LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Throughout Afghanistan, ground forces are fighting daily to disrupt insurgent activity and protect civilian populations. Due to the extreme terrain of Afghanistan, safe and quick movement of ground personnel and supplies depend on aviation assets.
Task Force Knighthawk, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, provided aviation support to Operation Dagger Fury July 25-30. The objective was to insert personnel from TF Dagger, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mtn. Div., along with Afghan National Army soldiers, to disrupt insurgent activity in the Araban Valley in Wardak province, resupply them throughout the operation and pick them up when the mission was complete.
"Knighthawk ensured that we, as the ground force, were able to rapidly mass our combat power,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Blace C. Albert of Charlottesville, Va., TF Dagger, 4th BCT, commander. “Before the sun came up, we owned the Arabon Valley in Chak.”
With CH-47 Chinook, AH-64 Apaches, and UH-60 Black Hawks helicopters, the 10th CAB inserted personnel from TF Dagger and the ANA at night into several landing zones July 25-26.
“We infilled nearly 450 personnel the first night plus we sling-loaded a 20-foot container which was used as a forward command post during the operation,” said U.S. Army Maj. Rich Tucker of Tampa, Fla., TF Knighthawk, 10th CAB, operations officer-in-charge. “The 81 mm mortars, water, ammo and an all-terrain tactical vehicle were internally loaded on one of the Chinooks.”
This was the largest air assault operation TF Dagger accomplished since they arrived in theater last fall, said Albert.
Air weapons teams consisting of AH-64 Apache helicopters, protected the troops for the duration of the operation.
“The Apaches provided over-watch throughout,” said U.S. Army Capt. Steven Lancianese of Canton, Ohio, an AH-64 Apache helicopter pilot with TF Knighthawk, 10th CAB. “We also marked landing zones, provided troops in contact support and close combat attack support.”
TF Dagger called the Apaches into action the first day of the operation, after elements came under heavy fire from numerous areas.
“We were launched immediately upon coming on shift,” said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Steve Donahue Jr. of Leesburg, Fla., an AH-64 Apache helicopter pilot and master gunner with TF Knighthawk, 10th CAB. “Upon arrival, we immediately provided aerial security, identifying the enemy's location and engaging with close-combat attack support with three Hellfires. This allowed the unit to safely maneuver through the area.”
On the fourth night of the operation, Apaches provided security and illumination in support of a complex medevac extraction.
“The [injured] soldier was located on a pinnacle observation post with 150-500 foot cliffs on each side,” said Donahue. “[Our medevac crew executed] a hoist extraction with the aircraft at a hover, during extremely low illumination and with a light wind gust.
As the medic and the patient moved toward the hoist, the patient slipped and began to slide to the edge of the cliff. The medic was able to grab the soldier by his collar and stop him from sliding closer to the cliff only 10-meters away.
Over the course of the operation, the Apaches were called upon several times to do what they do best; attack enemy positions.
“Knighthawk’s air weapons team responded on multiple occasions to engage the Taliban with Hellfires,” said U.S. Army Maj. Heather Levy of San Jose, Calif., an operations officer-in-charge with TF Dagger, 4th BCT. “After a few days, the insurgents wouldn't attack when AWT was in the air - that was pretty important for us since no other platform had the same deterrent effect.”
In addition to the fire power of the AH-64 Apaches, Air Force fixed wing aircraft dropped several tons of guided munitions on insurgent positions.
TF Knighthawk made nightly low-cost, low-altitude drops of water and food for the troops on the ground throughout the operation. Parachutes were attached to pallets which were pushed out at the precise time so they would land at pre-established drop zones. The task force dropped a total of 45 LCLA bundles. In addition, UH-60 Black Hawks delivered 38 Speed Balls - pre-packaged containers of supplies to troops.
“Most of our resupplies were done in cover of darkness except emergency resupplies,” said Tucker.
The pre-planned resupply operation coupled with timely emergency resupply missions kept the ground forces fit and equipped to continue their mission.
“Knighthawk conducted emergency UH-60 supply runs into the green zone when our forces were out of ammo after a long day of fighting,” said Levy. “It was exactly the kind of teamwork between aviation and ground forces that is essential to coalition force success in the remote areas of Afghanistan.”
After five days, TF Dagger achieved their objective and sent the message that the insurgents are not safe from pro-government forces, said Levy. It was time for TF Dagger and their ANA counterparts to prepare to be picked up and to return to their respective bases.
During exfiltration, all personnel inserted the first night were picked up plus several detainees the unit had on the ground.
“We made five lifts during the exfil, again using CH-47 Chinooks, AH-64 Apaches, UH-60 Black Hawks, and Air Force close air support aircraft,” said Tucker.
The exfil began just before midnight July 30 and continued for several hours into the early morning the next day. The 10th CAB picked up and returned all personnel safely to their bases.
The success of the operation was the result of several days of in-depth planning and preparation, said Tucker. They planned varying routes to minimize predictability and a detailed flight schedule orchestrated the many aircraft in the air.
“It was an extremely complex operation since we were pulling companies from all over Patriot’s area,” he said. “It was critical everyone knew what we were doing.”
In addition to 16 enemy killed-in-action, TF Dagger found four caches, which included weapons and bomb making material, in addition to extensive documents and equipment that may be exploited, said Tucker.
“This is one of the best executed air assaults yet,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Lars Wendt of Watertown, N.Y., TF Knighthawk, 10th CAB, commander. “We minimized the threat to aircraft through in-depth planning. The area is one of the most dangerous places in Regional Command–East.”