Posted last month at WoC by Trent Telenko. RTHT, but some notable excerpts:
- IEDs are not "incidents", but the primary means of contact. It is an "ambush", and whether a "far ambush" (blow it from a distance and run) or a "near ambush" (blow the shot and have small arms fire with close-quarters marksmanship needed), regardless, it is not a random event. The enemy is patient, plans their attack, goes through all the recon and planning we do, and then targets who they hit.
- The #2 killer is TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS!!! Everyone must keep this in mind. The up-armored HUMVEES turn and brake way differently, and are prone to tipping. "COMBAT DRIVING" means know your vehicle, use it as a weapons platform AND a weapon as needed, and be able move and communicate at all times... it does NOT mean "drive like the Dukes of Hazzard". As the CSM of the Army said, "Drive like NASCAR"... know you vehicle, keep the distances and speeds YOU need to be safe, and if needed, get under the opposition and put them into the wall. NOTE TO ALL: It is a * bad* idea to put your most junior people in as drivers and gunners, at least to do it all the time. Train them. We all need to be proficient with driving AND being a gunner AND using all the comms available AND navigating using * MAPS* and GPS.
- The #3 Killer: Failure to execute proper and FAST first responder duties. The difference between life and death is measured in seconds if someone is bleeding out. As just one example, if you get a tourniquet on someone in time, they live. If not, they die. Again, EVERYONE has to know this... .the designated "combat life saver" may be the one hit. It used to be they barred officers from CLS courses as "if the officer is busy doing this, they aren't doing their primary job". That has changed. Standardize where the vehicle response bag is. Have recovery drills, mounted and dismounted. Have MEDEVAC plans, to include if you have to lay people flat. The time to figure out how to change a tire, how to open a vehicle and clear the people AND sensitive items, how to cross load people is NOT while RPG are criss-crossing your area.
- The AIF (Anti-Iraqi Forces) are adaptive, intelligent, and will kill any number of civilians, to include using kids as bait, in the hopes of getting just one Coalition troop. By the same token, they are being driven to these extreme means precisely because public support for AIF activities is dropping (the majority of of help, in fact, come from Iraqi civilians and Iraqi forces). The AIF will do anything to take away progress and betterment of the Iraqi people, because anything good is seen as supporting the legitmate government and makes the AIF look less powerful. From everything I've heard from those in country, things are getting better, and its has resulted in more foreign fighters coming in and less and less Iraqis supporting these attacks or the causes claimed.
And now, the really important bit (emphasis added by myself):
- Be aware, the PIRA (Provisional Irish Republic Army), FARC (the Columbian drug/leftist terrorists), and Chechnyans are many of the primary "expert" trainers for the AIF, and have been caught both in Iraq and neighboring countries teaching organization and tactical skills. There are others out there, too, that are not Arab and are actively supporting the AIF. Don't think someone is "OK" just because they aren't muslim. Do not fall into a trap thinking this is a religious or racial war - that is what the demagogues on both sides want to cloak this in. It is a struggle for power and money.
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