Combined Joint Task Force 180

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Combined

formation, primarily made up of units from the United States Army, that fought in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), especially in the initial invasion phase of 2001-2002. It was active from May 2002 to 2003/05. It was the senior headquarters in country reporting to United States Central Command
.

Previously Joint Task Force 180 had served as the headquarters leading the U.S. intervention in Haiti in 1994 ("Operation Uphold Democracy"). Again, it was built around the XVIII Corps. From May 2002 to March 2003 the U.S. formation that directed all Enduring Freedom operations in Afghanistan was led by Lieutenant General Dan K. McNeill. It was initially a three-star headquarters designated Combined Joint Task Force 180 (CJTF-180), a corps level headquarters whose staff members were provided by the headquarters of the XVIII Airborne Corps and other formations.[1]

Arrival

When the 10th Mountain Division headquarters arrived in Afghanistan in late 2001, its role was to serve as a forward HQ for the

Combined Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC), the headquarters in Kuwait that oversaw all ground force operations throughout Central Command’s area of responsibility.[2] The 10th Mountain Division’s headquarters, in turn, would command all land forces inside Afghanistan. Major General Franklin L. Hagenbeck, commanding general, 10th Mountain Division, later recalled that the entire process of choosing his headquarters for CFLCC (Forward) had been improvised, providing little time for his staff to prepare. CFLCC (Forward) later became CJTF Mountain. It was this headquarters that ran Operation Anaconda
.

The mission of CJTF-180 was to conduct operations to destroy remaining Al Qaeda/hostile Taliban command control and other hostile anti-Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan elements, trains Afghan National Army, and conducts directed information operations, civil military operations and humanitarian assistance operations in coordination with the ITGA in order to establish a stable and secure Afghanistan able to deter/defeat the re-emergence of terrorism.[3]

In mid 2003 ("weeks" after 1 May 2003) McNeill and the bulk of his staff from the XVIII Airborne Corps that had formed the core of CJTF-180 departed Afghanistan.

Lloyd J. Austin arrived in Afghanistan as commander of the 10th Mountain Division and Commander CJTF 180.[6]

Then Major General

Regional Command South.[9]
Previously the forces had conducted missions hunting insurgents without establishing long-term relationships with specific areas.

Department of Defense Authorization Appropriation statements for FY 2005 describe "...CJTF-180 is a division level organization that exercises command over 11 separate task forces; including 2 coalition battalions and other support, medical, engineering, and training units. It also has special operations capabilities assigned from U.S. and coalition nations."

On 15 April 2004 the headquarters of the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division arrived in Afghanistan and took command of CJTF-180 from the 10th Mountain Division. Lieutenant General Barno then decided to rename the CJTF because the “180” designation had traditionally been given to Joint task forces led by the Army's XVIII Airborne Corps. Barno chose Combined Joint Task Force 76 as the new name to evoke America’s history and the democratic spirit of 1776.[10] The CFC-A commander was hoping that this new designation would highlight the change in command at the operational level at a time when Afghanistan appeared to be moving closer to democracy.

Rotations

Operation Enduring Freedom I - Combined Joint Task Force Mountain, October 2001 to June 2002

Combined Joint Task Force 180 staff in Bagram, August 2002

Command and Control
10th Mountain Division

From October 2001 to June 2002,

Quick reaction force (QRF) in support of Special forces
.

Major Combat Operations

Between November 2001 and February 2002, the

Operation Snipe
began in May 2002 to search and clear a significant area in the remote Afghan mountains believed to be used as a base by Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. During Operation Snipe, a major cave network was discovered and destroyed.

Major units involved:

Operation Enduring Freedom II, June 2002 to January 2003

From June 2002 to January 2003, CJTF 180's mission was to conduct full-spectrum operations to prevent the reemergence of terror organizations and set the conditions for the growth of democracy in Afghanistan. A major effort was placed on organizing, equipping, arming and training the

XVIII Airborne Corps (United States) under Lieutenant General Dan K. McNeill
.

McNeill took control of all civil-military operations by taking command of the Combined Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force (CJCMOTF).[11] CJTF-180 also gained operational control (OPCON) over Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A), the SOF headquarters established earlier in 2002 when Joint Special Operations Task Force–North (JSOTF-N) and Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force–South (CJSOTF-S) had combined. Since the spring, the Soldiers of the CJSOTF had played a critical role in the training of the ANA and this effort continued after CJTF-180 arrived. But McNeill gave greater emphasis to the overall ANA program by taking formal control of the Office of Military Cooperation–Afghanistan (OMC-A) from the US Embassy.

In mid 2002 there was both a combat division HQ and combat brigade rotation. By July 2002 the tactical-level units from the 10th Mountain Division and the 101st Airborne Division, including TF Rakkasan, had all departed Afghanistan; the CTF Mountain headquarters staff followed in early September. They were replaced by

Kandahar Airfield. Task Force Panther was under the command of Colonel James L. Huggins and included two infantry battalions from the 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division
and one attached infantry battalion from the division’s 1st Brigade. Huggins also enjoyed support from artillery, aviation, military intelligence, and other enabling units. Task Force Panther deployed to Afghanistan in late June 2002 and would serve under CTF 82 until 5 December 2002. At that point Task Force Devil, a unit formed around the 1st Brigade, 82d Airborne Division arrived to become the lead combat/security formation.

The

Operation Mountain Sweep in August 2002, mounting five combat air Air assault missions.[12] Combat Engineer, Aviation, and Civil Affairs Detachments also took part in the operation. Military search operations were performed south of cities of Khost and Gardez
. Five Taliban weapon caches and two Taliban document caches were discovered. However the aggressiveness of the 82nd Airborne Division personnel was compared unfavourably by Afghans with the Special Forces they had seen before.

In early October 2002, the 3-505 PIR used FOB Salerno to launch Operation VILLAGE SEARCH.[13] This operation focused on four villages near the Pakistani border suspected of harboring both Taliban fighters and weapons caches. But to engage the villages, the paratroopers used techniques that were less aggressive than those used during MOUNTAIN SWEEP, indicating that they had paid attention to the comments made by the ODAs after that operation. During VILLAGE SEARCH, unit leaders explained their intentions to village elders, asked permission to search homes, and had female Soldiers search the women. In addition, while searches were in progress, CA teams politely inquired about medical conditions and the general needs of the villages to identify potential reconstruction projects.

From January to February 2003, CJTF-180 conducted

Operation Mongoose, search and sweep operations intended to locate and engage Taliban and insurgent forces in the Adi Ghar Mountain Range southeast of Kandahar. From February to March 2003 Operation Viper aimed to search Afghanistan villages and recover weapons caches and other war marteriall left by Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces. Search and sweep operations conducted to locate and engage Taliban and insurgent forces in the Baghran
and Baghni Valleys, northwest of Kana.

In March 2003,

504th Parachute Infantry Regiment
and other units of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division along with Romanian Infantry and Afghan troops.

Major Units Involved:

Operation Enduring Freedom IV - Combined Joint Task Force 180, July 2003 to May 2004

Command and Control
10th Mountain Division

From July 2003 to May 2004, CJTF-180 continued security and stabilization operations in Afghanistan to support development of representative Afghanistan Government.

Major Combat Operations

From August to September 2003 during

Operation Mountain Storm started in March 2004 following the completion of Operation Mountain Blizzard, and was a similar operation in Khost Province. The 2nd Marine Regiment and 8th Marine Regiment
also participated in this operation.

Major Units Involved:

Commanders

  • Lieutenant General Dan K. McNeill
  • Major General John R. Vines (until September 2003)
  • Brigadier General
    Lloyd J. Austin
    (September 2003-November 2003)

References

  1. ^ Spencer C. Tucker (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf
  2. ^ Adapted from U.S. Army, A Different Kind of War, 189.
  3. ^ "Home". Archived from the original on 2007-08-01. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  4. ^ U.S. Army, A Different Kind of War, 237.
  5. ^ DKW, 238.
  6. ^ Koontz, Christopher N. Enduring Voices: Oral Histories of the US Army Experience in Afghanistan, 2003–2005. Government Printing Office, 2008, 14.
  7. ^ Enduring Voices, 14.
  8. ^ Fred Kaplan, The Insurgents, 320.
  9. ^ Enduring Voices
  10. ^ Lieutenant General David W. Barno, interview by Center for Military History, 21 November 2006, 31–32, in A Different Kind of War.
  11. ^ A Different Kind of War, 211.
  12. ^ See Colin Robinson, 'Adjusting to Twenty-First Century Warfare,' New Zealand International Review, Vol. XXIX, No. 6, November–December 2004, 21.
  13. ^ A Different Kind of War, 216.

Further reading

  • Donald P. Wright & al., A Different Kind of War : The United States Army in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) October 2001-September 2005, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. : Combat Studies Institute Press, 2009 http://documents.nytimes.com/a-different-kind-of-war#p=1
  • Bolger 'Why We Lost'
  • Auerswald, David P. & Stephen M. Saideman, eds. NATO in Afghanistan: Fighting Together, Fighting Alone (Princeton U.P. 2014) This book breaks down the history of the U.S. effort in Afghanistan down by deployed commander, including Barno's effort to implement more of a counter-insurgency strategy that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld desired. Also useful in this fashion are Kaplan, "The Insurgents", and "A Different Kind of War.
  • Mansager, Colonel Tucker B., USA. "Interagency Lessons Learned in Afghanistan." Joint Force Quarterly (First Quarter 2006): 80-84.
  • Maloney, Sean M (2005), Enduring the Freedom: A Rogue Historian in Afghanistan, Washington, DC: Potomac Books,
    ISBN 1-57488-953-2
    .
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