On February 28, 2002, on the eve of the Operation Anaconda, three AFO teams were infiltrated into the Shahikot Valley, one of them (known as Mako 31) was composed of three SEALs from DEVGRUs Recce Squadron, a USAF Combat controller and a US Navy EOD operator. They infiltrated the area on foot via the southern edge of the valley to set up an observation post on a terrain feature known as 'The Finger.' All three teams were tasked with confirming enemy strengths and dispositions including antiaircraft emplacements, ensuring the designated Rakkasan HLZs were clear of obstructions and providing terminal guidance for air support both prior to and during the insertion of conventional forces. Near H-Hour on March 1, 2002, Mako 31 found a group of foreign fighters had an established positioned and were manning a DShK HMG on the peak where they planned to set up an observation post. If the DShK was not disabled before then, it could shoot down Chinooks carrying the conventional forces. The SEALs therefore planned to ambush the terrorists in the pre-dawn darkness before the Rakkasans flew into the valley. However, they were spotted by an Uzbek insurgent and a brief firefight ensued, killing 5 out of 7 foreign fighters, as another insurgent firing a PKM, the team broke contact and brought in an AC-130 which destroyed the enemy encampment with 105 mm rounds. During the crucial Battle of Takur Ghar part of Operation Anaconda a small team of DEVGRU assigned to an AFO task force was tasked with establishing observation positions (OPs) on the high ground above the proposed landing zones of U.S. conventional forces. It was one of the most violent battles of Operation Anaconda. In the early hours of March 4, 2002 a MH-47E Chinook helicopter piloted by the U.S. Army's 160th SOAR Nightstalkers was carrying Mako 21 and Mako 30 teams mostly made up of SEALs from DEVGRU. The original plan was that MAKO 21 would to link up with AFO team Juliet at the northern end of the valley, resupply it and then establish a hide site/observation post on the eastern ridge above Task Force Rakkasan's blocking position; whilst MAKO 30 planned to establish an observation point on the peak of Takur Ghar, which commanded a view of the Shahi-Kot valley. Mako 30 would be inserted at a point east of the peak, but circumstances led the SEALs to choose the summit of Takur Ghar itself as the insertion point. As the helicopter was nearing its landing zone both the pilots and the men in the back observed fresh tracks in the snow, goatskins, and other signs of recent human activity. As the pilots and team discussed a mission abort, an RPG struck the side of the aircraft, wounding one crewman as machine gun bullets ripped through the fuselage, cutting hydraulic and oil lines. Fluid spewed about the ramp area of the helicopter. As the pilot struggled to get the helicopter away Neil C. Roberts, a DEVGRU SEAL in the ramp area of the aircraft, was hit and slipped on the oil as the helicopter took off. He fell approximately to the snowy ground below. Roberts immediately engaged enemy forces with his weapons including an Mk.46 Mod 0 Light Machine Gun, SIG Sauer P226 Mk.25 Mod 0 9 mm semi automatic pistol and grenades. He survived at least 30 minutes before he was shot and killed at close range. Mako 30 was inserted in an attempt to recover Roberts, the ran into a bunker housing 3 al-Qaeda fighters and killed them, then were engaged in a 20-minute firefight and suffered several wounded, forcing them to break contact and call for a QRF. USAF Technical Sergeant John Chapman, a Combat Controller with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, was mistakenly left behind by the SEALs. Chapman fought alone, killing enemy fighters with scrounged weapons and in hand-to-hand combat. He was finally killed while providing covering fire to distract Taliban fighters from an approaching rescue helicopter. For his actions, Chapman earned the Medal of Honor. On 17 March 2002, in the final days of Operation Anaconda, operators from DEVGRU (commanded by the SEAL who led the Mako 30 mission on Takur Ghar), with an attached British SBS operator, intercepted a convoy of al-Qaeda fighters travelling in 3 SUVs via 3 MH-47E Chinooks, with a mixed force of U.S. Army Rangers travelling in MH-60K Blackhawk helicopters as back up. After an ensuing firefight, 16 al-Qaeda fighters were killed and 2 seriously wounded were captured.