U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Kevin T. Smalley, AV-8B Harrier pilot, Marine Attack Squadron 211, Marine Aircraft Group 13, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), launches at Camp Bastion, Helmand province, Afghanistan Sept. 1, 2012. VMA-211 lost six of its Harriers destroyed and two damaged in a Taliban attack on Camp Bastion. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Keonaona C. Paulo
Or was it a case of the corrupt military establishment and the corporate generals in charge at NATO conspiring with the Taliban to drive what forces we have left out of the fight on the front lines? This is occurring just as we scale down our strike force for the winter "lull in the fighting".
I am posting this now, as I have noticed that neither the MSM or most of the sites that I visit have paid much notice to this incursion. This just happened post 9/11/2012; and after the disasterous Libyan Benghazigate affair
Defense Media Network...
Late on Friday, Sept. 14, 2012, a Taliban insurgent force of sappers attacked the NATO ISAF base, Camp Bastion, in Afghanistan, resulting in the worst loss of U.S. airpower in a single incident since the Vietnam War.
Two Marines, including VMA-211’s commanding officer, were killed in the attack, and nine other personnel (eight military and one contractor, reportedly) were wounded.
By the time the base was secured roughly five hours later, six U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) AV-8B+ Harrier “jump jets” had been destroyed, and two more “significantly” damaged.
In addition, three refueling points were destroyed, and six “soft-skinned” aircraft hangers were damaged to some degree. As a result of this attack, the air strength of Marine Attack Squadron 211 (VMA-211 – “The Avengers”) presumably 10 aircraft, was almost completely destroyed.
Camp Bastion is a British-run ISAF base in Helmand Providence northwest of Lashkar Gah, built adjacent to Camp Leatherneck (the primary USMC base in the area) and Camp Shorabak (run by the Afghan National Army).
Equipped with a 3,500-meter (11,482 foot) runway and servicing up to 28,000 personnel, it is the largest British base in Afghanistan. One of them, on Sept. 14, was an AH-64 Apache crewman named Capt.“Wales,” otherwise known as Harry, Prince of Wales.
Along with the British Apaches and other U.K. aircraft, Camp Bastion also provides basing for USMC aviation units, including VMA-211, the only Harrier squadron then in Afghanistan.
The attack on Camp Bastion began at around 10:00 PM local time, when about 20 Taliban fighters approached the perimeter, disguised in U.S. battle dress uniforms. One of the Taliban used his explosive suicide vest to blow a hole in the perimeter fence, which reportedly allowed three five-man sapper squads into the secured areas of the base. Armed with AK-47s, RPG-7s and explosive suicide vests, the Taliban fighters flooded into the U.S. area known as Camp Barber...
Read More Here...Good Source
3 comments:
You're right, I hadn't heard a word about this.
i can't see my way clear to blame this on obama, no matter how much i dislike him.
i also have a hard time believing that the limies had an active part in what many think was an attempt to take out one of the most popular royals.
i think this was simple complacency or ineptitude, that we need look no further than the officer of the day and sergeant of the guard.
special orders should have existed for those on guard duty in regards to any patrols which may have been returning to post, or any work details outside of the wire.
patrols are most often in radio contact with the post/base and report their return to base. this occurs at a predesignated spot of the perimeter. this helps to cut down on friendly fire incidents. anyone who approaches the wire that does not fit into these boxes is in serious danger of getting a really bad case of lead poisoning.
we know this did not happen as the tangos blew a hole, then came in fucking things up.
what we don't know is if the perimeter security was outsourced to afghan nationals, if they were complicit, or if those on guard duty (AMERICAN or english) had live ammo at the time of the attack, so they could repulse it.
Thanks Odie...and Jay Son. Your analysis is much appreciated. You are correct...laying the blame, technically, at the feet of the administration is a stretch. Something stinks here however. Heads should roll.
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