Operation ANACONDA: An Air Power Perspective

Abstract

Operation ANACONDA is a unique case study in the application of force. From 2-16 March 2002, a Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF), built around 1,411 U.S. Army soldiers, and Special Operations Forces (SOF) from the United States and six other nations took on the task of clearing the Shahi Kot valley in eastern Afghanistan of al-Qaeda and Taliban forces who had survived earlier battles. It was a complex, non-linear battle that demanded full integration of Joint forcesand, to the frustration of all, revealed some Joint warfighting stress points. For the first time in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, American forces were locked in a prolonged ground battle in difficult terrain. Eight Americans (5 U.S. Army, 2USAF and 1 U.S. Navy SEAL) died during Operation ANACONDA and 80 were wounded. Seven of those deaths came on 4 March 2002 at the ridgeline at Takur Gar during a helicopter insertion of a Special Forces team and an attempt to rescue them.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 07, 2005
Accession Number
AD1106410

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Counter IED
  • Cyber
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan Conflict
  • Air Force
  • Airborne Warning And Control System
  • Attack Helicopters
  • Command And Control
  • Employment
  • Fixed Wing Aircraft
  • Joint Military Activities
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Force Levels
  • Military Organizations
  • Personnel Management
  • Seal Teams
  • Tanker Aircraft
  • United States Central Command
  • Warfare
  • Weapons Effects

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.