Led by the United States and composed of special operations forces from eight nations, Task Force K-Bar (originally Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - South (CJSOTF-SOUTH)) was the first major ground deployment in the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, operating from October 2001 to April 2002.[1]
Originally operating out of Oman's Masirah Air Base before deploying themselves directly in southeastern Afghanistan, K-Bar was under the command of then-Captain Robert Harward, a US Navy SEAL.[2][3] Harward was full of praise for the troops under his command, and later stated that the Canadian Joint Task Force 2 team was his first choice for any direct action mission.[4]
In total, K-Bar ran 42 reconnaissance and surveillance missions, and an unreported number of combat missions that resulted in the capture of 107 Afghans and the deaths of at least 115.[1]
In 2004, the units participating in Task Force K-Bar were each awarded the Presidential Unit Citation by George W. Bush for their service in Afghanistan.[4] The Task Force was composed of U.S. Navy SEALs, Special Warfare Combatant-craft crewmen, U.S. Army Special Forces, U.S. Air Force Combat Controllers, and Coalition special operations forces from Canada, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.[5]
Member nations[]
- United States: Navy SEALs (Teams 2, 3, and 8), U.S. Air Force Combat Controllers and Pararescuemen, and Army Special Forces;[6]
- Norway, ~70 Hærens Jegerkommando (HJK), Forsvarets Spesialkommando (FSK) and Marinejegerkommandoen (MJK);[7]
- Canada: ~40 Joint Task Force 2;[1]
- Germany: ~100 Kommando Spezialkräfte;[citation needed]
- New Zealand: ~40 New Zealand Special Air Service;[7]
- Denmark: ~100 Jægerkorpset and Frømandskorpset.[6][8]
- Turkey: one liaison officer
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 CBC, JTF2: Canada’s super-secret commandos, July 15, 2005
- ↑ Presidential Unit Citation to Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - South
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Allan Woods Ottawa Bureau. "'Canada's elite commandos and the invasion of Afghanistan'". Thestar.com. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/afghanmission/article/800296--canada-s-elite-commandos-and-the-invasion-of-afghanistan?bn=1. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ↑ http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=16216
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Pugliese, David. Ottawa Citizen, JTF2's Norwegian Comrades in Action in Afghanistan
- ↑ Jæger - i krig med eliten end of Chapter 8 + beginning of chapter 9
The original article can be found at Task Force K-Bar and the edit history here.