of Interior's Air Interdiction Unit (AIU) accomplished a 1st today, by completing their 1st fully-integrated counter-narcotics op, alongside a coalition aircrew. The mission, originating from the AAF compound in Kabul, was flown by Afghan AIU fully-mission-qualified special forces pilots and, according to AIU officials, aimed at destroying illegal drugs and drug-making equipment in Achin District in Nangahar prov.
According to mission planners, a large drug lab and one ton of illegal drugs were destroyed during the raid. The mission also included support from units within the Afghan National Intel Unit, Afghan commando forces and coalition advisers. "Today's mission proved that U.S. and U.K. training is working, and the AIU is a step closer to achieving its own dedicated counter-narcotics ops with its Afghan partners," said GBR Maj. Stephen Davies, AIU Executive Training Team EO. "It also proves the quality of aircrew members the AIU has, in order to be able to achieve such integration. They're the most highly trained and qualified Afghan aircrew in the country."The AIU is a U.S. Army and U.K. Royal AF-mentored counter-narcotics aviation unit, that provides general helicopter support to the ANP, as well as executes deliberate counter-narcotic ops with partnered special ops forces (SOF). AIU units specialize in assaulting ground targets that aren't in close proximity of friendly ground forces. With 20 Mi-17 helicopters currently in the AIU inventory, crews conduct training and operational missions in support of the MoI, in conjunction with the ANP, and other counter-narcotics forces throughout Afghanistan. According to officials, the specialized AIU enables counter-narcotics police to reach, what would otherwise be, completely inaccessible parts of Afghanistan, with the helicopters providing added security and the element of surprise.Afghan AIU cmdrs. overseeing the mission, indicated that today's mission went according to plan. "This partnership has been achieved through the dedication of our coalition training team, combined with the hard work of my AIU aircrew to achieve this level of success. We plan to build upon this achievement, and integrate further into these types of specialist aviation ops, in order to further develop the capability of the AIU," said Col. Fahim Ramin.Experts indicate that specialized training leading to today's milestone, has taken approx 5 years, and included thousands of hours of familiarization in the cockpit, operational air assault training, and the integration of AIU crew members into coalition counter-narcotics missions. Following today's mission, the unit now hopes to expand their support to ANSF, in hopes of contributing to the stabilization of the Afghan govt. "We will continue to train more fully-mission qualified crews for future ops, and as the unit qualifies more members, they'll slowly become the majority crew members on these missions," explained Davies. "In the meantime, they'll gain more experience in conducting these types of ops through coalition mentoring, with the future goal of having a fully-trained AIU that has the capability to conduct these types of ops with their own Afghan counter-narcotic forces."COP SHUKVANI, Helmand prov. – A blast of fire, triggered by 1,750-lbs. of C4 explosive, erupted from the ground, sending a shockwave ripping through the air. Secondary explosions suggested that local IEDs sympathetically detonated, as a massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
The Marines and sailors of 2nd CEB, assisted by the Republic of Georgia’s 33rd Lt. Inf. Bn., effectively cleared the area of IEDs, and negating the insurgency of IED storage facilities. Local residents were unable to trade their goods in the marketplace without risking their own lives, previous to the op. They were upset with having to travel more than 5 miles, often carrying their goods by foot to the nearest market. The residents came to the Marines, hoping they would clear the bazaar, and rebuild safe and secure compounds. A Civil Affairs Team (CAT), attached to the 33rd Georgian Bn., sat down with local leaders to figure out a solution to the problem. “This is a symbolic op,” said Sgt. Sean May, a CAT leader. “The Afghan govt is telling the insurgents that this is our area now.” The Marines attempted to clear the marketplace throughout the early months of 2011, but the area was covered with IEDs, and saturated with the insurgency’s presence. Firefights broke out, and the Marines risked triggering booby traps littered across roads, and hidden in mud compounds, every time they endeavored to clear the bazaar. “The insurgents have underground tunnels in there, and they’re using them as armories,” said LCpl. Joshua Hoffman, an engr. “Every single place is booby-trapped; every door locked, and there are pressure plates everywhere. There's no way to clear that place – we have to level it.”The Marines, unable to use air strikes to level the bazaar, due to the potential for civilian casualties, ultimately decided the best course of action would be an explosive breach with mechanical clearance. “We will destroy all of the buildings and any IEDs in the area,” said Capt. John Shubeck, company cmdr. with 2nd CEB. “Then we'll bring in bulldozers to push the rubble to the sides.” “The Route Clearance platoon (RCP) will push through the bazaar, clearing the area of IEDs,” said 1st Lt. Chase Wheeler, the EO for Co C, 2nd CEB. “That way we, as engrs, have done everything we can to ensure that the bazaar is clear of IEDs. By doing this our way, we're being safe, taking care of the IED threat, and we're more involved with the locals.” Marines plan to offer the local residents work helping to remove the rubble, while the Georgians provide security to the area during the construction of the new bazaar, scheduled to begin within 2 weeks of the op’s completion. ANA soldiers partnered with the 33rd Georgian Bn will enter the area to provide security to the citizens, once the bazaar is built.
Capt. John Shubeck, cmdr. for Co C, gives commands over the radio at a nearby observation post.
Assault breaching vehicles (ABVs) lay in wait prior to the beginning of Op Black Sand. Marines used the ABVs to clear a secure path to the Ladar Bazaar, before firing line charges and effectively leveling the marketplace, clearing it of IEDs.
An assault breaching vehicle fires a line charge to clear IEDs in and around the Ladar Bazaar. The charge is comprised of 1,750-lbs of C4 explosive, and is spread along a 350-foot rope.
An explosion rocks the ground in the Ladar Bazaar after a line charge is detonated.
Marines and sailors, partnered with soldiers from the Republic of Georgia’s Army, take a moment to relax at an observation post near the Ladar Bazaar.
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ISAF Joint Command
ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update, Aug. 12, 2011
While searching for the leader the SECFOR came across 2 armed insurgents. As the force approached, the 2 insurgents attempted to fire their weapons, and were killed. The SECFOR also detained multiple other suspected insurgents, including the would-be suicide bomber who was to carry out the attack on the provincial govt official. The force also confiscated an RPG launcher, and multiple AK-47 rifles.
In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan: SouthKANDAHAR PROVINCE -- In Kandahar city, a combined Afghan and coalition SECFOR detained a Taliban leader and one suspected insurgent, yesterday, during a security op. The leader was responsible for overseeing the construction and emplacement of roadside bombs throughout Zhari District. HELMAND PROVINCE -- An Afghan and coalition combined SECFOR detained multiple suspected insurgents, during a security op targeting a Taliban leader in Nahr-e Saraj District, yesterday. The leader directs a Taliban attack cell in Nahr-e Saraj, and is responsible for roadside bomb and small-arms attacks against Afghan and CF in central Helmand. While searching the area, the SECFOR also discovered 500-lbs. of ammonium nitrate, along with an explosive making device.East
PAKTIYA PROVINCE -- In Zurmat District, a combined Afghan and coalition SECFOR captured a Haqqani network leader, and one of his associates during a security op, yesterday. The detained leader participated in roadside bomb, indirect fire, and direct-action attacks against the Afghan forces. ----- Also in Zurmat, a combined Afghan and coalition SECFOR detained several suspected insurgents, during a security search for a Haqqani network leader. The leader coordinates roadside bomb and direct-action attacks against the ANA.-30-
IRAQI STORIES:
U.S. Division-North