Preliminary report on Combat Outpost Keating

“On 3 October 2009, Soldiers of Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry, repelled an enemy force of 300 Anti-Afghan Forces (AAF) fighters, preserving their combat outpost and killing approximately 150 of the enemy fighters.”

OK. Sounds good.

But …

The outpost “originally established as a base for a Provincial Reconstruction Team in 2006, was located deep in a bowl in Nuristan Province, surrounded by high ground, with limited overwatch protection from nearby Observation Post (OP) Fritsche. The mission was unclear to the Soldiers of B Troop who understood counterinsurgency doctrine and the need to engage with and protect the local population. But owing to limited manpower and tactical reach off of the compound, the mission devolved into one of base defense and by mid-2009 there was no tactical or strategic value to holding the ground occupied by COP Keating.”

There’s a whole lot more. What it comes down to is, the higher ups screwed up in priorities. As often happens, the professionalism of people on the ground and aviation assets saved what could have been a disaster.

See http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2010/02/army_releases_report_on_combat.php