A Hell of a Fight
Here’s the original report. Keep reading.
Afghan National Commandos from 1st Company, 201st Kandak and members of the Afghan National Police, advised by Coalition forces, conducted a deliberate operation today [April 6 2008] eliminating several insurgents in Nuristan Province.
The Afghan National Security Forces, along with Coalition forces, conducted a cordon-and-search in Kendal and Shok villages in an effort to clear the area of insurgents when several groups of enemy fighters engaged friendly forces from several compounds and multiple fighting positions around and within the villages.
The combined force repelled the attack with accurate small-arms fire and crew-served weapons. During the long battle, the insurgents reinforced their positions in several compounds with large groups of fighters.
As the enemy reinforced their positions with additional fighters, the ground force commander called in close air support on the reinforced defensive positions. These compounds contained large numbers of heavily-armed insurgents who engaged the combined force with a heavy volume of machine gun fire.
After neutralizing the threat, the combined force detained numerous insurgents, secured several compounds, and discovered fully-loaded weapons and stores of ammunition.
There are no reports of civilian casualties at this time.
Following a thorough search of the objective areas, the combined ANSF and Coalition forces deliberately withdrew from the area with the detained personnel under the control of the Afghan National Police participating on the mission.
Kendal and Shok villages have long been identified as insurgent strongholds. Villagers in the area have lived in fear of insurgents supporting the Hizb-e-Islami-Gulbuddin (HIG) terrorist organization. This operation will significantly reduce their ability to conduct future operations in the area.
Here’s the result. 10 Silver Stars to be awarded.
A harrowing, nearly seven-hour battle unfolded on that mountainside in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province on April 6, as Walton, his team and a few dozen Afghan commandos they had trained took fire from all directions. Outnumbered, the Green Berets fought on even after half of them were wounded — four critically — and managed to subdue an estimated 150 to 200 insurgents, according to interviews with several team members and official citations.
Today, Walton and nine of his teammates from Operational Detachment Alpha 3336 of the 3rd Special Forces Group will receive the Silver Star for their heroism in that battle — the highest number of such awards given to the elite troops for a single engagement since the Vietnam War.
That chilly morning, Walton’s mind was on his team’s mission: to capture or kill several members of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) militant group in their stronghold, a village perched in Nuristan’s Shok Valley that was accessible only by pack mule and so remote that Walton said he believed that no U.S. troops, or Soviet ones before them, had ever been there.
But as the soldiers, each carrying 60 to 80 pounds of gear, scaled the mountain, they could already spot insurgents running to and fro, they said. As the soldiers drew closer, they saw that many of the mud buildings had holes in the foot-thick walls for snipers. The U.S. troops had maintained an element of surprise until their helicopters turned into the valley, but by now the insurgent leaders entrenched above knew they were the targets, and had alerted their fighters to rally.
ad_iconStaff Sgt. Luis Morales of Fredericksburg was the first to see an armed insurgent and opened fire, killing him. But at that moment, the insurgents began blasting away at the American and Afghan troops with machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades — shooting down on each of the U.S. positions from virtually all sides.
Washington Post
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Please read the entire article. I suspect that higher awards will be made to some of these heroes.
