PAYBACK
By: Rich Fisher

Operation Anaconda: March 2002 Gardez, Afghanistan Captain, 10th Mountain Division On September 11th 2001, America recoiled in horror over the treacherous terrorist attacks made on U.S. soil. Over 3000 Americans were murdered on that infamous day. Hearing the chants of "USA, USA" at Ground-Zero, President Bush stated to the rescue workers there (and to the rest of the nation): "I hear you, and those who knocked these buildings down, will hear from all of us soon!!") Those responsible for this act were members of the notorious Al-Qaeda terror network. The brutally oppressive Taliban regime in Afghanistan had granted Al-Qaeda free reign in their country for years. Many of the largest Al-Qaeda training camps were based there. President Bush decided that Afghanistan would be the first rats nest to be cleaned out, in this new war on terror. During the fall and winter of 2001, American forces began to deploy to Afghanistan to assist in taking down the Taliban. One of the largest battles in this campaign was Operation Anaconda. Both the 101st Airborne and the 10th Mountain Division would take part in this action. The fighting would take place in the mountain passes near the town of Gardez. Being specifically trained for mountain fighting, the 10th Mountain Division was the perfect choice for this assignment. After being assigned three routes of possible escape for Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces, 10th Mountain troopers attacked the villages of Sarkhankhel, Marzak, and Babakul. The enemy forces there were taken completely by surprise and suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the Americans. Elsewhere on the battlefield, other troopers from the 10th Mountain found hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters waiting for them in the mountains at an altitude of 8000 feet. The terrain was rocky and snowy, with temperatures dipping below freezing at night. What ensued was an 18-hour gun battle with the fighting at times being nose-to-nose. Air strikes were called in and the enemy forces were pummeled. What started out to be a 72-hour "mop-up" operation turned into a major two-week battle, but in the end, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in eastern Afghanistan were crushed. American forces killed over 800 enemy soldiers in this engagement. The 10th Mountain Division could add another victory to an already proud history. More importantly, they gave the American people the satisfaction that justice was being served, and that those responsible for September 11th, were indeed receiving "payback". This figure is a basic kitbash from multiple sources. The figure is from Hasbro. The helmet, uniform, ammo pouches, butt pack, and binoculars are all 21st. The M-4, body armor, boots, Y-harness, bio-chem pack, canteens, and smoke grenade are all SOTW. The goggles and flashlight are Dragon. The 10th Mountain and rank patches are from Patches of Pride. For a final touch, I remove the original oversized Hasbro hands and replaced them with TUS gloved hands. I also remove the original helmet band (that is to fat for my liking ) and replaced it with one of my own. It can be seen under the goggles (along with the rank patch). I also put two glow tabs on the back of the helmet band, just like the real troops have. These are just small additions that I think really make a display figure stand out.

Awesome work once again Richard. Both of these figures are really sharp. I loved all the little extra details like the in-scale helmet band on the AirCav soldier. Great stuff. Special thanks for sending them both in and sharing them with us. -- GL

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