The Outpost true story reveals that the soldiers were surrounded by more than 300 Taliban fighters, many of whom were rushing in from Pakistan, which was only 14 miles from COP Keating. At one point, he and his men came under heavy sniper fire. The village leaders elected a representative council of 100 members to form a shura that would produce a regional security plan and obtain an agreement with the American military and the Afghan Karzai government. The elder considers this to be a bad omen and demands that there be retribution. Second, the search for Bowe Bergdahl, in June 2009, had used up so many resources none were available to address the base's unsuitable location. 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. Div. At such time the platoon cleared the remaining areas of the outpost which members of 3-61 had not yet retaken. He was the last commander of Combat Outpost Keating. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Why would the U.S. military put an outpost at the base of three Afghan mountains that were teeming with Taliban fighters who were eager to kill U.S. soldiers? Rob Yllescas of Nebraska, in "The Outpost," which tells the story of real-life combat events from the War in Afghanistan. "We're constantly under observation." [19] At 6:00 a.m, the fighters opened fire from all sides of the outpost with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades,[10] immediately putting the Americans' mortar pit out of action. The first didn't take place at the camp. I was not on the outpost when the battle kicked off. Nine soldiers were awarded the Silver Star for valor. It was adapted for the screen by Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy (Patriots Day and The Fighter). "Needed force protection improvements were not made because of the imminent closure of the outpost. Moreover, again according to Romesha, the officer who was in charge until very shortly before the battle, Captain Melvin Porter, was criminally incompetent and allowed the perimeter defenses to fall into decay, despite repeated requests from Romesha and his friends to improve them. AAF operations were expanding, supported by Taliban organizations in Pakistan. On the whole the AAF was a broader based and more formidable force in 2007 than before the American invasion, and represented a significant escalation. (U.S. Army) The Counterattack: "We're Taking this Bitch Back" With more and more Taliban soldiers now inside the base, an important decision was needed. Not exactly, but in researching The Outpost's historical accuracy, we learned that a similar incident happened the year prior, in 2008, involving more than just one dog. Resistance in Nuristan revolved around a specific group of Islamic fighters known as Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin or HIG. Many of the Afghan National Army members there in support of the coalition troops fled. And he was becoming disillusioned with the possibility of what he thought. They expanded the perimeter all the way back to the entry control point and to the buildings on the western edge of the outpost, which became their final fighting position. 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. 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. U.S. air support directed by Sgt. Captain Matthew Kaplan, CW3 Ross Lewallen, CW3 Randy Huff, CW2 Gary Wingert, CW2 Chad Bardwell, and CW2 Chris Wright were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for conducting close combat attacks on the Taliban during the battle. As soon as they left, the insurgents would come back.. Tears were streaming down his face. . The 53. Anthony Parker. Div., at Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistans Nuristan province on Aug. 6, 2009. The difference there being the writers seemingly supporting her reticence to explain anything. David Porter (February 1, 1780 - March 3, 1843) was an officer in the United States Navy in the rank of captain and the honorary title of commodore.Porter commanded a number of U.S. naval ships. The first effort was made by First Lieutenant Dave Roller. It occurred on October 3, 2009, when a force of 400 Taliban assaulted the American Combat Outpost ("COP") Keating near the town of Kamdesh in Nuristan Province in eastern Afghanistan. The movie is based on the 2012 nonfiction book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by CNN's Jake Tapper. The wounded Americans condition immediately improved after the first unit of blood, as did the spirits of all those in the aid station. Served with United States Army since 2005 and Participated in. [7]:229,256,26380[12], The Battle of Saret Koheh made good on the threats of the "Night Letter". If they shoot from the hills, US troops can shoot at them without fear of hitting civilians in town, and it makes an enticing target. Does this give anyone else flashbacks to he purple hair admiral in The Last Jedi? Staff Sergeant William "Ryan" Fritsche was killed by rifle fire. Lardner, Richard (Associated Press), "Command Failures". [29], Following the battle, the U.S. Central Command conducted an investigation on what had occurred, led by US Army General Guy Swan. 1.33 million dollars was budgeted for these projects. The logistical location of the outpost, which was located deep in a valley surrounded by three steep mountains, put the soldiers at an enormous disadvantage. He was the last commander of Combat Outpost Keating. As I neared the camp that evening, Cordovas voice crackled through my radio and asked for more blood donors. Thomas Rasmussen fought back and was knocked off his feet by a rocket-propelled grenade. Without adequate support, they were left to fight for their lives against overwhelming odds. A base at the bottom of a valley surrounded by hills which are. "We're surrounded, and we're sitting in a bowl," Porter said on "Good Morning America" today. The note was signed "Mullah Omar". I reached out to the films director, Rod Lurie, to vent my concerns. [31] 3 soldiers were awarded the Bronze Star Medal, and 18 others the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for valor. In the wake of the attack, several soldiers based at COP Keating told ABC News that they did not know the attack was as large as it was because they received enemy fire with such frequency. These subgroups were in turn divided into clans and sects, depending on lineages and the interpretations of individual religious leaders. Then tragedy struck again. Despite overwhelming odds and volume of injuries, MAJ (R) Cordova was able to . The Outpost real story confirms that COP Keating was evacuated two days after the battle. 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. I only heard of it being a thing last year, never actually looked up when it actually happened. Avalos began directing indirect support to help the defense of COP Keating. After assisting with securing the OP from potential follow on attacks, members of the Quick Reaction Force descended from the mountain's peak to COP Keating on foot. "[16] Four U.S. Army officersCaptain Melvin Porter, Captain Stoney Portis, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Brown, and Colonel Randy Georgewho oversaw COP Keating were admonished or reprimanded for command failures. To a man, they all felt they had an obligation to help out in those areas where they saw Portar as failing, but upon hearing their recommendations, the captain consistently told them, point blank, that he was the commander, not them. The letter stated: "At the present time for those who work and obey the American devils by taking contracts for building schools, road, and power plants: also those who work as police, district administrators, and commanders as well as sold-out mullahs who deny Allah's orders and holy war and deny the holy Quran: We are telling you that we are continuing our holy war in Allah's will Soon we will start our operations." Constant ambushes and firefights along the road to Naray did little to relieve Keating's doubts. The Los Angeles gift shop Bunkado, at center with a fan on its sign, in the 1950s. The outpost was manned by 54 American personnel from B Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, who faced greater than seven-to-one odds in the battle. [7]:95,268. During the day-long battle at Combat Outpost Keating last Oct. 3, the base was temporarily overrun by an estimated 300 Taliban fighters. Unlike the movie, The Outpost true story reveals that Keating was not alone in the truck. When I learned that my U.S. Army cavalry troops war story was being made into a major motion picture, I worried that a Hollywood account of the battle would be inaccurate. Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha and Staff Sergeant Ty Carter were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the battle. 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. Capt. Several of the surviving soldiers were technical advisors on the film, including Medal of Honor recipient Ty Carter, who is played by Caleb Landry Jones. It's a solid 10/10 read: No hot food, No fire support. American military operations in Kamdesh were affected as soon as units began gathering for deployment in the area. Afghan contractors were unable to keep the narrow mountain road in safe condition, and convoys were subject to constant ambush from the surrounding mountains that lined the route. Mace survived long enough to be evacuated to a nearby medical facility. It involved a small force of 54 U.S. soldiers (Bravo Troop 3-61), in addition to their Afghan and Latvian allies, at the remote Combat Outpost Keating in northeastern Afghanistan near the town of Kamdesh. Need to know. 3-71 Cavalry conducted many successful combat missions in the area surrounding the camp and repelled various attacks on the base. 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. This separation of the landing zone, and the fact that the site was surrounded by mountains on three sides made the site unappealing because of the difficulty of mounting an effective defense. He was managing care for five Americans and seven Afghans, treating gunshot wounds, head injuries, shrapnel wounds, chest and abdominal wounds, eye injuries and broken legs, all in a makeshift station. That was our troopers advantage up there. [8] The Coalition forces withdrew from the base shortly after the battle. Armando Avalos, Sgt. It took place while First Lieutenant Kaine Meshkin (not in the film) was leading a patrol to Observation Post Fritsche. Once OP Fritsche soldiers gained control of their mortar pit, Sgt. Other veterans also acted in the movie, including Henry Hughes. They made sustained attacks over a two-day period, drawing American support forces and widespread air forces into the battle. Colonel John W. Nicholson Jr., Commander of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division, had observed that Kamdesh was located at a point where three of the valley systems from the Pakistan border in the north converged. Originally built to engage the locals in community development projects, Combat Outpost Keating located at the bottom of three steep mountains just 14 miles from the Pakistani border faced . (Multiple explosions near the ammo supply set off a series of fires at the post.). An additional 4 Afghan allied fighters also died. Over the years, I have learned that sharing the experience allowed many of us to put our emotions into words. American forces had already planned to pull out of the area as part of a plan to move forces to more densely populated areas, so closure of the base was imminent when the attack occurred. It was nicknamed "Heart Attack Ridge" due to its steep slope and obstacles hazardous to low-flying aircraft. Benjamin D. Keating was born in Sanford, Maine on 31 May 1979, and he served as Chair of the Young Republicans at the . My soldiers and I had been sharing stories since Oct. 3, 2009, when our 53 cavalry scouts fought off more than 300 Taliban fighters bent on overrunning Combat Outpost Keating in Nuristan, Afghanistan. The U.S. soldiers killed in the battle were: Amy Davidson Sorkin, writing in The New Yorker, tried to answer the question why the base had not been moved, when it was found to be unsuitable. [38], The battle of Kamdesh is documented in the 2017 book Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor by Clinton Romesha, a former United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle for Combat Outpost Keating in Nuristan, Afghanistan. The U.S. evacuated the camp three days later. During the highly risky convoy, the road collapsed under the weight of Keating's vehicle. ABC News' Karen Russo contributed to this report, 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. On the day of our visit, the cast and crew were filming the scene when Mace finally arrives at the aid station. To further complicate the situation, nearby Observation Post Fritsche was unable to provide mortar support to Keating, as it also was overrun by Taliban. SHAPLEIGH, Maine It's been nearly 14 years since Ken and Beth Keating lost their son, Army Captain Benjamin Keating, in Afghanistan. According to army records, the Taliban commander of the attack on Keating, Abdul Rahman Mustaghni, was killed by the following drone strike along with thirteen other insurgents. These valley and road intersections combined with the political leadership in the area inspired the positioning of the Nuristan PRT. The Allies stopped using the Kamdesh-Naray road. It's true that some of the Taliban fighters casually strolled through the camp, believing they had won. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. While there are numerous accounts of bravery that day, two Medals of Honor and nine Silver Stars (two have since been upgraded) were awarded. Scott Eastwood, right, in a scene from The Outpost. The film tells the story of the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan. Keating's November 26, 2006 death deeply affected his platoon, who wanted to honor his sacrifice and his selfless care for them. After dispensing with the enemy, QRF continued their descent and entered the outpost at approximately 7:00pm. He died when his. The punishments reflect a recent trend in Afghanistan to hold military commanders accountable for battlefield failures. [5][7]:53141 Observation Post ("OP") Fritsche was attacked simultaneously, limiting available support from that position. Villagers and clans who were left out of these projects were resentful, and quick to turn against the Americans. [7]:31214,371, The shura began to falter by October 2008. Joshua Hardt, who until this time had been MIA. 1st Class Jonathan Hill rallied his 3rd Platoon troops in a counterattack, despite his multiple shrapnel wounds. His death had a traumatic effect on the morale of 3-71 Cav. 37 soldiers were awarded the Army Commendation Medal with "V" device for valor. After an investigation, four officers in the chain of command were disciplined for their failure to adequately support the base. A note was attached to his body which said: "Don't work with coalition forces. [7]:1238,1368,18191,407, On August 8, 2006, 19 days after the first American landing, the PRT was attacked for the first time. In December 2006, it was renamed Camp Keating after the death of ABLE Troop 3-71 Cavalry 10th Mountain Division's Executive Officer Benjamin Keating, who died November 26, 2006, while conducting combat operations south of the camp. Towards the end, resupply flights were limited to moonless nights when near total darkness offered some protection to helicopter crews and their craft. 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. Action at the Aid Station [7]:21530, The closeness of the action, and coordinated fire from both sides of the valley indicated that the attackers in this ambush were different from the groups that had been using sporadic, long range, harassing fire. In the year that followed the agreement, ANA and American deaths dropped from thirty to three. Captain Benjamin Keating Born: May 31, 1979 Birthplace: Sanford, Maine, USA Death: November 26, 2006, Kamdesh, Afghanistan (injuries suffered when vehicle turned over) Milo Gibson Born: November 16, 1990 Birthplace: Australia Captain Robert Yllescas Born: October 7, 1977 Birthplace: Guatemala City, Guatemala The transfusion was a radical move that brought Mace back to consciousness. He wanted to avoid risking the lives of his men while traveling on an unstable road subject to ambush with an overweight vehicle. The veterans who served as technical advisors on the film said that the set was eerily similar to the real outpost, which no longer exists. A new counter-insurgency strategy seemed to offer a way around these problems. The 48N6 missiles of the S-400 (and why they were designed by flat-earthers), WI: Instead of a NATO pull-out, the bases/forces in Afghanistan are handed over to the UN Peacekeeping. COP Keating, which was established in the summer of 2006, was put in the valley for the simple reason that it's where the roads are. Some of the soldiers who were at the battle are interviewed by the book's author, Jake Tapper, during the closing credits. The 13-hour battle to re-take Combat Outpost Keating from an assault by 300 Taliban fighters on Oct. 3, 2009, was a team effort. I'll just quote this part from Staff Sergeant Romesha's Medal of Honor citation: Folks Media Madness is full of arguments over TLJ, we don't need to import that headache into the War Room. Youre reading this weeks At War newsletter. [15], The Allies planned to close COP Keating by August 2009, but the move was delayed because of other military operations in a nearby district. He died in a vehicular accident in 2006, and Combat Outpost Keating, the site of the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh, was named in his honor. The other two mountains that surrounded the actual outpost were inserted with CGI. A common misconception is that the Taliban are primitive fighters who lack the necessary skills to be effective in battle. [4] She noted two claims the military put forward in its report: first, the resources to relocate the base had not been available because the brigade was concentrating on guarding a village that Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, considered strategically important. On July 20, 2006, 2:00 a. m. all of Cherokee Company and one platoon from Able Troop, 3-71 Cavalry Squadron dropped in two Chinooks on Landing Zone Warheit, a cornfield on a ridge near Kamdesh, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Howard to garrison the area. Without air support, I dont think we would have made it, considering the number against us and the area we were in, McMurtrey said. 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. The Battle of Kamdesh took place during the war in Afghanistan. Such administrative punishments are seen as career-enders if they are made a part of a permanent personnel file. . [2] Combat Outpost Keating is best known as the setting of the Battle of Kamdesh which occurred on October 3rd, 2009. The landing zone was placed on the other side of the river on a rocky peninsula jutting into the river near Urmul. The movie was filmed in 2018 on a set created at the base of a mountain in Bulgaria, not far from the city of Sofia. Not an Ordinary Engagement They should had just followed their fucking orders. On Oct. 3, 2009, a force of about 50 Americans faced down as many as 400 enemy fighters intent on overrunning COP Keating in eastern Afghanistan. Surprised they didn't frag him. [8] US Army soldiers at both outposts had been ordered to prepare to evacuate the outposts and had informed local Afghan leaders of their intention to do so. The camp was defended by a combined force of 140 U.S. and Afghan soldiers. However that road itself was pretty poor in of itself. Porter appeared to not want to actually lead his company nor was appearing to be up for another deployment. Written by CNN journalist Jake Tapper, he tells the story of soldiers living in the remote mountains of Afghanistan and Combat Outpost Keating. This strategy depended upon extending government control by building and maintaining provincial reconstruction team bases. The bounty was a thing back then? This will happen to you." In May 2016 CBS News profiled Staff Sergeant Romesha, after he published an account of his experiences at the base, entitled Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor. He discussed their common values as leaders of families and communities working toward a better future. 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. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor. Sylvanius Broward in the movie is a fictional name for a real captain, Mel Porter. "It is one of the most well-planned and carefully choreographed attacks in the history of the Afghan war," Tapper told NPR. [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. 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. Jayson Souter, and 1st Lt. Cason Shrode, including attack helicopters, A-10s, a B-1 bomber, and F-15 fighters, destroyed the local mosque, where much of the insurgents' heaviest fire originated. While this is indeed alarmingly frequent, the movie makes it seem like the attacks are happening daily. Despite the efforts of two Latvian military advisors, First Sergeant Jnis Lais and Corporal Mrti Dboli,[21] who tried to convince the Afghan National Army forces not to flee,[22] the Afghan defenders quickly broke and ran. [17], Coalition forces received three human-source intelligence reports sometime before the battle indicating that insurgents were planning an attack on the outposts. 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. [39] The Netflix documentary series, Medal of Honor, includes an episode detailing the actions of Clinton Romesha and Ty Carter.[40]. Seven other Americans and one ANA soldier were wounded. As a result of the battle, COP Keating was partially overrun and nearly destroyed. [9], Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron "Destroyers", 61st Cavalry Regiment manned COP Keating. The military had planned to relocate the outpost in August 2009, but the resources needed for such a move were tied up elsewhere. Or invite someone to subscribe through this link. That process helped us heal, but a bad rendering of the battle would leave us talking about what the movie got wrong instead of what actually happened. American outpost in Nuristan, Afghanistan, List of post-Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients, "Latest Medal of Honor brings COP Keating battle back into spotlight", "A Medal of Honor recipient's ongoing burden", "COP Keating battle begins, Medal of Honor nominee Romesha takes action", "This Netflix series will tell the stories of Medal of Honor recipients", "The Battle of Kamdesh, which netted two Medals of Honor, is coming to the big screen twice", "Sony Enlists Director Daniel Espinosa, George Clooney's Smokehouse For 'Red Platoon', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Combat_Outpost_Keating&oldid=1137949129, Military installations of the United States in Afghanistan, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:20. 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. Keating was permanently shut down three days following the attack. [7]:334,501,92,98. 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. Their checkpoints[11] and "taxes" was used to finance AAF operations. A year later COP Keating would be the location for the fateful October 2009 Battle of Kamdesh for . Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, View Video of Taliban Fighters in the Camp. The Shapleigh native volunteered to drive an Army truck loaded with supplies along a treacherous 200-foot cliff at night . [30] In the report released to the public, the U.S. Army concealed the names of the four disciplined officers. Combat Outpost Keating was a small American military outpost in Nurestan Province, in Afghanistan. Harder, from Minnesota, just 29, was in charge of a small team of soldiers at the combat outpost, COP Keating. Members of 10th Mountain Division's 1-32 Infantry Regiment were air lifted to the nearest helicopter landing zone on OP Fritsche and arrived at approximately 2:00pm, as recalled by a soldier on scene. Even some of the dialogue is taken word for word from real life. On Oct. 3, 2009, the camp and its 53 soldiers were attacked by some 400 Taliban fighters. Captain Frank Brooks, commanding at LZ Warheit, was dismayed to discover the PRT could not be quickly reached by LZ Warheit. "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. ( Patriots Day and the Fighter ) to ambush with an overweight vehicle hot food, No fire.... 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Naray did little to relieve Keating 's doubts as i neared the camp was defended by a rocket-propelled grenade troops... Is indeed alarmingly frequent, the camp that evening, Cordovas voice crackled through my radio and asked for blood! Their actions during the war in Afghanistan that the Taliban fighters in the truck of Keating! Indirect support to help the defense of COP Keating was permanently shut down days! And obstacles hazardous to low-flying aircraft Richard ( Associated Press ), `` Command Failures '' Outpost... Of the battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan to hold military commanders accountable for battlefield Failures of COP Keating commanding LZ! Bottom of a valley surrounded by hills which are their descent and entered Outpost!