Operation Red Wings

Operation Red Wings
Part of the War in Afghanistan
Date June 27, 2005 – mid-July 2005 Location Sawtalo Sar Mountain, Shuryek (Matin) Valley, Korangal Valley, Pech District, Kunar Province, Afghanistan Result U.S. Pyrrhic victory; Though Insurgents are later stricken to inoperability. Insurgent forces sustain heavy casualties and temporarily withdraw Insurgent forces return three weeks later and are subsequently eliminated during Operation Whalers, in August 2005.
Belligerents
United States	Local anti-coalition militants Local pro-Taliban nationals
Commanders and leaders
Lieutenant Colonel Andrew MacMannis (USMC) LCDR Erik S. Kristensen † LT Michael P. Murphy †	Ahmad Shah
Strength
12 Navy SEALs 8 Night Stalkers additional helicopter crews 2 MH-47 Chinook 2 UH-60 Black Hawk 2 AH-64D Apache helicopters	Ranging from 8–10 fighters to 70–100 depending on source
Casualties and losses
19 killed, 1 wounded, 1 Chinook helicopter shot down	Unknown, with the highest estimate 35 killed Unknown number of wounded

U.S. Pyrrhic victory; Though Insurgents are later stricken to inoperability.

Local anti-coalition militants

Unknown, with the highest estimate 35 killed

Operation Red Wings, informally referred to as Battle of Abbas Ghar (often incorrectly called "Operation Redwing" and/or "Operation Red Wing"), was a combined / joint military operation during the War in Afghanistan in the Pech District of Afghanistan's Kunar Province, on the slopes of a mountain named Sawtalo Sar, approximately 20 miles west of Kunar's provincial capital of Asadabad, in late June through mid-July 2005. Operation Red Wings was intended to disrupt local anti-Coalition Militia (ACM) activity, thus contributing to regional stability and thereby facilitating the Afghan Parliament elections scheduled for September, 2005. At the time, anti-Coalition Militia activity in the region was carried out most notably by a small group led by a local man from Nangarhar Province, Ahmad Shah, who had aspirations of regional Islamic fundamentalist prominence. He and his small group were among the primary targets of the operation.

The operation was conceived by the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment (2/3) of the U.S. Marine Corps based on an operational model developed by 2/3's sister battalion, the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment (3/3) which had preceded the 2nd Battalion in their combat deployment. It utilized special operations forces (SOF) units and assets, including members of the U.S. Navy SEALs and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (SOAR(A)), for the opening phase of the operation. A team of four Navy SEALs, tasked for surveillance and reconnaissance of a group of structures known to be used by Shah and his men, fell into an ambush by Shah and his group just hours after inserting into the area by fastrope from an MH-47 helicopter. Three of the four SEALs were killed and a quick reaction force helicopter sent in for their aid was shot down with a rocket propelled grenade fired from an RPG-7, killing all eight U.S. Navy SEALs and all eight U.S. Army Special Operations aviators on board.

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