15th MEU halts fleeing Taliban - SOC

With an engulfing flash in the night, enemy forces were snuffed out and the message was clear--U.S. Marines from the 15th marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) pushed far past their forward operating base at Camp Rhino and weren't allowing any Taliban to escape during Operation Swift Freedom December 7, 2001.

The MEU's Light Armored Reconnaissance Company (LAR) and Combined Anti-Armored Team (CAAT) emerged from the rough, desolate, desert terrain after more than 20 hours of driving from Rhino to interdict enemy traffic between the Southern cities of Kandahar and Lashkar Gah.

The mission was to cut off a major supply route, call attention to the Marines' presence, and impede those fleeing as Kandahar fell to Anti-Taliban freedom fighters. A major road, tagged Route 1, was chosen and the Marines positioned themselves to intercept Taliban running from the fierce fighting in the city.

Two platoons of HMMWVs mounted with TOW missile systems, automatic grenade launchers, and .50-caliber machine guns pushed east and west to monitor traffic exiting the two cities of interest. One watched for bad guys coming out of Kandahar to the east and the other reported those leaving Lashkar Gah.

Reports of a Sports Utility Vehicle heading from Kandahar warmed the chilly night.

Marine scouts stretched a 30-foot coil of concertina wire across the narrow, asphalt road. No more than one and a half typical American cars could fit side by side. The wire was staked into place and glowing chelights were affixed to the wire to make it visible to drivers.

The scouts pulled back a couple hundred feet from the road, and snipers sighted in their 50. caliber, custom-crafted rifles. A team from the 15th MEU(SOC) Force Reconnaissance platoon of a steep incline on the south side of the road with the intent to immediately catch the approaching SUV from behind.

Five minutes, then 10--still no vehicle. As the 15th minute ticked away, two bright, white lights came around a bend in the road. The moment of truth arrived. If the vehicle blew through the roadblock, there would be little chance of survival for the occupants of the SUV.

The driver began to slow when the illuminated blockade came into view, but he decided to attempt to run through the barrier. A distinct shriek filled the cold night air as concertina wire raked across the vehicle's hood, down its bumper and around the front axle. The wire was still staked to the ground causing the vehicle to stop after 20 feet.

Force Reconnaissance's vehicle hugged the SUV's right rear fender before it stopped. Shouts in the local language ordering hands in the sky came from the Marines.

"Our bright lights gave us a clear view inside the vehicle," a force Reconnaissance gunnery sergeant said afterward. "We could see several men inside. The ones facing us had blankets wrapped around them. They dropped the blankets. They had Ak-47s pointed at us. We opened fire and there may have been fuel in there or something because a fire started almost instantly."

The sniper, who positioned himself atop a Light Armored Vehicle a couple hundred feet away, fired two shots.

"I was aimed in on the front passenger seat because it was closest to me when Force rolled up on them," a scout sniper sergeant said. "When they opened fire the vehicle was in flames. No one had time to get out--until it was too late. I took one shot into the car and then a guy jumped out on fire with a rifle in his hand. One shot took him down."

The intense heat began igniting an obvious ammunition cache. Rounds, including rocket propelled grenades shot in every direction.

"We couldn't really tell if they were able to fire at us or if it was just all the rounds cooking off," a Force Recon staff sergeant said. "It looked like an Arnold Schwartzenager movie."

The Force Reconnaissance Marines left the massive ball of flames burning and the seven men inside on the road for all to see. The point had been made. Later the Marines learned they had been fired upon, pointing out a bullet hole in their vehicle.

Another report came over the radio as the Marines began their retrograde. The SUV just destroyed turned out to be leading a seven-vehicle convoy. All support assets were alerted.

"My biggest concern was to get all of our guys out of the areas so the jets could do their job," a captain forward air controller nicknamed "Neck" said. "The rest of the convoy saw the lead vehicle blow up and pulled off the road. They headed north for a ways and got out and disbursed on foot. After about five minutes they got back in and headed north, The planes started dropping bombs shortly after."

The ground shook and the sky glowed behind the Marines as F-14, F-16 and F-18s dropped two 1,000-pound and six 500-pound laser-guided bombs on the Taliban convoy.

"The jets scanned the area after the strikes," the controller explained. "As expected. There was notting left moving."

Estimate by American forces figured about 50 Taliban killed in a matter of a few minutes on route 1. Local Afghanis claimed with 150 bodies were taken away the next day, according to Neck. All of the American service members returned to their patrol base unscathed.

"The number of casualties inflected during this interdection isn't as significant as message it sends--the Marines are here, were ready to fight and the Taliban can't do anything about it,' a U.S. government representative said. "The word will spread fast."

The next day the Afghan forces opposing the Taliban in Kandahar claimed the city.

Over the next several nights the Marines returned to Route 1 with the intention to once again stop traffic. There wasn't anything to stop.

Sgt Joseph R. Chenelly

15th MEU(SOC)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan

COPYRIGHT 2002 U.S. Marine Corp.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group