Two weeks have gone by since the attack on U.S. and Nigerian forces in Niger that left four American soldiers and five Nigerian soldiers dead. The fallout from the attack has stirred up emotions and questions from Americans across the country -- especially those of Myeshia Johnson, the wife of fallen soldier Sgt. La David Johnson, whose death has sparked even more partisan controversy. In fact, the politicization of the event has almost overshadowed the seriousness of the event itself.
Thankfully, Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered a few facts about the ambush on Monday.
If you’re still struggling to make heads or tails of what happened to our soldiers in Niger amid all the partisan spin, here are answers to six questions you may've found yourself yelling at the TV talking heads.
Why were our troops in Niger to begin with?
CBS News reports that U.S. troops have been in Niger off and on for more than 20 years.
Since 2011, French and U.S. troops have been training a 5,000-person West African force to fight terrorist groups in the region, including Boko Haram, ISIS, and al Qaeda.
Eight hundred U.S. troops are currently in the region.
What led up to the ambush?
On October 3, 12 members of a U.S. Special Operations Task Force accompanied 30 Nigerian forces on a civil reconnaissance mission to gather information about the region in Tongo Tongo. Contact with the enemy was considered unlikely.
When did the ambush take place and who was responsible?
On October 4, U.S. and Nigerian forces were ambushed by 50 enemy combatants.
Gen. Dunford noted that the enemy used small arms, rocket propelled grenades, and technical vehicles in the attack. No improvised explosive devices were reported in the attack.
The General also noted that U.S. and Nigerian forces were either attacked by an ISIS-affiliated group or local tribe fighters associated with ISIS.
Did the soldiers have any support?
The team did not have any initial support, and only requested additional support after an hour of taking fire.
Within minutes, a remotely-powered aircraft arrived, and French jets arrived an hour after that. Later in the afternoon, French helicopters and a Nigerian quick reaction force arrived.
How did casualties occur and what happened to Sgt. Johnson?
Two U.S. soldiers were wounded during the firefight and were evacuated by French aircrafts. Three soldiers died and were evacuated in the evening.
Sgt. La David Johnson reportedly went missing during the fight. His remains were found a mile away and evacuated two days later. The White House was notified as soon as they realized he went missing, but Gen. Dunford said he could not “definitively” say how far Johnson’s body was from the site of the ambush.
A total of nine soldiers died in the firefight, including four U.S. soldiers and five Nigerian soldiers.
What will happen next?
Gen. Dunford pledged that the first thing military officials will do once the investigation is complete will be to visit the families of the victims and give them all of the facts.
One part of the investigation will be find out if the initial mission changed, and if the forces decided to do something different as a result.
The investigation will also involve people on the ground at the site of the attack, retracing their steps to find out how the ambush unfolded.
Now that you have some of the facts surrounding the Niger ambush, take time to think about all of those soldiers that are still fighting for our security overseas. At a time when media agents seem to only care about making others look bad, take solace in knowing that these brave men literally gave all that they had to protect and serve the ones they loved. And that includes you and me.