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. 3-71 Cavalry conducted many successful combat missions in the area surrounding the camp and repelled various attacks on the base. 37 soldiers were awarded the Army Commendation Medal with "V" device for valor. Nine years earlier, Cordova and his medics toiled away in the aid station to treat the wounded and save the dying. 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. Relief had been slowed in reaching COP Keating due to a lack of available aircraft and density of terrain. Shot in the head by a Taliban sniper after being wounded by RPG fire. 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. [5][7]:53141 Observation Post ("OP") Fritsche was attacked simultaneously, limiting available support from that position. It involved a small force of 54 U.S. soldiers (Bravo Troop 3-61), in addition to their Afghan and Latvian allies, at the remote Combat Outpost Keating in northeastern Afghanistan near the town of Kamdesh. The brigade was busy guarding another village, and numerous other resources had been consumed looking for Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. soldier who was held captive by the Taliban after he deserted his post on June 30, 2009. Gul Mohammed Khan, the government administrator for Kamdesh District, lived at the intersection of the Landay-Sin and Darreh Ye Kushtoz rivers. Eventually, supporting aircraft scattered the attackers; while air support provided decisive results. Tears were streaming down his face. 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. Many of the Afghan National Army members there in support of the coalition troops fled. Capt. 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. The camp was defended by a combined force of 140 U.S. and Afghan soldiers. Above their paygrade. Given that her reticence led to her subordinates acting on their own initiative resulting in her plan failing, not really. The battle unfolded on October 3, 2009. [8] The Coalition forces withdrew from the base shortly after the battle. So it was something that had its objective changed and wasn't moved due to limited resources and it being 'probably good enough' there? The attack on COP Keating resulted in 8 Americans killed and 27 wounded while the Taliban suffered an estimated 150 killed. I'd have to look more into the specific situation to know more but from the general impression of the situation. On July 20, 2006, 2:00 a. m. all of Cherokee Company and one platoon from Able Troop, 3-71 Cavalry Squadron dropped in two Chinooks on Landing Zone Warheit, a cornfield on a ridge near Kamdesh, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Howard to garrison the area. Once OP Fritsche soldiers gained control of their mortar pit, Sgt. [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. [39] The Netflix documentary series, Medal of Honor, includes an episode detailing the actions of Clinton Romesha and Ty Carter.[40]. Keating saw these programs as producing mixed results. New roads would be the final stage, built and maintained by local contractors. Tim Quinton. Stoney Portis, an officer in the Army and a Ph.D. candidate at Duke University, is a guest contributor to the At War newsletter. [8] Coalition forces responded with small arms fire, mortars, and by the afternoon, helicopters, heavy artillery, and airstrikes. Was the mortars limited supplies or an ROE thing? Within moments of entry, members of the QRF discovered and confirmed the death of Sgt. 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. The Outpost real story confirms that rocket-propelled grenades and mortars caused the camp to catch fire. 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. 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. [7]:95,268. American troops in Nuristan found themselves directly in opposition to the HIG forces. [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. I only heard of it being a thing last year, never actually looked up when it actually happened. And he was becoming disillusioned with the possibility of what he thought. American forces formed a thinly held and poorly supplied picket line from Naray to Kamdesh along the river. The report said that there were as many as 47 attacks in the five months prior to the deadly assault, 10 in the 30 days prior to the mass attack. The steep mountains rendered two dimensional maps and landmarks useless. The climate of the area has hot summers, a monsoon season in the summer, and cold winters of ice and snow extending down into the valleys. 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). Some of the soldiers who were at the battle are interviewed by the book's author, Jake Tapper, during the closing credits. 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 . [26] The attack accelerated those plans, with the troops' departure taking place so quickly after the battle that some munitions were abandoned. It was only then that I truly appreciated how important the listeners role is in the healing process. -CBS Sunday Morning. The latest acronym for attackers used by the Americans was AAF, for anti-Afghan fighters. As a result, the depot was looted by the Taliban. 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. An officer also received administrative punishment for his role in a delayed artillery response to an ambush last September on a joint U.S.-Afghan patrol that left four Marines and nine Afghans dead. The smaller U.S. force ultimately beat back the attack after a fierce hours-long battle where Apache helicopters, that raced to assist the besieged soldiers, made all the difference. The battle is also the main focal point of the 2020 film The Outpost, which was in-turn based on the book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by Jake Tapper. [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. The pick up zone for Able Troop 2nd Platoon was called PZ Reds, located on the side of an 8,000-foot mountain. This had the potential to boost the local economy, which had seen few civic improvements. 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. In the end, we gaveThe Outpost movie a Historical Accuracy Score of 8.5/10. 1st Class Jonathan Hill rallied his 3rd Platoon troops in a counterattack, despite his multiple shrapnel wounds. Harder, from Minnesota, just 29, was in charge of a small team of soldiers at the combat outpost, COP Keating. Yes. I'll have to give it a read sometime. This seems to be displayed rather accurately in the movie, at least with regard to how it's described in Tapper's book. Rob Yllescas of Nebraska, in "The Outpost," which tells the story of real-life combat events from the War in Afghanistan. [10][27][28], On October 5 and 6, Coalition troops conducted operations in the area in an attempt to locate and destroy the Taliban forces responsible for the attack on the outposts. 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. 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". 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. Div., at Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistans Nuristan province on Aug. 6, 2009. [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). 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.". Yes. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. [32] Staff Sgt. aircraft.[5]. The punishments reflect a recent trend in Afghanistan to hold military commanders accountable for battlefield failures. 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. Not an Ordinary Engagement Captain Sylvanius Broward (Kwame Patterson), whom the men refer to as "Broward the Coward," shoots the dog to appease the elder and calm the situation. As they filmed one take after another, Cordova clenched his jaw and swallowed back tears, reliving the most traumatic day of his life. Such administrative punishments are seen as career-enders if they are made a part of a permanent personnel file. Lurie, a West Point graduate and Army veteran, listened to what I had to say and agreed to let me visit the set. When Cordova and I arrived on set, both of us were astounded. ABC News' Karen Russo contributed to this report, 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Air Force Capt. Anyone can read what you share. The transfusion was a radical move that brought Mace back to consciousness. A press release issued by the NATO military command in Afghanistan said Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the senior U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, had taken "appropriate action" against the officers after reviewing the report. 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. This will happen to you." American military operations in Kamdesh were affected as soon as units began gathering for deployment in the area. 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. Camp Keating Officers Disciplined for Attack That Killed 8 U.S. 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. [31] 3 soldiers were awarded the Bronze Star Medal, and 18 others the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for valor. Keating was permanently shut down three days following the attack. Keating died while serving at the base in 2006 and it was . But he was ineffective in actually making the men understand why/how he came to certain decisions. Rather off-topic but wasn't Poe at that moment demoted by Leia beforehand? Div. [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. [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. An additional 4 Afghan allied fighters also died. Email us at atwar@nytimes.com. Here's what else we covered in this week's newsletter. 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. A United States Special Operations forces soldier on the Syria-Turkey border in. On Oct. 3, while Cordova was in the aid station keeping Mace alive, I was fighting to get back with a company of reinforcements. View Video of Taliban Fighters in the Camp. 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