Fearless Under Fire: Tangye

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Isabel George. Fearless Under Fire: Tangye

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Fearless Under Fire

Tangye

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What followed was two years of consolidation for the Afghan National Alliance with the support of the British and US Forces. The thrust of each military operation was to secure the position of the Alliance against the Taliban and capture the insurgents, giving them little time or space to retreat to their stronghold over the Pakistan border. By the time the US and British Governments began to turn their attention to the activities in Iraq in 2003, the position in Afghanistan was favourable to the Alliance.

Although the Alliance may not have agreed with the way the military operations had been performed, the result was conclusive: four days after the Alliance had retaken Bagram airbase, a C-130 Hercules had landed 100 elite British Commandos from the Special Boat Service (SBS). Living their motto ‘By Strength and Guile’ to the last letter, the men secured the base and set up effective air traffic control. In securing the base and adopting it as headquarters for the British Special Forces, the area became as safe as it could be, especially with the imminent arrival of 120 men (two squadrons) of Special Air Service (SAS) personnel in readiness for an attack deep into enemy territory. The successful destruction of an al-Qaeda opium storage plant, in broad daylight, earned the regiment a Distinguished Service Order, two Conspicuous Gallantry Crosses and two Military Crosses. They proved absolutely their motto – ‘Who Dares Wins’. Commandos from the SBS were getting close to bin Laden in December 2001 when the US Forces infiltrated the Tora Bora cave system close to the Khyber Pass. With the help of the SBS, US Forces were guided into position and successful air strikes crippled al-Qaeda insurgents, forcing them into a rearguard action. Countless enemy positions were located, attacked and cleared but this was guerilla warfare and it was being fought close to the enemy’s main retreat in Pakistan where they were always bound to run.

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