Korengal

[S-2]

This is a consolidated story. I'm posting four articles and four videos. Together, they draw a remarkable picture of the Korengal last fall. With them is one INCREDIBLE photo. Virtually all of these stories track 2nd Plt. B. Co. 2-503 Infantry (Airborne).

Into The Valley of Death- Vanity Fair

Battle Company Is Out There- NYT

Video-
ABC-TV Pt. I

ABC-TV Pt. II

ABC-TV Pt. III

ABC-TV Pt. IV

In addition, Ms. Rubin wrote two lengthy but excellent stories in the fall of 2006 for the NYT. One is in Zabul, the other in Pakistan and both are VERY relevant stories-

In the Land of the Taliban- NYT Oct. 22, 2006

Taking The Fight To The Taliban- NYT Oct. 28, 2006

Worthy reading and watching. Sorry, no photo. It's too big.

[Tom Odom]

In the Land of the Taliban- NYT Oct. 22, 2006

I used that one to highlight a new face of the Taliban, one more dangerous that the stereotypical wide-eyed mullah, in classes here.

Tom

[S-2]

Tom,

Of the two stories from October, 2006, that was the mind-blower. LTC Nagl is clearly impressed w/ Ms. Rubin's writing. "IN THE LAND OF THE TALIBAN" story displays her considerable investigative skills. She's a star.

The war in "dem dar hills" is stunning. I concur w/ LTC Nagl that we are short line-doggies to hump hills, pull triggers, and no area on earth needs light infantry more.

Those guys in the Korengal will have stories for their grand-sons like no other.

[jcustis]

Just curious, but which photo did you find incredible? Was it the one of the Soldiers carrying the body to the LZ? I found that one remarkably similar to so many Vitenam-era pictures I have seen over the years.

[Eden]

I agree Ms. Rubin ranks with Atkinson, Bowden, Kaplan, et al in capturing the essence of soldiering, particularly in the boonies. I look forward to her first book, regardless of the subject.

I'm also curious what others think about the utility of places like KOP. I witnessed some of the debate about the worth of spreading our limited resources into the area, both among 10th Mountain planners and 82nd division staff coming in to replace them. Personally it seemed (and nothing I've seen so far has changed my opinion) like a waste of scarce infantry - which makes their sacrifices especially poignant.

[Cavguy]

I agree Ms. Rubin ranks with Atkinson, Bowden, Kaplan, et al in capturing the essence of soldiering, particularly in the boonies. I look forward to her first book, regardless of the subject.

I'm also curious what others think about the utility of places like KOP. I witnessed some of the debate about the worth of spreading our limited resources into the area, both among 10th Mountain planners and 82nd division staff coming in to replace them. Personally it seemed (and nothing I've seen so far has changed my opinion) like a waste of scarce infantry - which makes their sacrifices especially poignant.

I can't believe I may be agreeing with LTC Gentile here ... but

Devoid of an operational goal and nested plan, just building outposts without a specific strategy to change the dynamics of the AO may be futile. Also if there aren't enough outposts to thoroughly control key areas (it appears from the article the enemy has freedom of movement) its utility is limited. Population security only works if you can protect/control the populace. It doesn't seem like they have enough forces to do that.

In the much, much different AO of Ramadi and Tal Afar, the outposts dominated the surrounding areas and interdicted AIF movements, in addition to attriting enemy combat power which allowed us to focus on non-lethal objectives elsewhere.

It's all in the nesting of your multiple lines of operations.

And as a disclaimer, they may be doing all of this, we simply don't have enough info from the article. The CPT's sacrifices may be enabling the other unit having chi down the valley and singing kumbuyah with the locals. One could have made that argument about South Ramadi and TF 1-37. It's a crummy draw of the straw, but perhaps his unit isn't supposed to transform his battlespace, but enable the transformation of someone else's by holding the enemy in check.

[S-2]

I can't load the photo here but this will link you to a thread on WAB where I was able to do so. It's not a photo from Ms. Rubin's story-

Into the Valley of Death-WAB.

The photo is the third post on the thread. I apologize as I'm sure it could be downsized by somebody more adept than myself. The photo was found on the CJTF-82 website by me and was likely taken by a public affairs type.

I love it and think it's first-rate.

[Meinertzhagen]

After days of reading the blogosphere’s reaction and commentary, I feel compelled to address some of my strong concerns with the article, as a currently deployed soldier in the 173rd who has walked the terrain in the Korengal. The article, while certainly important in that it succinctly illustrates the challenges we face as a Brigade here in Northeastern Afghanistan in a national forum, portrays a no longer accurate snapshot in time. The author’s time at the KOP occurred prior to and during a major, Battalion-plus operation whose effects along with the grinding, daily efforts of Battle Company, have radically altered the Korengal Valley in our favor. LTC Fenzel’s article in this month’s Military Review regarding his experience as the CTF Devil DCO in 2005 states that, “The most contested region in RC East during OEFVI was the Wahabbiist stronghold in the Kore¬ngal River Valley, in the center of Kunar province.” That very statement would remain valid if applied to the operating environment only a few months ago. Since then we have gained a much stronger foothold not only in the physical territory of the valley, but most importantly, in the trust and confidence of the valley’s residents. This success is obviously reflected in huge reduction in kinetic activity in the valley, but more importantly and enduringly, in our ability to begin construction of a paved road into the Korengal Valley using never before available valley-native labor. The aforementioned Chai, previously only consumed by “the other unit having chi down the valley and singing kumbuyah with the locals” is now a part of daily patrols and weekly shuras in the Korengal.

None of this recent success belies the tremendous sacrifice borne by the soldiers of Battle Company that will be with each and every soldier who has served there for the rest of their lives. It is easy to question our presence in one of the least developed, most disconnected and hostile locations on Earth, but Battle Company is both shaping their battlespace and enabling security throughout Konar.

On another note, the photo below is the one described by S-2. It actually depicts an overwatch position near Chowkay south of the Korengal. The river in the distance is the Konar River.

[Tom Odom]

Excellent post and very timely!

Best

Tom

[SWJED]

Excellent post and very timely!

Best

Tom

... I second Tom's motion, especially running a longer piece on the SWJ Blog.

[S-2]

Thanks for sorting out both the photo and the actual location. Glad I wasn't too far off the mark. I'm nonetheless stunned by the photo and all it implies on close inspection and appreciate you bringing it to those who can't adequately visualize the word "rugged". Your comments on the A.O. are appreciated and tremendously good news.

I'll look forward to your comments on the region and the difficulties for our guys. Thanks again for the help.

[Cavguy]

After days of reading the blogosphere’s reaction and commentary, I feel compelled to address some of my strong concerns with the article, as a currently deployed soldier in the 173rd who has walked the terrain in the Korengal. The article, while certainly important in that it succinctly illustrates the challenges we face as a Brigade here in Northeastern Afghanistan in a national forum, portrays a no longer accurate snapshot in time.

Absolutely great observation. I know from experience how hard it is to lead guys who take regular casualties with no (obvious) end in sight. Fortunately, like your Battle Company account, things turned around quickly, and now they look back on that time in a different light.

The coldest part of the night is right before the sun rises.

None of this recent success belies the tremendous sacrifice borne by the soldiers of Battle Company that will be with each and every soldier who has served there for the rest of their lives. It is easy to question our presence in one of the least developed, most disconnected and hostile locations on Earth, but Battle Company is both shaping their battlespace and enabling security throughout Konar.

Great to hear. As I stated before in my disclaimer, the NYT article didn't provide the operational context (rightly so), so it's glad to see that the plan has matured to its conclusion.

Thanks so much for contributing, keep it up.

[S-2]

DoD News Briefing w/ Col. Chip Preysler

This briefing was conducted at the time both Sebastian Junger and Elizabeth Rubin were in the Korengal. Meinertzhagen said,

"Since then we have gained a much stronger foothold not only in the physical territory of the valley, but most importantly, in the trust and confidence of the valley’s residents. This success is obviously reflected in huge reduction in kinetic activity in the valley, but more importantly and enduringly, in our ability to begin construction of a paved road into the Korengal Valley using never before available valley-native labor."

If there are two things which Col. Preysler said explicitly, in mantra fashion even, is the overwhelming dominance of this terrain throughout the battle-space and the importance of roads. Meinertzhagen's above comment substantiates this mission determination.

Col. Preysler's A.O. is impressively huge-

"I want to say 470 kilometers worth of border in my area. And I think at the highest point, it's well over 14,000 feet, and we're pretty much ringed by mountains."

and he makes clear that his platoons operate semi-autonomously-

"Obviously, we're out there every day, much more dispersed across the area. We stay with the people. We don't go back and forth between our forward operating bases as we had in the past. So we're out in smaller elements amongst the people, dispersed across a wide area in very rugged terrain before never really contested by coalition or Afghan forces."

Not surprisingly, the Pakistani Army is reticent to conduct ops on the other side of his area of influence. While sympathies may contribute, I'm sure that the quality of this enemy and his inaccessibility are the central factors.

[Jedburgh]

Boston.com, 12 Nov 08: Afghanistan's Korengal Valley

Yesterday was Veteran's Day (or Armistice or Remembrance Day, depending on where you live), a day set aside to honor those who have served in the military. Today, on the day after, it seems appropriate to share some photographs of U.S. soldiers currently in the thick of war in Afghanistan. Getty Images photographer John Moore spent some time recently in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, near the Pakistani border, with Viper Company of the 1-26 Infantry, and brought back these images, documenting what he saw.....

I'm a little late on posting this, but outstanding photos at the link.

[Entropy]

Thanks Jedburgh, those are fantastic photos. Besides the beauty of the mountains, the one thing that always reminds me of Afghanistan are HESCO's everywhere. I don't think I'll ever be able to see a hesco and not be reminded of Afghanistan.

It sounds like the situation in Korengal has regressed somewhat from when Meinherthagen posted several months ago, unfortunately.

[Tom Odom]

Thanks, Ted!

Great photos.


Some of the comments are ultra-stupid but even idiots have computers.

Tom

[Entropy]

Some of the comments are ultra-stupid but even idiots have computers.

Tom

I don't read comments much anymore for stories like that - they rarely have any value.

[Schmedlap]

Just curious, but which photo did you find incredible? Was it the one of the Soldiers carrying the body to the LZ? I found that one remarkably similar to so many Vitenam-era pictures I have seen over the years.

What struck me was the juxtaposition of these photos and the random ones that pop up as related content in the adjacent column. Young Americans risking life and limb for country and for one another... and then a photo of some random celebrity who made headlines because she wears a revealing outfit on the cover of some stupid magazine. The stuff that people find important amazes me sometimes.

[Ken White]

important. While I don't question there are some that don't want to know anymore about any war if they can help it and thus look for celebs in revealing outfits or other stupidity and fluff, the majority will I think look at the pictures from the war and realize some things -- even if just a bit.

The real problem is the media and advertising folks who push the celeb stuff to sell their entertainment industry and other products, a media and ad crowd that will verbally behind the scenes denigrate and trash the same celebrities they foist on the public. That's not only arrogant, it's hypocritical.

I think it's also, in the long term, self destructive. I hear a lot more people of all ages who reject that effort than I find that accept it even slightly. There's a reason that both TV and the print media are not doing all that well and are low in public confidence...

[S-2]

Thanks for the find, Jedburgh.

Juxtaposing real heros with flash-celebs actually IS a compelling message of basic values.

Subliminal nefarious media types outdid themselves this time.