Posted on 05/17/2004 7:40:06 AM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4
Something about Sadr City was not quite right. An hour earlier, there had been the usual throngs of children running out to wave at American soldiers.
But as the four Humvees and two Bradley fighting vehicles of the Iron Deuce Platoon of Warrior Company drove out from Camp Eagle the main streets were empty apart from a tethered donkey and a few wandering goats.
Small knots of men peered from alleyways. A lone figure appeared from a rooftop and then vanished. "It's kind of quiet around here," said Specialist Daniel Brown, 21, driving Humvee Alpha Three Six.
The Americans and the British are engaged in a fierce struggle with the militia led by Moqtada Sadr for control of Iraq's majority Shia heartlands.
The 31-year-old Islamist cleric enjoys only minority support - perhaps 10 or 20 per cent - but a Mahdi army reign of terror has helped to stifle opposition.
Sgt Michael Williams and Staff Sgt Robert Miltenberger surveyed the scene through their rifle sights.
"If anything happens and I get hit, my bandages are in my left cargo pocket," said Sgt Williams, 30, a father of four from Texas.
With the six vehicles of the 2nd Battalion of the US Army's 5th Cavalry Regiment parked in defensive positions outside the police station, Lt Dave Swanson, 25, commanding the Iron Deuce platoon, went inside to talk to the chief of police.
He began to discuss the problem of policemen failing to turn up for work.
"I don't quit my job, and they're shooting at me too," he said through an interpreter.
As he spoke a shot rang out from the south, quickly followed by two more. "AK", he said. "First one sounded like a misfire." Ordering two soldiers on to the roof, he continued his conversation.
Minutes later, there was a much louder bang as a rocket propelled grenade was fired at the vehicles outside. It was followed by the rattle of an RPK light machinegun from the south and then more AK47s, this time from the east.
Outside, the psyops team had been handing out weapon buyback leaflets to children who were taking them to their parents. The adults were tearing up the leaflets and throwing them on the ground.
Staff Sgt Miltenberger, shouted from the roof that he could see a gunman firing from around a corner.
"Well, as soon as he comes round the corner, you pick him off." The NCO opened fire to the south. "Get him," shouted Lt Swanson. "Shoot him Milt."
Fire was now coming from three sides, leaving only the entrance to the police station clear. "Get everybody in here," ordered Lt Swanson, detailing Sgt Eric Ivey, 29, to assign each man a position.
A full-scale gun battle was now raging, with the machine gunners from all six vehicles outside laying down a carpet of fire. The rattle of the RPK ceased suddenly. "The Bradley took that RPK out," said Sgt Ivey.
Out in the street, a wailing chant was being broadcast. Someone at the mosque was calling people to battle.
More and more Mahdi men were flocking to the area. "See if we can draw them to us and take them out," said Lt Swanson to Sgt Ivey. "Then we'll roll out." The three-man psyops team were driving in an unarmoured Humvee.
Lt Peter East, 27, came into the police station. This was his first combat patrol. "I got an RPG near me, about 15 to 20 feet away," he said. "This is what I wanted to see."
With most of his 24 soldiers inside the police station there was no sign of the assault abating. Taking the fight to the enemy in the six vehicles was impossible because of the vulnerability of the psyops Humvee. Remaining at the police station would only further endanger the platoon and the Iraqi police.
An RPG slammed into one of the Humvees, bouncing off the armour. It was time to leave, Lt Swanson decided.
There was a swift discussion about which route to take. Each road had been assigned a code name and there were two basic choices - head through the safer, southern sector via Florida and Arrows, the long way back, or head north through the eye of the storm and straight to base.
"Let's head down Copper," said Lt Swanson, plumping for the most direct route. "We've got to just shoot through and hope nothing hits us."
The heavily-armoured Bradleys were to take the front and rear. If a Humvee was hit and taken out of action, the Bradleys would draw up to shield them from fire while any casualties were pulled out.
By this time an AK47 had opened up opposite the police station. With the crews of the Bradleys laying down suppressing fire, the soldiers from the Humvees ran out and climbed back into their vehicles.
Sgt Ivey, taking up the rear, spotted a man with an AK47 creeping down an alley.
"He got two shots off but they went over my head. I put four in his chest and he just fell backwards." Another gunman appeared from the alley opposite. "I just held the trigger and squeezed off a few rounds. I think I got him in the leg."
A third gunman appeared. "I could hear the rounds bouncing off the vehicles and landing at my feet," said Sgt Ivey.
"I just grabbed my guys and we dove into the back of a Bradley." As the six-vehicle convoy moved off towards route Copper, the Mahdi fire intensified.
As the vehicles sped up Copper, the shooting subsided and the crowds swarmed on to the streets. At the intersection with route Bravo, an old refrigerator and the remains of a car had been put down to block the road. Specialist Brown braked and pulled the Humvee to the right as the convoy threaded its way through.
An old man dressed in a white robe beckoned the vehicles up the street towards a burning barricade of tyres and rubbish. A common Mahdi tactic is to use barricades to slow down or trap vehicles and then mount an ambush. Lt Swanson ordered a U-turn.
Alpha Three Six swung around as an RPG whooshed past from behind the barricade. Sgt Jacob Kramer, 29, on the 7.62mm machinegun mounted on top, shot at each muzzle flash from the buildings to the right.
Lt East, in the lead Humvee, saw a gunman running towards his vehicle from a side street. "I fired three shots and hit him almost dead centre. The way the bullets are made, if you hit someone there it's a pretty fair assumption he's going to be dead."
As the convoy arrived back at Camp Eagle there was relief there had been no casualties, but also excitement. "You missed the fun," shouted one soldier on guard duty and then laughed.
The peaceful centers of worship of the Islamic faith...
An old man dressed in a white robe beckoned the vehicles up the street towards a burning barricade of tyres and rubbish. A common Mahdi tactic is to use barricades to slow down or trap vehicles and then mount an ambush. Lt Swanson ordered a U-turn.
This "old man" is trying to pull the convoy into a trap. He is now a combatant. So shoot him.
"This "old man" is trying to pull the convoy into a trap. He is now a combatant. So shoot him."
Easy for you to say. What about a man throwing rocks? What about a kid throwing rocks? It's easy to say "waste them all" but US soldiers or Marines with their fingers on the triggers may have to answer for their actions. And they know it better than some of us.
This is wrong. What if he is spotting for indirect fire? What if he is giving early warning? What if he is conducting recon for an attack? Unarmed does NOT always equal non-combatant.
Yes, he may be doing all of the things you suggest. However, I would ask you to consider how is he communicating with the indirect fire weapons? So what if he is there to provide early warning, could he not be positioned there under threat by those he is to provide a warning to as a human shield of sorts? If he was conducting recon wouldn't he be making notes or map references?
As such, you've got to assume he is a non-combatant. You might want to detain him and determine his actual status. But you don't fire on him without certainty he is the enemy.
In the middle of a fire fight? Get real. It all depends on the ROE (rules of engagement) that the unit operates under. And usually, in a combat zone, you can engage (that means kill) anyone who is a threat or poses a threat,
In a fire fight, you try to kill your enemy. If any survive or decide to surrender after a taste of American firepower, then you take them as a detainee (POW status is determined later).
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