Another letter from Iraq. Quick thinking and outstanding leadership on the part of a young "Iron Dukes" Lieutenant when the convoy that was transporting his tank company's equipment ran into a large, well-planned ambush.
The cadets I'm teaching at West Point this year will be commissioned 2nd Lieutenants in less than a month. A few months from now, this could be one of the 22 yr old men and women I'm privileged to work with and mentor. I'm proud of them all and grateful for their service.
Terminology: HET = Heavy Equipment Transport (huge flatbed trucks used to transport tanks when not in combat; this is easier on the roads of Iraq as well as on the tanks themselves); CSA = Chief of Staff of the Army; TC = Tank Commander (non-commissioned officer or lieutenant); CG = commanding general; 1AD = 1st Armored Division; GEN = General (4 stars); MG = Major General (2 stars); XO = executive officer (senior aide to the commander); BDA = battle damage assessment
The CSA wanted to share this email with you. The email was sent to GEN Bell, CG, USAREUR from MG Dempsey, Cdr, 1AD.
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Sir,
...I met yesterday outside Najaf with a 1LT from the Iron Dukes of 2-37
Armor who as tank company XO was leading a convoy of two platoons of tanks
on HETs from Al Kut in the east to Najaf in the west, a distance of about
175KM. As they passed through the town of Diwaniyah, they were ambushed by a group of insurgents--undoubtedly former regime soldiers with some military
training--with RPGs, heavy machine guns, and AK-47s. The Task Force Scouts
had passed through only 30 minutes earlier without contact, so this was a
well planned ambush of probably 50 or so organized in two and three man
teams.
The convoy suffered three soldiers KIA in the initial moments of the ambush -- one Iron Duke, one 2ACR cavalry trooper, and one transportation officer. The convoy immediately returned fire. They had several HUMMWVs in escort, and the tanks on the back of the HETs were manned with loaders and TCs on crew served weapons.
Within minutes of the ambush, one of the HETs was disabled, and the Lieutenant realized he would have to stand and fight to ensure he had everyone. The Iron Dukes "broke chains" as they described it, by essentially driving off the back of the HETs under fire to engage the enemy. In the course of the next hour, they fought their way out of Diwaniyah employing every weapon available to them including main gun. They got everyone and everything out with the exception of one HET.
Enemy BDA was 30 killed and an unknown number wounded.
A day after this fight, I received an email from CPT Thomas Moore, of the 1175th Transportation, who was the convoy commander. He wrote: "were it not for the courage and actions under fire of the 2ACR and 2-37 soldiers that
day, he is certain all his men would have been killed." He asked me if he
and his soldiers engaged in that fight with us could wear the 1AD combat
patch. I told him I'd be honored.
There are many such stories of courage under fire and just as many stories
of incredible compassion to the innocent...
Continuing mission, sir.
V/R Marty
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Thanks for posting the letter. America needs to hear more stories like that.
Yes, it's awesome.
For those who can't quite picture the situation from the terse mil-speak:
Picture a convoy, lightly armed, carrying tanks on huge flatbed trucks. Huge chains holding the tanks on the trucks. Skeleton crew inside tanks. Convoy commanded by a transportation Captain; 1st Lt. tanker in charge of the tanks / skeleton crews. (Transportation is a support branch; the tanker is in a combat arms branch.)
They hit a big ambush and a transport truck is disabled. This young 1Lt, probably 24 yrs old or so, sizes up the situation, has his NCOs start firing back from the tanks that are still on the trucks. And WHILE they are firing, he has them break out of the chains by using the shear strength of the tanks, backing off the transports (nobody back there making sure they weren't going off the edge, either), organizes the defense and gets them all out of there, including the lightly armed transportation people, alive.
And saves all the equipment except for the one disabled HET.
Just an incredible display of leadership, quick thinking and courage. No wonder the 2 star met him in the field and wrote to the 4 star about him.
I'm incredibly proud of our young men and women out there.
"I'm incredibly proud of our young men and women out there."
So am I. Except for the torturers; they can get blown to pieces!
Vince,
believe me, there is NO ONE as angry at reports of prisoner abuse as our professional soldiers. That tars each and every honorable one of them with actions they disdain. My colleagues here are livid over this.
Don't know if it has been verified, but NBC is apparently now saying it looks as if the real physical abuse was done by Iraqi guards. There is certainly one or more serious investigations going on into the whole thing. "Reprimand" is the strongest punishment the Army can give without a court martial ... but it doesn't preclude them being court martialled as well.
Robin Burk, we're still responsible since presumably any violence done by those Iraqis was under our watch, and perhaps even our command.
Also, the buzz now is that Hersh's article was only the tip of the iceberg. Apparently hundreds of photos and videos were made and passed around among self-congratualtory contractors/reservists, and the sexual abuse extended to the women and children of the prison as well. Also, this abuse was not contained to Abu Ghraib.
This is going to blow up in our face, perhaps literally.
This problem is structural, no doubt about it.
Agreed that this is a serious problem.
Brad, what do you mean by "structural"?
Something interesting about the prison story. Check out the Iraqi blogs, the reaction is just fascinating. Yes they and the people that they talk with are distgusted, but if you look closely there seems to be a real gleam in their 'eyes' so to speak about how the scandal is being dealt with. I saw in 4 or 5 places Iraqis mentioning how quickly the higher ups dealt with is instead of covering it it (by Iraqi standards anyway). It really seems like, dispite all the bluster and dissention we hear about, the average Iraqi is really curious, maybe even awed a bit, by a 'simple' thing like a military accountable to to justice. That is huge, if we can just tap into that and keep a lid on the violence, well I think thats our best chance in Iraq. Maybe the marines are right, that a military solution might win the battle and lose the war. Id like to see the insurgents crushed as much as anyone, but maybe keeping them penned up and cultivating Iraqi independence and good will is a viable alternative. I hope so.
Robin: Brad addresses your "structural" question on the Abu Ghraib thread, and its just the sort of bullshit you'd expect.
BTW, I wonder if John McCain would considers those pictures "torture"??
Brad might want to source his stories of child rape committed by U.S. servicemen a bit better, if he'd like to be taken seriously.
This is America! WE FIGHT! WE KILL OUR ENEMIES! WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER! MAY THE UNITED STATES RULE SUPREME FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!
ill send out a RSVP just in case the YMCA decides to give in to the DMC and decides to play NWA. Then those homies might get a little RESPECT and they might find out what it means to me.
army dudes crack me up.
I'd love to have been there and seen those tanks burst off those trucks while engaging the enemy.
(the being shot at part I'm not so excited about)
Now that was an action worthy of several medals for valor, at least.
It sounds to me like these guys' training took over. I suspect that the 1Lt had been thinking about what might happen along the way and about what he should do. That's also evidence of good training. I wish our civilian education system did as well preparing young people for real life.
I'm in the middle of Carnage and Culture and have been reading over and over how the advantage of the Western way of war is built on discipline, coordinated action and resilience. I'm starting to understand what he means.
It sounds to me like the tanks were topped of in ammo and fuel, probably thanks to good planning by the LT or CO CDR. It also sounds like they had the comms on as well, as the LT was able to quickly coordinate a defense and issue orders to get the tanks on the road. Great job! Glad he is getting the recognition he deserves for his excellent leadership from the CG and USAREUR CDR.
The 1-37 Armor's (1AD) been in theatre since April of 2003, maybe even longer. Apparently they've really got it together and I am damned proud. One thing regarding the small unit action at Ad Diwaniyah, that young Lt. pulled it off because his NCOs as well his other enlisted troops were well trained, disciplined, and motivated; kudos to all of those boys.
The 1-37 was one of the units that was turned around in the beginning of April for an additional three month tour in theatre; I just returned home myself, having served with the Iron Sappers (1457th Combat Engineer BN, Utah Army National Guard) under the 1st AD's engineer brigade. Man I am proud of the 1st AD! Essayons!
It's comming out now that at least some of those "rape" pictures were photoshopped out of porn sites.
Comments like Ricky Vandal's is why America is quickly becoming so hated amongst the international community.
"MAY THE UNITED STATES RULE SUPREME FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!"
Replace 'The United States' with 'Islam' and I wonder how many Americans would find amended above slogan offensive.
Major league props to the young armor officer and his men! This shows what the US Army can do.
Side note (and please don't think I'm taking anything away from the Armor 1LT, clearly the hero of this encounter) - as a former US Army Transportation Corps officer, I'd like to point out the dozens of convoys of "lightly armed" TC truckers hauling supplies over these same roads every day. Those guys face the possibility of this type of ambush constantly, with nothing more than light weapons, and their own very skimpy training in infantry tactics. A TC truck company does not have any dedicated shooters - everyone is a driver, a mechanic, or a manager. Weapons and fighting skills are secondary to their mission, but they're still expected to defend themselves. If they're lucky, some air (attack helo) support or a small unit of attached infantry are available. If not, they're on their own. One of the things I remember from my time is that a convoy occupies a very large space, and with only 1 or 2 people per truck your defensive fires are very dispersed. It's hard to build fire superiority when the gap between troops is 50 yards or more. So, and again without taking anything from the Armor unit in this story, remember the TC guys who face the same thing daily with much less capability to fight back.
I couldn't tell if Randy Vandal's comment was serious or a deliberate satire.
My own attitude is that I am grateful for the professionalism of our armed forces and do not apologize for our willingness to defend ourselves when attacked.
I also have no aspirations to have the US rule anybody, nor do I take the consequences of fighting lightly.
Some of the people in Iraq right now are friends and colleagues of my husband and me. Some are young officers who were my husband's students a year or two ago.
A year from now, some may be students I myself have taught as well.
When I read about firefights, I can picture real soldiers I know being part of them. And although I don't know Iraqis personally, I've been in other parts of the Middle East and can put myself into their villages and cities, in my imagination, and I give them faces as well.
I do that for the women and children, the decent honest people who just want to live a quiet productive life.
Unfortunately, based on a little first-hand experience, I can do that for the murderous fanatics and their supporters as well. BOTH groups are very real to me.
The fanatics must be stopped IMO. I do not glory in the violence, but I am glad that we are served by some of America's finest men and women, who are willing to risk their lives in this service.
Dan and Sgt. Bear both make good points.
Our NCOs are the heart and bones of our armed services. When I was out in the business world, I used to tell new grads that the admin people & the computer operations would make or break their careers -- if they were smart, they'd respect those staff and treat them well. I say a similar thing to cadets: as a young officer, your career can be made or broken by your NCOs. If you're wise, you'll respect them and learn from them.
Pffff ... that sounds pompous, especially from a middle-aged civilian! But it's certainly true.
Dan's point about our support troops also bears repeating. The "non-linear battlefield" which was talked about for years is here today in Iraq. No longer is there a clear front with the support people tucked away in the rear. As the current CSA says, "every soldier a rifleman", but when the other guy has IEDs and RPGs it takes courage and skill to do those support jobs. A big HOOAH to the Sgt's troops and Dan's old buddies as well.
Dmitry Loza commanded a company and then a battalion of Sherman tanks lend-leased to the Red Army in World War Two. At one point the Germans broke through as his unit was being carried on flat-bed rail cars near the battle. He had a brief time to deploy his company from the rail cars before the Germans arrived.
There was no equipment to unload the tanks from rail cars, and no time to improvise something, so it was "Punch it, Chewy!" time.
His tanks rev'd their engines and shot off the flat cars into thin air anyway they could. Only the drivers were aboard.
They only lost one tank, which rolled. Its driver's nose was broken, but he got out. Most of the rest had some suspension damage but they were all able to engage the enemy, who fortunately was not in strength in their area.
Commanding the Red Army's Sherman Tanks: The World War II Memoirs of Hero of the Soviet Union Dmitriy Loza
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0803229208/qid=1083788001/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-0999661-8312637?v=glance&s=books
domige:
Ricky Vandal's comments were equating the US with Nazi germany's 1000 year 3rd Reich. Just to be sure that you understand, it was meant to be derogatory.
Apologies to Ricky! My inability to recognise sarcasm/satire is truly woeful.
Kudos to the tankers...
but the Transport guys really get my admiration. Standing up in a ring mount, the highest and most obvious target in the convoy, with no more armor than a flak vest.
Here's to the guy (or gal) on the .50 cal!
The poor LT is in trouble as is the column commander. DOT AND Army regs forbid the transport of tanks (or Tracks) with fuel and ammo aboard. IIRC it is a 500$ fine. It is a real pain in the ass to unload and then reload them. Fuel and ammo both weigh a ton or so each. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to load the ammo, longer to unload it. Meanwhile, I sent the URL to a buddy at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, figuring they needed a good laugh.
ableiter,
I wasn't aware that the DOT's authority extended to Iraq.
The DOT's and other agencies' authority essentially extends to anyplace on earth where US Government property or assets are emplaced, including those under the auspice of the USDOD or any US-controlled/managed entity not under treaty with allied governments.
To all who have posted comments on here, I found this web page almost a year after our ambush and i'm just reading what you all have to say about our fight there in diwanyiah. It was a tense fight and a hard fight, but we did what we had to do. and to anyone who thinks we're baby killers F**K YOU!! I'd like to see you what we did. But i'm am and Iron Duke and proud of it, thats why we were decorated for what we did. Not just in Diwanyiah but Sadr City rescuing trapped infrantry man from 1st CAv on april 4th 2004, to Al Kut, To najaf/kufa destroying the mahdi army there! Being the longest deployed unit in army history!! Maybe you all should read more about what we did!! Thanks for the props!
This convoy consisted of HET's from three different Army National Guard States, North Carolina, Tennessee & Kentucky. I was the senior ranking person (1LT) for the NC HET's. I had a total of 24 trucks in the convoy. These was a massive and elaborate ambush you had to be there to believe it. The sounds of chains dragging throughout the streets and the sounds of the tanks firing. The sky was lit-up in purple from the tanks. The training kicked in and there was no hesitation as to what to do and how to do it.
I was an Iron Duke, and will always be a Duke at heart. One of my very good friends was killed that day. 17 Apr 2004 Sgt. Jonathan N. Hartman. Anyone that thinks we are baby killers and as Sgt Albe above stated "F**K OFF" We did our jobs, and because we did, most of our soldiers came back that day. The Dukes are one of the most decorated units to come out of Iraq in that time frame, as a Battaloin Task Force we only lost 4 Soldiers, in over a year of combat ops. We had (imho)the BEST leadership, and training that we could have. One thing that saved a lot of lives what one of the TC's went to that young 1LT and sugested that the tanks be "combat loaded" onto the HETTS, this means that the tank were backed onto the HETTS so that they could be driven off without ground guides. The HETTS do not have "ring mounts" for weapons. As far as the DOT and Army regs go, war is much different than a "sunday drive"