The investigation into the Oct. 3, 2009 insurgent attack on
Combat Outpost Keating in eastern Afghanistan,
that left eight U.S.
soldiers killed and 22 wounded, is complete. ISAF public affairs emailed us a
copy of the executive summary along with heavily redacted portions of the rest
of the report. We're trying to get our hands on the full report and will let
you know when we do.
Keating was manned by Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron,
61st Cavalry, soldiers who thought they were embarking on a
counterinsurgency mission but soon found themselves fighting for their very
survival in a remote outpost located deep in a bowl, surrounded by high ground.
The report says that because of "limited manpower and tactical reach" off the
outpost, the soldiers could do little more than hunker down and try to defend
the perimeter. "By mid-2009 there was no tactical or strategic value to holding
the ground occupied by COP Keating."
"The delayed closing of COP Keating is important as it
contributed to a mindset of imminent closure that served to impede improvements
in force protection on the COP. There were inadequate measures taken by the
chain of command, resulting in an attractive target for enemy fighters."
The outpost was scheduled to be shut down, but due to a
shortage of transportation, Bravo Troop was forced to stay put long after they
should have been pulled out. The report says aerial drones that could have provided
warning of insurgents massing for the October attack were unavailable, having
been tasked elsewhere. Insurgents repeatedly probed the outpost - during the
soldiers five month stay they were attacked 47 times - and pinpointed key
weapons systems, generators and the barracks.
Because of those numerous, but small scale attacks,
commanders on the ground were lulled into thinking only small probing attacks
would continue and discounted reports of massing enemy forces.
When some 300 insurgents attacked on the morning of Oct. 3, well placed and sited mortars, snipers, RPGs, and machine gun fire quickly knocked out the outpost's mortars, overran the Afghan soldiers
defending the eastern side of the compound, knocked out the generator and
penetrated into the compound at three locations. The surviving soldiers were
pushed into a tight perimeter inside the compound.
Eventually, Air Force jets and Apache attack helicopters
arrived to provide close air support and the soldiers were able to regain
several key buildings. COP Keating was evacuated and the remains of the outpost
destroyed on Oct. 6 to prevent enemy use.
Here is an interview with 1st Lt. Bundermann who fought at COP Keating:
The second part of the interview can be found here.
