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Operation Anaconda Essay

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Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan: A Case Study of Adaption in Battle
Operation Anaconda was conducted in Shahikot Valley of Afghanistan during early March of 2002. The operation was originally estimated to be a three-day battle but lasted 17 days with heavy scene of fighting for the first seven days. The mission of Operation Anaconda was to remove the assembled Taliban and al Qaeda forces out of the valley. The battleground took place in a rough terrain surround by mountains that made it complex for modern warfare technology and tactics. The United States had to adapt to the environment and change their tactics that involves joint operations and advanced information network. This operation was considered successful because of the end state …show more content…

Commanders, staff, and partners need that cohesion in operation environment to resolve challenges. Working with multiple organizations such as foreign forces need coordination and synchronizing for collaboration. U.S. Commanders understands that the Afghan forces was not prepared or did not have the proper training to accomplish the mission, so they adapt to that condition and called in for air support.
Commander’s Intent
Commander’s intent is a clear message to what he/she wants to accomplish and what the end state would look like that still aligns with the operation’s goal. While developing the Anaconda battle plan, General Frank was briefed on the impending plan, he thought the strategy did not have enough coordination between the joint operation. The plan was pushed back and was later approved through improvement. Operation Hammer’s purpose was to attack the enemy forces to either destroy or capture them. One of the tasks were to block position at the passes on the eastern side of the mountain.
Mission …show more content…

While the mission order describes what the commander wishes to accomplish, it does state the tactical and technical instruction on accomplishing it. Afghan soldiers need to be disciplined and committed to the mission. Initiative and disciplined requires knowing what they are not proficient and train on it. During the Hammer Operation, Zia’s forces had 35 trucks with several unskilled Afghan truck drivers that slid from the road or broke down. This would not be an issue if they had the proper driving and preventive maintenance training.
Risk Acceptance
As with any missions, there are always chances of risks. Commanders must assess the level of danger and try to mitigate with different option or methods. Operation Anaconda started with mainly light infantry and little air support power. With bad intelligence information, the estimation on enemies’ capabilities were off by the hundreds, which almost cause the mission to fail. In the initial days of operation CAS, there were misunderstanding regarding to ROEs but was resolved by permitting strike against all enemies.

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Starting in mid-January to mid-February, there was interest in assaulting the Shahikot Valley in the Paktia province of Afghanistan by employing U.S. ground combat forces as part as an operation due to intelligence reports suggesting that enemy forces, which included al Qaeda and the Taliban where in the stages of reoccupying the area to regroup its forces after its sustaining defeats during the early stages of Operation Enduring Freedom. A debate between intelligence agencies on whether the enemy troops would be on the valley floor or on the hills. Well before the battle, early intelligence estimates, which drew on HUMINT and other sources, claimed that nearly 1,000 al Qaeda and Taliban forces might be present in the Shahikot Valley but then were lowered to about 200 to 300 personnel (Baranick, Binnendijk , Kuglar, 2009). They also concluded that they were mostly living in the valley’s villages, rather than deployed in the surrounding mountains and ridgelines as they thought they would be from the more tactical

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Operation Anaconda In March 2002, the US military launched Operation Anaconda in the eastern part of Afghanistan's Shahikot Valley. The operation aimed to destroy the Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces that had been involved in attacks against coalition forces and Afghan civilians. The success of any military operation is based on its adherence to the seven principles of mission command outlined in ADP 6-0. I will now explain and analyze how Operation Anaconda failed or passed the seven principles of Mission Command.

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Leaders at all levels of the Army are faced with difficult decisions every day, decisions that can affect the lives of everyone around them. The thought processes used by individual leaders to make decisions can be as far reaching as their imagination; however, it is every leader’s responsibility to make these decisions using the tenants of mission command. Mission command is not an easy skill to master, however great leaders understand it and the proper use of it when planning a mission. Mission command is broken down into six major principles: Build cohesive teams through trust, create a shared understanding, provide a clear commanders’ intent, exercise-disciplined initiative, use mission orders and accept prudent risk . General Douglas

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