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Fifteen days after a Utahn, Staff Sgt. Kurt Curtiss, died in an ambush in Afghanistan, an Army investigator submitted a report on what happened.

The report described how on Aug. 26, 2009, Curtiss and his unit were trying to find a suspected Taliban leader, how the unit had received real-time, human intelligence that the leader was at a medical clinic receiving treatment for a hand injury, and how the national police were supposed to have secured the area. They hadn't.

One name never appears in the report: then-Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl.

When the Taliban released Bergdahl, who was later promoted to sergeant, last year in a prisoner exchange, Curtiss' name surfaced as one of the soldiers who may have been killed in efforts to rescue Bergdahl.

But the Army's report on Curtiss' death does not mention Bergdahl nor reference any prisoner of war or captive. The mission that day, according to the document, was to kill or capture the Taliban leader who went by the name "Muslim."

After the fight, soldiers who provided statements to the Army focused on such issues as requests to use non-lethal grenades to clear rooms and how the Afghan National Police both failed to do their job and were using unsecured cell phones to communicate.

The Army provided The Tribune with a copy of the report earlier this month — 14 months after the newspaper requested it under the Freedom of Information Act. Despite the absence of any mention of Bergdahl, the report may not stem arguments that he contributed to the death of Curtiss and five to seven other soldiers, depending on who is making the claims.

While Bergdahl isn't in the report, his name came up in a briefing before the mission that day in 2009, said Sam Masamitsu, then an Army soldier with the rank of specialist and who was the medic that tried to treat Curtiss.

"It was, 'This guy is wanted for X, Y and Z, he also is suspected to have connections to the people that had Bergdahl,'" Masamitsu said in a telephone interview Wednesday, the sixth anniversary of Curtiss' death.

Curtiss' widow declined to comment last week. Her mother, Judy Black, of West Valley City, said her daughter received a copy of the report after Curtiss' death.

"She's glad he is back," Black said of Bergdahl, "but don't call him a hero. There are rules these guys know about. Never leave your battle buddy."

Bergdahl — who was captured by the Taliban and later freed in a trade for Taliban detainees — has been charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy for leaving his post in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. A hearing in his case is scheduled for Sept. 17.

Urgency

The Army redacted the name of the officer who wrote the report as well as other names and certain details of what happened that night. In a summary of events, the report describes how forces received reports that a "HVT," a high-value target, who went by the name "Muslim," was being treated at a clinic in Sar Hawza for a hand wound he received in violence six days earlier when Afghans went to the polls to elect a president. The Afghan National Police arrived at the clinic and cordoned the area.

Masamitsu on Wednesday said "Muslim" was a sub-governor of the province's shadow government — meaning the he worked for the Taliban's organization there; not the recognized Afghan government. But "Muslim" also had connections to the network that took Bergdahl, Masamitsu said.

Curtiss was a squad leader in 4th Platoon, D Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. The platoon was posted at Forward Operating Base Sharana, near the clinic.

Masamitsu remembers Curtiss as well-liked in the platoon. Curtiss, whose hometown was listed as Murray, had a wife and two children. He had already served two tours in Iraq. Masamitsu had a cheap acoustic guitar he bought in Afghanistan. Curtiss would visit Masamitsu's room at Sharana and play it.

Curtiss and his comrades left the base at 1:14 p.m. The report describes a hurried deployment to the clinic. One soldier later wrote in a witness statement that he was briefed about 30 minutes prior to arriving at the clinic. Masamitsu remembers being briefed en route.

Masamitsu said the operation had a sense of urgency because of concerns that capturing "Muslim" could help find Bergdahl.

The fight

The platoon arrived to find the national police detaining five Afghans. Someone asked the police if the area was secured. They said, "yes."

But the American soldiers "instinctively began to clear the buildings to double check" for themselves, according to the report. In the first building, they found only doctors and staff, who welcomed the soldiers.

At the second building, Curtiss was in the lead. He encountered an interior door that would not open.

From there, the events largely corroborate a 2011 video posted on Youtube that discusses what happened to Curtiss and the platoon that day. As soon as Curtiss forced open the door, an AK-47 fired, the report says.

Curtiss' body fell in the doorway, the report says. His team fell back to an adjoining room while returning fire.

The squad was separated and some of them were pinned down. Reinforcements were called in.

One of the enemy took a grenade from Curtiss and hurled it into the next room. When it detonated, it sent shrapnel into an American's thighs.

"The team inside the building could see SSG Curtiss' boots in the doorway and noted that there was no movement," the report says.

More soldiers arrived and an armored vehicle was brought alongside the building to provide cover and firepower. The vehicle fired through windows into the room with the Afghan soldiers. That enabled a team to retrieve Curtiss and move him to another room.

A medic, apparently Masamitsu, checked Curtiss. He found no signs of life, the report says.

At 2:51 p.m., an Apache helicopter began the first of three strafing runs on the building. The battle was soon over.

Intelligence

"Muslim" and another Taliban fighter died in the battle. A third fighter with "Muslim" survived, was treated by the Army and taken as a prisoner to Sharana.

Masamitsu said an officer told the platoon during the mission debriefing that a cell phone was recovered and that it and the captured Taliban fighter were providing intelligence.

That was apparently supposed to ease the blow of Curtiss' death, Masamitsu said. Minutes after the debrief, the platoon participated in the procession taking Curtiss' body to the airplane that flew it away.

The Army report doesn't say if any useful intelligence was gained, but it lauds the killing of the target.

"Killing Muslim demonstrates to the population that the [Afghan National Security Forces] can protect them," the report says. "Muslim's death will significantly reduce the coordination and effectiveness of the" Taliban forces in Sar Hawza.

Curtiss' father-in-law, Ken Black, said the Army has never explained to his family whether Bergdahl had a role in Curtiss' death. He doesn't know whether to hold Bergdahl responsible.

"I couldn't say yea or nay whether he was involved in that," he said.

Masamitsu, who has since left the Army and lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., doesn't directly blame Bergdahl for Curtiss' death.

"With how that firefight went down, somebody was going to die that day," Masamitsu said.

But he considers Bergdahl a factor in what happened.

"If I hold him accountable at all, it's in a very abstract sense," Masamitsu said.

Twitter: @natecarlisle