Combat Outpost Keating

Last updated
COP Keating was located at the bottom of a valley, conceding the high ground to attackers. COP Keating, in Nurestan.jpg
COP Keating was located at the bottom of a valley, conceding the high ground to attackers.

Combat Outpost Keating was a small American military outpost in Nurestan Province, in Afghanistan. [1] It was originally constructed to be a Provincial Reconstruction Team, called PRT Kamdesh, but due to extremely high levels of fighting in the area it remained a fire base instead of a PRT. In December 2006, it was renamed Camp Keating after the death of ABLE Troop 3-71 Cavalry 10th Mountain Division's executive officer, Benjamin Keating, who died November 26, 2006, when his vehicle turned over in Kamdesh, Afghanistan.

Contents

Plans were drawn up in the summer of 2006 by the US Army's 10th Mountain Division as part of Operation Mountain Lion. [2] Combat Outpost Keating is best known as the setting of the Battle of Kamdesh which occurred on October 3, 2009.

View of a pockmarked armored Humvee at COP Keating, severely damaged during the Battle of Kamdesh. Pict55-1024x619.jpg
View of a pockmarked armored Humvee at COP Keating, severely damaged during the Battle of Kamdesh.

After an attack on October 3, 2009, where the base was nearly overrun, and 8 Americans and 4 Afghan defenders were killed, the base was abandoned and demolished by a bombing from an American B-1 bomber on the night of October 6th, 2009. [2] A day after, on October 7, Taliban fighters were seen among the ruins of the outpost. According to army records, the Taliban commander of the attack on Keating, Abdul Rahman Mustaghni, was killed by the following drone strike along with thirteen other insurgents. [2] Two Americans, Staff Sergeants Clinton L. Romesha and (then Specialist) Ty Carter were awarded the Medal of Honor for their role in defending the base. [3]

The U.S. soldiers killed in the battle were:

Amy Davidson Sorkin, writing in The New Yorker , tried to answer the question why the base had not been moved, when it was found to be unsuitable. [4] She noted two claims the military put forward in its report: first, the resources to relocate the base had not been available because the brigade was concentrating on guarding a village that Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, considered strategically important. Second, the search for Bowe Bergdahl, in June 2009, had used up so many resources none were available to address the base's unsuitable location.

In media

In May 2016 CBS News profiled Staff Sergeant Romesha, after he published an account of his experiences at the base, entitled Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor. [3] Romesha was critical of the choice of site for the base, describing it as "like being in a fishbowl or fighting from the bottom of a paper cup." [5]

On November 9, 2018, the Netflix series Medal of Honor featured two separate episodes for both Romesha and Carter's personal accounts of the events that took place at COP Keating during the Battle of Kamdesh. [6]

The films The Outpost and Red Platoon are based on the events that occurred in the Battle of Kamdesh. [7] [8] The former of which is based on the book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by journalist Jake Tapper. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambrosio Guillen</span>

Staff Sergeant Ambrosio Guillen was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor—the United States' highest military award for valor—for his heroic actions and sacrifice of life on July 25, 1953, two days before the ceasefire, during the Korean War. He was responsible for his infantry platoon's turning an overwhelming enemy attack into a defeat and disorderly retreat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles H. Barker</span> United States Army Medal of Honor recipient

Charles Heyward Barker was a United States Army soldier in the Korean War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donn F. Porter</span> United States Army Medal of Honor recipient

Donn Fortheringham Porter was a soldier in the United States Army during the Korean War. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions on September 7, 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamdesh</span> Town in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan

Kāmdēsh, or Kamdeish, is a town in the Landai Sin Valley, and the center of the Kamdesh District in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. It is located at the general area of Yurmir (يورمير) which is beside the meeting place of two rivers, with one coming from Barg-i Matal, and the second flowing from Nechangal mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lester R. Stone Jr.</span>

Lester Raymond Stone Jr. was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon R. Cavaiani</span> US Army Medal of Honor recipient (1943–2014)

Jonathan Robert Cavaiani was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph E. Schaefer</span>

Joseph Edward Schaefer was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gus Kefurt</span>

Gus J. Kefurt was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Wanat</span> 2008 battle of the War in Afghanistan

The Battle of Wanat took place on July 13, 2008, when around 200 Taliban insurgents attacked American troops stationed near Quam, in the Waygal district of Afghanistan's far eastern Nuristan province. The distant position was primarily defended by United States Army soldiers with 2nd Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kamdesh</span> 2009 battle of the War in Afghanistan

The Battle of Kamdesh took place during the war in Afghanistan. It occurred on October 3, 2009, when a force of 300 Taliban assaulted the American Combat Outpost ("COP") Keating near the town of Kamdesh in Nuristan Province in eastern Afghanistan. The attack was the bloodiest battle for US forces since the Battle of Wanat in July 2008, which occurred 20 miles (32 km) away from Kamdesh. The attack on COP Keating resulted in 8 Americans killed and 27 wounded while the Taliban suffered 150–200 killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Shok Valley</span> A joint U.S - Afghan raid

The Battle of Shok Valley, also known as Operation Commando Wrath, was a joint U.S.-Afghan raid designed to kill or capture Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) in the Shok Valley of Nuristan Province of Afghanistan on 6 April 2008. Ten soldiers belonging to U.S Army special forces and their combat cameraman were awarded the Silver Star for bravery, the greatest number of such awards for a single battle since the Vietnam War. In 2018, Special Forces medic Ronald J. Shurer's Silver Star was upgraded to the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. In 2019, Special Forces weapons sergeant Matthew O. Williams's Silver Star was upgraded to the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. In addition SrA Zachary Rhyner, ODA 3336's attached Air Force Combat Controller, was awarded the Air Force Cross.

<i>Restrepo</i> (film) 2010 documentary film

Restrepo is a 2010 American documentary film about the War in Afghanistan directed by British photojournalist Tim Hetherington and American journalist Sebastian Junger. It explores the year that Junger and Hetherington spent, on assignment for Vanity Fair, in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, embedded with the Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team of the U.S. Army. The Second Platoon is depicted defending the outpost (OP) named after a platoon medic who was killed earlier in the campaign, PFC Juan Sebastián Restrepo, who was a Colombian-born naturalized U.S. citizen. The directors stated that the film is not a war advocacy documentary, they simply "wanted to capture the reality of the soldiers."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvatore Giunta</span> United States Army Medal of Honor recipient (born 1985)

Salvatore Augustine Giunta is a former United States Army soldier and the first living person since the Vietnam War to receive the United States Armed Forces' highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor. Giunta was cited for saving the lives of members of his squad on October 25, 2007, during the War in Afghanistan. He left the United States Army in June 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">159th Combat Aviation Brigade</span> Military unit

The 159th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) formerly supported the 101st Airborne Division, and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. While active, 159th CAB made the 101st Airborne Division the only US Army Division with two organic aviation brigades, and currently the 101st CAB is the only CAB supporting the unit at Fort Campbell. The 159th CAB was inactivated on 15 May 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ganjgal</span> Afghanistan war engagement (2009)

The Battle of Ganjgal took place during the War in Afghanistan between American and Afghan forces and the Taliban in Kunar Province, Afghanistan on September 8, 2009. Complaints that the coalition casualties were avoidable and caused by a failure of the chain of command to provide fire support for the team triggered an official investigation and a series of reprimands to several US military officers. Army Captain William D. Swenson and Marine Corporal Dakota Meyer received the Medal of Honor for their actions during the battle. Meyer is the first living Marine to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, and Swenson is the fifth living soldier and second officer to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. Two other Marines at the battle, Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez and Capt. Ademola Fabayo, received the Navy Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton Romesha</span> United States Army Medal of Honor recipient

Clinton LaVor Romesha is a retired United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Kamdesh in 2009 during the War in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ty Carter</span> United States Army Medal of Honor recipient

Ty Michael Carter is a retired United States Army staff sergeant and a Medal of Honor recipient. He was awarded the United States Armed Forces' highest military honor for his actions during the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan. Carter left active duty in September 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle J. White</span> United States Army Medal of Honor recipient

Kyle Jerome White is an American financial analyst and former United States Army soldier. He is the seventh living recipient of the Medal of Honor from the War in Afghanistan.

The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division is an inactive brigade of the United States Army. Between 1975 and 1984, the brigade served at Fort Carson, CO, and in Germany. The brigade was reactivated in 2004, and deployed four times in support of the War on Terror, once to Iraq and three times to Afghanistan, before being inactivated in 2015.

<i>The Outpost</i> (2019 film) 2019 American war film

The Outpost is a 2019 American war film directed by Rod Lurie, based on the 2012 non-fiction book The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by Jake Tapper, about the Battle of Kamdesh in the War in Afghanistan. It stars Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, Orlando Bloom, Jack Kesy, Cory Hardrict, Milo Gibson, Jacob Scipio, Will Attenborough, and Taylor John Smith.

References

  1. 1 2 Leo Shane II (2013-07-29). "Latest Medal of Honor brings COP Keating battle back into spotlight". Stars and Stripes . Washington DC . Retrieved 2017-11-05. The White House decision to award Army Staff Sgt. Ty Carter with the Medal of Honor for bravery in Afghanistan once again puts the spotlight on the deadly 2009 battle at Combat Outpost Keating, and the controversy surrounding it.
  2. 1 2 3 Romesha, Clinton (2016). Red Platoon : a true story of American valor. New York, New York: Dutton. pp. 53, 360. ISBN   978-0-525-95505-4. OCLC   933729394.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. 1 2 "A Medal of Honor recipient's ongoing burden". CBS News . 2016-05-01. Retrieved 2017-11-05. 'These things aren't given out when something went right. A lot of stuff went wrong, and it's a heavy weight at some times.'
  4. ↑ Amy Davidson Sorkin (2010-02-05). "What Happened at COP Keating?". New Yorker magazine . Retrieved 2017-11-05. COP Keating's withdrawal was delayed when the assets required to backhaul base supplies were diverted to support intense brigade-level operations in Barg-e Matal in support of ANSF forces. Similarly, ISR assets that could have given the Soldiers at COP Keating better situational awareness of their operational environment were reprioritized to support Barg-e Matal as well as the search for a missing US Soldier in the south.
  5. ↑ Collins, Elizabeth (5 February 2013). "COP Keating battle begins, Medal of Honor nominee Romesha takes action". U.S. Army.
  6. ↑ Milzarski, Eric (5 October 2018). "This Netflix series will tell the stories of Medal of Honor recipients". WE ARE THE MIGHTY.
  7. ↑ Myers, Meghann (4 May 2018). "The Battle of Kamdesh, which netted two Medals of Honor, is coming to the big screen ― twice". Army Times.
  8. ↑ Fleming, Mike (5 December 2017). "Sony Enlists Director Daniel Espinosa, George Clooney's Smokehouse For Red Platoon". Deadline.
  9. ↑ Tapper, Jake (2013). The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor. Back Bay Books. ISBN   978-0316185400.

35°25′23″N71°19′44″E / 35.4231°N 71.3289°E / 35.4231; 71.3289 (Location of Combat Outpost Keating)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.