The 23rd and 24th of June 2006 would be a crucible of leadership and heroism for an already battle-tested and decorated captain in the U.S. Army’s Special Forces. Captain Sheffield F. Ford III was in charge of some 16 Americans and 46 Afghan Army soldiers during "Operation Kaika" in the Panjawi District of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. In the bleak farmland, criss-crossed by ditches and barren expanses, Ford led his unit to "re-establish order" in the contested region, entering a Spartan Afghan village on the 23rd. The dilapidated buildings and mud huts were hiding a Taliban force of unknown strength with one thought on their minds: killing Americans and the Afghan soldiers working to take back their country. In their hastily prepared patrol base, Ford organized a perimeter as night enveloped the isolated Special Forces team and their Afghan allies.
As darkness fell, "all hell [broke] loose." From three directions, rifle, machine gun, and rocket-propelled grenade fire landed and exploded on their position. One of Ford’s squad mates later said they had "not seen this disciplined execution of infantry tactics" by the Taliban. Ford dug his men in to repel the assault.
Moving from position to position, he alternated between barking orders, firing at the enemy, and rallying the Afghan soldiers with him. As the night crept on, the remaining Taliban fighters withdrew and Ford took stock of the situation.
Early the next day, he ordered some of his Special Forces operators to lead a team of Afghans into the suspected Taliban hideout. As the unit engaged the hostiles, it was divided in two when some 200 Taliban fighters poured out, separating the American attackers and surrounding the make-shift patrol base.
Over the radio, Ford was connected with one of the translators who had been leading the mission on the Taliban position. The translator saw two Americans were fighting despite being severely wounded and feared capture at any minute. Knowing the ramifications of being taken alive by the Taliban, the translator told Ford he would, if ordered, end the suffering of the troops and his own life rather than be captured. Ford responded, "We’ve got people coming." Ford organized and launched an effective rescue to recover the translator and wounded troops, even if they were mortally wounded. He would not allow American or Afghan alike to be taken in any condition by the Taliban.
The adversaries fought so close to one another that the terrorists screamed to the Afghan soldiers that, "we can forgive you; just put your weapons down and walk away. We want the Americans alive." The months of training and the ties formed between the Americans and the Afghans were put to the test. Seeing the example of Ford running to each of the beleaguered fighters in the face of constant fire, and remembering all they had endured alongside their American trainers, the Afghan soldiers responded to the Taliban’s offer with well-aimed shots and an unbreakable defense.
Exemplifying the U.S. Special Forces motto, De Opresso Liber (to liberate the oppressed), Ford inspired his Afghan troops to stand up to the Taliban fighters and bring them down. He led an evacuation of all the men under his command, wounded included, out of the village under the cover of Apache attack choppers to ensure all would be safe, while sealing the fate of the insurgents. Ford successfully extricated his men, and the unit had more than 120 confirmed kills. Just as the Americans and Afghans had trained together, they sacrificed together; two American and three Afghan soldiers would not leave the battlefield alive. For his accomplishments in the face of such an overpowering force, Ford was awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third highest military award.
Operation Kaika began because the Taliban were moving into farming villages. The terrorists gave villagers an ultimatum: Leave or support us. It was the middle of harvest season, and the locals couldn't afford to lose their grape crops.
Coalition troops intended to sweep in and roust the Taliban with a show of superior force. Afghan policemen would later guard against the Taliban's return.
The first part of the plan hit a firewall. The Taliban hit back hard against Ford's men. The terrorists had heavy weapons and sophisticated communications. Ford later learned that a senior Taliban commander was leading the attack.
It was like nothing the 18-year Army veteran had encountered. The Taliban in that region rarely attacked in that way.
The battle over the three days included three firefights totaling 17 hours of hard fighting.
The valor award's narrative reports that during the first fight, Ford led the attack from an exposed vehicle's turret gun: "Under an extraordinary volume of small arms, machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire, he remained in the exposed turret, ignoring the strikes of bullets and grenade fragments around him, accurately and calmly firing into the Taliban assault."
He did this while coordinating the rest of the defense and reporting its status to headquarters.
Ford fired from the exposed turret again the second day after the Taliban targeted a follow-up assault.
When the Taliban realized it outnumbered the coalition forces, other jihadists entered the fray. They were convinced they had the Americans cornered. "They were yelling and cursing at us, saying this time they were going to capture us," Ford recalled. "They told the Afghan soldiers to give up and leave."
He could call in air support, but the Taliban pressed in too closely. Ford and his men ran the risk of having themselves bombed.
An immediate risk was the perimeter. At one point only a three-foot-high wall separated some allied forces from the Taliban.
Coalitions troops were so desperate, they called in Afghan police for backup. The terrorists countered by ambushing the cops, who never made it to the coalition's position.
"That was how we knew we were surrounded," Ford said.
Again he maintained calm, coordinating the counterattack and ensuring that the defenders held the perimeter. Instead of hunkering down, they attacked the enemy. That helped them regain the initiative and push the Taliban back.
Through it all, said Ford, he was "most definitely" scared but refused to get rattled. He focused on protecting his men. He mostly succeeded, yet his master sergeant, Thomas Maholic, didn't make it.
"Anybody who would say they don't feel fear or get scared during such a battle, well, I couldn't believe them," Ford said. "With all emotions, it is how you control it and how you focus on what you are going through so you can have a positive outcome."
...The coalition forces totaled 72 men. The Taliban had more than 200. At times Ford's men were surrounded on four sides. At other times the fight was so close, the enemy was yards away. "We were expecting some resistance, but not of that nature," Ford recalled. "They basically laid siege to us."
Despite the danger, chaos, exhaustion and fear, Ford led the coalition forces to a lopsided victory.
The battle claimed the lives of an estimated 125 terrorists and just five coalition soldiers: two Americans and three Afghan interpreters.
It was one of the largest battles in Afghanistan since the U.S. invasion of 2001. Last fall, Ford was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry.
