Military Officer - February 2006 - (Page 57) bers push them back, issuing repeated warnings. Other villagers beg for water and food, continually hounding soldiers who are trying to get their jobs done. It’s a confusing, chaotic scene — just as it will be in Iraq. Finally, the insurgents’ location is pinpointed, on the second story of a building beside the main road. As troops crouch at the bottom of the stairs, ready to storm the bad guys’ hideout, twin concussions shake the building and everyone stops in their tracks. A gunner on a nearby Humvee has accidentally fired his weapon. The rounds aren’t live, but it instantly adds a chilling note of realism to the operation. An instructor immediately strides through the building. “And what do we call that?” he bellows. “Negligence.” He bites off each syllable for emphasis, and it’s clear everyone gets the message. There’ll be hell to pay at today’s after-action review. The operation resumes, and soon troops have cornered the terrorists on the building’s balcony. In a scene eerily reminiscent of the 1972 Munich Olympics, soldiers train their weapons on the terrorists as they kneel on the balcony floor, but this time the good guys win. The next day is devoted to groundassault convoy training on Camp Shelby’s Range 45. It’s a broad, rolling plain with little cover, crisscrossed with dusty roads and sprinkled with pop-up targets in Iraqi garb. At one end sits another simulated Iraqi town. In one Humvee, the observer/controller (O/C) standing in the rear hatch helps the turret gunner check his M-2 .50-caliber machine gun while the driver and vehicle commander (VC) wait for the order to move out. Although the hatch and turret are open to the sky, it feels like an oven inside. And with a helmet on, it’s not easy to hear over the rumble of the engine. The O/C calls for a weapons test fire, and the gunner cranks off a few In the mock village of Trebil, troops have completed their mission. They establish a safety zone around their Humvee so their interpreter, a high-risk target, can enter it without interference from townsfolk. rounds. Then the convoy begins to move, and almost immediately the radio crackles to life: “Bravo 42, intelligence reports enemy insurgent activity in the area, over.” The VC tells everyone to look sharp. The words have no sooner left his mouth than the gunner yells “Contact, contact!” — a pop-up target has just reared up from behind some bushes. The machine gun chatters, spent casings pinging off the walls and clattering around the Humvee’s metal floor. The VC’s M-16 adds to the din. Finally, the O/C pronounces the threat eliminated. The convoy continues down the road, and soon there’s another warning from HQ. An Iraqi informant has told com- manders that the shops in the village ahead are closing early and insurgent activity is suspected. The convoy is to secure the village and report back. But before that can happen, the gunner spots another threat, and the VC keys the mike. “This is Bravo 42 Charlie,” he says. “Suspected IED in the road at 12 o’clock, over.” HQ directs the convoy around the improvised explosive device; a team will be sent to detonate it later. “When we get to the village, there are three things I want you to ensure happens,” the O/C tells the soldiers. “This vehicle is off. The parking brake is set. And the chock block is put behind the left rear tire of the vehicle.” The [CONTINUES ON PAGE 76] FEBRUARY 2006 MILITARY OFFICER 57
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