# Special Ops Soldier killed in A-Stan firefight



## Red-Dot (Jan 5, 2016)

RIP, hope you took some of those bastards out. 

US Special Ops soldier killed in Afghanistan firefight | Fox News


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## Grunt (Jan 5, 2016)

Rest In Peace, Warrior!


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## racing_kitty (Jan 5, 2016)

Fair winds and following seas.  Thank you for your sacrifice.


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## amlove21 (Jan 5, 2016)

Other sources reporting "Air Force 60 with SAR personnel..."

US Helicopter Crashed Responding to Deadly Firefight in Afghanistan | Military.com


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## Red-Dot (Jan 5, 2016)

amlove21 said:


> Other sources reporting "Air Force 60 with SAR personnel..."
> 
> US Helicopter Crashed Responding to Deadly Firefight in Afghanistan | Military.com



Damn....


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## Avenger hammer (Jan 5, 2016)

This is what I am reading now

More Than a Dozen US Soldiers Surrounded In Afghan Firefight


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## amlove21 (Jan 5, 2016)

Multiple sources all reporting the same thing- ongoing TIC with KIA and casualties.


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## Red-Dot (Jan 5, 2016)

amlove21 said:


> Multiple sources all reporting the same thing- ongoing TIC with KIA and casualties.



Wish I was there helping my brothers out.


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## x SF med (Jan 5, 2016)

Blue Skies to the lost, prayers out for the wounded.


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## compforce (Jan 5, 2016)

From the articles...



> “On the map there is one green dot representing friendly forces stuck in the compound, and around it is a sea of red [representing hostile forces],” the official told Fox News.





> An AC-130 gunship has been called in for air cover as the U.S. troops now wait out the night.
> 
> Earlier in the day, two USAF HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters were sent to rescue the U.S. special operations team.  One of the helicopters took fire and waved off the mission and flew back to base.
> 
> The other helicopter’s blades struck the wall of the compound while attempting a rescue of the special operations team, according to defense officials who compared the scene to one similar to the helicopter crash inside Usama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan on the mission to kill the Al Qaeda leader in May 2011.



I hope to God that they have more on station than just one AC-130 and two HH-60s.  This is something that should divert as much air power as needed to keep them alive and get them out of there (along with destroying the two downed birds and anything else sensitive).

Prayers Out!


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## CDG (Jan 5, 2016)

Fuck.  What I wouldn't give to be there on a 117G with a stack from 3 to 30.

RIP to those lost. Hold strong brothers.


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## Dame (Jan 5, 2016)

Rest in peace warriors.


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## Red-Dot (Jan 5, 2016)

I would have to imagine any CAS in country is stacked over the site. Hold strong!


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## Ooh-Rah (Jan 5, 2016)

Difficult to believe this is not getting more coverage:

More than a dozen US troops trapped amid Afghanistan firefight | Fox News


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## DA SWO (Jan 5, 2016)

compforce said:


> From the articles...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I would assume the AC's are overlapping each other.
Get them through the night and then bring in A-10's (if they are there).


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## The91Bravo (Jan 5, 2016)

Hold Hard boys...


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## DA SWO (Jan 5, 2016)

Thinking about this a little more, I really hope they have A-10's available and they load as much on them as they can and tank the piss out of them..

This battle may have long term implications for the AF vis a vis CAS and whether the F-16 can do an A-10 job or not.

I'll pray for our warriors tonight, and also pray that the Taliban have to pay a high cost in flesh.

Get 'r done!


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## AWP (Jan 6, 2016)

DA SWO said:


> they have A-10's available



No more A-10's in country. The closest A-10's would have a 2000+ mile roundtrip. Besides anything AFSOC has, you're looking at Viper, maybe Bone, and various UAV's. Everything else is going towards Daesh.


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## Brill (Jan 6, 2016)

Freefalling said:


> No more A-10's in country. The closest A-10's would have a 2000+ mile roundtrip. Besides anything AFSOC has, you're looking at Viper, maybe Bone, and various UAV's. Everything else is going towards Daesh.


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## DA SWO (Jan 6, 2016)

Freefalling said:


> No more A-10's in country. The closest A-10's would have a 2000+ mile roundtrip. Besides anything AFSOC has, you're looking at Viper, maybe Bone, and various UAV's. Everything else is going towards Daesh.


Bad news then, of course CSAF will claim the F-16 CAS was as effective as A-10 CAS.
I hope the Non-USAF side bitches about less than effective Daylight CAS.


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## Gunz (Jan 6, 2016)

_"There were nine airstrikes on Tuesday in support of a clearing operation..."_

Keep pulling that chain...

RIP Warrior and Hand Salute


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## Blizzard (Jan 6, 2016)

DA SWO said:


> Bad news then, of course CSAF will claim the F-16 CAS was as effective as A-10 CAS.
> I hope the Non-USAF side bitches about less than effective Daylight CAS.


Good news is the team is reportedly no longer "trapped".  

One HH-60 was lost and another turned back.  Why?  Did they have the air cover they needed?  The question may be what was the catalyst that allowed the team to take back the initiative?  I heard an AC-130 was on station.  When did it arrive?  When did additional QRF arrive?  Are the airstrikes just follow on or were they drivers?  Ultimately, could A-10's have turned the battle quicker - would they have helped avoid the loss of the 60? 

Godspeed to the fallen soldier.


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## AWP (Jan 6, 2016)

The last A-10 left the country late last year. I think there's a lone Viper squadron at Bagram. Everything is gone....there's no war in Afghanistan, remember?


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## DA SWO (Jan 6, 2016)

Freefalling said:


> The last A-10 left the country late last year. I think there's a lone Viper squadron at Bagram. Everything is gone....there's no war in Afghanistan, remember?


The argument made (and ignored by the politicians) was removing all those airframes would increase the risk to the personnel left.


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## Red-Dot (Jan 6, 2016)

The Viper while not optimal, is a decent platform if the correct pods are onboard. The AC-130 may have to go in the barn at daybreak unless nothing else is around.

Why have we (I) not heard anymore on this? They rather show and talk about Obama crying


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## racing_kitty (Jan 6, 2016)

Freefalling said:


> The last A-10 left the country late last year. I think there's a lone Viper squadron at Bagram. Everything is gone....there's no war in Afghanistan, remember?


There never was.  There was OIF, and then a vacation before we went back to Iraq.


Red-Dot said:


> Why have we (I) not heard anymore on this? They rather show and talk about Obama crying
> 
> 
> Freefalling said:
> ...



There's your answer.


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## jjgli (Jan 6, 2016)

I really hate to think about how the situation may have fared differently had there been a couple A-10's on station. I don't understand how anyone knowledgeable on the subject could make the argument that the F-16 could do the A-10's job.


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## Gunz (Jan 6, 2016)

BITD BUFFs would make a moonscape around your poz. It wasn't precision, it was obliteration. And the enemy that survived would be naked and shaking with blood coming out of their ears and shit running down their legs. The Taliban deserve no better treatment. Death to them all.


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## Red-Dot (Jan 6, 2016)

Ocoka One said:


> BITD BUFFs would make a moonscape around your poz. It wasn't precision, it was obliteration. And the enemy that survived would be naked and shaking with blood coming out of their ears and shit running down their legs. The Taliban deserve no better treatment. Death to them all.



Buffs are good platforms if the crew is VERY experienced and proper sensors are onboard. I was always a little hesitant to clear hot a BUFF at 40,000 ft. which I could not/barely see and could not hear. Their playtime and payload is great, their re-attack speed not so great. They can definetly bring the hurt.


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## TLDR20 (Jan 6, 2016)

jjgli said:


> I really hate to think about how the situation may have fared differently had there been a couple A-10's on station. I don't understand how anyone knowledgeable on the subject could make the argument that the F-16 could do the A-10's job.



Then don't think about it. It isn't your place to. Bombs are bombs.


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## DA SWO (Jan 6, 2016)

TLDR20 said:


> Then don't think about it. It isn't your place to. Bombs are bombs.


It's more than bombs, strafing capability and re-attack times.


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## TLDR20 (Jan 6, 2016)

DA SWO said:


> It's more than bombs, strafing capability and re-attack times.



No it isn't when I am talking to some dude who isn't even in the military.


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## TLDR20 (Jan 6, 2016)

My point is, we have no idea what the situation was, but saying


jjgli said:


> I really hate to think about how the situation may have fared differently had there been a couple A-10's on station. I don't understand how anyone knowledgeable on the subject could make the argument that the F-16 could do the A-10's job.



Is armchair QB'ing before families are even notified. And by some fucking wannabe? But I digress.

I guess I don'tlike  threads talking about dudes I may know being surrounded turning into a CAS argument amongst us.


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## CDG (Jan 6, 2016)

RIP SSG Matthew McClintock.

DoD identifies Special Forces soldier killed in Afghanistan


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## ZmanTX (Jan 6, 2016)

Rest in Peace SSG Matthew McClintock.


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## Avenger hammer (Jan 6, 2016)

RIP Staff Sgt Matthew McClintock. Prayers to your family hero.


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## TheSiatonist (Jan 7, 2016)

RIP, SSgt. McClintock.

Sharing this.  Just unbelievable.



> With a team from 19th Special Forces Group attached to 3rd Special Forces Group surrounded and under fire in Marjah, Afghanistan their QRF should have been launched far sooner.  It wasn’t the fault of the actual soldiers, who were standing by and ready to go, *but command would not let them leave their base, insisting that they wait for the next period of darkness* before a team from 19th Special Forces Group was able to drive in and conduct a off-set infil to support their fellow Green Berets.
> 
> The 19th Group Team was there as part of a broader effort to re-take Marjah from the Taliban, and was coordinated with local Afghan units which were clearing adjacent valleys.  Once pinned down, one team member was killed, another seriously injured.  *A Special Forces medic (18D) worked on the casualty for 12-hours, keeping him alive while receiving enemy fire.*  The casualty, “was alert and oriented” by the time he was finally evacuated according to one SOFREP source.  The Department of Defense has not yet released the name of the soldier who was killed in action.
> 
> Worse yet, *command would not authorize fire support from a circling AC-130 gunship due to fears of collateral damage.*  Recent events such as the hospital bombing in Kunduz probably resonate at command levels, but perhaps they should have been thinking more about another recent event, Benghazi, since their men on the ground faced the threat of being overrun.  Eventually, the command allowed AC-130 to fire a whopping two 40mm rounds into an *open field* a weak show of force to the Taliban.



More of this story here...


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## AWP (Jan 7, 2016)

Marjah's one of those places where you go in heavy with your varsity squad, not an ODA with some Afghans. That's nothing against the Team at all because this is what the war has become, but no one in their right mind would think the Afghans are capable of handling that valley.


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## DA SWO (Jan 7, 2016)

TheSiatonist said:


> RIP, SSgt. McClintock.
> 
> Sharing this.  Just unbelievable.
> 
> ...


If this is true then a shit-storm is coming.

Generally speaking (it varies state by state) Guard guys are not under the same gag rules active duty are.


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## CDG (Jan 7, 2016)

2 x 40mm rounds into an open field?  That's it?  No fucking way......


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## AWP (Jan 7, 2016)

CDG said:


> 2 x 40mm rounds into an open field?  That's it?  No fucking way......



Couple of years ago an SF team engaged a dude who was talking on a cell phone and pointing at the SF unit. The local then picked up an RPG before catching a .300 Win Mag to the chest. They didn't play "mother may I" with the TOC before pulling the trigger; their BN CDR threatened a 15-6. 

When I hear about an SF unit with no support, I don't bat an eye because it is sadly too common.


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## jjgli (Jan 7, 2016)

RIP SSgt McClintock


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## Red-Dot (Jan 7, 2016)

TheSiatonist said:


> RIP, SSgt. McClintock.
> 
> Sharing this.  Just unbelievable.
> 
> ...



Epic fail on support....some heads and nuts need to roll, that shit makes me nauseous.


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## Brill (Jan 7, 2016)

CDG said:


> 2 x 40mm rounds into an open field?  That's it?  No fucking way......



Exactly.  Go with your experience.


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