The City of Hit

We left Ramadi just a few days to FOB hit to link up with the Iraqi freedom guard (IFG). The plan was to move into Hit that night but after another element of the IFG was ambushed the plan changed. We were to go search route bronze for the ambush site. Six IFG in a white SUV. Three escaped. Two captured and one left for dead. We never found them. The next morning we went to the Haditha Dam to refuel and re-supply. That night we drove 5 hours cross country then set up in a coil just outside of the city of Hit. The next morning we moved into our positions along the Euphrates River in a palm grove. We spent the first day digging in and fortifying the perimeter with trip flares and concertina wire. Red PLT to our north engaged a man that on the IFG guys spotted with a mortar tube minutes after an attack. That night again, Red had spotted some activity. There were five guys sneaking around by the bank of the river, on the other side, crawling around and digging, moving things from one place to the other.

    It was around midnight and I was in the turret with Johnstone. We saw them a couple of times but too many palm trees were blocking our shot. For the next hour or so we sat watching through the thermals and listening to Red platoon continue to call the Capt. Over the radio, keeping them updated with what these guys were doing, and almost begging to kill them.

    The Capt. was on their side and became almost belligerent with battalion when they told us we were not authorized to shoot until shot at. This was going against our rules of engagement. We had positively ID'd these men with weapons obviously up to something. Wolfpack (our Battalion call sign)  did not want to "stir the hornets nest" because Force Recon was going into the city at 0300 and we would be pulling into our hot positions for a show of force with Illum. Everyone was afraid that these guys would not still be there at 0300 or even worse, they would shoot at us first. 

    0300 came and they were still there. Cpl. Barker's LAV initiated the attack with a TOW shot across the river and then the 25mm opened up on a steaming pile of body parts. We fought through the night.

The TOW stands for Tube launched, Optically tracked Wire command linked missile system.  The shot that was taken was said to be impossible according to "the book" One of the systems limitations is its inability to be deployed over a body of water. 

Wake up, bad guys!

Feb 23, 2005

   

Today is our 3^rd day in the town of "Hit" and I have been meaning to write in the record for weeks. After the elections, we seemed to step it up a notch and raid a couple of targets before we turned over our zone in Ramadi. The first house we hit with little success. Driving into the village and having mortars provide illumination; I guess we scared them off with them hearing our vehicles. There was said to be around 20 of them fleeing the target house. Nobody we caught was who we were looking for.

The next raid was in the town of  Saqlawiyah. The Capt., myself, and my scout team linked up with Red Plt at OP 11A along with an Italian reporter. We patrolled about 2K into the town at midnight. The first house was on the outskirts of the town. After we had surrounded the house, a green chemlight was cracked and thrown into the air for the signal to move in.

We stormed in kicking the door down and pulled five guys out of bed, along with finding just as many AK's. After zip tying their hands and blindfolding them, we dragged them with us to the next objective. Working our way deeper into the town, we continued to kick down doors, stringing along our train of detainees, hitting all four objectives with the only casualty being my new guy Skraba falling into a waist high puddle of shit.

 We ended up with eleven detainees – all bad guys. Even the HIET (Human/Intelligence Exploitation Team) was surprised at how successful the raid was.

The Elections

Jan 31

    The Iraqi elections were yesterday and I don't yet know how they went. Things seemed strangely on the normal side here at OP.

This is an image that I hope people never forget

     

Yesterday A.M. we went out on an ambush patrol and set in about 2K South of our OP before sunrise. We had suspected that they had been dropping mortars in that area but only saw Shepherds.

Thompson was all the excitement I had that A.m. He was to my right, set in for an ambush watching out back with the saw, and I found him sleeping. I threw a rock at him, surprising myself with my aim and hitting him in the feet. He didn't move. I threw a couple more rocks and then had to go over to him. Staying low, I snuck over there and knelt down putting my knee into his back and told him with an angry whisper, "Wake Up". He started immediately saying he was alert. I stopped him by grabbing his helmet and twisting his head to an uncomfortable position telling him I would deal with him later.

    I finished reading The Da Vinci Code yesterday – a gift Tippie had sent. Now Tobias is reading it. Jo sent me some Vodka and Bourbon along with some pictures of her. Some Copenhagen, some cups and little umbrellas. Shelley sent me some pictures too, of her and her kid, Kyla. I am so thankful for having such great friends back home.

    When we were back at Ramadi this last time, Johnstone got beat up pretty good by Buchanan. I didn't get to see it, but I heard it. Right outside my house. Johnstone and Doc had been going around for weeks antique'ing people. Something they had seen on a CKY movie where they come up on somebody sleeping and throw a handful of flour on their face. When they first had the idea and showed that they weren't just talking by getting a 10lb. bag of flour from the chow hall, I told them if they ever did that to me, I would be right behind them running out of the house barefoot to kick their ass. They gave me a look of disbelief saying, "It's only a joke," and I warned them that they should be careful who they humiliate.

    After antique'ing a few people without incident, they got somebody who didn't like getting woke up by a handful of flour launched into his face.

    I guess Buchanan, who I don't even like, only hit Johnstone two or three times but it was bad. Johnstone's right eye was cut and the next day was almost swollen shut. Scabs on his nose and lip showed up. Now he was the one humiliated.