September 2012 raid on Camp Bastion

The raid was a complex and coordinated assault by 15 Taliban fighters, wearing ACU pattern camouflage and carrying several types of small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and explosive charges. The attack was initiated on the eastern side of Camp Bastion near the US Marine's aircraft hangars at 22:00 local time (17:30 GMT). The assault team penetrated the perimeter of the camp, guarded by troops from the United Kingdom and Tonga, and separated into three teams to carry out the attack. One team engaged a group of USMC mechanics from VMM-161 who were in the area; the same team also attacked the aircraft refueling stations. Another group attacked the aircraft, and the last group was engaged at the base cryogenics compound. The group that attacked the aircraft attached the explosive charges to several jets, then fired the rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at others. The attackers were killed or captured during a four-hour firefight with US Marines, defence contractors from Triple Canopy, and No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment, along with overhead helicopter fire support within Camp Bastion's perimeter fence given directly by British Apache AH1s from the UK's Joint Aviation Group, USMC AH-1W SuperCobras and machine-gun equipped UH-1Y Venoms from the USMC unit HMLA-469, which took off while under fire from the insurgents. The RAF troops, who were located on the opposite side of the main runway, arrived at the scene approximately 12 minutes after the attack began. A second group of five insurgents was flushed out of hiding hours later and shot by No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment, defense contractors from Triple Canopy, and USMC forces in a compound near their entry point. The final group of five insurgents was detected near the flight line hours later and were killed by gunfire from the RAF quick reaction force and orbiting helicopters During the early portion of the fighting, the VMA-211 squadron commander, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Raible, 40, was killed when an anti-personnel rocket propelled grenade struck the side of the building that housed the squadron's work spaces. The rocket struck the side of the building containing the medical section. Lt. Col. Raible, after hearing several explosions outside the building, left his office to investigate when the rocket struck. A piece of shrapnel from the rocket struck him in the neck, causing him to bleed to the point of incapacity before effectively organizing a defense. The squadron executive officer, Major Robb T. McDonald, then took command, directing Marines to safety, leading a team to reconnoiter the flight line, and directing two helicopter strikes on the enemy. For these actions, he was awarded the Silver Star. Killed nearby was USMC mechanic Sergeant Bradley Atwell, 27, while taking cover behind ground support equipment on the flight line. Atwell and Raible were killed by a single RPG round which exploded in the air above them. Six AV-8B Harrier IIs and a United States Air Force C-130 were destroyed and another two Harriers severely damaged. Three refuelling stations were destroyed and six soft-skin aircraft hangars damaged. ==Aftermath==

The attack was described as "the worst loss of U.S. airpower in a single incident since the Vietnam War"; the attack caused 200 million USD in damages. Together, the six destroyed and two damaged Harriers constituted six percent of the USMC's inventory. Normal attrition of the USMC's Harrier jets is around two airframes a year. To replace the aircraft lost in the attack, the USMC deployed 14 Harriers to Afghanistan within 36 hours of the raid. The ISAF claimed a week later that it had captured one of the raid's planners. The Marine Corps stated Gurganus "bore final accountability for the lives and equipment under his charge," and he "made an error in judgment when conducting his risk assessment of the enemy's capabilities and intentions." Sturdevant, the USMC said, "did not adequately assess the force protection situation". Both men retired honorably and with full benefits. According to NBC News, a senior U.S. defense official remarked that if Gurganus was not a general he would have faced a court martial, which would have prevented retirement with full benefits. "Marines are dead and six aircraft were destroyed. A Lance Corporal would fry for a lot less than that," NBC quoted the official saying. and that "British commanders must bear a degree of responsibility for... systemic failures and associated reputational damage". The British High Commissioner to Tonga also stated that it was British, and not Tongan, personnel who were responsible for the penetrated section of the perimeter and that allegations which arose from a US Military enquiry claiming that Tongan troops had been caught sleeping while on guard duty were not correct. == See also ==