The Allies hoped that extending these bases into Nuristan, one of the most remote and isolated eastern provinces in Afghanistan, they could demonstrate to the entire Afghan population the government's credibility and power. This strategy depended upon extending government control by building and maintaining provincial reconstruction team bases. In 2006, Allied commanders identified the Kamdesh area to be key to denying anti-coalition militia the required access to supply lines crossing into and out of nearby Pakistan. Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha and Staff Sergeant Ty Carter were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the battle.īackground Kamdesh base origins Eight aviators were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for helping defend the base. The outpost's depot was promptly looted by the insurgents and bombed by American planes in an effort to destroy the lethal munitions left behind.' Īfter an investigation, four officers in the chain of command were disciplined for their failure to adequately support the base. The Americans 'declared the outpost closed and departed-so quickly that they did not carry out all of their stored ammunition.

A deliberate withdrawal had been planned some time before the battle began, and the closing was part of a wider effort by the top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, to cede remote outposts and consolidate troops in more populated areas to better protect Afghan civilians. The Coalition forces withdrew from the base shortly after the battle. : 531–41 Observation Post ('OP') Fritsche was attacked simultaneously, limiting available support from that position. The attack on COP Keating resulted in 8 Americans killed and 27 wounded while the Taliban suffered an estimated 150 killed.Īs a result of the battle, COP Keating was partially overrun and nearly destroyed. The attack was the bloodiest battle for US forces since the Battle of Wanat in July 2008, which occurred 20 miles (32 km) away from Kamdesh. It occurred on October 3, 2009, when a force of 300 Taliban assaulted the American Combat Outpost ('COP') Keating near the town of Kamdesh in Nuristan Province in eastern Afghanistan. The Battle of Kamdesh took place during the war in Afghanistan.

Insurgency outpost