Nearly 20 Air Force and Army aircraft flew close-air support missions throughout the day, helping to kill about 150 insurgents. [7]:95,268. As a result, the depot was looted by the Taliban. Moreover, again according to Romesha, the officer who was in charge until very shortly before the battle, Captain Melvin Porter, was criminally incompetent and allowed the perimeter defenses to fall into decay, despite repeated requests from Romesha and his friends to improve them. [9], Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron "Destroyers", 61st Cavalry Regiment manned COP Keating. So first and foremost: The movie is based off the book of the same name. On Oct. 3, 2009, the camp and its 53 soldiers were attacked by some 400 Taliban fighters. 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. 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. [7]:1238,1368,18191,407. He saw service in the First Barbary War, the War of 1812 and in the West Indies.On July 2, 1812, Porter hoisted the banner "Free trade and sailors' rights" as captain of USS Essex. 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. 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 action takes place at Combat Outpost Keating, which was initially built to engage the locals in community development projects. Let's get back on topic please. Daniel Rodriguez, who took part in the real-life Battle of Kamdesh, portrays himself in the movie. Such administrative punishments are seen as career-enders if they are made a part of a permanent personnel file. Here's what else we covered in this week's newsletter. 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. Served with United States Army since 2008. It looked just like our outpost on the day of the battle. 8 killed 27 wounded[5] 4 killed 10 wounded. Avalos began directing indirect support to help the defense of COP Keating. New roads would be the final stage, built and maintained by local contractors. In Afghanistan, MAJ (R) Cordova was involved in the Battle of Kamdesh at Combat Outpost Keating on the 3rd of October 2009. Many of the Afghan National Army members there in support of the coalition troops fled. U.S. air support directed by Sgt. Extending control further along the river was expected to counter the AAF expansion and activity in the summer of 2007. 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. It was this delay that proved fatal to some of the troops stationed at COP Keating. The American forces were too outnumbered to survive sustained combat. 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. Chris Cordova with actors who portrayed him and medics under his command. Martina Skokova. The first soldier to arrive had profuse bleeding from the skull. The Taliban surprised the outpost with mortar fire and a massive infantry assault which partly overran and nearly destroyed COP Keating, and, while the Americans and their allies held off several Taliban attacks on the base in the bloodiest battle in Afghanistan since the 2008 Battle of Wanat, the outpost was shut down shortly after and its depot The shops name means house of culture.. Despite overwhelming odds and volume of injuries, MAJ (R) Cordova was able to . aircraft.[5]. He jumped up undeterred and ran through heavy fire to get more ammunition. That process helped us heal, but a bad rendering of the battle would leave us talking about what the movie got wrong instead of what actually happened. The 53. After an investigation, four officers in the chain of command were disciplined for their failure to adequately support the base. American troops in Nuristan found themselves directly in opposition to the HIG forces. 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 . The difference there being the writers seemingly supporting her reticence to explain anything. ", was Keating's assessment. For his gallantry, he was awarded the Silver Star Medal *, the U.S. Army's third highest award for valor. Keating was killed in November 2006 when he volunteered for a dangerous mission to drive an army truck loaded with supplies up to the camp, along treacherous 200-foot cliffs. 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. Using a transfusion kit, Cordova began pumping his own blood into the wounded soldier, along with blood collected from other soldiers. After dispensing with the enemy, QRF continued their descent and entered the outpost at approximately 7:00pm. This will happen to you." View Video of Taliban Fighters in the Camp. Despite some condensing with regard to the timeline and a fictional character or two (Pfc. [34], The flight crews of three United States Army AH-64D Apache helicopters were later decorated for actions during the battle. 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. I stood silently in the corner and watched a rendition of the story I previously told through sympathy letters to the families of the fallen, in award write-ups for my soldiers and during lectures for military leaders. The AAF responded to this advance with a well-organized ambush on July 26, 2007, in the river valley at Saret Koheh. Eight U.S. soldiers were killed and 27 wounded; eight Afghan soldiers were wounded, along with two Afghan private security guards. Mawlawi Abdul Rahman was a local elder impressed with this new approach. The other two mountains that surrounded the actual outpost were inserted with CGI. The basic approach to victory by the PRT involved three steps: Nicholson hoped the PRT would seed a process to be developed by the Nuristanis rather than imposed from the outside. He was thrown from the truck, which rolled over him and sank into the river. 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. 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. Seven other Americans and one ANA soldier were wounded. This agreement did bring down the level of combat in the Kamdesh area. Enemy forces controlled the landing zone, which prevented the wounded from being lifted out. 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. Wed love your feedback on this newsletter. Located near the border with Pakistan in the Afghan province of Nuristan, COP Keating was the scene of a coordinated attack by as many as 300 Taliban fighters who stormed the exposed base. Combat Outpost Keating in Nuristan, Afghanistan, as recreated on the set. But I never told the story from my own perspective. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? The 13-hour battle to re-take Combat Outpost Keating from an assault by 300 Taliban fighters on Oct. 3, 2009, was a team effort. The Outpost real story confirms that rocket-propelled grenades and mortars caused the camp to catch fire. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Another 10 Afghan soldiers and several Taliban were killed during these operations. 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. 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. Keating landed between two rocks nearly 150 feet down the cliffside, next to the river. Several days after the battle, U.S. aircraft bombed the location in an effort to destroy any munitions that remained. [7]:229,256,26380[12], The Battle of Saret Koheh made good on the threats of the "Night Letter". [29], Following the battle, the U.S. Central Command conducted an investigation on what had occurred, led by US Army General Guy Swan. Harder, from Minnesota, just 29, was in charge of a small team of soldiers at the combat outpost, COP Keating. [17], Coalition forces received three human-source intelligence reports sometime before the battle indicating that insurgents were planning an attack on the outposts. Tiller was also thrown from the truck but his injuries weren't nearly as severe. 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. By now, Porter had strained relations with nearly all of his subordinate leaders. The bounty was a thing back then? ", Yes. By allowing soldiers to tell their story, by hearing their story, you are also part of the healing. After Keating's death, a "Night Letter" appeared on the door of the Upper Kamdesh mosque on April 29, 2007. Those guys were amazing. [7]:1238,1368,18191,407, Despite recommendations not to drive the large supply vehicle, First Lieutenant Ben Keating took the wheel while returning an armored supply truck to the Naray FOB. These AAF were more professional and probably represented groups from areas outside of Nuristan. Everything was so realistic that had the cameras not been there I would have thought my mind was playing tricks on me. [39] The Netflix documentary series, Medal of Honor, includes an episode detailing the actions of Clinton Romesha and Ty Carter.[40]. Much of this is the result of the real-life Battle of Kamdesh veterans who were involved in the film, both as technical advisors and actors. Through the summer and fall of 2008, Captain Joey Hutto, COP Keating's new commander, expanded this initiative. [31] 3 soldiers were awarded the Bronze Star Medal, and 18 others the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for valor. [14] At the time, Afghan national forces were supervised and trained by members of the Latvian Operational Mentor Liaison Teams. As seen in the movie, the road in Kamdesh collapsed underneath the truck, throwing Keating from the vehicle as it rolled over a cliff, sending both himself and the truck down toward the Landay-Sin River. [8] In addition, Afghan national forces manned checkpoints and roadblocks at various locations around the area. [7]:327328 The nearest attack helicopters were located in Jalalabad, a thirty-minute flight away. "The little bastards keep shooting at us every day. Does this give anyone else flashbacks to he purple hair admiral in The Last Jedi? However, Army 1st Lt. Benjamin Keating's death actually happened three years earlier, in 2006, not 2009. [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. Who plays Nia on the outpost? His wounds were severe and while he was initially in and out of consciousness, he died before they could get him back to the outpost. 3-71 Cavalry conducted many successful combat missions in the area surrounding the camp and repelled various attacks on the base. Follow-up attacks attempted by Taliban forces were subsequently thwarted by U.S. "whatever you think of their ideology, these are fierce and smart fighters. The second incident happened in 2008 at Observation Post Fritsche. The PRT site resembled the bottom of a funnel. They made sustained attacks over a two-day period, drawing American support forces and widespread air forces into the battle. Meanwhile, Sgt. Outnumbered and outgunned, the soldiers fought. But the courage of the Americans who fought there will never be forgotten. A year later COP Keating would be the location for the fateful October 2009 Battle of Kamdesh for . 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. Skola karalauk", "COP Keating Investigation Findings Released", "Afghan, US troops kill 40 militants in east", "Camp Keating Officers Disciplined for Attack That Killed 8 U.S. 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. Click here for complete coverage of the Afghan war. Defense officials confirm that two senior officers who oversaw the forces at COP Keating have received administrative punishments that could impact their careers. It was one of many reasons Cordova was later awarded the Silver Star. Combat Outpost Keating was a small American military outpost in Nurestan Province, in Afghanistan. He was the last commander of Combat Outpost Keating. 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. 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. He worked throughout the battle, calling in strikes on enemy positions, even amidst a winter storm that blew in right at the height of the battle. The military had planned to relocate the outpost in August 2009, but the resources needed for such a move were tied up elsewhere. The outpost's depot was promptly looted by the insurgents and bombed on October 6 by a B-1 bomber in an effort to destroy the lethal munitions left behind. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Staff Sergeant William "Ryan" Fritsche was killed by rifle fire. Given that her reticence led to her subordinates acting on their own initiative resulting in her plan failing, not really. On Oct. 3, while Cordova was in the aid station keeping Mace alive, I was fighting to get back with a company of reinforcements. Such attacks are not news to men like Capt. As I neared the camp that evening, Cordovas voice crackled through my radio and asked for more blood donors. Then tragedy struck again. I'd have to look more into the specific situation to know more but from the general impression of the situation. During the Soviet occupation, HIG received more support from the CIA than any other Mujahideen resistance group. The first didn't take place at the camp. However, author Jake Tapper says that this is entirely untrue. Five languages and various dialects are spoken by these groups, rendering translators from other areas of Afghanistan useless. He died when his. [8] US Army soldiers at both outposts had been ordered to prepare to evacuate the outposts and had informed local Afghan leaders of their intention to do so. Lurie, a West Point graduate and Army veteran, listened to what I had to say and agreed to let me visit the set. [36], On 11 February 2013, President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha, a survivor of the battle. The Soviets had to contend with a rebel group known as the Dawlet of eastern Nuristan. [7]:31214,371, The shura began to falter by October 2008. They performed heroically and bravely.. Thomas Rasmussen fought back and was knocked off his feet by a rocket-propelled grenade. Clint Romesha, portrayed by Scott Eastwood in the film. The camp burned into the night and some of the building walls fell to the ground. The growling soon escalated into outright hostility, which deeply frightened the boy. In the wake of the attack, several soldiers based at COP Keating told ABC News that they did not know the attack was as large as it was because they received enemy fire with such frequency. 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. Not an Ordinary Engagement On Oct. 3, 2009, Keating was the site of the second costliest U.S. firefight of the Afghanistan War. 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. He began building a consensus of village elders in support of the Afghan government. When Cordova and I arrived on set, both of us were astounded. [10], OP Fritsche was established to provide overwatch for COP Keating and was manned by a mix of US and Afghan national forces. A common misconception is that the Taliban are primitive fighters who lack the necessary skills to be effective in battle. It's at least the third time officers were disciplined after soldiers' deaths. Yllescas' death happened when he was serving with the 6/4 CAV in 2008. These valley and road intersections combined with the political leadership in the area inspired the positioning of the Nuristan PRT. Air Force Staff Sgt. Killed by a single gunshot wound to the face while in the base mortar pit. During the day-long battle at Combat Outpost Keating last Oct. 3, the base was temporarily overrun by an estimated 300 Taliban fighters. [2], The attackers overran Keating's perimeter defenses about 48 minutes into the battle. A new counter-insurgency strategy seemed to offer a way around these problems. The assassin was later found in Urmul and appeared to have the assistance of one of the Afghan day laborers at Camp Keating and the acquiescence of Urmul's elders. Armando Avalos, Sgt. [6], The films The Outpost and Red Platoon are based on the events that occurred in the Battle of Kamdesh. And appearing Holdo's subordinates were well aware of the plain. [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. While this is indeed alarmingly frequent, the movie makes it seem like the attacks are happening daily. Many of the Afghan troops, however, were a different story. [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). 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). Between each take, the director and actors paused and turned to Cordova, who offered feedback to make the scene match his memory. MAJ Porter talks about his first couple of days into country as he was getting set up and received direct attack resulting . Quick reaction forces (QRF) from 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment did not reach the outpost until 7:00pm that day, while insurgents remained in parts of the outpost as late as 5:10pm. "It doesn't really take a lot to sort of trigger the emotions again," said Beth Keating. At one point, he and his men came under heavy sniper fire. Ty M. Carter pauses during a patrol outside Combat Outpost Keating, Afghanistan, where he was deployed with the 61st Cavalry Regiment in 2009. The latest acronym for attackers used by the Americans was AAF, for anti-Afghan fighters. Rob Yllescas of Nebraska, in "The Outpost," which tells the story of real-life combat events from the War in Afghanistan. [23], Once inside, the attackers set fire to the base, burning down most of the barracks. The Battle of Kamdesh took place during the war in Afghanistan. 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. This letter was written in Pashto and signed "Mujahideen". 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. A bus carrying employees of an Afghan television station was bombed in Kabul on May 30. are assisting Somali soldiers fighting Al Shabab, and by a health care system that utterly failed him, The case has irritated U.S. relations with a crucial military ally. The wounded Americans condition immediately improved after the first unit of blood, as did the spirits of all those in the aid station. As a result of the battle, COP Keating was partially overrun and nearly destroyed. [7]:363383[13], COP Keating became increasingly isolated in the summer of 2009. He discussed their common values as leaders of families and communities working toward a better future. The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor - Kindle edition by Tapper, Jake. They were eventually repelled from the small base through the actions of what the investigation's report said were the camp soldiers who "fought heroically" and counterattacks by Apache helicopters and attack jets. ' The Outpost ' is a 2020 war drama which tells the story of 53 US soldiers who battled some 400 enemy insurgents in north-eastern Afghanistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom. Captain Benjamin Keating Born: May 31, 1979 Birthplace: Sanford, Maine, USA Death: November 26, 2006, Kamdesh, Afghanistan (injuries suffered when vehicle turned over) Milo Gibson Born: November 16, 1990 Birthplace: Australia Captain Robert Yllescas Born: October 7, 1977 Birthplace: Guatemala City, Guatemala Gul Mohammed Khan, the government administrator for Kamdesh District, lived at the intersection of the Landay-Sin and Darreh Ye Kushtoz rivers. . They were commanded by Captain Tom Bostick. The Allies stopped using the Kamdesh-Naray road. (Multiple explosions near the ammo supply set off a series of fires at the post.). It also showed Lieutenant Colonel Chris Kolenda (commander of American forces in Naray) with a crisis. Melvin Porter of the Fourth Infantry Division, as Keating has been furiously and repeatedly attacked since it opened in 2006. ", Yes. What if there was a country in place of the Bay of Biscay? [7][8] The former of which is based on the book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by journalist Jake Tapper. Capt. American military operations in Kamdesh were affected as soon as units began gathering for deployment in the area. As it became obvious that COP Keating was too isolated, indefensible, and impossible to supply, plans were made to close it beginning in December 2008. Soldiers with 1st Plt., B Trp., 3rd Sqdn., 61st Cav Regt., 4th BCT, 4th Inf. According to army records, the Taliban commander of the attack on Keating, Abdul Rahman Mustaghni, was killed by the following drone strike along with thirteen other insurgents. His death had a traumatic effect on the morale of 3-71 Cav. Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, View Video of Taliban Fighters in the Camp. At such time the platoon cleared the remaining areas of the outpost which members of 3-61 had not yet retaken. AAF forces involved fit the pattern of the improved force, in that they were uniformed and equipped as Afghan Army and police forces, with the latest weapons and radios issued to government Afghan forces, along with ski masks. Unlike Donahue, Nicholson was a supporter of COIN in addition to seeing Kamdesh as a decisive control point. Shot in the head by a Taliban sniper after being wounded by RPG fire. [24], The insurgents began to retreat later in the day. During and after the battle, some of the Afghan soldiers stole items, including digital cameras and protein drinks, belonging to American soldiers at the base. 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. Eight aviators were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for helping defend the base. [9] The Americans "declared the outpost closed and departedso quickly that they did not carry out all of their stored ammunition. Despite air and artillery support the American forces suffered significant losses. The movie is based on the 2012 nonfiction book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by CNN's Jake Tapper. Other veterans also acted in the movie, including Henry Hughes. Benjamin D. Keating (31 May 1979-26 November 2006) was a US Army Captain who served in the US 61st Cavalry Regiment during the Afghanistan War. [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. While exploring the movie's historical accuracy, we confirmed that during the real-life Battle of Kamdesh, Taliban fighters got inside Outpost Keating. The first effort was made by First Lieutenant Dave Roller. 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. The idea was to stop the insurgents' supply lines coming in from Pakistan. Combat Outpost Keating was a small American military outpost in Nurestan Province, in Afghanistan. The veterans who served as technical advisors on the film said that the set was eerily similar to the real outpost, which no longer exists. Youre reading this weeks At War newsletter. That was our troopers advantage up there. 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. 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.". On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. As Cordova worked to stop the bleeding, five injured Afghan soldiers and another American who suffered a chest wound were brought in. Encased in armor, helmets, and weapons, Americans appeared to be looking for a fight. 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. 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. 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