War and Military Atlas

How Battles Were Fought
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Military Operation

Operation Red Wings

Contemporary

Operation Red Wings was a United States military operation in Afghanistan's Kunar Province beginning 27 June 2005, intended to disrupt an anti-coalition militia led by Ahmad Shah. A four-man Navy SEAL reconnaissance team was compromised by local goat herders and ambushed by Taliban fighters, and a helicopter sent to reinforce them was shot down, killing all sixteen aboard. Only one SEAL, Marcus Luttrell, survived the initial engagement, and the operation extended roughly three more weeks into search-and-rescue efforts. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Operation Type
Special-forces reconnaissance and rescue 1
Start Date
2005-06-27 1
End Date
2005-07-01 1
Location
Sawtalo Sar mountain, Kunar Province, Afghanistan 1
Participants
U.S. Navy SEALs (SEAL Team 10), 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment 1
Objective
Disrupt anti-coalition militia activity under Ahmad Shah ahead of the September 2005 Afghan parliamentary elections 1
Outcome
Nineteen U.S. servicemen were killed, including three of four SEALs on the reconnaissance team and eight aviators aboard a shot-down helicopter; one SEAL, Marcus Luttrell, was rescued 1
Operation Type
Operation Type (category)
Hostage Rescue 1
Operation Type (category)
Special-Forces Operation 1
Connections

Commanders and Forces

Operation Red Wings deployed a four-man United States Navy SEAL reconnaissance team

Source Wikipedia: Operation Red Wings
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Operation Red Wings
Wikipedia
  • Execution of the operation section
    Three of the four SEALs were killed during the ensuing battle, and one of the two quick reaction force helicopters sent in for their aid was shot down by an RPG-7.
  • In Category: Military Operations
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.