Border Contact
They had wanted to get started a little earlier but "mess" was late. It's typical Army life, even in a combat zone, hurry up and wait. The Strykers were all fueled up, weapons were locked. They were finally able to head out at about 5PM.
They moved out from Rabeea going south along the border, doing their normal procedure. Standard Operating Procedure, SOP, stopping at the border checkpoints and forts along the border, talking to Iraqi border patrol, searching for "bad guys". At about 6PM, as they moved along the border the Scouts spot what they believe is the beginning stages of a smuggling operation. At a farm along the border an Iraqi farmer has donkeys with empty gasoline cans tied to their backs standing near a building. The Strykers move into the farm yard and ask if they can search the area. The Iraqis say yes.
"Any weapons?""Only one."Iraqi's are allowed to have a single weapon and one magazine of ammo. But the search netted more than they had declared. These "farmers" had two AK-47's and well over 300 rounds of ammunition. They also had night vision equipment which is illegal for Iraqi citizens to own. The equipment is confiscated and the Iraqis are arrested.
Around 7 to 7:30PM they left the last checkpoint in their area of responsibility. That is when the Strykers move into position along the border and wait until night fall. Stryker Scouts, Ghost Soldiers, don't work in the daytime, but then neither do smugglers and Iraqi insurgents. As the sun goes down the Stryker Soldiers start their patrols of the border. The night had already gone pretty well and they expected it to be a busy.
They were right.
After about an hour and a half of searching and patrolling the Strykers see seven men move across the border. These men are carrying AK-47's and RPG's (rocket propelled grenade launchers). Unfortunately for the Iraqis (or Syrians, if that's who they are) the Rules of Engagement (ROE) for Stryker Brigade is to destroy anything larger than an AK-47 on sight. No fire if fired upon. No wait and see. Immediately take out the threat.
The group of men were already within range of the Stryker Scouts. They would not be allowed to get any closer. Suppressive and disruptive fire is put down immediately by the Strykers . They don't want these guys to get off the first shot and certainly don't want them to get an opportunity to use an RPG. It worked. They are taken by surprise and aren't able to return effective mass fire on the Strykers. The speed, fury and level of fire put down by the Strykers causes the insurgents to scatter across the desert.
Kiowa (small scout helicopters, equipped with rocket pods) support is called in to aid in the search for the now scattered insurgents. The Strykers pull back and once clear of the immediate area the Kiowas roll in and open fire. Aided by night vision equipment on the choppers they attempt to seek out and destroy the enemy. Rockets streak away from the choppers in bright flashes followed by the crack of explosions. The insurgents begin to sprint away into the night but not before many of them return fire on the choppers and the Stryker Soldiers.
The Kiowas roll out and wait for further orders and the Scouts move in to chase down and capture the insurgents. During the chase one Iraqi is shot twice. He's hit in the head and upper thigh. The area is immediately secured and the medics begin treatment on the wounded Iraqi. His wounds are serious and it isn't thought that he will make it but a Blackhawk helicopter is called in to medivac him out anyway. The Blackhawk roars in out of the darkness and sets down in a secured landing area. The Iraqi (or Syrian, since they don't know yet) is put on the chopper and it lifts off and heads for the Tal Afar airfield.
Two more men are captured. One of them runs out of the darkness immediately in front of his Stryker. He's quickly captured and arrested. The other is captured as he tries to "low crawl" away from the same area.
The Strykers stick around the area until daylight. They need to see if they can find the weapons that were dropped and to see if the Kiowa attack had caused any casualties. Nothing is found. There were some very lucky insurgents that morning - they got away.
The Strykers roll out and arrive "home" at 10AM. Seventeen hours after the mission started.
They moved out from Rabeea going south along the border, doing their normal procedure. Standard Operating Procedure, SOP, stopping at the border checkpoints and forts along the border, talking to Iraqi border patrol, searching for "bad guys". At about 6PM, as they moved along the border the Scouts spot what they believe is the beginning stages of a smuggling operation. At a farm along the border an Iraqi farmer has donkeys with empty gasoline cans tied to their backs standing near a building. The Strykers move into the farm yard and ask if they can search the area. The Iraqis say yes.
"Any weapons?""Only one."Iraqi's are allowed to have a single weapon and one magazine of ammo. But the search netted more than they had declared. These "farmers" had two AK-47's and well over 300 rounds of ammunition. They also had night vision equipment which is illegal for Iraqi citizens to own. The equipment is confiscated and the Iraqis are arrested.
Around 7 to 7:30PM they left the last checkpoint in their area of responsibility. That is when the Strykers move into position along the border and wait until night fall. Stryker Scouts, Ghost Soldiers, don't work in the daytime, but then neither do smugglers and Iraqi insurgents. As the sun goes down the Stryker Soldiers start their patrols of the border. The night had already gone pretty well and they expected it to be a busy.
They were right.
After about an hour and a half of searching and patrolling the Strykers see seven men move across the border. These men are carrying AK-47's and RPG's (rocket propelled grenade launchers). Unfortunately for the Iraqis (or Syrians, if that's who they are) the Rules of Engagement (ROE) for Stryker Brigade is to destroy anything larger than an AK-47 on sight. No fire if fired upon. No wait and see. Immediately take out the threat.
The group of men were already within range of the Stryker Scouts. They would not be allowed to get any closer. Suppressive and disruptive fire is put down immediately by the Strykers . They don't want these guys to get off the first shot and certainly don't want them to get an opportunity to use an RPG. It worked. They are taken by surprise and aren't able to return effective mass fire on the Strykers. The speed, fury and level of fire put down by the Strykers causes the insurgents to scatter across the desert.
Kiowa (small scout helicopters, equipped with rocket pods) support is called in to aid in the search for the now scattered insurgents. The Strykers pull back and once clear of the immediate area the Kiowas roll in and open fire. Aided by night vision equipment on the choppers they attempt to seek out and destroy the enemy. Rockets streak away from the choppers in bright flashes followed by the crack of explosions. The insurgents begin to sprint away into the night but not before many of them return fire on the choppers and the Stryker Soldiers.
The Kiowas roll out and wait for further orders and the Scouts move in to chase down and capture the insurgents. During the chase one Iraqi is shot twice. He's hit in the head and upper thigh. The area is immediately secured and the medics begin treatment on the wounded Iraqi. His wounds are serious and it isn't thought that he will make it but a Blackhawk helicopter is called in to medivac him out anyway. The Blackhawk roars in out of the darkness and sets down in a secured landing area. The Iraqi (or Syrian, since they don't know yet) is put on the chopper and it lifts off and heads for the Tal Afar airfield.
Two more men are captured. One of them runs out of the darkness immediately in front of his Stryker. He's quickly captured and arrested. The other is captured as he tries to "low crawl" away from the same area.
The Strykers stick around the area until daylight. They need to see if they can find the weapons that were dropped and to see if the Kiowa attack had caused any casualties. Nothing is found. There were some very lucky insurgents that morning - they got away.
The Strykers roll out and arrive "home" at 10AM. Seventeen hours after the mission started.
posted by deesci | 9:04 PM
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