{"id":29305,"date":"2020-01-23T17:57:37","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T17:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/01\/23\/101st-airborne-deployed-to-manda-bay-after-al-shabab-attack\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:41:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:41:30","slug":"101st-airborne-deployed-to-manda-bay-after-al-shabab-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2020\/01\/23\/101st-airborne-deployed-to-manda-bay-after-al-shabab-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"101st Airborne deployed to Manda Bay after al-Shabab attack"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division\u2019s 3rd Brigade Combat Team deployed to Manda Bay Airfield, Kenya on Jan. 5, according to Army officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The air assault troops were brought in by C-130 cargo aircraft to bolster security after an attack by al-Shabab militants. They were part of the previously announced East Africa Response Force<\/a> that was dispatched to the facilities after an attack that included mortars and small arms fire, breached the base\u2019s perimeter and damaged six aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 101st Airborne Division Soldiers, currently fulfilling the role as the East Africa Response Force, provide a unique capability to the combatant commander. They offer speed, agility, and security to handle contingency actions. This was demonstrated after the attack in Manda Bay, Kenya,\u201d Army Col. Dave Foley, deputy commander of operations for the 101st, said in an official statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attack began when a U.S. surveillance plane was destroyed while taxiing, the New York Times reported<\/a>, which sparked the hourslong firefight. Three Americans, one soldier and two Pentagon contractors, were killed in the attack on the seaside base south of the Kenya-Somalia border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dustin Harrison, 47, and Bruce Triplett, 64, private pilots flying aircraft for L3 Technologies, died in the initial attack on the aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While working as an air traffic controller from a truck nearby, Army Spc. Henry Mayfield Jr.<\/a> was killed in the ensuing gunfight, according<\/a> to the Times. He was assigned to the 58th Aviation Regiment, based out of Fort Rucker, Alabama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayfield was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals, according to Jimmie E. Cummings, a Fort Rucker spokesman. Army Times has put in a request for the award citations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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U.S. Army Soldiers, assigned to the East Africa Response Force (EARF), 101st Airborne Division, sit aboard a C-130J Super Hercules, assigned to the 75th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, waiting to takeoff at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, on January 5, 2020. The EARF deployed to the Manda Bay Airfield, Kenya, Jan. 5, to augment security to secure the airfield after an attack by al-Shabaab terrorists. The EARF is a rapid deployment force with the ability to protect U.S. citizens and diplomatic facilities, non-combatant evacuation operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief operations, and other missions as directed. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Daniel Hernandez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

About a dozen Marines from 3rd Marine Raider Battalion, based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina responded late to the attack from their location at Camp Simba \u2015 roughly one mile from the Manda Bay facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFRICOM acknowledged Thursday in a press statement that \u201cthe enemy achieved a degree of success in its attack,” but attempted to push back against news outlets that reported on contingency troops\u2019 slow response time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, despite public reports, an initial assessment indicates that a timely and effective response to the attack reduced the number of casualties and eliminated the potential for further damage,\u201d the command\u2019s press release reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Marines engaged in an intense firefight with the al-Shabab militants, sources told Marine Corps Times, ultimately pushing the Islamic fighters off the base. Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-affiliated militant group, primarily operates out of Somalia, but has carried out strikes elsewhere in East Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the battle, many local Kenyan troops assigned to defend the base hid in grass, the Times reported, adding that U.S. service members and other personnel were sent to wait out the attack in tents with little protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attack caught U.S. officials off-guard and highlighted once again<\/a> the tenuous security situation on the continent for remote and rarely discussed American outposts.<\/p>\n\n\n\t