Soldiers Recount Anatomy of Operation Anaconda

B A G R A M  A I R  B A S E, Afghanistan, March 22 -- Operation Anaconda began in the dead of the night on March 2 and for the next 16 days, U.S. infantrymen from the 101st Airborne Division, the 10th Mountain Division and the helicopter crews who ferried them into action engaged al Qaeda forces in the deadliest ground offensive of the war in Afghanistan. This is their story:

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jeff Simon, Chinook pilot: "In the days leading up to it, they really didn't give us a lot of information other than the fact that there was a big mission coming up. And it got delayed because of weather — two days. And then obviously, as we got closer, we went into our planning cycle, and that's when we started getting a lot more information on exactly where the target area was, what routes we were gonna fly."

Ground and air troops sat through seemingly endless rounds of briefings to prepare themselves for the battle.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 John W. Quinlan, Chinook pilot: "We were told it was going to be one of the largest missions to date, since Operation Enduring Freedom started."

Simon: "For us, the objective was to get the infantry on the ground where they wanted to be at, at a particular time. And then we usually get a little bit of, of background of exactly what they're going to do on the ground, so we can help them do their mission. But, for us, the objective is always get them on, on target, plus or minus 50 meters, plus or minus 30 seconds."

Quinlan: "I was most worried about the terrain in the landing area. We had imagery of the landing areas … Those pictures didn't do us a lot of good. The terrain analysis on the maps, we knew we were going to be in jagged areas. So basically, getting that helicopter in there safely and landing and getting those guys up, that's what everyone was focused on."

Lt. Russell Berman, platoon commander: "Everyone's intense and they're pretty much looking forward to it because … pretty much an infantryman's career is to go to do this. So this is what everyone pretty much looks forward to."

Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Ketchum, Chinook pilot: "Most of the times before I go out and fly, I do say a prayer that I will be watched over."

Anaconda’s Mission

The operation's goal was to destroy al Qaeda and Taliban forces fortified in mountainous positions in eastern Afghanistan. On the morning of March 2, Apache attack helicopters were deployed to clear the area where the heavier, MH-47 Chinook helicopters were to land and deploy the ground troops they carried. Some of the Chinooks, normally based in Bagram, came under heavy fire during their 90-minute trip to the battle zone.