Posted on 06/09/2007 1:17:40 PM PDT by mdittmar
AZ ZAIDON, IRAQ Apache attack helicopters engaged and destroyed an improvised explosive device emplacement team near Az Zaidon, Iraq, southwest of Baghdad, June 7.
The IED emplacement team was observed preparing a site, emplacing, and covering the IED by an unmanned aerial vehicle at about 10:30 a.m.
The UAV, controlled by the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, continued surveillance of the team until AH-64 Apache attack helicopters from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade arrived at the scene.
As the sedan was moving away from the IED site, the Apaches engaged the sedan with a rocket, killing the two occupants and destroying the vehicle.
The Az Zaidon area is known as a safe haven for al Qaeda and as a step-off point for launching attacks into Baghdad.
Bad day for the bad guys.
That’s gonna leave a mark!
Great news for our guys!
Maybe they should have followed them back to their hideout, and killed a lot more?
Problem with following them back is as soon as they hit a town or village of any size, they would almost certainly disperse into the local population...
Nancy sends her condolences;)
Hey, Satan! What are you doing in paradise?
That is like engaging a fly with a swatter.
TANKS for the “Good News”,,,
Yea, but it saves having to send out a team clear the vehicle and bodies off the roadway.
A lesson learn long ago is that when you are going to kill something it is better to not give it a chance.
The best way to stop the bombings is to kill ALL of the bombers.
More dead bad guys whoo hoo... thats the good news..
“improvised explosive device emplacement team”
Is wrong...
They are enemy Combat Engineers emplacing a mine. Likely a command detonated mine. How they are constructed does not change what they are. Further the degree of improvisation is not material to their utilization. They are mines first and foremost. That is what they are and that is what they are used as... MINES...One of the oldest explosive weapons produced.
Why is it important... well ask yourself why the Army does not report them for what they are?..Especially since command detonated mines are the primary means by which the enemy inflicts casualties on US Forces..
The reason?
Our Commanders currently are “Light Fighters” Shooters, Kill Capture folk and if they correctly identify the enemies most effective fighters and weapon they will be under tremendous pressure and likely be forced to refocus their efforts from SASO (Stability and Support Operations) Kill Capture to Countermine Operations Interdiction and Detection..
The latter are dependent upon Combat Engineer Functions and would re focus the war’s emphasis towards Combat Engineering to secure/ maintain safe roads and control access.
We do have problems in our Military in that currently our Generals create a scenario in their minds SASO and then conduct operations to fit their creation.. regardless of reality on the ground.. We are not in a Stability and Support Operation .. Haiti was a SASO. Iraq is not.. We are in the middle of a war facing 5 different blended enemy combatant groups who flow cooperation wise in many streams. Shia, Sunni, Iranian, Syrian, Al Qaida.
Control the roads, control ingress and egress into areas peaceful and other than peaceful and that will do more to put the enemy out of business than anything else we could currently do..
That is a Combat Engineer Mission with Infantry and Mech Armor Forces in Support. Not a Light Infantry mission with the others in support.
If it was done the way I just described putting the Combat Engineers and Combat Engineer Officers in the fore front we would see a 50% reduction in the rate of casualties both Killed and Wounded within less than 6 months easy. That is because more than 50% of all US Casualties (more like 80%) are from mines (mostly command detonated from what I can gather).. but even more importantly we would lock up the enemy, box him in making every time he moved anywhere would become a high risk operation for him and moving his mines and war material would become exceedingly complex. We could then close the noose around his neck...and win.
W
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