Overwatch, Explosions, and Fast Humvees - Matt Kuroda (part 1 of 2)

WEBVTT
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Here we go.
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What's up, everybody?
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Here you go.
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All right.
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I'm Matt Corrota, commonly referred to as KK.
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But uh in 2004, uh during the time of our deployment, I was a Lance Corporal.
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Um when we when we left.
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Uh I was a team leader, but I I shifted jobs a lot.
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Yeah.
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And you were with, and remind us who you uh which platoon, which section you were with.
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So I started off with Rainmaker, and then um after a couple months in, I got switched over to Sledgehammer.
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Oh interesting.
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Right.
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Why'd you switch?
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I know a lot of people did that, they flipped back and forth.
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Yeah, so ours was a driver availability issue.
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Nice.
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So we did have enough uh drive like licensed Hum V drivers.
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Um I believe it was that it came down to, I believe it was Regalsperger that told me, uh, but it was that they were good drivers when it came to like driving stateside, you know, following traffic laws and stuff like that.
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But it came kind of like an issue when you talk about driving in Ramadi where you don't have all the traffic control, um, you know, like lights and stop signs.
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And then you're also incorporating like the combat element and convoy driving.
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So uh my name got dropped as to someone that could drive kind of without that uh, I guess, safe stateside driving etiquette due to my uh my driving history uh uh being young.
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And so basically it came down to who would accept me.
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And my squad leader, uh Sergeant Escabel, uh he accepted me.
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Uh he he gave me a tryout, and uh from there it went pretty well.
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So, you know, steep learning curve, um, mostly in the in the terrain, and then driving at night with with or without MVGs on.
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So honestly, the I had forgotten how much of the unsung hero of our deployment was our drivers.
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Um as as I as I reflect back on the absolute insanity of what we asked you guys to do.
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It's it's it it's insane.
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A that we didn't like crash all the time from just the insanity of the Iraqi drivers and the just what was going on and you know and but we were asking guys to drive at night with with the worst NVGs ever for depth perception and going mock infinity while doing so.
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It's it's it's it's insane.
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It's it's it's it's insane what you guys did for us.
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Yeah, I thought it was kind of weird because you know, people would say stuff like that, and I'm like, we're just out here driving vehicles, and like there is more to it.
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Like, I think I kind of caught on from seeing Regolsberger as a driver when I was like a dismount.
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So I saw he did a little more, you know, when once all the dismounts had left the vehicles and then kind of moved made movement away, and it was kind of just the drivers and the turret gunners, how sometimes he would you know guide other vehicles to make minor adjustments uh based on you know new observations um of what was going on.
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So I kind of picked up on that.
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Um and that was I feel like kind of just basic, like you just have to adjust sometimes.
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Uh but then the other aspect was that I'm sure you guys remember, um, but I had at some point kind of forgotten that not all of us had um ACOGs.
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Uh so it was only like two of us, I think, per platoon.
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Uh if that they had.
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But I mean that sounds right.
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I think there was eight or ten for the whole company when we first left.
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So yeah, that sounds right.
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Yeah, so I had that from when I was a dismount, um, but then I still had it when I was a driver, and then on top of that, I was also one of the um like the T triple C uh trained Marines for combat care.
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So um it was kind of hectic.
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So I had that, so in me in the vehicle, plus having uh the ACOG, so having to be flexible sometimes.
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And I think later, later on, uh I believe it was Gunny Cook that uh just made the adjustment and that we would we would just do without deploying me from as a overwatch with the with the ACOG.
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So that was interesting.
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Um I think it was interesting just how much like you know the leadership I guess trusted me with things that like having an ACOG and stuff like that, and they're like, you're gonna be overwatch and not have any like direct supervision.
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You know, occasionally like I I did have an NCO there, but not always.
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Sometimes they're just like, hey, you know, you know, Escalante and whoever just go with Kika and you're gonna be security overwatch.
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So I just important to note though, I mean you you that you weren't you weren't a bootlance corporal at the time either, though.
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I mean you had you know that like yeah, you weren't an NCO, but you you had spent some time in the fleet that you weren't an you weren't an idiot, you know.
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And so we were able to trust that you would you knew what the mission was, you know, you you knew what you were supposed to do.
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I mean, yeah, by that point you had been in for three years, right?
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At least yeah, about, yeah.
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Because we went through the Oki deployment and everything.
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So I don't know, just to me it was because you know, up until that point, like we'd always had some sort of supervision.
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Um always around, and then now the we're in a completely foreign environment, you know, that we know is you know, it's not training, and now all of a sudden, like, hey, we're gonna trust you, and you know, you should be responsible, like we've always said, and I just for me, and I was like one of the younger Marines too, out of that, you know, from our first deployment.
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I think like Aponte was the only one uh newer than me until we got the drops right before we left.
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But so it was a little bit of an adjustment.
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Um I mean, just going there, just arriving there was an adjustment because well you're kind of hitting on it.
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Just out of curiosity, how old were you in 2004?
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Um I was so actually I had my 21st birthday there, so I went there 20, I came back 21.
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So nice.
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Um, not the best 21st birthday though.
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So uh well, because my birthday is April 6th, so oh shit.
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Nice.
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You you had uh you had a lot of fireworks on your birthday.
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I was gonna say, yeah.
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Yeah, it was with a bang.
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Yeah, so actually that was like one of the most standout things.
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Uh so we had all that contact, and we actually met up, I believe it was with golf company, and uh I'm right.
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It was it was a map platoon.
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Nylon, you probably know uh you're well, so you're with Rainmaker at that point, from what you're saying, and so your yeah, your April 6th would have been um off of easy street, and you guys met up with map three.
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Yeah, it was golf golf company, the golf golf company CO, Captain Bronzi, eventually got there with their QRF and uh map three was the all the units that were in the area.
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Yeah, I remember uh Lieutenant Dobb took me and uh Le Long and we had to like go police bodies, and so like we're you know, we're picking up bodies out of the the farm field, um and it's all muddy and everything like that.
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So, you know, we're like boot top high in mud, and we're like picking up bodies for collection so we could like take them to a casualty collection point, right?
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Yeah, uh you know, I mean it's it's new experience, like I've never had to like collect dead bodies before.
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So yeah, I guess out of no other like just that my natural response was just to laugh.
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And I remember Lieutenant Dobb and like the long knew it's my birthday, but Lieutenant Dobb was like, What's so funny?
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And I'm like, it's my birthday, and this is not what I thought I'd be doing today.
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Yeah, some people go to Vegas for their 21st birthday, you know, go to the bar or something.
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Yeah, out there picking up dead bodies in a farm field.
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Yeah, so we were, yeah, just uh just between, I mean, we I feel like we did have some like contact on that day, but it was a lot of moving around, coming to support, and then you know, just doing follow-on actions.
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Like we dismounted from there, we did some foot patrolling, and I remember we hadn't eaten, and someone was like, Happy birthday.
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I think it was Tebow.
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He was like happy birthday, and he gave me uh MRE bread or cracker.
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I don't know like yeah, you guys you guys were all over the city that day.
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Like, because you went out, you went out the gate second, and then got hemmed up like right after you guys turned.
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That was your first big ambush, and then yeah, reinforced golf in map three.
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You did all this casualty collection, did some patrolling, evaced some of the golf guys, and then you guys came back out and reinforced us in the north north part of the city with map two and echo company at that point.
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And that I mean I don't I mean, I don't know how many miles you put on under fire, but I imagine it was a lot, right?
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Just uh out of everybody, you guys probably drove getting shot at the most.
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Even you may not have stopped, but you were definitely getting like shot at for many, many miles that whole time.
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It's it had to be a hell of a an awakening as far as that goes.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, that's meant.
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So I do remember the ambush, and um, but I you know, we weren't trying to like push through it, we're trying to like we're we're like pinned down, but we're trying to we're not trying to stay here and fight, we're trying to get to reinforce.
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Right.
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And so yeah, I do remember, I don't remember it happening a lot, but yeah, I do remember we're getting shot and we're just like one, they're not close enough, and they're not our priority.
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So yeah, you know, just pushing through, and then you know, in our in our Humvees that we were not set us up to be exactly prepared for that type of uh our convertibles, yeah.
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So uh with the tap down.
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Yeah.
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So and that was a funny thing too, is just um you know, the Humvees.
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I'm not gonna go into detail because I I know it's been talked about a lot, but just how we supplement them with as much armor as we could for protection.
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But yeah, that was that was one significant thing I think that stands out to a lot of us is just our vehicle situation um for most of the deployment at least.
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So I know we got some of the the uh bolt-on armor humvees later.
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Um so yeah, we got the official supplemental armor packages in like June, and then we got the the all the actual up armored Humvees in July, like it was super late as far as that goes.
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And I mean we still were in contact all summer, but it yeah, that was it was really late in the deployment to get anything with some significant Mine Strike armor or side plate armor at all.
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That was not just us making it out of hillbilly sheets of quarter inch steel.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Did you do did you do any of the welding or anything?
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I I think I remember seeing you on a working party.
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No, no, I I mean I helped move stuff, but yeah, that was that was just like very limited.
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So I remember Savage was like a big part of that.
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Um but uh I think the most oh go ahead.
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Oh no, go ahead, go ahead if you had a if you had a thought too.
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I was gonna say the most significant thing I can remember to vehicles is very late, like even after we got ours, we got a Hum V, I believe it was from the Air Force, and it had a BFT in uh Blue Force tractor system in it, and it was just like, what the hell?
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Like, we're getting all this jankety, you know, secondhand, and the Air Force was over here rolling around with you know the latest technology, and you know, I remember a couple times going on or when we went out to like Tacotum or even JC and just seeing what the other forces had as just like just basic gear was just absolutely incredible.
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And then what we were you know piecing together and trying to you know hold together with bailing wire and uh a little bit of luck.
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My favorite part of that one with the Blue Force tracker is that it had an electrical assist turret, so as you turned, it would turn for you.
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And we were up there with you know 75 pound Mark 19s, full ammo cans, and fucking trying to turn that thing by hand, and you could hear the guy up there tear tearing his shoulder out of socket trying to turn it just every time you're in contact, like yeah, that was we overloaded the shit out of those Humvees, and yeah, I'm amazed they lasted the way they did.
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I I'm a surpr I I know of only two transmissions that we blew.
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Uh I don't I don't know if there was more than that, but that's uh to your point, just really impressive of that because we were what we were doing to that, those vehicles, was well past the spAC of what it was supposed to be.
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Yep.
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Yep, and it was I mean, all the credits to those mechanics literally swapping out engines, transmissions, axles, everything under a cameonet under indirect fire, which was hitting the motor pool all the time.
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Yeah.
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Like, yeah, that was uh it was crazy as far as that goes.
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Yeah, I remember.
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Well here, I I do have a qu I uh I wanted to go back to uh something that you were saying earlier um was when you were getting put up as a designated marksman and stuff like that.
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Did was it was that right away was that right away with with Rainmaker or when you came over to Sledgehammer?
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That was right away when I was with Rainmaker.
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That was like one of Yeah.
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So when I got transitioned to Sledgehammer, the driver, I started to do it less and less just because of the the demand of being near my vehicle.
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Okay, that that's that was my clarifying because I was like, I don't remember you getting pushed up on top, and so that I was uh I just wanted to clarify that.
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No, I don't I remember like early on, kind of it was situation dependent, but it was maybe like two or three times, and then you know, Sarge Escavelle would cover for me as a driver.
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So like if they needed to get in a vehicle right away and then move, like yeah, he would drive the vehicle if he had to, and then I guess the plan was to come back for me.
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Um I don't I don't think we very we explicitly ex you know discussed what the actual plan was.
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Then if they had to take off, there was a lot of SOPs that were developed on the fly.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Well, and that that that's kind of where uh that's part of the reason why again why I was asking is because I I don't remember exactly when you came over, but I remember that there were some incidences you know coming into May where we still hadn't developed our SOPs, and we definitely were not thinking completely through how we were going to maintain uh because one of the things that Nyland and we have kind of realized is the crazy difference between what happened for 81s and everybody else.
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But because we were so heavy with personnel, we we were able just to overwhelm and be out there, and so we got very comfortable getting away from the vehicles, and I don't think uh we didn't always had a reintegration plan and a good command and control in place until until later on, where I think we kind of uh we definitely got better at it.
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But yeah, I think uh it was a lot of uh you know you know trial and error.
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Um I remember like we trained satellite patrolling, and then when we got there, and I remember we did well the first time I remembered we do it, we did it at night, so it was dark, and we're trying to do satellite patrolling, but one two issues.
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Uh the first one was calm.
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So we had I remember at least the fire team I that I was with, like we had a really hard time sustaining calm, and that was kind of like one of the key factors was being able to keep communications with the other teams, uh, so that way you could support each other.
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But the other thing was was just like once you left like a like a paved road, like a hardball road, or even a an improved road, that those alleyways and those sides side roads just were like mazes.
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So you know, one one just the natural way the buildings were laid out, but then you know, you had uh Iraqi police that set up their stations with their you know the their fire trash cans and you know garbage or you know, people strung stuff across, and so we didn't have maps that were good enough to, you know, in terms of like the building structures and stuff like that.
00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:17.439
So what do you remember of some of those early patrols like getting into the vehicle or getting into the um homes and providing Overwatch?
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Do you have any specific memories of those?
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Um Overwatch was actually it was kind of boring actually, because you know, you're watching everybody else actually go into go into buildings or or patrolling through, and you know, I'm just up there on a building, you know, watching over, just kind of looking past the patrol into the lateral laterals of the patrol.
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Um so it's kind of boring just because I'm not down there, I wasn't down there with everybody, but at the same time, it's also stressful because there's so many things to look at.
00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:04.159
Um, even though we weren't we didn't have any real training on observation.
00:21:04.639 --> 00:21:24.960
Um so you know, later the Marine Corps developed uh the Combat Hunter program, yeah, which which incorporated basic observation, um, kind of like you know the very foundation for reconnaissance and scout snipers and stuff like that, and techniques on how to spot things.
00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:29.279
Um that you know normally you would just glance over.
00:21:29.919 --> 00:21:45.199
So and then but yeah, I mean I think that was one of the stressful things was yeah, I was looking, but I was stressed out that would I see something in time to be able to act uh on it in time.
00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:48.559
So and then the other thing was having to move.
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So sometimes the patrol went further or longer than intended, and then I'm like, I have to move because I'm too far away.
00:21:57.519 --> 00:22:10.000
Um because at a certain point, the angle of fire, I wouldn't be able to, you know, shoot past them, past the patrol, because they would be in the line of fire then just because of the angle I was at.
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Because most of the time at the highest I was at was on a single story building roof.
00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:16.480
Yeah, sure.
00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:25.039
So And did you were you up there with any of the with the inner inter squad comms or were you were you without comms usually when you were up there?
00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:27.279
No, I was without comms.
00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:30.639
And so that's what I thought.
00:22:30.879 --> 00:22:39.359
Yeah, I didn't want to even even when you had a reposition, you know, like you said, sometimes you weren't even with somebody, and so you were having to take a building by yourself to get up on a new vantage point.
00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:51.039
So usually I just tried to find the highest point of like natural terrain, like a berm or something like that, instead of having to because usually it was like three of us max.
00:22:51.199 --> 00:22:53.039
And then you know, we gotta worry about clearing a building.
00:22:53.199 --> 00:22:56.399
What happens if we're in a building and we're far away from everyone?
00:22:56.799 --> 00:23:05.759
So yeah, we if we started on top of a roof, we usually didn't clear another one unless it looked like it was empty.
00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:10.879
This is all fascinating to me because I didn't do any of this shit.
00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:13.839
So and I but I had and I had an A cog too.
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Uh I remember doing that warrant officer, the our gunner, our uh battalion gunner did that like short package where we all did the shooting, and that's how they chose who got an egg cog weirdly.
00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:31.759
It was like a weird shooting package, but they didn't teach us you're right, actually.
00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:42.000
Now that you mention it, they didn't teach us anything about like what do you do with this and what are you gonna do as a guardian angel or any of these other weird terms that everybody used for Overwatch.
00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:52.799
And I now that you're saying it, I realize, right, especially as 81s, you guys hadn't done any of this stuff probably since S so I.
00:23:53.519 --> 00:24:06.159
Where as cat, I don't know what the iFav Platoon did, but I know as Kat with Gunny Mararaki, he had us doing this shit all the time, literally all the time.
00:24:06.399 --> 00:24:18.559
Uh fuck, I spent half my time in Oki doing sniper shit, doing Kim's games and Overwatch and Reconnaissance and drawing out range cards, and like I mean, he beat that shit into us so much.
00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:24.000
So I I it seemed more natural for everybody who was in the cat platoons, I think.
00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:28.480
KK, were you on were you on the trap team?
00:24:28.879 --> 00:24:32.079
Uh no, I was uh alternate, I was in the other section.
00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:33.039
Okay, yeah.
00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:39.119
So we we did do all the trap state side, but then when we went on that deployment, we were the alternate.
00:24:39.439 --> 00:24:40.399
Oh, you did do it on the on the trap.
00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:43.759
Yeah, while you guys were on the well deck, we were in our in our bunks.
00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:47.119
Yeah, I know.
00:24:49.119 --> 00:25:14.079
I I the advantage is I got to do some cool things in helicopters, but yeah, uh the reason why I say it is because what you're describing, Nylan, I think some of us in 81s got to experience it going through going through the trap schools because we needed to man track and we needed to be able to, if we did have to go do a recovery, um, be able to navigate a little bit differently.
00:25:14.159 --> 00:25:15.359
But it makes sense.
00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:18.480
No, not not at the not at the level that you guys did by any means.
00:25:18.639 --> 00:25:18.879
Yeah.
00:25:19.439 --> 00:25:21.519
No, yeah, we were kind of just winging it.
00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:54.240
The one thing I do remember, so I remember we spent a lot of time in the backyard range, just shooting, I don't know, hundreds of thousands of rounds, um, like sometimes days on end, but I remember him just like beating into me like you know close combat marshmallow with a magnified optic, because you know, we'd never had him before it was just all iron sights, and I had shot some guns before the Marine Corps, but you know, very little.
00:25:54.319 --> 00:26:04.000
I wasn't like you know, I grew up in Portland, Oregon area, so not a lot of of hunting or or anything like that going on.
00:26:04.159 --> 00:26:20.559
So, you know, going from iron sights to you know going to uh to the magnified ACOG was a lot of adjustment at first, but uh thankfully Ghani Meraki made sure I got there before we left.
00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:32.159
Um so that was one good thing because with all the house clearing we did do, uh it was definitely useful to be acclimated to using it.
00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:40.480
So on the topic of state side and kind of some of that training that we did, uh you know, you would have gone to Bridgeport with us, and I'm sure you went to March.
00:26:40.639 --> 00:26:50.399
Um, but did you go into any other uh division you know, po after Oki before before we deployed um in that fall of oh three, I guess that would be.
00:26:50.639 --> 00:26:58.000
Did you go to any division schools or any did they kick you over to go do anything else, or did you just stay with the platoon and do the training packages that were there?
00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:01.279
I just stayed with the platoon and did the packages there.
00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:14.399
So um no, yeah, I remember going to Bridgeport, March, and then uh we did a SOTG raid package.
00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:18.319
Um I think that was after our first deployment.
00:27:19.039 --> 00:27:23.599
I don't remember that one, but I was also gone a lot, so I don't know if I just didn't participate.
00:27:23.919 --> 00:27:31.359
Yeah, so those are really the major events I can remember uh preparing for Iraq.
00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:49.679
So um, but I think one thing kind of we're talking about training, but we were we were doing a significant amount of combat training and preparation, but we were also gearing up for Sasso, you know, right to conduct SASO.
00:27:50.240 --> 00:28:06.079
Uh and so when we got there, like yes, we were doing some of that stuff, but it very quickly came to an end where we were doing the hearts and minds and meeting with the local populace.
00:28:06.399 --> 00:28:27.599
Uh you know, I remember I remember units would go to the government center and they would have meetings and stuff like that, but um that was kind of just like I don't know, I think just like uh in my training mindset, and then just like you know, this is like these this is the enemy type things.
00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:41.919
Like, yes, we know we're gonna be fighting enemies that look like civilians, um, but just how I don't know, it was just weird to me dealing with those people and be like, hey, we're trying to be your friend.
00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:48.240
Um, you know, I know it was like no greater, no greater friend, no worse enemy, but it was just weird to me.
00:28:48.319 --> 00:29:05.519
So I think when we did end up, you know, in April, you know, having that, you know, the combat um startup heavy that that felt more natural for why we were there.
00:29:06.159 --> 00:29:06.799
Right.
00:29:07.199 --> 00:29:09.199
Well, it felt more like a marine mission anyway.
00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:09.519
Yeah.
00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:25.759
I remember seeing a picture somewhere, and I know actually, because especially since you were with Rainmaker early and then Sledgehammer later, you guys did more sasso stuff than that than my platoon did for damn sure.
00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:30.159
I remember seeing pictures of you guys like playing soccer with kids at some point.
00:29:30.399 --> 00:29:31.599
Were you part of that?
00:29:31.919 --> 00:29:34.720
Um, I was there, I did not play soccer.
00:29:35.039 --> 00:29:36.720
Yeah, I'm just curious.
00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:51.599
I I I've never asked anybody, and I've seen that picture like a million times, but I uh do you remember the like the situation where you guys just like you just showed up at a soccer stadium and started playing soccer, or were you specifically there to meet with somebody and then like something like a soccer game broke out?
00:29:51.679 --> 00:29:52.879
Do you remember at all?
00:29:53.279 --> 00:29:56.399
Um, I don't remember specifically.
00:29:56.879 --> 00:30:01.599
I remember we were that was like where we were planning on going was to the stadium.
00:30:01.919 --> 00:30:15.759
Um I don't remember anything about it being planned to you know play soccer with them, but I believe that we went there with the intent of you know interacting with with the people there.
00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:21.839
So I think the soccer game is just kind of what happened because that's what they were doing there.
00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:23.359
Nice.
00:30:23.679 --> 00:30:25.919
Do you remember any other unusual missions?
00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:27.199
Like you mentioned the government center.
00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:28.559
I think almost everybody went there.
00:30:28.639 --> 00:30:32.960
Do you remember anything else where you guys did stuff that was kind of out of the normal?
00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:38.319
Um no, not not mission-wise.
00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:38.879
Okay.
00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:52.480
Um I mean, there were like small instances where I personally like I think like mostly driving, so um like my driving etiquette was a little bit fast than the furious.
00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:59.679
So just uh I don't know.
00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:05.359
I just testing, I guess testing the boundaries of of Humvees and how fast they could go.
00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:15.759
Um, you know, into because uh, you know, you make the you leave hurricane point and then you make the left, and then I believe you go down Nova.
00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:23.279
But yeah, we were like QRF and they're just like, hey, we're going out, but they didn't we didn't get a real good brief on the route.
00:31:23.439 --> 00:31:42.319
And so I'm the tell vehicle, and then uh I just see all the headlights like disappear or all the tell lights disappear before I see headlights going to the right, and so like I didn't really have time to slow down enough, and so yeah, we probably almost went over the levy on that one.
00:31:44.879 --> 00:31:57.679
Nice, and then yeah, and then we were going out on another QRF response, and uh, I believe it was into response to an ambush.
00:31:57.839 --> 00:32:16.480
Uh but I don't remember the exact route, but when we were going, there was gravel on the road, and so when I went to turn, we we skid, you know, I drifted um the nice nice what did uh what did Sergeant E have to say about those uh those incidences?
00:32:17.199 --> 00:32:24.480
Um I think I don't remember which one, but I remember one that was I pretty sure it was like, oh shit, we're gonna die.
00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:50.159
And actually the only time I think there was like, and it wasn't like that big of a deal, but he was like, hey, we were leaving from uh from a raid and we had to go through like the compound uh gate, and he's all like, Don't hit the gate, and I'm like, I'm like, okay.
00:32:50.639 --> 00:33:00.480
And so he because he said that because he was you know leaning over to grab something, and then I did actually hit the gate a little bit, and then he's like, fuck.
00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:06.879
Uh oh yeah, ramming stuff with the Humvees.
00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:08.799
I know we did that a couple times.
00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:17.519
Um I don't think it worked out most of the time in our favor, but I do remember Gunny Cook would never let me be the vehicle to do that.
00:33:18.240 --> 00:33:25.759
So I always volunteered and never got selected.
00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:29.279
Do you have any uh speaking of any raids?
00:33:29.359 --> 00:33:36.079
Uh I would imagine you'd be probably more on the inner chord on type uh positioning and stuff like that.
00:33:36.159 --> 00:33:39.439
But any uh any of those uh stick out to you in particular?
00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:43.359
Um we went on quite a few night raids.
00:33:43.439 --> 00:33:44.639
So we did.
00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:47.279
They kind of all blend together.
00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:59.839
Um, I think the most significant one was based off of like some intel from external to the battalion, but it was like a giant compound and it was like a joint raid.
00:33:59.919 --> 00:34:06.639
Like there were people from uh from Junction City there from Dorn Mount.
00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:08.800
Are you talking about the one that was in town?
00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:09.440
Yeah, yeah.
00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:11.119
Yeah, yeah.
00:34:11.280 --> 00:34:13.760
So and then Oliver North was there, that one.
00:34:14.240 --> 00:34:15.280
I believe so, yeah.
00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:16.720
Yeah, that was another thing.
00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:18.880
Yeah, riding with Oliver North.
00:34:19.199 --> 00:34:20.960
Um that was interesting.
00:34:21.599 --> 00:34:25.519
Were you on the one that was it was a big ass place?
00:34:25.679 --> 00:34:28.960
It was way out in, it was way north of town.
00:34:29.199 --> 00:34:33.519
Um out in the middle of nowhere, but the place was fucking huge.
00:34:33.760 --> 00:34:40.159
Like they had a whole their kit the kitchen, the outside kitchen was like the same size as like a lot of the houses in town.
00:34:40.480 --> 00:34:45.039
And it had like this really fancy bedroom, and we found a bunch like just a crap load of cash.
00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:47.279
Like it was so much money.
00:34:47.679 --> 00:34:48.719
I don't know if you remember that.
00:34:50.639 --> 00:34:55.920
It was just us, like we rolled up there and we didn't, it like did not like it was the place was fucking big.
00:34:57.360 --> 00:34:58.880
Yeah, I don't remember that one.
00:34:59.199 --> 00:35:09.119
I do remember one where there was it was pretty big, and there was like right on set inside the wall, there was like a bunch of like bird cages and stuff.
00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.000
Like, I don't know if that was the same one, but I don't remember the.
00:35:14.319 --> 00:35:20.159
Yeah, we were I was on the inner cordon on that one, and so there was not a lot of action going on in the inner cordon.
00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:27.519
Well, the one that I'm thinking of, there was no there was nothing, there was no action specifically.
00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:30.719
We yeah, there was uh there was a family.
00:35:31.679 --> 00:35:38.159
I'm remembering people being there, but I mean we were in and like that was later on.
00:35:38.319 --> 00:35:58.000
I I remember it was probably July time frame because I remember having up armored Humbies, but we hit it hard and fast and uh like we were on like we were on target and then in the house in like nano seven seconds, and so anyways.
00:35:59.279 --> 00:36:17.679
Yeah, I remember like going into this more when I was with Rainmaker, but going in and just you know, I I think Roach had talked about it, but just like going in and you got a lot of women just screaming, kids freaking out, um, you know, especially when you go to separate them.
00:36:18.159 --> 00:36:31.759
So that was, you know, and I'm not one that grasped the language very well, so it was a lot of uh signaling and you know, kind of just trying to force English on them.
00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:32.400
Yeah.
00:36:32.639 --> 00:36:35.279
Uh you know, I'm used to it.
00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:40.639
It has happened to me where you know you just talk louder and slower and enunciate.
00:36:43.759 --> 00:36:44.079
No.
00:36:44.639 --> 00:36:44.960
Okay.
00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:50.799
Yes, that that's that's literally one of my favorite memories of you, dude.
00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:52.239
Yeah.
00:36:54.159 --> 00:36:56.480
Yeah, I think we talked about it before.
00:36:56.559 --> 00:36:58.559
Um when we were in Fuji.
00:36:58.719 --> 00:37:05.279
Yeah, and I had to I know I know it's not the I know it's not uh the anarch story, but it it's too good of a story.
00:37:05.519 --> 00:37:06.000
Uh tell it.
00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:06.880
Please tell it.
00:37:06.960 --> 00:37:07.759
Yeah, no, I'm intrigued.
00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:10.159
Tell the quick version of it, KK.
00:37:10.400 --> 00:37:11.440
Okay, so we were in Fuji.
00:37:12.799 --> 00:37:18.799
We were shooting, um, but we had the orb old mortar rounds with the teabags.
00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:25.119
Um, so they weren't like the donut-shaped ones with the like the poly outer.
00:37:25.279 --> 00:37:32.159
Uh, they were literally like kind of like teabag uh with increment, you know, gunpowder.
00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:38.400
Um, so they got wet, and so we were having a bunch of issues, short rounds, um, and stuff like that.
00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:45.599
And so we needed to tell the Japanese that we were not going to be shooting anymore because of that.
00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:53.199
And so um I was unaware of that part where we were gonna tell the Japanese until someone came and got me.
00:37:53.360 --> 00:37:58.559
I believe it was uh Gunny Cook, he was a staff sergeant at the time, but he came and got me.
00:37:58.719 --> 00:38:00.239
He explained it to me.
00:38:00.400 --> 00:38:08.799
Um, he also explained that he already told our platoon commander that I didn't actually speak Japanese um while I was sober.
00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:13.039
Uh so but he insisted that I be brought up.
00:38:13.279 --> 00:38:24.880
And so they hand me this card of like their like pre-typed out Japanese phrases, um, and this Japanese military guy standing in front of me.
00:38:24.960 --> 00:38:28.319
And so he's like, our lieutenant was like, just tell him.
00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:29.360
I'm like, okay.
00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:37.360
And I was just like, we are not shooting anymore because they're wet.
00:38:41.440 --> 00:38:51.840
And uh and for and and for our listeners out there, um uh KK is uh is ethnically uh Japanese.
00:38:52.079 --> 00:39:05.119
Japanese and so uh the the great uh Marine Corps assumption is is that if you are ethnically anything, you automatically know how to sure uh speak Japanese um with telepathy.
00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:10.319
And so we're just gonna have an international incident um by by proxy.
00:39:10.400 --> 00:39:23.679
And so yeah, but that's what it was like talking to you know those Iraqis that you know I know you were one of the ones that grasped the language better, but I really had no clue.
00:39:23.840 --> 00:39:32.960
Like I understood when they were saying like common phrases, um, but I wasn't like really, I didn't feel like I was I didn't grasp it well enough to respond.
00:39:33.199 --> 00:39:41.039
So it was a lot of that, you know, telling them to, you know, you go over here, you go over there, be quiet.
00:39:41.519 --> 00:39:55.279
Um you know, but then at the same time, you know, in retrospect, it's like, hey, be quiet while I point my gun at you, you know, like I got my rifle pointing at you, but I need you to be quiet.
00:39:55.599 --> 00:39:55.920
Right.
00:39:56.079 --> 00:40:08.639
Uh I I I really worked on making sure that I understood how to explain in my as well as I could to be calming to to the situation.
00:40:08.880 --> 00:40:15.840
And uh I found that to be a lot more productive to the larger set of what our objectives were.
00:40:16.159 --> 00:40:28.079
Um especially when we I mean they're towards uh for a while there when when our standing order was to take anybody between you know 16 and 60.
00:40:28.319 --> 00:40:38.639
And so it was just being like you can go pick them up, but they're gonna be at you know over at Junction City, and they would get released and they would get picked up later.
00:40:38.719 --> 00:40:43.679
Uh usually not even 24 hours later, usually they process them pretty quick.
00:40:44.079 --> 00:40:51.039
So yeah, yeah, I remember early on, you know, having to deal with that stuff.
00:40:51.279 --> 00:41:07.840
Um, I do remember like after well, I think it was like not April 6th, but you know, following, like we started sandbagging, you know uh detainees, and they'd they'd be freaking out.
00:41:08.719 --> 00:41:09.599
The hoods, yeah.
00:41:09.759 --> 00:41:12.319
Putting the sandbag as a hood so they can't see, yeah.
00:41:12.559 --> 00:41:16.239
Yeah, because you know, we ran we only had so many goggles prepared, you know.
00:41:16.400 --> 00:41:24.799
We had these detainee kits, but we only had so many, and so you know, in our I in our minds, we were being really smart.
00:41:24.880 --> 00:41:29.519
We're just adapting and we're putting a sandbag over their head, and you know, they're freaking out.
00:41:29.679 --> 00:41:34.239
We think it's just like natural, but we you know, we didn't know why they were freaking out at the time.
00:41:34.639 --> 00:41:46.400
Well the first iteration of that we put tape over their eyes, and that I I again I don't remember the historical context, but one of the interpreters was like, that means execution, right?
00:41:46.480 --> 00:41:50.159
Like there, there's like something about they're like, okay, we'll put bags over their heads.
00:41:50.400 --> 00:41:53.840
Well, that wasn't any better either, because yeah, they started freaking out over that too.
00:41:53.920 --> 00:42:12.719
So yeah, I I'm sure modernly we've definitely figured out a better way to do it, but uh yeah, oh well, well, when we didn't even have like real, I mean, I remember there was only a handful of us that had like the nicer uh like flex cuff handcuffed.
00:42:13.039 --> 00:42:14.319
Oh, actual zipper versions.
00:42:14.880 --> 00:42:44.960
Yeah, like there was there's a couple of us that were able to run around with it, but I remember I remember getting very adept at uh using my knife tip to un unlink it a little bit so I could actually reuse it when we were yeah, when we were doing a handoff over uh coming into into JC or uh the few times that we had to run them further, but uh just because they were I mean now they're easy, they would be easy to get, but man, that was like goddamn worth gold.
00:42:45.039 --> 00:42:45.279
Yep.
00:42:45.360 --> 00:42:51.519
Uh yeah, because they were thick and they were nice, and probably more comfortable for the detainee, too.
00:42:51.840 --> 00:42:59.920
They were sub and they were also sub, at least the good ones, the ones that were actual zip cuffs, had a uh steel band reinforcement in them, so you couldn't cut them on something.
00:43:00.079 --> 00:43:05.360
Because that was always the the thing, like they, you know, oh I could rub it against a rock or something and cut through it.
00:43:05.440 --> 00:43:07.279
And they're like, okay, go ahead and try, right?
00:43:07.440 --> 00:43:14.239
And that's probably where half of them went was Lance corporals putting them on themselves and trying to cut through it with uh with a rock to try to test them out.
00:43:14.319 --> 00:43:16.639
But they had a steel band in them, so you couldn't cut through them.
00:43:17.440 --> 00:43:20.239
I don't remember any of our I di uh Nyland.
00:43:20.400 --> 00:43:39.599
I don't did you I don't know if you did in KK, I don't know if it was if you had this with Terrain Maker, but I don't remember any any EPWs giving us any trouble after they were detained, like really giving us a like once once we had them, we we didn't that big of a deal.
00:43:39.759 --> 00:43:41.440
We didn't especially if we had the back of the truck.
00:43:41.599 --> 00:43:43.199
Oh, did you have a lot get we did?
00:43:43.840 --> 00:43:44.400
Yeah, we did.
00:43:44.480 --> 00:43:54.480
We uh there was a I mean one specifically I remember there was people dressed as Iraqi police that were not well again, I don't know, maybe they were police recruits, but they're wearing recruit uniforms.
00:43:54.880 --> 00:44:16.559
And uh two of them specifically tried to fight and then run, and they had to be more further further detained with uh 550 cord and and tied because our zip cuffs weren't we didn't have zip cuffs, we had zip ties which were dry as shit from the hundred and twenty degree weather.
00:44:16.799 --> 00:44:19.360
And uh and so we just used five fifty cord.
00:44:19.679 --> 00:44:22.400
I'm not saying it didn't happen, I just personally don't remember it.
00:44:22.799 --> 00:44:27.679
It was not common, but it that was the only one specifically I can remember where they they were yeah.
00:44:28.719 --> 00:44:30.319
Yeah, try to do anything.
00:44:31.840 --> 00:44:40.319
So KK, do you remember any of the uh I we also did a lot of runs um out.
00:44:40.639 --> 00:44:49.199
So ran out to Tacotum, ran out to Al Assad, um did several other missions that got a little bit further outside of our AAO.
00:44:49.360 --> 00:44:51.279
Do you have any memories of those?
00:44:52.000 --> 00:45:02.960
Um no, I remember driving and you know I think most of them were at night, so nothing's significant.
00:45:03.039 --> 00:45:30.559
It was just kind of a pain than getting yelled at for dispersion or not enough or too much, or you know, like but that was like a thing, like going back to the the you know, our SOPs or our TTPs was not so much just we just kind of had the standard dispersion in between, but um to mitigate, you know, getting stacked up and multiple vehicles getting hit by IED.
00:45:30.799 --> 00:45:47.440
But you know, we would have times where you know we would all just push through the IED blast, or you know, the vehicles, you know, at and in front would just push through and everyone behind it would would stop and then back up.
00:45:48.239 --> 00:45:56.480
So I think that was you know, I basically had to wait till Sergeant E would tell me what we were doing at that time.
00:45:56.719 --> 00:46:12.960
So sure because I do remember um I wasn't a driver at this time, but I remember uh I don't know who else was in there, but Wade was in the vehicle.
00:46:13.119 --> 00:46:45.279
Um his truck got hit, and then they had a gas can in the back, and you know, it got all over him, but we were behind that vehicle, and so you know, we stopped and we're trying to figure out what's going on, and so finally they're just like push through, push through, and like you know, we had then stopped because that's what we were doing at that time, so I think that was there was a lot of confusion for the drivers on what exactly we were doing and what specific situation when it came to IEDs.
00:46:46.239 --> 00:46:59.920
And sometimes, like specifically, I remember one uh they had planted a 155 shell inside of like freshly like a fresh concrete curb.
00:47:00.799 --> 00:47:10.079
So um like it blew and we were right next to it, and we just I was a tail end vehicle, but we just pushed through.
00:47:10.319 --> 00:47:23.920
Um, and then I guess they just radioed it back because I'm I know like Sergeant E radioed it forward um to Gunny Cook and the lead vehicle, but I imagine they just radioed it back and we just kept going.
00:47:25.599 --> 00:47:28.239
In in retrospect, I kind of had forgotten.
00:47:28.319 --> 00:47:38.719
Um, it was after the conversation with uh Lieutenant Wells, it rem he reminded me that there was quite a few times that we were hit with an IED.
00:47:38.880 --> 00:47:44.319
And just because there is a larger mission going on or you know something else would be like bug it, you know.
00:47:44.400 --> 00:47:48.799
Yeah, we'll just call in the put call in the position and you know let somebody else deal with it.
00:47:48.880 --> 00:47:52.880
And I'm not even sure if they called a always a QRF out to it.
00:47:53.039 --> 00:47:55.920
Um it was just oh I doubt I highly doubt it.
00:47:56.000 --> 00:47:56.239
Yeah.
00:47:56.559 --> 00:48:00.319
Just hey, if there's a patrol nearby, take a take a quick peek.
00:48:01.119 --> 00:48:01.759
Yeah.
00:48:03.119 --> 00:48:04.960
It was just so common at that time.
00:48:05.039 --> 00:48:06.239
So, anyways.
00:48:07.199 --> 00:48:12.799
Yeah, I remember you know, we were dealing with, you know, in that time of IEDs, we were dealing with triggermen.
00:48:13.119 --> 00:48:23.840
So typically they wouldn't be too far away because they'd be either using like a short-range radio device, like a like a garage clicker or something like that, or they would be doing it manually with like a car battery.
00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:45.920
But um, you know, I think the most significant time where that was frustrating was you know when Savage got hit, when you know, and that we were just I mean, after the initial, we were kind of just amped on like finding someone, and I feel like most of the time we didn't find anyone.
00:48:46.159 --> 00:49:10.639
Um, we might find where they were, like we might find the device or we might find the battery and the wires, but um that was IEDs were definitely the most frustrating uh part of all that, and then I wasn't there, but um I believe it was uh Sledgehammer uh when I was with Rainmaker, but you guys hit that bike IED.
00:49:11.119 --> 00:49:14.000
Yes, uh Worth, yeah, got Worth, yeah.
00:49:14.239 --> 00:49:15.360
Well right his eye.
00:49:15.519 --> 00:49:23.039
So you know that was I think that was like the wake up and I mean that was a hard day.
00:49:23.519 --> 00:49:25.199
That was super early in the deployment.
00:49:25.279 --> 00:49:30.239
I really I that was the one that I remember being like, oh, this is this is gonna get worse.
00:49:30.559 --> 00:49:34.000
This is gonna get much worse before it gets better, because it was back to back.
00:49:34.159 --> 00:49:49.920
McPherson had got hit, and we all heard the story of his jaw getting blown off, and they picked his jaw up and put it in an MRE bag and all that, and he flew out, and like everybody was like, you know, he's alive, but right, but you know, his face is blown off, and it's like, oh fuck.
00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:52.719
Like, I I I don't know about you, but I feel like everybody knew McPherson.
00:49:53.039 --> 00:49:57.519
He was like, Oh yeah, he was friends with everybody, he's a you know, larger than life personality, right?
00:49:57.759 --> 00:50:04.639
Yeah, and then it was a week later that Worth got hit, and now Warth's getting flown out, and his his face is blown off.
00:50:04.799 --> 00:50:06.880
I was like, okay, well, all of us are gonna get our face blown off.
00:50:06.960 --> 00:50:13.759
Like, we've been here a week, and this is you know, people the multiple people that I know are are getting hit in the face with shit.
00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:16.079
And uh yeah.
00:50:16.480 --> 00:50:19.039
Well, an engineer had gotten hit in the you know, two.
00:50:19.360 --> 00:50:23.119
I mean, he didn't survive it with the RPG, but yeah I mean that was right after that.
00:50:23.199 --> 00:50:24.480
It was two days after Warth.
00:50:24.639 --> 00:50:25.199
Yeah, yeah.
00:50:25.360 --> 00:50:25.759
Yeah, yeah.
00:50:25.920 --> 00:50:28.159
It was there were two engineers, wasn't it?
00:50:28.400 --> 00:50:29.759
It was two engineers got hit.
00:50:29.840 --> 00:50:32.159
Uh Dang died, and the other guy was had to leave.
00:50:32.239 --> 00:50:39.840
Yeah, he was if you like what you've heard, this is a multi part episode.
00:50:39.920 --> 00:50:41.920
Make sure you listen to the rest of the story.