Operation Rock Avalanche was a six-day, US-led offensive from 19 to 25 October 2007, with the purpose of hunting

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

fighters in the Korengal Valley of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The mission also aimed to establish a peace with the local populace so that a road could be safely built through the area by the Afghan government. Over the course of the operation, a series of running battles occurred with members of the

, as well as with local tribesmen. U.S. Army Paratrooper Salvatore Giunta would be awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

for his actions during combat between U.S. forces and local Afghans.

Background

The U.S. had struggled for some time to establish itself as a force within the valley. Long considered to be a Taliban stronghold, the Korengal Valley was nicknamed the "Valley of Death" by U.S. forces due to the dangers associated with being stationed there, with sometimes as many as a dozen firefights per day. Spearheaded by Captain Louis Frketic of A Company and Captain Dan Kearney of B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne) of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in the Korengal Valley, the goal of the assault was to both disrupt Taliban and insurgent routes of transit in the area, as well as trying to establish a peace with local village elders by offering to build them a new highway through the mountains – paid for by the Afghan government – in exchange for information about anti-governmental combatants.

The Operation

Operation Rock Avalanche began in the early-morning hours of 19 October 2007 when U.S. and Afghan forces boarded

UH-60 The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...

and

CH-47 The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name ...

helicopters at the Korengal Outpost (KOP) to be inserted in the southern portion of the Korengal Valley, near the village of Yaka Chine. This main force consisted mostly of B Company, 2-503rd Infantry, but also included support elements, such as

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC), and a Low-Level Voice Intercept (LLVI) team from the

513th Military Intelligence Brigade The 513th Military Intelligence Brigade is a unit of the United States Army and subordinate to the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command. Its mission is to provide "tailored, multi-disciplined intelligence and intelligence capabilities in s ...

. Elements from A, C, and D companies, 2-503 Infantry, also occupied blocking positions around the valley in an effort to prevent Taliban forces from leaving the area. There were several skirmishes early in the operation, ultimately leading to

AC-130 The Lockheed AC-130 gunship is a heavily armed, long-endurance, ground-attack variant of the C-130 Hercules transport, fixed-wing aircraft. It carries a wide array of ground-attack weapons that are integrated with sophisticated sensors, naviga ...

and

AH-64 The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night visi ...

gunships firing into the village, resulting in civilian casualties. The night of the 21st, U.S. forces moved east to conduct operations near the villages of Landigal and Aliabad. Mid-day on the 23rd, Taliban forces attacked and overran a U.S.

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

position, killing Staff Sergeant Rougle and wounding Sergeants Rice and Velaquez, before being forced to withdraw. Taliban forces were also able to capture several weapons and equipment from the fallen Americans. U.S. and Afghan forces continued to patrol the area and meet with village elders, resulting in several more firefights and large amounts of U.S. air and artillery support being employed. This attack was witnessed by New York Times journalist Elizabeth Rubin and photojournalist Lynsey Addario, who were embedded with B company at the time. As the sun set on the 25th, U.S. and Afghan forces began concluding the operation. During their egress, Taliban forces initiated an "L" shaped

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mo ...

against 1st and 3rd Platoon, B Company. U.S. forces were able to break out of the killzone and launch a successful counter-attack, but only after two Americans were killed and five more wounded. Taliban leader Muhammad Tali was killed by U.S. Army's SPC Giunta, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the engagement.

Outcome

While Taliban forces were able to launch bold attacks against U.S. forces, they were unable to maintain their momentum. Coalition forces inflicted heavy casualties upon the Taliban, including several local leaders. Coalition forces also were able to locate several stone bunkers on the Abas Ghar, as well as firing positions used in attacks against the Korengal Outpost. Taliban activity in the Korengal Valley dropped significantly in the months following the operation. In April 2010, U.S. forces withdrew from the Korengal Valley. 50 Americans had died fighting there, with over a hundred more wounded.

Popular culture

The events of the offensive were witnessed firsthand by American journalist

Sebastian Junger Sebastian Junger (born January 17, 1962) is an American journalist, author and filmmaker who has reported in-the-field on dirty, dangerous and demanding occupations and the experience of infantry combat. He is the author of '' The Perfect Sto ...

and British photojournalist

Tim Hetherington Timothy Alistair Telemachus Hetherington (5 December 1970 – 20 April 2011) was a British photojournalist. He produced books, films and other work that "ranged from multi-screen installations, to fly-poster exhibitions, to handheld de ...

, and were captured on film for their

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated documentary '' Restrepo''.An up-close yet impersonal look at war
Wesley Morris, ''Boston Globe'' movie review. Among other awards, the film received the

Grand Jury Prize A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

for best documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Junger would later go on to write the book ''War'', an account which expanded upon his experiences during Operation Rock Avalanche.

References

External links