GI SPECIAL 6J12:
“We Were Like Sitting Ducks”
“The Taliban Fire Was So Intense That The Troops Behind The Building Could Not Peer Around The Side To Return Fire”
[Chronicle Of A Disaster]
October 13, 2008By Sean D. Naylor, Army Times [Excerpts]
As dawn broke, the small convoy paused on a hill overlooking a valley and the village of Sarsina.
Wanting to make their peaceful intentions clear, the U.S. and Afghan troops had driven the 15 kilometers from their firebase with their headlights on, making no attempt to disguise their approach. [See first two boldface below. The events previous to this approach described in the first two boldface below could be called clues.]
Among the heroes of that Nov. 2, 2007, battle was Sgt. 1st Class Drew Kimmey. On Sept. 25, his actions at Sarsina were recognized in a Fort Bragg, N.C., ceremony in which he became the first active-duty civil affairs soldier to receive the Silver Star.
Kimmey was part of a roughly 100-strong allied force that descended on Sarsina.
Riding in 14 vehicles, that force included two Special Forces A-teams, Kimmey’s civil affairs team, 40 or 50 Afghan National Army (ANA) troops with half-a-dozen U.S. Army embedded tactical trainers (ETTs), about 20 Afghan National Police officers, a psychological operations team and two civilian canine teams.
Sarsina, in the Oruzgan province, is only about three kilometers long and home to about 500 people. But through it runs the only road to a major Taliban training and recruitment sanctuary a few kilometers to the north.
[1] This likely explained the fact that Kimmey’s team, Civil Affairs Team-Alpha 745, had been attacked on each of its two previous visits to the village.
“By shutting us off at Sarsina they’re keeping out of their safe haven,” Kimmey said in a Sept. 23 telephone interview.
[2] “We hadn’t had an opportunity to talk to anybody in that village prior because we were engaged,” said Capt. Stephen Ward, Kimmey’s team leader.
One of the Special Forces A-teams, Operational Detachment Alpha 3214, set up a blocking and overwatch position with an ANA squad and three ETTs just south of the village. Meanwhile, the other A-team, ODA 3212, began clearing the village from north to south while the civil affairs team and the SF battalion physician’s assistant talked to villagers and provided medical assistance.
But it soon became clear that all was not right.
The troops found only three families in the village. Every other home was abandoned, with buildings locked and their entrances barricaded.
“It looked more and more like it wasn’t people locking their stuff to protect it from looting, but more (like) the village was converted into a defensible position by the Taliban,” Ward said. [Do you suppose this could have been another clue?]
The few villagers remaining told the coalition troops that as soon as the Taliban had seen them approaching, “they came in and told all of the residents to get out of the town, and there was going to be a fight,” Kimmey said.
But there was no sign of the enemy. Yet. [The previous attacks, the conversion of the town into a fighting position, and the reports of townspeople are, of course, examples of “no sign of the enemy.”]
“For three or four hours we were joking among our team like, ‘I wonder how long before we get shot at,’” Ward said. “‘How long are we going to get away with talking to people and walking around here?’“
The answer came after five hours in Sarsina, as the coalition force was getting ready to leave.
A massive barrage shook the valley as automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenade fire erupted from windows, behind vegetation, prepared fighting positions and drainage ditches that doubled as trenches.
About 300 Taliban had caught the coalition troops in a close-range L-shaped ambush. [And since they were equipped with cloaks of invisibility, the scouting parties sent out by the U.S. officer in command could not possibly have found them at “close range” during the “five hours” the U.S. troops were in the ville -- doing what exactly with the “few villagers”?]
Two soldiers were killed instantly: Sgt. 1st Class Johnny Walls, an ETT from 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, and one of the ANA soldiers. The shock of those losses and the heavy volume of fire caused the Afghan troops to hunker down behind one of the buildings for the duration of the fight.
An RPG disabled an ETT truck. When 3212’s team sergeant moved his ground mobility vehicle (an upgraded Humvee used by Special Forces) forward to recover the ETT vehicle, it was hit by an RPG and its gunner was wounded by a shot through the cheek.
The driver pulled the GMV to the rear, leaving the 3212’s team leader, Capt. Lavern Theis, the ground force commander for the mission, stranded behind a building with about 20 ANA troops and the two bodies.
“The intent wasn’t to leave anybody forward, it was just that due to the volume of fire Capt. Theis wasn’t able to move back with them, he kind of got pinned down with the body,” Ward said.
Theis soon radioed that his position was in danger of being overrun.
“By the tone in Capt. Theis’ voice you could tell that he was in a lot of trouble,” Ward said.
Ward ordered his vehicle forward, quickly traversing the 400 meters to Theis’ position. But just 10 meters short of their destination, the CA team’s GMV ran into a hidden ditch at 40 mph. Ward and Staff Sgt. Carlo Alcazar each blacked out for about 10 seconds. Alcazar’s first thoughts upon regaining consciousness were, “Oh crap, we’re still here.”
“We were like sitting ducks,” Alcazar said.
Ward escorted the battalion physician’s assistant and the team’s interpreter from the back of the truck to the building behind which Theis and the ANA fighters were sheltering. After collecting and reloading the spilled .50 cal rounds for the GMV’s turret gun, Alcazar, who would receive a Bronze Star with “V” device, also sought shelter there.
That left Kimmey manning the .50 cal in the turret, essentially alone in holding back more than 100 Taliban.
“Our truck was just getting absolutely riddled with bullet holes,” said Ward, who also received a Bronze Star with “V” device. “Sgt. Kimmey’s position was taking the brunt of the direct fire, to the point where you just feel helpless, because you just know that if he leaves that weapon system or something happens to him, that there’s a good chance we’ll get overrun.”
The Taliban fire was so intense that the troops behind the building could not peer around the side to return fire.
“It was the loudest sustained roar that I’ve ever heard, over any air show or any rock concert I’d ever been to,” Ward said.
Soon Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles and A-10 Thunderbolts were providing close air support at “danger close” ranges.
“The debris came flying over our head,” Ward said. “It just feels like your whole body’s getting shaken apart, you’re standing inside a big bass drum.”
ODA 3214 and most of the force that had been positioned to the south of the village fought their way up to the embattled civil affairs team. After loading the bodies, they quickly hooked the civil affairs truck to 3214’s GMV and began towing it south. By now it was at least 4 p.m.
But about 350 meters to the south, the vehicles ran into another ditch, breaking off the CA vehicle’s front right wheel. “Now the vehicle is completely disabled,” Ward said.
The U.S. troops quickly removed the sensitive items from the civil affairs truck, while Kimmey continued to pour fire from the .50 cal, which had heat waves rising from its barrel.
Then he disabled the gun and the friendly force abandoned the vehicle, those who had been riding in it now running alongside 3214’s GMV until they reached two other trucks that had been providing supporting fire.
Those on foot boarded the trucks and the coalition force retreated south, behind a landmass known as “Cemetery Hill,” beyond the Taliban’s effective fire range. But by now it was almost dark and the Taliban threat had evaporated. “Once the sun went down, they were done for the day,” Ward said.
By midnight the troops were back at the firebase. In addition to the two killed in action and the gunner shot through the cheek, eight U.S. and four Afghan soldiers suffered minor wounds, Ward said. He estimated that 150 Taliban were killed.
IRAQ WAR REPORTS
Ky. Army Ranger, 27, Dies In Iraq While On Patrol
Patrick Rudd, 27: Associated Press
10/8/08MADISONVILLE, Ky. (AP)
The father of a western Kentucky soldier killed in Iraq says the Madisonville community is “filling me up with love and prayers” since learning of his 27-year-old son’s death.
Sgt. William P. Rudd died Sunday after being hit by enemy small-arms fire while on combat patrol in Mosul, according to the U.S. Defense Department.
Rudd was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga.
“The community is filling me up with love and prayers,” the soldier’s father, Bill Rudd of Madisonville, told The Messenger newspaper of Madisonville. “They support what Patrick did for our cause, so we wouldn’t have terrorists back over here.”
Patrick Rudd is believed to be the first Hopkins County native killed in Iraq.
He graduated from Madisonville-North Hopkins High School in 1999, then went to work on the assembly line at White Hydraulics in Hopkinsville.
Patrick Rudd had previously been deployed twice to Afghanistan and five times to Iraq. He joined the Army on Oct. 2, 2003.
“He had spent two years thinking about it, knowing that he needed a different direction in his life and wanting to defend our country.”
Patrick Rudd served with the Army Rangers, which are elite special operations troops. “He didn’t join for himself,” Bill Rudd said. “You might say he joined for everyone else over here.”
Patrick Rudd was a decorated soldier, receiving the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and many awards.
He is expected to posthumously receive the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Bill Rudd last saw his son four months ago when he visited Fort Benning, Ga., where Patrick was stationed.
Other survivors include Patrick Rudd’s mother, Pamela Coakley of Nortonville; his stepmother, Barbara Rudd of Madisonville; and a sister and brother.
The family is waiting to hear when the body will be returned to the United States before making funeral arrangements
A Small Taste Of Things To Come;
“Mahdi Army Militiamen Fought With U.S. And Iraqi Soldiers”
10.10.08 Los Angeles Times
Clashes between Mahdi Army militants and U.S. and Iraqi troops erupted in east Baghdad after accusations that Washington orchestrated the assassination of a popular lawmaker.
An official at Iraq’s Interior Ministry said Mahdi Army militiamen fought with U.S. and Iraqi soldiers in the sprawling Sadr City district after mosques broadcast accusations that coalition forces were behind a bombing hours earlier that killed nationalist lawmaker Saleh Uqaili.
Explosions and gunfire could be heard in adjacent neighborhoods.
UNREMITTING HELL ON EARTH;
ALL HOME NOW
U.S. soldiers try to extinguish an American armoured vehicle at Al Canal street, near Sadr city, Baghdad, Iraq, after a roadside bomb exploded next to a US military convoy, May 26, 2008, police said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
A Brilliant New Pentagon Plan To Assure Resistance Will Kill More U.S. Troops Defeat U.S. Occupation:
Replacing AK47s With M16s:
“With The AK47, It’s Dump Some Diesel Down The Barrel And Shake It Clean”
Pvt. Mohamad AdilSays “The AK Was Good To Clean. This One Is Difficult”
October 13, 2008By Michelle Tan, Army Times [Excerpts]
QALAT, Afghanistan — The Afghan National Army is ditching its AK47s in favor of the M16 rifle as part of a force modernization effort that will change not only how the soldiers handle their weapons but possibly how they fight.
“These guys have been firing the same guns their whole lives, and now we’re asking them to change,” said Maj. Oliver Rose, an operations mentor for the Headquarters Security and Support Brigade’s Delta Kandak, or battalion, in Kabul.
“It’s going to be different for a culture that has been using Warsaw Pact weapons for the last 30-some years to go to more refined NATO weapons,” he said, adding that along with a new weapon, the Afghan soldiers will have to learn precision shooting instead of just laying down as much ammunition as possible with the less-accurate AK47.
They also will have to learn how to clean and maintain the M16, which requires more maintenance than the hardy AK47.
“With the AK47, it’s dump some diesel down the barrel and shake it clean,” Rose said as he observed one of his noncommissioned officers train a group of Afghan NCOs on the basics of the M16 in Darulaman, southwest of Kabul.
The Afghan leadership asked for the switch to the M16, said Col. Bo Dyess, chief of the force integration division in the CJ-7 for Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan.
Pvt. Mohamad Adil, of 5th Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 205th Corps, in Qalat, northeast of Kandahar, received his M16 about four months ago.
He said through an interpreter that he has fired the weapon on the range but not in combat.
“When I start fighting, I’ll know,” said Adil, who had pink tissue stuffed in the muzzle of his rifle.
When asked about the tissue, Adil said it was there to keep out the dust.
“The AK was good to clean,” he said. “This one is difficult.”
Sgt. Faizullrahman, also from 5th Kandak, agreed with Adil.
“Before, with the Russian weapon, the AK47, it was very good on the battlefield, even if there was dirt,” he said. “With this, I don’t know if it’ll work with the dirt.”
Fellow soldier Pvt. Mirwayes said sometimes the kandak will go on days-long missions.
“The only problem we have with this weapon is you’re supposed to keep it clean,” he said. “Sometimes we go on missions where we don’t have time to keep it clean.”
Capt. Ernest Harrell, the S-2 and S-3 mentor for 5th Kandak, said the soldiers generally are proud of their M16s because they feel like they had to earn the right to carry it.
But they have not tested the M16 for themselves on the battlefield, he said.
“That’s the biggest thing about the AK that they like,” Harrell said.
“They know it will work in combat, so they’re very suspicious of the M16.”
TROOP NEWS
Stop Loss Regs
October 13, 2008 By Rick Maze, Army Times [Excerpt]
The skinny on stop-loss:
Stop-loss and stop-move policies that bar the reassignment, voluntary separation and retirement of soldiers in deployed and mobilized units have been in effect since November 2002 for reservists and June 2004 for active-duty soldiers.
Here are highlights of the program:
• Stop-loss and stop-move policies will remain in effect until lifted by the secretary of defense and the assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs.
• Restrictions under the active-component unit program take effect 90 days before the earliest theater arrival date specified in deployment orders issued by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The restrictions continue through a unit’s deployment to home station, plus a stabilization period of no more than 90 days.
Now soldiers may request to leave service before the end of the 90 days.
• The active-component restrictions apply to all soldiers in units that are alerted to deploy in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Included are deployable and nondeployable soldiers assigned to a unit’s rear detachment.
• National Guard and Army Reserve restrictions apply to all reserve call-ups for the war on terrorism (including homeland defense) and Central Command operations. They apply to mobilized units and all their soldiers, regardless of specialty.
Soldiers are placed in stop-loss status when the unit is alerted for mobilization and until 90 days after demobilization.
• Soldiers who are subject to stop-move will not leave the area of operations for reassignment or to attend military schools unless approved by a three- or four-star commander.