Tuesday, August 26, 2003 Reality from IraqTO ALL: Most interesting. This is a response to a message that said rules of engagement (ROE) were causing Army deaths and did not apply to the Marines.
No it's not true. The ROE are dictated by CJTF-7, not individual commanders. They are the same for Army and Marines, not to mention the Navy and Coast Guard. We're required to be armed at all times.
The two magazine rule is that you must have at least two magazines on your person at all times, this helps when you're engaging the enemy. Most people carry at least three pistol mags and seven rifle mags respectively. Both Army and Marine units openly display their weapons.
They both shoot when threatened also. Several attacks have been thwarted by Army and Marine personnel shooting first. We're also much better shots than the enemy. They tend to spray and pray, while we tend to just shoot them.
The Army has more attacks because their AOR encompasses Baghdad and the surrounding areas where the bulk of the attacks have taken place. I've noticed the press does a poor job in reporting our response to these ambushes. To put it plainly, we kick butt! The usual 'real' report reads: "Five IZ (Iraqis) fired AK-47s and RPGs at patrol (or convoy), soldiers (or marines) returned fire resulting in 3 KIA, and 1 WIA, 1 escaped. RPGs missed, AK fire ineffective, no US casualties."
We do take some casualties, and that is not a good thing, but we are very effective at counter-firing at the ambushes. Aggressiveness has proven very effective.
The enemy is primarily made up of insurgents from Iran and Syria who hire Iraqis to attack coalition soldiers, not disgruntled Iraqis who are mad that their power is not on all day yet. They provide them with AKs and RPGs and send them on their way with a promise of cash after the attack. They even give motorcycles to kids which they get to keep if they ride by a coalition checkpoint and drop a grenade.
After one such attack, we found out how easy it was to shoot people off motorcycles. You can hear them from a long way off and shoot them long before they get within grenade dropping distance.
We have good leaders, and they're responding aggressively and well to the attacks, they emphasize that everyone must engage the enemy whenever they show themselves. The kids here are excited to do their job, and they do it well, with the proper weapons and lots of ammo. We go out with M2 50 cals and Mk-19 automatic grenade launchers mounted on our vehicles. We carry SAWs, M-203s, M-16s, and M9s. We also carry several different types of grenades and use everything as needed.
We read press articles on the net that have no resemblance to reality every day. Just last week I read an article where a car bomb killed fifteen American soldiers, destroyed three armored vehicles, and one tank at the Baghdad Airport. Our unit there was surprised when we told them about it since they've been there the whole time and never heard any explosion. The press lies, they make things up, and they misrepresent things to forward their own ideals. It would be funny except that so many people believe them.
Take care,
John H. Taylor, LTC
CA Babylon, Iraq The Braden Files via Howard Veit. -- posted by Chuck at Tuesday, August 26, 2003 | E-mail | Permalink | Main |
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