Special Edition Afghanistan: Through the Eyes of a Leader

<p>In May of 2009, 3rd Squadron 61st Cavalry Regiment deployed to Nuristan, Afghanistan a small eastern province bordering Pakistan. When they arrived, they occupied the most fringe outposts of Regional Command East, several of which were only accessible by helicopter, and then only during the cover of the darkest nights of each month, in order to avoid rocket propelled grenade attacks against the airframe.</p> <p> </p> <p>The squadron commander for the deployment was then-lieutenant Robert “Brad” Brown. In preparation for that deployment, he, along with then-Colonel Randy George, went on the pre-deployment site survey to better understand the terrain and complex environment of which they were only months away from assuming responsibility. During that trip, they arrived at Combat Outpost Keating, a remote outpost named for Ben Keating, who had died attempting to drive one of the lumbering resupply vehicles down the treacherous road back to the forward operating base. Standing in that base built in a valley at the base of three mountains and backed up to two rivers, both men understood that there could be no delay in closing that base for the safety of their Troopers. Anyone who visited COP Keating knew full well that it was the tactically indefensible position in which you could ever place yourself.</p> <p> </p> <p>But that wasn’t the only conundrum. COP Keating wasn’t alone. In order to close it, you would have to close the other two outposts in the surrounding area, almost simultaneously to ensure that they could provide reinforcing fires for one another. Concurrently, south of the forward operating base, one the observation posts that LTC Brown would be assuming responsibility for had recently been completely overrun by the Taliban, who attacked up a mountain as the Afghan National Army abandoned their post, forcing the remaining US Troopers to call for a broken arrow, requesting fire on their position as they were being overrun. And to complicate all of that, the going-in position of relieving the out