Camp Bastion Attack report published
16 Apr 2014 10:54 AM
The perimeter security
and force protection measures in place at the time of the attack on Camp
Bastion in 2012 were inadequate, says the Defence Select
Committee
Background
On 14 September 2012, 15
heavily-armed Taliban insurgents infiltrated the camp and attacked the
airfield. The ensuing engagement lasted into the next day and resulted in the
deaths of US Marine Corps Lt Col Christopher Raible and Sgt Bradley Atwell, the
wounding of eight US personnel, eight UK personnel and one civilian contractor
and the destruction of six US Harrier jets. US and UK troops killed 14 of the
Taliban attackers and wounded the remaining attacker, who was detained and
interrogated.
Tribute
The Committee pays tribute to
the bravery of all those ISAF personnel who engaged the enemy during the attack
and expresses deepest sympathy to the families of Lt Col Raible and Sgt Atwell
for their profound loss.
Guard towers
The Committee took evidence on
the incident and concluded that the arrangements for manning of the guard
towers around the perimeter of Camp Bastion were exposed by the attack as
inadequate. The decision not to man a particular guard tower on the night
contributed directly to the failure to detect the insurgents at an early stage
which might have limited the impact of their assault. All guard towers at
Bastion are now manned constantly.
Chief of Joint
Operations
The Committee were unimpressed
by the evidence from the Chief of Joint Operations, who explained that the
number of security incidents was unusually high in Helmand Province in 2012.
The Committee was told that the focus of ISAF commanders had been on security
incidents elsewhere in Helmand Province and on threats from insider attack.
Unfortunately the MoD has declined to provide the Committee with comparable
details of the level of security incidents recorded in Helmand for previous
years as this information was classified. This would have allowed the Committee
to make an informed assessment of the relative threat levels in the area at the
time.
Insufficient attention to
external assault
Insufficient attention was given
to the fundamental requirement of defending Camp Bastion from external assault.
The Committee believes that this was complacent. Given that the attack took
place in the British sector of the camp, British commanders must bear a degree
of responsibility for these systemic failures and associated reputational
damage.
Chairman's
comments:
Chairman of the Committee, Rt
Hon James Arbuthnot MP, says:
“We are satisfied that as
far as possible, the vulnerabilities which led to this extraordinary attack
have now been addressed. But we recommend that the MoD capture the lessons
identified as part of its wider efforts to learn lessons for future
operations.”