It was a cloudy day near the end of October 2008, when in northern Afghanistan a group of 6 Marines from the Marine Special Operations Team, MSOT-5, were about to be overrun by Taliban fighters. The Marines were calling in for air support but the clouds over the valley were making it impossible to get the F/A-18s to them.
MSOT-5 continued to try fending off the heavy small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades but were greatly outnumbered by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters. The team took a last stand at a small building and continued to try to hold off till weather could clear up so they could get air support to assist.
There were two A-10Cs had just completed a 3 hour mission and were on their way home to Bagram Air Base. A refueling plane met up with them and redirected them towards MSOT-5 position. They quickly arrived in the area and relieved the F/A-18s who couldn’t make progress due to the clouds. At this point the Taliban fighters were attempting to breach the door of the building MSOT-5 were holding up in.
The A-10Cs were left with an impossible ask, drop down to 3,000 feet above ground with no radar, no maps and no way of safely navigating the mountains or listen to the team on the ground die. The two A-10Cs began descending, working off the description of the valley from those on the ground to guide them through. Once they were under the clouds they could see the Taliban fighting positions on the ground. Due to the darkness, the clouds, and the smoke from the firefight they had to enable all their exterior lighting which made it easier for the two planes to navigate each other but it also allowed the Taliban to clearly see them in the sky.
The only relief was this gave a break to MSOT-5 as the Taliban quickly turned their guns on the A-10Cs instead of them. The A-10Cs then began strafing runs, firing within 30 metres of the Marines positions. They also continued their low show-of-force flybys, drawing enemy fire which allowed them to identify their positions. MSOT-5 were able to make an exit from the building and moved for cover further from the building. The Marines were protected from A-10s friendly fire because they had strobe lights on their helmets identifying them as friendlies.
When the Taliban gave chase, the A-10s moped them up with their 30mm rounds. At some points, the A-10s were laying down fire within 20-25 metres of the Marines positions. The Marine team was able to regroup with the rest of their unit and pull back to FOB Todd with greatly less than expected casualties. The A-10 pilots were later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for valor.
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