Memoirs of an Outlaw: Life in the Sandbox

Chapter 18: Humpty Dumpty

Only a couple of days went by before the MEF Headquarters decided it was time to put an end to the problems in Gharma. We would no longer have to drive in fear through their streets, nor would it be a safe haven for insurgents.

The plan was pretty simple. The infantry battalion was going to set up defenses around the town while some of its units entered it and routed out the enemy. When the enemy fled, we would be able to capture them on their retreat. We would do this by setting up multiple vehicle checkpoints and observation posts on the outskirts of Gharma. The main body of the Outlaws was to assist in this defensive perimeter while one of the platoons, White, assisted the assault force within the city. All this would take place in the early morning to catch the insurgents off guard.

Although it didn’t promise any combat action, we were all still excited to get a little revenge for not being able to take part in the last attacks. I, for one, was excited and hoped I might be able to use the SMAW this time around. My chances were slim, but there was always hope.

We got word of the mission a couple of days beforehand, so we were able to conduct training for the scenario. The scouts of all the platoons split up into sections to have classes, and the vehicle crews met with Captain Shepard and the rest of the platoon commanders to go over the mission on a terrain model to see how it would be conducted.

The tricky part was the terrain we would be traversing. Al Gharma was a farming town. Unlike farms in the United States, farms in Iraq consisted of many irrigation ditches and canals to supply water to their crops. This created very narrow and difficult terrain, especially for vehicles as large as an LAV. Not only were the roads narrow, but they were made out of dirt. This caused a big problem because with the combination of the weight of the vehicles and the erosion from the canal water sloshing up against the sides of the road, the banks of the river could easily give in and overturn a vehicle. So rehearsals were absolutely necessary, as were the classes.

The day of the mission arrived, and with it came the anxiety and adrenaline that filled the air. Everyone seemed completely revved up and excited to be going on this mission. After a quick briefing of the mission, we conducted vehicle and personnel checks and then loaded up onto our vehicles.

The LAVs started up their engines and began pulling away, one by one, from the parking lot. Any Iraqi who saw the convoy passing by must have had chills going down his or her spine. For a half mile down the road, I could see the train of LAVs heading toward their destination. The amount of firepower in a company of LAVs is tremendous or terrifying, depending on which end you look at. With fourteen LAV-25s, a few LAV TOW variants and mortar variants, and about fifty infantry scout Marines, the Outlaws were a force to be reckoned with.

We traveled down a series of roads and paths. The night was quiet with very little illumination. This made it hard for the drivers of the vehicles to navigate through the maze of canal roads that led to our destinations because their sights were very limited and the depth perception was horrible.

I was standing on the floor grate in the scout compartment with only my shoulders and above showing (something we learned after many IED patrols and explosions). Lance Corporal Redd was doing the same thing on his side and had his M-249 SAW resting on its bipods on the scout hatch. We had been out for only about thirty minutes when we started to close in on our selected defensive position.

Lance Corporal David Grove was doing a hell of a job negotiating the very narrow, crisscrossing dirt roads that followed the canals. My vehicle commander, Staff Sergeant Phelps and the gunner, one of my good friends, Sergeant Mike Honigsberg, were also helping Grove steer the vehicle when he couldn’t see clearly.

I was scanning the sides of the roads and canals, noting the various shacks that were set up alongside the canal. It didn’t seem as if the noise of the vehicles was waking anyone up, which was good. I looked over to Redd to make sure everything was going all right on his side. He nodded and gave the thumbs-up, and I returned to scanning.