Army records show that the U.S. soldiers killed during a recent ambush in Niger had little to no combat experience prior to their deployment.
A joint patrol of U.S. and Nigerien forces was attacked by approximately 50 Islamic State-affiliated fighters along the Niger-Mali border in early October, taking the lives of four soldiers and wounded two. Prior to the deployment, three had only been deployed once, and one of them had never been deployed abroad, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Additionally, none of them had received the Army’s combat infantry badge or combat action badge, awards given to those who have encountered action with an enemy.
Although it is unclear if the troops had been involved in combat during this deployment, all four soldiers went through a thorough Army Special Forces training package, according to the Pentagon. The training is intended to prepare for conflicts like the one in Niger.
The troops were reportedly gathering intelligence information concerning a terrorist leader, according to CNN.
The soldiers were attacked as they were returning to their operating base following a visit to a village, Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Monday. He added that air support had been requested approximately an hour after the attack and probably hadn’t been requested earlier because soldiers thought they didn’t need it.
“We shouldn’t conclude anything by that one hour,” Dunford said. “I’ve been in these situations myself where you’re confronted with enemy contact, your initial assessment is you can deal with that contact with the resources that you have, and at some point in the firefight, they concluded they then needed support, and so they called for additional support.” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., met with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday to ask questions about the ambush amid criticism from lawmakers concerning the transparency from the Pentagon about the attack. The Department of Defense is conducting a probe into the four soldiers’ deaths.
The U.S. has approximately 800 troops in Niger and 6,000 conducting missions throughout Africa. At least 20 Americans have lost their lives serving the nation since January.
