Military Operation Anaconda Essay

At the start of the new millennium, China became rapidly known as the fastest growing economy sparking the greatest shift of relative power in history. Coincidence, or not, Afghanistan’s narrow border with China made it a perfect strategic target to presume military presence within the Asian region. Arguably, the invasion of Afghanistan lays largely on a tactical plan designed by the US to resist

The purpose of this paper is to identify the uses and application of mission command within Operation Anaconda. Operation Anaconda took place in the Shahikot Valley of eastern Afghanistan in early March of 2002. The ground commander selected to lead the operation was Major General (MG) Hagenbeck of the 10th Mountain Division, and for the purpose of this operation, Coalition and Joint Task Force (CJTF) Mountain. Due to the limited number of troops under his command currently available in Afghanistan, MG Hagenbeck was given command in addition to one of his own organic battalions, the 3rd Brigade, 101st Air Assault Division, some Special Operations Force (SOF) units, and Coalition Forces. This paper will identify MG Hagenbeck’s, his staff’s, and higher command’s use of the mission command principles during this operation. The principles of mission command are accept prudent risk, use mission orders, exercise disciplined initiative, provide a clear commander’s intent, create shared understanding, and lastly, build cohesive teams through mutual trust (Mission Command, 2014).

The United States’ War on Terror following the attacks on 9/11 began with the invasion of Afghanistan and an attempt to to overthrow the Taliban government for harboring Osama bin Laden, the one responsible for the devastating attacks, led to devastating casualties of American and Taliban soldiers, as well as countless civilians. The United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7, 2001 and began a ground and air attack in Afghanistan. In the first year of the war, it is reported that between 1537 to 2490 civilians were killed in the air assault led by U.S. forces (Guilliard 66). The U.S. swiftly defeated the Taliban but failed to capture Bin Laden before he escaped to Pakistan. It is reported that roughly 13,000 Talibani soldiers were killed in the first year of the war Guilliard 74). This led to very poor relations with Afghan “rebels” in which there were many sporadic battles with that led to Afghanistan becoming a

In the mountainous Shah-i-Khot region south of the city of Gardez in Eastern Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda took place early March 2002. Operation Anaconda, to this day, stands as the largest reported ground action in the Afghan war. This 17-day battle led to eight U.S. casualties and over 50 wounded. Operation Anaconda is viewed as a success due to coalition forces being able to kill and root out several hundred Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, which left U.S. and coalition forces in control of the Shah-i-Khot Valley. Originally intended to be a three-day battle with light resistance, a seven-day battle ensued with intense fighting and was finally

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

1. In President Obama’s speech at West Point, he announced that 30,000 additional troops would be sent to Afghanistan. He made this decision because he said it was vital to the United States’ national interest. The vital national interest at risk in President Obama’s address is the security and safety of the American people as well as the “security of our allies and the common security of the world.” By involving the military and increasing the troop strength, President Obama can achieve the objectives of his strategy. His objectives are to keep the Taliban from becoming powerful, prevent them from government rule, improve Afghanistan security forces and government so they can manage their own country and prevent Al Qaeda from

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

This paper was written by Dr. Richard L. Kugler from the National Defense University, Center of Technology and National Security. Operation Anaconda was a success, but taught many lessons for modern-era force operations and defense transformation that deserves to be remembered (Kugler, 2007). Even though the battle plan was complex and sophisticated, it was not followed by the Afghan forces, which left US ground troops to do the battle alone. US forces had to replan the battle at a moment's notice.

On August 2nd, 1990 Iraqi military forces invaded and occupied the small Arab state of Kuwait. The order was given by Iraqi dictatorial president Saddam Hussein. His aim was apparently to take control Kuwait's oil reserves (despite its small size Kuwait is a huge oil producer; it has about 10 per cent of the world's oil reserves ). Iraq accused Kuwait, and also the United Arab Emirates, of breaking agreements that limit oil production in the Middle East. According to Saddam Hussein, this brought down world oil prices severely and caused financial loss of billions of dollars in Iraq's annual revenue.

The British and American decision to invade Sicily in 1943 was an uneasy compromise made by these two Allies having greatly different strategies concerning the prosecution of the War against Nazi Germany. The strategic goals settled upon were freedom of shipping in the Mediterranean, the opening of a new campaign to help relieve the Russian front, and pressuring Italy to exit the Axis. The operations to support these strategic objectives were endangered by Generals Eisenhower and Alexander’s pre-occupation with operations in North Africa and the British distrust of American combat capability. This led the Allied Strategic military leadership to violate important concepts in mission command by poorly communicating commander’s intent, displaying

After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, the United States (US) declared a global war on terrorism. Afghanistan was the first battleground with Operation ENDURING FREEDOM; US forces engaged enemy combatants in effort to deter, isolate and destroy, terrorist networks. In the early stages, unified land operations consisted mostly of special operation forces (SOF) with support of the US Airforce, US Navy, allies and Afghan Security Forces (ASF). This early collation was a joint effort that proved successful during the early phases of the operation. Engagement of enemy forces successfully deterred their operational capabilities and efforts that pushed enemy forces into Shahi Kot Valley. This concentration of enemy forces in Shahi Kot Valley fostered the development of Operation ANACONDA, a joint, interagency, intergovernmental, multinational (JIIM) operation. The joint operations planning process (JOPP), employed during the operational design failed to achieve the desired combat power necessary for successful shaping operations and decisive action.

covert military operations, directed by Colonel Oliver North, a well-decorated Vietnam War veteran. North became somewhat of a problematic figure, often bragging of his close relationship to the President, although office logs from the time show that Reagan never saw North alone, and spoke to him only once on the telephone. However, Reagan’s reasons for forging ahead in this situation, despite congressional opposition, can best be explained by his remarks in the “red tide” television speech given on March 16, 1986. “Using Nicaragua as a base, the Soviets and Cubans can become the dominant 15 Pemberton, Ibid., p. 173. 14 power in the crucial corridor between North and South America.”16 As a result of his continued pressure, the House did finally

The war in the Middle East was in full effect and the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) already had forces in the Afghanistan area of responsibility (AOR). These pre-positioned troops were the result of intelligence reports that showed the Taliban and al Qaeda were hiding out in the Shahi-Khot valley in Afghanistan. CENTCOM’S poor task organization for the multiple coalition forces on the ground and air contributed to the breakdown of Task Force Mountain’s battle plan.

The Counter Insurgency operations in Vietnam have taught the U.S. a lot that can be applied to Afghanistan. According to Phillips (2015) “Although our understanding and steadfast support can make a significant difference, ultimate success depends on

When it comes to succeeding at anything, it is important to plan, prepare, and rehears the outcome. In a combat zone, this becomes even more important because lives and the success of the mission depend on it. This was not the case however, during a fight called Operation Anaconda. The purpose of this paper is to point out what went wrong with the lack of planning, coordination, rehearsal, and preparation between Air and ground communications, and how it proved to be critical during Operation Anaconda. The ending results were a delayed execution and several friendly casualties.