Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government to officially describe the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush articulated in his 20 September address to a Joint Session of Congress and his 7 October address to the country, announced that airstrikes targeting Al-Qaeda and the Taliban had begun in Afghanistan and included the destruction of terrorist training camps and infrastructure within Afghanistan, the capture of al-Qaeda leaders, and the cessation of terrorist activities in Afghanistan.
September 11 Attacks
On the morning of 11 September 2001, a total of 19 Arab Muslim men—15 of whom were from Saudi Arabia—carried out four coordinated attacks in the United States. Four commercial passenger jet airliners were hijacked. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and more than 2,000 people in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours from damage related to the crashes, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, in rural Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C., to target the White House, or the US Capitol. No one aboard the flights survived. The death toll among responders including firefighters and police was 836 as of 2009. Total deaths were 2,996, including the 19 hijackers.
War on Terrorism
Initial deployments (2001-2003)
Following the 11 September 2001 attacks, elements of the division, including its special troops battalion and 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment (1-87th) infantry deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001. The division headquarters arrived at Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, under Major General Franklin L. Hagenbeck, on 12 December 2001 to function as the Combined Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) (Forward). This command served as the representative for Lieutenant General Paul T. Mikolashek, the Third US Army/CFLCC commanding general (CG) in the theater of operations. As such, Hagenbeck’s headquarters was responsible for commanding and controlling virtually all Coalition ground forces and ground force operations in the theater, including the security of Coalition airfields in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan, as well as the logistics operations set up to support those forces. The division was also intended to defend Uzbekistan against attacks by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which was seeking to overthrow Islam Karimov’s secular government.
On 13 February 2002, Mikolashek ordered Hagenbeck to move CFLCC (Forward) to Bagram airfield located at Bagram and 2 days later the headquarters was officially redesignated as Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) Mountain. It assumed responsibility for the planning and execution of what had then become known as Operation Anaconda.
Elements of the division, primarily 1-87th Infantry, remained in the country until mid-2002, fighting to secure remote areas of the country and participating in prominent operations such as Operation Anaconda, the Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, and the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi. These 1-87th Infantry soldiers became the first conventional forces to engage in combat in Afghanistan in the US military. The division also participated in fighting in the Shahi Khot Valley in 2002. In June 2002, elements of the 82nd Airborne Division arrived to relieve CJTF Mountain, and in September, Major General John R. Vines and his Combined Task Force 82 relieved CJTF Mountain as the major subordinate headquarters to Combined Joint Task Force 180. Upon the return of the battalions, they were welcomed home and praised by President Bush.
In 2003, the division’s headquarters, along with the 1st Brigade, returned to Afghanistan. During that time, they operated in the frontier regions of the country such as Paktika Province, going to places previously untouched by the war in search of Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces. Fighting in several small-scale conflicts such as Operation Avalanche, Operation Mountain Resolve, and Operation Mountain Viper, the division maintained a strategy of small units moving through remote regions of the country to interact directly with the population and drive out insurgents. The 1st Brigade also undertook a number of humanitarian missions.
Operation Mountain Viper
A battalion task force consisting of two rifle companies of the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment (2/22), 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), and attachments of civil affairs (CA), psychological operations (PSYOP), engineers, military police (MP), explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), and interpreters conducted an air assault into the region on 30 August to begin the extensive combat operation known as Operation Mountain Viper. These elements were to clear about a dozen targets in a 10 kilometer by 6 kilometer area east of their landing zones. Reconnaissance Teams from 2/22 gathered intelligence and conducted surveillance in the high elevations guiding the infantry companies throughout the valley and providing sniper support. United States and French SOF along with Afghan Militia Forces (AMF) forces operated on the periphery providing a cordon to the objective area and directing attack aircraft. These SOF engaged Anti-Coalition Militant (ACM) force’s who attempted to move toward coalition landing zones. In one such engagement, which lasted in excess of two hours, another eight ACM were reported KIA. On 31 August as the entire task force mobilized, coalition platoons engaged ACM elements as they maneuvered through their objectives.