Battle Of Wanat Case Study

On July 30, 2008, a bloody battle involving Coalition forces took place in the mountainous eastern Afghan province of Nuristan. This was the Battle of Wanat and the devastating amount of Coalition casualties began a vigorous investigation by the United States Army. The village of Wanat, defended by Second Platoon, Chosen Company, Second Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team would fall victim to numerous bad decision made by higher command. Although the men of Chosen Company fought hard, they ended up surrounded, vastly outnumbered, and without any Battalion assets. This paper will argue the reasons for the disastrous outcome of the Battle of Wanat; examining the effective company leadership exploiting effective

The fault of the tragic engagement was on the battalion command. However, it was merely circumstantial that Wanat was ambushed and there was no humanly possible way to know the size of the enemy force. General Charles Campbell ended all investigations with his statement: “To criminalize command decisions in a theater of complex combat operations is a grave step indeed. It is also unnecessary, particularly in this case. It is possible for officers to err in judgment—and to thereby incur censure—without violating a criminal statute.” Thus, though the battalion command made fatal decisions, as well as Chosen Company; they had no way of knowing the size and scope of the attack. The officers made their decisions based on what they believed was the best course of action. Unfortunately, some decisions would prove detrimental in the Battle of Wanat as many brave men lost their