Ryan M. Pitts, who was also tended by Bogar with a tourniquet around Pitts’ leg before switching to another gun. [9] The official U.S. Army history of the battle, published in December 2010, places little blame on the senior officers involved, instead blaming the uncertain nature of war, mistakes by junior officers, lack of knowledge by Army officers on the Wanat region's complex political situation, and lack of intelligence that the attack forces would be drawn from the entire region, not just the local area. "U.S. troops quit remote Afghan base after attack". The Battle of Wanat occurred on July 13, 2008, when about 200 Taliban guerrillas attacked NATO troops near Quam, in the Waygal district in Afghanistan's far eastern province of Nuristan. google_ad_width = 160; The Battle of Wanat is the most requested virtual staff ride by ROTC units, and it has been part of the core curriculum for students at West Point and Command and General Staff College. [11][13] The attack was the highest death toll for American troops in the country since Operation Red Wings three years earlier. The Battle of Wanat occurred on July 13, 2008, when about 200 Taliban and al-Qaeda guerrillas attacked NATO troops near Quam, in the Waygal district in Afghanistan's far eastern province of Nuristan.The position was defended primarily by United States Army soldiers of the 2nd Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. The study focuses on the July 13, 2008, battle in Afghanistan's Waigal Valley during which nine American Soldiers died and 27 were wounded defending their small outpost against a much larger force of insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons. Soldiers". According to that report, soldiers at the Wanat base were critically short of basic necessities such as water and sandbags and had complained repeatedly, to no avail, that their base was in a precarious position. Martinez, Luis (July 14, 2008). The new location - at Wanat - was supposed to be less exposed. Nov 12, 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008, Heroic' fighting repels Afghan militants". Reproduction Date: The Battle of Wanat occurred on July 13, 2008, when about 200 Taliban and al-Qaeda guerrillas attacked NATO troops near Quam, in the Waygal district in Afghanistan's far eastern province of Nuristan. Department of Defense. July 16, 2008. [9] Their goal was to create a Combat Outpost (COP) to connect with and provide security for the local populace, coordinate $1.4 million in reconstruction projects, and disrupt Taliban activity. //-->, This article will be permanently flagged as inappropriate and made unaccessible to everyone. Image from Army Times Report: US Commanders 'Incompetent' Over Nine Soldiers Killed In Afghan Battle Of Wanat -- The Telegraph An unpublished report into one of the US Army's darkest days, when nine soldiers were killed by the Taliban at a remote Afghan outpost, has branded their commanders incompetent. Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Army chief of staff further commended the performance of the soldiers: Upset over Campbell's decision, family members of those killed in action wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Army asking that the findings of Natonski's investigation be upheld and the reprimands reinstated. Saturnino Crespo, 1st Platoon aviation operations specialist. The Army acknowledged this, in part, in a CBS News report on 11 March 2010. In 2008, NATO forces in southeastern Afghanistan deployed sub-company-sized patrols to the Pakistan border to disrupt supplies flowing to the Taliban from the Federally Administered Tribal Regions of Pakistan. The initial Taliban radio transmissions that were intercepted, reported that the "Big Gun had been hit" (mortar tube) and the commander had been killed. Mark Bowden (December 2011). to the Battle of Wanat. The initial investigation was completed in August 2008. Wiltrout, Kate (July 19, 2008). google_ad_slot = "4852765988"; Shanker, Thom (October 2, 2009). "ISAF presence will be maintained in Wanat, PR# 2008-320, 2008-07-16". As a followup to Blaming The Gun For The Battle... Blaming The Gun For The Battle Losses. [3], In July 2009, U.S. April 2012. Washington Post, United States Army (June 23, 2010). WHEBN0018424092 '11 Days and a Wake Up' is a real true life documentary about The Chosen Few and The Battle of Wanat where 9 soldiers were Killed in Action and 27 others seriously wounded. Artillery guns at Camp Blessing fired 96 155mm artillery rounds. It would go on to be known as the Battle of Wanat, the most costly single engagement for U.S. forces in Afghanistan to that point. Combat Outpost Kayler is the small outpost that was over run at Wanat, in the Waygal district of Afghanistan. "Report details attack on GIs in Afghanistan". "Taliban Flexing Muscle in Afghanistan". World Heritage Encyclopedia content is assembled from numerous content providers, Open Access Publishing, and in compliance with The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR), Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Public Library of Science, The Encyclopedia of Life, Open Book Publishers (OBP), PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and USA.gov, which sources content from all federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government publication portals (.gov, .mil, .edu). Two American soldiers, platoon leader First Lieutenant Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii and Corporal Jason Hovater, were killed trying to deliver ammunition to the observation post. To some, Wanat represents the continuation of past mistakes; more dead soldiers with jammed rifles, of course of the faulty AR-15 pattern. Shanker, Thom (October 3, 2009). Al Jazeera. The mortars and TOW launcher which were to provide the heaviest and most accurate firepower had been quickly taken out by the attackers. This statement, portraying the operational approaches of the 173rd Airborne Brigade (TF Bayonet) and 2-503 PIR (TF Rock) in a negative light, is contradicted by David Kilcullen in his book, The Accidental Guerrilla. July 19, 2008. Wanat was no failure, it was an example of the heavy price of war. Blitzer, Wolf, and Barbara Starr (August 19, 2008). Matthew Phillips who threw a grenade before he was mortally wounded. [11][12][13] On July 4, a U.S. Army helicopter attacked and killed 17 civilians, including all of the doctors and nurses at a local clinic, infuriating local Afghans. Kilcullen stated that in March 2008, Kilcullen also noted a statement by a previous U.S. commander in Kunar regarding LTC William Ostlund, the 2-503 commander: "Bill O. understood deeply that the effect of Coalition operations on the people was the key question. The Battle of Wanat On July 13, 2008, Taliban fighters launched a major assault on a small U.S. Army outpost in Afghanistan, killing nine soldiers and wounding 27. He was seriously wounded and fought alone until reinforcements arrived. /* 160x600, created 12/31/07 */
