The Outpost An Untold Story Of American Valor Part 44

Chapter 24: The Puppies

The January 2009 attacks on the outpost were described in interviews with Pecha, Meshkin, Mazzocchi, Safulko, and Tucker.

Information about the Kamdesh radio station was offered by Bodmer and Markert.

Details about President Obama's plans for Afghanistan were provided in official announcements by the President; in interviews with White House advisers Denis McDonough and Ben Rhodes, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, and Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell; and by other, unnamed sources.

Mullen's and Gates's views of McKiernan were described by unnamed Pentagon sources.

Events at the February 15, 2009, shura were recounted in an ISAF memo obtained by the author.

Pecha and Tucker's meeting with the contractors was recalled by both men in interviews.

Information about the cost of various projects was furnished by an unnamed source.

Safulko told the story about the dogs' turning and their subsequent end in an interview.

The unrealized plans for a new observation post, to be named after Yllescas, were described by Pecha, Markert, Spiszer, and Victorino.

Information about the attack on Bari Alai came from interviews with Spiszer and Markert. Pirtle's concerns, expressed to his parents, were first reported on HDNET's "Dan Rather Reports: What Happened at Bari Alai," on September 12, 2011. Wade Zirkle of the Fox News Channel claimed on May 15, 2009, that the ISAF was investigating whether the ANA might have been involved.

The email from Brown was provided to the author by Brown.

The closure of COP Lybert was described in an interview with Spizer and also in Michael Gisick, "Fateful Day Brings Post Back to War's Reality," Stars and Stripes, Stars and Stripes, September 25, 2008. In an interview, Cheryl Lee Nussberger recalled her concern over the enemy's propaganda video about the closure of the base named after her son. September 25, 2008. In an interview, Cheryl Lee Nussberger recalled her concern over the enemy's propaganda video about the closure of the base named after her son.

Chapter 25: Pericles in Kamdesh

Information about 3-71 Cav's arrival at the outpost was taken from interviews with Bundermann, Burton, and Cordova.

Safulko recalled his conversation with Kirk in an interview. Kirk's schedule was shared by his wife, Gavin-Kirk, in an interview. Information about Kirk during his time with 1-91 Cav came from interviews with Kolenda and Springer.

Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, The History of the Peloponnesian War, translated by Richard Crawley (London: Dover, 2004). translated by Richard Crawley (London: Dover, 2004).

Information about the attack that wounded Shane Scherer was gleaned from interviews with Scherer, Witherington, Cordova, and Safulko.

Sources for Book Three

A major source for the information presented in book 3 was the November 3, 2009, "AR 15-6 Investigation re: COP Keating Attack of 3 Oct 09 Department of the Army," by Major General Guy Swan III, along with its supporting doc.u.ments, obtained by the author. These are collectively referred to as the "Swan report" below.

In addition, the following individuals were interviewed for book 3: Jonathan Adams Vanessa Adelson, mother of Stephan Mace Armando Avalos Kyle Barnes Janpatrick Barroga Jordan Bellamy Kirk Birchfield John Breeding Brad Brown Connie Brown, mother of Vernon Martin Jory Brown Shane Brown, a Burlington, North Carolina, police staff sergeant Andrew Bundermann Cashet Burks, girlfriend of Vernon Martin Ronald Burton Stephen Cady Ty Carter Dan Casey Kerri Griffin Causley, mother of Chris Griffin Christopher Chappell Chris Cordova Shane Courville Martins Dabolins Kevin Daise Josh Dannelley Nicholas Davidson Noor Din Seward Dinsmore, uncle of Josh Kirk Mark Dulaney Faruq (not his real name) Ed Faulkner, Sr., father of Ed Faulkner, Jr.

Cody Floyd John Francis Jeremy Frunk Megan Gavin-Kirk, widow of Josh Kirk Randy George Robert Gibbs Robert Gilberto (not his real name) Justin Gregory Damien Grissette Eric Harder Olivia Hardt, widow of Josh Hardt Mary Henry, mother of Eric Harder Jon Hill Robert Hull Jeff Jacops Greg Jaffe of the Was.h.i.+ngton Post, Was.h.i.+ngton Post, who was incredibly generous with his time, his impressions from the period when he was embedded with 3-61 Cav, and his reporting on the aftermath of the October 3, 2009, attack who was incredibly generous with his time, his impressions from the period when he was embedded with 3-61 Cav, and his reporting on the aftermath of the October 3, 2009, attack Chris Jones Kellan Kahn Bernadette Kirk-Bonner, mother of Josh Kirk Kyle Knight Jeffrey Kology, a Burlington, North Carolina, police investigator Zach Koppes Janis Lakis Brad Larson Ross Lewallen Amanda Marr, former wife of Justin Gallegos) Brittany Martin, widow of Vernon Martin Stan McChrystal Brendan McCriskin Denis McDonough Matthew McMurtrey Aaron Miller Sarah Faulkner Minor, sister of of Ed Faulkner, Jr.

Jake Miraldi Geoff Morrell Dante Paradiso Melvin Porter Stoney Portis Ted Priester Tom Rasmussen Ben Rhodes Daniel Rodriguez Dan Rogers Clint Romesha Debbie Routson, mother of Kevin Thomson Ben Salentine Justin Sax Mike Scaparrotti Cason Shrode Jayson Souter James Stanley, Jr.

Keith Stickney T. G. Taylor Albert "Cookie" Thomas Jessica Tingley, sister of Josh Kirk Nick Paton Walsh Stuart Webb Rob Wilson Jordan Wong Cynthia Woodard, mother of Michael Scusa Christopher Wright Brad Zagol

Chapter 26: The General's Competing Considerations

Herac.l.i.tus' precise words, as quoted in G.T.W. Patrick's Herac.l.i.tus of Ephesus: The Fragments of the Works of Herac.l.i.tus of Ephesus on Nature Herac.l.i.tus of Ephesus: The Fragments of the Works of Herac.l.i.tus of Ephesus on Nature (Chicago: Argonaut, 1969), were "Into the same river you could not step twice, for other

The description of Porter's command was drawn from interviews with Porter, Brown, and myriad troops and officers from 3-61 Cav, as well as from the Swan report.

Mullen's and Gates's views of McKiernan were pa.s.sed along by unnamed Pentagon sources.

McKiernan's telling Gates, "You're going to have to fire me," was reported in Rajiv Chandrasekaran, "Pentagon Worries Led to Command Change," Was.h.i.+ngton Post, Was.h.i.+ngton Post, August 17, 2009. August 17, 2009.

Gates's and Mullen's remarks were taken from a transcript of the May 11, 2009, press conference.

The a.s.sessments and views of McChrystal were taken from interviews with McChrystal and other, anonymous Pentagon officials.

The June 2, 2007, exchange between Senator Lindsey Graham and McChrystal was taken from a transcript of the hearings. This was first noted as a troubling moment for White House officials in Bob Woodward, Obama's Wars Obama's Wars (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010), a conclusion that was later confirmed by White House officials. McChrystal shared his views in an interview. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010), a conclusion that was later confirmed by White House officials. McChrystal shared his views in an interview.

A certain wariness toward the White House in general and Vice President Biden's office in particular was reflected in interviews with anonymous Pentagon officials.

Greg Jaffe's interview with McChrystal ran in the Was.h.i.+ngton Post Was.h.i.+ngton Post on June 16, 2009, and was ent.i.tled "Gen. McChrystal, New Afghanistan Commander, Will Review Troop Placements." Woodward's story appeared on July 1, 2009, also in the on June 16, 2009, and was ent.i.tled "Gen. McChrystal, New Afghanistan Commander, Will Review Troop Placements." Woodward's story appeared on July 1, 2009, also in the Was.h.i.+ngton Post, Was.h.i.+ngton Post, under the headline "U.S. Says Key to Success in Afghanistan Is Economy, Not Military." under the headline "U.S. Says Key to Success in Afghanistan Is Economy, Not Military."

Plans for the closure of COP Keating were related in interviews with George, Brown, Scaparrotti, McChrystal, and other, anonymous officers and NCOs.

Biographical information about Breeding was provided by him in interviews.

Information about the mortar pit came from interviews with Breeding, Rodriguez, and Barroga.

Information about Kevin Thomson was gleaned from interviews with his fellow troops and his mother, Debbie Routson.

Disagreements between Porter and his troops were reported in interviews with Porter, Jones, Rasmussen, Breeding, Romesha, and others.

Biographical information about Romesha came from interviews with him.

McChrystal's July 6, 2009, tactical directive was issued by NATO/ISAF.

Information about the attack that wounded Jacops was taken from interviews with Jacops and Cordova.

Brown's presentations to McChrystal and others were described in interviews with Brown, McChrystal, George, Scaparrotti, and others. McCrystal's competing considerations were summarized in interviews with McCrystal, Scaparrotti, George, and Brown.

The account of Bodmer's time alongside 3-61 Cav was taken from interviews with Bodmer, Brown, and Shrode.

Information about Operation Mountain Fire in Barg-e-Matal came from interviews with McChrystal and George.

For book 3, I interviewed more than fifty of the troops stationed at COP Keating and OP Fritsche on the day of the attack, including Adams, Avalos, Barroga, Bellamy, Birchfield, Breeding, Jory Brown, Bundermann, Burton, Cady, Carter, Casey, Chappell, Cordova, Courville, Dabolins, Daise, Dannelley, Davidson, Dulaney, Floyd, Francis, Frunk, Gilberto, Gregory, Grissette, Harder, Hill, Hull, Jones, Kahn, Knight, Koppes, Lakis, Larson, McMurtrey, Portis, Rasmussen, Rodriguez, Rogers, Romesha, Salentine, Shrode, Souter, Stanley, Stickney, Thomas, and Wong. Descriptions of the camp itself and the general esprit de corps were elaborated from interviews with all of them. After-action reports written by all surviving troops informed this section of the book.

Biographical information about Kirk was gathered from interviews with his wife, Gavin-Kirk; sister, Tingley; and uncle Dinsmore. The email from Kirk was shared by Gavin-Kirk. The description of Kirk in battle came from 3-61 Cav troops.

Biographical information about Zach Koppes was provided by him in an interview. The "hang fire" incident was described in interviews with Wilson, Romesha, and Koppes.

Chapter 27: The Deer Hunters

Biographical information about Ed Faulkner, Jr., was furnished by his father, Ed Faulkner, Sr., and sister Faulkner Minor. Law-enforcement incidents from Faulkner's youth were summarized by Shane Brown of the Burlington Police Department in an interview.

Events involving Nelson were recounted by anonymous members of 3-61 Cav.

The incident with Faulkner and the has.h.i.+sh was described by Hill, Francis, and other members of 3-61 Cav.

Biographical information about Salentine was provided by him in an interview.

Biographical information about Rogers came from an interview with him.

The conversations between Hill and Salentine were recalled by both men in interviews.

Information about Walsh and Webb was drawn from interviews with both men. Their report, which featured the exchange that began "Do you ever think to yourself, 'Why am I here?' " as well as other quotes in this section, aired on August 17, 2009, and was accessed on the http://www.channel4.com Web site. Web site.

Various family members of 3-61 Cav troops shared their concerns about their loved ones' wasting away. Joshua Hardt's statement, "We barely have food," was cited by his wife, Olivia Hardt, in an interview.

Biographical information about Joshua Hardt, details about his relations.h.i.+p with his wife, and emails to her were provided by Olivia Hardt.

Information about 3-61 Cav's activities outside of COP Keating came from interviews with Brown and George.

Observations related to the voting at Urmul and elsewhere were provided by officers and ranking NCOs of 3-61 Cav, including Brown, Shrode, and Hill. Information about alleged voter fraud at Barg-e-Matal came from Pentagon and State Department sources.

Biographical information about Justin Gallegos was shared by his ex-wife, Amanda Marr.

Biographical information about Eric Harder was provided by him in an interview.

Information about Vernon Martin came from interviews with his mother, Connie Brown; wife, Brittany Martin; and girlfriend, Cashet Burks. Grissette and Thomas recounted conversations they had with Martin in interviews.

Differences between Porter and Hull were recalled by both men in interviews.

Tensions between the White House and the Pentagon were described in interviews with officials on both sides, as well as by McChrystal and Kolenda. Woodward's article, accompanied by the redacted version of McChrystal's report, was published in the Was.h.i.+ngton Post Was.h.i.+ngton Post on September 21, 2009, under the headline "McChrystal: More Forces or 'Mission Failure.' " Nancy Youssef's story "Military Growing Impatient with Obama on Afghanistan," was published on September 18, 2009, by McClatchy Newspapers. on September 21, 2009, under the headline "McChrystal: More Forces or 'Mission Failure.' " Nancy Youssef's story "Military Growing Impatient with Obama on Afghanistan," was published on September 18, 2009, by McClatchy Newspapers.

Brown's outreach to Sadiq was related by Brown and also by Greg Jaffe of the Was.h.i.+ngton Post, Was.h.i.+ngton Post, who generously shared a copy of Brown's letter. who generously shared a copy of Brown's letter.

Chapter 28: Send Me

Biographical information about Portis was provided by him in an interview.

Portis's first interactions with the men of 3-61 Cav were recalled by Portis, Shrode, Courville, Breeding, and others.

Information about Chris Griffin came from interviews with his mother, Kerri Griffin Causley, as well as Portis and Salentine.

The events at George and Brown's shura at Kamdesh were recounted by George, Brown, Portis, and other attendees, including one officer who wished to remain anonymous.

The report that Portis heard about the shura attended by HIG and Taliban leaders, as well as an account of his conversation with the Afghan National Police chief, were elaborated in an email he sent to Brown, which was in turn included in the Swan report. Portis's briefing of his officers was described in interviews with him and the officers.

Intelligence information came from the Swan report and was confirmed with various sources within 3-61 Cav.

The interview with Faruq was conducted via Skype. Faruq's remarks were translated by Javid Nuristani.

The interview with Ishranullah was conducted on paper, again through Javid Nuristani.

Information about McChrystal's trip to London was gathered from an interview with McChrystal and from media coverage, including John Burns, "McChrystal Rejects Scaling Down Afghan Military Aims," New York Times, New York Times, October 1, 2009; and Alex Spillus, "White House Angry at General Stanley McChrystal Speech on Afghanistan," October 1, 2009; and Alex Spillus, "White House Angry at General Stanley McChrystal Speech on Afghanistan," Telegraph, Telegraph, October 5, 2009. October 5, 2009.

Chapter 29: Elevator Ride

Portis, Salentine, and Birchfield described the chopper ride in interviews.

Information about Abdul Rahman's plans came from Faruq.

Information about Hill's and Harder's activities was shared by both men in interviews.

Scusa and Dulaney's conversation was reported in interviews with Dulaney.

The interview with Noor Din was conducted on the phone, with translation a.s.sistance from Javid Nuristani.

Information about the insurgents' arrival in Urmul and surrounding areas was drawn from interviews with Faruq, Ishranullah, and Din, as well as from the Swan report. The quote "There were a lot of foot soldiers from all the surrounding villages" came from an interview with a former resident of Nuristan.

The story of the Afghan National Police chief's coming to the outpost and all following details were recounted in interviews with those on duty at the time: Davidson, Gregory, Wong, Souter, Stanley, and Daise.

Quotes from insurgents were taken from videos of the attack posted on the Internet by enemy forces. They were translated by Javid Nuristani.