Two Marines died and six AV-8B Harrier planes were destroyed last fall after 15 insurgents attacked Camp Bastion. It marked one of the most brazen and high-profile security incidents on a major forward operating base in 11 years of war in Afghanistan. Immediately afterward, the majority of the news coverage focused on the heroism displayed that Sept. 14 night in squashing the attack. That certainly deserved attention. As I outlined from Camp Bastion last fall, hundreds of Marines and other coalition forces scrambled to root out well-trained enemy that, after breaching the wire, not only destroyed aircraft, but also opened…
Browsing: Bradley Atwell
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – From the moment I got here, it’s clear it was on people’s minds daily. The Sept. 14 attack on neighboring Camp Bastion rattled many Marines and other coalition forces on this base. While technically a separate base, the two camps share a bus route and relatively easy access. European troops frequently visit the American PX store on Leatherneck, and Americans hop the bus to visit the pizza shop, coffee shop and other amenities on Bastion. Like many other military journalists, I wrote about the attack on Bastion from my desk in D.C., relying equally on interviews,…
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – From the moment I got here, it’s clear it was on people’s minds daily. The Sept. 14 attack on neighboring Camp Bastion rattled many Marines and other coalition forces on this base. While technically a separate base, the two camps share a bus route and relatively easy access. European troops frequently visit the American PX store on Leatherneck, and Americans hop the bus to visit the pizza shop, coffee shop and other amenities on Bastion. Like many other military journalists, I wrote about the attack on Bastion from my desk in D.C., relying equally on interviews,…
The Washington Post published a noteworthy story this morning revealing new details about the deadly Sept. 14 attack on Camp Bastion, a British facility in Afghanistan’s Helmand province that abuts the Marine Corps’ principal hub there, Camp Leatherneck. Citing multiple Marine sources in theater, the Post’s Ernesto Londoño reports that Lt. Col. Christopher Raible — the commanding officer of Marine Attack Squadron 211 who was killed along with Sgt. Bradley Atwell after 15 insurgents dressed as U.S. soldiers infiltrated the base and torched six AV-8B Harriers — died heroically while leading several other Marines in an aggressive counter attack as mayhem…
