Operation Enduring Freedom

Operation Enduring Freedom began on 07 October 2001, four weeks after the 11 September attacks on America. Early combat operations included a mix of air strikes from land-based B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers; carrier-based F-14 and F/A-18 fighters; and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from both U.S. and British ships and submarines.

The first US troops on the ground in Afghanistan were Special Operation Forces who were sent in to engage in one of their specialties: unconventional warfare tactics alongside opposition forces; in this case, anti-Taliban groups. Though details about these covert operations initially were not made public, it didn’t take long for images of horse-mounted soldiers riding with Northern Alliance troops to hit the airwaves.

On Nov. 9 Mazar-e-sharif became the first Afghan city to be released from the Taliban’s grip. In succeeding days, Taloqan, Herat and Shindand were liberated, followed by Kabul--Afghanistan’s capital city on Nov. 13--and Jalalabad on Nov 14.

These victories were credited to coordination among Northern Alliance commanders and Special Forces liaison teams, Coalition air attacks, the rejection by Afghan citizens of Taliban control, and, in some areas, Taliban forces defecting to the opposition to prevent their own destruction.

It wasn’t long after the Northern Alliance’s compounded victories in the north that war planners called on the first conventional forces, U.S. Marines of Task Force 58, to join the fight. On Nov. 25 they seized Objective Rhino, a desert airstrip south of Qandahar, and established a forward operating base (FOB). In addition to establishing the base, a U.S. Marine Corps presence would help “pressure the Taliban forces in Afghanistan,” and “prevent Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists from moving freely about the country,” Rumsfeld said.

During the remaining days of November, Konduz, the last Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan fell to opposition forces, and Bagram Airfield near Kabul became a forward operating base.

December was just as active: On Dec. 4 the first U.S. Army units deployed to Mazar-e-sharif, and on Dec. 7, Qandahar, the last major Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan surrendered to forces under the command of Hamid Karzai. Marines of Task Force 58 secured Qandahar Airport on Dec. 13.

By mid-month, many of the enemy had been reduced to “pockets” and “pools” of resistance; some hiding in caves, others on the run. Areas of strong enemy resistance in eastern Afghanistan, most notably Tora Bora and Zawar Kili, kept Coalition and opposition forces busy for the remainder of the month.

In one bombing raid at Tora Bora, a plume of smoke was reported to have covered an area of two kilometers after a cave complex filled with enemy munitions was struck.

Through the course of the operation, more than 100 "Sensitive Site" exploitations had been conducted, seeking evidence of Al Qaida/Taliban or weapons of mass destruction. As forces had attacked "Caves and Tunnels" to deny the enemy safe harbor, "Radio Broadcast and Leaflet Programs" had effectively informed the population of US goals and encouraged enemy forces to surrender.

Hamid Karzai was sworn in as the prime minister of the Afghan interim government on Dec. 22, and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was established to assist with security in Kabul. By Jan. 3, the ISAF consisted of 4,500 international troops under the command of British Major Gen. John McColl.

In January 2002, as Coalition aircraft bombed an Al Qaeda complex at Zawar Kili, the number of Taliban and Al Qaeda detainees under U.S. control continued to increase. On Jan. 10, the first group of these detainees was flown from Qandahar Airport to Guantanamo, Cuba, where a facility known as Camp X-ray had been prepared to house the detainees. Minutes prior to the first plane’s departure, the airfield received small arms fire. The Marines returned fire and launched a quick reaction force to investigate the shot.

The Marines of Task Force 58 at Qandahar were relieved Jan. 29 in place by elements of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), which became known as Task Force Rakkasan (Japanese for “parachute”). Four weeks later at the airport, on Feb. 28, a United Nations’ C-130 transloaded 16 metric tons of humanitarian assistance material to UN vehicles, marking the first UN humanitarian assistance cargo flights into Afghanistan.

The next day, Coalition forces from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany and Norway joined U.S. troops in Operation Anaconda, one of the most visible and deadliest operations of the war up to that point. The operation was designed to assault enemy forces in southeastern Afghanistan. When Anaconda concluded, a total of eight American servicemen had been killed and 82 wounded in action.

In mid-May, Gen. Franks established Combined Joint Task Force-180 to provide an on-scene command-and-control structure in Afghanistan. The 18th Airborne Corps commander, Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeill, was appointed as CJTF-180’s first commander. He assumed responsibilities for the majority of the forces operating in Afghanistan.

This page sponsored by:
OEF Loans .com
Specializing in military loans for
Operation Enduring Freedom Veterans