By Carlo Munoz
U.S. field commanders stationed in southern Afghanistan claim recent Marine Corps tank deployments to the region are already having a significant operational and psychological impact on insurgent forces.
Marine Corps M1A1 Abrams tanks began filtering into Helmand province in southwestern Afghanistan in November in support of coalition-led operations to clear Taliban strongholds in the area.
General Dynamics [GD] is the prime contractor for the M1A1 Abrams.
Since the beginning of those deployments, the tanks have engaged enemy forces while providing overwatch for ground troops conducting operations in country, Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, commander of Regional Command Southwest, said in a briefing from Afghanistan yesterday.
While Mills declined to provide specifics on where exactly the tanks were stationed in RC-Southwest or what units they were attached to, the two-star general did cite that their mere presence on the battlefield was having the desired effect.
Citing communication intercepts of Taliban commanders in the field, the tank’s presence has “discouraged the enemy…he is frightened of them,” prompting insurgent forces to shy away from engaging U.S. and coalition forces when accompanied by the Abrams, Mills said during the briefing from command headquarters in Afghanistan.
In particular, the tanks have proven invaluable to the counter-IED fight, the RC-Southwest commander added.
During the span of their deployments, the tanks have been hit by a number of improvised explosive devices while supporting U.S. and coalition troop operations. Several of those IED attacks were so massive that they “would have killed Marines” traveling in other types of vehicles, such as Humvees or the newer Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles.
But the M1A1 crews who were on board during those attacks were not only unharmed but relatively unphased by the strikes and continued with their missions, according to Mills.
Despite the annual lull in fighting that comes during the winter months in Afghanistan, U.S. forces and their counterparts in the Afghan National Security Forces have begun pushing further into Taliban-controlled areas in and around Hemland province, resulting in a significant uptick in enemy engagements, according to Mills.
Noting recent successes in Lashkar Gah and Sangin, Mills noted that insurgent commanders in the region have come to the conclusion that “they can’t go toe-to-toe” with U.S. and ANSF forces, and have shifted their tactics in a “slightly asymmetric way.”
That change in enemy strategy, he added, will likely highlight the use of more suicide bombers and more brazen attacks against U.S. outposts, similar to the suicide bombing attack at a CIA outpost last January and the failed attempt by Taliban forces to overrun Kandahar airfield last August.
Those types of attacks may come sooner rather than later, Mills added, as U.S. commanders are preparing for an earlier start to the spring fighting season in the country.
Due to the lackluster poppy harvest season this year–partially brought about by successful interdiction efforts–many fighting-age Afghans have now found themselves out of work and susceptible to Taliban recruitment. “We are looking at that,” Mills said regarding the impact that the potential influx of new recruits will have on current and future operations in the region.