Years later, I still feel guilty for not getting there until nightfall, even if the circumstances were out of my control. Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Army.When the battle ended after more than 12 hours, eight U.S. soldiers were killed and another 22 wounded. This agreement did bring down the level of combat in the Kamdesh area. After assisting with securing the OP from potential follow on attacks, members of the Quick Reaction Force descended from the mountain's peak to COP Keating on foot. Unlike Donahue, Nicholson was a supporter of COIN in addition to seeing Kamdesh as a decisive control point. [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. 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. Contained between the Landay River and steep mountains, Keating was attacked from multiple directions by 300 enemy fighters. As they filmed one take after another, Cordova clenched his jaw and swallowed back tears, reliving the most traumatic day of his life. [36], On 11 February 2013, President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha, a survivor of the battle. He was thrown from the truck, which rolled over him and sank into the river. Once OP Fritsche soldiers gained control of their mortar pit, Sgt. [7]:28,41,908,123, The Kamdesh village and most of Nuristan is located in the Hindu Kush. They made sustained attacks over a two-day period, drawing American support forces and widespread air forces into the battle. The pilots landed at a nearby base and then limped the aircraft to an airfield for repairs, separating me and a small contingent of soldiers from the outpost. His death had a traumatic effect on the morale of 3-71 Cav. 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. [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. Died of his wounds after his leg was hit by a single gunshot wound. Porter appeared to not want to actually lead his company nor was appearing to be up for another deployment. I highly recommend picking up a copy as it goes into far far greater detail about the history and events leading up and during the battle. 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. Justin Gallegos' Silver Star was later upgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross. [7]:327328 The nearest attack helicopters were located in Jalalabad, a thirty-minute flight away. Known as COIN and refined by General David Petraeus, Commander of US forces in Afghanistan, the Army and Marine Counter-insurgency Field Manual FM 3-24 was to convert the population of Nuristan to American goals. Captain Melvin Porter, 4th Infantry Division, US Army, said: "We're sitting in a bowl so we are constantly under observation." This is how the war went at COP Keating: a few pot shots from. The elder considers this to be a bad omen and demands that there be retribution. Such administrative punishments are seen as career-enders if they are made a part of a permanent personnel file. In real life, there is no record of Porter shooting a dog.According to Jake Tapper's book, two real-life incidents inspired the scene in the movie. Keating saw these programs as producing mixed results. 1.33 million dollars was budgeted for these projects. Five languages and various dialects are spoken by these groups, rendering translators from other areas of Afghanistan useless. For the most part, yes. 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. Mawlawi Abdul Rahman was a local elder impressed with this new approach. 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. During the highly risky convoy, the road collapsed under the weight of Keating's vehicle. [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. 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. Yes. The movie details Keating's November 2006 death, which occurred when his truck fell from a clifftop road during a convoy run. Click here for complete coverage of the Afghan war. A United States Special Operations forces soldier on the Syria-Turkey border in. Seven other Americans and one ANA soldier were wounded. Despite some condensing with regard to the timeline and a fictional character or two (Pfc. (The main aid station was too heavily damaged to remain in operation.). He wanted to avoid risking the lives of his men while traveling on an unstable road subject to ambush with an overweight vehicle. When Captain Aaron Swain of Cherokee Co. had sounded out Afghan Border Police Commander Ahmed Shah about setting up near Kamdesh, he was told that HIG insurgents tried to blow up Shah's jeep on his last trip there and it was a bad place. A note was attached to his body which said: "Don't work with coalition forces. Leaving aside the wisdom of a fictional admiral cutting her CAG and most experienced pilot out of the loop while she plans a small craft evacuation, the US Army follows a doctrine known as Mission Command, which relies on the commander keeping their subordinates informed not just of their orders but the. [18], At about 3:00a.m. on October 3, over 350 Taliban backed insurgents ordered all Kamdesh villagers to leave the area. [7]:31214,371, The shura began to falter by October 2008. Combat. American forces had already planned to pull out of the area as part of a plan to move forces to more densely populated areas, so closure of the base was imminent when the attack occurred. After Keating's death, the camp was renamed Combat Outpost Keating in his honor. Div. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. It's true that some of the Taliban fighters casually strolled through the camp, believing they had won. 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. He died when his. Relief had been slowed in reaching COP Keating due to a lack of available aircraft and density of terrain. I only heard of it being a thing last year, never actually looked up when it actually happened. Action at the Aid Station Despite the efforts of two Latvian military advisors, First Sergeant Jnis Lais and Corporal Mrti Dboli,[21] who tried to convince the Afghan National Army forces not to flee,[22] the Afghan defenders quickly broke and ran. Insurgents had breached the camp in several locations, including at the main entrance, near the latrine area, and on the eastern side. Troops, Amazon.com: The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor eBook: Tapper, Jake: Kindle Store, Wehrmacht wins at Dunkirk: Description of the battle that never was. [7]:12930 1345,156. "[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. Keating's story was in the news again earlier this year; he was portrayed in the movie "The Outpost," which tells the story of one of the bloodiest battles in the war in Afghanistan. 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. Thomas Rasmussen fought back and was knocked off his feet by a rocket-propelled grenade. [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. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Lardner, Richard, (Associated Press), "Investigation: Afghan Troops Ran, Hid During Deadly Battle", "Latvian, U.S. soldiers reunite after deadly battle", "Eight U.S. 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 bases were a key element of the American counterinsurgency strategy. I only watched the trailer. Provide clean water by installing gravity fed pipelines. View Video of Taliban Fighters in the Camp. Loss of life was inevitable and the government. Rob Yllescas of Nebraska, in "The Outpost," which tells the story of real-life combat events from the War in Afghanistan. [The airspace above] Keating was packed full of jets, so we knew this was not an ordinary engagement, Kulish told Air Force Magazine. Not an Ordinary Engagement Sylvanius Broward in the movie is a fictional name for a real captain, Mel Porter. Email us at atwar@nytimes.com. After Keating's death, a "Night Letter" appeared on the door of the Upper Kamdesh mosque on April 29, 2007. While exploring the movie's historical accuracy, we confirmed that during the real-life Battle of Kamdesh, Taliban fighters got inside Outpost Keating. Tim Quinton. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/magazine/the-outpost-afghanistan-movie.html. Portis had been in command of the platoon for less than two weeks when, on Oct. 3, 2009, the Taliban attacked Combat Outpost Keating while he was away visiting a mountain observation post. COP Keating, which was established in the summer of 2006, was put in the valley for the simple reason that it's where the roads are. [19] At 6:00 a.m, the fighters opened fire from all sides of the outpost with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades,[10] immediately putting the Americans' mortar pit out of action. Not exactly, but in researching The Outpost's historical accuracy, we learned that a similar incident happened the year prior, in 2008, involving more than just one dog. Michael Polidor and Capt. This separation of the landing zone, and the fact that the site was surrounded by mountains on three sides made the site unappealing because of the difficulty of mounting an effective defense. 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. 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. 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