LTC Erik Kurilla (front right), the moment the bullets strike.(2nd LT front-left; radioman near-left; "AH" the interpreter is near-right.)
Posted on 08/25/2005 10:35:17 AM PDT by saquin
[...]
About fifteen seconds later our ramp dropped. We ran into combat.
Folks who haven't done much urban fighting might take issue with the wild chases, and they might say that people should always "stack up" and do things this or that way, but men in Delta Force, SEALs and the like, all know that when chasing wild men into the labyrinth, soldiers enter the land of confusion. If soldiers don't go fast, the bad guys simply get away. Just a few minutes ago, these three guys were going "105 miles per hour," and outrunning a helicopter.
There were shops, alleys, doorways, windows . . .which to me screamed: death, death, death, death...
The soldiers with LTC Kurilla were searching fast, weapons at the ready, and they quickly flex-cuffed two men. But these were not the right guys. Meanwhile, SSG Konkol's men were clearing towards us, leaving the three bad-guys boxed, but free.
Shots were fired behind us but around a corner to the left.
Both the young 2nd lieutenant and the young specialist were inside a shop when a close-quarters firefight broke out, and they ran outside. Not knowing how many men they were fighting, they wanted backup. LTC Kurilla began running in the direction of the shooting. He passed by me and I chased, Kurilla leading the way.
There was a quick and heavy volume of fire. And then LTC Kurilla was shot.
LTC Erik Kurilla (front right), the moment the bullets strike.(2nd LT front-left; radioman near-left; "AH" the interpreter is near-right.)
Three bullets reach flesh: One snaps his thigh bone in half.
[...]
Kurilla was running when he was shot, but he didn't seem to miss a stride; he did a crazy judo roll and came up shooting.
The Commander fights...
It was taken by Mike--it is in the August archives of his site. I have had the honor of trading a few emails with him and have followed his site closely as my daughter is in the Stryker Brigade and I know several of the guys through her. Mike is a man among men---this last entry made me determined to be in Crawford on Saturday.
Erik Kurilla and CSM Prosser are absolute badasses.
I worked with MAJ Bieger's Dad.
When his Mom realized the picture was her son...feelings ran high here at Ft. Huachuca for awhile, too.
Thanks for the ping!!
Bump for a outstanding piece. If this guy worked for major outlet in a different time, I'd smell Pulitzer Prize..
How bizarre that you'd write that in here, of all threads. If Yon's reporting from the front reflects anything, it is that we here at home know close to zero about what's actually going on there, and that we are winning.
"Why are the M4 rifles so weak? Is this standard issue? Why shouldn't our troops have more firepower than the terrorists?"
2 issues here:
1) The M4 uses a standard 5.56mm round. It really does not have that much punch. Personally, I prefer a 7.62x51 (.308 NATO) which when you hit someone, they go down and stay down.
2) More often than not, these "insurgents" are hopped up on so much "S@@t", that even if you hit them 4 or 5 times with a 5.56mm, they just keep on going.
I'm just sorry to say that heroism by our troops isn't sufficient to win, if they don't have the right kind of leadership in Washington to back them up. If we're doing "catch and release" of deadly terrorists, like Yon writes about, that tells me our leaders aren't really serious. If you see things differently I'd love to be persuaded I'm wrong.
That's a good choice. But personally I'd prefer a 12-gauge with 00 buck.
Agreed, so the next question is...
Just WHAT THE HELL are these Terrorist Islamazi BA$TARDS on?
If it's Allah (MHNBC), then it's more addicting and DANGEREOUS than Crystal Meth! Otherwise, just what psychotropic/narcotic are they doing?!
Didn't I read something a while ago about the Islamazi soldiers being on drugs in the field...it makes them more aggressive and they take more bullets to stop?
Go and read the whole article and as you do look at the photos..Michael Yon just went up a notch in my eyes.
Just keep in mind that it isn't the americans doing catch and release, Yon's article makes that clear. Also, there was a Yon post a few weeks ago where the local Iraqi police chief was begging Kurilla to let him have a terrorist suspect so he could work him over for awhile. The Iraqis aren't plagued by a lack of resolve, it might just be that they have a few black-robed fifth-columnists in their courts like we do.
Whats * Ping * mean and does it flag Yon's blog on Google to a higher rank? How do I ping? Sorry newbie here ;P
" I e-mailed Romenesko Yon's link a while ago and asked him why is it a guy supporting himself with on-line donations manages to get these stories yet the MSM with all their power, resources, and connects cant seem to make it out of the Green Zone."
Simple, some men are born to be great and Mr. Yon belongs in this category.
That's a good choice. But personally I'd prefer a 12-gauge with 00 buck.
Slight modification to that -
12-guage with 00 buck, followed by a Sabot, followed by #9 shot.
I'm not sure. It wouldn't surprise me. Keep in mind, however, that adrenaline is an awesome thing, and people perform feats on it that equal or exceed the sort of stuff that PCP users 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.