Hammer Down: The Battle for the Watapur Valley, 2011 – War in Afghanistan Vanguard of Valor Series, Fight Against Taliban and al-Qaeda, Task Force Cacti by Progressive Management

On the afternoon of 25 June 2011, the Soldiers of Bravo Company, 2d Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, also known as Task Force (TF) Cacti, entered an area of Afghanistan known as the "Gambir Jungle" as part of Operation HAMMER DOWN.

With this third installment of the Vanguard of Valor series, the Combat Studies Institute transitions from the anthology format of the previous two volumes to one that focuses on the actions of a single unit and operation. HAMMER DOWN is the story of a tactical operation conducted by the Soldiers of 2d Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, of the 3d Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division, in partnership with units of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). Known as Task Force Cacti, this unit's experience in the Watapur Valley of Nuristan Province in June 2011 well illustrates the challenges of combat in the mountains of Regional Command-East, where the terrain was a constant and at times a more formidable enemy than the Taliban, HiG, or al Qaeda fighters. Coalition forces executed Operation HAMMER DOWN in an area immediately to the east of the Waygal River valley. Among the enemy fighters who squared off against TF Cacti, some undoubtedly were men who had fought the Coalition in the adjacent Pech and Korengal valleys since 2005, including men who participated in the coordinated attack on Combat Outpost Kahler at Wanat three years earlier. Just as likely, TF Cacti included veterans of previous deployments to Nuristan, who were well acquainted with the unique challenges involved in attempting to pacify this region. It is important for the reader to remember these connections and understand the role that past experience played in determining the actions of both sides during the fighting in and around the village of Gambir. By June 2011, both sides understood the other's capabilities quite well. Tactical surprise was difficult for either side to achieve, which meant that every engagement was essentially a meeting engagement. In such an environment, logistical preparation, integration of enablers, and above all small-unit leadership must provide the margin for victory.



Chapter 1: Introduction * Chapter 2: US Operations in the Watapur Valley, 2002-2011 * Chapter 3: Planning and Opening Moves * Chapter 4: The Battle for the Strongpoints, 26-30 June * Chapter 5: Conclusion



On the afternoon of 25 June 2011, the Soldiers of Bravo Company, 2d Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, also known as Task Force (TF) Cacti, entered an area of Afghanistan known as the "Gambir Jungle" as part of Operation HAMMER DOWN. The men of Bravo Company were far from the first Coalition force to try to clear the Watapur Valley. Situated at the northern end of the valley in Kunar Province and nicknamed after the imposing trees that cover the mountainside upon which the village of Gambir rests, the "Jungle" had been a focal point of several prior Coalition operations. Previous American units had attempted to forge ties with Gambir's elders with only limited success. The previous November, a US Special Forces (SF) unit had forcibly cleared the village but conditions in the valley deteriorated yet again.

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Strong Arm Tactics by Jody Lynn Nye

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The auxiliary scout platoon known as the Cockroaches contains all the outsiders and oddballs the Galactic Defense Force doesn’t want to have to deal with, but can’t find a way to discharge from the Space Service. They’re savvy, street-smart, wise (if not book-learned), intelligent, survival-oriented, and completely unconventional.

The Wolfe Pack is military SF with a twist!

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The Cockroaches get sent on what ought to be a simple courier mission to the greatest amusement park in the Galaxy, and end up defending the population from a ruthless enemy in the only way the Cockroaches know how: unconventionally!

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Lockheed Martin is one of the world’s biggest companies with over 100,000 employees around the globe, and at any given time they might have between 2000 and 3000 job openings. So why does it always seem so hard to get hired there? This 30-page guidebook will give you a foot up on the competition, and will help you land that first job at Lockheed Martin!

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Gordon Lee has seen the light, but no government will believe his evidence of an approaching alien threat. Along with a bloodied naval warrior and an eccentric physicist, they will have to create the technology necessary for Earth's first space navy. It will take a miracle just to get off the ground, and an even greater miracle to save all of mankind from this unknown alien invasion!

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Humanity is no longer alone in the universe. An unknowable threat approaches Earth . . . and we are completely unprepared to face what's coming.



Aerospace tycoon Gordon Elliot Lee cannot stand idly by while a mysterious alien presence from Delta Pavonis bears down upon mankind's only home. Shut out from NASA and military support, Gordon is forced to go it alone, to sow the seeds for an entirely new sort of planetary defense: a space-based naval force.



Joined by Nathan Kelley -- a bloodied naval warrior, scarred by his own actions in the waters off North Korea -- and Kris Munoz -- an avant garde scientific genius with more ideas than sense -- these three will scour the very edges of fringe science and engineering to attempt development of Earth's first space navy in time to oppose the Deltan invasion.



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Missiles will flash, Railguns will rumble, Lasers will burn, and Defenders will die.



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About Thomas A. Mays

Thomas A. Mays (Tom) is an 19-years-and-counting veteran of the US Navy, working as an officer in the surface fleet aboard destroyers and amphibious ships, as well as teaching and assisting with research into electromagnetic weapons and ballistic missile defense. He has two degrees in applied physics, but his passion is writing (he tries not to let what he actually knows get in the way of telling a good story). "A Sword Into Darkness" is his first published novel, but he is working on a sequel (among other projects) and releasing an anthology of his published and unpublished military science fiction, "REMO" in April, 2014. Tom usually lives wherever the Navy tells him to (currently North Carolina), making a home with his lovely wife, three beautiful kids, and an insane Hawaiian mutt. Tom's blog, The Improbable Author, can be found at: http://improbableauthor.com/

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The Marines will give their all, fight with the last of their strength and resolve. But this time the cost will be too high to bear, too personal. Even Marines need their heroes, their legends. But even legends die.



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Crimson Worlds I: Marines

Crimson Worlds II: The Cost of Victory

Crimson Worlds III: A Little Rebellion

Crimson Worlds IV: The First Imperium

Crimson Worlds V: The Line Must Hold

Crimson Worlds VI: To Hell’s Heart

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Coming Autumn 2014:

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About Jay Allan

I'm a long time SF&F fan whose been writing for 25 years, though mostly non-fiction and ghost writing. My tastes usually run to gritty, dystopian fiction, and I tend to like my heroes to be a little flawed. Of course sometimes I need to pull out my dog-eared Lensman books of the Best of Edmond Hamilton for a guilty pleasure - some pulpy space opera that differs considerably from what I am usually reading.



I tend to like a major investment in the world-building aspect of science fiction and fantasy, and this is true whether I am writing or reading.



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STAR CRUSADES NEXUS

Legions of Orion (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 1)

Machine Gods (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 2)

Heroes of Helios (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 3)

The Great Betrayal (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 4)

Prophecy of Fire (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 5)

Call to Arms (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 6)

Battle for Helios (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 7)

Wrath of the Gods (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 8) ETA Q1 2014

The Black Rift (Star Crusades Nexus, Book 9) ETA Q3 2014



STAR CRUSADES UPRISING

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Fires of Prometheus (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 3)

Battle for Proxima (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 4)

Fall of Terra Nova (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 5)

Slaves of Hyperion (Star Crusades Uprising, Book 6)



These titles are also available as combined trilogies including:



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STAR CRUSADES NEXUS: THE SECOND TRILOGY

STAR CRUSADES NEXUS: THE THIRD TRILOGY ETA Q3 2014

STAR CRUSADES UPRISING: THE FIRST TRILOGY

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