Combat Heroism in the "Long War:" Army Gallantry Awards for Afghanistan

Fred L. Borch

Central Intelligence Agency officer who was ~ interviewing Taliban prisoners when the revolt began,

was killed. Army Special Forces soldiers subsequently

conducted a successful rescue operation and suppressed

the Taliban revolt.

Introduction

Whether one calls it the "war on terrorism," the "war on terror" or the "long war," American combat operations

against terrorists in the aftermath of the September 11,

2001 attacks began in Afghanistan.

As United States soldiers have now been fighting there since October 2001--more than four and one half years ago--and as American participation in the conflict is decreasing as the United States prepares to hand over operations to North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, now is the time to take a "first look" at Army awards for combat gallantry in Afghanistan.

By the end of November, troopers from the 10th

Mountain Division were in Afghanistan and, by early

December, several hundred soldiers from that division had secured airfields near Mazur-e-Sharig and Kabul.

Near Kandahar on December 5, a friendly fire incident

killed three Special Forces soldiers and wounded a dozen

more. On December 7, Taliban forces surrendered in their stronghold of Kandahar. American soldiers, however,

continued to engage enemy fighters in isolated incidents.

January 2002. The 10th Mountain Division units already in Afghanistan were joined by troops from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). These Fort Campbell, Kentucky, soldiers replaced Marines in Kandahar.

United States Army operations in Afghanistan

The Afghanistan component of Operation Enduring

FreedomI began in October 2001. The military objectives

were to destroy terrorist training camps, capture al Qaeda

leaders, and to stop terrorist activities in Afghanistan.

The following chronology sets out Army’s involvement

in the operation.

October 2001. While combat began on October 7, with air strikes by United States Air Force and Navy aircraft and cruise missile attacks from both American and British warships and submarines, it was not until October 19 that the first Army boots hit Afghan soil. On that day, Army Rangers took part in raids on an airfield in southern Afghanistan and a Taliban complex near Kandahar. By the end &October, a "modest" number of Special Forces troops were on the ground in northern Afghanistan supporting Northern Alliance forces fighting Taliban and al Qaeda forces.

November - December 2001. Mazar-e-Sharif fell to United States and Northern Alliance forces on November 9. This had a "domino effect" and resistance decreased rapidly in other provinces as many local warlords switched their loyalties from the Taliban to the Northern Alliance. Kabul, the Afghan capital, fell on November 13. Now in full retreat, the Taliban initially regrouped at Kandahar, but then retreated further to the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

February - March 2002. On February 13, hostile forces attacked 10th Mountain Division soldiers guarding the perimeter at Kandahar airport. On March 2, United States forces launched Operation Anaconda and, for the next several weeks, attempted to dig al Qaeda forces out of caves in the rugged terrain of the Shah-e-Kot valley.

Air Force, Marine and Navy aviation units provided air support. Special Operations forces from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France and Norway also participated. The bulk of Anaconda’s fighting power, however, came from 40 Special Forces soldiers, 1,200 infantrymen from the 10th Mountain and 101 st Airborne Divisions, and 24 Army cargo, utility and attack helicopters. The Americans experienced intense, but sporadic, combat in the Shah-e-Kot valley operations.

The men also faced exceptionally rugged terrain and harsh weather: 7,000 to 8,000 foot altitude; very few roads or good trails; snow, sleet, hard rain, and temperatures that ranged from a high of 60 degrees to a low of zero with a wind chill of minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

On March 4, seven Americans--a Navy SEAL and six soldiers--were killed after their helicopter was hit by enemy fire and crashed. On March 19, a small number of United States troops at the Khost airfield engaged al Qaeda in a fierce battle after being attacked with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar fire.

On November 25, Taliban soldiers being held captive in the Mazar-e-Sharif fort revolted. Michael Spann, a

On March 25, American, Afghan and coalition troops destroyed a pocket of Taliban and al Qaeda forces near

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Gardez. Operation Anaconda officially ended in late

March 2002. The mission was only partly successful, as

many al Qaeda and Taliban forces escaped across the

border into Pakistan.

April - May 2002. United States soldiers continued searching for al Qaeda forces in eastern Afghanistan in

Operation Mountain Lion. On May 14, United States

Special Operations forces killed

five Taliban or al Qaeda terrorists and captured 32 more during a raid

on a compound 50 miles north of

Kandahar. On May 19, American

and coalition forces on patrol were

ambushed, and one Special Forces

soldier was killed.

EY

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SYRIA

hdad

June 2002. Organized resistance

ended and, on June 14, Hamid

Karzai was elected as president of

a new interim Afghanistan

government. On June 27, soldiers

from the 82nd Airborne Division

arrived and began taking over

operations from the 101 st Airborne

Division. Between October 2001

and June 2002, more than 9,000 Americans had deployed to

Afghanistan, plus 1,200 military

personnel from coalition countries.

Additionally, some 60,000 United

States personnel were stationed in

central Asia in support of operations

against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

operations such as rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

Although some United States Army troops will remain in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future, North Atlantic Treaty Organization units will assume leadership roles and replace most American forces in 2006. A map of Afghanistan and surrounding areas is at Figure 1.

¯Kashl

TAJIKISTAN

PAKISTAN

New /,., Delhi-k

Jalpur" Luckno~~

IN[ ,\lumbai ~Pun(’

H

Figure 1: Map of Afghanistan and adjacent areas.

July 2002 - present. On May 3, 2003, Secretary of

Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced the end of

combat in Afghanistan. In December 2003, however, the

Army launched yet another major ground operation "in

an effort to eliminate the remnants of al Qaeda and the Taliban regime overthrown in 2001." In October 2004,

Karzai again was elected president in direct elections

and, in September 2005, the Afghans elected a

parliament.

Army gallantry awards for Afghanistan

According to the Army’s Military Awards Branch, the following total awards for combat heroism have been made for Afghanistan from December 5, 2001 through February 28, 2006:

Decoration Afghanistan

A very low intensity conflict continues to the present

day, with sporadic attacks from Taliban and al Qaeda

forces operating with considerable freedom along the

border with Pakistan. While some U.S. Army units in

Afghanistan assist the Afghan National Army, National

Police, and Border Police in security operations (that is,

in interdicting Taliban and al Qaeda guerillas), most are

involved in training missions and in humanitarian

Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star Distinguished Flying Cross Bronze Star Medal with V Air Medal with V Army Commendation Medal with V

1

45

55

528

306

373

Vol. 57, No. 5 3

Recipients

Distinguished Service Cross. There has been one Distinguished Service Cross awarded for extraordinary heroism in Afghanistan--the first Distinguished Service Cross awarded since the Vietnam War ended more than 25 years ago.

Figure 2: Major Mitchell receiving the Distinguished Service Cross.

MITCHELL, Mark A. Maj., 3rd Bn., 5th Special Forces Group

For extraordinary heroism while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), during the period of 25 to 28 November 2001. He distinguished himself while engaged in combat operations during Operation Enduring Freedom. As the Ground Force Commander of a rescue operation during the Battle of Qala-I-Jang Fortress, Mazar- e-Sharif, Afghanistan, Maj. Mitchell ensured the freedom of one American and the posthumous repatriation of another. His unparalleled courage under fire, decisive leadership and personal sacrifice were directly responsible for the success of the rescue operation and were further instrumental in ensuring the city of Mazar-e-Sharif did not fall back in the hands of the Taliban. His personal example has added yet another laurel to the proud military history of this Nation and serves as the standard for all others to emulate. Maj.

Mitchell’ s gallant deed was truly above and beyond the call of duty.

A photograph of Major Mitchell receiving his Distinguished Service Cross is at Figure 2.

News media reports give the following details on the battle at Qala-i-Jhangi fortress near Mazar-e-Sharif. Northern Alliance troops under the command of Afghan General Dostum had trucked al Qaeda personnel captured in Kunduz to the fortress, where they were imprisoned. The al Qaeda prisoners, however, were not adequately searched prior to their incarceration and consequently had concealed grenades and other weapons in the fortress.

On November 25, 2001, as these al Qaeda fighters were being interviewed by United States Central Intelligence officers, an organized uprising began. Central Intelligence Agency operative Johnny Michael Spann was killed almost immediately; he was the first American operative to die in Afghanistan. A second Central

Intelligence Agency agent escaped and, using a satellite phone, called the United States embassy in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, for help. In response to the telephone call, about a dozen United States and British special operations forces arrived on the scene. They brought in United States air strikes and coordinated a Northern Alliance assault on the fortress. It was a fierce fight, since the al Qaeda prisoners had managed to capture a weapons store and now resisted with automatic weapons, grenades and mortars.

The British Broadcasting Corporation reported that six American soldiers positioned themselves in a corner of the fort and the rest fired on the prisoners from outside the compound; Major Mitchell almost certainly was one of the six. At some point, the surviving Central Intelligence Agency agent escaped by scaling the walls of the fort at night. Some Red Cross workers in the fortress also managed to escape. In any event, at the end of a three-day battle, about 400 al Qaeda had been killed and the Qala-i-Jhangi fortress retaken. Only 13 al Qaeda were left alive to surrender on November 30, 2001.2

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