Combat· Afghanistan War (Op ENDURING FREEDOM)
Op Swift Freedom
Operation Swift Freedom was the audacious opening Marine move of the Afghan war, the projection of an expeditionary force hundreds of miles from the sea deep into the landlocked Afghan interior to establish a forward base in the desert south of Kandahar.
Flying from ships in the Arabian Sea, the Marines seized a remote desert airstrip they named Camp Rhino, planting a conventional American ground presence in the Taliban heartland in a feat of long-range amphibious reach never before attempted at such distance. The base became the springboard for operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the south, the first sustained foothold from which the Marines could interdict the enemy and support the drive on Kandahar. Swift Freedom demonstrated the strategic mobility of Marine expeditionary forces, carrying combat power from the sea to the far interior of a country with no coastline. It opened the Marine campaign in Afghanistan.
Record no. 779