Polish Task Force White Eagle soldiers used a 152 mm SpGH DANA at Forward Operating Base Ghazni during an April 11, 2010 fire mission that supported U.S. and Afghan police forces under enemy fire.
| Claim | Sources |
|---|---|
| Polish Task Force White Eagle soldiers prepared a 152 mm DANA during an April 11, 2010 fire mission at Forward Operating Base Ghazni. | |
| The mission supported the 172nd Cavalry and Afghan National Police after their combined element came under enemy fire. | |
| Polish forces operated in Ghazni province from 2008 until the May 2014 end of their Operation Enduring Freedom mission. |
Timeline
The U.S. Army reported that Polish soldiers began their Ghazni province mission in 2008 and later served there as Task Force White Eagle alongside Afghan and coalition forces.
A U.S. Army photograph caption identifies Polish Task Force White Eagle soldiers preparing a 152 mm DANA during a fire mission supporting the 172nd Cavalry and Afghan National Police.
The U.S. Army reported that Polish Task Force White Eagle ended its Operation Enduring Freedom mission after more than six years in Ghazni province.
A U.S. Army public-domain photograph preserved on Wikimedia Commons directly documents a Polish DANA fire mission in Afghanistan. Its caption identifies two Polish soldiers from 1st Battery, 23rd Brigade Polish Army, Task Force White Eagle, preparing a 152 mm howitzer at Forward Operating Base Ghazni on April 11, 2010.
The same caption states that the fire mission supported the 172nd Cavalry, Vermont National Guard, after a combined 172nd Cavalry and Afghan National Police element came under enemy fire while conducting operations. The record therefore supports use by the coalition side in the 2001 War in Afghanistan, with the documented user being a Polish Task Force White Eagle artillery element.
The directly documented DANA event falls within Poland's Ghazni deployment. A U.S. Army article on the Polish mission says Polish troops began their Ghazni province mission in 2008 and ended it in May 2014, with Task Force White Eagle operating alongside Afghan security forces and coalition partners.
Within that wider deployment, the April 11, 2010 photograph provides a dated point of artillery use: Polish soldiers prepared the DANA during a fire-support mission from Forward Operating Base Ghazni.
Sources: Wikimedia Commons DANA Afghanistan Fire Mission, U.S. Army Polish Army Ends Afghan Mission
The supported role was coalition fire support rather than Afghan-government ownership or Taliban use. The fire mission was requested after a U.S. National Guard and Afghan police element came under enemy fire, and the DANA was operated by Polish soldiers assigned to Task Force White Eagle.
The available direct evidence is narrow: it confirms a DANA fire mission at FOB Ghazni on a specific date and ties that mission to Polish, U.S., and Afghan police forces. It does not establish the total number of Polish DANA systems in Afghanistan, a complete firing history, or whether the same guns were used in other provinces.
Images
