[26] The attack accelerated those plans, with the troops' departure taking place so quickly after the battle that some munitions were abandoned. 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? It was adapted for the screen by Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy (Patriots Day and The Fighter). Defense officials confirm that two senior officers who oversaw the forces at COP Keating have received administrative punishments that could impact their careers. He was awarded the medal on 26 August 2013. [2] Combat Outpost Keating is best known as the setting of the Battle of Kamdesh which occurred on October 3rd, 2009. This will happen to you." Again, it was later noted that many of Porter's decisions were sound. Div. Insurgents had breached the camp in several locations, including at the main entrance, near the latrine area, and on the eastern side. [31] 3 soldiers were awarded the Bronze Star Medal, and 18 others the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for valor. (Multiple explosions near the ammo supply set off a series of fires at the post.). 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. Follow-up attacks attempted by Taliban forces were subsequently thwarted by U.S. . The pick up zone for Able Troop 2nd Platoon was called PZ Reds, located on the side of an 8,000-foot mountain. This includes Scott Eastwood's character, Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha, telling the men, "We're taking this bitch back," after the camp is partially overrun by Taliban fighters. American forces formed a thinly held and poorly supplied picket line from Naray to Kamdesh along the river. [1] Plans were drawn up in the summer of 2006 by the US Army's 10th Mountain Division as part of Operation Mountain Lion. The true story confirms that the Afghan National Army soldiers, who were fighting alongside the U.S. troops, either fled the outpost after the attack began or hid in cowardice. Without air support, I dont think we would have made it, considering the number against us and the area we were in, McMurtrey said. [37], Staff Sergeant Ty Carter (then Specialist) was also awarded the Medal of Honor for his courage during the battle. MAJ Porter talks about his first couple of days into country as he was getting set up and received direct attack resulting . "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. Keating saw these programs as producing mixed results. It is a story about the battle to defend against a coordinated Taliban attack that later came to be known as The Battle of Kamdesh. SHAPLEIGH, Maine It's been nearly 14 years since Ken and Beth Keating lost their son, Army Captain Benjamin Keating, in Afghanistan. The Allies hoped that extending these bases into Nuristan, one of the most remote and isolated eastern provinces in Afghanistan, they could demonstrate to the entire Afghan population the government's credibility and power. A year later COP Keating would be the location for the fateful October 2009 Battle of Kamdesh for . Martina Skokova. 2023 All rights reserved. As I neared the camp that evening, Cordovas voice crackled through my radio and asked for more blood donors. But he was ineffective in actually making the men understand why/how he came to certain decisions. I am almost 100% certain it was deliberately placed in a shitty location to goad locals into attacking the base, allowing the US to attack the enemy directly. In 2018, I flew on my own dime to Sofia, Bulgaria, to witness the making of the film based on Jake Tappers book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor. Chris Cordova, an old friend and another veteran of the battle, came with me. [7]:228,249,469, At the end of May 2007, Bulldog Troop, 1-91 Cavalry Squadron, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, arrived at COP Keating. [32] Staff Sgt. Email us at atwar@nytimes.com. Capt. Extending control further along the river was expected to counter the AAF expansion and activity in the summer of 2007. 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. [7]:334,501,92,98. 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. Lardner, Richard (Associated Press), "Command Failures". [7]:28,41,908,123, The Kamdesh village and most of Nuristan is located in the Hindu Kush. The Outpost true story reveals that the soldiers were surrounded by more than 300 Taliban fighters, many of whom were rushing in from Pakistan, which was only 14 miles from COP Keating. You are using an out of date browser. 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. So if you see the film when it comes out over the Fourth of July weekend, know that you are not just watching a war movie. These valley and road intersections combined with the political leadership in the area inspired the positioning of the Nuristan PRT. [7]:28,41,908,123, The area had not been occupied by any conventional US forces prior to 3-71 Cavalry's takeover, although Special Operations forces operated in the area on a very limited basis. 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 . Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha and Staff Sergeant Ty Carter were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the battle. It seemed that it would get extremely intense, with a lot of fire, a lot of RPGs hitting the wall, and then it would die, McMurtrey told Air Force Magazine in 2011. Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, View Video of Taliban Fighters in the Camp. David Porter (February 1, 1780 - March 3, 1843) was an officer in the United States Navy in the rank of captain and the honorary title of commodore.Porter commanded a number of U.S. naval ships. Porter had already done two tours in Iraq and even before he was deployed to COP Keating, his superior officer Lieutenant Colonel Brad Brown and the men of his company thought he was "spent". 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. Using a transfusion kit, Cordova began pumping his own blood into the wounded soldier, along with blood collected from other soldiers. Regrouping there, they pushed out teams to retake much of the outpost. Surprised they didn't frag him. 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 U.S. evacuated the camp three days later. ", Yes. [4] She noted two claims the military put forward in its report: first, the resources to relocate the base had not been available because the brigade was concentrating on guarding a village that Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, considered strategically important. Died of his wounds after his leg was hit by a single gunshot wound. So first and foremost: The movie is based off the book of the same name. "But it is very difficult for us when people who weren't there and weren't involved, question the decision of leadership in a fight, but sometimes it is also necessary.". One officer in Afghanistan who was familiar with the attack on COP Keating said he had mixed feelings about the criticism leveled against the camp's commanders. However that road itself was pretty poor in of itself. On Oct. 3, 2009, Keating was the site of the second costliest U.S. firefight of the Afghanistan War. [7]:1238,1368,18191,407, On August 8, 2006, 19 days after the first American landing, the PRT was attacked for the first time. Joshua Hardt, who until this time had been MIA. The outpost was manned by 54 American personnel from B Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, who faced greater than seven-to-one odds in the battle. The Outpost real story confirms that COP Keating was evacuated two days after the battle. That doesnt mean anything should be taken from the guys on the ground. 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]. These factors resulted in an attractive target for enemy fighters," the report concluded. My soldiers and I had been sharing stories since Oct. 3, 2009, when our 53 cavalry scouts fought off more than 300 Taliban fighters bent on overrunning Combat Outpost Keating in Nuristan, Afghanistan. This article is featured in the 2019 October issue of VFW magazine, and was written by Janie Dyhouse, senior editor for VFW magazine. [9] The Americans "declared the outpost closed and departedso quickly that they did not carry out all of their stored ammunition. Such administrative punishments are seen as career-enders if they are made a part of a permanent personnel file. They should had just followed their fucking orders. Yes. Formalized as "The Commitment of Mutual Support" the agreement also provided the Shura would provide local security in return for an end to uninvited American military searches of local towns and mosques. Air Force Capt. This series of meetings over two days involved more than 800 representatives of the people of Nuristan, and had the goal of bringing order and economic development to the region. So it was something that had its objective changed and wasn't moved due to limited resources and it being 'probably good enough' there? In real life, Keating had served with the 3/71 CAV, not the 3/61 CAV (the unit he's part of in The Outpost movie). The fire was so intense they had to toss smoke grenades for concealment, just to get . Cordova continued to treat the wounded even after flames were within 10 feet of his location. On the day of our visit, the cast and crew were filming the scene when Mace finally arrives at the aid station. 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. 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. Tiller was also thrown from the truck but his injuries weren't nearly as severe. The movie was filmed in 2018 on a set created at the base of a mountain in Bulgaria, not far from the city of Sofia. 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. -The Outpost book. The other two mountains that surrounded the actual outpost were inserted with CGI. Within moments of entry, members of the QRF discovered and confirmed the death of Sgt. ", was Keating's assessment. Need to know. The report concluded that it was the lack of adequate defenses that made Keating "an attractive target" for the Taliban. Eight U.S. soldiers were killed and 27 wounded; eight Afghan soldiers were wounded, along with two Afghan private security guards. It's a solid 10/10 read: No hot food, No fire support. Second, the search for Bowe Bergdahl, in June 2009, had used up so many resources none were available to address the base's unsuitable location. I'll just quote this part from Staff Sergeant Romesha's Medal of Honor citation: Folks Media Madness is full of arguments over TLJ, we don't need to import that headache into the War Room. Christopher Cordova, the squadrons physician assistant, was manning the aid station where there was no power. As a result of the battle, COP Keating was partially overrun and nearly destroyed. 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. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? It seemed like the entire COP was burning [70 percent did].. "It is one of the most well-planned and carefully choreographed attacks in the history of the Afghan war," Tapper told NPR. The 53. You must log in or register to reply here. Villagers and clans who were left out of these projects were resentful, and quick to turn against the Americans. Actor Milo Gibson, the son of Mel Gibson, portrays Capt. Feb. 5, 2010— -- A military investigation of a Taliban attack last fall on a remote U.S. army outpost that left eight American soldiers dead and 22 wounded has resulted in administrative punishments for two commanders blamed for "inadequate measures taken by the chain of command.". That was our troopers advantage up there. Of the 53 U.S. soldiers who fought in the Battle of Kamdesh at Outpost Keating, 45 survived, 8 lost their lives, and 27 were wounded. Justin Gallegos' Silver Star was later upgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross. Click here for complete coverage of the Afghan war. At such time the platoon cleared the remaining areas of the outpost which members of 3-61 had not yet retaken. A United States Special Operations forces soldier on the Syria-Turkey border in. At 6 a.m., Oct. 3, 2009, Combat Outpost Keating in Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan, came under complex attack by an enemy force estimated at 300 fighters. October 03, 2019. The American forces were too outnumbered to survive sustained combat. The action takes place at Combat Outpost Keating, which was initially built to engage the locals in community development projects. When I learned that my U.S. Army cavalry troops war story was being made into a major motion picture, I worried that a Hollywood account of the battle would be inaccurate. 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. The military had planned to relocate the outpost in August 2009, but the resources needed for such a move were tied up elsewhere. Nearly 20 Air Force and Army aircraft flew close-air support missions throughout the day, helping to kill about 150 insurgents. The outpost was renamed Camp Keating in December 2006 (not in 2009). In 2009, Combat Outpost Keating was positioned perilously close to Taliban forces, in the sandy hills of Afghanistan, and vulnerable to attack. The Soviets had to contend with a rebel group known as the Dawlet of eastern Nuristan. This strategy depended upon extending government control by building and maintaining provincial reconstruction team bases. As a result, the depot was looted by the Taliban. A recreated Red Platoon barracks bunk bed. Harder, from Minnesota, just 29, was in charge of a small team of soldiers at the combat outpost, COP Keating. 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. These subgroups were in turn divided into clans and sects, depending on lineages and the interpretations of individual religious leaders. Once OP Fritsche soldiers gained control of their mortar pit, Sgt. Served with United States Army since 2005 and Participated in. Meanwhile, back at the aid station, Cordova learned that the first medevac would not arrive until after 7:30 p.m. A critically wounded soldier needed a blood transfusion in order to survive. Combat Outpost Keating in Nuristan, Afghanistan, as recreated on the set. Robert Yllescas. [20] Observation Post Fritsche was attacked simultaneously, limiting available support from that position. The landing zone was placed on the other side of the river on a rocky peninsula jutting into the river near Urmul. [7]:327328 The nearest attack helicopters were located in Jalalabad, a thirty-minute flight away. Killed by a single gunshot wound to the face while in the base mortar pit. Combat Outpost Keating is best known as the setting of the Battle of Kamdesh which occurred on October 3rd, 2009.. After an attack on October 3, 2009, where the base was nearly . Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The difference there being the writers seemingly supporting her reticence to explain anything. Jake Tapper, author of the bookThe Outpost, wondered the same thing when he embarked on his research. Chris Cordova with actors who portrayed him and medics under his command. An after-action report stated that within less than a few minutes of fighting, the Afghan soldiers serving at Keating, as well as the Afghan security guards, had fled their positions, allowing the enemy to quickly overrun the post. 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. "whatever you think of their ideology, these are fierce and smart fighters. Does this give anyone else flashbacks to he purple hair admiral in The Last Jedi? The second incident happened in 2008 at Observation Post Fritsche. Set up new plants in Mirdesh and Gawardesh. Roller attended his next meeting with village leaders dressed in a T-shirt and shorts. 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 AAF responded to this advance with a well-organized ambush on July 26, 2007, in the river valley at Saret Koheh. The wounded Americans condition immediately improved after the first unit of blood, as did the spirits of all those in the aid station. 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.
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