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The Battle of Kamdesh occurred on 3 October 2009 when a force of 300 Taliban militants attacked the American Combat Outpost Keating near Kamdesh, Nuristan Province on the Afghan border with Pakistan during the Afghanistan War. 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 looted by insurgents and bombed by American planes to destroy the lethal munitions left behind.

Background[]

In 2006, the outpost of Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Kamdesh was established on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Nuristan Province with the objective of cutting the Anti-Coalition Militia's supply lines from Pakistan; in Nuristan, the largest anti-coalition militia was Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (HIG). PRT Kamdesh was located in a valley which yielded little cover, as the outpost was surrounded by mountains; the camp was nicknamed "Camp Custer" by its garrison, as the soldiers expected to fight to the death should the Taliban attack from the mountainsides and overwhelm the base.

After the death of the outpost commander Benjamin D. Keating in a road accident in December 2006, PRT Kamdesh was renamed to Combat Outpost Keating in his honor. Keating had worked hard to earn the trust of the local Pashtun elders through holding shuras, once even persuading the local men (including some men who had recently taken part in attacks on the base) to turn in their weapons in exchange for cash, infrastructure projects, and peace. Relations with the locals deteriorated after Keating's death, as a succession of new commanding officers failed to deliver on Keating's promise of money to the locals, and the capture of a local Afghan man who was spying on the base with a cellphone and Captain Robert Yllescas' death in an IED attack in December 2008 led to a further deterioration in relations with the locals.

Captain Sylvanius Broward, Yllescas' successor, attempted to enforce the rules of engagement in order to avert the alienation of the local population, even paying $3,500 to an Afghan elder who fradulently claimed that his daughter had been killed in a US mortar strike (when, in fact, her body was days-old when it was presented to the Americans, likely having been killed by the Taliban) and shooting a dog who attacked a Pashtun elder in order to appease the Afghans. In spite of these concessions, local anger at the Americans continued to grow, and Broward was soon relieved of command and replaced by Captain Stoney Portis.

At the same time as these command reshuffles, the Afghan interpreters' warnings of an impending Taliban assault on the base were ignored, as the local American soldiers arrogantly believed that they knew better, believing that Taliban mortar attacks were common enough and that there were no indications of a planned assault.

Battle[]

Afghan troops deserting COP Keating

The Afghan troops deserting COP Keating

Early on the morning of 3 October 2009, however, the Afghan interpreter Mohammed ran into the base and warned the American soldiers that the villagers had left (having abandoned the area at 3:00 AM) and that the Taliban were coming. At 6:00 AM, the Americans spotted large numbers of Taliban fighters emerging from the mountainsides, and the base soon came under mortar fire. The American soldiers were roused from their beds and their lookout positions and returned fire with light machine-guns, while dozens of Afghan National Army (ANA) troops deserted their positions, with some even handing their weapons over to the Taliban. Within two minutes, the Americans suffered their first casualty, PFC Kevin Thomson, who was killed by a single gunshot to the face in the base's mortar pit.

US troops firing back at the Taliban from COP Keating

US troops firing back at the Taliban from COP Keating

At LRAS Two, the soldiers manning the Humvee machine-gun soon ran out of ammunition, and they became pinned down by enemy fire. Sergeant Josh Kirk was wounded by RPG fire after running out of cover in the shura building to fire a rocket launcher at the Taliban on the hillsides, and he was then shot in the head by a sniper and killed. Commander Zahid of the ANA demanded Black Hawk support from Lieutenant Andrew Bundermann, saying that his men could not hold out, but Bundermann told him that he needed to get his men together before they could receive air support, and he threw him back out of his headquarters to rally the breaking Afghan troops.

Sergeant First Class Jonathan Hill sent out several men with ammunition for their beleaguered comrades, but Sergeant Michael Scusa was shot in the neck and killed by a Taliban sniper while running with his ammunition box. Sergeant Brad Larson's Humvee machine-gun was destroyed during the firefight, and several men came to the Humvee with ammunition which was by then worthless, forcing them to seek cover inside of the truck. Meanwhile, Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha called in for Staff Sergeant Justin T. Gallegos to come back to the barracks to man a machine-gun, and he was himself wounded by an RPG round while using a machine-gun to return the fire from the mountainside. Romesha called into Gallegos to apologize for being unable to stay in position to cover him, and Gallegos asked Romesha to keep everyone away from his position.

US troops defending COP Keating's mortar pit

US troops defending COP Keating's mortar pit

Romesha managed to kill the Taliban sniper Wakdar Jhalawan with a sniper rifle, avenging Scusa's death, while the US soldiers continued to fight a desperate battle against the Taliban as they gradually neared the base's perimeter. Sergeant Josh Hardt's Humvee was unable to come to Gallegos' aid, as it was parked next to a berm, preventing it from driving to the next position. At the same time, Taliban fighters dressed in ANA uniforms reached the wire, so Sergeant Hardt volunteered to man the Humvee turret and hold off the Taliban as Private Ed Faulkner and Sergeant Chris Griffin made a run for it. Griffin was gunned down as he attempted to run for cover, and Faulkner reached Romesha, reporting that both Hardt and Griffin had been killed, and that the enemy was in the wire. Romesha killed the ANA-uniformed Taliban fighters Pason Orakzai, Chargul Musakhel, and Zarhawar Sanjrani as they leisurely strolled into the base, thinking that they had already won, with the Latvian soldier Sergeant Janis Lakis killing Sanjrani with an M203 grenade launcher. However, the Taliban breached other parts of the base as well; meanwhile, Bundermann received news that a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) had landed on a nearby mountain and was coming to his aid. While Bundermann initially ordered for his men to hold to the core of the camp (fittingly calling in, "Alamo, Alamo, Alamo,"), Romesha insisted that they retake the camp. Hill said that they lacked mortars, air support, or the manpower to do so, and he insisted on digging in and holding what they could. Romesha said that helicopters couldn't save them, saying that their ammunition depot was 40 yards away, giving the Americans everything they needed to stay in the fight. Romesha suggested that they retake the front gate by the ECP and the shura building and set up a machine-gun in the dining hall, and, after a mortar struck the bunker and damaged the radio equipment, Romesha persuaded Bundermann to let him take charge.

Romesha leading Red Platoon

Romesha leading Red Platoon

Meanwhile, in a pinned-down Humvee, Specialist Ty Michael Carter, Sergeant Brad Larson, Staff Sergeant Justin T. Gallegos, Specialist Stephan Mace, and Staff Sergeant Vernon Martin planned to make a run for it, past the latrines and laundry trailers to the tactical operations center (TOC). Larson and Carter were the first to leave the Humvee, and he was wounded by an RPG; Mace was also wounded in the ensuing shootout. Gallegos was wounded and gunned down while trying to make a fighting retreat, and Carter was forced to return to the cover of the Humvee with Larson. Larson ordered Carter to remain in the Humvee rather than attempt to rescue Mace, who was crawling towards the Humvee, instead having Mace take cover behind some rocks as he and Carter took cover in the Humvee. Concurrently, Romesha gathered Red Platoon, namely Jones, Miller, and Dannelly, to head to the ammunition depot, where they found no machine-gun; rather than wait for support, Romesha decided to head to the front gates with his platoon and Lakis. There, they fought a desperate close-quarters battle against the attackers.

Carter coming to Mace's rescue

Carter coming to Mace's rescue

Eventually, Larson agreed to help Carter rescue Mace, laying down covering fire as Carter rendered aid to Mace's wounded ankle and brought him back to the Humvee, putting him in the front passenger seat on Larson's orders. Meanwhile, Romesha and his squad cleared the entry control point (ECP), having shot the fire extinguisher to create a smokescreen before storming the building. The American soldiers then took up defensive positions, using machine-guns against the Taliban fighters who attempted to retake the ECP and storm the base.

Taliban fighters being bombed at the front gate

Taliban fighters being bombed at the front gate

Just as a large force of Taliban arrived to attack the front gate, Black Hawk helicopters arrived and fired several missiles at them, eradicating them and repelling the Taliban attack. At the same time, Carter left his Humvee, where he left the dying Mace with Larson, to go on reconnaissance, and he traded fire with the Taliban as fighter jets made passes at the insurgent positions. Carter then returned to the LRAS Two Humvee, where he reported that he had heard American voices. Bundermann reported that the Americans had a B-1 bomber coming in from Qatar for air support, and Bundermann said that, when the B-1 hit, he needed every weapon they had on camp. When the bomber unleashed its payload onto the Taliban, Larson and Carter took Mace to the aid station for Captain Chris Cordova to tend to his wounds.

QRF making its way to COP Keating

The QRF making its way to COP Keating

At the same time, Captain Stoney Portis and the QRF arrived on a mountain overlooking the COP, and Portis told the base that his men were nearby, before leading his QRF to pursue and kill the last of the Taliban attackers. At the same time, the US soldiers found their interpreter Mohammed hiding, and, when they told him that the attack was over, Mohammed angrily told Hill that he had told him that the Taliban would attack, and added, "I know my country." The QRF killed three Taliban in a planned ambush at 6:00 PM, enabling them to arrive at the COP an hour later, at 7:00 PM.

Captain Portis arriving at the COP

Captain Portis arriving at the COP

The QRF's arrival led to the American platoon clearing the remaining areas of the outpost which Troop 3 of the 61st Cavalry had not yet retaken, and, within moments of entry, the QRF discovered the body of Sergeant Hardt, who, until then, had been declared MIA. Follow-up Taliban attacks were thwarted by US aircraft, and the Taliban soon abandoned its efforts to capture the base. When Captain Portis met with Lieutenant Bundermann, Bundermann reported 27 wounded and 7 dead, plus a dozen ANA severely wounded; he said that the medics were optimistic about Mace's chances, and that Mace had all of the platoon's blood in him (through transfusions). When Bundermann began to sniffle, he apologized, saying that it was not the time, but Portis comforted him, saying that it was the time, as his men had done an extraordinary job in defending the outpost, and Bundermann had taken command. When Bundermann asked Portis what he wanted to salvage, Portis said that he wanted to salvage nothing, and that, the next day, they would blow the outpost off the face of the earth.

Aftermath[]

3-61 leaving Kamdesh

3-61 leaving Kamdesh

As the local Afghan women came to the base to collect their dead relatives who had fought for the Taliban, Romesha and Faulkner turned down Portis' offer to be medevaced for their wounds, with Romesha insisting on staying until all of his men had left. The next day, the American soldiers picked up the weapons laying around the base, and 3-61 was evacuated by helicopter. Hill was awarded the Silver Star, Larson the Silver Star, Staff Sergeant Shane Courville the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, Janis Lakis the Army Commendation Medal for Valor, Faulkner the Purple Heart, Cordova the Silver Star, Portis the Bronze Star, and Carter and Romesha the Medal of Honor.

Gallery[]

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