A Battlefield Tourist

US Pulls Out of Wanat; Base in Nuristan Not First to be Nearly Overrun

Jul 16 at 11:11am by David Tate

Leaving behind a handful of weapons for the Afghan security forces, paratroopers with Chosen Company, 2/503 have withdrawn from the area of Want, Nuristan Province, as they prepare to leave the country for a planned rotation.

As the Americans pulled out, Afghan forces withdrew to Kunar Province allowing militant fighters to move back into a town that will go down in history as one of the deadliest for US troops in this central Asian country.

Military officials say the move does not mean security will be abandoned in Wanat, noting that Afghan forces will continue to operate in the region as will coalition air missions.  An Afghan operation in the area July 15 killed seven militants.

Chosen Nearly Overrun in August

The attack in Wanat (Want) has taken the American public by surprise, mostly because of the casualties involved.  However, direct attacks on small coalition outposts do occasionally occur in Afghanistan, but earn little true success.  For Chosen Company, 2/503, the attack in Want is eerily similar to an attack one of the unit’s platoons faced in 2007.

On August 22, 25 members of Chosen Company, 2/503 were manning an isolated outpost near Aranus, Waygol district, Nuristan when a large force of Taliban attacked from multiple sides.  As the attack began, Afghan security contractors abandoned their posts which allowed about 20 militants to breach the outpost walls.  Over the next three hours, the paratroopers fought for their lives using small arms, claymore mines and close air support from A-10s buzzing overhead.  In the end, 11 of 25 soldiers were wounded; none had been killed.

What Next For Nuristan?

In July, Nuristan has been the focus of a major assault by confederated militant forces, many of whom have recently crossed the Pakistani/Afghan border near Chitral.  No updates are coming out of that region, called Bargi Matal, which lies north of Waygol.  There, civilians and police forces have been battling up to 500 militants in that district for the past week.

With US forces pulling out of the Wanat region, and having already closed a base near Aranus, it looks as though the soldiers replacing 2/503 (Third Brigade, First Infantry Division) have their work cut out for them.  With winter making ground transportation in the area almost impossible, there’s a question whether the new units rotating into the area will be able to re-establish a reasonable presence in eastern and central Nuristan before the weather turns bad.

Perhaps with the the extension of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, we’ll soon see the arrival of Marines in an offensive role in Nuristan, with Army units stabilizing the area and preventing the militants from establishing a winter home within the province’s valleys?

Regardless, whether this year or next year, I can see no way the US military will just concede half of Nuristan to the militants, particularly a village that is covered withso much American blood.  The fighting here has really just begun.