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A Memory From the Desert
I was driving home from school last night and thought of this. It made me laugh.
My team was supporting 2nd Battalion 6th Marines (2/6) in the city of Falluja. We were working with a combined anti-armor team (CAT) that had been transitioned to conduct normal infantry patrols. The patrol leader was Lieutenant Martin Keough, the smartest platoon commander I worked with during my deployment. We were at the firmbase between patrols, resting and getting ready for the next one, when we all heard a monstrous boom in the distance. A large cloud of black smoke rose a couple miles away, coming from inside the city. Marty had been inside the firmbase’s ops center and came out trotting, but not quite running. He said loudly, “An SVBIED (suicide vehicle borne IED) just hit ECP 1(entry control point 1, an entrance to the city). Let’s go.” Sometimes other IED attacks follow, and with such a large IED (the largest I saw or heard during my time in Iraq) follow-on attacks were likely.
Marty came over to me and said “We’ve got to go check this out, but you don’t have to if…” I stopped him in mid-sentence and replied “F*&k yeah, we’re going.” That seemed to be good enough for him. We mounted up and went to check it out. We didn’t find any trouble on that patrol. We merely provided security for evacuating the dead and wounded. However, these days I miss the opportunity to get invited to stir up trouble with terrorists and relay the same message that I did to Marty that day.
your response made me smile, as well. in my work with Marines (and being the mother of one), i’m always taken with their their clarity about what they need to do and where they need to be. no ambivalence or ambiguity . . . just a clear sense of purpose. a decided rarity in our complex world. well done, Marine.
i also appreciate the distinction you made that you are a Marine who is now in a civilian role. well said, Marine.