Posted on 07/27/2010 8:30:56 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
OUTPOST NOLEN, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Elite U.S. special forces soldiers are relieving insurgent pressure on American outposts in the volatile Arghandab Valley with a series of night attacks on suspected Taliban hideouts.
The raids, backed by a "Spectre" C-130 gunship and Afghan commandos, began four days ago in the village of Khosrow Sofla, and followed weeks of near-daily attacks by insurgents on American bases near the town of Jelawar.
"We considered it an area of Taliban sanctuary, or at least of tacit or semi-permissive support," said U.S. Army Major Brendan Raymond, of Woodbridge, Virginia.
Last month, the U.S. military said special operations forces in Afghanistan had nearly tripled over the last year and that Afghan authorities were increasingly involved in their missions.
U.S. special forces have also set up local defense forces in Arghandab, where armed villagers are trained and mentored to protect their own villages.
The scheme is controversial, with critics saying it amounts to forming local militias separate to government forces, but U.S. commanders on the ground say it deters the flow of insurgents into their areas.
The Arghandab river valley is an important infiltration route used by the Taliban to attack U.S. forces and smuggle weapons and men a few miles east to Kandahar city.
U.S. troops are launching a series of operations in Arghandab and other districts around Kandahar in a bid to drive the insurgents out of their spiritual heartland.
The militants in Arghandab, however, are tying up a brigade of U.S. troops with mines and hit-and-run attacks launched from thick cover in ripening grape and pomegranate plantations.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
‘Bout damn time..
You can call it Spooky, You can call it Puff or You can call it Spectre.. raining lead from the sky ..
http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns/air/attack/ac130.html
sic ‘em, fang
So why not tell them the names of the operators and where they live?
The media, never failing to tell our enemies our battle plans.
Do the C130 jockeys have to take hand held rocket shots before they can open fire?
Military Channel episode about the C-130 Spectre.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H1uvmdAPoM
A Spectre mission.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-gMMQTt5-c
I loves me some Puff.
I hear ya. It shows a change in RoE at least .. hope the bodycount is up.. for the Talibunny. Puff is like sending a Hallmark card... and saying ‘Have a nice day, Radical Islamist!’
besides , we already have young service folk remotely flying the Predators and Reapers everyday, and of late letting quite a few missiles rip at a time.
Here’s to a MOAB in their future.
Hands down the BEST mission in COD:MW
BOMB EVERYTHING
And the go back and BOMB IT AGAIN!
And then go back and "bounce the rubble." The message should be loud and clear: don't mess with the US.
http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA-—Air/Lockheed-AC-130U-Hercules/0828876/L/
A 105, a 40, and Puff...
Look out below...
It is sad that the political ROE calls for specops to do a job that regular troops could easily do if their hands were not tierd. US servicemen are being killed for no good reason.
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