F3EA Cycle: A Case Study

In September 2009, I checked into my first command, eager to learn and ready to work. Unfortunately, my command was a shore command, meaning the command did not deploy people. Fortunately, my department arranged for my temporary attachment to a command that did deploy, a maritime security squadron whose mission was to protect US and Coalition warships as they transited in and out of port in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. I was deployed from April to November of 2010, living in Dubai and working at Jebel Ali. During that seven months, This deployment was the steepest learning curve I had experienced in my life to that point. I learned about waterborne tactics, Iran’s Naval power, and extremist groups operating in the Arabian Gulf. This was especially relevant when an al-Qaeda aligned group, Abdullah Azzam Brigades, attacked an oil tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Our unit was responsible for making initial reports on the damaged tanker when it limped into port.

Operation Anaconda was a subordinate joint combat operation, during Operation Enduring Freedom, (Lyle 2012) to be carried out in the Shahi Kot Valley located in southeastern Afghanistan. Operations planning took place in February of 2002 and was executed from 2-16 March. The operational purpose was to capture or kill, what was reported to be, “The largest concentration of al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan”. Operation Anaconda Case Study (2003) In order to undertake a mission of this magnitude and scope, unity of command would prove critical. The task organization of Operation Anaconda involved both joint and multinational assets. Operation Anaconda lacked unity

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. The story of Wanat is more then just one small group of commanders’ mistakes; it is a window into how the war in Afghanistan went awry and how we can learn from these mistakes to better future missions and future leaders.

Operation Anaconda was the first major joint combat operation against the war on terror that the US was committed to winning. This operation would test our military’s readiness for joint operations against a hardened and willing adversary. The primary mission was to kill/capture Taliban/Al Qaeda forces occupying towns and villages in the vicinity of Shahi Khot in order to gain control of the valley.1 The US needed the towns, villages, mountains, and more importantly, the intricate and hard to access caves cleared of enemy fighters. Units participating in the operation included elements of the 101st Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, Special Operations Forces (SOF), and Coalition forces from seven nations

Deceased philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, “War does not determine who is right- only who is left”. Those left are the soldiers of the 1-502nd, specifically Bravo Company 1st plt, and the Janabi family and to a greater extent, the ever-changing global world we all live in today. The tragic events that conspired in a small Iraqi village became a microcosm of how leadership failures at every level shaped the actions of a few soldiers who committed atrocious acts. One can also see how a high operational tempo, along with prolonged violence and death, has on a person’s psyche. It is the ugly side of war that the average American citizen may not want to hear or talk about. For a soldier, it is inevitably what they train their

In February 2002, Special Forces intelligence agents along with Advanced Force Operations (AFO), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), were starting to make a connection between an increase presence of high-value targets (HVT), the Taliban, and Al-Qaeda fighters in an area called Shahi-Kot Valley (Neville, 2005). Shahi-Kot is located in Afghanistan, just southeast of a town called Zormat. A plan was devised to eliminate the enemy threat in that area. Major Franklin L. Hagenbeck was to command the mission called Operation Anaconda. This operation was the first large-scale battle in the United States War in Afghanistan since the Battle of Tora Bora (Call, 2007, p. 57-86). Operation Anaconda was also unique in the fact that it would involve a great number of Afghan militia, U.S. and coalition Special Operations, and conventional forces (U.S. Army, n.d.),

Sergeant First Class Jackson was a very humble warrior. In his cubical, you would find American Flags, Daily Bread pamphlets from the chaplain, maintenance magazines and a candy dish which we all loved. He never boasted about his accomplishments, but you knew there was something special about this gentle giant. As he and I talked prior to him undergoing surgery, he told me that he was assigned to the 507th Maintenance Company during his assignment to Fort Bliss, Texas. This company stood out in my mind because it was the infamous Maintenance Company which Private Jessica Lynch was assigned to when she became a prisoner of war. Staff Sergeant Jackson was the responsible for the maintenance of the fleet of vehicles that were partaking in the in the convoy. The convoy departed Kuwait, led by the Company Commander, Captain Troy K. King, en route to Iraq on the first day of the war in 2003. When many of the vehicles had become bogged down by the sand (Michael Luo 2003), Staff Sergeant Jackson moved forward to execute his functions and keep the convoy moving. The convoy became disoriented and was immediately surrounded by the enemy in Nasiriyah, Iraq. Staff Sergeant Jackson immediately began to return fire to help defend the convoy and protect his fellow Soldiers (Jackson 2014). He continued to fire until he was wounded and unable to fire his weapon. During the fog of war, Staff Sergeant Jackson transitioned from firing his weapon to

2001-Al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan are targeted by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), and the CIA’s

The battle I will be discussing is the battle of Tora Bora. The engagement took place in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan from December 12, 2001 to December 17, 2001. The units involved were from the CIA, numerous Special Forces groups, Pakistani soldiers and local anti-Taliban fighters. The mission given to the forces was to kill Osama bin Laden from the caves, leave the body with the Taliban and disrupt the Al Qaeda organization by removing their leader. The intent was to infiltrate the cave system, remove bin Laden and return home.

This paper explores the battle of Qala-i-Jangi, with alternate outcomes and relevant capabilities of both sides rendering a future effect on the campaign. Taliban and foreign fighters surrendered near Kunduz and were being held as enemy combatants at Qala-i-Jangi fortress prison for interrogations by the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The prisoners revolted and the ensuing fighting escalated into one of the bloodiest battles of the conflict. Northern Alliance fighters, assisted by British and American Special Forces and air support, to quelled the revolt. As a result all but 86 prisoners were killed. United States (US) suffered the first American fatality during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. Among the surviving prisoners was an American citizen. The subsequent lessons learned will be employed throughout campaigns on the Global War on Terrorism, Operation Enduring Freedom. (Wikipedia, 2015)

I was in 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, U.S. Army Special Operations Command (U.S.A.S.O.C.). Ranger Battalion is the United States Army’s premier direct-action raid force. Being in Ranger Battalion is unlike anything I had ever previously known, this tight-knit brotherhood of modern-day Spartan warriors has bonds that even death cannot break. I deployed in a classified location in Afghanistan to capture or kill wanted terrorists of our nation. My platoon and I stepped off the plane and immediately got slapped in the face by the smell of burning jet fuel mixed with human waste. The weirdest part was looking around at what the terrain was like, it reminded me exactly of Arizona. Everyone in my platoon grabbed all our equipment

On July 27, 2007, during a village assessment and presence patrol mission in a remote area of northeastern Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Patrick Lape and his team came under enemy fire. The enemy fire had stopped almost as soon as it started, but not far after it started again. One of the Sergeant’s squad mates fell down a hill right in line of enemy fire. The sergeant maneuvered his way around to him and led him to safety. Sergeant Lape then prepared a smoke bomb to conceal their movement as they got away. Before he could get it off, they were hit directly by an RPG. This injured and disoriented everyone in his squad. This did not stop his clear path of thought. He carried his team one by one to safety. He then called for medical evac. The

In June 28, 2005 a very committed four man Navy SEAL team was conducting a reconnaissance mission at the unforgiving altitude of approximately 10,000 feet. They were sent to Afghanistan to scout on Amahd Shad, who was a terrorist in the south of Afghanistan. Operation Red wings was intended stop the leader of the Taliban group in Afghanistan. The operation lasted only three weeks; the mission was compromised when the Seals were spotted by local citizens, who presumably reported its presence and location to the Taliban. Unfortunately, only one those four Seals survived. Marcus Luttrel was the only survivor. This is a story of four young, brave, and united soldiers who devoted their lives for their country.

In his memoirs, "American Soldier," former U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander General Tommy Franks, USA, (Ret.) portrayed Operation Anaconda as an "absolute and unqualified success," but one in which the original U.S. military battle plan "didn't survive first contact with the enemy." General Franks' apt portrayal provides the framework for this case study of Operation Anaconda, which took place in the Shahikot Valley of eastern Afghanistan during early March 2002. The goal of Operation Anaconda was to root out enemy Taliban and al Qaeda forces that had gathered in the valley following their earlier defeats in the first 3 months of the war. To achieve this goal, U.S. commanders crafted a complex and sophisticated battle plan involving

You have to consider for a moment the serious nature of this action. When we deploy, we rely on the person to our left and right. The profession of arms is one that requires all to do their part. Combat, by nature, is a physical, difficult, and demanding task. A person’s very life may depend on the actions of those around him or her. Ask any Soldier pulled from the vehicle hit by an improvised explosive device if that is true or not. You must have personnel on whom you can rely. The actions and directions from the brigade forced us to accept people who may be