[Tailback]

I respectfully disagree with you. Most of the KIA are from the IED's that initiate the attack, not from the small arms fire that follows. Hardened vehicles will reduce the casualties from IED's, and mines. Having gunshields on HMMWV's allow the gunner to establish covering fire for dismounts to maneuver instead of making the gunner a sniper target. Ask the OPFOR at JRTC about picking off gunners in HMMWV's or ask the Rangers that were in Somalia about the life expectancy of a HMMWV gunner in a firefight.

[Voice in your head]

I'm not sure if this HMMWV hit a mine or not, but this is what it looks like, when it happens. I know because one of mine was destroyed when it hit an anti-tank mine and it looked exactly like that. It was the same tire that hit it. The only difference is that mine was the "hard top" model - the type that is partially shown in the right of the photo. The driver got two shattered ankles. The gunner smashed his grill on the .50 cal. The other 3 personnel were uninjured - not even a bruise.

I was later told of some kind of kevlar or other type of matting that can be put down on the floor of the HMMWV, to protect against any shrapnel, but we were unable to get it. It is necessary, because you can't stick sandbags under the brake and gas pedals. However, from that point on, we never drove off the roads again. Just like in Bosnia - stay on the road.

We didn't think there was any threat from landmines, given the heavy presence of friendly forces in the area and the number of times that we had driven in that particular area. Either that mine had been there for a while and a whole lot of people got lucky, before us, or Haji pulled a slicky-boy when nobody was looking - and did a good job of camouflaging it. But, once we were wise to this threat, we never got hit again. Just as we were wise to the IED threat and never got hit by those either. In Baghdad, where so much of the violence is concentrated, the need for protection against landmines is minimal (zero, if you abide by our new rule of not driving on any dirt) because almost every part of the city that you will patrol is paved. As previously stated, the best defense against IEDs is vigilance. The guy in the turret will still be killed by an IED, in an M1114. If you sit Qatar-6 style, then you can detect the IEDs before you hit them - and they are not too difficult to spot, in a city. A bunch of wires, leading to a burlap bag, trash bag, rock pile, trash pile, et cetera - kind of sticks out. Additional countermeasures include driving in the middle lane of a highway, to ensure that you are as far from the blast of an unseen IED as possible; be alert for explosives on telephone polls or pedestrian overpasses; never drive under an overpass without clearing (Haji likes to chuck grenades at you); use Bradleys whenever possible - they provide all the advantages of the M1114 and almost none of the disadvantages. There should never be a patrol composed exclusively of HMMWVs, if there are FMC Bradleys sitting around, unused.

The photos below are of an M1114 that also struck a mine with its left front tire, on April 1, 2003, in Afghanistan. None of the occupants was injured, though it is worth noting that the blast only left a crater about 2 feet wide and 32 inches deep. The one that my vehicle hit left a hole 2 to 3 times that size. This may be because the mine had been placed upside down, to create a larger surface area for the vehicle to initiate the mine - not sure.

[Qatar-6]

It's a tough tactical equation no denying

Close yourself in and lose situational awareness or open yourself to the initiating blast

Not saying gun hummers are worthless. A mix of guns and dismounts is probably ideal

The key thing though is to react aggressively. You've got a better chance of getting the bad guys if you dismount and chase them

Be careful of JRTC LL from the MILES war. It's a good training simulation - as good as we can do - but it is not combat.

In some ways it's a lot tougher

In other ways it's not as realistic

. Remember, everyone there is afraid of losing

But no one is afraid of DYING

Makes a big difference in how the bad guys set up to hit you

They want to live through it, if you stay on the vehicles, odds are you'll never catch them. There is no one tactical catch all, there are situations in which what you described is dead right and I should have caveated my statement

All things being equal though, I think you're better off dismounting and attacking the ambush than staying with the vehicle (if all you've got is small arms)

Good comments though

All the best

Qatar-6