Commander punished for using 'Hajji' in plan to wipe out entire village
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — An Army company commander is in hot water after briefing his superior last week. Capt. James Broadfoot received a formal letter of reprimand yesterday after using the term “hajji” in a briefing to his battalion commander, sources confirm.
“When he said the name 'Operation Hajji Stomp,' you could have heard a pin drop in the briefing room,” said one officer present at the meeting. “The BC [battalion commander] lost his fucking mind, screaming about local sensibilities and a complete lack of understanding for basic human decency. It was pretty bad.”
The plan called for a ground assault into the village of Shia Khot, a known Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan. Once close to the target, company machine gunners would initiate the attack using overwhelming firepower to kill any personnel on the roofs of the houses.
Simultaneously the company’s 60mm mortar team would begin firing indiscriminately at all possible exfiltration routes out of the village, cutting dow…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Duffel Blog to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.