The Convoy Exercise

Today we had our big convoy exercise where we got to apply nearly everything we've learned here at Fort Jackson. Our mission to drive to a simulated Iraqi town and meet with the mayor/sheik about a recently opened girls school. We had nine HUMVEEs; three for the convoy, three to man an entry control point (ECP) outside the town, and three to act as a quick reaction force (QRF) to come to the aid of any other vehicles that may come under attack.

I was a truck commander for one of the QRF vehicles. I had a turret gunner and rifleman along with a drill sergeant who drove but otherwise did not participate as a player. The QRF stayed behind after the first six vehicles left and we waited to be called into action.

We didn't wait long; we received word via radio the main convoy was hit by an IED at a traffic roundabout. We drove over quickly and assisted in securing the scene. One vehicle was destroyed and one soldier was dead. As we were securing the scene, an insurgent opened fire on us. Luckily, we killed him before he killed anyone else. When we examined the body, we found he was sitting on several pounds of C4 explosive. We left the body alone and called Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). We then remounted and continued on to the town.

On the way to the town, we were hit with another IED. One vehicle was damaged in the blast but was still drivable. With our turret gunner providing cover, we dismounted and established security. Our forces flushed out another insurgent and killed him. Another solider and I conducted the body search. The insurgent had a command detonator, rifle and ammunition. Luckily, there were no booby traps on this one. We confiscated all and moved onto the town.

The main convoy element, and one of our QRF trucks, went into the town. My vehicle was stuck with rear security. The convoy commander met with the mayor/sheik who told him the school needed pencils and water. He also said there were several suspicious foreigners (i.e., non-Iraqi Arabs) occupying a house in the center of town. A team was sent to clear the house and ended up in a fire fight. We lost one more soldier and another wounded. We killed one insurgent and captured another.

As I've written earlier in this blog, I now have undying respect for the common infantry man. It was very difficult moving around tactically in IBA when dismounted from the vehicles. Even in the vehicle, it was hard to work the radio because of the cramped conditions. Altogether, it was very eye opening experience.