In Afghanistan on October 3rd, the soldiers of Bravo Troop, 3d Squadron, 61st Cavalry fought long and hard for their lives. This was after General McChrystal had requested reinforcements in Afghanistan. He still has received no word from Obama. To really need to know what these young warriors are facing.

On one of his trips to the ammo bunker, Sergeant Harder noticed that the trucks were getting hit with RPGs from very close range. Then, he saw the enemy advancing from point to point. They were inside the wire. They weren’t bounding, but they had a lot of covering fire. Rounds were impacting in the open areas from several enemy machine guns overhead in the mountains.

The aid station filled rapidly. The Doc triaged the wounded. He patched up lightly wounded troopers and let them return to the fight. Some were too severely wounded to return to the fight and others were so badly injured that he worried that they would not survive. When the aid station filled to capacity, some of the wounded were moved into the TOC.

Meanwhile, the fire slowly spread. The soldiers tried and failed to put it out with water and fire extinguishers. Almost an hour after the first shots had been fired, the TOC was filling with smoke. The troopers grabbed their maps, radios and laptops and fell back to the last two secure buildings in the compound.

Then Bundermann’s radio crackled, “Pale Rider, this is Black Knight.” Two Apache helicopters had arrived on scene. Chief Warrant Officer Ross Lewallen piloted one of the aircraft with Chief Warrant Officer Chad Bardwell sitting in front of him in the co-pilot/gunner seat. They quickly appraised the situation, identified friendly positions and then Bardwell opened fire with his deadly chain gun, killing dozens of the enemy fighters. But, the attackers persisted. The Apache pilots swooped low on gun runs and more Taliban fired on the helicopters from perches in the mountains. All the while, the enemy pressed the attack on the ground. But, the tide was turning. Fritsche’s mortars and the Apaches continued to pound the enemy in the mountains above Keating, taking some of the pressure off Bundermann’s troopers in COP Keating.

Knowing the enemy was inside the wire, Harder was much more careful on his next run for ammunition. He slowly moved up to the ASP with four other soldiers and stopped at the corner of the bunker. The enemy hadn’t taken the ammo bunker but they were close enough to let loose an RPG in Harder’s direction. The grenade whooshed toward them and impacted within five feet of Harder and his men. Ears ringing and shins peppered with small pieces of shrapnel, Harder fell back.

You really need to read it all. These warriors deserve it.

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