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Afghanistan/South Asia
Final Box Scores From Koregnal Valley-Daychopan: 105 Taliban Killed, 'Many' Wounded
2005-08-22
U.S. Marines and Afghan forces killed more than 40 suspected militants in an operation against insurgents who had inflicted the deadliest blow to American forces since the Taliban's ouster, a military spokesman said Monday. The weeklong operation, which concluded over the weekend, was aimed at rebels in the eastern Koregnal Valley believed responsible for twin attacks that killed 19 troops in June. Three Navy SEALs were killed in an ambush, and all 16 soldiers on a helicopter sent to rescue them died when it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. "It was successful," Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara told The Associated Press. "We had over 29 separate engagements with enemy forces that resulted in more than 40 enemy killed in action and many others wounded." O'Hara also announced that a separate three-day battle from Aug. 7-10 in southern Zabul province's Daychopan district left a total of 65 suspected militants dead. The military had previously reported that 16 rebels had been killed...
Posted by:Anonymoose

#12  Well you _should_ have a SEAD plan before going into Injun Country. Without seeing the OPORD or debriefing the participants, we'll never know, will we? Besides, if you have a team about to get overrun, you execute first and then worry about things like SEAD. An experienced, well-led enemy will turn a surrounded pilot or recon team into an ambush of opportunity (baited attack). Americans don't leave their men behind to get captured by savages.
Posted by: 11A5S   2005-08-22 23:37  

#11   I am under the impression that apache helicopters don't work very well at the higher altitudes in the area.

Well, I've seen them around the crest of Pikes Peak (14,115'), but there are plenty of areas in the Hindu Kush over 23,000'. That's not a problem for an A-10, however. They're good to up around 35,000, and there are no mountains that high. They're BEST at lower altitudes, but they're not restricted.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2005-08-22 22:42  

#10  I am under the impression that apache helicopters don't work very well at the higher altitudes in the area.
Posted by: Phil   2005-08-22 18:43  

#9  A pre 9/11 documentary about Afghanistan showed the Afghans weaving rugs with pictures of the Stinger missiles shooting down USSR helos...
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-08-22 16:55  

#8  Shooting down helicopters from the side or above where they are unarmoured was a decisive Mujadeen tactic against the Soviets. They got really good at it and eventually the Soviets wouldn't send their helicopters into narrow valleys.
Posted by: phil_b   2005-08-22 16:41  

#7  American fighting men typically trade at a ratio of 20:1. What is this 4:1 crap? I won't be satisfied until another 435 black turbans are dead. Can the Taliban even muster that many regulars? And that's even assuming that the 105 figure is accurate, which it isn't.

Sorry to sound so clinical and detached, but them's the cold, hard, numerical facts, gentlemen.
Posted by: gromky   2005-08-22 15:23  

#6  I meant 22 + 5 (4 in Zabul IED, 1 in most recent fighting) = 27 of ours.
Posted by: The Angry Fliegerabwehrkanonen   2005-08-22 14:33  

#5  105 dead Tally-Bannies is pretty good. That's 105 of their dudes for 22 + 5 more = 27. I'll take those odds provided I'm not one of the 27.
Posted by: The Angry Fliegerabwehrkanonen   2005-08-22 14:32  

#4  From what I gather about the situation, they were flying in mountains, with the Chinook below the crests. They opened the back door to either deploy or recover personnel and were still in the air when a muj *not on the dz*, but hiding on a mountainside, popped an RPG right up their ass. I would call that pretty "no fault".

I also remember a Chinook safety brief I heard once from the co-pilot: "If you smell something funny, it's probably hydraulic fluid, which is basically JP-4. It means we're all gonna die." Then he turned around and went back to the cockpit. That was it.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-08-22 14:29  

#3  This is not the second time we've lost more trying to get people out. The Chinook episode was in June. Please re-read. AoS
Posted by: Steve White   2005-08-22 13:13  

#2  The Chinook mission was silly. No cover from Apaches or an A-10 apparently. Landing zone not cleaned.. From what i can tell some commaders have no experience.
Posted by: Hupomoque Spoluter7949   2005-08-22 11:06  

#1  This is the second time you've lost more people trying to get people out of a tight situation. You think maybe the enemy is getting his TTP down to be more effective. I certainly hope there is some reexamination on our own TTP if this happens again. Think maybe its in anyone's brain to have a contract proposal out asking for something other than a Chinook to perform the mission profile which seems to put all the eggs in one basket in the Afghan highlands?
Posted by: Ulotch Grath6836   2005-08-22 10:38  

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