![]() ![]() The following morning, the Mad Dogs began their rotations atop the remote OP Nevada, which protected both FOB Wright and FOB Joyce in the valley below. The Mad Dogs offloaded soldiers from MEDEVAC helicopters, rushing men to surgery – or zipping them into body bags. Corporal Pat Camillo, an EMT in civilian life, immediately began working to save lives. Amid chaos, the Mad Dogs plunged into action. Shortly after arriving at FOB Wright, the Mad Dogs were on the tarmac when wounded men arrived directly from combat in Watapur. ![]() Army study, “every engagement was essentially a meeting engagement.” The Taliban there were hardened warriors, willing to stand and fight the Americans. They arrived in Kunar in June, as the security force to a provincial reconstruction team (PRT) at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Wright in Asadabad.Īt the time, Big Army’s 25th Infantry Division was taking heavy hits during Operation Hammer Down, which targeted insurgent camps in the Pech Valley. They included a pizza delivery man, a used car salesman, a nightclub manager, a cook, a skateboarder, and seasoned veterans – led by a platoon sergeant who also was a convicted felon. ![]() They were the Mad Dogs: Delta Company’s second platoon from the 1-182nd Infantry, Massachusetts National Guard. By battle’s end, this handful of Americans would earn the respect of an enemy whose ancestors confounded even Alexander the Great. Now, on the morning of 17 July 2011, the men were being rallied, for what would turn out to be a brutal 18-hour slugfest against an overwhelming enemy force. They were atop Outpost Nevada, some 12,000 feet above the Ganjgal Valley in Afghanistan’s deadly Kunar Province. Brian Wood’s nine-man squad had been kicking back with Pepsi, listening to music, and swapping stories under a full moon. The sentinels raced through the lean-to, alerting the team with urgent news: the Taliban were at the wire. The Ninth Situation of War, when you must fight without delay, is Desperate Ground – Sun Tzu ![]()
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