Afghanistan: When the Moon Sets, Watch Out (Michael Yon)

Michael Yon Online ^ | 18 September 2012 | Michael Yon

[neverdem]

Last Friday night, the moon phase left Afghanistan in near total darkness. Even with clear skies, the enemy knew that at the brightest moment, the moon would only appear as an irrelevant orange sliver. Such times are called “red illumination,” or “red illum.” Planning calendars in Afghanistan highlight periods of red illum because they hamper aviation.

Even though this is the year 2012, and the Curiosity Rover is beaming images from Mars more than four decades after astronauts first trod on the lunar surface, the moon phase remains important when planning operations. The moment that the nighttime attack on Camp Bastion was reported, the moon phase could have been safely guessed without looking up.

In every respect, Southern Afghanistan is a dark part of the world. Without moonlight, most villages are black at night. The brightest places in the country are our bases. Cultural lights present little danger to Taliban moving at night. Our air assets, including our aerostat balloons, are often their biggest concern.

This war is mature. The enemy knows us, and we know them. After 11 years, the Taliban realizes that most helicopter traffic ceases during red illum. Most birds will only fly for urgent MEDEVAC, or for special operations. The enemy closely observes our air traffic. Operations slow under red illum, so air traffic declines, and the chances of being spotted by roving aircraft are reduced.

There is a misconception that UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) such as Predators can detect everything. They cannot. Their field of vision is like looking through a toilet paper roll. The UAVs are great for specific targets, such as watching a house, but imagine patrolling. It is like trying to visually swat mosquitoes using no ears, no sense of touch, and only the ability to look through a toilet paper roll...

[Kenny Bunk]

It is somewhat perplexing that an attack in force against a fortified compound would go completely unnoticed until too late.

Motion detectors, Microphones, NVG on sentries. Dogs, Barbed wire, Inner wire, Outer Wire, Dead Zone, Mines, Radar, Watchtowers, Guard Patrol, WTF? Over. I get the creepy feeling that this attack would have been spotted and dealt with summarily in WWI.

Am I nuts or is this "Apaches sneaking up on the fort" stuff? What, exactly, TF happened here? Officers and men killed. 8 Harriers destroyed. Some heads ought to roll here.

[Kenny Bunk]

Please don’t tell me they couldn’t put out mines.

That was also among my first questions. However, the author of the posted article is trying to tell us that our ROE have responded to NGO political pressures and that non-metallic mines are not to be used. Political correctness will kill us all.

I must confess I do not understand how the enemy achieved surprise at a fenced and fortified base.

[eartick]

It will probably discovered unexpectedly (crazy word) that this was allowed to happend from within by “friendly” Afghan trainies.

We already know they were wearing GI uniforms.

[eartick]

Not only Odinga’s ROE, Panetta and Dempsey should be marched out in chains along with him in front of a tribunal, convicted of sacrificing the lives of our young men and women and summarily executed. Odinga enjoys seeing Americans die.

Our boots spend more time watching their backs against these goat humpers they are training than the enemy they are supposed to be hunting and doing this sometimes without proper protection.

I say to hell with the ROEs, pull our boys and girls out now and EXPEND ALL ORDINANCE IN THEATER WHEN EXITING.......... ON ANY TARGET.

[BwanaNdege]

Thanks!

This old dog learns new terminology.

Just before I got out of the Corps my squadron received two sets of night vision goggles to test. I never flew with them. Looks like ‘red illum’ is a term that came into usage since then. Cockpit lighting is, of course, red. I never heard of low level nighttime outdoor ambient light being called ‘red illum’

Back in my day, in the words of our Night Tactics Instructor, Capt. Ollie North, (a bit of gratuitous name-dropping there), “Nighttime is characterized by periods of DARKNESS!”