[17], 27 soldiers were awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in combat. It was one of many reasons Cordova was later awarded the Silver Star. As I neared the camp that evening, Cordovas voice crackled through my radio and asked for more blood donors. "It doesn't really take a lot to sort of trigger the emotions again," said Beth Keating. The entire Outpost Keating was recreated. "Reviewing and examining and improving are part of our process and when we do it from within, it is embraced," said the officer who asked not to be identified. Nine years earlier, Cordova and his medics toiled away in the aid station to treat the wounded and save the dying. Soldiers with 1st Plt., B Trp., 3rd Sqdn., 61st Cav Regt., 4th BCT, 4th Inf. Keating's death, while mostly historically accurate, is pushed up in the film as a way to condense the storyline.Knowing the LMTV armored supply vehicle was too heavy for the road in Kamdesh, Keating volunteered against protocol to drive the truck, choosing to risk his own life instead of the lives of the men serving underneath him. [2] Two Americans, Staff Sergeants Clinton L. Romesha and (then Specialist) Ty Carter were awarded the Medal of Honor for their role in defending the base.[3]. [10], OP Fritsche was established to provide overwatch for COP Keating and was manned by a mix of US and Afghan national forces. Two days before the attack, I was en route to a mountaintop observation post when the helicopter I was flying in was hit by enemy fire. The 53. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. In the end, we gaveThe Outpost movie a Historical Accuracy Score of 8.5/10. Basically, the air support was leaving and coming back. Defense officials confirm that three other Army officers face disciplinary action for their role in the attack on the military outpost in Wanat in July, 2008 that led to nine dead U.S. soldiers and 27 wounded. These resources were limited by the fact that only 5,000 American troops were available to occupy a rugged area the size of Virginia that had little infrastructure. ", Yes. This page was last edited on 25 January 2023, at 06:49. Ground resupply became almost impossible due to the area's limited roads and the threat of insurgent attacks. According to one account, Hill without hesitation picked up a Latvian sniper rifle and eliminated the target at a distance of over 300 meters., 1st Lt. Andrew Bundermann, de facto ground commander, worked to slow the fire in the operations center and salvage equipment. Over the years, I have learned that sharing the experience allowed many of us to put our emotions into words. Yes. Thomas Rasmussen fought back and was knocked off his feet by a rocket-propelled grenade. By allowing soldiers to tell their story, by hearing their story, you are also part of the healing. "The investigation concluded that critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets which had been supporting COP Keating had been diverted to assist ongoing intense combat operations in other areas," the report said. An after-action report stated that within less than a few minutes of fighting, the Afghan soldiers serving at Keating, as well as the Afghan security guards, had fled their positions, allowing the enemy to quickly overrun the post. Justin Kulish was conducting a routine patrol in his B-1 bomber about an hour away when he got the call that Keating was in trouble. Those guys were amazing. Ty M. Carter pauses during a patrol outside Combat Outpost Keating, Afghanistan, where he was deployed with the 61st Cavalry Regiment in 2009. American forces formed a thinly held and poorly supplied picket line from Naray to Kamdesh along the river. Clint Romesha and Ty Carter, portrayed by Scott Eastwood and Caleb Landry Jones, were not present when Benjamin Keating died. The movie is based on the 2012 nonfiction book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by CNN's Jake Tapper. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/magazine/the-outpost-afghanistan-movie.html. Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, View Video of Taliban Fighters in the Camp. [7]:229,256,26380[12], The Battle of Saret Koheh made good on the threats of the "Night Letter". The steep mountains rendered two dimensional maps and landmarks useless. [7][8] The former of which is based on the book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by journalist Jake Tapper. "We're constantly under observation." 1st Class Jonathan Hill rallied his 3rd Platoon troops in a counterattack, despite his multiple shrapnel wounds. Captain Melvin Porter, 4th Infantry Division, US Army, said: "We're sitting in a bowl so we are constantly under observation." This is how the war went at COP Keating: a few pot shots from. Despite overwhelming odds and volume of injuries, MAJ (R) Cordova was able to . [7]:95,268. Leaving aside the wisdom of a fictional admiral cutting her CAG and most experienced pilot out of the loop while she plans a small craft evacuation, the US Army follows a doctrine known as Mission Command, which relies on the commander keeping their subordinates informed not just of their orders but the. Mace survived long enough to be evacuated to a nearby medical facility. Resistance in Nuristan revolved around a specific group of Islamic fighters known as Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin or HIG. The note was signed "Mullah Omar". Provide clean water by installing gravity fed pipelines. While en route the Platoon encountered a planned ambush on the side of the mountain resulting in three confirmed enemy KIA at approximately 6:00pm. So it was something that had its objective changed and wasn't moved due to limited resources and it being 'probably good enough' there? I stood silently in the corner and watched a rendition of the story I previously told through sympathy letters to the families of the fallen, in award write-ups for my soldiers and during lectures for military leaders. And he was becoming disillusioned with the possibility of what he thought. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor. Aaron Dove, pilot and weapon systems officer of one of the F-15E aircraft coordinating close air support, were also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. [9], Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron "Destroyers", 61st Cavalry Regiment manned COP Keating. I highly recommend picking up a copy as it goes into far far greater detail about the history and events leading up and during the battle. [2] A day after, on October 7, Taliban fighters were seen among the ruins of the outpost. [7]:1238,1368,18191,407, Combined with difficult conditions for air supply, and little support from the local population, supply to what was renamed Camp Keating on November 26, 2006, was wholly inadequate. This agreement did bring down the level of combat in the Kamdesh area. The battle is also the main focal point of the 2020 film The Outpost, which was in-turn based on the book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by Jake Tapper. [5][7]:53141 Observation Post ("OP") Fritsche was attacked simultaneously, limiting available support from that position. "As evening fell on the night of 3 October 2009, COP Keating remained solidly under US control, and enemy forces had suffered severe tactical defeat," according to the Army report, although "eight American soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice defending their outpost and their fellow soldiers." It seemed like the entire COP was burning [70 percent did].. The movie does a good job of capturing the nerve-racking tension of being posted at Combat Outpost Keating. Gul Mohammed Khan, the government administrator for Kamdesh District, lived at the intersection of the Landay-Sin and Darreh Ye Kushtoz rivers. They professed a Salafi version of Islam, and were hostile to any political rivals. The AAF responded to this advance with a well-organized ambush on July 26, 2007, in the river valley at Saret Koheh. Captain Frank Brooks, commanding at LZ Warheit, was dismayed to discover the PRT could not be quickly reached by LZ Warheit. AAF would disguise themselves in ANA uniforms and set up fake checkpoints to extract taxes and tolls from local contractors, and allied themselves with smugglers transporting illegal timber and gems into Pakistan. While this is indeed alarmingly frequent, the movie makes it seem like the attacks are happening daily. [29], Following the battle, the U.S. Central Command conducted an investigation on what had occurred, led by US Army General Guy Swan. Located near the border with Pakistan in the Afghan province of Nuristan, COP Keating was the scene of a coordinated attack by as many as 300 Taliban fighters who stormed the exposed base. Soldiers Dead in Bold Attack in Afghanistan", Attack on Afghan outposts kills 8 soldiers, "U.S. ignored warnings before deadly Afghan attack", "U.S. Military Faults Leaders in Attack on Base", "Courage at Keating: 2 Medals of Honor, 1 DSC, 8 Silver Stars for standout B Troop", "Army releases report on battle at Combat Outpost Keating battle", "Afghan insurgents pushed into U.S. base, official says", "Strategic Plans Spawned Bitter End for a Lonely Outpost", "Defense.gov News Release: DoD Identifies Army Casualties", "Defense.gov News Release: DoD Identifies Army Casualty", "Insurgents breached U.S. outpost in battle", The Gazette: Mom works to help Carson soldiers honor battle bonds, "They 'weren't going to get beat that day' the Medal of Honor recipients who held COP Keating against all odds", "US premiere of film about Battle of COP Keating and Latvian soldiers | Aizsardzbas ministrija", Latvijas Televzija: Videofilma "Afganistna. The attacks size and urgency may have had something to do with the US Soldier Bounty issued by the Ruskies. The movie does take liberty with the way it portrays previous commanders of the outpost, 1st Lt. Ben Keating and Capt. Or invite someone to subscribe through this link. Troops", "Outnumbered and With Taliban Overrunning the Base, Clinton Romesha Was Awarded MoH at the Battle of Kamdesh", "4th ID Soldier awarded Distinguished Service Cross", "Army vet honored with Distinguished Service Cross for combat heroics in Afghanistan", "Pilots receive Distinguished Flying Cross for valor", "Airmen honored by college for heroism in Afghanistan", "Army veteran Clinton Romesha receives Medal of Honor for Afghan fight", "Obama awards Ty Carter Medal of Honor for Afghan battle", "US soldiers hold back Taliban attack on COP Keating", COP Keating Report at DefenseTech.org: After Action Report, before and after photos, maps, analysis, Executive Summary - AR 15-6 Investigation re: Complex Attack on COP Keating - 3 Oct 09, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Kamdesh&oldid=1135532495, Served with United States Army since 2003 and Participated in, Killed by a single gunshot wound in the head, Served with United States Army since 2004 and Participated in, Killed by multiple gunshot wounds in the head and body, Served with United States Army since 2006 and Participated in, Served with United States Army since 2005. . In Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming, Jonathan Shay calls this form of catharsis the communalization of grief, in which trauma survivors tell their stories and listeners can listen, believe and remember. This is when the circle of healing is complete. American troops in Nuristan found themselves directly in opposition to the HIG forces. [14] At the time, Afghan national forces were supervised and trained by members of the Latvian Operational Mentor Liaison Teams. [5] The U.S. military estimated that 150 Taliban insurgents were also killed as a result of repulsing the assault. Keating saw these programs as producing mixed results. [18], At about 3:00a.m. on October 3, over 350 Taliban backed insurgents ordered all Kamdesh villagers to leave the area. The second incident happened in 2008 at Observation Post Fritsche. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. On his way, he stopped to offer first aid to wounded troops. These valley and road intersections combined with the political leadership in the area inspired the positioning of the Nuristan PRT. Despite some condensing with regard to the timeline and a fictional character or two (Pfc. Yllescas's charismatic relations with the Shura had supported the transition from 1-91 Cavalry to 6th Squadron, and the Shura's influence and collaboration with ISAF forces declined from this point. Portis had been in command of the platoon for less than two weeks when, on Oct. 3, 2009, the Taliban attacked Combat Outpost Keating while he was away visiting a mountain observation post. A dog named Cali growled at the eldest son of an Afghan Security Guard, who would often come to the post with his father. As a result of the battle, COP Keating was partially overrun and nearly destroyed. The Allies hoped that extending these bases into Nuristan, one of the most remote and isolated eastern provinces in Afghanistan, they could demonstrate to the entire Afghan population the government's credibility and power. Many of the Afghan National Army members there in support of the coalition troops fled. Formalized as "The Commitment of Mutual Support" the agreement also provided the Shura would provide local security in return for an end to uninvited American military searches of local towns and mosques. I only heard of it being a thing last year, never actually looked up when it actually happened. The wounded Americans condition immediately improved after the first unit of blood, as did the spirits of all those in the aid station. Of the 53 U.S. soldiers who fought in the Battle of Kamdesh at Outpost Keating, 45 survived, 8 lost their lives, and 27 were wounded. Contained between the Landay River and steep mountains, Keating was attacked from multiple directions by 300 enemy fighters. These AAF were more professional and probably represented groups from areas outside of Nuristan. Keating was killed in November 2006 when he volunteered for a dangerous mission to drive an army truck loaded with supplies up to the camp, along treacherous 200-foot cliffs. A bus carrying employees of an Afghan television station was bombed in Kabul on May 30. are assisting Somali soldiers fighting Al Shabab, and by a health care system that utterly failed him, The case has irritated U.S. relations with a crucial military ally. Troops, Amazon.com: The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor eBook: Tapper, Jake: Kindle Store, Wehrmacht wins at Dunkirk: Description of the battle that never was. JT: First Lieutenant Ben Keating, who is the namesake of the camp, he was, he had Pressfield's book with him, and he was reading it, and it was a lesson to him. The brigade was busy guarding another village, and numerous other resources had been consumed looking for Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. soldier who was held captive by the Taliban after he deserted his post on June 30, 2009. After an attack on October 3, 2009, where the base was nearly overrun, and 8 Americans and 4 Afghan defenders were killed, the base was abandoned and demolished by a bombing from an American B-1 bomber on the night of October 6th, 2009. [34], The flight crews of three United States Army AH-64D Apache helicopters were later decorated for actions during the battle. When Cordova and I arrived on set, both of us were astounded. The Los Angeles gift shop Bunkado, at center with a fan on its sign, in the 1950s. At one point, the insurgents even controlled the ammunition supply point. Brown would also note that it was a failure of leadership on Porter's part because of Porter's absolute refusal to explain to his troops why the mortars were being limited. 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