Marine Makes Insurgents Pay the Price

Military.com ^ | 11/18/08 | Cpl. James M. Mercure

[mfnorman]

FARAH PROVINCE, Afghanistan — In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it.

Shewan has historically been a safe haven for insurgents, who used to plan and stage attacks against Coalition Forces in the Bala Baluk district.

The city is home to several major insurgent leaders. Reports indicate that more than 250 full time fighters reside in the city and in the surrounding villages.

Shewan had been a thorn in the side of Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan throughout the Marines’ deployment here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, because it controls an important supply route into the Bala Baluk district. Opening the route was key to continuing combat operations in the area.

“The day started out with a 10-kilometer patrol with elements mounted and dismounted, so by the time we got to Shewan, we were pretty beat,” said a designated marksman who requested to remain unidentified. “Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our ‘humvees’ was disabled from RPG fire, and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast.”

[Longtom]

Things to do today” 1: Get up.2 Pray towards Mecca.3. Mess with The United States Marine Corps.4: Die. Yeah, must be a great life being a ‘’jihadi’’. Pick a fight with the deadliest fighting force in history. Yeah, what a life.

[Philo1962]

The only negative I see in the story is the fact that they let them “drop their weapons and run away” to fight another day. That part of the ROE is getting men killed.

Here, let me help. The Marines had been in a sustained firefight without relief or resupply. I'm sure a lot of them were low on ammunition. They were exhausted and probably out of water. A few were wounded, though none of them seriously. Even after killing 50 of the enemy, the Marines were still outnumbered nearly 7-to-1.

They had just won an enormous victory on ground they had been able to control. Under those conditions, you think they should have gone charging off into ground they were unable to control, in pursuit of a numerically superior enemy, and risk turning an enormous victory into an enormous and costly defeat?

Remember, at that point not even one Marine had been seriously wounded. At the Academy, you learn that sometimes, you have to let a few of the enemy get away. Hopefully, they might grow a brain and decide to go back to herding goats for a living.

[Keith Brown]

Bang ‘em full of holes and fill them with lead!

[Keith Brown]

“At the Academy, you learn that sometimes, you have to let a few of the enemy get away. Hopefully, they might grow a brain and decide to go back to herding goats for a living.”

Nothing new there. When the Vikings...er Norse were clobbering England they’d often leave one alive to tell the tale and spread panic and fear among the Saxons.

Funny... both are amphibious operators!

..... but rape and pillage is frowned upon in the Corps.

[lowbridge]

In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it.

250 terrorists vs. 30 Marines? The terrorists were outnumbered.

[Hugin]

Reminds me of a joke...

A column of Taliban are marching up a valley when a Marine appears at the top of a ridge, flips them the bird, then goes behind the ridge. The leader says, “Abdul, take 10 men, and kill that infidel.”

They charge up and over the ridge, and shots are heard for a couple of minutes, then the Marine appears again, flips them off, and goes back over the ridge.

The leader says, “Mohammed, take 25 men, and bring me the infidel’s head”.

Again they charge over the hill, and there is much heavier shooting for about 10 minutes, then the Marine appears, and does the same thing again.

Now the Taliban leader is furious, and sreams “Achmed, take 100 men, and skin that infidel alive!” They charge up and over the ridge, and there is 20 minutes of heavy fire, and numerous explosions. Then a wounded Achmed comes scrambling over the ridge and down the hill screaming, “It’s a trap! It’s a trap! There are two of them!!!”

[mojito]

This is a mighty inspiring story.

God bless and protect these fine heroic men.