Not a Good Day to Die (70 page)

2.
The Mountain and Rakkasan…assets that we had.”
Wille; Bello; Hagenbeck; Bentley; two senior Army officers.

3.
Bringing air power…Air Force channels.
Bello.

4.
However, there…of the war.
Gray; Bello; Bochain; Wille.

5.
But this wasn’t…operation,” he said.
Bochain.

6.
In the absence…air support.”
Donnelly; Gray.

7.
But to Mountain…the debate.
Donnelly; Bochain; Sources in the Mountain TOC.

8.
But even…or imagery.
Bentley.

9.
But it was…haystack.”
Bello; Ziemba at Sill.

10.
When the war…missions in Anaconda.
Air Force pilot who flew missions over Afghanistan.

11.
But Louis…gave me.”
Bochain.

12.
The Air Force’s…Air Force officer said.
Air Force pilot who flew missions over Afghanistan; Mikolashek.

13.
That Anaconda…Over.”
Air Force officer; a senior Army officer said that while Renuart may not have been “asleep at the wheel,” he was “overloaded and didn’t use his staff well.”

14.
Word of…component.
Corley; Stutzriem.

15.
Donnelly acknowledged…operation,” Donnelly said.
Donnelly.

16.
Hagenbeck, Mikolashek…a deal.”
Wille.

Chapter 20

1.
There were reports…Tohir Yuldeshev.
Mikolashek; Briley.

2.
A skilled…hideouts of eastern Afghanistan.
Jihad—The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia,
by Ahmed Rashid (New York: Penguin, 2003); interview with Ahmed Rashid on National Public Radio’s
All Things Considered,
March 25, 2002, accessed at: http://gencturkler2.8m.com/MISC/ahmedrashid.html.

3.
By late…in that way.”
Mikolashek; Bello; Briley; TF 11 officer. More evidence that Yuldeshev was in the valley came after the operation. U.S. forces came across “battlefield litter” indicating that he had been there and some of the few Al Qaida prisoners taken indicated that Yuldeshev had been present. “We had pretty solid information that he was there,” the TF 11 officer said.

Chapter 21

1.
Obsessing over…back to the Shahikot.
My personal experience. The military gave journalists ridiculously contradictory advice to “pack for a high-altitude, cold-weather mission, and pack light.”

2.
U.S. forces…forces, Ziemba said.
Ziemba at Sill; Rosengard.

3.
The Rakkasan company-grade…returning to Bagram.
My observations.

Chapter 22

1.
Every few…latest discoveries.
Source present when Blaber and Spider arrived at the Mountain TOC.

2.
By now…with Dailey.
Special ops time line; special ops sources; Hagenbeck; Edwards.

3.
But in Dailey’s…commitment,” he said.
Senior Army officer.

4.
However, the perception…control setup.
Special ops sources; sources on the Mountain staff.

5.
By late February…different organizations.
CJTF Mountain slide briefing; special ops time line; McHale; Blaber; Haas.

6.
It was now…destiny.”
Special ops sources in Gardez; special ops time line.

7.
The two A-teams…into the battle.”
McHale; Haas; Thomas; Antenori….
“jinga”…
The trucks are also known as “jingle” trucks, on account of the decorative chains that rattle off their sides as they move.

8.
But if the SF officers…coffins.
Special ops source.

Chapter 23

1.
There was an eerie…plan anyway.)
My personal observations—I attended all the briefings and rehearsals mentioned; Rosengard; Wille; Gray….
confirmation brief…
According to Army doctrine, a confirmation brief is where the subordinate commanders repeat back to their commander their understanding of his intent the missions he has assigned them. In this case, the confirmation brief became something of a back brief, in which the battalion commanders went into more detail than is normal for a confirmation brief.

2.
As for engaging…infantry-on-infantry fight.”
My personal observations.

3.
Once the crowd…about,” Rosengard said.
McHale; Rosengard; another Dagger source.

4.
But the result…idea,” McHale said.
McHale; Thomas; Rosengard; Haas.

5.
Between all…Bagram and Tampa.
Bilafer, p. 8; Gray; Edwards.

6.
Some officers…important.”
Wiercinski.

7.
But others…[with fewer]?”
Mountain staff officer;
Operation Anaconda—Lessons for Joint Operations,
by Richard L. Kugler, Michael Baranick, and Hans Binnendijk, National Defense University, p. 20.

8.
Edwards, the CFLCC…number.”
Edwards.

9.
But many…issues with it.
Gray. Moseley, traveling, was called by his nighttime CAOC director Brigadier John Corley shortly after Corley was briefed on Anaconda February 23. Moseley received his first formal briefing on Anaconda February 25, five days after the CAOC was informed of the operation (source:
“Operation Anaconda: Command and Confusion in Joint Warfare,”
by Major Mark Davis, June 2004. Davis, a Special Forces officer, wrote this thesis paper while at the School of Advanced Airpower Studies at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. It is a superb effort to “peel back the onion” to get to the heart of the close air support issues during Anaconda.)

10.
The first misunderstanding…attack Serkhankhel.
My personal observations; Hagenbeck.

11.
That was not…support,” Haas said.
McHale; Haas; another TF Dagger soldier; other sources in the special ops community.

12.
But the officers…that,” he said.
Bentley; Bello; Wille; Rosengard; Haas.

13.
The final…operations” purposes
McHale; Bentley; Army Field Manual 100–106,
Information Operations.

14.
While scores…presence in Gardez.
Special ops time line; another special ops source.

15.
None of this…but ignored.
Hagenbeck; Wille; Gray; Haupt; Briley; Harrell.

Chapter 24

1.
On the morning…before D-Day.
Wiercinski; Gray; Larsen.

2.
Of all…were pros.”
Wille; Burke; other TF Mountain officers.

3.
The Australian SAS…transportation,” Bishop said.
Bishop; other special ops sources.

4.
At the Gardez…course of the operation.
Special ops time line; other special ops sources.

Chapter 25

1.
On the morning…36 hours away.
Special ops time line; Blaber; other special ops sources….
MBITR…
The acronym stands for Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio.

2.
By the evening…up the tab.”
My personal observations.

Chapter 26

1.
Shortly after…horrifying life.
Special ops time line; other special ops sources; Blaber; photographs taken from an AFO PowerPoint briefing.

2.
“The success…heart of Operation Anaconda.
Blaber; my personal observations; Bello.

3.
The SEAL snipers…mountain perch.
Special ops time line; other special ops sources; photographs taken from an AFO PowerPoint briefing….
Adidas sneakers…
An investigation based on a sales sticker found on one of the shoes revealed them to have been purchased at The Underground mall in Atlanta, Georgia.

4.
The AFO reports…to adjust.
Special ops time line; Rosengard; other special ops source; source in the Mountain headquarters; Wiercinski; Larsen; Hagenbeck.

5.
The reports from the AFO…around the civilians.
Special ops time line; other special ops sources; my observations of Rakkasan briefings.

6.
Why not?…in the Shahikot.
Special operations sources.

7.
One officer…about it.’”
Special operations source; a source in the Mountain TOC.

8.
At 12:30…present itself?
My personal observations; Quinlan….
entire 1,700-soldier task force…
This includes headquarters and support troops, as well as the 1,411 who went into the Shahikot.

9.
Late that…all concerned.
Mikolashek; another CFLCC officer.

10.
As the infantry…was gone.
Nielsen.

REACTION TO CONTACT

Chapter 1

1.
On the road…they said.
McHale; Southworth; Thomas; Haas; other special ops sources.

2.
Finally…showtime.
Special ops time line.

3.
The Americans…platoon leader.”
McHale; special ops time line; source in the special operations community.