Download or read book Not a Good Day to Die written by Sean Naylor and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2005-03-01 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Award-winning combat journalist Sean Naylor reveals a firsthand account of the largest battle fought by American military forces in Afghanistan in an attempt to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. At dawn on March 2, 2002, America's first major battle of the 21st century began. Over 200 soldiers of the 101st Airborne and 10th Mountain Division flew into Afghanistan's Shah-i-Kot Valley—and into the mouth of a buzz saw. They were about to pay a bloody price for strategic, high-level miscalculations that underestimated the enemy's strength and willingness to fight. Naylor, an eyewitness to the battle, details the failures of military intelligence and planning, while vividly portraying the astonishing heroism of these young, untested US soldiers. Denied the extra support with which they trained, these troops nevertheless proved their worth in brutal combat and prevented an American military disaster.

Download or read book Operation Anaconda written by Lester W. Grau and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2011-11-25 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Long before it became "Obama's War," the long-running conflict in Afghanistan was launched by President George W. Bush in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Only a few months later, Operation Anaconda sent American-led coalition forces into their most intensely brutal confrontation with Al Qaeda and their Taliban hosts in the Shar-i Kot Valley near the Pakistan border. The result was an unexpected set piece of conventional fighting in what has become an era of guerrilla warfare. Drawing upon previously unavailable or neglected sources, Lester Grau and Dodge Billingsley give us the most complete and accurate account of this thirteen-day firefight waged in mountainous terrain nearly two miles above sea level. They describe how allied troops fought a fierce and well-entrenched enemy to a standstill, close to an old Soviet battlefield, and then drove them completely out of Afghanistan. Grau and Billingsley's account also highlights problems encountered in Anaconda and the lessons we should learn from their in-depth study. The Army and Air Force operated under conflicting views regarding the appropriate application of Close Air Support, and airpower both crippled and aided the overall effort. In addition, severe shortages of transport, attack helicopters, and artillery hampered the effort, while the acquisition and timely sharing of intelligence barely occurred at all and coalition relations frayed under the intense pressures of combat. As an added bonus, the authors also include with the book a documentary on DVD that features interviews with soldiers who fought in Anaconda, provides additional information concerning major phases of the battle, and presents insightful commentary by Grau and by Billingsley, who was on the ground with U.S. forces for the operation. Providing the richest description and critique of all the forces involved-including those that fought on the enemy side-the combined book-and-DVD surpasses all previous accounts of this landmark engagement and is an essential volume in the literature on our war in Afghanistan.

Download or read book Operation Anaconda and Beyond written by Ray Fisher and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2003-09 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operation Anaconda and Beyond provides a controversial look at events that have affected the United States and many other countries throughout the world since the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the United States Pentagon. This fictional book was written before most of the events had actually taken place and details the fate of modern day's two most terrifying men. Following the United States Military men in action, it details their accounts through recent conflicts. The reader will be transported into a special operations mission with a Marine sniper and Navy SEAL expedition. Operation Anaconda and Beyond depicts a minute-by-minute sequence of United States forces carrying out their assignments while engaged in armed conflict with Taliban, Al Qaida, and Iraqi enemy forces.

Download or read book Not a Good Day to Die written by Sean Naylor and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2005 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An award-winning journalist provides an eyewitness account of the brutal March 2002 battle of untested U.S. troops against fanatical Al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan's Shahikot valley, capturing the courage and resourcefulness of these young soldiers against overwhelming odds, including high-level strategic miscalculations.

Download or read book Operation Anaconda Lessons for Joint Operations written by Richard Kugler and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2012-07-06 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operation Anaconda, conducted in the Shahikot Valley of Afghanistan during early March 2002, was a complex battle fought in rugged mountainous terrain under difficult conditions. The battle ended as an American victory at the cost of eight U.S. military personnel killed and more than 50 wounded. But the difficult early stages of the battle provide insights for thinking about how to organize, train, and equip U.S. forces for future joint expeditionary operations and how to pursue transformation.

Download or read book Operation Anaconda written by U. S. Military and published by . This book was released on 2018-11-18 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operation Anaconda, a subordinate operation to Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002, was notable for difficulties in integrating US air and ground forces in order to bring combat power to bear on a stronger than originally anticipated foe. In the seven years of study and debate since 2002, key players from both sides have for the most part agreed that with better preliminary coordination, the operation could have been executed less risk to US and coalition personnel. While many commentators have noted that suboptimal command and control relationships, lack of communication, and confusion all contributed to the initial problems in air/ground coordination, few have examined the joint and service doctrine from 2002 to determine to what degree it might have negatively influenced the smooth planning and execution of the operation. This study seeks to determine if any inconsistencies or omissions in joint and service doctrine may have contributed to the problems with air and ground integration observed in Operation Anaconda, and also to determine if doctrinal updates since 2002 have adequately addressed any systemic disconnects the study discovers. In any cases where modern doctrine still does not address the key problems noted in Anaconda, the study will suggest modifications to doctrine which will increase the likelihood that the key "lessons observed" from the operation truly become "lessons learned" in the institutional consciousnesses of the ground and air components.Determining the best way to integrate the capabilities of the different US military services-increasing "jointness"-has been a continuous challenge in modern warfare. Despite the vast increases in communications and information sharing capabilities that have accompanied digitalization, integrating the efforts of the various services continues to present a challenge. These problems of integration have been especially acute between the United States' oldest and youngest military services-namely, the US Army and US Air Force. Over their sixty plus year relationship, in both peacetime and war, the two services have often argued and debated over what the proper relationships should be between the ground and air components, and how they should be defined. Both have codified these beliefs in their individual service doctrines, which respond to joint doctrine from their own service's perspective, and also provide the intellectual underpinnings of their permanent and abiding partnership between the ground and air focused services. But outside of actual combat, there are seldom sufficiently robust opportunities to see if the various doctrines are compatible in the actual practice of high intensity combat. This paper will examine a case study from recent combat history in which the ties between the Army and Air Force were indeed tested, and were by many accounts found wanting.From a results based viewpoint, March 2002's Operation Anaconda was a tactical success against Al Qaeda and its Taliban supporters in Afghanistan, with the key events of the operation summarized as follows: Originally planned as a three-day battle with light combat, Operation Anaconda turned out to be a seven-day battle with intense combat and was officially terminated only after 17 days. Operation Anaconda, which lasted from March 218, was successful because up to several hundred enemy fighters were killed and the rest fled the Shahikot Valley, leaving it in the control of US and allied forces. US casualties totaled eight military personnel killed and over 50 wounded. Success was achieved because the US military showed a capacity to adapt by employing joint operations and modern information networks to surmount a surprising and difficult challenge.

Download or read book Alone at Dawn written by Dan Schilling and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times bestselling true account of John Chapman, Medal of Honor recipient and Special Ops Combat Controller, and his heroic one-man stand during the Afghan War, as he sacrificed his life to save the lives of twenty-three comrades-in-arms. In the predawn hours of March 4, 2002, just below the 10,469-foot peak of a mountain in eastern Afghanistan, a fierce battle raged. Outnumbered by Al Qaeda fighters, Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman and a handful of Navy SEALs struggled to take the summit in a desperate bid to find a lost teammate. Chapman, leading the charge, was gravely wounded in the initial assault. Believing he was dead, his SEAL leader ordered a retreat. Chapman regained consciousness alone, with the enemy closing in on three sides. John Chapman's subsequent display of incredible valor -- first saving the lives of his SEAL teammates and then, knowing he was mortally wounded, single-handedly engaging two dozen hardened fighters to save the lives of an incoming rescue squad -- posthumously earned him the Medal of Honor. Chapman is the first airman in nearly fifty years to be given the distinction reserved for America's greatest heroes. Alone at Dawn is also a behind-the-scenes look at the Air Force Combat Controllers: the world's deadliest and most versatile special operations force, whose members must not only exceed the qualifications of Navy SEAL and Army Delta Force teams but also act with sharp decisiveness and deft precision -- even in the face of life-threatening danger. Drawing from firsthand accounts, classified documents, dramatic video footage, and extensive interviews with leaders and survivors of the operation, Alone at Dawn is the story of an extraordinary man's brave last stand and the brotherhood that forged him.

Download or read book Afghanistan and the Future of Warfare Implications for Army and Defense Policy written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2002 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The defense debate tends to treat Afghanistan as either a revolution or a fluke: either the "Afghan Model" of special operations forces (SOF) plus precision munitions plus an indigenous ally is a widely applicable template for American defense planning, or it is a nonreplicable product of local idiosyncrasies. In fact, it is neither. The Afghan campaign of last fall and winter was actually much closer to a typical 20th century mid-intensity conflict, albeit one with unusually heavy fire support for one side. And this view has very different implications than either proponents or skeptics of the Afghan Model now claim. Afghan Model skeptics often point to Afghanistan's unusual culture of defection or the Taliban's poor skill or motivation as grounds for doubting the war's relevance to the future. Afghanistan's culture is certainly unusual, and there were many defections. The great bulk, however, occurred after the military tide had turned not before-hand. They were effects, not causes. The Afghan Taliban were surely unskilled and ill-motivated. The non-Afghan al Qaeda, however, have proven resolute and capable fighters. Their host's collapse was not attributable to any al Qaeda shortage of commitment or training. Afghan Model proponents, by contrast, credit precision weapons with annihilating enemies at a distance before they could close with our commandos or indigenous allies. Hence the model's broad utility: with SOF-directed bombs doing the real killing, even ragtag local militias will suffice as allies. All they need do is screen U.S. commandos from the occasional hostile survivor and occupy the abandoned ground thereafter. Yet the actual fighting in Afghanistan involved substantial close combat. Al Qaeda counterattackers closed, unseen, to pointblank range of friendly forces in battles at Highway 4 and Sayed Slim Kalay.

Download or read book Not a Good Day to Die written by Sean Naylor and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 13 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This transcript is from a presentation by Sean Naylor about Operation Anaconda, which he covered as a reporter for the Army Times, and about which he co-authored a book by the same title as this transcript. The presentation provides an overview and background details of the operation and touches on it's historic significance as America's first major combat operation of the 21st century.

Download or read book Roberts Ridge written by Malcolm MacPherson and published by Dell. This book was released on 2006-07-25 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Afghanistan, March 2002. In the early morning darkness on a frigid mountaintop, a U.S. soldier is stranded, alone, surrounded by fanatical al Qaeda fighters. For the man’s fellow Navy SEALs, and for waiting teams of Army Rangers, there was only one rule now: leave no one behind. In this gripping you-are-there account–based on stunning eyewitness testimony and painstaking research–journalist Malcolm MacPherson thrusts us into a drama of rescue, tragedy, and valor in a place that would be known as... ROBERTS RIDGE For an elite team of SEALs, the mission seemed straightforward enough: take control of a towering 10,240-foot mountain peak called Takur Ghar. Launched as part of Operation Anaconda–a hammer-and-anvil plan to smash Taliban al Qaeda in eastern Afghanistan –the taking of Takur Ghar would offer U.S. forces a key strategic observation post. But the enemy was waiting, hidden in a series of camouflaged trenches and bunkers–and when the Special Forces chopper flared on the peak to land, it was shredded by a hail of machine-gun, small arms, and RPG rounds. A red-haired SEAL named Neil Roberts was thrown from the aircraft. And by the time the shattered helicopter crash-landed on the valley floor seven miles away, Roberts’s fellow SEALs were determined to return to the mountain peak and bring him out–no matter what the cost. Drawing on the words of the men who were there–SEALs, Rangers, medics, combat air controllers, and pilots–this harrowing true account, the first book of its kind to chronicle the battle for Takur Ghar, captures in dramatic detail a seventeen-hour pitched battle fought at the highest elevation Americans have ever waged war. At once an hour-by-hour, bullet-by-bullet chronicle of a landmark battle and a sobering look at the capabilities and limitations of America’s high-tech army, Roberts Ridge is the unforgettable story of a few dozen warriors who faced a single fate: to live or die for their comrades in the face of near-impossible odds.

Download or read book Two Wars written by Nate Self and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2011-04-21 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Former army ranger Nate Self, a hero from the Robert’s Ridge rescue in Afghanistan, tells his whole story—from the pulse-pounding battle in the mountains of Afghanistan to the high-stakes battle he has waged against post traumatic stress disorder. This book will become a go-to book for understanding the long-term effects of the war on terror. Thousands of families are fighting this battle, and Nate opens up his life—including his successes, tragedies, struggles with thoughts of suicide—to show how his faith and his family pulled him through. Includes 8 pages of color photos. In a nutshell: Excellent book for military familes trying to cope with the family pressures of a soldier's active duty. Inspirational book for a soldier struggling with post traumatic stress disorder . Helps readers understand the importance of faith in dealing with the war. An up-close-and-personal account of the war on terror; and the story of one soldier’s faith. An insider’s account of Robert’s Ridge Rescue in Afghanistan.

Download or read book Takur Ghar written by Leigh Neville and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-03-20 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On March 4, 2002, a team of SEALs was choppered onto a hostile Afghan mountain peak as part of Operation Anaconda. The largest operation by US forces since Vietnam, it was intended to bring to battle foreign al-Qaeda fighters who had fled after the overthrow of the Taliban and the battle of Tora Bora. But when their special ops Chinook was hit by RPGs, it marked the beginning of the SEALs' epic day-long battle for survival, which involved Coalition special forces, gunships and Predators in a 17-hour firefight against the al-Qaeda guerrillas.

Download or read book Operation Anaconda written by Richard L. Kugler and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing upon interviews with commanders and non-commissioned officers, this study offers lessons and observations that can be learned from the battle and applied to future joint endeavors, multinational operations, and joint expeditionary warfare.

Download or read book The Mission The Men and Me written by Pete Blaber and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2010-09-07 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A book about the complexities of combat that's just as applicable for dealing with the complexities of business and our personal lives.”—Kevin Sharer, chairman and CEO, Amgen As a commander of Delta Force-the most elite counter—terrorist organization in the world—Pete Blaber took part in some of the most dangerous, controversial, and significant military and political events of our time. Now he takes his intimate knowledge of warfare—and the heart, mind, and spirit it takes to win—and moves his focus from the combat zone to civilian life. In this book, you will learn the same lessons he learned, while experiencing what the life of a Delta Force Operator is like—from the extreme physical and psychological training to the darkest of shadow ops all around the world. From each mission, Pete Blaber has taken a life lesson back with him. You will learn these enlightening lessons as you gain insights into never-before-revealed missions executed around the globe. And when the smoke clears, you will emerge wiser, more capable, and better prepared to succeed in life than you ever thought possible.

Download or read book Operation Anaconda written by U. S. Military and published by . This book was released on 2018-11-18 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States and a coalition of like-minded nations embarked on a worldwide campaign against terrorism. In support of this fight, the United States Air Force has played a vital role in Operations NOBLE EAGLE, ENDURING FREEDOM, and most recently, IRAQI FREEDOM. In memory of the victims of terrorism and in consideration of the Airmen who will see this fight through to victory, we must learn and apply the lessons of air and space operations in these joint campaigns. Few causes will ever have greater importance. One of the most crucial joint combat operations in Afghanistan was Operation ANACONDA, designed and executed to remove the last remaining organized Taliban resistance. Operation ANACONDA generated lessons involving many aspects of the art of joint warfare. These are explored in detail in this report, Operation ANACONDA, An Airpower Perspective. This report reminds all Airmen of the complexities inherent in a successful joint operation. It highlights the necessity of clear lines of command, and it reminds us that organizational capabilities and proper coordination of joint activities cannot be taken for granted. It is also vital to realize that lessons learned from this operation were used to improve our joint combat planning and capabilities in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. As a Service, we will continue to refine the employment of our expeditionary air and space forces in joint operations to ensure their effectiveness over any adversary. We will all benefit from embracing and applying the thorough and thoughtful reporting and analysis in these and other lessons learned reports. We cannot afford to do less.Executive Summary * Chapter 1: Introduction * Chapter 2: Planning for Operations in the Khowst-Gardez Region * Chapter 3: Widening the Plan * Chapter 4: The First 72 Hours: 2-4 March 2002 * Chapter 5: Renewing the Attack: 5-15 March 2002 * Chapter 6: Persistent Close Air Support * Chapter 7: ObservationsOperation ANACONDA is a unique case study in the application of force. From 2-16 March 2002, a Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF), built around 1,411 U.S. Army soldiers, and Special Operations Forces (SOF) from the United States and six other nations took on the task of clearing the Shahi Kot valley in eastern Afghanistan of al-Qaeda and Taliban forces who had survived earlier battles. It was a complex, non-linear battle that demanded full integration of Joint forces-and, to the frustration of all, revealed some Joint warfighting stress points. For the first time in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, American forces were locked in a prolonged ground battle in difficult terrain. Eight Americans (5 U.S. Army, 2 USAF and 1 U.S. Navy SEAL) died during Operation ANACONDA and 80 were wounded. Seven of those deaths came on 4 March 2002 at the ridgeline at Takur Gar during a helicopter insertion of a Special Forces team and an attempt to rescue them.

Download or read book Relentless Strike written by Sean Naylor and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 692 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the 2015 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Unit History. Since the attacks of September 11, one organization has been at the forefront of America's military response. Its efforts turned the tide against al-Qaida in Iraq, killed Bin Laden and Zarqawi, rescued Captain Phillips and captured Saddam Hussein. Its commander can direct cruise missile strikes from nuclear submarines and conduct special operations raids anywhere in the world. Relentless Strike tells the inside story of Joint Special Operations Command, the secret military organization that during the past decade has revolutionized counterterrorism, seamlessly fusing intelligence and operational skills to conduct missions that hit the headlines, and those that have remained in the shadows-until now. Because JSOC includes the military's most storied special operations units-Delta Force, SEAL Team 6, the 75th Ranger Regiment-as well as America's most secret aviation and intelligence units, this is their story, too. Relentless Strike reveals tension-drenched meetings in war rooms from the Pentagon to Iraq and special operations battles from the cabin of an MH-60 Black Hawk to the driver's seat of Delta Force's Pinzgauer vehicles as they approach their targets. Through exclusive interviews, reporter Sean Naylor uses his unique access to reveal how an organization designed in the 1980s for a very limited mission set transformed itself after 9/11 to become the military's premier weapon in the war against terrorism and how it continues to evolve today.

Download or read book Operation Anaconda written by U. S. Military and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2018-11-17 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operation Anaconda, conducted in the Shahikot Valley of Afghanistan during early March 2002, was a complex battle fought in rugged mountainous terrain under difficult conditions. The battle ended as an American victory at the cost of eight U.S. military personnel killed and more than 50 wounded. But the difficult early stages of the battle provide insights for thinking about how to organize, train, and equip U.S. forces for future joint expeditionary operations and how to pursue transformation. Intricate and exact details of the battle are hard to determine, as often is the case when participants have differing memories and insights. Post-facto observers derive differing interpretations from the same information, while newspaper accounts sometimes report wrong information about the particulars. Because "truth" is a function of one's angle of vision, this battle will be debated for a long time, and interpretations of its lessons will remain controversial.Anaconda did not conform to theories of information-age battles. It was conducted at a time when U.S. military operations in Afghanistan were undergoing a transition. Earlier, the U.S. ground presence had been limited largely to special operations forces, which worked with friendly Afghan units and helped spot ground targets for U.S. air strikes. By contrast, Operation Anaconda marked the initial use of U.S. Army battalions performing ground maneuvers against enemy forces that required significant air strikes in supporting ways. At the time, the U.S. joint military presence and infrastructure in Afghanistan were not fully mature for these new operations. This situation, coupled with the congested and difficult terrain of the Shahikot Valley, played a major contributing role in the problems experienced during Anaconda's initial days.Executive Summary * The Lessons of Operation Anaconda for Joint Operations * Setting the Stage: Why Anaconda Encountered Problems in the First Few Days * Lesson 1: Unity of Command and Joint Planning * Lesson 2: Intelligence Estimates and Battle Plans * Lesson 3: Integrating Air-Ground Operations * Lesson 4: Mission Orders and Rules of Engagement * Lesson 5: Training for Surprises * Lesson 6: Joint Operations at All Levels