Operation Moshtarak Essay

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

Many elite forces from around the world came together for operation Anaconda. The focal point of the operation was the Lower Shahikot Valley, which housed and protected a large number of foreign fighters – “Afghan Arabs” from al-Qaeda, Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Chechens from the Islamic Movements of Uzbekistan (IMU) 5. Takur Ghar was the highest point overlooking the Shahikot Valley and was a key terrain to capture for the mission. A noted Afghanistan specialist, Lester Grau, believes there were initially 600 estimated enemy fighters in the valley, which tallied with other credible sources6. The valley was protected by multilayered defenses. At the entrances to the valley, the insurgents maintained checkpoints, which allowed an early warning system of attempted ground attack7. The valley was “classic guerilla terrain – easily defendable, controlled access, numerous routes of escape, and near a sympathetic border”8.

For 16 weeks, I attended school at Fort Sam Houston Texas where I learned my MOS as a 68 Sierra, or Preventive Medicine Specialist. We oversee the inspections set forth by the Tri- Service Food Code. This code was created by the Army, Navy, and Airforce counter-parts for general sanitation of dining Facilities, child care facilities, on post restaurants including major chain restaurants such as Burger King, Popeyes, and Pizza Hut. We also ensure the general sanitation for barber and beauty shops, gyms, detention cells on base, water quality tests, where we run coliform and test all on base pool water for PH and Chlorine residuals weekly in my MOS. The main part of our job is to make sure all the facilities on base such as day care centers, dining facilities, and workout facilities, abide and follow the rules and regulations set forth by the Tri-Service Food code.

It became clear this valley was an Al Qaida stronghold in the area; this would be the area in which the operation would take place. The problem was, U.S military planners had a hard time determining the overall size of the Al Qaida force within the valley, along with their composition. Initial aerial reconnaissance reports led the planners to believe that the force was small in size along with being intermingled with the local civilian population. (Naylor, 2005) Observation posts (known as OPs) had been set up earlier to give the planners more on-the-ground intelligence; those OPs gave a conflicting report of at least 400 fighters in the valley, with no civilians in sight. (Naylor, 2005) This would prove to be challenging for the U.S and coalition military forces. Never-the-less, a plan was devised to emplace SEAL and Delta sniper teams, while having U.S Special Forces conduct a convoy with their Afghanistan forces, and finally air assaulting Ranger and conventional assets into the valley. All of this would happen while an AC-130H gunship provided over-watch from the sky. (Naylor,

2. CF, Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2): The CF for Operation Anaconda consisted of elements from; Pro-government Afghan militia, German Army’s Kommando Spezialkraefte (KSK), Norwegian Special Forces Forsvarets Spesialkommando (FSK), Marinejegerkommandoen,

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 joint forces of the United States of America are phenomenal. Operation Anaconda was one of the most remarkable operations conducted by the American joint forces. According to Richard B. Andres and Jeffrey B. Hukill (2009), “over the last 5 years, Operation Anaconda has gained legendary status as a debacle”. The operation aimed to kill or capture Taliban and al Qaeda fighters that were located in the Shahi-Kot Valley. In spite of some problems experienced by joint forces, it was successful since approximately 800 al Qaeda members killed; nonetheless, the experienced challenges led to the conflict

manage critical issues on behalf of the Chief, National Guard Bureau. He is the engine

October 2001, providing air corridors and airfields. The aim of the operation was the destruction of the bases

Leads, directs, enforces standards, and mentors 13 employees daily; advises five technical and department managers on employee related issues. Conducts aircrew pre-mission threat analysis and briefings, builds and prepares aircrew escape and evasion bags – vital to Combat Search and Rescue recovery operations. Supports 62nd Air Wing’s, training and contingency, air mobility missions by providing global intelligence in support of direct deployment operations. Manages department administrative actions by ensuring accurate and timely performance reports are submitted to Headquarters Air Force Personnel Command. Ensures accurate record keeping and supplies, enables critical intelligence support to the mission.

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a country of rugged terrain and unforgiving climate. Afghanistan sits at the focal point of historical trade routes as well as a major invasion route into central Asia. This brief overview will give some insight to unit commanders to use in their decision making process while planning unified land operations in the area.

• Provided superior customer service by assisting customers in selection, demonstration and purchase firearms, and related merchandise; placed special orders

Being a platoon commander, I had to make eighteen individuals have the mindset of a team, in order to prepare them for Annual Military Inspection. This worked to the utmost degree, because we passed our Annual Military Inspection and were recognized as an distinguished unit with academic honors, and we were the Area Four Most Outstanding Unit. Knowing that I was apart of achieving this honor is the most overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. This showed me that I was growing into someone who could change a group of individuals into a team, and that was something I could have never imagined before NJROTC. This skill would be put to it’s ultimate test the coming summer, when I was chosen to go back to Area Four Leadership Academy/Sail Training as a platoon aide for Gold Platoon. At the end of those two weeks, I turned 38 cadets into one team, and that team was the overall Honor Platoon, and won five out of the seven competitive events at LA/ST.

• Monitor and comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations concerning Team Members’ safety.

Conducted daily activities in Standard Operation and Maintenance Army Research and Development System (SOMARDS) and GFEBS, worked on prior year unliquidated obligations, created purchase requisitions, created funded programs, moved funding, processed cost transfers, reprogramed funds, created sales order for reimbursable funding, pulled status of funds and labor reports, created and processed Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requests (MIPRs) to order to allocate and spend funding based on spend plan.