thedrifter
01-15-07, 04:00 PM
America's Battalion's' Snipers Sting Insurgents Twice in One Day
by Lance Cpl. Erik Villagran
Snipers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment are planting fear into the hearts of insurgents.
Twice on Dec. 21, the Scout-Sniper Team that Sgt. William E. Dulaney leads gave the enemy more than they bargained for. Twice insurgents challenged Marines, and twice they paid severely for their mistakes.
Dulaney, the 25-year old team leader from Orange County, Va., said it was the kind of a day that snipers dream about.
Cpl. Jacob E. Serra, the team's automatic rifleman, was the first to identify the enemy. From his concealed position, Serra, 21, of Harlem, N.Y., watched as insurgents arrived in preparation for an attack against Weapons Company.
"When they rolled up and I saw their weapons, I nudged the other guys and told them to get ready," Serra explained.
On the signal from his team leader, Serra poured devastating automatic fire onto the enemy gunmen so that his team could engage with precision fires.
"The enemy had no idea we were there," Delaney explained. "They started pouring into their escape vehicle at hyper-speed after we started shooting."
At the end of the engagement, the enemy fled carrying their dead and wounded.
It was already a productive morning for the scout-sniper team, but it would prove to be just the beginning.
The team returned to the Iraqi Police station in Gharmah to debrief their mission and prepare for the next. The station is a fortified position in the center of the city, and it has become a magnet for insurgent attacks.
Marines in this ramshackle outpost know too well the signs of an impending attack. When the Marines noticed these telltale signs, Dulaney's team geared up and ran into position.
"We heard the marketplace was clearing and we heard pop-shots," Dulaney said. "We headed up the stairs and hooked a right into the post. Then the fire just erupted."
Army Staff Sgt. Jesse J. Fordyce, an Indiana National Guardsman serving as an Iraqi Police Training team leader, went to the roof on a hunch and was already in the post scanning for targets when Dulaney arrived.
Dulaney and Fordyce paired up to good effect.
As the remainder of the snipers made their way to the fortified post on the rooftop, small arms cracked around the team and a salvo of rocket-propelled grenades soared over the Marines" heads.
"I saw the RPG overhead but I didn't even hear it impact," said Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Dustin D. Todd, a 22-year-old hospital corpsman from Trenton, Mo., who is assigned to Dulaney's team. "I was just excited."
Fordyce directed Dulaney's fires onto an insurgent team after positively identifying the insurgent attackers.
"He had PID on a guy in an alley in front of us," Dulaney said. "He kept poking his head around a corner and spraying."
Dulaney engaged the man in the alley with his rifle. Other snipers on the roof fired suppressive fire and M-203 grenades at the same insurgent.
"Todd and I stepped out of the post and began volley firing," said Lance Cpl. Andrew R. Perry, a 21-year-old rifleman from Cherokee County, Ga. "We were alternating going into the post to reload."
Perry recalled with colorful language how scared the insurgents looked.
"This guy shot an RPG that hit probably 20-meters away from the guy, nowhere near the police station," Perry said. "He was scared out of his mind."
The team agreed that the excitement of the engagement prevented any of the Marines from feeling scared despite the nearby bullets and RPGs impacting around them.
"I was really excited," said Cpl. William V. Ales, a 20-year-old scout sniper from
Tampa, Fla. "There was no fear in my body at all. I put down 40 rounds."
The scout-sniper team stood their ground outside the post and gave Dulaney enough space to get a clean shot on the insurgent.
"I was hoping they kept popping their head around the corners," Dulaney said. "I kept yelling at them from the post, trying to taunt them. I was pretty pumped up for it."
His patience paid off. Dulaney continued to engage the insurgent and killed him. Another insurgent took the dead ones' place. The insurgent then fired a wayward RPG and fled the area.
Two vehicles were seen leaving and picking up bodies and weapons. Dulaney fired more than a dozen rounds into the last vehicle as they drove away, he said.
"It looked like their support vehicle," Fordyce added.
At the end of the day, Dulaney and his team were responsible for killing at least four insurgents and wounding many more.
They were content with the results of the firefight. They felt they executed properly and worked well together, Ales said.
"It felt like we made an impact like snipers are supposed to," Dulaney said. "It was awesome to kill a few of them and not take any casualties ourselves."
Ellie
by Lance Cpl. Erik Villagran
Snipers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment are planting fear into the hearts of insurgents.
Twice on Dec. 21, the Scout-Sniper Team that Sgt. William E. Dulaney leads gave the enemy more than they bargained for. Twice insurgents challenged Marines, and twice they paid severely for their mistakes.
Dulaney, the 25-year old team leader from Orange County, Va., said it was the kind of a day that snipers dream about.
Cpl. Jacob E. Serra, the team's automatic rifleman, was the first to identify the enemy. From his concealed position, Serra, 21, of Harlem, N.Y., watched as insurgents arrived in preparation for an attack against Weapons Company.
"When they rolled up and I saw their weapons, I nudged the other guys and told them to get ready," Serra explained.
On the signal from his team leader, Serra poured devastating automatic fire onto the enemy gunmen so that his team could engage with precision fires.
"The enemy had no idea we were there," Delaney explained. "They started pouring into their escape vehicle at hyper-speed after we started shooting."
At the end of the engagement, the enemy fled carrying their dead and wounded.
It was already a productive morning for the scout-sniper team, but it would prove to be just the beginning.
The team returned to the Iraqi Police station in Gharmah to debrief their mission and prepare for the next. The station is a fortified position in the center of the city, and it has become a magnet for insurgent attacks.
Marines in this ramshackle outpost know too well the signs of an impending attack. When the Marines noticed these telltale signs, Dulaney's team geared up and ran into position.
"We heard the marketplace was clearing and we heard pop-shots," Dulaney said. "We headed up the stairs and hooked a right into the post. Then the fire just erupted."
Army Staff Sgt. Jesse J. Fordyce, an Indiana National Guardsman serving as an Iraqi Police Training team leader, went to the roof on a hunch and was already in the post scanning for targets when Dulaney arrived.
Dulaney and Fordyce paired up to good effect.
As the remainder of the snipers made their way to the fortified post on the rooftop, small arms cracked around the team and a salvo of rocket-propelled grenades soared over the Marines" heads.
"I saw the RPG overhead but I didn't even hear it impact," said Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Dustin D. Todd, a 22-year-old hospital corpsman from Trenton, Mo., who is assigned to Dulaney's team. "I was just excited."
Fordyce directed Dulaney's fires onto an insurgent team after positively identifying the insurgent attackers.
"He had PID on a guy in an alley in front of us," Dulaney said. "He kept poking his head around a corner and spraying."
Dulaney engaged the man in the alley with his rifle. Other snipers on the roof fired suppressive fire and M-203 grenades at the same insurgent.
"Todd and I stepped out of the post and began volley firing," said Lance Cpl. Andrew R. Perry, a 21-year-old rifleman from Cherokee County, Ga. "We were alternating going into the post to reload."
Perry recalled with colorful language how scared the insurgents looked.
"This guy shot an RPG that hit probably 20-meters away from the guy, nowhere near the police station," Perry said. "He was scared out of his mind."
The team agreed that the excitement of the engagement prevented any of the Marines from feeling scared despite the nearby bullets and RPGs impacting around them.
"I was really excited," said Cpl. William V. Ales, a 20-year-old scout sniper from
Tampa, Fla. "There was no fear in my body at all. I put down 40 rounds."
The scout-sniper team stood their ground outside the post and gave Dulaney enough space to get a clean shot on the insurgent.
"I was hoping they kept popping their head around the corners," Dulaney said. "I kept yelling at them from the post, trying to taunt them. I was pretty pumped up for it."
His patience paid off. Dulaney continued to engage the insurgent and killed him. Another insurgent took the dead ones' place. The insurgent then fired a wayward RPG and fled the area.
Two vehicles were seen leaving and picking up bodies and weapons. Dulaney fired more than a dozen rounds into the last vehicle as they drove away, he said.
"It looked like their support vehicle," Fordyce added.
At the end of the day, Dulaney and his team were responsible for killing at least four insurgents and wounding many more.
They were content with the results of the firefight. They felt they executed properly and worked well together, Ales said.
"It felt like we made an impact like snipers are supposed to," Dulaney said. "It was awesome to kill a few of them and not take any casualties ourselves."
Ellie