GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. and Afghan National Security Forces disrupted a nest of Taliban fighters settled in Disi village during Operation Grunwald, conducted Dec. 7-9 in Ghazni province, Afghanistan.
The key objectives of the mission were to train ANSF to conduct intelligence-driven operations, identify how the enemy used the village and moved through the area, and to connect the people with their government, said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Curtis Taylor, 3rd Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment commander.
The focus of the operation quickly shifted from a fact-finding mission to a full tactical engagement when insurgents greeted the team with a hail of gunfire as soon as they entered the village.
Since the area hadn’t seen a sustained presence from Coalition Forces in a number of years, insurgents were able to build a stronghold and prove they weren’t going to give it up without a fight.
“Usually the enemy will lay down harassing fire which will allow them to withdraw,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Stuart Barnes, Greensburg, Ind. native and 3rd Bn., 66th Armd. Regt. platoon leader, “It didn’t take long to realize they were willing to stick it out. It ended up being a four-to-six hour fire fight.”
As villagers ran for cover, squads moved forward without hesitation to find out where the shooting was coming from.
While the soldiers on the ground moved through a labyrinth of qalats, walled compounds common in this area, unit snipers, who had eyes on the entire village from higher ground, worked to keep insurgent snipers off rooftops and even thwarted a rocket-propelled grenade attack.
“Once the haze lifted, we were able to identify who the Taliban were,” said Staff. Sgt. Michael Mayor, a 3rd Bn., 66th Armd. Regt. Scout Platoon squad leader, “We saw men with weapons moving between the mosque, qalats and alleys and we were able to pin them down.”
During the exchange, two U.S. soldiers were wounded.
Since soldiers were able to render aid in timely manner, the casualties survived their injuries and are currently recovering at a medical treatment facility in the United States.
“This was kind of like a knife fight in a phone booth because we were relatively close to the enemy,” Mayor said. “It was chaotic and tough, but everyone did a great job communicating and sending information up especially when we took casualties.”
After the fire fight, the unit regrouped and with reinforcements from 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment they were back in the village an hour later conducting search and clearance operations.
The unit swept through the village and searched the area until the sun set.
The following day, search and clearance efforts continued in the rest of the village, where ANSF and Coalition Forces discovered three improvised explosive devices and a weapons cache.
After the village was cleared, ANSF and 3rd Bn., 66th Armd. Regt. leadership conducted a shurah with village elders.
“In the shurah, we learned the people had little to no exposure to Coalition Forces,” said Taylor, a Harker Heights, Texas native. “The only impressions they had were what the Taliban told them.”
Through their actions on the battlefield and positive interactions with villagers, the residents in Disi were able to see that ANSF and the Coalition were not the myth described to them by the Taliban – an anti-Islamic force that harmed women and children.
More importantly, Coalition Forces achieved the objectives originally set for the operation and in doing so, busted the biggest myth of all – that no insurgents were safe operating in the remote village of Disi.
“They thought we could not cross the Ghazni-Paktika border. They thought they were secure,” Taylor said. “We let them know we can come anytime, we’re hunting for them and we will defeat them. We will own the ground.
“The enemy can not resist our force and if the people are given a choice, they will choose their government over the Taliban,” Taylor added. “They just have to be given a realistic choice.”
| Date Taken: | 12.09.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.16.2011 17:44 |
| Story ID: | 81514 |
| Location: | GHAZNI PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 185 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Coalition Forces, insurgents face off in Ghazni, by SSG Andrea Merritt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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