{{Short description|American outpost in Nuristan, Afghanistan}} thumb|400px|COP Keating was located at the bottom of a valley, conceding the high ground to attackers.<ref name=StarsNS2013-07-29/>
'''Combat Outpost Keating''' was a small American military outpost in Nurestan Province, in Afghanistan.<ref name=StarsNS2013-07-29/> It was originally constructed to be a Provincial Reconstruction Team, called PRT Kamdesh, but due to extremely high levels of fighting in the area it remained a fire base instead of a PRT. In December 2006, it was renamed Camp Keating after the death of ABLE Troop 3-71 Cavalry 10th Mountain Division's executive officer, Benjamin Keating, who died November 26, 2006, when his vehicle overturned in Kamdesh, Afghanistan.
Plans were drawn up{{clarify|date=April 2026|reason=Plans to do what?}} in the summer of 2006 by the US Army's 10th Mountain Division as part of Operation Mountain Lion.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Romesha|first=Clinton|title=Red Platoon : a true story of American valor|publisher=Dutton|year=2016|isbn=978-0-525-95505-4|location=New York, New York|pages=53, 360|oclc=933729394}}</ref> alt=View of a pockmarked armored Humvee at COP Keating, severely damaged during the Battle of Kamdesh.|left|thumb|View of a pockmarked armored Humvee at COP Keating, severely damaged during the Battle of Kamdesh. Combat Outpost Keating is best known as the site of the Battle of Kamdesh, which occurred on October 3, 2009; the base was nearly overrun, and eight Americans and four Afghan defenders were killed. Two Americans, Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha and Specialist Ty Carter were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in defending the base.<ref name=Cbs2016-05-01/>
The American soldiers killed in the battle were: * SSG Justin T. Gallegos (Tucson, Arizona), aged 27 * SGT Christopher Griffin (Kincheloe, Michigan), aged 24 * PFC Kevin C. Thomson (Reno, Nevada), aged 21 * SGT Michael P. Scusa (Villas, New Jersey), aged 22 * SSG Vernon W. Martin (Savannah, Georgia), aged 25 * SPC Stephan L. Mace (Lovettsville, Virginia), aged 21 * SGT Joshua J. Kirk (South Portland, Maine), aged 30 * SGT Joshua M. Hardt (Applegate, California), aged 24
The base was abandoned and bombed by an American B-1 bomber on the night of October 6.<ref name=":0" /> A day after, on October 7, Taliban fighters were seen among the ruins of the outpost. According to army records, the Taliban commander of the attack on Keating, Abdul Rahman Mustaghni, was killed by the following drone strike, along with thirteen other insurgents.<ref name=":0" />
Amy Davidson Sorkin, writing in ''The New Yorker'', tried to answer the question why the base had not been moved when it was found to be unsuitable.<ref name=Nyr2010-02-05/> She noted two claims the military put forward in its report: first, the resources to relocate the base had not been available because the brigade was concentrating on guarding a village that Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, considered strategically important. Second, the search for Bowe Bergdahl, in June 2009, had used up so many resources none were available to address the base's unsuitable location.
==In media== In May 2016 ''CBS News'' profiled Staff Sergeant Romesha, after he published an account of his experiences at the base, entitled ''Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor.<ref name="Cbs2016-05-01" />'' Romesha was critical of the choice of site for the base, describing it as "like being in a fishbowl or fighting from the bottom of a paper cup."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/article/95790/cop_keating_battle_begins_medal_of_honor_nominee_romesha_takes_action|title=COP Keating battle begins, Medal of Honor nominee Romesha takes action|last=Collins|first=Elizabeth|date=5 February 2013|website=U.S. Army}}</ref>
On November 9, 2018, the Netflix series ''Medal of Honor'' featured two separate episodes for both Romesha and Carter's personal accounts of the events that took place at COP Keating during the Battle of Kamdesh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wearethemighty.com/medal-of-honor-netflix|title=This Netflix series will tell the stories of Medal of Honor recipients|last=Milzarski|first=Eric|date=5 October 2018|website=WE ARE THE MIGHTY}}</ref>
The films ''The Outpost'' and ''Red Platoon'' are based on the events that occurred in the Battle of Kamdesh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/05/04/the-battle-of-kamdesh-which-netted-two-medals-of-honor-is-coming-to-the-big-screen-twice/|title=The Battle of Kamdesh, which netted two Medals of Honor, is coming to the big screen ― twice|last=Myers|first=Meghann|date=4 May 2018|website=Army Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/12/daniel-espinosa-red-platoon-george-clooney-smokehouse-pictures-sony-pictures-clinton-romesha-1202219902/|title=Sony Enlists Director Daniel Espinosa, George Clooney's Smokehouse For Red Platoon|last=Fleming|first=Mike|date=5 December 2017|website=Deadline}}</ref> The former is based on the book ''The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor'' by journalist Jake Tapper.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tapper|first=Jake|title=The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor|publisher=Back Bay Books|year=2013|isbn=978-0316185400}}</ref>
==See also== * List of post-Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=StarsNS2013-07-29> {{cite news | url = https://www.stripes.com/news/latest-medal-of-honor-brings-cop-keating-battle-back-into-spotlight-1.232762 | title = Latest Medal of Honor brings COP Keating battle back into spotlight | work = Stars and Stripes | author = Leo Shane II | date = 2013-07-29 | location = Washington DC | access-date = 2017-11-05 | quote = The White House decision to award Army Staff Sgt. Ty Carter with the Medal of Honor for bravery in Afghanistan once again puts the spotlight on the deadly 2009 battle at Combat Outpost Keating, and the controversy surrounding it. }} </ref>
<ref name=Cbs2016-05-01> {{cite news | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-medal-of-honor-recipients-ongoing-burden/ | title = A Medal of Honor recipient's ongoing burden | work = CBS News | date = 2016-05-01 | access-date = 2017-11-05 | quote = {{'}}These things aren't given out when something went right. A lot of stuff went wrong, and it's a heavy weight at some times.{{'}} }} </ref>
<ref name=Nyr2010-02-05> {{cite news | url = https://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/what-happened-at-cop-keating | title = What Happened at COP Keating? | work = New Yorker magazine | author = Amy Davidson Sorkin | date = 2010-02-05 | access-date = 2017-11-05 | quote = COP Keating’s withdrawal was delayed when the assets required to backhaul base supplies were diverted to support intense brigade-level operations in Barg-e Matal in support of ANSF forces. Similarly, ISR assets that could have given the Soldiers at COP Keating better situational awareness of their operational environment were reprioritized to support Barg-e Matal as well as the search for a missing US Soldier in the south. }} </ref>
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Category:Military installations of the United States in Afghanistan