As I write this, I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. Hours ago we were supposed to have embarked on a mission deep into a militia controlled Shia slum. However, our security element has been delayed by a serious accident in another part of the city. It is almost midnight, and we wait to find out if we will have any mission at all. If the mission is a go, we will likely be driving under blackout conditions using night vision goggles. We will be maneuvering through narrow debris-strewn streets packed with crowds of Ramadan holiday revelers. There is no doubt that concealed in the masses will be hostile militia. With the help of average Iraqis increasingly willing to step forward with information, we've been depleting their numbers. Their hostility towards us will be piqued.
In numerous conversations, I've always been able to distinguish our team by saying that for as long as we've been in country, and as many missions that we've run, not once have we been on a patrol or in a convoy that has been struck by an IED. As of a couple of days ago, I can no longer make that claim.
Moments after we passed through a shady Iraqi Army checkpoint in the Eastern Mansour district of Baghdad, the shockwave pounded our vehicle as the earth erupted next to a humvee two vehicles in front of us. The view was immediately obscured by a brown and black maelstrom of dirt, asphalt and cement curbing. The adrenalin-fueled voices that fill my radio headset display remarkable competence and control. As the dust settles, it becomes clear that the targeted vehicle is still rolling. Push through! Push through! Get out of the kill zone! Are there any casualties?
We move as fast as the mortally wounded truck can roll, and manage to limp a safe distance away. We establish a security cordon, and assess the situation. The targeted humvee is gushing fluids and has two blown front tires. Its crew is a little shaken, but thankfully unhurt.
I would love to post more than this right now, and expound on the context in which this incident occured, but quite frankly I am just to flippin' exhausted...
In numerous conversations, I've always been able to distinguish our team by saying that for as long as we've been in country, and as many missions that we've run, not once have we been on a patrol or in a convoy that has been struck by an IED. As of a couple of days ago, I can no longer make that claim.Moments after we passed through a shady Iraqi Army checkpoint in the Eastern Mansour district of Baghdad, the shockwave pounded our vehicle as the earth erupted next to a humvee two vehicles in front of us. The view was immediately obscured by a brown and black maelstrom of dirt, asphalt and cement curbing. The adrenalin-fueled voices that fill my radio headset display remarkable competence and control. As the dust settles, it becomes clear that the targeted vehicle is still rolling. Push through! Push through! Get out of the kill zone! Are there any casualties?
We move as fast as the mortally wounded truck can roll, and manage to limp a safe distance away. We establish a security cordon, and assess the situation. The targeted humvee is gushing fluids and has two blown front tires. Its crew is a little shaken, but thankfully unhurt.
I would love to post more than this right now, and expound on the context in which this incident occured, but quite frankly I am just to flippin' exhausted...
UPDATE: Continuing an earlier post, today a patrol rolled back to base after having confiscated three truckloads of very realistic looking Chinese made toy guns from a local vendor.
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