Kamdesh Battle Analysis

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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Battle of Kamdesh and provide an alternate outcome based on the utilization of intelligence and intelligence assets. Many battles could have had a different outcome if they would trust intelligence reports without needing to validate the intelligence with another source or simply have other intelligence assets available. The Battle of Kamdesh was certainly one of those battles. The battle started just before 0600 on October 3, 2009 on Combat Outpost (COP) Keating and nearby Observation Post (OP) Fritsche in the Kamdesh district of Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. About 70 Soldiers of Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, along with 30 Afghan National Army Soldiers (ANA), fought an enemy force of about 300 Anti-Afghan Forces (AAF) fighters. (Nordland, 2010) The battle took place in the Consolidation II portion of the Operation Enduring Freedom Campaign in Afghanistan. The AAF likely …show more content…

COP in Kamdesh. The intelligence reports ranged from a new AAF sub-commander charged with leading an attack on COP Keating to the AAF having a meeting about conducting attacks against coalition forces soon. Those reports were among many human-source reports that were not verified by other intelligence assets so they were not taken as seriously as they could have been. (Tan, 2013) On several occasions, intelligence reports in advance of an attack indicated there was a large enemy force that would strike, but the attack that followed generally consisted of a few number of fighters who used indirect and small arms fire for an engagement that averaged five to ten minutes in duration. (Roggio, 2010) Intelligence assessments were desensitized to reports of a large-scale AAF attack by previous reports that had proved false, and needed force protection improvements were not made because of the imminent closure of the COP. (Nordland,

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