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2005-03-26 Iraq-Jordan
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After Action Report: Raven 42, engagement in Salman Pak
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From milblogger Blackfive, the after-action report of a Kentucky National Guard MP squad which responded to an ambush on a convoy. You should go read the whole thing, really, but here's a taste:
On Sunday afternoon, in a very bad section of scrub-land called Salman Pak, on the southeastern outskirts of Baghdad, 40 to 50 heavily-armed Iraqi insurgents attacked a convoy of 30 civilian tractor trailer trucks that were moving supplies for the coalition forces, along an Alternate Supply Route. These tractor trailers, driven by third country nationals (primarily Turkish), were escorted by 3 armored Hummers from the COSCOM [(Corps Support Command)]. When the insurgents attacked, one of the Hummers was in their kill zone and the three soldiers aboard were immediately wounded, and the platform taken under heavy machinegun and RPG fire.
Along with them, three of the truck drivers were killed, 6 were wounded in the tractor trailer trucks. The enemy attacked from a farmer's barren field next to the road, with a tree line perpendicular to the ASR [(Alternate Supply Route)], two dry irrigation ditches forming a rough L-shaped trenchline, and a house standing off the dirt road. After three minutes of sustained fire, a squad o f enemy moved forward toward the disabled and suppressed trucks. Each of the enemy had hand-cuffs and were looking to take hostages for ransom or worse, to take those three wounded US soldiers for more internet beheadings.
About this time, three armored Hummers that formed the MP Squad under call sign Raven 42, 617th MP Co, Kentucky National Guard, assigned to the 503rd MP Bn (Fort Bragg), 18th MP Bde, arrived on the scene like the cavalry. The squad had been shadowing the convoy from a distance behind the last vehicle, and when the convoy trucks stopped and became backed up from the initial attack, the squad sped up, paralleled the convoy up the shoulder of the road, and moved to the sound of gunfire.
"Let's roll!"
They arrived on the scene just as a squad of about ten enemy had moved forward across the farmer's field and were about 20 meters from the road. The MP squad opened fire with .50 cal machineguns and Mk19 grenade launchers and drove across the front of the enemy's kill zone, between the enemy and the trucks, drawing fire off of the tractor trailers.
The MP's crossed the kill zone and then turned up an access road at a right angle to the ASR and next to the field full of enemy fighters. The three vehicles, carrying nine MPs and one medic, stopped in a line on the dirt access road and flanked the enemy positions with plunging fire from the .50 cal and the SAW machinegun (Squad Automatic Weapon). . . .
The MPs proceeded to execute a textbook example of how to defeat an ambush, and demonstrate again why our soldiers are the best in the world. While you really should read the whole thing, there are a couple of "punchlines" I'll mention here:
* Two sergeants, including the team leader, dismounted and cleared the trenchline, accounting for a good proportion of the enemy KIA. The team leader is a woman.
* There's a link to the video. The bad guys had their camcorders out, and were planning to send the home movies to al-Jazeera. 
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Posted by Mike 2005-03-26 9:27:03 AM||
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Posted by Shipman 2005-03-26 9:39:58 AM||
2005-03-26 9:39:58 AM||
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Posted by Captain Pedantic 2005-03-26 10:58:49 AM||
2005-03-26 10:58:49 AM||
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