Ground Truth went back to the mountain to understand The Battle of Takur Ghar. No author, journalist, podcaster or other filmmaker made this move. The facts of this battle cannot be found in social media comments. The 24 year game of telephone is over.
Would you—with no other options at the peak of the mountain—knowingly return to the exact same landing zone where your first helicopter was shot down, expecting this time the enemy is even better prepared? The Razor 0-4 aircrew and the MAKO 3-0 element onboard made that choice, knowing that it was probably too late for Neil Roberts but willing to risk everything in the hope that they were wrong.
Operation Anaconda presented invaluable insights, with some immediately apparent and others requiring years of reflection to fully grasp. Ground Truth delves into this wisdom through interviews with those who were there, examining the immense role of human nature in the heroic and tragic events that unfolded. The Battle of Roberts Ridge and the broader lessons of Operation Anaconda offer critical insights for the next generation of warfighters. These lessons provide a deeper understanding of the complexities of modern conflict and the human elements at its core.
When the quick reaction force helicopter, call-sign Razor 0-1, was shot down atop Takur Ghar, three personnel were killed instantly. The shoot-down also left many wounded, including the left-seat pilot, who was shot through both legs, and the right-seat pilot, Greg Calvert, whose hand was nearly severed by PKM machine gun fire.
Calvert later recounted how two medics—SFC Corey Lamoreaux of the 160th SOAR and Air Force Pararescueman Jason Cunningham—tirelessly rendered aid and remained with the injured, even while enduring repeated attacks throughout the day.
Calvert told us Jason’s knee was by his head when he was mortally wounded, yet he kept providing life-saving medical treatment. Cunningham would ultimately succumb to his gunshot wound hours later. For his actions that that day, Senior Airman Cunningham was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross, the second-highest combat award for valor.
Matt LaFrenz gave us a raw, genuine and articulate account of what happened on the mountain. Matt went on to have a long and prestigious career, but on this day, he experienced combat for the very first time. Imagine this battle being your first combat experience.
While Ground Truth was interested in how The Battle of Roberts Ridge unfolded, we were just as interested in why the narrative played out the way it did over two decades.
Do the qualities that drive us to lean forward and be aggressive have unintended consequences? When does inter-service rivalry drive excellence, and when does it stop serving us. What happens after the shooting stops and the finger-pointing begins—and why?
Ground Truth brought in respected thinkers with neutral voices to help us sort through memory, bias, rivalry, heroism, history and journalism, technology, and the blurred lines between truth and fact.
Our guests include: @sebastianjungerofficial@malcolmgladwell@ericrweinstein@steven_pressfield@ben.h.milligan #karlmarlantes
Rangers Part 2:
On March 4, 2002, at 0614 local time, Razor 0-1, carrying the first half of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) was shot down on final approach, starting a day that will forever be etched in the memories of the “customers” and aircrew.
At 0804 local, the second half of the Ranger QRF inserted at the base of the mountain (Takur Ghar) and began their 2400ft snow covered ascent , finally linking up with their killed, wounded, and still pinned down teammates to continue the fight at approximately 1020 local.
The fight to take and hold Takur Ghar was the highest elevation battle in U.S. history.
The Battle of Roberts Ridge
Rangers Part 1
Most tellings of this story quickly center on the U.S. Navy and Air Force. Ground Truth intends to tell the stories of the other units involved too- Rangers, TF-160th SOAR, Intel personnel, Air Force Pararescueman and Predator crews and more- we invited all who were there to share their stories.
While every version of the Roberts Ridge story until now has relied on a narrow set of sources, the #groundtruthdoc investigation reached beyond the recycled accounts and built a comprehensive first hand record from the 70 plus interviews with those closest to the events.
