thedrifter
12-22-06, 07:15 AM
Marine earns his 'hunter' stripes
Spotting bomb that was hidden gives team big win on IED mission.
FRED DODD
Tribune Staff Writer
WEST OF FALLUJAH, Iraq -- It was a cold, rainy afternoon. The first several hours of the mission had passed quietly, with Engineer Company B's small convoy traveling excruciatingly slowly through small villages and wide-open countryside.
Traffic was light. The few vehicles that were on the road pulled over as the Marines approached. Iraqis watched the convoy drive by. Marines did the same -- looking for anything, or anyone, that appeared suspicious.
Some passengers stared blankly ahead, a few waved halfheartedly; all have likely grown annoyed by the frequent, sometimes long, delays that convoys and checkpoints cause.
A group of South Bend Marines, a Navy corpsman and a couple of others were conducting a route clearance mission. They were in search of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to make the roads safe for others.
Around dusk, a pair of tanks and several Humvees approached from ahead."That's a bad area," Gunnery Sgt. Louis Bain said as the tanks led the way down a side road.
Moments later, the Humvees turned into a housing area and surrounded a car. As Company B continued down the road, someone spoke: "Hey, look. They're assaulting that building."
Several armed Marines were racing across a parking lot toward a multistory building.
Seconds later, an underpass and then a hill blocked the view.
Coincidentally, the convoy turned around a few minutes later to head another direction. Before long, the convoy was forced to stop and wait out the assault, because it was only a couple of hundred yards away.An explosion echoed minutes later. "That could've been a tank," a voice said. Thick smoke began to rise over the hill, followed by flames.
Thirty minutes later, the route clearance mission was allowed to continue. Beyond the underpass, Marines saw a roaring ball of flames that had been a car minutes ago.
"The car they were searching had AKs (AK-47 assault rifles) in it. They asked the driver where he came from and saw someone moving RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades)," Bain explained after talking with a Marine from the combat unit.
Another hour into the mission, Cpl. Michael Beckwith, of Mishawaka, suddenly hit the brakes of the vehicle he was driving and backed up a few feet. He'd spotted an IED.
Basically it was just a mound of dirt sitting next to the curb, he said. It had a female end of an RCA cable (a cable used to plug into the back of VCRs). It was an improvised explosive in an old fire extinguisher."That was like finding a needle in a haystack," said Bain, of Burns Harbor, Ind. "We were all going to call 'Stop' for something a few feet ahead, but he backed up to that. It was a good find."
Cpl. Marvin Heimann, of Decatur, Ind., used a long electronic arm to dig up the device, which was just a few feet from the heavily armored vehicle. When the device was confirmed as an IED, Beckwith sounded off excitedly.
"I'm an official IED hunter now," he said. "I've been waiting for that."
A few minutes later, explosives experts blew up the IED.
"It was 10 to 15 pounds," Bain said. "It would've done good damage to a Humvee. It might've been for a mobility kill. It disables the vehicle, then they follow up with small-arms fire for the passengers."I think they say that three or four IED finds pays for this vehicle when you add in the lives and equipment saved."
Much later, after the 12-hour mission had ended, Bain addressed its participants:
"We saved some lives today. It was a big win."
Ellie
Spotting bomb that was hidden gives team big win on IED mission.
FRED DODD
Tribune Staff Writer
WEST OF FALLUJAH, Iraq -- It was a cold, rainy afternoon. The first several hours of the mission had passed quietly, with Engineer Company B's small convoy traveling excruciatingly slowly through small villages and wide-open countryside.
Traffic was light. The few vehicles that were on the road pulled over as the Marines approached. Iraqis watched the convoy drive by. Marines did the same -- looking for anything, or anyone, that appeared suspicious.
Some passengers stared blankly ahead, a few waved halfheartedly; all have likely grown annoyed by the frequent, sometimes long, delays that convoys and checkpoints cause.
A group of South Bend Marines, a Navy corpsman and a couple of others were conducting a route clearance mission. They were in search of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to make the roads safe for others.
Around dusk, a pair of tanks and several Humvees approached from ahead."That's a bad area," Gunnery Sgt. Louis Bain said as the tanks led the way down a side road.
Moments later, the Humvees turned into a housing area and surrounded a car. As Company B continued down the road, someone spoke: "Hey, look. They're assaulting that building."
Several armed Marines were racing across a parking lot toward a multistory building.
Seconds later, an underpass and then a hill blocked the view.
Coincidentally, the convoy turned around a few minutes later to head another direction. Before long, the convoy was forced to stop and wait out the assault, because it was only a couple of hundred yards away.An explosion echoed minutes later. "That could've been a tank," a voice said. Thick smoke began to rise over the hill, followed by flames.
Thirty minutes later, the route clearance mission was allowed to continue. Beyond the underpass, Marines saw a roaring ball of flames that had been a car minutes ago.
"The car they were searching had AKs (AK-47 assault rifles) in it. They asked the driver where he came from and saw someone moving RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades)," Bain explained after talking with a Marine from the combat unit.
Another hour into the mission, Cpl. Michael Beckwith, of Mishawaka, suddenly hit the brakes of the vehicle he was driving and backed up a few feet. He'd spotted an IED.
Basically it was just a mound of dirt sitting next to the curb, he said. It had a female end of an RCA cable (a cable used to plug into the back of VCRs). It was an improvised explosive in an old fire extinguisher."That was like finding a needle in a haystack," said Bain, of Burns Harbor, Ind. "We were all going to call 'Stop' for something a few feet ahead, but he backed up to that. It was a good find."
Cpl. Marvin Heimann, of Decatur, Ind., used a long electronic arm to dig up the device, which was just a few feet from the heavily armored vehicle. When the device was confirmed as an IED, Beckwith sounded off excitedly.
"I'm an official IED hunter now," he said. "I've been waiting for that."
A few minutes later, explosives experts blew up the IED.
"It was 10 to 15 pounds," Bain said. "It would've done good damage to a Humvee. It might've been for a mobility kill. It disables the vehicle, then they follow up with small-arms fire for the passengers."I think they say that three or four IED finds pays for this vehicle when you add in the lives and equipment saved."
Much later, after the 12-hour mission had ended, Bain addressed its participants:
"We saved some lives today. It was a big win."
Ellie