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| Afghanistan |
| How a Marine squadron commander came to die at Camp Bastion |
| 2012-09-22 |
| Like most folks in the sprawling remote desert camp, [Lt. Col. Christopher K.] Raible, 40, a Marine squadron commander fighter pilot, faced two choices: seek cover or run toward the sound of gunfire. "The difference between me and some people is that when they hear gunfire, they run. When I hear gunfire, I run to it," the squadron commander had often told his Marines half in jest. When it became clear Bastion was under attack, Raible threw on body armor and jumped in a vehicle with [Major] Chambless. Because his rifle was not nearby, the commander charged into the combat zone armed only with a handgun. The two men exchanged nary a word during the short drive as they scanned the landscape for insurgents. When they got to the flightline, Raible dashed into a maintenance room and began barking out orders to the Marines who would soon push the assailants back. Backed by a handful of men, he ran toward another building to check whether the troops there were safe. Along the way, Raible and his men were attacked. He and Sgt. Bradley W. Atwell, 27, of Kokomo, Ind., died of wounds from an explosion, Lt. Col. Stewart Upton, a military spokesman, said. Chambless was devastated but not particularly surprised. "It was very fitting that he was killed leading his men from the front," the major said. |
| Posted by:Anguper Hupomosing9418 |
| #1 ...Didn't know until yesterday that the unit at Bastion was VMA-211 - the unit that held Wake Island against the Japanese for two weeks in December of 1941. Tradition runs deep. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2012-09-22 16:27 |