HQ$History - United States Special Operations Command

Objective Rhino, a desert landing strip
southwest of Kandahar, was divided into four
objectives, TIN, IRON, COPPER, and COBALT
(a walled compound). Before the Rangers parachuted
in, B-2 Stealth bombers dropped 2,000-
pound bombs on Objective TIN. Then, AC-130
gunships fired on buildings and guard towers
within Objective COBALT, and identified no targets
in Objective IRON. The gunships placed
heavy fire on Objective TIN, reporting 11 enemy
KIAs and 9 “squirters.”
After the pre-assault fires, four MC-130s
dropped 199 Army Rangers, from 800 feet and
under zero illumination, onto Objective RHINO.
A Company(-), 3rd Battalion, 75th Rangers, with
an attached sniper team, assaulted Objective
TIN. They next cleared Objective IRON and
established blocking positions to repel counterattacks.
C Company assaulted Objective
COBALT, with PSYOP loudspeaker teams
broadcasting messages encouraging the enemy
to surrender. The compound was unoccupied.
A Combat Talon landed 14 minutes after
clearing operations began, and six minutes later,
a flight of helicopters landed at the RHINO forward
arming and refueling point (FARP). Air
Force Special Tactics Squadron (STS) personnel
also surveyed the desert landing strip, and overhead
AC-130s fired upon enemy reinforcements.
After more than five hours on the ground, the
Rangers boarded MC-130s and departed, leaving
behind PSYOP leaflets.
Objective GECKO was the compound belonging
to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.
SOF’s mission was to disrupt Taliban leadership
and AQ communications, gather intelligence,
and detain select personnel. AC-130s and MH-
60s delivered pre-assault fires on the objective.
Four MH-47s infiltrated 91 SOF troopers onto
the compound. Security positions were established,
and the buildings on the objective were
cleared. While the ground forces were clearing
the buildings, the MH-60s provided CAS, and
the MH-47s loitered waiting to pick up the force.
The ground force spent one hour on the objective.
While Objectives RHINO and GECKO were
being assaulted, four MH-60K helicopters
inserted 26 Rangers and two STS at a desert air
strip, to establish a support site for contingency
operations. One MH-60K crashed while landing
94
in “brown-out” conditions, killing two Rangers
and injuring others.
Securing Kabul and northeastern
Afghanistan
On 19 October, TF DAGGER also infiltrated
a second detachment, ODA 555, into northeastern
Afghanistan to contact the Northern
Alliance forces dug in on the Shomali Plains,
where they controlled an old Soviet airbase at
Bagram. The Special Forces team met with warlords
General Fahim Khan and General
Bismullah Khan on 21 October at Bagram
Airfield (BAF) to establish a plan to retake the
Shomali Plains between Bagram and Kabul.
Upon surveying the airfield, the detachment discovered
that the air traffic control tower was an
ideal position for an OP. The control tower provided
observation of Taliban forces across the
plains, and ODA 555 began calling in air strikes.
The calls for fire lasted through mid-November,
and “Triple Nickel” was assisted by ODA 594,
which inserted on 8 November.
The bombings so weakened the Taliban and
its defenses that the Afghan Generals decided to
attack south, well ahead of schedule. When the
NA soldiers attacked on 13 November, the
enemy defenses crumbled, and on the next day,
to the surprise of the world press, General
Fahim Khan’s ground forces liberated Kabul
without incident. The Taliban and AQ forces
had fled in disarray toward Kandahar in the
south and into the sanctuary of the Tora Bora
Mountains to the east near Jalalabad.
While prosecuting the fight for Mazar-e
Sharif and the Shomali Plains, TF DAGGER
simultaneously focused on the central northern
area around Taloqan-Konduz, to the east of
Mazar-e Sharif. ODA 585 had infiltrated into
the area on 23 October to support Burillah
Khan. On 8 November, ODA 586 inserted and
moved quickly to link up with General Daoud
Khan, a warlord who had gained fame fighting
the Soviet invaders. By 11 November, SF soldiers
had established OPs overlooking the defensive
positions around Taloqan and were prepared
to call in CAS. Daoud launched his offensive
that day, and by midnight Taloqan had fallen,
a major victory for the NA. Daoud and his
SF began moving west toward the city of
Konduz.