Operation Rhino

Last updated

Operation Rhino
Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Drop on Rhino.jpg
Ranger parachute drop on objective "Rhino."
Date19–20 October 2001
(1 day)
Location
Kandahar, Afghanistan
30°29'12.0"N 64°31'32.0"E / 30.48741,64.5319837, 3480m ASL
Result U.S. victory
Belligerents
Flag of the United States.svg United States Flag of the Taliban.svg Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Commanders and leaders
Colonel Joseph Votel
Strength
200 Army Rangers Unknown
Casualties and losses
No casualties in the operation, 2 killed in a helicopter crash while on standby for CSAR. 11 killed (allegedly)

Operation Rhino was a raid led by the United States Army's 75th Ranger Regiment (Regimental Reconnaissance Company) and (3rd Ranger Battalion), who were led by Colonel Joseph Votel, [1] and other SOCOM units on several Taliban targets in and around Kandahar, Afghanistan during the invasion of Afghanistan at the start of the War in Afghanistan. [2] The operation was motivated by a desire for the White House and Tommy Franks to capture video footage of special forces parachuting deep into enemy territory. Intelligence reports at the time indicated that the targeted airfield was empty, leading them to believe that the Rangers would face no resistance from the Taliban. [3] The operation has faced subsequent criticism for its focus on media portrayal rather than solely military objectives.

Contents

Plan

The Ranger's objectives [4] were to:

Operation

A guard tower at Camp Rhino on 2 December 2001. 011202-N-6520M-018 Camp Rhino.jpg
A guard tower at Camp Rhino on 2 December 2001.

In October 2001, a Ranger Reconnaissance team jumped into Afghanistan to recon the airfield. In a twist of irony, despite initial reports indicating no presence of enemy forces and expectations of an empty airfield, intelligence personnel suddenly expressed excessive concern at the mission's start. They cautioned the rangers to be prepared for potential Taliban forces equipped with advanced night vision goggles and warned about Taliban air defenses, mines on the objective, the presence of a ZSU 23-4 antiaircraft weapon, and the possibility of the Taliban possessing Stinger and Redeye antiaircraft missiles that the US had supplied to the mujahideen in the 1980s. [5]

On the night of 19 October 2001, before the Rangers dropped, several targets on and around the objective were targeted by U.S. air power, first by bombs dropped from B-2 stealth bombers, [6] then by fire from orbiting AC-130 aircraft. Some sources report that these air strikes resulted in up to 11 Taliban fighters KIAs and several Taliban forces fleeing the area. Following the air strikes, the four MC-130 Combat Talon aircraft [7] flew over the drop zone (DZ) at 800 feet. In zero illumination, the Rangers proceeded to exit the MC-130s.

One company of rangers, accompanied by a sniper team, secured the area and established strategic positions to defend against potential counterattacks. The compound was completely empty and the presence of combat cameramen and a Navy P-3C Orion command and control plane overhead highlighted the importance placed on capturing propaganda footage during the operation. [8] No U.S. casualties were suffered in the operation itself but two Rangers assigned [9] to [10] Combat Search and Rescue element supporting the mission were killed when their MH-60L helicopter crashed at Objective Honda in Pakistan - a temporary staging site used by a company of Rangers from 3/75. The helicopter crashed due to a brownout. [11]

Result

As a result of the raid, a base was set up over the airstrip and named Camp Rhino. It was then handed off to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, who began leading forward operations throughout Kandahar along with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division. [12] Although the operation failed to yield any valuable intelligence, the military authorities still claimed it a success. [13] A former Delta Force officer has revealed that Dell Dailey, the commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at the time "believed that if we raided empty targets in Afghanistan and filmed the raids for the world to see, we would have some kind of morale-breaking effect on the enemy." [14] The video footage from the operation was presented at a Pentagon press conference the day after the operation and distributed to every major news organization in both the United States and abroad. [15]

Criticism

The daring operation to deploy Rangers to a remote location has been a subject of controversy among critics. They have argued that the high stakes and logistical challenges involved placed the soldiers at significant and avoidable risk. Some even suggest that the mission was little more than a theater staged by the White House for political reasons. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Enduring Freedom</span> Official name for the USs war on terror

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush announced that airstrikes targeting Al-Qaeda and the Taliban had begun in Afghanistan. Beyond the military actions in Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom was also affiliated with counterterrorism operations in other countries, such as OEF-Philippines and OEF-Trans Sahara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Anaconda</span> 2002 military offensive against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban during the War in Afghanistan

Operation Anaconda or the Battle of Shah-i-Kot was a military operation that took place in early March 2002 as part of the War in Afghanistan. CIA paramilitary officers, working with their allies, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. The operation took place in the Shah-i-Kot Valley and Arma Mountains southeast of Zormat. This operation was the first large-scale battle in the post-2001 War in Afghanistan since the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001. This was the first operation in the Afghanistan theater to involve a large number of U.S. forces participating in direct combat activities.

Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi a.k.a. Abu Ali al-Harithi was an al-Qaeda operative and a citizen of Yemen who is suspected of having been involved in the October 2000 USS Cole bombing, and the October Limburg attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta Force</span> U.S. Armys tier one special operations force

The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta, referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Force Green, is a special operations force of the United States Army, under operational control of JSOC. The unit's missions primarily involve counterterrorism, hostage rescue, direct action, and special reconnaissance, often against high-value targets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">75th Ranger Regiment</span> Elite US Army light infantry unit

The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as Army Rangers, is the premier light infantry unit and special operations force within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The regiment is headquartered at Fort Moore, Georgia and is composed of a regimental headquarters company, a military intelligence battalion, a special troops battalion, and three Ranger battalions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Ranger Battalion</span> Military unit

The 3rd Ranger Battalion is the third of three Ranger Battalions belonging to the United States Army's 75th Ranger Regiment. It is currently based at Fort Moore, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States invasion of Afghanistan</span> 2001 multinational military operation

Shortly after the September 11 attacks, the United States declared the beginning of the war on terror and subsequently led a multinational invasion of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The stated goal was to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the attacks under the leadership of Osama bin Laden, and to deny Islamist militants a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by toppling the Taliban government. The United Kingdom was a key ally of the United States, offering support for military action from the start of the invasion preparations. The American military presence in Afghanistan greatly bolstered the Northern Alliance, which had been locked in a losing fight with the Taliban during the Afghan Civil War. Prior to the beginning of the United States' war effort, the Taliban had seized around 85% of Afghanistan's territory as well as the capital city of Kabul, effectively confining the Northern Alliance to Badakhshan Province and smaller surrounding areas. The American-led invasion on October 7, 2001, marked the first phase of what would become the 20-year-long War in Afghanistan and was the technical start of the War on Terror.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Forces Support Group</span> Military unit

The Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) is a special forces unit of the British Armed Forces. The SFSG was formed officially on 3 April 2006 to provide support to the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment on operations. It is a tri-service unit, composed of the 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, a company of Royal Marine Commandos, and a flight (platoon) from the Royal Air Force Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Rhino</span> Defunct U.S. military base

Forward operating base (FOB) Rhino, also known as Camp Rhino, was a U.S. military base located in the Registan Desert of Afghanistan, 100 nautical miles (190 km) southwest of Kandahar. It was the first U.S. land base established in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and was in use from November 2001 to January 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">24th Special Tactics Squadron</span> U.S. Air Forces tier one special operations force

The 24th Special Tactics Squadron is one of the Special Tactics units of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). Garrisoned at Pope Field, North Carolina, it is the U.S. Air Force component of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit's webpage describes it as "the Air Force's special operations ground force".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)</span>

The following items form a partial timeline of the War in Afghanistan. For events prior to October 7, 2001, see 2001 in Afghanistan.

Sean D. Naylor is a Canadian journalist. Naylor is the National Security Correspondent for Yahoo News. He previously covered intelligence and counterterrorism for Foreign Policy and spent over 20 years at Army Times, with stints as an embedded reporter with troops in Somalia, Haiti, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. Naylor has freelanced for The New York Times and Newsweek and is the author of two books, Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda and Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command.

The Angur Ada raid was a covert raid conducted by American Commandos from JSOC against Taliban fighters on September 3, 2008, within the border town of Angur Ada in South Waziristan. It was the first time American Troops fought a ground-based battle against the Taliban within Pakistani borders. The raid took place at the same time as Pakistani military forces ended a four-week offensive in Bajaur, the northernmost Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of which South Waziristan is the southernmost, an offensive that has displaced approximately half a million people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall of Kandahar</span> 2001 conflict in Kandahar

The Fall of Kandahar took place in 2001 during the War in Afghanistan. After the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, Kabul and Herat, Kandahar was the last major city under Taliban control. Kandahar was where the Taliban movement had originated and where its power base was located, so it was assumed that capturing Kandahar would be difficult. The city fell after several weeks of fighting to a force of local militia under Pashtun military commanders and their American advisers. The fall of Kandahar signaled the end of organized Taliban control of Afghanistan.

The Baraawe raid, code named Operation Celestial Balance, was a helicopter assault by United States Special Operations Forces against the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan and associated al-Shabaab militants near the town of Baraawe in southern Somalia.

The 2001 Bombing of Kandahar was a series of military operations conducted in and around Kandahar, Afghanistan, during October 2001, as part of the start of the United States' military operations in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Afghanistan.

Events in the year 2017 in Afghanistan.

References

  1. ↑ "CNN.com - Transcripts". transcripts.cnn.com.
  2. ↑ "The United States Army in Afghanistan – Raid on Kandahar". Archived from the original on 16 February 2008.
  3. ↑ Naylor, Sean (2015). Relentless strike : the secret history of Joint Special Operations Command. New York : St. Martin's Press. pp. 108–109. ISBN   978-1-250-01454-2.
  4. ↑ "Rangers | Delta Force | October 2001 | Gecko | Rhino". www.americanspecialops.com.
  5. ↑ Naylor, Sean (1 September 2015). Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command. St. Martin's Press. p. 112.
  6. ↑ Ramirez, Senior Airman Cody H. "10 year anniversary of strikes against Afghanistan" . Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  7. ↑ Life, Tactical (3 November 2015). "Operation Rhino, Gecko: Tackling the Taliban in Afghanistan" . Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  8. ↑ Naylor, Sean (11 October 2016). Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command (Reprint ed.). St. Martin's Griffin. p. 114. ISBN   978-1-250-10547-9.
  9. ↑ "Army Pfc. Kristofor T. Stonesifer| Military Times". thefallen.militarytimes.com.
  10. ↑ "SPC John J. Edmunds (1981 - 2001) - ForeverMissed.com". www.forevermissed.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015.
  11. ↑ Neville, Leigh (2015). Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military). Osprey Publishing. p. 36. ISBN   978-1472807908.
  12. ↑ Spiegel, Capt Jay M. "The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Seizure of Camp Rhino" (PDF). Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  13. ↑ "Operation Rhino, Gecko: Tackling the Taliban in Afghanistan". Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews. 3 November 2015.
  14. ↑ Naylor, Sean (2015). Relentless strike : the secret history of Joint Special Operations Command. New York : St. Martin's Press. p. 110. ISBN   978-1-250-01454-2.
  15. ↑ Naylor, Sean (2015). Relentless strike : the secret history of Joint Special Operations Command. New York : St. Martin's Press. p. 119. ISBN   978-1-250-01454-2.
  16. ↑ Neville, Leigh (19 May 2016). US Army Rangers 1989–2015: Panama to Afghanistan (1st ed.). Osprey Publishing.

30°29′12″N64°31′32″E / 30.48667°N 64.52556°E / 30.48667; 64.52556

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.