Thread: Into the Valley of Death

More on the Korengal Valley here: Political Maneuver in COIN

A superb Afghanistan Blog here, Ghosts of Alexander-

People of the Korengal

...and a remarkable photo-

Most of Kunar and Nuristan have remained so isolated as to be largely ambivalent about the nat'l gov't. Not so in the Korengal, where the illegal lumber industry takes a back seat to nothing and nobody. THAT alone is sufficient to harness the historically famous prickly regional personality against Kabul as was indicated in Elizabeth Rubin's articles. Naturally, with everything else happening, lumber's just the tip of the iceberg.

I hadn't read the Vanity Fair article article before, but just came across it and realized that my first PSG's son was killed, with his father serving as the CSM for the brigade. The boy was 8 years old when I last saw him.

Battle Company took its first casualty within days, a 19-year-old private named Timothy Vimoto. Vimoto, the son of the brigade’s command sergeant major, was killed by the first volley from a Taliban machine gun positioned around half a mile away. He may well not have even heard the shots.

Army Ranger Brings Slain Son Back For SJ Burial - News Story - KNTV | San Francisco
Son Killed In Afghanistan - Videos - KNTV

"...and realized that my first PSG's son was killed, with his father serving as the CSM for the brigade."

Deep condolences, Shek. Sad and terribly ironic.

God Bless

Present Arms

The Korengal continues being a very, very tough battlefield. A.R.'s 1-26 Inf. have been very heavily engaged since arriving.

Two recent ambushes, one by our guys and one by the taliban are covered in two separate stories from the NYT, who've done a GREAT job in this area but throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This is a very private and personal war. We know the faces of the locals and they know us...and hate us too.

In the first, we catch at least thirteen at a trail intersection up on a ridge-line at night. The second story will tell you that a village elder later accused this platoon of killing a group of men out looking for a little girl-armed, in column, at 6,000ft. on a ridge-line.

Sure...

Turning Tables, U.S. Troops Ambush Talilban With Lethal Results-NYT

Followed by a taliban attack on the same platoon

A Blast, An Ambush, And A Sprint Out Of A Taliban Kill-Zone-NYT

God Bless Pvt. Dewater (present arms!).

, RIP the fallen .

How lucky is this guy




The mother of a soldier who came within millimetres of losing his life in Afghanistan has spoken of her shock at his escape … Private Leon "Willy" Wilson was proclaimed the luckiest soldier in the British Army when a bullet tore through his helmet and narrowly missed his head.

Jennifer Hughes said: "He rang me and said 'I'm OK mum but I've been shot through the head' - I was in a state of shock that he had come so close."

Mrs Hughes, of Knutsford, Cheshire, said: "I'm grateful he's alive and yes, I'd like him home but it's what he does and we all know what they go out there for. I'm very proud of what he does. I wouldn't have it any other way, it's what he's always wanted to do, ever since he was a little boy."

Pte Wilson, 32, said he was left without a mark after the round tore through his helmet and missed his head by an estimated two millimetres. The Territorial Army soldier, on attachment with 2nd Battalion of the Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters), was knocked flat on his back by the impact of the shot.

Pte Wilson had been manning a machine gun during a fierce battle with the Taliban in Helmand Province on April 10 when he was hit by the 7.62mm AK47 bullet, said the Ministry of Defence.

The father of three from Manchester said: "I took my finger off the trigger when the shot hit my helmet. I was knocked clean off my position and landed on my back. I had my eyes shut."

He asked another private next to him if he had been shot. "He was just staring at me in amazement and swearing and said 'yes'," Pte Wilson said. "The medic was looking queasy - I don't think anyone wanted to take my helmet off."

The soldier, who is a self-employed electrician when not on active duty and has two daughters and a son under the age of 10, was back in the thick of the fighting within an hour after finding a new helmet. and is continuing his duties in Afghanistan.

His commander, Captain Rob Agnew, dubbed his the "luckiest Private" and added: "Willy's a good lad - and a good soldier."

That's odd. The bullet, yeah, but it seems those guys were just down-range last year and went home...

...and are back. They got whacked hard in this story, one of the most intense descriptions of small-unit infantry combat I'd read and the first time I'd heard of Garmsir.

The linked story is less than a year old. I'm stunned.

The young man was lucky. God bless em' all.

Originally Posted by S-2

That's odd. The bullet, yeah, but it seems those guys were just down-range last year and went home...

...and are back. They got whacked hard in this story, one of the most intense descriptions of small-unit infantry combat I'd read and the first time I'd heard of Garmsir.

The linked story is less than a year old. I'm stunned.

The young man was lucky. God bless em' all.

This is their third tour of Afghanistan in four years.

Originally Posted by Shiny Capstar

This is their third tour of Afghanistan in four years.

Are they not terriers S/C , if so bloody well done , terriers for people who dont understand the term is , Terratorial Army ,, Weekend soldiers we used to call them , but not any more , they have earned the greatest of respect for a job well done , well ,by me anyway , the nation should be proud , but what happens here is the home grown terrorists try to kill them ,one of which was from Birmingham whose DNA was left on bomb making equipment .




BASTARDS ,just like them who tried to disrupt a home coming parade

Originally Posted by tankie

Are they not terriers S/C , if so bloody well done , terriers for people who dont understand the term is , Terratorial Army ,, Weekend soldiers we used to call them , but not any more , they have earned the greatest of respect for a job well done , well ,by me anyway , the nation should be proud , but what happens here is the home grown terrorists try to kill them ,one of which was from Birmingham whose DNA was left on bomb making equipment .




BASTARDS ,just like them who tried to disrupt a home coming parade

They are regulars, although troops from the 4th Battalion (the Regiment's TA Battalion) often join them for deployment.

Originally Posted by Shiny Capstar

They are regulars, although troops from the 4th Battalion (the Regiment's TA Battalion) often join them for deployment.

Thats why i was confused as the story said he was a terrier ? and good luck in your new challenge .