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Fallen Marine Commander Up For Silver Star.

Coalition Forces attend a memorial service in honor of Lt. Col. Christopher K. Raible at Camp Bastion, Helmand province, Afghanistan Sept. 19, 2012. Raible, commanding officer of Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 211, Marine Aircraft Group 13, 3D Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), was killed in action while repelling enemy during the 14 SEP attack on Camp Bastion. (Photos by Sergeant Keonaona Paulo, 19 SEP 2012.)

(Article by Dan Lamothe, staff writer, Marine Corps Times. 19 OCT 2012.)

CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan — Cpl. Cecil Burkes was on the flight line here tinkering with an MV-22 Osprey when he heard a fellow Marine screaming over the radio. He pulled his head out of the aircraft — just in time to see tracer rounds streaking at him through the night sky.

Burkes, 23, didn’t know it at the time, but 15 insurgents had penetrated the wire at Bastion. Working in three teams of five, they used assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons in a coordinated attack that killed two Marines, wounded at least nine other coalition personnel and destroyed six U.S. AV-8B Harrier jets, military officials said.

Lt. Col. Christopher Raible, 40, commanding officer of Marine Attack Squadron 211, the Harrier squadron deployed at Bastion, led a heroic counterattack against the insurgents that ultimately cost him his life — bravery that has led to a nomination for the Silver Star, Marine officials say. It’s the nation’s third-highest award for combat valor.

Also killed in the attack was Sgt. Bradley Atwell, 27, who was assigned to Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 13 and working for MALS-16 while deployed. Both men were based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., while stateside.

The Sept. 14 strike was particularly significant because of where it occurred: Bastion abuts Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province, combining to form a single, fortified base home to more than 10,000 deployed coalition troops. It serves as the main hub of British and U.S. Marine operations in Afghanistan. Along with Camp Shorabak, an adjacent training facility for Afghan forces, the military complex covers about 36 square miles, Marine officials said.

The melee made international headlines and prompted the Taliban to release a video bragging about the destruction. Military officials are now assessing whether gradual breakdowns in security led to the attack and what can be done to prevent similar incidents.

“The realization of where you’re at, and what can happen at any time, changed how a lot of people moved about,” said Burkes, an avionics technician believed to have killed at least one insurgent that night. “To me, it was very humbling. It was definitely life-changing.”

The U.S. military has disclosed few details about the initial moments of the attack. A statement released a day later by officials overseeing the war from Kabul said the attackers wore U.S. Army uniforms, penetrating the wire about 10 p.m.

Left unanswered: How did the insurgents breach Bastion, which was built in a vast desert to increase its isolation and security? Also, if much of the base was surrounded with 30-foot walls, how could the insurgents have gotten around them?

Interviews conducted at Bastion and Leatherneck underscore that the answers are painfully simple. The attackers snuck onto Bastion after cutting a 2-foot-by-5-foot hole in concertina wire on the east side of the base, said a Marine official with knowledge of the attack. A variety of coalition forces patrol the area around the base, but the insurgents apparently evaded detection by them and the personnel in the guard towers, likely British troops.