Confidence Charlie was an operational sector of the United States military's Operation Confidence hearts-and-minds mission in eastern Afghanistan. The sector was named for Charlie Base, the US Army's forward operating base (FOB) near the Afghan village of Gereshk. The Americans established Charlie Base a week into the operation, and, despite an early visit to the village by a US Army company, the village quickly switched its allegiance to the Anti-Coalition Militia. As a result, the Lashkar Gah-Eran highway (on which Gereshk was a stop) soon found itself awash with insurgent IEDs, and the American troops engaged in mine-clearing operations in the vicinity of Gereshk in a bid to win hearts and minds in the village. Shortly after, the Americans pioneered advances in MRAP technology to make their vehicles more mine-resistant, depriving the Taliban of a major advantage. On day nine of Operation Confidence, Gereshk switched its allegiance to the United States, as the US soldiers from Charlie Base built waterworks near the village to win local support. That same day, a cadre of militia appeared between the village and Charlie Base, but the Americans eliminated the cadre and killed several more Taliban fighters in a targeted airstrike. On the eighth day, however, an American Buffalo MRAP was destroyed by an IED while driving up the highway from Lashkar Gah to Gereshk, an early reversal for Operation Confidence. Two weeks into the operation, another outbreak of violence occurred when a militia cadre appeared between the FOB and the village, destroying the waterworks in a sabotage attack before they were killed by the mortars from Charlie Base. The Americans repelled a Taliban attack a few days later, killing a third of the insurgents; a precision airstrike killed another third. Shortly after, the Taliban launched a major attack on Gereshk, but they were repelled by spirited American resistance and airstrikes. On 8 April 2012, a US Army patrol suffered heavy losses in an IED ambush while returning to base from Gereshk. Shortly after, however, a Taliban attack on the base was thwarted by an intense mortar barrage which eliminated the Taliban cadre. On 29 April 2012, a militia cadre appeared outside of Charlie Base, only to be annihilated by the base's mortars. On 13 May 2012, an Afghan National Army squad - freshly trained by US special forces - was sent to Gereshk to assume security responsibilities, and they found that the militia's flag had been replaced by a Taliban one, signifying that the Taliban had won over the villagers. By 25 May 2012, a Taliban cadre had arrived to besiege the ANA squad in the village, but the ANA held out until the Taliban retreated into the mountains. On 3 June 2012, the Taliban launched a renewed assault on Gereshk, but they were again held off, this time partly by the Afghan National Army. However, American losses in Charlie sector mounted, forcing the Americans to bring in reinforcements via helicopter. Shortly after, Taliban cadres once again began to appear in the mountains to the south of Gereshk.
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