[3][5] Complaints that the coalition casualties were avoidable and caused by a failure of the chain of command to provide fire support for the team triggered an official investigation and a series of reprimands to several US military officers.

[7][8] On September 3 an Embedded Training Team (ETT) led a combined group of Afghan Army and National Police forces on a patrol operation around Dam Dara, a village about a mile from Ganjgal.

The original date of September 7 was pushed back by the ETT at the last minute in order to ensure that their National Police forces were adequately prepared for the coming operation.

[3] Just after dawn, after inserting into the valley and approaching Ganjgal, the Task Force came under heavy machine gun, small arms and RPG fire from at least 100 entrenched Taliban fighters, far more than were indicated present by intelligence reports.

Both an Army artillery NCO and an Air Force JTAC took immediate action to provide the ambushed US/Afghan unit with fire support, but they were overruled by the command post.

[citation needed] The coalition forces were taking increasing fire and could observe women and children shuttling fresh ammunition to Taliban fighting positions.

[10] Within 30 minutes of making contact, the ETT ordered back to the command post to provide an artillery barrage of smoke canisters to cover their withdrawal.

The bodies were recovered after their comrades (including Medal of Honor recipients Dakota Meyer and William D. Swenson) braved enemy fire to return to the location.

[6] The investigation found that three US Army officers at nearby Forward Operating Base Joyce, from Task Force Chosin, a unit comprising soldiers from 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, out of Fort Drum, New York, had exhibited "negligent leadership" which had directly contributed to the loss of life in the battle.

[18] A 2012 investigation by McClatchy News Service concluded that the justification for Meyer's decoration may have been inflated and that the nomination for Swenson's Medal of Honor may have been intentionally lost as retaliation for his criticism.

[13] In August 2012, California Representative Duncan D. Hunter wrote to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta regarding the Medal of Honor nomination of Swenson, comparing his case to that of Sgt.