Memoirs of an Outlaw: Life in the Sandbox

Chapter 38: House Raid

We had been in Iskandariyah for a little over two weeks, and it was finally our turn to stay out in the field for an extended amount of time, which was supposed to be about four or five days. I had grown accustomed to doing our daily patrols and then getting some R&R back at the base, eating a decent meal, and going to the PX on a daily basis, so going out into the field didn’t appeal to me too much at the time. A day before we were going to move out, everyone began to stock up on snacks and cigs to hold us over for the four days we were told we were going to be out there. I made sure to send out a few e-mails to family, stocked up on some good snacks so I could avoid eating MREs, and bought about four or five packs of cigarettes. We were told not to pack everything since we would be back in a few days, so I left some of my belongings in the hangar so I wouldn’t have to carry around so much weight and so I could carry more snacks. Smart thinking on my part, or so I thought.

The morning of our departure into the far outskirts of the city was upon us, and it began with the arrival of White Platoon coming back from their stint out there. They looked worn out, filthy, and in much need of some rest. Lieutenant Nunnally and Lieutenant Snipes spoke briefly, and then Snipes came back to our section of the hangar to give us a briefing on how we were going to proceed out to our area of operation. Once he finished speaking, we gathered up our belongings, mounted or stored them in the vehicle, and then got in the vehicles, ready to begin our journey to our outpost.

Shortly after we got into our vehicles, Lieutenant Snipes’s voice came over the radio to ensure everyone was good to go. Once all the vehicle commanders rogered up, he gave the signal to move out. The engines of all the vehicles came to life almost simultaneously, and we began to move forward.

The journey was uneventful and seemed as if it only took about a half hour. Our destination was nothing special, really, just a small patch of grass in the middle of a palm-grove-type area, with vegetation and small farming canals surrounding us. About a mile away was a small farming village, and in the near distance, you could easily see the smokestacks from the power plant towering into the sky.

Once we assessed the area to ensure it was safe, the vehicles set up in a defensive 360 perimeter, and everyone dismounted. I, along with Staff Sergeant Phelps and a few other Marines, headed over to Lieutenant Snipes’s position to get an idea of what we were going to do next. He gave us a quick rundown of what our mission would be over the next few days. It was fairly simple. We would be conducting several daily foot patrols in and around our area in order to deter any insurgents from mounting mortar attacks or planting IEDs. Half of the scouts would remain at our outpost, and the others would go out on patrol.

Once Lieutenant Snipes finished with his orders, we dispersed and went back to our vehicles. Everyone began to settle down into our new spot. Some guys broke out MREs, others began maintaining their rifles or vehicles, and the rest of us just goofed around until the patrols began.

Sergeant Jones took his scout section out first. I watched as they formed up and began heading out toward the canals. I gave several scouts a nod and wished them luck and turned back to do whatever nonsense I was doing to keep myself busy. A few minutes later, I peered back in the direction they had gone and watched as the last scout in the patrol walked through tall reeds that were on the banks of the nearest canal.

A few hours later, Sergeant Jones and his group came back and debriefed Lieutenant Snipes. They had seen nothing out of the ordinary, so there wasn’t really much to discuss. A few Marines from Jones’s section came over to give us an idea of what they had seen, and it really didn’t seem like much—just a bunch of canals that were waist deep and a lot of nothingness in the surrounding area.

About an hour after Jones’s section came back, Lieutenant Snipes had me prepare my section for patrol. I gathered up all my scouts, did a quick glance over their gear, and made sure everyone was ready to move out. We briefly met with Lieutenant Snipes to get an idea of what he wanted us to do and then formed up into a tactical column. I gave my point man, Lance Corporal Zabala, a rundown of what the plan was for the patrol and headed back toward the middle of the column. Staff Sergeant Phelps decided he wanted to tag along with us on the patrol, so he grabbed his gear and an extra M-16 and made his way toward my location. I briefly ran him through the plan, he acknowledged, and I gave Zabala the signal to move out.