July 21st - 2004

Started as a day like any other in a war zone. I woke up, had breakfast, hit the head and went about making sure that all the morning working parties were done in a timely fashion. Some time around 1200, we got a call that the Battalion S-3 (Operations Officer), or just 3, had come under ambush just east of the Saddam Mosque, about a kilometer west of the Outpost. That fell smack in the middle of Golf Company’s AO (Area of Operation.) It was a typical insurgent ambush; IED followed by small arms and automatic weapons. The QRF platoon mounted up and got rolling. Civilian traffic had already stopped so we had a strait shot to the ambush site. However, we decided that we should detour to the street directly south of the MSR and come out to the west of the 3’s convoy. We diverted from the MSR and started down the side street. I guess we surprised a group of insurgents posted at the other end of the street that were probably waiting for us to move directly to the convoy and then move south. They recovered quickly enough though, and opened up on the lead truck with an automatic weapon and fired an RPG. I was in the third vehicle in line with the CO and watched from my turret as the rocket missed the lead truck by scant inches and slammed into the side of the second vehicle. I will never forget how that truck looked on the moment of impact. The HMMWV, with 4 Marines in the back and 2 in the cab, appeared to fold in half as the driver’s side hopped off the ground a foot. Amazingly, only one Marine sustained minor injuries and another had been given a concussion. All vehicles immediately got out of the kill zone and Marines jumped to the ground and sought cover. The machine gun that had initiated the attack was still launching rounds at us and I heard Gunny bellow, “GET SOME SUPPRESSION DOWN THAT STREET!” Upon hearing this, I tapped my driver on the shoulder and asked him if he was ready. “Let’s do it,” came his reply. He gunned the truck over the curb and I opened up with a solid 60 round burst, keeping true to Machine Gun Dictum #1: Gain fire superiority in the initial burst. I then set into a rapid rhythm of 8 round bursts with a 2 second pause. I had also noticed that there was a car parked about 50 meters to my front with it’s trunk open. Finding this rather odd, I pumped a burst into it and one of the tracers set the fuel tank on fire. Before I knew it, I was down to less than 300 rounds of ammo having begun the engagement with over 1200. Taking a quick break, I turned to the nearest Marine on the ground and yelled, “Get me more ammo, NOW!” As it turned out, I didn’t immediately need the ammunition. The insurgents were using the car I had lit up as some kind of ammo dump. The rockets, explosives and other munitions started cooking off and I told my driver to get the hell out of there. We pulled back around the corner of a building and waited for the blazing, exploding car to die down. In the initial attack, the lead vehicle had taken several rounds in the engine compartment and was only able to move far enough to get behind a wall before the engine quit. The recovery team had already shown up to tow the RPGed truck back to base and decided to just take both back. Seeing as how the Mk-19 was mounted in it’s turret, the CO ordered me to take the Mk-19 off the disabled truck and mount it in my turret. We had to switch the mounting posts, the ammo cradles and the shields since the mounts for the M240 and the Mk-19 do not match up. Back in the hangar bay this would take half an hour. Doing it in full gear and trying to stay out of the way of bullets while doing it just adds a little flavor. Between 4 of us, we managed the job in just under 25 minutes. There was a building directly to our north that stood 5 stories and was believed to contain 3-5 insurgents. Before clearing it out, we were to saturate it with lead and HE (High Explosives). Two Army Bradley Fighting Vehicles had shown up and were to assist in this endeavor. Unfortunately for me, I had somehow kinked my rounds when I loaded the Mk-19 and was having trouble getting them out and so did not get to participate in pounding the building, the honor going to another Marine from Weapons Company. Regardless, it was truly a sight to behold, 25mm cannon shells and 40mm grenades slammed into the face of the building for a solid 15 seconds. Now, these rounds are designed to defeat light armor and as such, had no problem with the shoddy version of concrete used in the area. Overkill? Maybe. But it served the purpose. The door was blown in with an AT-4 and a squad cleared the building, finding the insurgents, unsurprisingly, dead. We then went on to sweep the area house to house. In one of the first houses we searched, the one with the burned out car in front, we pulled out 8 Iraqis. They were in possession of 10 AKs, 3 RPG launchers with rockets and an RPK and one of them turned out to be serving in the local Iraqi Police force. He actually tried to get out of being arrested by flashing his ID. I guess he thought we would just forgive him for trying to kill us and let him go. There were no more major incidents that day, but we did take a few more captives, one of which, it turned out, had been hit in the throat by one of my bullets. He had been dumped in the courtyard of a nearby house when his comrades bolted. I don’t delight in killing, but I am glad I got him before he got me or one of my Marines. Of the two trucks that were disabled, the lead truck was back in service the next day. The second, on the other hand, was stripped and sent back to Battalion Headquarters. The sun goes down on another day in Ramadi.

Pictures

July 14th

In June, Headquarters Platoon had been combined with our Engineer detachment to create a provisional rifle platoon. All of the Marines in Headquarters had come from the line platoons. As such, all were trained as Combat Marines. The Engineers’ training was focused more towards demolitions. As one of two Corporals in HQ, I was made 1st squad leader. On July 14th, I took my squad out of the lines and conducted a patrol to relieve the squad that was on post at the Ag Center. We took over the Observation Post at around 1100. Around 1230, we received a call over the radio that an Army convoy was to be moving past our location on its way back to Junction City. Just as the convoy moved out our line of sight an IED went off where the convoy should have been. As soon as the bomb went off, all civilian traffic, pedestrian and vehicle, stopped and got out of the area. One of my squad members told me there was a car speeding around the corner and heading for the stopped convoy. I told him to give him a warning shot in the windshield. The driver didn’t stop and I shouted, “Light him up!” He and I fired several rounds into the car. It stopped in front of the soccer stadium across the street and the driver got out holding his side and staggered off the street. As soon as he stepped onto the sidewalk, gunfire erupted around us. We were taking fire from all directions and immediately called in the QRF. We had only one SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon), one M240G, and one M203 Grenade Launcher. The rest of the squad had M16A4s or A2s. We were keeping the enemy from advancing on our position and were able to pin enough of them down for the QRF to flank them. Unfortunately, the QRF had stopped across the street because of the suspected VBIED that was still in the middle of the road. I tried to signal them that it was clear, but by this time they had also come under fire from the north. A secondary QRF was rolled out and pushed south to rout the enemy there. The initial QRF pushed the enemy in the north back and moved to the west to link up with the Army convoy. The battle lasted for more than 2 hours and we had killed or wounded more than 30 insurgents and captured 5 others. There were no Marines injured. My squad was in desperate need of ammunition and waited for a resupply which showed up about a half hour after we called for it. We still had 4 hours left on post and were particularly alert after the massive firefight. After another hour or so, civilian traffic resumed it’s normal pace. Finally, our relief showed up and we were trucked back to the Outpost for debrief. I commended my Engineers for their actions during the fight. They performed to the standards of any infantryman. Needless to say, we all slept very well that night.

July 2004, 7th and 12th

During July, we had what we referred to as ‘Wicked Wednesdays.’ The first Wednesday of the month was the 7th. By this time we had shifted from active patrols to static observation posts. The OP at the Agricultural Center 500 meters from Combat Outpost came under heavy fire from automatic weapons and rockets. The squad on post has holding their own as the QRF (Quick Reaction Force) geared up to respond to the contact. QRF rolled out with an additional squad to pull out the Marine who had been wounded in the initial engagement. The QRF was able to flank attackers, dividing their forces and pushing them out of the area, with an estimated 10 killed and wounded, after an hour and a half battle. There were no further Marine casualties in the engagement. Despite the success of the battle, it had given the insurgents and idea that they implemented on the 12th. Yes, I know the 12th was not a Wednesday, but it belongs here. Again, the Ag Center came under attack from automatic weapons and rockets. This time, however, the squad on post was not the target. Their objective was to draw out and attack the QRF as we responded to the contact. At the outset of the engagement, the insurgents had staged a car loaded with explosives near an intersection we would have to pass to get to the Ag Center. Right as the QRF pulled out of the Outpost, another vehicle pulled up and stopped in front of the main gate. The driver jumped out and dashed across the street to another car going the other direction. As we pulled past the first intersection, the individual driving the car moved his vehicle onto the road and detonated the charge. The car blew up 10 feet from the truck in which I was manning the gun. The blast seriously rang my bell. The whole world went silent and even hotter than normal, my knees were unhinged and I started sliding out of the turret into the body of the truck. As my hearing came back and my head cleared, I could hear the CO asking if I was all right. Groggily, I told him I was still there and got back on the M240. The only casualty in the explosion was a Corpsman who took a little piece of shrapnel in his lip, very minor, and the CO’s truck had sustained little real damage but was sitting on three flat tires. As soon as the suicide VBIED (Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device) had detonated, the insurgents broke off the attack on the Ag Center. The QRF formed up in a defensive formation and stopped all traffic until the second VBIED could be dealt with. Two Marines attempted to blow it up with the Mk-19 (40mm automatic grenade launcher) with no success. While this was going on, a vehicle turned onto the MSR and moved toward our lines and was not slowing. I gave him a warning burst and still, he kept moving toward us. I put the next burst into his hood and he got the message and reversed his course in one hell of a hurry. EOD was contacted to deal with the second VBIED, but they told us that they couldn’t respond for one reason or another. Fortunately, Weapons Company showed up with Javelins. A Javelin Missile is an Anti-Tank Weapon that is capable of destroying a main battle tank. The Javelin Gunner took aim and launched his missile at the parked car. The force of the explosion smashed the car into the ground and sent the hood 50 feet into the air. The reinforced QRF stuck around long enough to survey what was left of the first VBIED and returned to the Outpost, driving past the burning hulk that was the second car. The armor on the new HMMWVs proved to be extremely effective. Not a single Marine was hurt inside the truck, not counting a concussion sustained by yours truly. Regardless, the day had illustrated how vulnerable we had allowed ourselves to become and changed our tactics for the better. More next time.

Pictures

June 2004

One of our platoons was set up at a school to distribute supplies and money. One of my good friends was talking to a small group of school children when an insurgent armed with an RPG popped around a wall and fired a rocket. The rocket impacted the wall next to Robb. The explosion killed 4 of the Iraqi children and severely wounded 3 others. Robb’s legs were blown off at the middle thigh. He was rushed to Junction City to be stabilized had then sent to Germany. Several days later, we were informed that he had died of his injuries in Germany. A memorial was held for him on the 12th. He was a very well liked man in the Company. He was the type of person who could always smile, no matter what was going on, and rarely had a negative word to say about someone else. He will be sorely missed.

Pictures


The 22nd marked the second time that I would have to go to Baghdad for an eye infection. We loaded a convoy and headed off to Junction City to drop me off at the Aid Station. Since I was the one being dropped off, I was not riding in one of the turrets. On the way out we overheard a radio call that the platoon on post at the Agricultural Center had taken and returned fire, killing the assailant. The XO decided that we would go pick up the body, for whatever reason. We couldn't find the body and ended up riding around for half and hour. Finally, the XO decided to stop and let the platoon on post talk us in. While we were on security, I was watching the street to the east and using a wall as cover when there was a blast from the south. I poked back around the wall in time to watch an RPG fly over the truck that I had just got out of. Looking down the street to the south, I saw a big cloud of smoke and dust, marking the launch site. I put a few rounds in to the cloud, but the gunner on the truck had already hit the guy who had launched the rocket. We started sweeping the street to the west, checking houses along the way. About a quarter mile down the street, some idiot popped around a corner and fired a mag of AK rounds at us. I was toward the back of the column and couldn't see anything but Marines, although I did see the sling get shot off of 1stSgt's shotgun. One of the Marines put the shooter down and we recovered the AK. The RPG launcher was recovered by the QRF and we continued on our way. We decided that it was best to head back to the Outpost instead of finishing the trip to Junction City. I ended up hopping on the logistics train for the trip to JC. I spent 5 days in Baghdad and returned to Ramadi with enough eye drops to get rid of another infection, without having to leave the Outpost, if it came on. Done for now.