Ramadi: First hand account Passed on by a Marine's father in law...

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[BenLurkin]

Passed on by a Marine's father in law...

"Thought I'd send a quick group email to cover the events of the last couple days. Pure and simple, all hell broke loose around here on Tuesday. I was hanging around the COC listening to all the radio traffic, and no kidding, it sounded like a training exercise where the trainers overload the battalion staff with all kinds of scenarios. Literally, anywhere our guys went they got ambushed/attacked. All over the town. Squads pinned down. Marines temporarily missing. Armor being called in to relieve pressure. Reports of wounded and killed Marines. Helos on station, making gun runs down city streets when they could ID targets. F-18s high overhead providing another set of eyes for the combatants. From the rooftop here, you could see plumes of black smoke rising from all over the city area. Every time new radio traffic came in, you had someone engaged somewhere, or someone calling for a medevac. (Fr Devine picked a hell of a day to visit Hurricane Point!) The guys who came back said the bad guys were on rooftops, in the buildings, shooting from moving cars, running in the open... you name it. And the bad guys paid a heavy price, from the reports of bodies laying in the streets, and strewn on rooftops. Crazy. We had 12 kia and 15 wounded.

Yesterday was another serious, if not as chaotic day. 1 kia and 5 wia. More of the same types of enemy action. Not to say we were under armed on Tuesday, but yesterday they went out with EVERYTHING. Put it this way---there's no armor threat here, but all our TOW gunners had missiles yesterday.

Today I went out with the CO as part of the COC forward during a cordon and knock operation into some of the same area that the fighting occurred the last two days. Maybe five minutes after we pulled in, there was sporadic gunfire---a bit surreal to hear those sounds echoing through the streets, especially because the landscape reminds you of Blackhawk Down. Stray cats roaming the trash fields, fetid standing water, exposed cinderblock walls for the "houses"... Nothing that was anywhere closer than a few blocks from where we were. And then it died off and there was nothing the rest of the day. We did catch some guy with more than $800k on him. He said it was from an Army contract. We'll see. Some of the locals told us that the "3 day jihad" had come to an early close because of the casualties the bad guys had taken the last 2 days. Pisser. Our S-3 replied that he's here on a 7 month jihad of his own. Thought that was pretty funny.

Anyway, the reality is what it is---it's dangerous here, but I'm as safe as you can be in this environment if that makes any sense. It was much better to be out today feeling like you're in charge instead of sitting back and waiting for something bad to happen. Will never go looking for trouble, but when I have to do my job out there (like today when we paid a few people for damage we did to their crap during the cordon) I, like the other Marines, am armed to the teeth and supplied with good gear. There is no chance of the bad guys winning any of these fights, and I doubt they will scrap with our Marines anytime soon, if at all.

I know you're going to worry no matter what I tell you, but hopefully you won't worry too much, because I'm just fine."

[rogueleader]

I was hanging around the COC listening to all the radio traffic, and no kidding, it sounded like a training exercise where the trainers overload the battalion staff with all kinds of scenarios. Literally, anywhere our guys went they got ambushed/attacked. All over the town.

Obvious interpretation: centrally planned attack, set to occur at a specific time.

Sounds like the good guys kicked some major ass.

Semper Fi!

[B4Ranch]

Take a peek at some good news.

[LucyJo]

Great post. God bless this Marine to stay "just fine". God bless them all.

[Wilhelm Tell]

Maybe it stopped because the guy with the $800k was the paymaster.

And I bet the money trail leads to Iran.

[TEXOKIE]

Thanks for the post! You might be pleased to learn that Gordon Liddy read this today on his program! I'm so happy to find the text of it, for I missed the first part of it!

[Two-Bits]

Hi, Please take a moment and either call the President or send an email to let him know we, the American people back him. Also, if you could just tell one person to do the same and ask them to tell another, than God willing, we will flood the switchboard with calls and faxes like they have never seem. This is one way we can take it direct to the President and it can not be misled by the media or stupid polls.....
Please call or email and God bless:
Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 E-Mail President George W. Bush: president@whitehouse.gov Vice President Richard Cheney: vice.president@whitehouse.gov

[radu]

WOW! Intense reading! Nothing like getting word straight from the horse's mouth, is it? Thanks for posting this, BenLurkin!

The lamestream media doesn't WANT us to know the troops are PUMPED....they'd rather we think morale is low and that the troops are failing.

Thanks to posts such as this at FR, WE know better!

Thank you so much for the ping, SandRat!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

...Literally, anywhere our guys went they got ambushed/attacked. All over the town. Squads pinned down. Marines temporarily missing.... Helos on station, making gun runs down city streets when they could ID targets....the bad guys paid a heavy price, from the reports of bodies laying in the streets, and strewn on rooftops. Crazy. We had 12 kia and 15 wounded.

..Not to say we were under armed on Tuesday, but yesterday they went out with EVERYTHING. Put it this way---there's no armor threat here, but all our TOW gunners had missiles yesterday.

Some of the locals told us that the "3 day jihad" had come to an early close because of the casualties the bad guys had taken the last 2 days. Pisser. Our S-3 replied that he's here on a 7 month jihad of his own. Thought that was pretty funny.

Anyway, the reality is what it is---it's dangerous here, but I'm as safe as you can be in this environment if that makes any sense....I, like the other Marines, am armed to the teeth and supplied with good gear. There is no chance of the bad guys winning any of these fights, and I doubt they will scrap with our Marines anytime soon, if at all.

I know you're going to worry no matter what I tell you, but hopefully you won't worry too much, because I'm just fine."

 Eternal Father

 

  ~ Eternal Father, grant, we pray,
To all Marines, both night and day,
The courage, honor, strength, and skill
Their land to serve, thy law fulfill;
Be thou the shield forevermore
From every peril to the Corps.
          ~ J. E. Seim (alternative verses, 1966)
 ~  ~

[F14 Pilot]

U.S Marine! Bump!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Speaking of the media , see this:

Public's cynicism about media has become a pressing concern

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Great view of reality in Ramadi, thanks for posting it!

Just now Ollie North is reporting in from Ramadi with a marine describing some current action.

[blackie]

We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ trolls, terrorists, democrats and the mainstream media are sad ~ very sad!

~~ Bush/Cheney 2004 ~~

[onyx]

BUMP!
Thanks Ernie.
I would have otherwise missed the "GOOD" news.

[speekinout]

I hope someone is telling these great guys how much we like hearing from them. It's one of the few ways we have to get the truth.
For sure, we are praying for them, and want to thank them for all they are doing for us.

[Billthedrill]

Put it this way---there's no armor threat here, but all our TOW gunners had missiles yesterday.

Heh heh...

Abdul shoots an AK out a window. Return fire is a TOW. Bad day for Abdul.