Lucy! You got some 'splainin to do!
Yesterday was my day off/maintenace day.
But good ole alpha section gets roped into a convoy escort mission that keeps me up the entire night before waitin for an SP. We were projected to move out at 1230am pushed back to 0330am, finally moving at 0430am to Lucifiyah/Potato Factory. Thanks to a grand convoy brief by the lietenant to our escortees (a Lt COL 3 Capt's and 11 Heavy transports) 4 of them missed the initial turn saying fuck it we're going to Stryker/baghdad.
So we started off on two left feet...and lots of bad feelings everywhere.
qp4, who is now my driver, and I waited 500m away from any friendlies for about 45minutes for the pogues to get turned around and on track. And then off we go, into the rising sun and oblivion...
wait, no, it can't end there!
We rolled through the town known for heavy insurgency (Mulla Fayad) the first time around 600, amidst the scowls, and gnashing teeth of toddlers and adults alike. We knew we were gonna get hit on the way back through. Its the only route we could take. We joked about it. Then dipped our hats like real cavalrymen and rode back into the wild west a second time. No kids. No little dude selling fuel on the corner. No mangy-ass dogs. Obvious telegraph of an ied attack. We make the turn from Sportster to Peggy. Blue four door sedan comes round a corner at us then U's to a stop on the right side of the road. Here it comes. I wanna go ahead and shoot. Warning shot. something. spook the triggerman who's either in that car, or nearby. I don't and we roll by him. Then theres this fuckin hole on the left side of the road just beyond the sedan. We slow down, I duck down, time halts. I don't know how far away we were when the shit went off, but one caught my wingman directly in the driver's door. The one meant for my truck didn't detonate.
That fuckin hole. And i knew it. We all did, from the time we started the bullshit, til we were hit. It was our turn, plain and simple. Luckily it wasn't our time.
three and a half hours later I'm thinking its still our turn, cause we've been sitting just outside the killzone waiting for our witless leader to hand over the site to charlie's QRF. Aboutfuckingtime later we roll from that site and 3 mortar rounds impact right where we were. Little hadji had time to creep up with a 60mm tube and three rounds to a position within earshot of him firing and just took his time aiming.
Someone relieve this guy please!
Anger at incompetence and thank god we're breathing is all I know for now. No words of wisdom. No flashes of brilliance.
We have one guy at a hospital in Baghdad under observation now. He should be fine, I hope its just that he's shook up.
I'm remembering what a friend once told me.
"There are no heroes in war. Only people that make it home, and people who don't."
I'm not gonna tell anymore war stories for a while. Just need to find another topic. Like arts n crafts time.
Cookies and Kool-Aid anyone?
REV
But good ole alpha section gets roped into a convoy escort mission that keeps me up the entire night before waitin for an SP. We were projected to move out at 1230am pushed back to 0330am, finally moving at 0430am to Lucifiyah/Potato Factory. Thanks to a grand convoy brief by the lietenant to our escortees (a Lt COL 3 Capt's and 11 Heavy transports) 4 of them missed the initial turn saying fuck it we're going to Stryker/baghdad.
So we started off on two left feet...and lots of bad feelings everywhere.
qp4, who is now my driver, and I waited 500m away from any friendlies for about 45minutes for the pogues to get turned around and on track. And then off we go, into the rising sun and oblivion...
wait, no, it can't end there!
We rolled through the town known for heavy insurgency (Mulla Fayad) the first time around 600, amidst the scowls, and gnashing teeth of toddlers and adults alike. We knew we were gonna get hit on the way back through. Its the only route we could take. We joked about it. Then dipped our hats like real cavalrymen and rode back into the wild west a second time. No kids. No little dude selling fuel on the corner. No mangy-ass dogs. Obvious telegraph of an ied attack. We make the turn from Sportster to Peggy. Blue four door sedan comes round a corner at us then U's to a stop on the right side of the road. Here it comes. I wanna go ahead and shoot. Warning shot. something. spook the triggerman who's either in that car, or nearby. I don't and we roll by him. Then theres this fuckin hole on the left side of the road just beyond the sedan. We slow down, I duck down, time halts. I don't know how far away we were when the shit went off, but one caught my wingman directly in the driver's door. The one meant for my truck didn't detonate.
That fuckin hole. And i knew it. We all did, from the time we started the bullshit, til we were hit. It was our turn, plain and simple. Luckily it wasn't our time.
three and a half hours later I'm thinking its still our turn, cause we've been sitting just outside the killzone waiting for our witless leader to hand over the site to charlie's QRF. Aboutfuckingtime later we roll from that site and 3 mortar rounds impact right where we were. Little hadji had time to creep up with a 60mm tube and three rounds to a position within earshot of him firing and just took his time aiming.
Someone relieve this guy please!
Anger at incompetence and thank god we're breathing is all I know for now. No words of wisdom. No flashes of brilliance.
We have one guy at a hospital in Baghdad under observation now. He should be fine, I hope its just that he's shook up.
I'm remembering what a friend once told me.
"There are no heroes in war. Only people that make it home, and people who don't."
I'm not gonna tell anymore war stories for a while. Just need to find another topic. Like arts n crafts time.
Cookies and Kool-Aid anyone?
REV