Telling A Soldier’s Story

Britt Kelly Slabinski

Origin

      Britt Kelly Slabinski’s commitment and affinity to public service was evident from an early age as exemplified by his joining the Eagle Scout at age fourteen. Slabinski was born on December 1, 1969, in Northampton, Massachusetts. After graduating from high school in 1988, Brett left Smith Vocational Agricultural High School and joined the United States Navy. As a recruit Slabinski was trained in the boot camp in Orlando, Florida (Navy, 2023). Slabinski then went through the Radioman class A school situated in San Diego where he learned about the basics of naval communications (CMOS, 2023). Driven by a passion to join the Navy SEAL Slabinski applied to the program and passed the rigorous training and qualification. Consequently, Slabinski joined the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) at the naval base in Coronado. Following the arduous and intense training of the BUD/S program, Britt graduated in 1990 in Class 164.

Operations and Career

Before retiring in 2014, Slabinski finished nine ultramarine deployments and fifteen combat deployments aiding the campaign against terrorism, particularly in operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM (Lambeth, 2001). Slabinski was assigned to the United States Navy as a member of SEAL Team FOUR immediately after finishing his training in 1993. Consequently, Slabinski joined the Naval Special Warfare Development Group where he served till 2006. It was in his operational assignment in March 2002 as the Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM that Slabinski’s acts of valor manifested during the Battle of Takur Ghar, earning him a Congressional Medal of Honor (Navy, 2023).  Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) was the official title used by the United States to refer to the Global War on Terrorism which was sparked by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In OEF, the United States armed forces targeted various terrorist groups particularly Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The Global War on Terror

The Global War on Terror was fundamentally characterized by numerous intersecting operations and battles. Typically, the war began in earnest with the Battle of Tora Bora which was launched in December 2001 with the main aim of decimating Al-Qaeda’s leadership along the Afghan-Pakistani border (Owens et al., 2008). On March 2, 2002, another operation referred to as Operation Anaconda was launched with the main purpose of flanking and strangling significant Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces and operations in the Paktia province In Afghanistan. Operation Anaconda lasted a fortnight and comprised a collaborative force of the United States Navy, Army, and Air Force. Further, troops from Allied forces including Canada, and the United Kingdom also participated in the excursion (Navy, 2023). The operation focused on penetrating the remote regions of the province using helicopter airlift. Inherent weaknesses in the use of helicopter airlifts to infiltrate the remote regions became apparent during the Battle of Takur Ghar on March 4, 2002.

Battle of Takur Ghar

The Battle of Takur Ghar started with the deployment of two seven-man SEAL teams from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group referred to as MAKO 21 and MAKO 30. Senior Chief Slabinski was tasked with commanding MAKO 30 comprising six SEALs and United States Air Force controller, Sergeant John Chapman. The two teams were primarily deployed to reach the peak of Takur Ghar, a ten-thousand five hundred feet mountain overlooking the Shah-i-Kot Valley, a crucial vantage point for surveillance (Grochowski, 2015). Typically, the teams were to set up on the mountain and track enemy activities and call in airstrikes. Slabinski requested a stay of execution for one day to make the necessary preparations but was ordered to proceed with the mission (Conetta, 2002: Cole, 2022). The initial strategy was to ensure that the teams were inserted by helicopter, one mile to the east of the mountain from where the team would get to the peak by daybreak.

However, coordination issues and misinformation regarding the enemy position inspired the insertion of the teams at the peak of the Takur Ghar mountain which was already occupied by enemy forces. The MH-47 Chinook which was inserting the team at the peak of Takur Ghar was immediately attacked by machine gun fire as well as rocket-propelled grenades damaging it. The pilot Chief Warrant Officer Al Mack reacted by pulling away to save the helicopter and MAKO 30 which resulted in the Petty Officer First Class Neil Roberts falling off the helicopter onto the snow, ten feet below.

The helicopter was irreparably damaged by enemy fire hence the remaining SEALs could not be debarked (Budiansky, 2004). The pilot however managed a controlled crash landing seven miles away. MAKO 30 secured their crash-landing site, the team evacuated back to their base in Gardez. The team then decided to return to the summit of Takur Ghar to rescue Roberts with a new helicopter Razor 04 (Neville, 2013). The team engaged the enemies through directed air strikes for twenty minutes clearing the insurgents in the region. Slabinski and Chapman showed tremendous courage during the mission. Slabinski, as the chief officer secured his team by tending to the wounded and carrying one of his teammates through the snowing mountain (Kayes, Allen, & Self, 2013: MacPherson, 2006). The Battle at Takur Ghar resulted in the deaths of seven American soldiers and highlighted the innate dangers of that mode of operation (Milani, 2003: Fischer, 2013). Slabinski’s role in the Battle of Takur Ghar fundamentally earned him a naval cross and later under Trump’s administration, he was awarded a Medal of Honor for his acts of valor during the engagement (Brazeal, 2020). Slabinski’s operational assignment with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group ended in 2006, four years after the Battle of Takur Ghar. After serving as the Command Master Chief of Naval Special Warfare Tactical Development and Evaluation Squadron TWO.

Other Operational Roles

Slabinski retired in 2014, after serving as the Director of the Naval Special Warfare Safety Assurance and Analysis Program. Apart from the Medal of Honor, Slabinski has won several awards including the Good Conduct Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Bronze Star with Valor, and Joint Service Commendation Medal.  Slabinski retired in June 2014, after twenty-five years of an illustrious career in the military. On May 24, 2018, Slabinski was awarded the Medal of Honor by President J Trump for his crucial role in support of the Global War on Terror.

References

Navy, A. (2023).       Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Britt K Slabinski. Retrieved from https://www.navy.mil/MEDAL-OF-HONOR-RECIPIENT-BRITT-K-SLABINSKI/

CMOS. (2023). Britt Kelly Slabinski. Retrieved from https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/britt-k-slabinski

Brazeal, G. P. (2020). The hero & the victim: Narratives of criminality in Iraq war fiction (Doctoral dissertation, Cornell University).

Cole, M. (2022). Code Over Country: The Tragedy and Corruption of SEAL Team Six. Bold Type Books.

Owens, B. D., Kragh Jr, J. F., Wenke, J. C., Macaitis, J., Wade, C. E., & Holcomb, J. B. (2008). Combat wounds in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 64(2), 295-299.

Lambeth, B. S. (2001). Air power against terror: America’s conduct of operation enduring freedom. Rand Corporation.

Fischer, H. (2013, February). US Military casualty statistics: operation new dawn, operation Iraqi Freedom, and operation enduring freedom. Library of Congress Washington Dc Congressional Research Service.

Conetta, C. (2002). Strange Victory: A critical appraisal of Operation Enduring Freedom and the Afghanistan War. Project on Defense Alternatives, Commonwealth Institute.

Grochowski, G. (2015). Planning for the next Takur Ghar. Defense & Security Analysis, 31(2), 152-158.

Milani, A. N. (2003). Pitfalls of Technology: A Case Study of the Battle on Takur Ghar Mountain, Afghanistan. ARMY WAR COLLEGE CARLISLE BARRACKS PA.

Budiansky, S. (2004). Air Power. New York: Viking.

Kayes, D. C., Allen, C. N., & Self, N. (2013). Integrating learning, leadership, and crisis in management education: Lessons from army officers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Journal of Management Education, 37(2), 180-202.

MacPherson, M. (2006). Roberts Ridge: A Story of Courage and Sacrifice on Takur Ghar Mountain, Afghanistan. Dell.

Neville, L. (2013). Takur Ghar: The SEALs and Rangers on Roberts Ridge, Afghanistan 2002. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Details

• Rank: Senior Chief (Highest Rank: Master Chief)
• Conflict/Era: War on Terrorism (Afghanistan)
• Unit/Command:U.S. Navy SEALS
• Military Service Branch: U.S. Navy
• Medal of Honor Action Date: March 4, 2002
• Medal of Honor Action Place: Takur Ghar, Afghanistan

MoH citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while assigned to a Joint Task Force in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. In the early morning of 4 March 2002, Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Slabinski led a reconnaissance team to its assigned area atop a 10,000-foot snow-covered mountain. Their insertion helicopter was suddenly riddled with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire from previously undetected enemy positions. The crippled helicopter lurched violently and ejected one teammate onto the mountain before the pilots were forced to crash land in the valley far below. Senior Chief Slabinski boldly rallied his five remaining team members and marshalled supporting assets for an assault to rescue their stranded teammate. During reinsertion the team came under fire from three directions, and one teammate started moving uphill toward an enemy strongpoint. Without regard for his own safety, Senior Chief Slabinski charged directly toward enemy fire to join his teammate. Together, they fearlessly assaulted and cleared the first bunker they encountered. The enemy then unleashed a hail of machine gun fire from a second hardened position only twenty meters away. Senior Chief Slabinski repeatedly exposed himself to deadly fire to personally engage the second enemy bunker and orient his team’s fires in the furious, close-quarters firefight. Proximity made air support impossible, and after several teammates became casualties, the situation became untenable. Senior Chief Slabinski maneuvered his team to a more defensible position, directed air strikes in very close proximity to his team’s position, and requested reinforcements. As daylight approached, accurate enemy mortar fire forced the team further down the sheer mountainside. Senior Chief Slabinski carried a seriously wounded teammate through deep snow and led a difficult trek across precipitous terrain while calling in fire on the enemy, which was engaging the team from the surrounding ridges. Throughout the next 14 hours, Senior Chief Slabinski stabilized the casualties and continued the fight against the enemy until the hill was secured and his team was extracted. By his undaunted courage, bold initiative, leadership, and devotion to duty, Senior Chief Slabinski reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.