Kajaki

Last U.S. Marine tank unit heading home from Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on September 5, 2013 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, Musa Qala, Sangin

The Marine Corps made national headlines in fall 2010 when it sent tanks to northern Helmand province to bolster firepower there. It was a first for the U.S. in the war, which was nine years old at the time. Nearly three years later, the tanks are coming home. Delta Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., will redeploy to the U.S. soon, and will not be replaced by a similar unit, said 1st Lt. Philip Kulczewski, a Marine spokesman in Afghanistan. It’s one of the most tangible indications recently that that the U.S. drawdown in forces in Afghanistan…

Marines watch fighting as summer arrives in Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on May 24, 2013 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, Marines, Sangin

The start of the 12th fighting season for U.S. forces in Afghanistan has meant continued transition for Marines in Helmand province — including mostly standing by as the Taliban launches attacks in the region. A large number of Taliban insurgents, along with foreign fighters, tried to overrun Sangin district this week, prompting a two-day engagement with Afghan National Security Forces, military officials said. The fight was outlined by a Wall Street Journal reporter in Afghanistan this week, launching it into the limelight. In past years — even last year — Marines would have been in the middle of the fracas.…

Afghanistan Special Inspector General delivers mixed report

By Dan Lamothe on January 30, 2013 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki

The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction released a mixed report to Congress today, highlighting gains in security in some regions while pointing out lagging, expensive development projects. The quarterly report, posted here, outlines some positives in Helmand province, where thousands of Marines remain deployed. Here’s the security outlook as SIGAR sees it: The Afghan government’s authority in Helmand remained relatively stable this quarter, according to State. With solid connections established between the provincial capital and district centers in central and southern Helmand, local officials are able to operate effectively. In these areas, Afghan government officials are able to provide…

Attacks in Afghanistan: Here are the statistics for RC-Southwest

By Dan Lamothe on January 23, 2013 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, Marjah, Musa Qala, Sangin

As you may have seen today in this story, Marine officials in Afghanistan released to me statistics outlining enemy-initiated attacks. The numbers compared 2011 and 2012 by district, shedding light on an interesting period of transition in southwestern Afghanistan. My story on the subject is posted here. We’ve also posted the whole slide that I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) released, so you can check out the details yourself. Among the details that stuck out for me: Sangin Lt. Col. David Bradney, head of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, told me in an interview in October that his Marines had “punched them…

Afghanistan mission for 2/7 Marines evolves

By Dan Lamothe on January 22, 2013 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, Musa Qala, Sangin

If you’re curious what a U.S. drawdown in Afghanistan looks like, search no farther than northern Helmand province. The region was once the site of massive fighting that killed dozens of Marines in Sangin district alone in fall 2010. Musa Qala, Kajaki and Now Zad districts also have seen their fair share of violence and casualties. Since spending a fair share of the fall in Helmand, the battalion in northern Helmand rotated. Second Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., replaced its sister unit, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines. Lt. Col. Donald Tomich discussed the battalion’s deployment with me recently,…

Kajaki Dam project reportedly on the horizon in Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on January 7, 2013 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, Sangin

Ten years after the war in Afghanistan began, thousands of Marines pushed northeast from Sangin district up Route 611 in Helmand province in 2011 during Operation Eastern Storm. They tangled with the Taliban in a variety of areas of volatile Kajaki district that had rarely been touched by coalition forces, and engaged in a number of ugly fights along the way. That operation marked one of the last major offensives for the Marines in Afghanistan. As we reported while embedded last spring here, here and here, Marine officers transition within months of that operation to turning Kajaki over to Afghan…

Helmand districts still Afghanistan’s most violent: report

By Dan Lamothe on December 10, 2012 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, Sangin

The more things change, the more they remain the same. Nearly five years after Marines first kicked in the door in Helmand province, the area remains one Afghanistan’s most violent, according to a new Defense Department report released Monday. In fact, Helmand is home to Afghanistan’s most violent district — Nahr-e Saraj — and eight of the 10 most violent districts overall. Those details are outlined in a Pentagon publication released for Congress. Nahr-e Saraj was the site of 10 percent of all enemy initiated attacks in Afghanistan from April to October of this year despite being home to less…

Commandant touts Marines’ collaboration with special operators

By Dan Lamothe on November 8, 2012 Afghanistan, Commandant, Kajaki, MARSOC, Sangin, Special operations

Commandant Gen. Jim Amos highlighted the relationship between his conventional forces and the U.S. special operations community Thursday, saying their collaboration in Afghanistan is “better than it ever has been.” Special operators from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Corps all operate in Helmand province, where tens of thousands of Marines have deployed in recent years. In particular, Amos said forces with U.S. Special Operations Command can be found across Sangin and Kajaki, violent districts where Marines have engaged in heavy combat. Those special operators get a variety of support from conventional Marine forces, especially with aviation, Amos said. “They’re…

Marine tanks, special operators raid northern Helmand

By Dan Lamothe on November 7, 2012 Afghanistan, Infantry, Kajaki, Musa Qala, Trek Nawa, Vehicles, Weapons

The Marine Corps may have drawn down its forces in Afghanistan to less than 7,000 personnel this year, but they continue to run daring operations with the elite troops they have left. One of the latest examples is Operation Helmand Viper, a muscular effort to strike Taliban fighters in Zamindawar, a violent region between Musa Qala and Kajaki districts that we’ve covered several times on Battle Rattle this year. As this new Marine Corps news release points out, tanks with Bravo Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., rolled in support of special operators Oct. 19 to 27,…

Marine commander: We ‘punched them in the throat’ in Sangin

By Dan Lamothe on October 3, 2012 Afghanistan, Camp Leatherneck, Embedded journalism, Infantry, Kajaki, Musa Qala, Sangin

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Good evening, friends. We’re still aboard this forward operating base, conducting interviews for several stories in forthcoming issues of Marine Corps Times. In the meantime, I wanted to share a meeting I had today with the top brass in 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif. The unit is on its way back to the U.S. following a grueling seven-month deployment in volatile northern Helmand province. Its Marines were based primarily in Sangin at first, and then gradually spread through Kajaki, Musa Qala and Now Zad districts as the drawdown in forces across Afghanistan…

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