In July 2005, in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan, Sergeant First Class Donald Grambusch - a member of 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, specifically ODA 324 - was involved in an intense, daylong fight against enemy forces in an area known as Siah Chow. What began as a combat reconnaissance patrol into a suspected Taliban/anti-coalition militia sanctuary area ended up being a successful execution of the battalion commander's strategy of constantly pressuring, pursuing and punishing the enemy in southern Afghanistan, an outcome made all the more possible by the integration of various Afghan security forces, New Zealand special operations forces and coalition close air support. In this interview, Grambusch provides a wealth of detailed information and firsthand, on-the-ground, almost minute-by-minute accounts of this small-unit, tactical fight. He discusses major decision points and everything from the nature and scope of pre-fight enemy propaganda in the vicinity of their firebase to his responsibilities running the unit's casualty collection point once hostilities commenced. In addition, Grambusch talks at length about the weapons systems and tactics employed by both coalition and enemy forces, including the latter's use of an underground aqueduct system which allowed them to maneuver and, moreover, to survive devastating AH-64 Apache helicopter attacks. Reflecting on the battle of Siah Chow and its overall impact, Grambusch judged that it was very disruptive of enemy operations in that region. "There were a lot of locals who came up, talked to us during this from outside areas and asked if they could go into where they used to live and get things. They were glad we had done it," he said.

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