2007. AFGHANISTAN. Waigul Valley (Aranas). Scenes from the Ranch House, an isolated mountain outpost by the Pakistan border of Eastern Afghanistan.

The valley was a major transit point for insurgents, so a small outpost was set up by LieutenantErik Malmstrom with a platoon of thirty soldiers. In an effort to win hearts and minds he met regularly with tribal elders of Aranas. His unit built a school, installed a small hydroelectric dam that brought Aranas electricity for the first time, and began constructing a road to the nearest regional center. Early on in Malmstrom’s deployment an insurgent attack killed and wounded 20 percent of his men, but his development efforts eventually won the guarded approved of the village elders and the platoon served out the rest of its deployment in relative peace.

Ferrara was his replacement, and the insurgents took advantage of the inexperienced newcomers. Disguised as Afghan security forces, they launched a major attack and breached the base. Ferrara was forced to call in an air strike on his own position. In the end, the attackers were driven off, but not before two Afghan soldiers were killed and eleven of Ferrara’s men were wounded. On November 9, 2007, Ferrara was on his last patrol before being reassigned to battalion headquarters. He and his platoon were ambushed by a large number of insurgents. Ferrara was shot in the head and killed along with five other Americans and three Afghans. He was twenty-four years old. Following the ambush, the Waigul Valley returned to insurgent control. In June 2008, the Americans made one more attempt to reestablish a military presence. Nine Americans were killed when their unfinished outpost was attacked from the nearby town of Wanat.

On April 15, 2014 it was announced the Sgt. Kyle White was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the ambush.