Slims

Cliffhanger Afghan mission is heroes' tale - USATODAY.com

"Shortly after dawn on April 6, a small team of American and Afghan commandos lifted off from an airfield in Jalalabad and flew into a small slice of hell.
Their objective was an insurgent stronghold perched atop a snow-capped mountain more than 10,000 feet high and surrounded by sheer cliffs.

By the end of the day, two Afghans were killed and many of the team of Americans and Afghans were injured, some badly. Between 150 and 200 insurgents were killed.

The heroism displayed on that cold mountaintop can now be measured as well. Of 15 U.S. troops that assaulted the main target, 11 have been approved for the Silver Star, the military's third-highest award for bravery. Two will be awarded the Bronze Star.

Details of the raid are emerging in advance of a ceremony scheduled for today at Fort Bragg, where members of the team will receive medals.

Intelligence had indicated that insurgent leaders were holed up in a compound in Shok Valley, an area considered remote even by Afghan standards. They would be the first U.S. forces in the area.

A team of 15 U.S. troops and about 30 Afghan commandos headed for the main target. Two similar-size units were to secure nearby zones.

Shortly after leaving Jalalabad, in eastern Afghanistan, the helicopters descended into a small area at an elevation of 10,000 feet. "We were surrounded by extremely sheer rock faces in all directions," said Capt. Kyle Walton, 29, the Special Forces Officer who led the raid.

The terrain was too rugged for some of the helicopters to land, forcing soldiers loaded with 60 pounds of equipment to jump from the hovering aircraft onto razor-sharp rocks or in an ice-cold stream that ran through the landing zone.

The insurgent compound was perched on a ridge line 1,000 feet above them.

"It was as close to vertical as a mountain can be," recalled Staff Sgt. Seth Howard, a 24-year-old from Keene, N.H.

They crept toward the compound along the icy rock face. One of Walton's men noticed a couple of insurgents carrying rocket-propelled grenades. He shot and killed the militants.

The mountain then opened in fire. Insurgents in fortified positions along a ridge and in the compound shot at the raiding troops who were spread along a barren mountainside with almost no cover.

Walton's Afghan interpreter was shot and killed instantly. The commandos were outnumbered by the insurgents, who were well-armed and held the high ground. The team was taking fire from all directions.

"No matter where you went, you weren't going to get away from any gunfire," said Staff Sgt. Ryan Wallen, 22, of Palm Springs, Calif.

"It was a very well-trained and disciplined enemy," Walton said.

The commandos fought back hard, pouring fire on the enemy and calling for repeated airstrikes. "The (Afghan) commandos did an excellent job," Walton said.

Staff Sgt. John Wayne Walding, 27, was with a small team that had reached close enough to the insurgents to hear them issuing orders.

Walding radioed to Walton, who was in position several hundred yards behind him, requesting an airstrike.

"I asked them, 'Are you too close to drop close air support?' " Walton recalls. "They said, 'Drop it anyway.' "

"I called him immediately as soon as the bomb exploded to see if he was still alive," Walton said. "I could hear gunfire in the background. All I heard from his radio was him yelling: 'Hit it again.'

"We brought in another airstrike," Walton said.

During the 6½ hour battle, the team called in 70 "danger close" airstrikes, meaning the bombs, missiles and strafing runs were close enough to potentially cause friendly casualties.

"A danger close mission is one of those things I have to give my initials over the radio to authorize," Walton said. "After the first two or three of them I told them: Don't ask for initials again. Just keep them all coming danger close."

As enemy fighters threatened to overrun their positions, the Americans would call in airstrikes nearly right on top of their heads, causing U.S. injuries.

"We didn't care if the bomb took us out, too," Walton said. "It would be better than letting the enemy kill us."

Airstrikes helped the team regain the initiative, but the commandos were running low on ammunition and medical supplies. Casualties mounted. Insurgents kept firing at the team from the higher ground.

The team needed to evacuate casualties. Doing that, however, meant climbing off the mountain and down a 60-foot cliff between them and the landing zone. Walton and his team were pinned down with the bulk of the casualties.

Walton radioed to Walding, ordering him back from his position to begin preparations for getting casualties off the mountain.

Walding had just finished deploying Afghan commandos to begin removing casualties when he was shot by a sniper. His right leg was mostly severed below the knee.

Walding tied a tourniquet and then used a boot lace to tie the lower portion of his leg to his thigh to secure it so he could move.

He kept firing at the enemy as he moved down the mountain, hopping on his good leg, sometimes sliding on the ground and getting help from the Afghan commandos.

It took Walding three hours to reach the landing zone.

About a third of the commando team of Americans and Afghans were injured. They helped each other get off the mountain, firing at the enemy as they went.

Some helicopters flew below power lines stretched across a couple of ridgelines to reach the landing zone. One pilot was injured by enemy fire.

After the casualties were evacuated, Walton wanted a quick-reaction force for another attack on the compound. But bad weather meant the team could be stuck on the mountain for days; his headquarters overruled the second attack.

Still, Walton said, "I think we broke the enemy's back."

The men climbed aboard helicopters that would take them out of Shok Valley.

Walding lost his leg below the knee and is doing well in therapy. He remains in the Army and wants to rejoin a Special Forces team. "That's my dream.""




Apparently this is the most decorations given to a unit for a single battle since the Vietnam War.

Good job guys.

__________________
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence

Seaver

The heroism from these men are absolutely amazing.

I was talking to my friend who's a medic out in Afghanistan. He said one soldier had less than an inch of flesh holding what was once his leg to his body. In the middle of fighting he put on a tournequit (sp?) to stop the bleeding, and used the bootstraps to then tie his leg onto his thigh and kept fighting. My understanding is this man is still in the Force and looks forward to returning to battle.

__________________
"Smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge, and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth." - Ashbel Smith as he laid the first cornerstone of the University of Texas

Slims

Video here. It's confusing, but it's better than nothing.

They had a combat cameraman with them (the e-4 who was given a silver star) who captured some video/pictures.

ABC News: Ten Soldiers Get Medal for Bravery

__________________
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence

The_Jazz

What? Is that a joke? If so, it's not really funny. Or appropriate.

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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

Walt

Jesus, that video really puts this fight into perspective. It looks like they landed along a river on the valley floor with mountains on both sides....(or maybe thats where they extracted from?)....were they taking fire from both sides?

These guys fought up the side of a near vertical mountain FOR 7 HOURS, killed 200 bad guys AND no Americans were killed. Im going to say that this story tops the Roughneck 91/Debecka story simply because of the intensity of the whole thing.

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Calmer than you are...

Willravel

There's no denying it: some soldiers are borderline superheroes.

Anxst

I hate to see that many silver stars being awarded, because that means an obscene level of bravery was involved in a firefight somewhere, and that means a bunch of boys got killed.

As always, I give my thanks to all the troops out there. I may not agree with the decisions of your commanding officers, but I'll always back you 100%.

__________________
Don't mind me. I'm just releasing the insanity pressure from my headvalves.

afsoc ew

At his Commanders call today MGen Wurster (AFSOC CC) briefed he had forwarded the recommendation for the Air Force Cross to the TACP member of the team. Although it is rarely mentioned, there is almost always a USAF "Quiet Professional" present at these events to coord the friendly air. TACP guys are usually not I.D.'d as Air Force since they live with the unit and wear the Army uniform (but with USAF insignia).

The_Dunedan

Wow.

Slims

It's my understanding that SF teams are rolling with CCT's nowadays, not just TACP's. I guess the press only focuses on those getting medals as part of a huge ceremony.

__________________
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence

Walt

Forgive my ignorance, but whats the difference between CCT's and TACP's?

__________________
Calmer than you are...

Plan9

Odd, 2006-era Air Force guys attached to low speed Army Airborne units didn't wear ACUs. Navy guys did, though.

Easy to spot the Air Force guys... they had all the expensive gear, rides with AC, and wore sew-shop jazzed DCUs with a zillion chevrons.

...

I guarantee they'll put that battle in history books. Kids in BCT will be told of that for the next couple decades.

I'm glad to see awards being issued to people that actually accomplished something. Real GI Joes eating shit sandwiches and smiling.

I got sick of watching POS LTs and E6+ being awarded Bronze Stars for doing absolutely nothing during a year-long gypsy deployment where they should have been sent back to CIF to pick up their basic soldier skills instead of making SHTF decisions like a teen girl standing in front of her walk-in closet before a date.
-----Added 16/12/2008 at 07 : 42 : 56-----
Tactical Air Control Party. They get to wear the cool hat.

Reference: Tactical Air Control Party

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

Seaver

If you read it, not 1 Allied Soldier was killed in the entire fight.

__________________
"Smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge, and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth." - Ashbel Smith as he laid the first cornerstone of the University of Texas

Ayashe

This is quite amazing. I couldn't possibly put together words to say how impressive these guys are. It is very unfortunate that there are far too many stories left untold that show the bravery and heroism of our troops fighting today. Anyways, Hooah!

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I am only a little spoon in a huge world of soup.

Slims

And a new article talking about the Air Force Combat Controller who was calling in all the close air support:

by Capt. Laura Ropelis
Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs

12/24/2008 - HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFNS) -- An Air Force Special Operations Command Airman saved lives in Afghanistan April 6 during a lengthy battle by calling in airstrikes to protect his team.

Staff Sgt. Zachary Rhyner, a special tactics combat controller assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., was deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom as the primary joint terminal attack controller while attached to special forces team Operational Detachment Alpha 3336, 3rd Special Forces Group.

Then a senior airman, Sergeant Rhyner was part of a 130-man combined assault force whose mission was to enter Shok Valley and capture a high-value target who was funding the insurgency. Sergeant Rhyner is credited with saving his10-man team from being overrun twice in a 6.5-hour battle.

Capt. Stewart Parker, the detachment commander at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was the command and control link to the JTACs on the ground as they went into Shok Valley.

"This was the first time U.S. special operations forces entered the territory," Captain Parker said. "These were extraordinary conditions and the situation was dynamic."

Shok Valley is located below 60-foot cliffs. The mission objective was at the top of the mountains surrounding the valley.

"Initial infiltration began that day with snow on the ground, jagged rocks, a fast-moving river and a cliff," Sergeant Rhyner said. "There was a 5-foot wall you had to pull yourself up. The ridgeline trail was out of control."

The expectation was to encounter fire from about 70 insurgents. One Air Force JTAC-qualified combat controller was attached to each team to call in airstrikes, if needed.

"We were caught off guard as 200 enemy fighters approached," said Staff Sgt. Rob Gutierrez, a combat controller with the second team in the fight. "Within 10 minutes, we were ambushed with heavy fire from 50 meters. The teams were split by a river 100 to 200 meters apart, north to south."

Sergeant Rhyner was in charge of coordinating the air assets.

"I have never seen a situation this bad," said Captain Parker, who was monitoring the situation back at the base. "The intel said the enemy was 40 feet away from Zach and his team at one point. It was dangerous."

Within the first 15 minutes of fire, Sergeant Rhyner was wounded along with three team members.

"I was pulling security when I got shot in the leg," he said. "The rounds hit my left thigh and went through my leg and hit another guy in the foot."

Sergeant Rhyner said he immediately felt pain and adrenalin.

"There was nowhere to go. I grabbed the wounded guys, but we were trapped by the enemy," he said. "I was calling in airstrikes and firing, while moving the wounded down (the cliff)."

Sergeant Gutierrez said he could see insurgent fire coming from the buildings on the hilltops above them and was trying to get across the river to meet up with Sergeant Rhyner.

"Zach and I were in constant radio contact," he said. "I could hear the ammunition, sniper fire and rocket-propelled grenades with multiple blasts. We tried to push to the north to collocate with Zach's team, but every time we pushed up river, it put us in an open line of fire."

"My team ran across the freezing river. The water came off the mountains, and we were 100 to 200 feet beneath the enemy, like fish in a barrel," Sergeant Gutierrez said.

As the enemy surrounded them, Sergeant Rhyner, who was being treated for his injuries by Capt. Kyle Walton, the special forces team leader, directed multiple rockets and gun runs from AH-64 Apache helicopters against enemy positions.

"Zach was coordinating tremendous amounts of fire on both villages simultaneously," Sergeant Gutierrez said. "Zach was in charge of the airstrikes, since he was closest to the fight and could see even what the F-15 (Eagle) pilots could not."

Forty-five minutes to an hour had gone by since the fight began.

"We were pinned down and I could see the enemy all over the hills running around," Sergeant Gutierrez said. There were no stable targets. I kept the Apaches and the Hellfire missiles pressed to the north."

Accurate sniper, machine gun and RPG fire poured down on the assault force in a complex ambush initiated simultaneously from all directions as Alpha Team 3336 ascended the near-vertical terrain. He called in more than 50 close airstrikes and strafing runs.

Three hours into the fight, Sergeant Gutierrez reached Sergeant Rhyner's position.

"Sergeant Gutierrez and I met on the cliff during the battle briefly. We shared a laugh, but it was a busy, bleak situation," Sergeant Rhyner said.

Sergeant Rhyner had been calling in airstrikes for three hours while he was injured; however, he still felt responsible for the others who had been hurt. With disregard for his own life, he tried to get the injured to safety, still in the open line of fire.

"I left injured personnel in a house and I had to get over there," he said. "I was frustrated being wounded. I tried to get the bombs there fast and talk to the pilots who didn't see what I saw on the ground."

Five or six hours into the fight, as it was getting dark, intelligence informed the JTACs that enemy reinforcements were 10 kilometers away carrying enemy rockets and missiles.

"We continued to fight our way up the hill and the (helicopters) came," Sergeant Gutierrez said. "Zach was talking to the helos and gave the coordinates to lay the bombs on the village, while I kept the A-10 (Thunderbolt IIs) and the Apaches out of the way."

Sergeant Rhyner called in a total of 4,570 rounds of cannon fire, nine Hellfire missiles, 162 rockets, 12 500-pound bombs and one 2,000-pound bomb, constantly engaging the enemy with his M-4 rifle to deter their advance.

"Zach acted fast and shut down the fighting," Sergeant Gutierrez said. "The wounded were taken out on medevac."

Back at command and control, Captain Parker heard that the helicopters were on the ground with the wounded but he could not move the helicopters due to the terrain and weather conditions.

"Radio transmissions would block the signal due to terrain and vertical cliffs," he said. "Helicopters were vulnerable and there was pressure to do everything we could to get the teams out quickly."

Fog then started rolling into the valley.

"At 8,000 feet, the helicopter couldn't fly (due to altitude) and the situation called for 'aggressive patience,'" Captain Parker said. "More than 50 percent of the U.S. forces were wounded, and it was pretty grave."

Toward the end of the fighting, 40 insurgents were killed and 100 wounded

Sergeant Rhyner was directly credited with the entire team's survival due to his skill and poise under intense fire.

"Sergeant Rhyner is out of training less than a year and is in one of the most difficult situations," Captain Parker said. "It is an absolute testament to his character and the training these guys take. It tells me we are doing something right."

"If it wasn't for Zach, I wouldn't be here," Sergeant Gutierrez said.

Sergeant Rhyner received the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs Grateful Nation Award Dec. 8 in Washington, D.C., and is awaiting the presentation of a Purple Heart for the injuries he suffered during the battle.

__________________
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence

Slims

Update:

Apparently some of the video has found it's way onto Youtube:

__________________
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence