OPERATION ANACONDA

2014 Words5 Pages

Introduction

Operation Anaconda was the first major joint combat operation against the war on terror that the US was committed to winning. This operation would test our military’s readiness for joint operations against a hardened and willing adversary. The primary mission was to kill/capture Taliban/Al Qaeda forces occupying towns and villages in the vicinity of Shahi Khot in order to gain control of the valley.1 The US needed the towns, villages, mountains, and more importantly, the intricate and hard to access caves cleared of enemy fighters. Units participating in the operation included elements of the 101st Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, Special Operations Forces (SOF), and Coalition forces from seven nations including Afghanistan.2 With so many different nations fighting along with our own branches of military, it would test our ability to conduct joint operations on multiple levels.

History

September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden decided to “wake the sleeping giant.” The US immediately sent SOF units and CIA officers to recon the area and meet with the Northern Alliance. The primary battle leading up to this operation was Tora Bora, which was absent of conventional forces. Up until this point, the war on terror was predominantly a Special Operations fight along with Air Force for overhead support.3 SOF and the Northern Alliance had already displaced Taliban forces out of many towns and villages in northern Afghanistan to gain control of key terrain. Key towns in northern Afghanistan including Taloqan, Konduz, Herat, and Mazar-e Sharif took only three weeks to clear.4 The SOF units were making huge impacts across the country calling in air strikes. At the same time the SOF units were diligently...

... middle of paper ...

...r, 277.

3 Colonel John T. Carney Jr., No Room for Error, 273.

4 Richard Kugler, Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan, 3.

5 General Tommy Franks, American Soldier, 198.

6 Todd Marzano, Criticisms Associated with Operation Anaconda, Can Long Distance Leadership Be Effective, 4.

7 Todd Marzano, Criticisms Associated with Operation Anaconda, Can Long Distance Leadership Be Effective, 6.

8 Sean Naylor, Not a Good Day to Die, 121.

9 Robin Moore, The Hunt for Bin Laden, 273.

10 Richard Kugler, Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan, 12.

11 General Tommy Franks, American Soldier, 324.

12 Richard Kugler, Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan, 17.

13 Todd Marzano, Criticisms Associated with Operation Anaconda, Can Long Distance Leadership Be Effective, 9.

14 Sean Naylor, Not a Good Day to Die, 92.

15 Mark Davis, Operation Anaconda: Command and Confusion in Joint Warfare, 12.

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