No politics here, just a Marine (Captain Jordan) with a bird's eye view,
talking about weapons and the war to retired General G. Ilmoyal, USAF.
1) The M-16 rifle:
Thumbs down. Chronic jamming problems with the talcum powder like sand
over there. The sand is everywhere. Jordan said you feel filthy 2
minutes after coming out of the shower. The M-4 carbine version is more
popular because it's lighter and shorter, but it has jamming problems
also.
They lack the ability to mount the various optical gun sights and
weapons lights on the picattiny rails, but the weapon itself is not good
in a desert environment. The men hate the 5.56mm (.223) ammo. Poor
penetration on cinder block structures (common construction over here)
and even torso hits can't be reliably counted on to put the enemy down.
Fun fact:
Random autopsies on dead insurgents show a high level of opiate use.
2) The M243 SAW (squad assault weapon): 223 cal. drum fed light machine
gun. Big thumbs down. Universally considered a piece of sh?t. Chronic
jamming problems, most of which require partial disassembly (that's not
easy in the middle of a firefight).
3) The M9 Bernetta 9mm:
Mixed bag. Good gun, performs well in desert environment; but the men
hate the 9mm cartridge. The use of handguns for self-defense is actually
fairly common. Same old story on the 9mm: Bad guys hit multiple times
and still stay in the fight.
4) Mossberg 12ga. Military shotgun:
Works well, used frequently for clearing houses to good effect.
5) The M240 Machine Gun: .308 cal. belt fed machine gun, developed to
replace the old M-60 (what a beautiful weapon that was!!). Thumbs up.
Accurate, reliable, and the 7.62 round puts 'em down. Originally
developed as a vehicle mounted weapon, more and more are being
dismounted and taken into the field by infantry. The 7.62 round chews up
the cider block structure over here.
6) The M2 50 cal heavy machine gun:
Thumbs way, way up. "Ma deuce" is still worth her considerable weight in
gold. The ultimate fight stopper, puts their dicks in the dirt every
time. The most coveted weapon in-theater.
7) The .45 pistol:
Thumbs up. Still the best pistol out there. Everybody authorized to
carry a sidearm is trying to get their hands on one. With few
exceptions, can reliably be expected to put 'em down with a torso hit.
The special ops guys (who are doing most of the pistol work) use the HK
military model and supposedly love it. The old government model .45's
are being re-issued en mass.
8) The M-14:
Thumbs up. They are being re-issued in bulk, mostly in a modified
version to special ops guys. Modifications include lightweight Kevlar
stocks and low power red dot or ACOG sights. Very reliable in the sandy
environment, and they love the 7.62 round.
9) The Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle:
Thumbs way up. Spectacular range and accuracy and hits like a freight
train. Used frequently to take out vehicle suicide bombers (we actually
stop a lot of those guys) and barricaded enemy. It is here to stay.
10) The M24 sniper rifle:
Thumbs up. Mostly in .308 but some in 300 win mag. Heavily modified
Remington 700's. Great performance. Snipers have been used heavily to
great effect. Rumor has it a marine sniper on his third tour in Anbar
province has actually exceeded Carlos Hathcock's record for confirmed
kills with OVER 100.
11) The new body armor:
Thumbs up. Relatively light at approx. 6 lbs.and can reliably be
expected to soak up small shrapnel and even will stop an AK-47 round.
The bad news is: Hot as sh?t to wear, almost unbearable in the summer
(averages over 120 degrees). Also, the enemy now goes for head shots
whenever possible. All the ?????? about the "old" body armor making our
guys vulnerable to the IED's was a non-starter. The IED explosions are
enormous and body armor doesn't make any difference at all in most
cases.
12) Night Vision and Infrared Equipment:
Thumbs way up. Spectacular performance. Our guys see in the dark and we
own the night, period. Very little enemy action after evening prayers.
More and more enemy being whacked at night by our hunter-killer teams.
We've all seen the videos.
13) Lights:
Thumbs up. Most of the weapon mounted and personal lights are
Surefire's, and the troops love 'em. Invaluable for night urban
operations. Jordan carried a $34 Surefire G2 on a neck lanyard and loved
it. I cant help but notice that most of the good fighting weapons and
ordnance are 50 or more years old!!
With all our technology,it's the WWII and Vietnam era weapons that our
men want. The infantry fighting is frequent, up close and brutal. No
quarter is given or shown.
Bad guy weapons:
1) Mostly Russian AK47's.
The entire country is an arsenal. Works better in the desert than the
M16 and the .308 Russian round kills reliably. PKM belt fed light
machine guns are also common and effective. Luckily, the enemy mostly
shoots like sh?t.
Undisciplined "spray and pray" type fire. However, they are seeing more
and more precision weapons, especially sniper rifles. (Iran supplied)
Fun fact:
Captured enemy have marveled at the marksmanship of our guys and how
hard they fight. They are told in Jihad military school that Americans
rely solely on technology, and can be easily beaten in close quarters
combat for their lack of toughness. Let's just say they know better now.
2) The RPG:
Probably the infantry weapon most feared by our guys. Simple, reliable
and as common as dog sh?t. The enemy responded to our recent up-armored
Humvees by aiming at the windshields, often at point blank range. Still
killing a lot of our guys.
3) The IED:
The biggest killer of all. Can be anything from old Soviet anti-armor
mines to jury rigged artillery shells. Several IEDs found in Jordan's
area were in abandoned cars. The enemy will take 2 or 3 155 mm artillery
shells and wire them together. Most are detonated by cell phone and the
explosions are enormous. You're not safe in any vehicle, even an M-1
tank. Driving is by far the most dangerous thing our guys do over there.
Lately, they are much more sophisticated "shape charges" (Iranian)
specifically designed to penetrate armor. Fact: Most of the ready made
IED's are supplied by Iran, who is also providing terrorists (Hezbollah
types) to train the insurgents in their use and tactics. That's why the
attacks have been so deadly lately.
Their concealment methods are ingenious, the latest being shape charges,
in Styrofoam containers spray painted to look like cinderblocks.
Cinderblocks litter all Iraqi roads. We find about 40% before they
detonate, and the bomb disposal guys are unsung heroes of this war.
4) Mortars and rockets:
Very prevalent. The soviet era 122mm rockets (with an 18km range) are
becoming more prevalent. One of Jordan's NCO's lost a leg to one. These
weapons cause a lot of damage "inside the wire". Jordan's base was hit
almost daily his entire time there by mortar and rocket fire, often at
night to disrupt sleep patterns and cause fatigue (It did). More of a
psychological weapon than anything else. The enemy mortar teams would
jump out of vehicles, fire a few rounds, and then haul ass in a matter
of seconds.
5) Bad guy technology:
Simple yet effective. Most communication is by cell and satellite
phones, and also by email on laptops. They use hand held GPS units for
navigation and "Googleearth" for overhead views of our positions. Their
weapons are good, if not fancy, and prevalent. Their explosives and bomb
technology is TOP OF THE LINE. Night vision is rare. They are very
careless with their equipment and the enemy GPS units and laptops are
treasure troves of intelligence when captured.
6) Who are the bad guys (that is what the Captain called them)
Most of the carnage is caused by the Zarqawi Al Qaeda group. They
operate mostly in Anbar province (Fallujah and Ramadi). These are mostly
"foreigners", non-Iraqi Sunni Arab Jihadists from all over the Muslim
world (and Europe). Most enter Iraq through Syria (with, of course, the
knowledge and complicity of the Syrian govt.), and then travel down the
"rat line" which is the trail of towns along the Euphrates River that
we've been hitting hard for the last few months. Some are vrtually
untrained young Jihadists that often end up as suicide bombers or in
various "sacrifice squads". Most, however, are hard core terrorists from
all the usual suspects (Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas etc.). These are the
guys who run around murdering civilians en masse and cutting heads off.
The Chechens (many of whom are Caucasian), are supposedly the
most ruthless and the best fighters (they have been fighting the
Russians for years). In the Baghdad area and south, most of the
insurgents are Iranian inspired (and led) Iraqi Shiites. The Iranian
Shiia have been very adept at infiltrating the Iraqi local govt.'s, the
police forces and the Army. They have had a massive spy and agitator
network there since the
Iran-Iraq war in the early 80's. Most of the Saddam loyalists were
killed, captured or gave up long ago.
7) Bad Guy Tactics:
When they are engaged on an infantry level they get their asses kicked
every time. Brave, but stupid. Suicidal Banzai-type charges were very
common earlier in the war and still occur. They will literally sacrifice
8-10 man teams in suicide squads by sending them screaming and firing
AK's and RPG's directly at our bases just to probe the defenses. They
get mowed down like grass every time (see the M2 and M240 above).
Jordan's base was hit like this often. When engaged, the enemy have a
tendency to flee to the same building, probably for what they think will
be a glorious last stand. Instead, we call in air support and that's the
end of it, more often than not. These hole-ups are referred to as AWR
(Allah's Waiting Room). We have the laser guided ground-air thing down
to a science. Jet fighters, mostly Marine F-18's, are taking an ever
increasing toll on the enemy. When caught out in the open, helicopter
gunships and AC-130 gunships cut them to ribbons with cannon and rocket
fire, especially at night. Interestingly, plain artillery is rarely
used.
Fun fact:
The enemy death toll is supposedly between 45-50 thousand. That's why we
see less and less infantry attacks and more IED, suicide bomber sh?t.
The reason for the new strategy is just simple attrition. The insurgent
tactic most frustrating is their use of civilian noncombatants as cover.
They know we will do all we can to avoid civilian casualties and
therefore schools, hospitals and (especially) Mosques are locations
where they meet, stage for attacks, cache weapons and ammo, then flee to
when engaged. They have absolutely no regard whatsoever for inflicting
civilian casualties. They will terrorize locals and murder without
hesitation anyone believed to be sympathetic to the Americans or the new
Iraqi govt. Kidnapping of family members (especially children) is common
to influence people they are trying to influence but can't reach, such
as local govt. officials, clerics, tribal leaders, etc.).
The first thing our guys are told is "don't get captured". They know
that if captured they will be tortured and beheaded on the Internet.
Zarqawi openly offers bounties for anyone bringing him a live American
soldier.
This motivates the criminal element who otherwise don't give a sh?t
about the war. A lot of the beheading victims were actually kidnapped by
common criminals and sold to Zarqawi. As such, for our guys, every fight
is a fight to death. Surrender is not an option.
The Iraqi's are a mixed bag.
Some fight well, others aren't worth a damn. Most do okay with American
support. Finding leaders is hard, but they are getting better. It is
widely viewed that Zarqawi's use of suicide bombers, en masse, against
the civilian population was a serious tactical mistake. Many Iraqi's
were galvanized and the caliber of recruits in the Army and the police
forces
went right up, along with their motivation. It also led to an
exponential increase in good intelligence because the Iraqi's are sick
of the insurgent attacks against civilians. The Kurds are solidly
pro-American and fearless fighters.
Morale:
According to Jordan, morale among our guys is very high. They not only
believe that they are winning, but also believe they are winning
decisively. The men are stunned and dismayed by what they see in the
American press, whom they almost universally view as being against them.
The embedded reporters are despised and distrusted. We ae inflicting
casualties at a rate of 20-1 and then see sh?t like "Are we losing in
Iraq" on TV and the news media. For the most part, they are satisfied
with their equipment, food and leadership. Bottom line though, and they
all say this, "There are not enough guys there to drive the final stake
through the heart of the insurgency". Primarily because there aren't
enough troops in-theater to shut down the borders with Iran and Syria.
The Iranians and Syrians just can't stand the thought of Iraq being an
American ally (with, of course, permanent US bases there).
Anyway, that's it, hope you found it interesting.
GEN. GERALD E. MCILMOYLE, USAF (RET.)
No comments:
Post a Comment