Operation Tar Heels

Operation Tar Heels was a military operation launched by US Marines in Laghman Province of eastern Afghanistan. Patrols of around 30 men were ambushed in several places, but the Taliban ambushers were driven back. The US, however, lost team leader Nicholas Kirven in the meantime. Otherwise, the operation to patrol Laghman Province was successful.

Background

Hours before the ambush of the Marines, they had set out on a rainy morning in a convoy in Laghman Province. It was May 8, 2005, the third day of a week-Long Patrol called Operation Tar Heels. The platoon of 30 men, commanded by Marine Lieutenant Samuel Monte, had driven as far as it could before the road ended, so the marines dismounted and walked along a valley that trail that led to several remote villages. The men had left behind their bulky flak vests at their patrol base and wore only their SAPI plates-two-inch-thick bulletproof plates that fit in a vest-so they would have a lighter load when hiking in the mountains. Without full body armor, they could move faster in case they came in contact with the Taliban, who didn't wear any body armor. The goal of the operation was to meet with tribal leaders to find out what supplies they needed, like medical kits or veterinary visits. However, the marines were hoping to obtain information AbOUT the [...] lords and militiants who were freely operating and living in the area.

Battle of Shatagal

At the third village visited by the marines, it was here where the marines learned that they were being targeted for an ambush (an interpreter found out over the radio that the Arabs had located "thirty Americans. They will not get out alive. In a marine action called a "movement contact", the Americans went looking for the militiants. Soon after, the marines via an interpreter found out that they would be ambushed on their way out of the village. Monte had his men stop and form defensive positions in the valley, bordered by two ridges and a river. Then, the marines spotted 12 insurgents crossing the river. After being shot at, they scattered into a large draw (a natural depression into which water drains) before hiding in caves and rock outcroppings. After two A10 Warthogs pummeled the insurgents, from a cave came bullets that mortally wounded team leader Nicholas Kirven and corporal Richard Schoener. Then, team leader Jason Valencia cleared out the cave in which the killer of Kirven and Schoener was in. Another message was decoded by the interpreter, who found out that 30 more ambushers were coming. With the use of AC130 attack helicopters, fourteen more charging militiants were wiped out. By now, it was nighttime of May 8 and another 15 insurgents were killed. Thoguh what was supposed to be a six-hour patrol turned out to be a 22-hour firefight, the ambushers were neutralized.

Aftermath

On February 1, 2006, the hard-fighting Sergeant Stephen Boada was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery in battle. He also received a Purple Heart for being wounded in the battle. So did Nicholas "Nick" Kirven and Richard "Rick" Schoener, who died after the battle in the same hospital that treated Boada.