Combat· Afghanistan War (Op ENDURING FREEDOM)
Highway 1
This action involved Marines operating along Highway 1, the major road that linked Afghanistan's principal cities and ran near the Marine positions in the south during the opening phase of the war.
From their desert base, the Marines moved to interdict the highway and the traffic along it, setting up positions to block the movement of Taliban and al-Qaeda forces fleeing or reinforcing as the regime collapsed under the coalition assault. Controlling and patrolling the route was part of the effort to cut off the enemy's mobility and tighten the noose around Kandahar as the Taliban's hold disintegrated. The Marines used their armored and mechanized elements to dominate the ground along the highway and engage targets of opportunity. The action on Highway 1 was part of the early Marine operations in southern Afghanistan, the interdiction and pressure that helped bring about the fall of the Taliban's southern stronghold in the war's opening months.
Record no. 780