() The Germans are quoted to have witnessed U.S. The purpose of this paper is to give a detailed analysis of the six principles of Mission Command and how they apply to Operation Anaconda. Just login to the Online Policy Manager to start. In the late evening of 3 March, Lieutenant Colonel Pete Blaber received notice from Brigadier General Gregory Trebon, commander of TF 11, that two SEAL fire teams commanded by Lieutenant Commander Vic Hyder were to be inserted into the Shahi-Kot Valley. The QRF's Chalk 2 moved up the mountain to assist Chalk 1. AMF (Afghan Militia Forces): Commander Zia (Task Force Hammer), Kamil Khan and Zakim Khan (Task Force Anvil). Also on March 4, 2nd Battalion of the Rakkasans air assaulted into the eastern end of the valley, immediately attacking the heights under Apache cover. The operation took place in the Shahi-Kot Valley and Arma Mountains southeast of Zormat. [16], SOF teams from Task Force K-Bar and Task Force 64, which included: Navy SEALs from SEAL Teams 2, 3 and 8, Green Berets from 3rd SFG, The Canadian Army's Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), The German Army's Kommando Spezialkrfte (KSK), the Norwegian special forces units Forsvarets Spesialkommando (FSK) and Marinejegerkommandoen (MJK), elements of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment and the New Zealand Special Air Service and the Danish special forces from Jgerkorpset. This operation aimed at removing Taliban and al Qaeda forces located in this valley. He called in another helicopter and led the rest of his teammates back up the mountain where he was convinced in his mind he would not return home from this rescue attempt. Looking for a flexible role? TF Panther was under the command of Colonel James L. Huggins and had two infantry battalions from the 3d Brigade of the 82d Airborne Division and one attached infantry battalion from the division's 1st Brigade. Operation Anaconda was conducted in Shaikot Valley, Afghanistan, in March 2002. TF Hammer consisted of AMF and special operators as the primary effort to assault the Shahi-Kot Valley; their objective was to enter the valley from the north, assaulting through the villages of Serkhankheyl and Marzak, where intelligence indicated that the enemy was concentrated, and channel fleeing enemy into the TF Rakkasan blocking positions. The mutual trust would have to be achieved before American lives would be put in danger. 3. Mako 30 and Lt. Cmdr. SOF teams from Task Force K-Bar and Task Force 64 also inserted into the valley to establish observation posts which according to US planners "had to be tenable, afford good reconnaissance, and cover the identified escape routes or 'rat lines' into Pakistan"[19], Near H-Hour, Mako 31 found a group of foreign fighters that had established a position and were manning a DShK HMG on the peak where they planned to set up an observation post. The mission command warfighting function enables the commander to execute the principles of mission command philosophy. Subordinates gain the trust of their commanders by displaying competence and commanders gain the trust of their subordinates by a display of their competence in training, garrison, or combat environments. This operation would test our military's readiness for joint operations against a hardened and willing adversary. Canadian and U.S. sniper teams and Afghan forces begin to sweep the Shahi-Kot valley area to root out rebel forces regrouping in the valley after the fall of the Taliban regime. [3] By this day, following heavy bombing by U.S. strike fighter aircraft, joint U.S. and Afghan forces swept through the valley and cleared it of remaining rebel forces, with little significant combat by 18 March. Regardless of mitigation, some risk remains and all from the highest commander to the Soldier in the operational environment understands and accepts the risk. The objective of this essay is to demonstrate how the seven principles of mission command can be applied to the operational environment of the Operation of Anaconda. Since the battle of Tora Bora in 2001, OA was the first large scale battle in Afghanistan. Mansoor fortified the valley, digging trench systems, building bunkers and firing positions into the ridgelines, many of which would be put to effect during the operation. Grim 31, an AC-130 aircraft providing fire support and reconnaissance for the assault, spotted Harriman's convoy and, due to a failure in its inertial navigation system, believed it was in a position away from friendly forces (this was due to a problem with the "glint" panels which should have identified the convoy as American). "Roberts Ridge" Bantam Dell (New York), 2013.: Macpherson, Malcolm. [28] Also, the quick-reaction soldiers reported fighters wearing Robert's gear and finding "a helmet with a bullet hole in it, [from which] it was clear the last person [Roberts] to wear it had been shot in the head. CIA paramilitary officers, working with their allies, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. This round closed in on around 10 men, including the two Australians and most of the American leadership, landing in the snow and mud right amongst them but failing to detonate. Mission commanders are trained with methods to analyze risk factors to mitigate them. Orbiting Apache helicopters attempted to suppress enemy mortar teams, but ran into a wall of RPG and 12.7mm fire, with one Apache losing all of its electronics to an RPG hit. Drone footage of the incident shows the mortally wounded Technical Sergeant John A. Chapman drawing fire away from Razor 01 as it landed. The goal of shared understanding is that commanders, staffs, and unified action partners will possess a shared understanding of their operational environment, the operations purpose, problems, and approaches to solving them. Mainly due to the multi-head command structure and the lack of time to define correct approaches to solving problems that may be encountered. This operation was designed to finish off the remaining Taliban and al Qaeda forces that were remaining after several months of intense combat who had gathered in Shahikot Valley. This type of shared understanding was not initially achieved by the commanders of the U.S. forces. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/apus/reader.action?docID=817138#. Initially, resources such as air support, heavy mortars, and personnel were not sufficiently allocated for the operation based largely on the inaccurate intelligence assessment. Ropel was able to kill the enemy observer calling mortar fire into the "Halfpipe," and he and his squad could now see the surrounding terrain. Operation Anaconda was the first major joint combat operation against the war on terror that the US was committed to winning. OA was a US attack on a stronghold in the Shah-I Kot area held by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The Taliban subsequently portrayed the operation as a "historical battle" and a "beginning of the sacred jihad against the occupation of Afghanistan", praising Saifur Rehman Mansoor's leadership. [7], The Shahi-Kot (which translates as the 'Place of the King') stretches 9km in length and 5km across at its widest point. The Anaconda Plan was designed to do the same thing, it was a great snake that . Analyze the summary of Op Anaconda, provide a brief and short summary of what the mission was (Who, what, when, why, and how). Soldiers also recovered two AK-47 assault rifles, one magazine and 707,000 Iraqi dinar, equal to about $600. In Operation Anaconda, the Joint Commander (JC) failed to utilize the Air Force capabilities available to him in an effective manner, which significantly extended the duration of the mission and the amount of casualties his forces incurred. (LogOut/ Because of this adaptation, the necessary adjustments were made and the tide of the battle would soon turn in favor of the Americans. [10] Increasing signals and human intelligence indicated a strong presence of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in the Shahi-Kot Valley; approximately 150 to 200 fighters were believed to be wintering and possibly preparing for a spring offensive in the valley. Leaders cannot stress enough the significance of fabricating a command structure for combat operations. The MH-47Es carrying the SEALs caught up to their targets: the lead Chinook landed in front of the convoy; as the occupants leapt out of their vehicles, the door gunner hosed the vehicles down with his minigun, cutting down a number of al-Qaeda terrorists; the second Chinook overshot the column and raked it with minigun fire as it passed. The US forces suffered 80 casualties in the operation, with 8 killed and 72 wounded. This operation provided many examples of how the principles of mission command are interwoven into the capability to conduct unified land operations. The risk acceptance principle is obvious in Slabinskis circumstance. Meanwhile, the 3rd battalion were dropped into the northern end of the valley with the objective of linking up with the stranded forces at the blocking positions. US and Afghan sources believe at least 200 Taliban and Al Qaida fighters were killed during the initial assault and subsequent rescue mission. At the end of the first day of battle when the Troops returned to base for inspections; they realized that all of them had been hit by multiple enemy bullets (p. 15). [9], In February 2002, a Special Forces intelligence analyst working for Task Force Bowie began to identify patterns that led him to believe that surviving al-Qaeda forces were massing in the Lower Shahikot Valley, some 60 miles south of Gardez. 3 references, APA Format and original work. "[36], "The U.S. soldiers would in fact eliminate such 'threats,' says a former KSK officer. Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan. What we can take from Operation Anaconda is the importance of implementing all six principles of mission command, which are: Build cohesive teams through mutual trust, create shared understanding, Provide a clear commander's intent, Exercise disciplined initiative, Use mission orders, Accept prudent risk. It is evident through the course of human events that war is an inherent endeavor revealed within our will to survive. At this point it became clear that Al Qaeda fighters had been expecting an attack. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. Previously stated; the commanders intent does not emphasize the why of the mission, but the mission order does. Operation Anaconda not have had an ideal start, but after a few days and some recalibration, the tide turned for the better. A paper written by Col. Andrew Milani (Former commander of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment) and Dr. Stephen D. Biddle entitled "Pitfalls of Technology: A Case Study of the battle of Takur Ghar" noted that the Predator was on station 90 minutes after Roberts had fallen; the images that were shot before the Predator had arrived were shot by GRIM-32's Infrared Cameras. Many high-value targets did escape, reportedly the primary target of interest Osama bin Laden, due to the many negative circumstances that occurred during the planning and conduct of the mission. Using his family's connections in the region Nasrullah Mansoor's son, Saif-ur-Rehman Mansoor, became the leading Taliban commander of Zurmat District in Paktia Province by 2002. If your specific country is not listed, please select the UK version of the site, as this is best suited to international visitors. This authority would be delegated to subordinate commanders that ultimately shared one common intent. Maj. Gen. Frank Hagenbeck did confirm that al-Qaeda fighters were seen (on live video feed from a Predator drone orbiting the firefight) chasing Roberts, and later dragging his body away from the spot where he fell. Hyder saw the need to assist Mako 21 who at that time had two dead and two injured, one of them non-ambulatory. OA demonstrated collaboration between countries, government agencies, various special operation groups, different military components, and companies of large ground forces. TF Hammer consisted of a large force of Afghan militia led by Zia Lodin and the Special Forces A-teams Texas 14/ODA 594 and Cobra 72/ODA 372. Operation Anaconda was a military operation that took place in early March 2002 as part of the War in Afghanistan. At 03:45, the Ranger quick reaction force was alerted by the DCG to the area. There are countless examples available from various American battles but one, in particular, is notable in OA. The base of the Shah-i-Khot. Because of the poor initial intelligence assessment, the troops on the ground were initially exposed to a much higher prudent risk factor than what was originally anticipated. 1,300 words on the Operation Anaconda Case Study. An enemy counterattack midday mortally wounded Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham, a pararescueman. 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