I have consistently supported Gen. McChrystal's decision to tighten the rules of engagement in Afghanistan to try to limit collateral damage and safeguard the population. It is a necessary step if we are to win hearts and minds. But Houston, we have a problem. There are allowances in these for troops in contact and they explicitly state that if other methods to break contact are not effective, then even civilian buildings can be hit with air strikes. There is a case where a Marine team in the Ganjgal Valley came under fire and when they called for fire support, it was denied, even though they repeatedly stated there were no civilians in jeopardy. Even worse, the requests were about to be granted and were over-ruled by higher HQ. Nearly two hours after the initial call for help, helicopter air support arrived — but not before the unit took heavy casualties. The delay occurred because Army officers back at the tactical operations center refused to send help and failed to notify higher commands that they had troops in trouble. In the end, three Marines, a Navy corpsman and a soldier were dead, along with eight Afghan troops and an interpreter.... a battalion NCO overseeing artillery requests “took action to provide immediate support to the units in the Ganjgal valley early in the engagement.” An Air Force joint terminal attack controller also acted swiftly to support the requests, but both “were overruled by higher echelons,” The ROE did not cause these deaths, a failure of command and leadership did. It's time for Gen. McChrystal to make a clarification about the ROE and ensure that every officer in his command understands that they are charged with following them. When our troops are pinned down and need fire support it is their job to provide it, and if they don't then they should be relieved. As it stands the investigation recommends only letters of reprimand for these failures. That is not good enough. Whoever called off the fire missions should be relieved and at best looking for work. Do the right thing General.
Read the complete post at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Blackfive/~3/RmVcoyWL5xc/report-says-fire-support-denied-to-marine-team.html
Posted
Mar 07 2010, 09:28 AM
by
BLACKFIVE