Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.
—PSALM 144, VERSE 1
I boarded the plane in clean clothes. I felt guilty even taking a bath because my guys were still out there. I’d sat in the TOC until it was time to board the plane. I listened as my guys got word to move north across the Arghandab River to clear the villages where the Taliban had maintained their stronghold for weeks. There was little contact, and it was mostly a clearing operation.
The plane was empty except for about ten passengers. The medics had braced my knee and given me shots in my shoulder to ease the pain for the long flight home. My thoughts drifted between my family and my men. I pulled out my notebook and began to utilize the many hours I had on the flight to try to compose statements for the valorous awards recommendations. I tried to put together everything I remembered. I stared intently at the pages I had written on the hill and tried to summarize all that had happened.
For such a strategic and significant battle, only a few valorous medals were awarded. The most important of these, to the men who fought there, was to Jude. His willingness to selflessly charge into what should have been certain death will forever be burned into the memories and lives of those who witnessed his actions. In reference to Staff Sergeant Jude Voss, I’d scribbled a page for an award recommendation that night on Sperwan Ghar:
This single HEROIC act, by my account, as a witness and as the Ground Assault Commander for the operation to seize Sperwan Ghar, was the BRAVEST and most VALOROUS thing I have ever witnessed in 3 combat rotations in Afghanistan, 14 years in the Army and my 36 years of life. SSG Jude Voss’s quick, decisive and selfless actions that day directly saved two soldiers lives’ and carried the initiative of battle. If SSG Voss had not been there doing what he was doing, it is an absolute certainty that SFC Greg Stube and SFC Sean Mishura would have been burned to death, killed by enemy actions or secondary explosions. SSG Voss went to the rescue of endangered American soldiers, not knowing the disposition of their lives, while showing a complete disregard for his own safety and under intense enemy fire. He then remained in a place of utmost danger and in extreme close proximity to a vehicle (about five to eight meters) while remaining under enemy fire, a vehicle fully engulfed in flames under continuous explosions from a triple load of ordnance and explosives now burning on the vehicle. He not only moved Greg from the vehicle to a ditch under enemy fire, leaving only himself exposed, but applied absolutely critical life-saving first aid to Greg until Riley, my senior medic, arrived and provided advanced trauma management. Upon my arrival, had I not seen SSG Voss there, doing what he was doing, I would never have known that Sean was unaccounted for and gone looking for him. Without Jude, Greg would have burned to death and Sean would have succumbed to inhalation and burns … There is no higher honor in the place of time and military history than the way Jude conducted himself that day as an American soldier. It was a day I shall never forget. I have walked with heroes. I hope someone finds this note.
“You’re just doing your job when you’re out there,” Jared had said. “Any one of the other guys would have done it, but Jude did it.”
The entire Desert Eagle chain of command recommended Jude for the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest valor award. The recommendation was downgraded in Afghanistan. Whatever politics came into play, Jude’s actions will never be downgraded in the eyes of those who knew what he had done.
Ultimately, our struggle for Panjwayi would continue. Coalition and NATO units taking over after our rotation could not reinforce our successes. Failing to control the valley by establishing a permanent security presence created an environment that allowed the Taliban to easily repopulate Panjwayi in late fall 2006. Our forces followed Operation Medusa with an even larger operation, called Operation Baaz Tsuka, or “Falcon Summit.” Operation Baaz Tsuka focused on removing the newly returned Taliban influence and reestablishing security. In a familiar story line, the ISAF forces could not maintain the initiative due to operational, strategic, and political issues. The Desert Eagles of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group again stepped in to clean out the enemy and secure objectives deemed “too dangerous,” then stayed to do damage control.
Two months after we took Sperwan Ghar, tragedy struck. Bill, my friend and the best soldier I ever knew, died three hundred meters from the hill when an IED exploded under his truck. Bill did not die the way he wanted, but he died the way God intended. That is the only way I can understand it. I know all soldiers want to live long and full lives, but we have our purpose as warriors. When that purpose is fulfilled, we are called home to our creator. I know that those who have seen battle understand this without question.
If in fact it is your time to be called before God, you typically won’t know it. Sometimes you will, and these are the hardest of times: When the blood pours from your nose and down your throat, clogging it, causing you to spit and gag. You heave for breath in the smoke and dust. Your equipment seems to suffocate you. You wipe the salty sweat and grime from your eyes, only to realize it is blood, either yours or that of the enemy. You would stand but you can’t move your legs. You grasp the open, gaping wounds in your body, trying not to pass out from the pain. You feel the anger thinking of the loved ones you will never see again, and losing your life infuriates your soul. You rage to get to your feet and grab for a weapon, any weapon. Regardless of your race, culture, or religion, you want to die standing, fighting like a warrior, an American, so others won’t have to. For those looking for a definition, this is the price of freedom.
Our objectives on Sperwan Ghar and in Afghanistan were clear. We knew and understood that as an army and as a nation, we cannot and will not accept failure. Ours was not a mission that ended in near escape, but in victory and defiance on a small hill in the heart of the enemy’s birthplace. The battle made few headlines. The fact remains that the actions of the 3rd Special Forces Group soldiers, the ISAF, and their Afghan Army allies disrupted the largest-ever Taliban offensive aimed at taking over Kandahar city. History cannot change the fact that five years to the date after our nation was attacked, a small group of men stood in the midst of the enemy’s birthplace and swore, “We shall never forget.”
Photo Insert
This is the Taliban prize: Kandahar City. It is the crossroads to the five most important areas in Afghanistan and has been since Alexander the Great. (© Andrew Craft)
Beginning a patrol. (U.S. Army)
Crossing the Red Desert. (Photograph by Team 26)
The Afghans enjoyed watching us dig out one of our vehicles for a change. (Photograph by Task Force 31)
Dinner is almost ready: ANA soldiers preparing a sheep purchased from a local farmer. (Rusty Bradley)
Up early, Jared identified the target compound where we found the communication site. (Rusty Bradley)
The target compound Jared identified after exiting the Red Desert. The large makeshift antenna was for a satellite phone. (Rusty Bradley)
The objective: Sperwan Ghar. (Rusty Bradley)
Interior of a grape-drying hut; the Taliban used these huts for bunkers. The buildings, some centuries old, had mud walls up to three feet thick. (Rusty Bradley)
The black-walled room where the Taliban left their terrifying message for the local villagers. Note the names on the wall and sandal marks on the ceiling. (Rusty Bradley)
Sperwan Ghar as we defended it during a counterattack. Note the vehicles lined along the southern wall. The Taliban had converted the V-shaped school and hill into a training camp. (U.S. Army)
Close fighting. The enemy got within half a football field of Smitty and Bill’s truck. Note the smoking building from which they were engaged. (Rusty Bradley)
This picture was taken from the top of Sperwan Ghar during a lull in the fighting. It shows the prolific vegetation and landscape. (Rusty Bradley)
Dave waiting for another attack, as the sun goes down. He would not have to wait long. (U.S. Army)
Round two to the long beards: seven two-thousand-pound bombs going into enemy compounds after the ambush on September 3. (Photograph by Team 26)
Briefing Major General Freakley two days into the battle. During his visit, the 3X boys were borrowing his helicopters. (U.S. Army)
It was nearly impossible to see through the dense marijuana fields. Doc is six feet tall; you do the math on the size of these plants. (U.S. Army)
This was Greg and Sean’s GMV after the IED strike. You can see there was nowhere to hide from enemy fire, which made Jude’s act absolutely heroic. (U.S. Army)
Planning for our first push into enemy territory. Other Special Forces teams and reinforcements from the 10th Mountain Division had arrived. (U.S. Army)
Jared, Shinsha, and an interpreter named Jacob discuss options before assaulting Objective Billiards. Earlier, Jacob had heroically defended a wounded U.S. soldier. (U.S. Army)
Bill, Zack, and Jude receive their Combat Infantryman Badges from the battalion commander on September 11, 2006. (U.S. Army)
My ODA with the Air Force JTAC and ETTs on September 11, 2006. (U.S. Army)
Captain Rusty Bradley. (Rusty Bradley)