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July 20, 2008
Soldiers Recount Deadly Attack On Afghanistan Outpost
Spc. Tyler Stafford, 23, a soldier from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), recounts the hours-long fight that killed nine of his comrades as he recuperates at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
"Just hardcoreness I guess," he said. "Just guys kicking ass, basically. Just making sure that we look scary enough that you don’t want to come in and try to get us."
This is one of many things that makes American Soldiers special. God bless and protect them.--Wild Thing
First-hand account of heroic outpost defense in Afghanistan
On Sunday, July 13, a remote combat outpost near the village of Wanat in Afghanistan's rugged Kunar province on the Pakistan border was nearly overrun by a combined force of some 200 Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters. The outpost was manned by men from the 173rd Airborne Brigade and Afghan Army personnel.
The attack was well coordinated and designed for one purpose -- to overrun the outpost and kill everyone in it. No way were the outnumbered Sky Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, C Co., 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment going to let that happen.
Today's Stars & Stripes contains a stirring first-hand account by one of the men from Chosen Company that should inspire us and make us all thankful for their service and sacrifice. Here are the opening paragraphs, to give you a taste; read the whole thing.
That was what Spc. Tyler Stafford remembered thinking as he stepped onto the medical evacuation helicopter. The 23-year-old soldier would have been loaded onto the bird, but the poncho that was hastily employed as his stretcher broke. His body speckled with grenade and RPG shrapnel, the Vicenza, Italy, infantryman walked the last few feet to the waiting Black Hawk.
Sgt. Jacob Walker, 29, recuperating at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, was wounded in Wanat, Afghanistan, when the forward operating base came under attack early Sunday morning.
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Soldiers recount deadly attack on Afghanistan outpost
By Steve Mraz,
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, July 19, 2008
Everything was on fire. The trucks. The bazaar. The grass.
It looked surreal. It looked like a movie.
That was what Spc. Tyler Stafford remembered thinking as he stepped onto the medical evacuation helicopter. The 23-year-old soldier would have been loaded onto the bird, but the poncho that was hastily employed as his stretcher broke. His body speckled with grenade and RPG shrapnel, the Vicenza, Italy, infantryman walked the last few feet to the waiting Black Hawk.
That was Sunday morning in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province. At a forward operating base — maybe as big as a football field — established just a few days prior.
Outnumbered but not outgunned, a platoon-plus element of soldiers with 2nd Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team accompanied by Afghan soldiers engaged in a fistfight of a firefight.
After maybe two hours of intense combat, some of the soldiers’ guns seized up because they expelled so many rounds so quickly. Insurgent bullets and dozens of rocket-propelled grenades filled the air. So many RPGs were fired at the soldiers that they wondered how the insurgents had so many.
That was July 13. That was when Stafford was blown out of a fighting position by an RPG, survived a grenade blast and had the tail of an RPG strike his helmet.
That was the day nine Chosen Company soldiers died.
It was just days before the unit was scheduled to leave the base.
The first RPG and machine gun fire came at dawn, strategically striking the forward operating base’s mortar pit. The insurgents next sighted their RPGs on the tow truck inside the combat outpost, taking it out. That was around 4:30 a.m.
This was not a haphazard attack. The reportedly 200 insurgents fought from several positions. They aimed to overrun the new base. The U.S. soldiers knew it and fought like hell. They knew their lives were on the line.
"I just hope these guys’ wives and their children understand how courageous their husbands and dads were," said Sgt. Jacob Walker. "They fought like warriors."
The next target was the FOB’s observation post, where nine soldiers were positioned on a tiny hill about 50 to 75 meters from the base. Of those nine, five died, and at least three others — Stafford among them — were wounded.
When the attack began, Stafford grabbed his M-240 machine gun off a north-facing sandbag wall and moved it to an east-facing sandbag wall. Moments later, RPGs struck the north-facing wall, knocking Stafford out of the fighting position and wounding another soldier.
Stafford thought he was on fire so he rolled around, regaining his senses. Nearby, Cpl. Gunnar Zwilling, who later died in the fight, had a stunned look on his face.
Immediately, a grenade exploded by Stafford, blowing him down to a lower terrace at the observation post and knocking his helmet off. Stafford put his helmet back on and noticed how badly he was bleeding.
Cpl. Matthew Phillips was close by, so Stafford called to him for help. Phillips was preparing to throw a grenade and shot a look at Stafford that said, "Give me a second. I gotta go kill these guys first."
This was only about 30 to 60 seconds into the attack.
Kneeling behind a sandbag wall, Phillips pulled the grenade pin, but just after he threw it an RPG exploded at his position. The tail of the RPG smacked Stafford’s helmet. The dust cleared. Phillips was slumped over, his chest on his knees and his hands by his side. Stafford called out to his buddy three or four times, but Phillips never answered or moved.
"When I saw Phillips die, I looked down and was bleeding pretty good, that’s probably the most scared I was at any point," Stafford said. "Then I kinda had to calm myself down and be like, ‘All right, I gotta go try to do my job.’ "
The soldier from Parker, Colo., loaded his 9 mm handgun, crawled up to their fighting position, stuck the pistol over the sandbags and fired.
Stafford saw Zwilling’s M-4 rifle nearby so he loaded it, put it on top of the sandbag and fired. Another couple RPGs struck the sandbag wall Stafford used as cover. Shrapnel pierced his hands.
Stafford low-crawled to another fighting position where Cpl. Jason Bogar, Sgt. Matthew Gobble and Sgt. Ryan Pitts were located. Stafford told Pitts that the insurgents were within grenade-tossing range. That got Pitts’ attention.
With blood running down his face, Pitts threw a grenade and then crawled to the position from where Stafford had just come. Pitts started hucking more grenades.
The firefight intensified. Bullets cut down tree limbs that fell on the soldiers. RPGs constantly exploded.
Back at Stafford’s position, so many bullets were coming in that the soldiers could not poke their heads over their sandbag wall. Bogar stuck an M-249 machine gun above the wall and squeezed off rounds to keep fire on the insurgents. In about five minutes, Bogar fired about 600 rounds, causing the M-249 to seize up from heat.
At another spot on the observation post, Cpl. Jonathan Ayers laid down continuous fire from an M-240 machine gun, despite drawing small-arms and RPG fire from the enemy. Ayers kept firing until he was shot and killed. Cpl. Pruitt Rainey radioed the FOB with a casualty report, calling for help. Of the nine soldiers at the observation post, Ayers and Phillips were dead, Zwilling was unaccounted for, and three were wounded. Additionally, several of the soldiers’ machine guns couldn’t fire because of damage. And they needed more ammo.
Rainey, Bogar and another soldier jumped out of their fighting position with the third soldier of the group launching a shoulder-fired missile.
All this happened within the first 20 minutes of the fight.
Platoon leader 1st Lt. Jonathan Brostrom and Cpl. Jason Hovater arrived at the observation post to reinforce the soldiers. By that time, the insurgents had breached the perimeter of the observation post. Gunfire rang out, and Rainey shouted, "He’s right behind the sandbag."
Brostrom could be heard shouting about the insurgent as well.
More gunfire and grenade explosions ensued. Back in the fighting position, Gobble fired a few quick rounds. Gobble then looked to where the soldiers were fighting and told Stafford the soldiers were dead. Of the nine soldiers who died in the battle, at least seven fell in fighting at the observation post.
The insurgents then started chucking rocks at Gobble and Stafford’s fighting position, hoping that the soldiers might think the rocks were grenades, causing them to jump from the safety of their fighting hole. One rock hit a tree behind Stafford and landed directly between his legs. He braced himself for an explosion. He then realized it was a rock.
Stafford didn’t have a weapon, and Gobble was low on ammo. Gobble told Stafford they had to get back to the FOB. They didn’t realize that Pitts was still alive in another fighting position at the observation post. Gobble and Stafford crawled out of their fighting hole. Gobble looked again to where the soldiers had been fighting and reconfirmed to Stafford that Brostrom, Rainey, Bogar and others were dead.
Gobble and Stafford low-crawled and ran back to the FOB. Coming into the FOB, Stafford was asked by a sergeant what was going on at the observation post. Stafford told him all the soldiers there were dead. Stafford lay against a wall, and his fellow soldiers put a tourniquet on him.
From the OP, Pitts got on the radio and told his comrades he was alone. At least three soldiers went to the OP to rescue Pitts, but they suffered wounds after encountering RPG and small-arms fire.
At that time, air support arrived in the form of Apache helicopters, A-10s and F-15s, performing bombing and strafing runs.
When the attack began, Walker was on the FOB. He grabbed an M-249 and started shooting toward a mountain spur where he could see some muzzle flashes. Walker put down 600 to 800 rounds of ammunition.
He got down behind the wall he was shooting from to load more ammo and was told they were taking fire from the southwest. He threw the bipod legs of his machine gun on the hood of a nearby Humvee. A 7.62-millimeter caliber bullet struck Walker’s left wrist, knocking him to the ground. A soldier applied a tourniquet to Walker and bandaged him.
Walker and two other wounded soldiers distributed their ammo and grenades and passed messages.
The whole FOB was covered in dust and smoke, looking like something out of an old Western movie.
"I’ve never seen the enemy do anything like that," said Walker, who was medically evacuated off the FOB in one of the first helicopters to arrive. "It’s usually three RPGs, some sporadic fire and then they’re gone … I don’t where they got all those RPGs. That was crazy."
Two hours after the first shots were fired, Stafford made his way — with help — to the medevac helicopter that arrived.
"It was some of the bravest stuff I’ve ever seen in my life, and I will never see it again because those guys," Stafford said, then paused. "Normal humans wouldn’t do that. You’re not supposed to do that — getting up and firing back when everything around you is popping and whizzing and trees, branches coming down and sandbags exploding and RPGs coming in over your head … It was a fistfight then, and those guys held ’ em off."
Stafford offered a guess as to why his fellow soldiers fought so hard.
"Just hardcoreness I guess," he said. "Just guys kicking ass, basically. Just making sure that we look scary enough that you don’t want to come in and try to get us."
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Wild Thing's comment.......
The Soldiers of Chosen Co. deserve to get their story out for the world to know what happened July 13, 2008. That was the day when Al Qaeda/Taliban learned no matter where, no matter how outnumbered, Americans will never never give in, will never never give up.
"Two hours after the first shots were fired, Stafford made his way — with help — to the medevac helicopter that arrived.
“It was some of the bravest stuff I’ve ever seen in my life, and I will never see it again because those guys,” Stafford said, then paused. “Normal humans wouldn’t do that. You’re not supposed to do that — getting up and firing back when everything around you is popping and whizzing and trees, branches coming down and sandbags exploding and RPGs coming in over your head … It was a fistfight then, and those guys held ’ em off.”
And cone again the quote where Stafford offered a guess as to why his fellow soldiers fought so hard.
“Just hardcoreness I guess,” he said. “Just guys kicking ass, basically. Just making sure that we look scary enough that you don’t want to come in and try to get us.”
God bless them all. Brave men doing what brave men do. How this country produces men like this is an amazing thing to behold. They most certainly carry the torch of their brothers before them in other wars.
And to B.Hussein Obama, who spent just a few hours in Afghanistan thinking, no hoping the world will now see him as a man with “Gravitas”. It's never going to happen!!!!
Posted by Wild Thing at July 20, 2008 04:47 AM
Comments
It's time to hunt these islamo bastards down IN Pakistan and end it all! Same for Iran... CUT out the cancer. END this madness with big time AIR POWER and thermal heat. Fight these butchers without rules of engagement. Where have you gone Harry Truman? When this is all accomplished, the world still won't like US. Too bad!
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at July 20, 2008 06:12 AM
If there is one thing we know, but never use, is NO RULES! I'm sorry if children get in the way (I'm a mommy--I'd hate to see someone hurt my kids), but we must think these "children" might grow up to hate us too and try something stupid, like start a war with us. For far too long, we have fed these people, clothed them, gave them medical care (doctors without borders), treated them like one of our own and look what they do to pay us back--blame us for the Russian invasion! (like we had anything to do with the Russians at that time!)
Geez, time for all of this to be done with--correctly!! I don't want to see my grandkids going over there again. Let's get it right this time.
Posted by: Lynn at July 20, 2008 06:58 AM
The 173rd Airborne has been fighting hard in Afghanistan. They have taken a lot of casualties. The Taliban have the freedom to group up, plan and strike from relative safety in Pakistan. Like Darth says, we need to say to hell with diplomacy and send more of our technology over the skies of Pakistan to pusue, find and strike these Taliban groups.
We went through this enemy border sanctuaries nonsense in Vietnam and I thought we would never do it again. But, here we are. Deja vu!
Posted by: TomR at July 20, 2008 03:49 PM
Darth, I agree so much and I feel the same way. I could care less if the world likes us or not. Our country has done more for the world then any other country and we are the youngest and in the end they hate us for our help.
Posted by: Wild Thing at July 20, 2008 07:07 PM
Lynn, exactly, we cannot be the polite ones in this fight. It gets us more and more injuries and it is madness.
Posted by: Wild Thing at July 20, 2008 07:10 PM
Tom, yes here we go again. Thanks for sharing and I want that too air strikes and come down hard on them. That Pakistan jerk is trying to hold our troops back and by doing that he is protecting the Taliban. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Posted by: Wild Thing at July 20, 2008 07:15 PM
"no matter how outnumbered, Americans will never never give in, will never never give up."
You meant American troops and most of us at home, of course. But we have a presidential candidate with a good shot at winning who is traveling among the enemy nations surrendering the war before he is elected. Has anything like this ever happened before? I can't remember it happening in my 75 years.
Chrissie, you are a real hero. You read these accounts and address them brilliantly day after day and we can never repay you. When I read an account like this battle story it overwhelms me and I can't start to address it intelligently, I mostly cry inwardly, remembering the men of the Normandy invasion. I visited the D-Day Memorial at Bedford, Virginia three times last month and took three groups of relatives with me. We will never forget. We will never surrender. I pray you will live longer than I have and keep on writing.
Posted by: Horace at July 21, 2008 11:30 AM
