Posted on 03/24/2005 4:30:30 PM PST by Mount Athos
The Kentucky National Guardsmen were outnumbered and under heavy gunfire when they counterattacked Iraqi insurgents who ambushed a coalition convoy southeast of Baghdad.
A 30-minute firefight ensued on a Sunday morning, pitting 10 guardsmen against dozens of insurgents. When the shooting ended, 26 guerrillas lay dead and another was mortally wounded, while six others were wounded and another was captured unharmed.
The guardsmen didn't go unscathed. Three members of the military police unit were wounded and later transported for medical treatment in Germany, where they are recovering.
"It was crazy," recalled Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester. "Adrenaline pumping, you didn't have time to think about everything that was going on. It was basically kill or be killed."
In telephone interviews Thursday, several soldiers recalled the harrowing moments last Sunday when they faced off against insurgents armed with machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. The battle turned into one of the largest single insurgent death tolls since last fall's battle for Fallujah, the U.S. military has said. After the attack, U.S. soldiers also recovered a large weapons cache from the insurgents.
It wasn't the first time members of the Kentucky Guard's 617th Military Police unit had fought off insurgents. But two previous ambushes, in late January, paled in comparison.
"We were actually pretty shocked by the amount of insurgents that were there," said Spec. Ashley Pullen, who helped care for her wounded comrades during the battle.
The guardsmen, in three Humvees, were at the back of the convoy of 30 tractor-trailers when the insurgents attacked. The Kentucky-based soldiers quickly moved forward and returned fire.
The insurgents were positioned behind trees, in a trench and in a dry canal, Hester said. At first, she thought there were seven or eight insurgents. Later in the fight, she said, she realized the enemy force totaled as many as 40 or 50.
"Our gunners did a great job of laying down fire and taking a lot of them out," said Hester, 23, a Bowling Green native who as a civilian works at a shoe store in Nashville, Tenn.
Staff Sgt. Timothy Nein, the squad leader, ordered his soldiers down a road to flank insurgents positioned in a field. One vehicle was struck by a rocket propelled grenade, briefly knocking the gunner unconscious, Nein said. Three of the soldiers together in another Humvee were wounded, and the medic, in the same vehicle, returned fire, he said.
While under heavy fire, Nein and other guardsmen went on foot to confront bands of insurgents. At one point, Nein and Hester worked their way along a small canal and killed several insurgents with rifle fire and grenades. Nein said that gunfight lasted about 10 minutes.
Both sergeants said they each killed at least three insurgents, possibly more.
"It was a matter of self defense, so I don't feel bad about it, or anything like that," Hester said. "It was in the line of duty. I was protecting myself and my fellow soldiers."
The guardsmen also took out an insurgent who sprayed machine gun fire from a berm above the Kentucky soldiers, and another guerrilla who fired from a house, Nein said. It was probably one or both of those insurgents who wounded the three guardsmen, he said.
Two guardsmen who were unharmed had their vests grazed by bullets, Nein said.
Capt. Todd Lindner, commander of the 617th, which is based in Richmond with a detachment in Bowling Green, said his soldiers used superior tactics and discipline to gain the upper hand.
"Once they had the advantage, they exploited it to the point where the enemy just had no chance whatsoever," he said.
Lindner said he felt "like a proud dad when everybody does everything right."
"The soldiers responded extremely well, just like they were trained to do and were absolute professionals and heroes," he said.
Maj. Gen. Donald Storm, Kentucky's adjutant general, said the soldiers' performance under fire reflected the professionalism of the Kentucky Guard.
"It was absolutely above and beyond the call of duty, but it does not surprise me one bit," he said. "These are class, professional soldiers."
About 1,160 Kentucky Guard soldiers are now deployed in Iraq - the largest contingent since the war began more than two years ago. As evidenced by Sunday's firefight, the Kentucky guardsmen are "right in the middle" of military operations, Storm said.
Lindner said his unit's morale is high, but added that the soldiers have been on "an emotional roller coaster" worrying about their three wounded comrades.
Close to 180 soldiers from the 617th arrived in Iraq last November and are expected to stay a year. Besides providing security escorts for convoys, the unit also safeguards main supply routes and provides training for the fledgling Iraqi highway patrol, Lindner said.
Most convoy security missions are completed without incident, Nein said.
"But we're always prepared each and every time, not necessarily to fight this many insurgents, but we were prepared to fight them," he said.
Nein, 35, of Clark County, Ind., just across the river from Louisville, said his squad was eager to get back on patrol after the gunfight Sunday.
"We're here to make the world a better place, and we are doing it," he said.
Kentucky guardsmen from the 623rd Field Artillery unit, based in Campbellsville, also provided security for the convoy that came under attack Sunday. Those guardsmen stayed with the convoy during the battle, and the unit suffered no injuries from the assault.
However, the 623rd lost one of its soldiers Saturday when Spec. Jonathan A. Hughes, 21, of Lebanon, was killed when his Humvee struck a roadside bomb while he accompanied a convoy headed to Baghdad's international airport. Fellow Kentucky Guard Spec. Kurt Buchanan of Elizabethtown, who rode in the same vehicle, was wounded in the same blast.
Hughes was the third Kentucky Army National Guard soldier killed in Iraq.
I did a search on Kentucky, didn't see the article posted before.
"Of the Troops, For the troops."
they used to say " ain't nuthin in the world compares with a Kentucky rifleman " these brave gents and women prove it , once agin.
Females DO NOT BELONG IN COMBAT.
EOM
Kentucky NG Ping!!!
"It was a matter of self defense, so I don't feel bad about it, or anything like that," Hester said. "It was in the line of duty. I was protecting myself and my fellow soldiers."
Sounds like these men were cut from the same cloth as Sargent Alvin York. May God be with those that fight, and die, for freedom.
A 30-minute firefight ensued on a Sunday morning, pitting 10 guardsmen against dozens of insurgents. When the shooting ended, 26 guerrillas lay dead and another was mortally wounded, while six others were wounded and another was captured unharmed.
This 10 person unit had women in it....who fought as well as the other men in the unit......they repelled a larger force who had surprise on their side.
Excuuuuuse me. I'm old.
I didn't mean to neglect or slam anyone. I'm just not PC.
Take a pill and come down off the walls.
Huh?
When you can't contemplate an ambush under those conditions because the other troopers are just too damn good, you have new military doctrine being written before your eyes. Were I the enemy commander I'd have to be wondering just what in world it's going to take.
I'd bet these guys grew up shooting. It helped here.
The quote you highlighted was from a SGT. LEIGH ANN HESTER.....I was simply pointing out that fact.
There were women in this fight....it had nothing to do with you being PC.
Sure many of them grew up shooting, from squirrels to deer. They shoot before they drink Kentucky Bourbon, which they begin around 11 years old.
Steadies the nerves.
THIS Kentucky Guardsman is damn proud of his younger brothers and sisters.
These are people who live by the rifle, and make the enemy die by it.
My Kentucky troops here at Mob Station are wearing the same armor, getting the same training, and will be joining the same fight.
Some Freepers will never get it, but most do.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.