Anyone here been to khost? EDIT: Question about some crap that came down from the top...

Not looking for any opsec violations, just trying to figure out what I'm getting into, I've heard it's extremely volatile and ive also heard that its a joke and will be an easy deployment.

Background info: I'm infantry, and this will be my first tour.

Okay we got briefed a few days ago...

Without giving away too many details, what, realistically is the longest foot patrol I'm looking at?

our BC has the CO and LT's convinced we'll be doing 25-30 mile patrols and/or 5-7 day patrols sleeping in patrol bases etc

all on foot, no vehicles. if this is the truth, please call the whambulance, because I'm about to shit my pants.

Someone give me the skinny on this shit, is it realistic or are these guys high?

thanks.

The ANA that I worked with in Marjah were originally from Khost Providence. Khost isn't what I'd consider volatile compared to the South. There have been 35 Coalition KIA there since 2001 compared to 646 KIA in Helmand.

They said that Khost was a lot calmer and they were extremely happy to rotate back there.

Specifically what information are you looking for?

Thanks for the info.

Specifically I'm interested in what the climate and landscape are, and how the insurgents there generally like to attack or if they like to lay low, do they favor morters small arms or ieds? thanks for any info you may have.

Well we shouldn't talk about how we know insurgents attack in certain areas, that is a violation of classification rules. You can get that information from your intel shop when you get in theater or before you go.

As for climate, its cool in the winter and can be humid in the summer. Heavy rain falls compared to rest of AFG because of the mountains to the east and the bowl its in. Khost proper is a "large" city and the largest piece of human terrain in the AO. The terrain itself varies but includes mountains, plateaus, hills, and valleys, most of it grass or grassy areas with rock sand. Roads suck all over..

Since it is publicly documented and made readily accessible by DOD I'll comment.

You may remember in late 2009 at FOB Chapman when a suicide bomber killed 5 CIA Agents, was the single largest incident in the Providence. Although it was most likely an isolated incident there however have been a few other instances of suicide attacks. So there's that, and those of us that are familiar know (regardless of how small) what presence that suggests is in the area. Which is not surprising seeing as Khost Providence is on the Pakistani border.

Next up we have IED attacks. Just like any other place in Afghanistan this is always your main concern. There have also been a handful of small arms and RPG attacks, but the enemy's success with IED's far exceeds their success with these types of attacks and they know this.

And last up you have non-hostile incidents accounting for 20% of all KIA in Khost.

It rained everyday on us on the Pak border in Spera district. It was humid as fuck during the day in the mountains, and it would cool off at night. Lots of bad guys.

Don't listen to what people say about areas. Out of RC East, Khost is the worst. Ghazni is the next worst I'd say. Not a lot of KIAs(except for the Poles) but there are a lot of small arms and IEDs. No offense to killagain, but listen to those who were there. Its not as bad as Kandahar or Helmand I'll admit, but its also completely different terrain. You can't compare mountains to flats. There a lots and lots of WIAs. PM me if you have any questions. There is a deployment pic thread on here, and I put some pictures up of where I was in Khost.

likewise. i spent a lot of time in khost last year. it is extremely ied kinetic. feel free to PM.

I lived there for some time last year. I was a Dustoff Pilot there. I've been to every nasty place around Salerno. I have seen who has it the worst, who gets shot up the most, where the most IED/ambushes take place etc. I would love to share anything I can with you to help you.

UH60driver, I think I've talked with you about Khost before. Let them know about how shitty Sabari is, or how Spera COP is in the middle of nowhere on the Pak border, and right in the middle of bad guy infil/exfil routes.

Bump for answers to edit.

Ok, lets see. It is quite possible for the long foot patrols, but it will take place usually from 3-5 days. Setting up PBs at night. Happens in the mountains. Its never w/o reason though, usually spawned because of some generals made up operation somewhere. Pretty dangerous because you'll take constant incoming and pop shots. The bad guys are pretty ballsy.

I was at Spera COP. Its shutdown as of last week. We would routinely do patrols for 3-6 clicks out, but those would take several hours because of all the mountains. All dismounted too.

You'll have vehicles regardless, unless you're at a mountain COP. You might not use them though.

Pray you're not going to Sabari. Thats all I'll say about that.

I don't know where you're going to be at. PM me if you want more details on something.

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.