| Trademarks and service marks of VFW. 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. Above their paygrade. As with Captain Benjamin Keating, the movie pushes both of their deaths to 2009 and fictionally depicts both men as being part of the 3/61 CAV (3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment). [The airspace above] Keating was packed full of jets, so we knew this was not an ordinary engagement, Kulish told Air Force Magazine. AAF would disguise themselves in ANA uniforms and set up fake checkpoints to extract taxes and tolls from local contractors, and allied themselves with smugglers transporting illegal timber and gems into Pakistan. 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. Brown would also note that it was a failure of leadership on Porter's part because of Porter's absolute refusal to explain to his troops why the mortars were being limited. Eight aviators were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for helping defend the base. In the year that followed the agreement, ANA and American deaths dropped from thirty to three. As we walked into the replica aid station, I looked at Cordova. The rock could not be demolished without raining fragments into the town of Urmul across the Landay-Sin river. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The enemy was obviously superior in numbers but not superior in discipline, professionalism and fighting skill, Col. Randy George, of the 4th BCT told the Colorado Springs Gazette in 2011. [23], Once inside, the attackers set fire to the base, burning down most of the barracks. Thomas Rasmussen fought back and was knocked off his feet by a rocket-propelled grenade. In my moment of being the listener to a war story I previously told, I realized that The Outpost was as honest as any war story. 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. But I never told the story from my own perspective. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every Friday. The Los Angeles gift shop Bunkado, at center with a fan on its sign, in the 1950s. Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, View Video of Taliban Fighters in the Camp. ", Yes. Justin Kulish was conducting a routine patrol in his B-1 bomber about an hour away when he got the call that Keating was in trouble. [31] 3 soldiers were awarded the Bronze Star Medal, and 18 others the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for valor. The idea was to stop the insurgents' supply lines coming in from Pakistan. To make amends with the woman and her family, Meshkin agreed to shoot a shaggy brown dog named Franklin. Served with United States Army since 2005 and Participated in. 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. The latest acronym for attackers used by the Americans was AAF, for anti-Afghan fighters. Another example of his leadership failure was his failure to tell his troops why he was banning hot meals at the base. Nine soldiers were awarded the Silver Star for valor. Relief had been slowed in reaching COP Keating due to a lack of available aircraft and density of terrain. Unlike the movie, The Outpost true story reveals that Keating was not alone in the truck. Within moments of entry, members of the QRF discovered and confirmed the death of Sgt. In December 2006, it was renamed Camp Keating after the death of ABLE Troop 3-71 Cavalry 10th Mountain Division's Executive Officer Benjamin Keating, who died November 26, 2006, while conducting combat operations south of the camp. (The main aid station was too heavily damaged to remain in operation.). ", was Keating's assessment. During the first minutes of battle, mortar rounds hit the main generator, cutting power to most of the camp. The outpost was renamed Camp Keating in December 2006 (not in 2009). The report found that a "mindset of imminent closure" led the unit to not improve the outpost's defenses despite intelligence reports that warned of a possible attack by "a large enemy force.". Despite overwhelming odds and volume of injuries, MAJ (R) Cordova was able to . Some who fled even handed their weapons to Taliban fighters. 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. Clint Romesha rallied his fellow soldiers by telling them, "We're taking this bitch back. American forces formed a thinly held and poorly supplied picket line from Naray to Kamdesh along the river. Outnumbered and outgunned, the soldiers fought. Resistance in Nuristan revolved around a specific group of Islamic fighters known as Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin or HIG. They professed a Salafi version of Islam, and were hostile to any political rivals. This had the potential to boost the local economy, which had seen few civic improvements. While this is indeed alarmingly frequent, the movie makes it seem like the attacks are happening daily. As a result, the depot was looted by the Taliban. The punishments reflect a recent trend in Afghanistan to hold military commanders accountable for battlefield failures. Colonel John W. Nicholson Jr., Commander of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division, had observed that Kamdesh was located at a point where three of the valley systems from the Pakistan border in the north converged. A new counter-insurgency strategy seemed to offer a way around these problems. Air Force Capt. [2], The attackers overran Keating's perimeter defenses about 48 minutes into the battle. Like in the film, Sgt. "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. His death had a traumatic effect on the morale of 3-71 Cav. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. He discussed their common values as leaders of families and communities working toward a better future. Avalos began directing indirect support to help the defense of COP Keating. As I neared the camp that evening, Cordovas voice crackled through my radio and asked for more blood donors. They were commanded by Captain Tom Bostick. It also showed Lieutenant Colonel Chris Kolenda (commander of American forces in Naray) with a crisis. A deliberate withdrawal had been planned some time before the battle began, and the closing was part of a wider effort by the top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, to cede remote outposts and consolidate troops in more populated areas to better protect Afghan civilians. Keating landed between two rocks nearly 150 feet down the cliffside, next to the river. 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. You must log in or register to reply here. It seemed like the entire COP was burning [70 percent did].. 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. Combat. The letter stated: "At the present time for those who work and obey the American devils by taking contracts for building schools, road, and power plants: also those who work as police, district administrators, and commanders as well as sold-out mullahs who deny Allah's orders and holy war and deny the holy Quran: We are telling you that we are continuing our holy war in Allah's will Soon we will start our operations." The pick up zone for Able Troop 2nd Platoon was called PZ Reds, located on the side of an 8,000-foot mountain. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Contained between the Landay River and steep mountains, Keating was attacked from multiple directions by 300 enemy fighters. [7]:803,945,11620, While attempting the pickup, a Chinook transport helicopter crashed in the darkness at 10:09 PM when the rear rotor hit a tree, and the helicopter slid down the slope and over a cliff, exploding in flames and killing all the crew and passengers. Joshua Hardt, who until this time had been MIA. This strategy depended upon extending government control by building and maintaining provincial reconstruction team bases. On October 28, the commander of COP Keating, Captain Robert J. Yllescas, was severely wounded in a targeted assassination attempt with a remotely detonated IED less than 400 meters from the outposthe later died from his wounds on December 1. To a man, they all felt they had an obligation to help out in those areas where they saw Portar as failing, but upon hearing their recommendations, the captain consistently told them, point blank, that he was the commander, not them. Many of the Afghan troops, however, were a different story. The population of Nuristan is ethnically distinct from the rest of Afghanistan, and divided into four major groups, the Kom, Kata, Kushtoz, and Kalasha. 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. The following day, insurgents kidnapped and murdered Fazal Ahad, an elder from Badmuk who was attempting to end the Kom/Kata tribal disagreements by arranging a meeting in Kamdesh. Enemy forces controlled the landing zone, which prevented the wounded from being lifted out. However, Army 1st Lt. Benjamin Keating's death actually happened three years earlier, in 2006, not 2009. [30] In the report released to the public, the U.S. Army concealed the names of the four disciplined officers. 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. Those guys were amazing. [33] 1st Lt. Andrew Bundermann's Silver Star was upgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross as well. He decided that American soldiers' "battle rattle" war gear gave the impression of soulless killing machines. He later set up the tactical satellite radio to coordinate air support and medevac. The U.S. evacuated the camp three days later. Benjamin D. Keating was born in Sanford, Maine on 31 May 1979, and he served as Chair of the Young Republicans at the . Director Rod Lurie is himself a West Point graduate and an Army veteran. He died in a vehicular accident in 2006, and Combat Outpost Keating, the site of the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh, was named in his honor. 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. The Outpost real story confirms that rocket-propelled grenades and mortars caused the camp to catch fire. These AAF were more professional and probably represented groups from areas outside of Nuristan. Captain Matthew Kaplan, CW3 Ross Lewallen, CW3 Randy Huff, CW2 Gary Wingert, CW2 Chad Bardwell, and CW2 Chris Wright were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for conducting close combat attacks on the Taliban during the battle. Set up new plants in Mirdesh and Gawardesh. Defense officials confirm that three other Army officers face disciplinary action for their role in the attack on the military outpost in Wanat in July, 2008 that led to nine dead U.S. soldiers and 27 wounded. [1] Plans were drawn up in the summer of 2006 by the US Army's 10th Mountain Division as part of Operation Mountain Lion. [7]:12930 1345,156. As a result of the battle, COP Keating was partially overrun and nearly destroyed. I reached out to the films director, Rod Lurie, to vent my concerns. The combination of volatile weather and rugged mountains make any kind of travel and life in general difficult and challenging. 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