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3-319 AFAR TF Gun Devils: providing FA fires for Afghanistan and maneuvering on the enemy.

Article Excerpt
Task Force (TF) Gun Devils' mission in one operation in Afghanistan was to defeat a known Taliban leader and approximately 40 of his men in a small village in the northern part of an isolated valley. The valley was bordered by a rugged ridge of mountains on the east and a mountain complex with a "bowl" to its west. Its floor was 10 kilometers long and four kilometers wide but narrowed into a 600-meter-wide chokepoint at the northern Taliban village.

The unique task force began combat operations in the valley when suddenly its B Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (B/1-508 PIR), Legion Company, was ambushed by a 10-man force. The task force with its Coalition partners suffered casualties in the ambush. It was time for the TF commander to change the plan.

After quickly consulting with his S2, S3, deputy S3, executive officer (XO) and command sergeant major, the task force commander announced the following.

Attention in the TOC [tactical operations center]! We now are massing our combat power in the valley. This is where we are going to fight the enemy. Legion Company, with its Afghan element, is consolidating its combat forces to defeat the enemy strongpoint in the valley.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

We now are going to move Team Delta [D/2-504 PIR] west along the mobility corridor to establish blocking positions north of the valley to interdict possible enemy movement north from 3rd Platoon's [Legion Company] enemy contact location.

We are changing Team Alpha's [A/1-325 Airborne Infantry Regiment (AIR)] air insertion landing zone [LZ]. Team Alpha now will land on the LZ approximately five kilometers east of Legion's enemy contact location. But Team Alpha first will conduct a false insertion into the Sammy Hagar Bowl to the west. B/3-319 AFAR [Airborne Field Artillery Regiment] now is stopping its movement north and will occupy positions to execute pre-assault fires for Team Alpha's false insertion and provide fires throughout the valley.

I still will fly in the [C.sup.2] [command and control] aircraft for Team Alpha's false and actual air insertions. Once Team Alpha takes control of its objective, the aircraft will land as the ACP [assault command post] on CP Hilltop to linkup with Legion Company. I have the French commander with me [French Special Forces lieutenant colonel].

The trigger for Gun Devils 5 [XO] to move the battalion TAC [tactical command post] with elements of 4-13 MP [Military Police] from our trains [Headquarters and Service Battery (HSB) 3-319 AFAR] and elements of the 151st [151st Infantry Battalion (Romania)] north toward the valley is when our ACP collocates with Legion Company and establishes communications from CP Hilltop.

Finally, as we isolate the enemy within the valley, I will decide whether Team Alpha is to occupy east of Legion Company or conduct another air insertion to the north NLT [not later than] H+5. H-hour is when Team Alpha's aircraft first touches down on the LZ. By H+5, Alpha 6 will give me his assessment as to whether or not he can exploit success in his initial LZ.

It is critical we deconflict Team Delta's movement south into blocking positions north of the valley while 1st Platoon [Legion Company] moves north to clear the northern most village.

Are we all tracking? What are your questions?

This scenario is of an actual operation in which we cleared the valley of the Taliban. It is representative of the nine task force-level operations we conducted with varied US and allied units, which at times, were drawn from three different US Army brigades during our rotation in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) VI. It demonstrates the flexibility, innovativeness and willingness to take risks required of TF Gun Devils to defeat a smart enemy on his native terrain with maneuver and fires. Our successes in Afghanistan are a tribute to the US Army's band of excellence required in training and its emphasis on allied interoperability.

TF Gun Devils, 3-319 AFAR, is part of the 82d Airborne Division, deployed to Afghanistan for OEF VI from 2005 to 2006. 3-319 AFAR was responsible for not only all FA fires and radars in Afghanistan under the auspices of its 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) 504th PIR, 82d Division, known as TF Devil, but also for task force maneuver operations in the Kandahar...

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