Email us at atwar@nytimes.com. Aaron Dove, pilot and weapon systems officer of one of the F-15E aircraft coordinating close air support, were also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. In the year that followed the agreement, ANA and American deaths dropped from thirty to three. Basically, the air support was leaving and coming back. The latest acronym for attackers used by the Americans was AAF, for anti-Afghan fighters. Above their paygrade. "[5], On November 9, 2018, the Netflix series Medal of Honor featured two separate episodes for both Romesha and Carter's personal accounts of the events that took place at COP Keating during the Battle of Kamdesh. The outpost's depot was promptly looted by the insurgents and bombed by American planes in an effort to destroy the lethal munitions left behind."[10]. Seven other Americans and one ANA soldier were wounded. Rob Yllescas of Nebraska, in "The Outpost," which tells the story of real-life combat events from the War in Afghanistan. Colonel Pat Donahue, the former commander of the 3rd BCT, believed that the Nuristani population was essentially neutral, hostile to any outside groups, and so isolated that resources allocated to the region would be wasted. [9], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}352523N 711944E / 35.4231N 71.3289E / 35.4231; 71.3289 (Location of Combat Outpost Keating). [5][10] Two USAF F-15E fighter bombers circled overhead, led by Captains Mike Polidor and Aaron Dove and their wingmen, 1st Lt. Justin Pavoni and Captain Ryan Bone, for almost eight hours, helping coordinate airstrikes by 19 other aircraft. The action takes place at Combat Outpost Keating, which was initially built to engage the locals in community development projects. In the end, as part of an effort by General Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, such remote outposts were closed so that more troops could be used to protect civilians in populated areas. The Shapleigh native volunteered to drive an Army truck loaded with supplies along a treacherous 200-foot cliff at night . -The Outpost book. The camp was constructed by 3-71 Cavalry, 10th Mountain Division (Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition) in the summer of 2006 and was manned by their ABLE Troop element until June 2007. Like in the film, Sgt. This was a re-deployment from the Cowkay and Korangal Valleys to Kamdesh. [7]:1238,1368,18191,407. Joshua Hardt, who until this time had been MIA. prosthetic makeup effects sculptor: Millennium FX. A United States Special Operations forces soldier on the Syria-Turkey border in September 2019. The military had planned to relocate the outpost in August 2009, but the resources needed for such a move were tied up elsewhere. Robert Yllescas. The initiating ISAF forces of 1-91 Cavalry had returned home, replaced by 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. These resources were limited by the fact that only 5,000 American troops were available to occupy a rugged area the size of Virginia that had little infrastructure. [2] A day after, on October 7, Taliban fighters were seen among the ruins of the outpost. Captain Broward is a fictional character likely based on Captain Melvin Porter, the officer who commanded COP Keating before it was attacked and was reprimanded for its lack of preparedness. I'd have to look more into the specific situation to know more but from the general impression of the situation. Through the summer and fall of 2008, Captain Joey Hutto, COP Keating's new commander, expanded this initiative. The American forces were too outnumbered to survive sustained combat. In 2009, Combat Outpost Keating was positioned perilously close to Taliban forces, in the sandy hills of Afghanistan, and vulnerable to attack. Here's what else we covered in this week's newsletter. These subgroups were in turn divided into clans and sects, depending on lineages and the interpretations of individual religious leaders. American forces formed a thinly held and poorly supplied picket line from Naray to Kamdesh along the river. While en route the Platoon encountered a planned ambush on the side of the mountain resulting in three confirmed enemy KIA at approximately 6:00pm. The Nuristanis had resisted Islam as late as the year 1895 and before that had been considered a Hindu nation (Islamic invaders called them "Kaffir" or heathen) with a long tradition of violently resisting outsiders and their beliefs. (U.S. Army) The Counterattack: "We're Taking this Bitch Back" With more and more Taliban soldiers now inside the base, an important decision was needed. It could not be seen or supported with indirect fire due to the multi-level and complicated terrain. Keating's November 26, 2006 death deeply affected his platoon, who wanted to honor his sacrifice and his selfless care for them. (The main aid station was too heavily damaged to remain in operation.). 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. These troops were ambushed on the Naray-Kamdesh road and shot up badly enough to prevent their arrival in Kamdesh. His death had a traumatic effect on the morale of 3-71 Cav. This is a lofty mountain range characterized by steep slopes of enormous granite boulders separated by fast moving rivers in deep narrow valleys. The first didn't take place at the camp. Because the reports had not been verified by other intelligence sources, such as electronic intelligence, the reports were discounted. It looked just like our outpost on the day of the battle. [7]:21530, The closeness of the action, and coordinated fire from both sides of the valley indicated that the attackers in this ambush were different from the groups that had been using sporadic, long range, harassing fire. Resistance in Nuristan revolved around a specific group of Islamic fighters known as Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin or HIG. Combat Outpost Keating was a small American military outpost in Nurestan Province, in Afghanistan. [14] At the time, Afghan national forces were supervised and trained by members of the Latvian Operational Mentor Liaison Teams. Unlike the movie, The Outpost true story reveals that Keating was not alone in the truck. [17], Coalition forces received three human-source intelligence reports sometime before the battle indicating that insurgents were planning an attack on the outposts. [7]:803,945,11620, After marching into the proposed site for the Kamdesh provincial outpost, Captain Michael and Cherokee Company's second platoon were confronted by a large boulder in the middle of the site that made landing a helicopter in the PRT site impossible. From left, Martin Malchev as Specialist Cody Floyd; Jack Kalian as Staff Sgt. The 13-hour battle to re-take Combat Outpost Keating from an assault by 300 Taliban fighters on Oct. 3, 2009, was a team effort. I only watched the trailer. The veterans who served as technical advisors on the film said that the set was eerily similar to the real outpost, which no longer exists. Director Rod Lurie is himself a West Point graduate and an Army veteran. The Distinguished Flying Cross was given to 7 aviators who assisted in defending the base. In 2006, HIG was actively resisting the Afghan government. Using a transfusion kit, Cordova began pumping his own blood into the wounded soldier, along with blood collected from other soldiers. Wed love your feedback on this newsletter. Among these U.S. troops were men of great mettle. What if there was a country in place of the Bay of Biscay? A United States Special Operations forces soldier on the Syria-Turkey border in. He began building a consensus of village elders in support of the Afghan government. It was adapted for the screen by Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy (Patriots Day and The Fighter). 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. [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. During this battle Taliban members outnumbered US forces in a staggering 5 to 1 ratio and was considered one of the bloodiest battle of the War. Those guys were amazing. The bounty was a thing back then? Sylvanius Broward (1972-) was a US Army captain who served in the US 61st Cavalry Regiment during the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War.. History. 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. Eventually, supporting aircraft scattered the attackers; while air support provided decisive results. Other veterans also acted in the movie, including Henry Hughes. Yes. Unconfirmed footage reportedly shows a short segment from a November 2008 battle at Combat Outpost (COP) Keating, in which ISAF troops attempt to defend the stupidly-placed position from an enemy that holds the high ground on all sides. Stoney Portis, an officer in the Army and a Ph.D. candidate at Duke University, is a guest contributor to the At War newsletter. His wounds were severe and while he was initially in and out of consciousness, he died before they could get him back to the outpost. The fighting at COP Keating, which is also known as the Battle of Kamdesh, involved an attack by over 400 insurgents against the combat outpost, which was slated to be dismantled. Ground resupply became almost impossible due to the area's limited roads and the threat of insurgent attacks. [5] Within two minutes of the beginning of the attack, American forces suffered their first casualty. Originally built to engage the locals in community development projects, Combat Outpost Keating located at the bottom of three steep mountains just 14 miles from the Pakistani border faced . 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. They did their jobs, and Im here because of what they did, but air support was definitely a must.. Moreover, again according to Romesha, the officer who was in charge until very shortly before the battle, Captain Melvin Porter, was criminally incompetent and allowed the perimeter defenses to fall into decay, despite repeated requests from Romesha and his friends to improve them. In Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming, Jonathan Shay calls this form of catharsis the communalization of grief, in which trauma survivors tell their stories and listeners can listen, believe and remember. This is when the circle of healing is complete. Soldiers Dead in Bold Attack in Afghanistan", Attack on Afghan outposts kills 8 soldiers, "U.S. ignored warnings before deadly Afghan attack", "U.S. Military Faults Leaders in Attack on Base", "Courage at Keating: 2 Medals of Honor, 1 DSC, 8 Silver Stars for standout B Troop", "Army releases report on battle at Combat Outpost Keating battle", "Afghan insurgents pushed into U.S. base, official says", "Strategic Plans Spawned Bitter End for a Lonely Outpost", "Defense.gov News Release: DoD Identifies Army Casualties", "Defense.gov News Release: DoD Identifies Army Casualty", "Insurgents breached U.S. outpost in battle", The Gazette: Mom works to help Carson soldiers honor battle bonds, "They 'weren't going to get beat that day' the Medal of Honor recipients who held COP Keating against all odds", "US premiere of film about Battle of COP Keating and Latvian soldiers | Aizsardzbas ministrija", Latvijas Televzija: Videofilma "Afganistna. [23], Once inside, the attackers set fire to the base, burning down most of the barracks. Mace survived long enough to be evacuated to a nearby medical facility. [7]:31214,371, The shura began to falter by October 2008. The other two mountains that surrounded the actual outpost were inserted with CGI. I'll have to give it a read sometime. The 48N6 missiles of the S-400 (and why they were designed by flat-earthers), WI: Instead of a NATO pull-out, the bases/forces in Afghanistan are handed over to the UN Peacekeeping. In the movie, a dog that some of the soldiers at the outpost are taking care of bites a visiting Kamdesh village elder. During the first minutes of battle, mortar rounds hit the main generator, cutting power to most of the camp. He jumped up undeterred and ran through heavy fire to get more ammunition. These factors resulted in an attractive target for enemy fighters," the report concluded. Justin Gallegos' Silver Star was later upgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross. 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. Again, it was later noted that many of Porter's decisions were sound. But he was ineffective in actually making the men understand why/how he came to certain decisions. This letter was written in Pashto and signed "Mujahideen". 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. In this December 2012 interview, MAJ Melvin Porter, US Army, Signal; discusses his deployment to Afghanistan as a company commander for 3-61 Cavalry (CAV) in 2009 through 2010 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Tiller was also thrown from the truck but his injuries weren't nearly as severe. Between each take, the director and actors paused and turned to Cordova, who offered feedback to make the scene match his memory. 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 . Outnumbered and outgunned, the soldiers fought. 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. "It doesn't really take a lot to sort of trigger the emotions again," said Beth Keating. [31] 3 soldiers were awarded the Bronze Star Medal, and 18 others the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for valor. This had the potential to boost the local economy, which had seen few civic improvements. Nine years earlier, Cordova and his medics toiled away in the aid station to treat the wounded and save the dying. This strategy depended upon extending government control by building and maintaining provincial reconstruction team bases. By allowing soldiers to tell their story, by hearing their story, you are also part of the healing. [8] The Coalition forces withdrew from the base shortly after the battle. Then tragedy struck again. Such attacks are not news to men like Capt. 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. They should had just followed their fucking orders. The steep mountains rendered two dimensional maps and landmarks useless. Capt. [7]:298304, By October 2007 the elders and mullahs of the Kamdesh area had been inspired by Rahman to gather at Kamdesh for a mass meeting, or shura to plan the future of Nuristan. The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor - Kindle edition by Tapper, Jake. The U.S. soldiers killed in the battle were: Amy Davidson Sorkin, writing in The New Yorker, tried to answer the question why the base had not been moved, when it was found to be unsuitable. The military's failure to close Combat Outpost Keating earlier likely contributed to the Battle of Kamdesh, which resulted in eight U.S. soldiers losing their lives, while 27 others were left wounded. It was this delay that proved fatal to some of the troops stationed at COP Keating. Need to know. Nine soldiers were awarded the Silver Star for valor. He was the last commander of Combat Outpost Keating. On Oct. 3, while Cordova was in the aid station keeping Mace alive, I was fighting to get back with a company of reinforcements. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. These AAF were more professional and probably represented groups from areas outside of Nuristan. [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. But I never told the story from my own perspective. [5] The U.S. military estimated that 150 Taliban insurgents were also killed as a result of repulsing the assault. It was treacherous and subject to enemy ambush. 37 soldiers were awarded the Army Commendation Medal with "V" device for valor. Clint Romesha and Ty Carter, portrayed by Scott Eastwood and Caleb Landry Jones, were not present when Benjamin Keating died. Additionally, 20 Afghan troops, two Latvian soldiers and a dozen Afghan security guards were at Keating. After an attack on October 3, 2009, where the base was nearly overrun, and 8 Americans and 4 Afghan defenders were killed, the base was abandoned and demolished by a bombing from an American B-1 bomber on the night of October 6th, 2009. A year later COP Keating would be the location for the fateful October 2009 Battle of Kamdesh for . [38], The battle of Kamdesh is documented in the 2017 book Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor by Clinton Romesha, a former United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle for Combat Outpost Keating in Nuristan, Afghanistan. [7]:1238,1368,18191,407, From August 8 to November 25 of 2006, strenuous efforts were made to supply and expand the PRT by supply convoys using the Landay-Sin valley road from Naray FOB. Scott Eastwood and Caleb Landry Jones, were not present when Benjamin Keating died, a dog some! 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