Operation Anaconda Essay

On 02 March 2002, Operation Anaconda launched. The primary objective was total destruction of the Taliban an al Qaeda that have bedded into the Shah-i-Kot Valley in Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border. US Special Operation Forces (SOF) had been closely monitoring for over a month that a large population of Taliban fighters where bedded in the valley. In February, the order came down to the Afghanistan ground force commander MG Hagenback to clear out the evident threat using the old “Hammer and Anvil” method. Code name ANACONDA would do just that. The US, English, and Australian military would surround the valley and constrict it until the threat was eliminated. The Afghan Military would go in like a “hammer” and drive the Taliban/al Qaeda to the US …show more content…
A small group of US SOF would fight against Taliban and Al Qaeda forces in a 17-hour intense battle atop Roberts Ridge. Eight US SOF personnel were killed atop Takur Ghar with multiple wounded in action. The eight American lives were more combat deaths than any US unit had suffered in a single day since 1993, when 18 SOF Soldiers died in the battle of Mogadishu, Somalia. In honor of Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts, the battle would be known as the battle of Roberts Ridge. In support of Anaconda, two SEAL teams MAKO 30 and MAKO 31 were to insert into the Shahi-Kot Valley and MAKO 30 would set up an Observation Point (OP) 1,300 meters east of the Takur Ghar peak. The two teams were picked up by two MH-47E Chinook helicopters, call signs Razor 03 and Razor 04 at 1134 03 March 2002. Due to one of the MH-47s having engine issues and a B-52 bombing mission the SEALs could not be inserted onto the original Landing Zone (LZ) with enough time to trek to the peak before dusk. The SEALs would have to be inserted directly onto the peak at around 0230 04 March