ipl-logo

Operation Anaconda Essay

963 Words4 Pages

Introduction Operation Anaconda had many shortcomings throughout the Operation Enduring Freedom Campaign. Many military scholars have commented on how the results of the operation contributed to the loss of trust between different branches of service during that time. The operation took place on March 2, 2002 where Major General Franklin L. Hagenbeck commanded the 10th Mountain Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF). Combined Joint Task Force Mountain was comprised of forces from the Army, Marines, Navy, Airforce, Special Forces, International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF), and Afghan Forces. One of the shortcomings was the failure to produce clear and concise guidance before the execution of the mission. This included the fact that commanders …show more content…

In Army Doctrine Reference Publication 6-0 it states, “unit organization should ensure reasonable span of control to include the number of subordinates or activities under a single commander.”- (ADRP 6-0, pg. 2-16). This means that when assigning units, commanders need the appropriate level of authority and support based on their portion of the mission. Operation Anaconda’s organizational structure did not complement the use of this theme. Due to the absence of a proper task organization, there was a lack of coordination between forces assigned to the Joint Special Operations Task Force (JSOTF) and Special Operations Force (SOF) code-named Black. The JSOTF was a Joint Task Force that controlled of Task Force Dagger, Task Force K-Bar, and three Afghan attached Task Forces. When Operation Anaconda started, the JSOTF coordinated AC-130 Airstrikes that conflicted with SOF Black. Due to improper alignment of the organizational structure, both the JSPTF and SOF Black received degraded support from AC-130 air assets due to the Combined Joint Task Force not having overall Tactical Control. Had the CJTF commander been the coordinating official for both the JSOTF and SOF Black, this would not have happened. To understand this, we must break down the roles and responsibilities between a Combined Joint Task Force and a Joint Task

Open Document