Seapower And Maritime Affairs

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

What if I could tell you a story about a war that spread across a generation? A war that affected more than ten countries. A war that was started by one man and 19 of his most loyal followers. This story would be one that would be told for ages. The story would show that The United States actually had emotions and feelings that did not revolve around the word Pride. This story would be one hundred percent true. This story would be about the war that has now lasted longer than a decade and has been coming to an end for something like 4 years now. I would tell you the story about The War in Afghanistan. This war is one that I can speak on in first person about how it affected some Americans.

What started off as a school day just like any other would quickly change into a day (for my generation and the generations before) that would be remembered and marked as our December 7, 1941. This was our day that would live in infamy. I take this line from our once great President Franklin D. Roosevelt because what happened on December 7, 1941, and what happened on September 11, 2001 were the biggest attacks that the United States has had against us on our own soil in this countries history. I can remember very clearly the day that started this war. It was one of those things that I will never forget. One of those things that I will be able to tell my children. I might have been young, but I definitely understood what was going on that day. I can remember going to my private school that day back home in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was early in the morning and my principal came over the intercom and asked all of my teachers to turn their televisions to the local news station. My teacher Mrs. Smith proceeded to do so. When she turned the television on, what we saw was the start of a war that was going to last until we reached college. Both the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center had been struck by two passenger airliners. The television also showed us of a plane that had struck the United States Pentagon. Later on that day, we found out that a plane had gone down in a field in Pennsylvania. Its destination was unknown, but it is thought that the plane was headed for The White House.

At that moment, we as a nation realized that we were under attack. The president then, President George W. Bush

Was not on his own when we declared war. We had countries such as United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Poland, Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Spain, Romania, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and MANY more (Jones 280-286). The United States Decided to take this war in increments. This was a great strategy used by The President and the Department of Defense. The Initial Battle was our first retaliation and answer to September 11. Operation Enduring Freedom was our response. This how the United States moved about the rest of this war.

Operation Enduring Freedom was a battle that was meant to help aid the Global War on Terror. Both Operation Enduring Freedom and The War on Terror were meant to reach their main goal of slowing down or all together stopping Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. There were many warnings to the United States and every country that was going to be joining them about going over to fight in Afghanistan. Afghanistan was known as The "Graveyard of Empires." Many thought that it would not be a good idea seeing as how the last group that had gone over there was destroyed by the former Mujahedeen just like the Soviets had before. America being America was going into this thing with a full head of steam. Not fighting like a young country with nothing to lose, but with some of the best strategies that would give them the upper hand in every aspect of war, from the firepower to the technology (Lansford Ph.D. 41-45).

President Bush had 5 specific tactics that he wanted carried out. 1. He wanted the entire terrorist network that al Qaeda had in Afghanistan to be completely destroyed, including bases and training facilities. 2. The President wanted Osama Bin Laden and all other senior al Qaeda leaders to be killed and or captured. 3. There needed to be a democratic government set up in thought that something like this would never happen again. 4. There were already almost 3,000 United States civilian deaths, he wanted there to be very minimal casualties. 5. The president said that he wanted there to be a humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people so that they might be able to establish economic development. (Lansford Ph.D. 41-45)

The people in major leadership roles in the United States were the likes of President George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld as the United States Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff was Gen. Richard B. Myers, U.S. Air Force. These gentlemen made sure that every able body that was apart of the armed service was being used in some way. Almost every weapon in the United States arsenal was being used as far as all the equipment that could be used. Everything from manned bomber planes like the B-1 Lancers and B-2 Spirits to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The nearest battleship was the USS John Paul Jones who launched the first missiles into Afghanistan and the surrounding areas (Thornbloom). The United States’ Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Air Force were all in full force. The first footsteps that were American that stepped foot on Afghanistan soil were those of the United States Marine Corps. The 15th Marine Amphibious Unit were the closest to Afghanistan. They were in East Timor leaving to go to help aid the War on Terrorism and they were redirected to go to Pakistan to provide security for the United States Air Force.

It is hard to say what has been learned from this war in Iraq. The reasons that I say that it is hard to say what has been learned is because this war is still going on. We have caught both Osama Bin Laden, and Saddam Hussein. We have learned that it is hard to catch two single men in their home country. The reason that we were so slow in catching them was because they lived in countries that the inhabitants were afraid of them. We have learned that we have countries that are on our side and that are "Ride or Die." It is good knowing that you have people on your side. One of the things that I know that I have learned is that once we complete our jobs done, I believe hat we should immediately get out. We should not have any unnecessary casualties.

This war is unfortunately still going on and we are slowly pulling our troops out. I hope that this war is over soon so that people can get to see their families. I can only imagine that it must be really hard for those still fighting. Dealing with PTSD and not seeing one’s family can really hinder a person’s performance. I hope that we get out of the Middle east and move on to bigger and better things.

Work Cited

Lansford Ph.D., Tom. 9/11 and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq: A Chronology and Reference Guide: A

Chronology and Reference Guide. Santa Barbra:

ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2011. 41-45. Print.

Jones, Seth G. In the Graveyard of Empires: America's

War in Afghanistan. New York: W. W. Norton &

Company, 2010. 280-286. Print.

Thornbloom, S.A. "John Paul Jones Remembers 9/11 While

Maintaining Vigilance at Sea." (2002): n. page.

Web. 1 May. 2013. <http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=3612>.

"15th Marine Expeditionary Unit Camp Pendleton,

CA."Official U.S. Marine Corps Website. N.p..

Web. 1 May 2013.

<http://www.15thmeu.marines.mil/About/History.asp&xgt;.