Imperial Grunt

quote:Light infantry should have some form of scout-sniper team capabilty, especially with something like a 20mm anti-personnel, anti-material rifle. Yes, that's a great idea for another squad type. Sounds great. Pairing up sniper teams with antitank missile teams (something like a javelin team) should be a good technique.

The new infantry squads look like a great start. Just a few comments: 1) Why no camouflage? Metal armor could be painted quickly for any environment. 2) Why such a short range for the AT grenades? A M-203 can reach out effectively to 300 meters, especially in the hands of an practised gunner. 3) Light infantry should have some form of scout-sniper team capabilty, especially with something like a 20mm anti-personnel, anti-material rifle. 4) Infantry should be able to mark targets for other platforms. Just some suggestions. Semper Fi

The above ammo was just what was on Marines bodies and carrying more would have made people practically immobile. The Bn was mounted on 7-ton trucks so each squad had more ammo in their vehicles. The company HMMVW had a trailer with alot more ammo, to include things like mortar rounds, javelins, SMAW and AT-4 rockets, grenades, etc.... Resupplying platoons during a firefight is SOP but is something that is not simulated at all in CM.

For OIF1 my Marine rifle company's basic load looked like this: CHAPTER 1: GENERAL EQUIPMENT AND COMBAT LOAD 101. INDIVIDUAL COMBAT LOAD: 1. All hands will follow the following guidance for individual combat gear: • 782 gear configured to personal preference in a balanced manner. • Serialized gear dummy-corded to gear/Marine. • 1st Aid Kit on left side of buttpack/warbelt. • Dog Tag laced in left boot. • Green sock on helmet mounted goggles to stop glare. • Last name stenciled in black ½ inch capitol letters on back of helmet. (Or name tape) • Last name stenciled in 1 inch black capitol letters on back of rear pocket flap of flak and on the center of upper flap of pack. • Last name written on tag, inserted into window of day pack. • Glint tape patches worn on top center of helmet and on left-rear shoulder of 782 gear. (1st Mar SOP) IR reflectors worn on helmet, on rear-1/3, symmetrically. • Phoenix light worn IAW 1st Mar Div SOP. (TBD) • Each Marine will have 7 empty sandbags in pack for defensive positions. • 1 carabiner per pack. • 5 zipties per Marine for hasty EPW restraints. Zipties in buttpack. • 5’ 550 cord in pack. • If not worn, SAPI plates carried together in pack. Front plate always worn in flak for attacks on fortified positions. Both plates are always worn for MOUT and in the defense. Groin and throat protectors optional. • NBC gear (MOPP suit, booties, gloves, decon kit in assault pack). • Weapons and deuce gear must always be within arms reach. 102. PLATOON COMBAT LOAD: 1. Each platoon will maintain the following gear by SOP: • 1 set of bolt cutters per squad. • ISR’s issued to FT leaders and up. ISR’s dummy-corded. • 3 grappling hooks w/50’ rope per platoon. • 2 weapon mounted lights per squad. • 1 air panel per squad (2’X2’) 2. Standard Combat Ammunition Load: • AT-4s: 2 rockets per FT, carried by R and AAR. • 2 frag grenades per man always carried in pouch. • Claymores will not be carried normally, issued as needed for defensive operations. • Assault section’s demo kits maintained in company vehicle until needed. • Riflemen: o 180 5.56 ball (A059) in 7 M-16 mags o 180 5.56 ball (A059) in one bandolier o 2 frag grenades (G881) o 1 AT-4 (C995) o *1 60mm mortar round (B627, 30, 42, or 43) • AAR: o 180 5.56 ball (A059) in 7 M-16 mags o 2 SAW drums (A064) o 2 frag grenades (G881) o 1 AT-4 (C995) o *1 60mm mortar round (B627, 30, 42, or 43) • AR: o 2 SAW drums (A064) o 2 frag grenades (G881) o *1 60mm mortar round (B627, 30, 42, or 43) • TL: o 180 5.56 ball (A059) in 7 M-16 mags o 12 40mm grenades (B546) o 2 frag grenades (G881) o 1 colored smoke grenade (G940, 45, or 50) o 1 HC smoke grenade (G930) o *1 60mm mortar round (B627, 30, 42, or 43) • SL: o 180 5.56 ball (A059) in 7 M-16 mags o 2 frag grenades (G881) o 2 colored smoke grenades (G940, 45, or 50) o 1 HC smoke grenade (G930) o *1 60mm mortar round (B627, 30, 42, or 43) *All mortar rounds will be in fibers and attached/in buttpack. (Each squad may additionally carry a belt of 200 MG rounds in ammo can). • -MG TL: o 180 5.56 ball (A059) in 7 M-16 mags o 2 frag grenades (G881) o SL-3 for gun o 200 7.62 (A131) • MG Gunner: o 30 9mm rounds (A363) in 2 mags o 2 frag grenades (G881) o 50 7.62 teaser belt (A131) o 200 7.62 (A131) • Ammoman: o 180 5.56 ball (A059) for 7 M-16 mags o 2 frag grenades (G881) o 200 7.62 (A131) • SMAW TL: o 180 5.56 ball (A059) in 7 M-16 mags o 2 frag grenades (G881) o 2 SMAW rockets (HX05) • SMAW Gunner: o 30 9mm rounds (A363) in 2 mags o 2 frag grenades (G881) o 1 SMAW rocket in SMAW (HX05) • Mortarman: o 180 5.56 ball (A059) in 7 M-16 mags/30 9m rounds (A363) in 2 mags o 2 frag grenades (G881) o 2 60mm mortar rounds (B643) The SOP was not absolute and platoon commanders made adjustments as required by the situation. This list also did not cover things like NVGs and optics, chow and water, sustainment, etc... Everyone carried alot of crap that was all essential to some degree. Our company had been training continually for over a year when we went, so everyone has the essentials down to just ammo, weapons, critical gear, and sustainment. It adds up quick. I imagine that even the Halo super soldier of the future will still be carrying alot of crap, still following beans, bullets, and band-aids as a guide.

I agree with the consensus, but squads should be able to take ammo from internal squad casualties if they are nearby and pick up key abandonded weapons, such as SAWs, AT-4s, grenades, etc from friendly KIA squads or teams. Same with the Syrians. I also think it would be good if enemy crew-served weapons could be captured and used, if they add more firepower to the squad. For example, a squad assualts and siezes a trenchline that has a enemy 12.7mm machinegun in it. Same squad turns the weapon about and starts firing at the next enemy position. Only an idiot would not employ a simple weapon that was not obviously booby-trapped. Simulating captured rifles might be worthless, unless that squad was completely out of ammo and they captured a squad's worth of AKs. More technical weapons such as a Stinger or SA-7 should not be allowed, just simple infantry weapons, especially when a squad is low on ammo. Additionally Stryker squads would have alot of spare ammo, some of it probably already pre-loaded into magazines, in their vehicles, so a squad nearby should be able to top off in 5 turns or so. Grabbing an extra AT-4 or a bandolier of 5.56 should only take 2-3 minutes. Syrian forces should be able to cache extra arms and ammo in key locations for the same purpose, especially since they will be on the defense probably 95% of the time. Besides, that is what mosques are for.

Here is an interesting, unclassified website that predicts strike effects and blast radius. You can see what a small 5 Kt device would do in downtown LA or New York. HYDESim High-Yield Detonation Sim

I would be happy if squads and fireteams simply redistributed ammo and weapons on their own and from casualites that were nearby. I never understood why in CM when a BAR gunner got whacked, why no one else would pick up the BAR and continue to march. Same with bazookas, etc... As far as enemy weapons go, at least on the Marine side of the house, Marines are trained on the basic operation of enemy infantry weapons (AK, RPK, RPG, etc) for extreme circumstances. But Marines would not dump their M-16A4 or M-4 (with an ACOG, light, and IR laser designator on it) for an AK, especially an Iraqi AK. There have been several documented incidents where a Marine used enemy weapons due to being out of 5.56 or because the rifle was laying there and the LCpl on the spot thought "why not empty the mag back at the enemy?" But spontaneously picking up an AK and firing it off usually just confuses other friendly forces around you. Adding more confusion to your own side is usually not a good idea in a gunfight. A Marine Lt recieved the Navy Cross during OIF 1 for charging a group of Iraqis that had pinned down his platoon after it was ambushed. He directed the driver towards a trench and bailed out of the HMMWV, firing his M-16A2 and then his pistol until he was out of ammo. He then picked up one AK after another, firing and discarding the rifles one by one until the trench was cleared. He killed at least 24 Iraqi soldiers by himself. Somewhere during the action he also fired a captured RPG at another enemy position. So, hopefully CM:SF will include friendly forces weapons and ammo redistribution and the use of some captured weapons. I think using enemy tanks, AFVs, and heavy support weapons will be too much of a stretch. And on the others side of the coin, there is the Zawahiri tape of him firing the SAW until it jams and one of his soldiers burning his hand on the hot barrel. Additionally, an insurgent sniper team was recently taken out that had a captured Marine sniper rifle in their possession. Here is the story about that: CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq - Lt. Col. Patrick Looney, battalion commander for 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, holds the last round chambered in a Marine M-40A1 sniper rifle, which spent two years in enemy hands. A 21-year-old sniper from Sniper Section Four killed the insurgent June 16. The Darkhorse battalion plans to mount the round on a plaque to present to snipers of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment Magnificent Bastards, who lost four Marines and the rifle in Ramadi in June 2004. CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq (June 20, 2006) -- Scout snipers from 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment killed an enemy sniper and recovered a Marine sniper rifle lost nearly two years ago during a mission near Habbaniyah June 16. The rifle was the one formerly used by four Marines of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment who were killed on a rooftop in Ramadi June 21, 2004. Sniper Section Four was in a hide when the spotter observed a military-aged male inside a nearby parked car videotaping a passing patrol of amphibious assault vehicles. The Marines saw a rifle stock by the insurgent's side. "We were in the right place at the right time," said Sgt. Kevin Homestead, an infantryman from K Company serving as a spotter for the sniper team that day. They first radioed the passing Marines and told them they were being watched by an enemy sniper and to stay low. The insurgent then sealed his own fate by preparing the weapon. The 21-year-old Marine sniper, who declined to be interviewed - aimed in at the gunman's head behind the rear-side window. He recited a mantra in his head. Breathe, relax, aim, squeeze, surprise. The enemy sniper died with the gun in his lap. They dialed K Company - or Samurai 6 - and reported the target was dead. "We then saw another military-aged male ... enter the passenger side door," said Homestead, 26, from Ontario, Ore. "He was surprised to see the other shooter was killed." The second insurgent scurried around the car and jumped in the driver's seat. With the sniper now spotting for him, Homestead aimed in with his M-4 carbine and put three bullets in the driver before he could start the car. A squad of K Company Marines came to the position and saw the sniper dead and the driver shot three times. The driver died as soon as the squad arrived on scene. They pulled out the sniper rifle and immediately recognized that it was an M-40A1, the same used by the snipers of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment in 2004. The trunk of the car contained a pistol, a hand grenade, dozens of 7.62 mm rounds, multiple license plates and several camcorder tapes. "When we saw the scope and stock, we knew what it was," Homestead said. The rifle was missing for nearly two years - almost to the day. Marines believed the insurgent they killed, or those closely associated with him,had it all along. It is unknown how many times it was used against U.S. and Iraqi forces. "He was a very good sniper," Homestead said. "But he got cocky and slipped up and it was our time to catch that." The weapon came full circle, having originally belonged to the Darkhorse battalion in Operation Iraqi Freedom I, who turned it over to the "Magnificent Bastards" of 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. Coincidentally, a Darkhorse sniper killed the insurgent sniper, and a former Magnificent Bastard killed the spotter. Darkhorse battalion had been dealing with sporadic sniper attacks since arriving in Iraq in January. Now, Marines have one less sniper to worry about. "It's very rewarding to take them out the way we did," said Lt. Col. Patrick G. Looney, the battalion commander. "Doubly rewarding that it's a 2/4 sniper rifle, even though it won't bring back the four Marines who were killed that day." Triple rewarding that it won't be used on another Marine or soldier, he added. "The credit has to go to Sgt. Homestead and the Sniper Section leader who made the kill," said 1st Lt. J. H. Cusack, Sniper Platoon commander. "It was more than being in the right place at the right time. "It was the culmination of all of the training and planning the section leader had done up until that moment," Cusak added. "Being absolutely alert and focused to detect a small clue during a period of apparent inactivity and a perfectly executed shot." Darkhorse snipers have since removed the powder and primer from the last 7.62 mm round chambered in the recaptured rifle. They will mount it on a plaque and present it to the Magnificent Bastards' snipers to honor their lost Marines. Looney said the ability to give some retribution for their loss makes the day a "grand-slam home run for sniper ops." He credited the snipers' professionalism and attitude in accomplishing the mission throughout their area of operations. "I would say that the guys who shot are typical of the Darkhorse snipers," said Looney, 43, from Oceanside, Calif. "They're very proficient, very modest, very busy. They're out there almost daily doing great things in this AO and our old AO. The fact that they're taking a back seat and letting the battalion reap the benefits is typical of the kind of Marines they are."

Here is a pretty cool recruiting video...

In my opinion, the M-4/M-16A4 with ACOG works real good for target ID and engagement, much better than the Aimpoint as a standard infantry combat scope.

Aussie Blackhawks in action:

The Asia-Pacific region has alot of potential for scenarios as well. Here is a pic of an Aussie soldier in East Timor.

Here is an update on Somalia...another possible for a CM:SF setting, with scenarios utilizing the forces of many nations. Foreign intervention in Somalia? By Rob Crilly | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor NAIROBI, KENYA The rapid rise of Somalia's Islamist militias has prompted a flurry of diplomatic efforts to stabilize the troubled country in the Horn of Africa. Earlier this week, the African Union and Western diplomats decided to send officials to Somalia to assess the possibility of deploying a peacekeeping force to a country ripped apart by 15 years of anarchy. That has the backing of President Abdullahi Yusuf, head of Somalia's virtually impotent transitional government, who flew to Ethiopia Tuesday to demand speedy intervention. Regional powers support intervention out of fear of an Islamic state on their doorsteps, while Western governments are worried the country could become a haven for terrorists. But rather than promote stability, the move could inflame feelings in the newly dominant Islamic courts movement, which has everything to lose by foreign intervention. Its leaders say there is no need to invite peacekeepers when Islamist militias have succeeded in pacifying Mogadishu, one of the most dangerous cities on the planet. "Any sort of AU intervention - which would most likely be a cover for Ethiopian intervention - is most likely to be highly divisive and is likely to derail any attempt at peaceful negotiation between the government and the courts," says Sulieman Baldo, Africa program director of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. "The [islamist] courts will be very hostile to any sort of Ethiopian intervention in Somalia." Ethiopian troops have previously supported President Yusuf in his home state of Puntland where he held off an Islamist challenge during the 1990s. Somalia's neighbor is also thought to have designs on its land. For the past two weeks, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who heads the Islamic Courts Union, has insisted to the watching world that his network of sharia courts - which has imposed strict Islamic law, shut down cinemas, and banned people from celebrating New Year's - has no links to Al Qaeda and has no plans to turn Somalia into an Islamic state. But at the same time, his militias have swept out of Mogadishu conquering a huge swath of Somalia, imposing sharia law on the strategic town of Jowhar and traveling almost up to the border with Ethiopia. The courts are the closest thing to a central government the country has seen since President Siad Barre fled in 1991. After his departure, Somalia gradually split into a series of personal fiefdoms administered by a motley combination of gangsters and thugs known as warlords. But the rise of the Islamic courts and their militias has ousted the warlords from Mogadishu, where they were allegedly receiving cash from the United States to prevent Al Qaeda from making inroads. Militias loyal to Sheikh Ahmed are now positioned about 40 miles from the town of Baidoa, where the country's transitional government has sat for four months since being formed in neighboring Kenya. Earlier this month, its parliament voted to endorse Yusuf's call for peacekeepers to guarantee the survival of the government. That vote was quickly followed by accusations from the Islamic courts that Ethiopia had sent 300 soldiers across the border to bolster its ally, Yusuf. The charges are denied by Ethiopia, although it is well known that small numbers of Ethiopian troops regularly criss-cross the border as part of its own defenses. For now, the presence of peacekeepers would also violate an arms embargo imposed by the United Nations on all sides. Lifting it, says Lt. Col. Harjit Kelley, a consultant to the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia, would risk enflaming an already volatile situation by legalizing the flow of guns and ammunition into the country. He adds that the Islamic courts had strong backing from people living in towns under their control, and that the government, which has the support of much of the international community, has no option but to open a dialogue. However, Yusuf has previously ruled out talks with the Islamic courts' leadership unless they meet three conditions: withdraw their militias to Mogadishu, recognize his government, and disarm. Colonel Kelley doubts the Islamists will agree to those conditions, and says Yusuf has next to no leverage over the courts. "The Islamic courts have the infrastructure, the command and control, that has [allowed them to] take the capital and other towns and then, more important, to hold on to them, so they are a big threat to the TFG," says Kelley. "The TFG's best chance is to offer them commanding positions - with some real responsibility - in the government." For now, there is peace in Mogadishu, but no one doubts that much work remains to rebuild the failed state. Earlier this week, the United Nations' World Food Programme and UNICEF warned that the recent fighting and years of drought had pushed Somalis to their limit, creating the highest rates of malnutrition seen in years. Mahamud Hassan Ali, the mayor of Mogadishu, says the West had already intervened in his city, funding the warlords and exacerbating the conflict. Now, he says, it is time for the outside world to help rebuild it. "My appeal is that the taxes of the world are no longer used for destruction, but instead used to make a difference to the lives of our people."

And here is a picture of a romantic evening in Iraq... Sunset patrol

OK, that post was fixed. Sorry it took so long.

The incident in Haditha is under investigation, and those Marines who crossed the line will be punished, harshly. The Corps has a pretty good record of holding people accountable for all that they do or fail to do. Here are some words I borrowed in response to a political cartoon in a paper in Arizona. This desecration of the Marine Corps Emblem appeared in Wednesday, June 7th edition of the Arizona Republic as a political cartoon. I sent the following e-mail to the editor of the Republic this morning: To whom it may concern: In response to Steve Benson's political cartoon desecrating the Marine Corps Emblem, and prejudging the Marines currently under investigation, but not charged with any crimes. I would like to make the following comments regarding the battle history of the United States Marine Corps. The United States Marine Corps has faithfully defended the interests of the people of the United States in every climate and place since November 10, 1775. Every part of the Marine dress blue uniform is steeped in tradition, from the eagle, globe and anchor, the stock collar, the red stripe on officer and NCO trousers legs honors the blood of Marines spilled in combat. I am personally incensed by the publication of Mr. Benson's cartoon slandering our Corps emblem and the memory of Marines that paid the ultimate price with their lives. I will be forwarding a copy of the “CARTOON” to Col. Walter Ford, Editor of Leatherneck magazine, The Arizona American Legion magazine and to the VFW and DAV. Semper Fidelis, Cpl. James Crossin 0311 "I" Co., 3rd Bn., 5th Marine Regiment USMC 1959/1965, Fratres Aeterni I followed it up with another e-mail tonight of this article I received from Moon that appeared in the June 6th LA Times: Marines in Iraq: The warriors' way They maintain a monastic devotion to making right choices and sparing innocents amid the chaos of Iraq, says a former officer. By David J. Danelo DAVID J. DANELO, a former Marine officer and Iraq war veteran, is the author of "Blood Stripes: The Grunt's View of the War in Iraq." June 6, 2006 ON APRIL 6, 2004, Cpl. Jason Howell, a Marine squad leader who had arrived in Iraq three weeks before, was enduring his baptism of fire in what later became known as the "first battle of Fallouja." Howell, who had not eaten in 18 hours or slept in 36, was running on nothing but adrenaline. His dehydrated spittle, caked around the side of his mouth, was dirty white. Kneeling on a roof, he saw a flash of movement. An Iraqi child put his face out the window. Exhausted, Howell found himself unable to process the Arabic word he had learned for "stop." Without thinking, he screamed. The child pulled the curtains as Howell automatically raised his weapon to shoot. Then Howell blinked. An instant later, clarity returned to his thoughts. The corporal, who was in his first of what would become many days of combat, had almost shot an innocent. "I don't know exactly why I didn't pull the trigger," said Howell, who now serves with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. "It all happened so fast. It was a combination of training, instinct and luck." As the furor grows over allegations that Marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians last November - including women and children - the origins of Howell's discipline are worth examining. The Corps is the smallest of the United States' military services, and it also has the highest enlisted-to-officer ratio (about 10 to 1). Because of this, a much higher level of responsibility is placed on corporals and sergeants, or noncommissioned officers. In each Marine infantry battalion, which is the primary combat element, an average of 60 noncommissioned officers lead squads or a unit of similar size. As squad leaders, they assume responsibility for the lives - and split-second decisions - of about a dozen men. Marines are legendary for their monastic devotion to the warrior ideal. The mottos inked on their bodies - Death Before Dishonor, Make Peace or Die, Always Faithful - function as physical scriptures for their choice of religion, like scapulars, phylacteries or "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelets. The ancient Spartans, who sacrificed at the battle of Thermopylae to defend the Greeks from the Persian onslaught, are venerated as saints within the Corps. The Spartan Way is a stoic faith. SINCE THE FALL of 2001, 26 active duty and nine Marine Reserve infantry battalions have rotated into and out of Afghanistan and Iraq as units for seven-month tours of duty. As new recruits join a battalion, seasoned noncommissioned officers either gain rank toward senior billets or leave the Corps for civilian life. Although the exact numbers remain classified information, unit casualty reports suggest that about 50 separate rotations of Marine infantry battalions have been tested in combat over the last four years. Using those statistics as a bare minimum, at least 3,000 corporals and sergeants have served combat tours as infantry squad leaders. Not to mention hundreds more who cut their teeth as combat replacements, convoy security escorts, translators, intelligence collectors or instructors for the new Iraqi army. When the histories are written, we will learn that the exact number of young Marines thrust into positions of leadership - amid an international media spotlight - is actually much higher. Several Marines have already been convicted in the court of public opinion in the Haditha case. As military investigators evaluate these allegations, those on the sidelines should avoid castigation of an entire system because of the errors of a few. Consider the rush to judgment of 2nd Lt. Ilario G. Pantano, who was charged with murder at an April 2004 checkpoint shooting, or the nameless Marine in a Fallouja mosque who was seen on video killing an insurgent thought to have been booby-trapped. Both were eventually exonerated of all charges. Responsible critics of the Iraq war say that we misappropriated U.S. military resources in making an unnecessary choice to topple Saddam Hussein's regime, a choice that has plunged young soldiers and Marines into the amorality of a protracted counterinsurgency. But placing too close an association on the Haditha massacre with the war's politics ignores the thousands of troops who have navigated the chaos and still made the right decisions. Accuracy in the application of deadly force is the foundational creed for any who protect and defend their society. Discerning combatant from innocent is the greatest challenge for all who have engaged in this kind of war. Like spiritual perfection, the warrior ideal is often an impossible thing to fully achieve. But as we condemn the handful who have backslid in their pursuit of the Spartan Way, we should not forget to esteem the thousands who, like Cpl. Jason Howell, have kept their honor clean amid Iraq's insanity. And hunting insurgents is still like squishing bugs...

Sorry about that, I dunno what happened.

God Bless Lance Corporals... 'Rocket Man' Rocks Insurgents in Ramadi Marine has effectively fired 24 rockets using the Shoulder-Launched Multi-Purpose Assault Weapon or SMAW during combat operations in Ramadi. By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Doug Pfeffer 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment RAMADI, Iraq, June 14, 2006 — The crack of insurgents firing rounds overhead sends him into action to find his target and neutralize it - fast. The Marine assesses multiple enemy targets approximately 400 meters away. He sights in. His finger steadily squeezes the trigger as a single shot jets from his rocket launcher. The explosion rocks the earth as the perfect hit is rewarded by the now silenced enemy – courtesy of the "Rocket man." "During almost every engagement he has stopped enemy fire by destroying insurgents held up in a building. Without hesitation he has exposed himself to enemy fire numerous times in order to execute my intent and help his fellow Marines." U.S. Marine 1st Lt. Carlos M. Goetz “They are calling me ‘Rocket man’ because of all the rockets I’ve fired since we have been here,” said Lance Cpl. Richard M. Mason II, of Medina, Ohio. “It’s an adrenaline rush to be the guy firing the rocket during a firefight.” Mason has accurately fired 24 rockets in combat and his teammates have dubbed him appropriately. The 21-year-old assaultman with K Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment has become a vital asset in the ongoing battle against the insurgency in the capital of Al Anbar province. “During almost every engagement he has stopped enemy fire by destroying insurgents held up in a building,” said 1st Lt. Carlos M. Goetz, 2nd platoon commander. “Without hesitation he has exposed himself to enemy fire numerous times in order to execute my intent and help his fellow Marines.” “Twenty-four is an awesome feat. He has become very proficient at his job,” said Goetz, 29, from Miami, Fla. Mason decided to follow his grandfather’s footsteps by joining the Marine Corps in October of 2003. So far during his enlistment, he traveled with 3/8 to the Caribbean in 2004 and participated in Operation Secure Tomorrow in Haiti. He battled the insurgency in Fallujah in 2005 and now, on his second tour to Iraq, he is helping to improve the security conditions in Ramadi. His weapon is a portable anti-armor rocket launcher known as the Shoulder-Launched Multi-Purpose Assault Weapon or SMAW. When fully loaded, this 30-pound weapon can destroy bunkers and other fortifications during assault operations. It even has the capability to bring down battle tanks. In 2004, Mason attended the School of Infantry after graduating boot camp. This is where he learned to become efficient with his favorite weapon system. The mixture of class room instruction and live fire proved to be the perfect recipe for Mason’s growing skill. “My instructor had the same last name as me and he was always pushing me to be better,” said Mason. “On SMAW ranges I took everything very serious as if I were in combat.” While the SMAW system is effectively equipped with a technologically advanced optical device and 9mm spotting rifle, Mason prefers the old-school method when aiming in on his targets, even in the dark. “I prefer the iron sights. I don’t use a scope or the spotter,” said Mason. “In this type of environment you don’t always have time to use those things.” One night during an attack on the Government Center, mortar teams launched illumination rounds to give Mason enough light to see his target. However, the objective was not the only thing the flare illuminated; it also exposed Mason’s position on the roof. Insurgents spotted him and rounds came flying his way. That night he fired four rockets in heavy contact to repel the attack. “It’s not difficult to fire. It’s the loud explosion going off right next to you that’s hard to deal with,” he said. “People anticipate the recoil but there is none and as far as the explosion you just have to learn to deal with it.” In another situation, K Company Marines at the Government Center began exchanging machinegun fire with insurgents May 2. The insurgents managed to burrow themselves inside a well fortified building which made it harder for the Marines to eliminate the threat. Mason was ordered to fire a rocket at the building from the rooftop. He scrambled to the rooftop again exposing himself to incoming fire, his teammates laid down suppressive fire and he launched a rocket at the building. “His quick reactions possibly saved the lives of his fellow Marines. You only get one opportunity to shoot it,” said Goetz. “It leaves a big signature so you need to be on target.” Cpl. Jeremiah A. Hendricks, an operations clerk for the battalion, met Mason during their deployment in Haiti. “I’m impressed by what he’s done. It motivates me to know his skills are being used well in battle,” said Hendricks, 23, from Atlanta, Ga. “It takes a lot of courage to be exposed to enemy fire so many times.” Hendricks is one of many of Mason’s fellow comrades who say he is an outstanding Marine and asset to the platoon. “He displays a lot of maturity and is always willing to do the job,” said Goetz. “He’s an advantage to our platoon and the Marine Corps benefits from having him in their ranks.” “It makes me feel good when they specifically call for my name over the radio when they need to send a rocket down range,” said Mason. “I feel like a real asset.”

IED crater

Marine with 3rd LAR on patrol: Marine on patrol [ June 21, 2006, 11:11 AM: Message edited by: LtCol West ]

More bug hunting going on over there: Large Afghan Offensive Begins Associated Press | June 14, 2006 MUSA QALA, Afghanistan - The U.S.-led coalition is unleashing more than 11,000 troops to attack militants in the southern mountains of Afghanistan, the biggest offensive since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. The push starting Thursday by U.S., British, Canadian and Afghan troops aims to squeeze Taliban fighters in four volatile provinces. It will focus on southern Uruzgan and northeastern Helmand, where the military says most of the forces are massed. The offensive comes amid Afghan and coalition efforts to curb the fiercest Taliban-led violence since the hard-line Islamic government was toppled for harboring Osama bin Laden following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. The U.S. military announced Wednesday that an American Soldier was killed in Helmand's Musa Qala district Tuesday after his logistics patrol came under rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire attack. Another coalition soldier was also killed in combat in the eastern Kunar region. The force of more than 11,000 troops is by far the largest deployed in Afghanistan for one operation since the 2001 invasion. Previous offensives in the country have involved several thousand soldiers. Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, U.S. operational commander in Afghanistan, said coalition and Afghan troops would attack "Taliban enemy sanctuary or safe haven areas" in Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul and Uruzgan provinces. "Right now ... they'll be in one area, they'll move out of that area, they'll conduct an attack in another area, then move back to a safe haven," he said last week in an interview at Bagram, the U.S. military headquarters north of Kabul. "This is our approach to put simultaneous pressure on the enemy's networks, to cause their leaders to make mistakes, and to attack those leaders," Freakley said. He spoke to The Associated Press ahead of an AP embed with the military in Helmand province, where the U.S. is establishing a new forward operating base in support of the offensive. The offensive, called Operation Mountain Thrust, began May 15 with attacks on Taliban command and control and support networks. Mid-May marked a sharp increase in firefights between militants and coalition forces. According to U.S. military and Afghan figures, about 550 people, mostly militants, have been killed since mid-May in the fiercest fighting since the ouster of the Taliban. The fighting included up to 200 Taliban rebels attacking Musa Qala before fleeing from hundreds of coalition and Afghan forces. Conditions permitting, Thursday will mark what the military is calling the start of major and decisive anti-Taliban operations lasting through the summer. Reconstruction projects will also play a major role in Mountain Thrust. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick said he could not recall a bigger military operation in Afghanistan in the past four years. "This is a big operation - 10,000 soldiers over the course of a month. But this is not a beach landing," he said. "I can't say there will be a major battle on (June) 15, but if there isn't, there will be in the days following that." Operation Mountain Thrust will involve about 2,300 U.S. conventional and special forces, 3,300 British troops, 2,200 Canadians, about 3,500 Afghan soldiers and air support troops, Freakley said. There will also be coalition air support. Some American forces will rotate out once the operation is over at the end of the summer, while the British and Canadians will stay on. The offensive, which the military says it has been planning for 18 months, coincides with a surge in militant attacks in the southern and eastern provinces near the border with Pakistan, where Afghan authorities have little or no presence. Another major offensive, Operation Mountain Lion, involved 2,500 U.S. and Afghan troops. It was launched in April in eastern Kunar province, and the reconstruction phase of that operation is continuing, Freakley said. But the Taliban is the strongest in the south. Since the defeat of the Taliban regime in late 2001, the militants have gained strength, Fitzpatrick said. "I think this summer the Taliban is stronger than they've been in years," he said. Militants have launched more suicide attacks against coalition troops in recent months, and staged nighttime attacks on government headquarters in small villages. The Taliban campaign, officials said, is intended to convince villagers the government cannot provide security, as well as to test NATO forces moving into the area. Some of the recent spike in fighting can be attributed to the fact that there are now many more troops in the south, military officials said. "A year ago there was one infantry company in Helmand. Now there (are) 3,300 British," Freakley said. "The enemy was doing whatever they wanted. Now we're going into areas we haven't been in before, and now there's a backlash." Maj. Geoff Catlett, an operational planner for Operation Mountain Thrust, said coalition and Afghan forces would pressure Taliban militants in western Uruzgan and northeast Helmand. Just north of there, the Hazara people - a rival tribe to the ethnic Pashtuns, from which the Taliban draws its fighters - will provide a "tribal backstop" for the coalition. Col. Michael Coss, chief of military operations at Bagram, said Mountain Thrust would be conducted with the Afghan army to accelerate Afghan soldiers' development and encourage villagers' acceptance of the coalition presence. Mountain Thrust also will help establish a permanent Afghan army presence in the south and provide security for aid groups, Coss said. Another goal is to set the conditions for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, which takes command in Afghanistan from the U.S.-led coalition in late July or early August. The NATO force will have some 6,000 troops stationed permanently in the south, double the number the coalition has had in the region in recent years. Mountain Thrust will also extend the Afghan government into the provinces, Catlett said, adding that 60 percent of Operation Mountain Thrust would be construction projects and humanitarian work. "It's not in any way, shape or form about killing Taliban. We could kill Taliban all year," Catlett said. "The only thing that matters is building a credible, responsive government that meets the people's needs."

Interesting video. Gosh the Taliban are just like the insurgents in Iraq, no matter now many cockroaches you stamp out one day, the next morning when the lights get flipped on, you see even more scurrying around! Fortunately, the Taliban and the Iraqi insurgents are not that well trained, especially to western standards. A disclipined force that exploits its combined arms capabilities will beat a mob with guns just about every time, even if that mob is fanatic and is fighting on its home turf. My condolencses to the Paras for thier KIA. Keep up the good fight. Semper Fi

Here is the link to the 15th MEU (SOC)s website. 15th MEU

Why not just grow up and stop behaving like a 5 year old. OK. </font>

NG cavscout, I was not directing anything in your direction. Keep up the good fight and stay safe.

Not to many people have a sense of humor here...and now I am an intellectual terrorist! The Coalition TF that was after Zarqawi and his organization got him, so I was just offering up a high-five, and I can guarantee that not one of those guys, or anyone else deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan, is shedding a tear for Zarqawi's demise or the death of any opponent. OK, the French SF liasion officer's lower lip might have quivered as he overcame his distress...(that was another joke for the those who did not get it). The news said the jets dropped the bombs from 15,000 feet, so Zarqawi and his boys might not have know they were targeted, especially if they were used to hearing US jets in that area. I do think they would have heard a difference as the jets circled to ID the target and then started a bombing run, the sound is unmistakable for those who have heard it. Even still however, they might have thought that some insurgent location was being hit and not them. There is a big difference between the various insurgent organizations and AQ in Iraq. Zarqawi was not a rebel leader outfoxing the enemy tactically with his forces and overcoming enormous hardship and leadership challenges. He was focused on terrorism and killing as many innocent people as he could. His only goal was to create an Islamic state to project more terrorism. Himself dying for he cause was most assuredly not part of his plan. Neither the insurgents or the AQ types display much tactical skill, but some do fight and fight to the death. Anyone with a gun and will to fight is dangerous. Fallujah proved that. They can't fight us conventionally so they have to use asymetric tactics. That is not cowardly. A car-bomb attacking a market full of families or a suicide bomber attacking a wedding party in a hotel is cowardly. And that is how AQ fights its war. Ok, I will go now and contemplate about why I lack so much soldierly virtue, strive to find more professionalism, and find it in my heart to sympathize and grieve for the death of my enemy.