The failed mission conducted on June 29, 2015, later made into a best-selling book and blockbuster motion picture in 2013, was known primarily as the joint military operation to capture or kill the infamous Taliban leader, Ahmad Shah. This mission was conducted during the height of the war in Afghanistan on a steep mountain called Sawtalo Sar, in an effort to dismantle the local anti-coalition militia and help facilitate the upcoming local Afghan Parliament elections. The main target of this operation was Ahmad Shah and his group of sympathizers. From the mission's inception to its tragic conclusion and aftermath, the primary masterminds of this operation were the US Marine Corps, using special operations support from the US Army SOAR Regiment and US Navy SEALS. United States for the opening phase of the operation. The operation tragically claimed the lives of three Navy SEALs and sixteen other special operations forces as they came to the aid of their counterparts. Furthermore, the most famous and revered aspect of Operation Red Wings was the gallant actions of Medal of Honor Lt. Michael Murphy to call for support via satellite phone in open terrain while under heavy and ferocious enemy fire. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay From the initial invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 to September 2005, the operational strategy at that time was a COIN (counterinsurgency) operation. The primary objectives of the operational coalition force at that time were to provide infrastructure support along with aid in nation building with the Afghans (“Operation Red Wings”). Due to some operational barriers faced by the 3rd BN, 3rd Marine Regiment, the 3/3 Battalion personnel quickly developed an operational model that allowed them to integrate special operations forces into their current and future operations. This new operational model proved to be a success and enabled intelligence sharing between the 3/3 Battalion and Special Operations Forces with the addition of being able to successfully maintain operational control of the newly integrated Special Operations Force creation by the battalion. The resulting operations, using the newly created strategy, resulted in the forced surrender of a high-value national target of an ACM commander, known as Najmudeen ("Operation Red Wings". After the capture of Najmudeen, the ACM in the Korengal Valley region declined significantly but unfortunately left a power vacuum in the region. Soon after this small victory, the 3/3's sister battalion, the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment, arrived in Afghanistan to take over. change to its counterparts and to continue their operational success soon after arrival, the planning operation began for a new mission that would later be called Operation Stars. Based on information gathered by the 2/3's S2 section, it was acquired a new “high-value target” that went by Ahmad Shah. Ahmad Shah, originally from Nangarhar province, was held responsible for approximately 11 incidents against NATO coalition members that included small-arms ambushes and IED attacks. ("Real Life Story Behind Operation Red Wings"). Soon after the intelligence gathering and relief of the 3/3rd, the 2nd Battalion began the transition from Operation Stars to the new global operation called Operation Red Wings, which featured many Operation Star concepts implemented within it. Operation RedWings, at this time, has been designed to disrupt all ACM activities with an emphasis on disrupting Ahmad Shah's heinous activities. As soon as the 2/3rds and their battalion personnel arrived in Afghanistan, the planning phase began immediately along with maintaining the operational tempo. this was established by their previous counterpart, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. While this meticulous work was being established, the 2/3rd's intelligence officer and his platoon were able to gather a large amount of HUMINT information on Ahmad Shah, which included his birthplace, his primary alias, his his alliances, the size of his team and the aspirations of the upcoming region. In addition to this vital human intelligence, the intelligence section of the 2/3 Battalion was able to obtain a number of photographs of Ahmad Shah. Further information gathered was revealed to the 2/3rds that Shah based his insurgent operations on clandestine structures which were high on the slopes of Sawtalo Sar mountain. From this vital information provided, 2/3's intelligence staff determined the whereabouts of Ahmad Shah and his counterpart during the execution phase of Operation Red Wings, thus requesting the insertion of helicopter forces to search and cordon the area for Ahmad Shah and his men due to the length of time required to conduct it at night. The primary forces that would initially conduct this clandestine operation under the cover of darkness at that time were determined to be 2/3 was a Marine Corps sniper/scout team, followed by special operations forces to perform the capture or killing of Ahmad Shah. (“Operation Red Wings”). Little would the 2/3s know, their entire operational plan would be quickly revealed and compromised during the first hours of the first phase of the operation. Late into the night of June 27, 2005, with the help of US Army SOAR Chinooks, the Navy SEALs began this operation under the cover of darkness. While there were two MH-47 special operations aircraft, one performed a series of decoy drops to confuse any possible enemy on the ground in the troops' location, while the other aircraft quickly performed quick-rope insertion of the four-man Navy SEAL reconnaissance team in a saddle that was a mile and a half from the named objective point ("Operation Red Wings"). Members of the Navy SEAL reconnaissance team consisted of Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny P. Dietz, Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Axelson, and Seaman 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell. While moving under the cover of darkness to a pre-determined surveillance position to scout Ahmad Shah, the reconnaissance team was stumbled upon by a local goat herder and his two sons during daylight. At the mission's initial compromise, the Navy SEAL team captured the local goat herder and his sons arguing among themselves about the course of action to take that would be in line with the current rules of engagement given to them. After intense debate, Lieutenant Michael Murphy gave the order to release the goat herder and his children, not knowing that this group would allegedly report this vital information to Ahmad Shah and the Taliban in the nearby village. Soon after, a ferocious three-pronged attack began on the Navy SEAL team by a much larger force of approximately fifty anti-Coalition (US Navy) rebel militia fighters. Not only did the enemy have an exceptional terrain advantage, but they clearly greatly outnumbered themNavy SEAL team. As a result of this fierce firefight and ambush, the rebel militia continually and relentlessly continued to push the SEAL team further into the mountain ravine. Desperate to get to safety and be injured, several attempts to relay distress calls to their headquarters proved unsuccessful due to the mountainous and confined terrain. That said, and despite the high intensity of the firefight and the injuries he sustained, Lieutenant Michael Murphy risked his own life to save those of his teammates by making contact with their headquarters in a dangerous situation. Lieutenant Michael Murphy at that time, during the intense firefight, neglecting his own safety and life, knowingly moved away from the protective rocks of the mountain into an open area to receive a better broadcast signal on his satellite phone for call QRF for his men. Thanks to these actions, Lieutenant Murphy was able to contact the QRF at Bagram Air Base to provide the location and size of the enemy, while he was under enemy fire and was seriously wounded during the broadcast call (US Navy). As the now-ready QRF force was en route via MH-47 Chinook to aid their ailing brothers-in-arms on an extraction mission, which consisted of a force of eight additional SEALs and Army Night Stalkers, the looming risk of entering a "hot" combat zone without attack support placed a heavy burden on the rescue team. Knowing the risk associated with entering an active enemy area in broad daylight and with virtually no cover support, the rescue team decided to enter and force their way in, due to the unsettling knowledge that their fellow soldiers weapons were wounded and in desperate need. of assistance. Unfortunately and tragically, the MH-47 Chinook helicopter carrying all 16 Special Operations Forces on board as a QRF, was shot down by an insurgent's RPG rocket and killed all 16 personnel upon impact (" Operation Red Wings"). After witnessing their QRF helicopter being shot down by the enemy, the Navy SEAL reconnaissance team of Marcus Luttrell, Michael Murphy, Daniel Dietz and Matthew Axelson, continued the ongoing intense firefight with the Taliban who it ranged from rocky terrain to various cliffs. Towards the end of the bloody firefight, approximately 35 Taliban were killed by the Navy SEAL team, but at a deadly cost to the Navy SEAL team. Lieutenant Michael Murphy, Petty Officer Matthew Axelson, and Petty Officer Daniel Dietz were killed from various serious wounds sustained during the overwhelming two-hour battle. Hospital corpsman Marcus Luttrell, the only survivor during the battle, was thrown over a ridge by an RPG explosion and miraculously managed to survive the various shrapnel, broken bones and bullet wounds he sustained. Finally, a severely wounded Marcus Luttrell had the mental strength and stamina to slowly walk seven miles and evade the enemy for nearly an entire day. During his seven-mile journey seeking safe haven and coalition assistance, local Pashtun villagers discovered Marcus Luttrell in the Woods, gained trust in him, and rendered aid to him for nearly three days, avoiding him for a I've seen the hellish Taliban on occasion. Gratefully, a note written for assistance by Marcus Luttrell was hand-carried by a villager to a US Marine Corps outpost three miles away, which began the daunting mission ofspecial operations rescue for Marcus Luttrell and his fallen Navy SEAL teammates ("The Afghan who aided Marcus Luttrell"). Shortly after receiving Marcus Luttrell's request for help, Operation Red Wings became a new extraction and rescue for the Navy SEAL team called Operation Red Wings II. But before the first rescue forces could be launched, command and communication were unexpectedly delayed for several hours with the Navy SEAL ground reconnaissance team As soon as it was possible to establish command and control with a higher level, another quick reaction force, acting as a search and rescue element, was sent to recover the passengers of the downed helicopter after an initial massive ground search together to the other three members of the Navy SEAL reconnaissance team. Shortly after retrieving his fallen comrades, Marcus Luttrell was finally rescued by fellow special operations troops via helicopter in the local Afghan village where he was hidden and protected by his new ones. saviors for four days. As much as it appeared to be a successful rescue operation to recover a fellow Special Operations troop, the operation came at a high cost to the Americans in terms of sensitive and vital equipment. Shortly after killing the three members of the Navy SEAL reconnaissance team, Ahmad Shah and his Taliban fighters were able to loot and recover a number of weapons, ammunition and numerous other highly sensitive items such as riflescopes and a laptop containing maps and images of Afghanistan. , from the fallen SEALs. Fortunately for American and coalition troops later that year, a follow-up operation believed to be Operation Whalers was able to successfully neutralize Ahmad Shah's group in Kunar Province and also seriously wound Ahmad Shah, leading to his death in 2008 after a shootout with Pakistani police. suffering many wounds and managing to survive despite the odds, Marcus Luttrell was awarded the Navy Cross for his gallant actions that day during a White House ceremony in 2006 ("Operation Red Wings"). Petty Officers Axelson and Dietz were also posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for their courageous actions on that fateful day. The last member of the Navy SEAL team, Lieutenant Michael Murphy, was later posthumously awarded the nation's highest honor, the Medal of Honor, for his gallant actions that day to sacrifice himself in a successful attempt to signal in a QRF for his seemingly doomed teammates. . Lieutenant Michael Murphy was also the first Navy SEAL to receive the award since the Vietnam War (United States Navy). To further honor Lieutenant Michael Murphy in the United States by the United States and the U.S. Army, many buildings, monuments, and a Navy destroyer were named in his honor. Some of the monuments and buildings dedicated to Lt. Michael Murphy include the Michael P. Murphy Memorial at his alma mater, Penn State, to honor all veterans who served, the Michael P. Murphy Memorial Park in his county hometown of Suffolk, N.Y., and the Navy destroyer named USS Michael Murphy. In these many instances of remembrance and honor across the nation of Lt. Michael P. Murphy, his legacy will always live on and his story of valor will continue for years to come. Regarding mission command, the Navy SEAL team demonstrated all aspects of mission command principles in depth. From the beginning of the mission in the planning stages to the end when all hopeseemed lost, strong mission command remained an unshakable aspect of the operation gone wrong. The command aspect of the mission of “building teams through mutual trust” was prominently highlighted throughout the entire battle due to the commander's clear understanding of the intent with the mission to capture or kill Ahmad Shah, despite the inherently danger of the mission. Additionally, the strong bond that team members shared beforehand gave them the peace of mind to ensure that everyone would try to keep each other alive at the end of the day. The mission's second command principle of "creating a shared understanding" can be seen throughout the battle by the SEAL team members' collective demonstration of understanding of the mission and the actions necessary to complete it even in the face of danger. Even though the mission went awry, SEAL team members demonstrated this aspect of mission command by courageously throwing themselves into danger to continue to survive while attempting to escape to a safe haven. The third mission command principle of “providing clear commander intent” was demonstrated by the Special Operations staff's initial planning of Operation Red Wings, along with the Navy team's demonstration of mission execution SEAL to capture Ahmad Shah and stop his regional anti-military action. -Coalition militia activities. The command principle of the most important mission of "exercise of disciplined initiative" of Operation Red Wings was clearly demonstrated when the decision to kill, tie up or release the rebel goat herder was made by Lieutenant Michael Murphy. The decision to adhere to the current provisions of the “Rules of Engagement” by Lt. Michael Murphy, despite some pushback from team members, was made ethically to prevent U.S. military repercussions, international media backlash, and enemy propaganda opportunities . Even though the possibility of freeing the goat herder would have entailed imminent danger, the discipline demonstrated in making the ethically correct decision was a difficult, but ultimately fatal choice. From Design Phases to Execution and ExtractionDuring the Operation Red Wings phase, the mission command principle of “utilize mission orders” was inherently clear at every phase. The mission carried out by the Navy SEAL team was strictly followed according to standard operating procedures, from the first rapid rope drop to the repeatedly failed exfiltration requests by Petty Officer Danny Dietz. Another example of “use of mission orders” includes attempting to make radio contact with command staff due to missing the communication window designated in the mission order brief, due to treacherous terrain. The mission's final command principle of "accepting prudent risk" was demonstrated multiple times throughout Operation Red Wings, ranging from the Navy SEAL command team's acceptance of the mission to locate and capture Ahmad Shah, to the futile attempts to escape the devastating firefight to a safe haven. . The Navy SEAL reconnaissance team's initial acceptance of the mission, despite potentially deadly enemy and terrain dangers, demonstrates an acceptance of prudent risk to achieve the goal of capturing a disruptive Taliban leader. Furthermore, the decision to release the goat herder into the mountains demonstrates an extremely prudent risk acceptance of allowing local Afghans to potentially expose their..