D-Day plus Two
If there is one thing i have always loathed, it is having to rise up in the morning before the sun does. Four years ago, i dont think i even went to bed this early. Nevertheless enemy techniques, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) have shown that the most likely time for an ambush is daybreak, so it just made sense that we wake up before they did and wait for anything that they might throw at us. But inside, it was pissing me off because there is nothing that i love more than being able to sleep in. Groggy, I sat there and i could tell that my Marines were experiencing the lows of morale, so I told them to say a prayer for the donkeys and the sacrifices they had made for our country yesterday. It drew the laughter i had hoped it would and spirits were lifted higher, even if just a little bit. After a while, when it became evident that the enemy wasnt going to attack, we threw our packs on and got ready to begin another long day of humping up the fertile crescent. Once you get past the drawback of having to wake up so early, right before the sun breaks the horizon is actually the preferred time to move. Enough daylight to see where you are walking without falling on your face, and too early for the sun to make it unbearably hot are the ideal conditions to travel on foot in. It wasnt long before the cool air became just a distant memory. Different people deal with the misery in different ways. Some guys sing a song in their head, while others chew on gum. For me, i think of back home....memories of old.
The trick is to ignore your body. Put your mind elsewhere while at the same time maintaining situational awareness. If you do nothing but concentrate on how much the here and now sucks, sooner or later youll lose your mind. Im still convinced that is where the donkeys went wrong. I also remember noticing how beautiful certain parts of this country were as we passed by them. If it had been under different circumstances (i.e. no people out there trying to kill us) i might have actually enjoyed this little nature walk. Nevertheless. Keep walking. Much like a kid in the back of a car, every 5 minutes asking "are we there yet?", it echoed through my head. When WERE we going to stop? Why was the Lieutenant pushing us so hard? I knew that we had to stay in support of Fox 3 which was a click and a half ahead, but still, some of the Marines were starting to become borderline heat casualties. As we sat to take a 5 minute break, these were the thoughts that went through my head. They were soon abruptly interrupted by a loud explosion that made everyone jump up. As the explosion echoed through the valley for what seemed like an eternity, it was soon replaced with machine gun fire. It was coming from the north. Wait a second, Fox 3 was to the north. They were taking fire. Someone yelled for the satellite comm so that Lieutenant could get on the hook and find out exactly what the situation was. The first transmission across the net was a 9-line medevac request. In the initial report they had sustained 5 WIA's (Wounded In Action) and 2 minutes later, the count jumped up to 7 WIA's. They were getting slaughtered from the high ground and we had to do something about it. Fast. By nothing other than the grace of God, there just happened to be a hill directly behind us with enough flat ground to get a mortar system firecapped.
Let me just pause to explain what an anomaly this turned out to be....
In order to effectively set up the 81mm mortar, you need a culmination of factors to be met first. Number One, there must be somewhat soft ground for the baseplate to sink, otherwise it will bounce off of bedrock and render the round being fired innacurate, and therefore, useless. You must also take into consideration the overhead clearance. Since the mortars are fired upwards and at an angle, you must also ensure the outgoing round doesnt hit any trees on its way out and blow up directly over your head. That being covered, in the 6 hours that we had been on the move, in all of the terrain that we had passed, not one square foot of it had been suitable enough to set up a mortar system on. I still marvel at the fact that when we actually needed to set up our mortar system there just happened to be the perfect spot for it nearby. I am convinced there was a higher power at work that morning. Coincidences like that dont just happen, not out here at least.
Thats not to say that it was easy. When youve been on a movement for as long as we were in that heat, running up and down a hill tends to take what fumes youre running on and and suck them completely dry. However, when youre hearing the sound of your fellow brothers being gunned down, you do everything possible in your power to help them. In this case it meant running up that hill and setting up the gun, then running back down again to collect rounds from the packs. Ignore the burning in your legs, its only temporary. Just breathe. Once I reached the top for the third time, i did a quick survey to see how many rounds we had. 12 HE (high explosion) rounds. It would be enough for the time being. Finally the fire mission that we had been waiting for came down over the radio with the position of the enemy machine gun emplacement that had the Marines pinned down. It was an immediate suppression, meaning you level up on the gun and fire 3 HE's as fast as possible. Seconds counted this time. As the last round left the tube, i tried to listen above the ringing in my ears for the impact of our steel rain. The target was behind a mountain and too far away to be seen by us, but what was more important was the sound that followed our explosions; silence. Silence meant only one thing, we had effectively suppressed the enemy. Whether or not we hit our target wasnt important, what was priority at the time was that they got off the trigger. Now they were on the run and a few more missions came over the radio to chase them off and hopefully; kill them in the process. A single 81mm HE round has a casualty radius of 50 meters, so its really not as hard as one thinks to hit a moving target. Fortunately, our big boom allows us somewhat of a margin for error. 20 minutes after initial contact, we soon heard the sound of 2 A-10 warthogs flying overhead. Air was on station. You always breathe a sigh of relief when there are birds in the sky; its like having an invincible big brother watching your back from on high, ready to drop an arsenal of weaponry on anyone that would bring harm to you. I can only imagine what those guys getting shot at mustve felt. I wanted to know who got hit, where they got hit, and how bad it was. I wanted to know that everyone was going to live. It wasnt until later that i found out that the army medevac pilots were pretty spooked about flying in the valley and this led to the delay of thier arrival.
No official word on how many confirmed kills we got, but Battle Damage Assessment estimated that there we probably got 15-20 Taliban. Big Fucking Deal. As far as im concerned, it doesnt matter how many lives we ended that day, all i cared about was how many lives we saved.
After our little excitement, we broke down the gun and got ready to move out. As i threw on my pack, i noticed that it was getting considerably lighter in weight. I had started off with 24 bottles of water and was down to my last three. Not a very good thing when hydration was a critical element to survival. I could sustain for the rest of the day on what i had, but we would have to get creative the following morning if we wanted to keep pushing on. There was a somber tone amongst the Marines as we left that position. Faces telegraphed feelings of fear in some, anxiety in others, but we all had some level of anger inside of us after the firefight. They had shot some of our own. If they would have had the chance, they would have killed every single one of them. It didnt matter that we killed some of them in the process. It wasnt enough. This was now on a personal level. We were all getting familiar with combat. It was all about one word. Survival.
Shortly before nightfall, we passed through a village and decided to bed down for the night nearby. Everyone was on edge, and all of the sudden everyone started noticing movement in the mountains.
Word was definately out, and anyone within a 10 mile radius knew that the Marines were in the area and looking to pick a fight. I have to give credit where credit is due, they were a smart foe. These mountains were their playground and who knows the number of caches and fighting positions they had strategically placed all around us. They also were familiar with our Rules Of Engagement. They know that we cannot shoot unless we see a weapon. Naturally, since they dont wear a set uniform, they are free to move about as they please so long as they dont have an AK-47 slung across their back. It is not all that different than it was back in Vietnam with the VC. It was in a sense, guerilla warfare.
One positive i noticed was how everyone became more focused that day. Most of us already were, but it took enemy contact for some to realize that this was for real. Everyone had to be on the top of their game if we ever expected to walk out of the valley of the shadow of death in one piece.
......to be continued.
If there is one thing i have always loathed, it is having to rise up in the morning before the sun does. Four years ago, i dont think i even went to bed this early. Nevertheless enemy techniques, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) have shown that the most likely time for an ambush is daybreak, so it just made sense that we wake up before they did and wait for anything that they might throw at us. But inside, it was pissing me off because there is nothing that i love more than being able to sleep in. Groggy, I sat there and i could tell that my Marines were experiencing the lows of morale, so I told them to say a prayer for the donkeys and the sacrifices they had made for our country yesterday. It drew the laughter i had hoped it would and spirits were lifted higher, even if just a little bit. After a while, when it became evident that the enemy wasnt going to attack, we threw our packs on and got ready to begin another long day of humping up the fertile crescent. Once you get past the drawback of having to wake up so early, right before the sun breaks the horizon is actually the preferred time to move. Enough daylight to see where you are walking without falling on your face, and too early for the sun to make it unbearably hot are the ideal conditions to travel on foot in. It wasnt long before the cool air became just a distant memory. Different people deal with the misery in different ways. Some guys sing a song in their head, while others chew on gum. For me, i think of back home....memories of old.
The trick is to ignore your body. Put your mind elsewhere while at the same time maintaining situational awareness. If you do nothing but concentrate on how much the here and now sucks, sooner or later youll lose your mind. Im still convinced that is where the donkeys went wrong. I also remember noticing how beautiful certain parts of this country were as we passed by them. If it had been under different circumstances (i.e. no people out there trying to kill us) i might have actually enjoyed this little nature walk. Nevertheless. Keep walking. Much like a kid in the back of a car, every 5 minutes asking "are we there yet?", it echoed through my head. When WERE we going to stop? Why was the Lieutenant pushing us so hard? I knew that we had to stay in support of Fox 3 which was a click and a half ahead, but still, some of the Marines were starting to become borderline heat casualties. As we sat to take a 5 minute break, these were the thoughts that went through my head. They were soon abruptly interrupted by a loud explosion that made everyone jump up. As the explosion echoed through the valley for what seemed like an eternity, it was soon replaced with machine gun fire. It was coming from the north. Wait a second, Fox 3 was to the north. They were taking fire. Someone yelled for the satellite comm so that Lieutenant could get on the hook and find out exactly what the situation was. The first transmission across the net was a 9-line medevac request. In the initial report they had sustained 5 WIA's (Wounded In Action) and 2 minutes later, the count jumped up to 7 WIA's. They were getting slaughtered from the high ground and we had to do something about it. Fast. By nothing other than the grace of God, there just happened to be a hill directly behind us with enough flat ground to get a mortar system firecapped.
Let me just pause to explain what an anomaly this turned out to be....
In order to effectively set up the 81mm mortar, you need a culmination of factors to be met first. Number One, there must be somewhat soft ground for the baseplate to sink, otherwise it will bounce off of bedrock and render the round being fired innacurate, and therefore, useless. You must also take into consideration the overhead clearance. Since the mortars are fired upwards and at an angle, you must also ensure the outgoing round doesnt hit any trees on its way out and blow up directly over your head. That being covered, in the 6 hours that we had been on the move, in all of the terrain that we had passed, not one square foot of it had been suitable enough to set up a mortar system on. I still marvel at the fact that when we actually needed to set up our mortar system there just happened to be the perfect spot for it nearby. I am convinced there was a higher power at work that morning. Coincidences like that dont just happen, not out here at least.
Thats not to say that it was easy. When youve been on a movement for as long as we were in that heat, running up and down a hill tends to take what fumes youre running on and and suck them completely dry. However, when youre hearing the sound of your fellow brothers being gunned down, you do everything possible in your power to help them. In this case it meant running up that hill and setting up the gun, then running back down again to collect rounds from the packs. Ignore the burning in your legs, its only temporary. Just breathe. Once I reached the top for the third time, i did a quick survey to see how many rounds we had. 12 HE (high explosion) rounds. It would be enough for the time being. Finally the fire mission that we had been waiting for came down over the radio with the position of the enemy machine gun emplacement that had the Marines pinned down. It was an immediate suppression, meaning you level up on the gun and fire 3 HE's as fast as possible. Seconds counted this time. As the last round left the tube, i tried to listen above the ringing in my ears for the impact of our steel rain. The target was behind a mountain and too far away to be seen by us, but what was more important was the sound that followed our explosions; silence. Silence meant only one thing, we had effectively suppressed the enemy. Whether or not we hit our target wasnt important, what was priority at the time was that they got off the trigger. Now they were on the run and a few more missions came over the radio to chase them off and hopefully; kill them in the process. A single 81mm HE round has a casualty radius of 50 meters, so its really not as hard as one thinks to hit a moving target. Fortunately, our big boom allows us somewhat of a margin for error. 20 minutes after initial contact, we soon heard the sound of 2 A-10 warthogs flying overhead. Air was on station. You always breathe a sigh of relief when there are birds in the sky; its like having an invincible big brother watching your back from on high, ready to drop an arsenal of weaponry on anyone that would bring harm to you. I can only imagine what those guys getting shot at mustve felt. I wanted to know who got hit, where they got hit, and how bad it was. I wanted to know that everyone was going to live. It wasnt until later that i found out that the army medevac pilots were pretty spooked about flying in the valley and this led to the delay of thier arrival.
No official word on how many confirmed kills we got, but Battle Damage Assessment estimated that there we probably got 15-20 Taliban. Big Fucking Deal. As far as im concerned, it doesnt matter how many lives we ended that day, all i cared about was how many lives we saved.
After our little excitement, we broke down the gun and got ready to move out. As i threw on my pack, i noticed that it was getting considerably lighter in weight. I had started off with 24 bottles of water and was down to my last three. Not a very good thing when hydration was a critical element to survival. I could sustain for the rest of the day on what i had, but we would have to get creative the following morning if we wanted to keep pushing on. There was a somber tone amongst the Marines as we left that position. Faces telegraphed feelings of fear in some, anxiety in others, but we all had some level of anger inside of us after the firefight. They had shot some of our own. If they would have had the chance, they would have killed every single one of them. It didnt matter that we killed some of them in the process. It wasnt enough. This was now on a personal level. We were all getting familiar with combat. It was all about one word. Survival.
Shortly before nightfall, we passed through a village and decided to bed down for the night nearby. Everyone was on edge, and all of the sudden everyone started noticing movement in the mountains.
Word was definately out, and anyone within a 10 mile radius knew that the Marines were in the area and looking to pick a fight. I have to give credit where credit is due, they were a smart foe. These mountains were their playground and who knows the number of caches and fighting positions they had strategically placed all around us. They also were familiar with our Rules Of Engagement. They know that we cannot shoot unless we see a weapon. Naturally, since they dont wear a set uniform, they are free to move about as they please so long as they dont have an AK-47 slung across their back. It is not all that different than it was back in Vietnam with the VC. It was in a sense, guerilla warfare.
One positive i noticed was how everyone became more focused that day. Most of us already were, but it took enemy contact for some to realize that this was for real. Everyone had to be on the top of their game if we ever expected to walk out of the valley of the shadow of death in one piece.
......to be continued.
VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
Dude, I NEVER eat Flaming Hot Cheetos. I never eat Cheetos, period! I don't know what got into me. I think I only had like 4... but who knows.. there's a lot I don't fully remember from that night hahaha. I AM a blast to hang out with - but I bet you're more fun than I am (cause I can be super boring sometimes. We gotta hang out for real one day once you get back home. Cause you're like my most favourite person fighting for freedom, ever.