The Marines Have Landed

[thedrifter]

03-22-2004

The Marines Have Landed



Subject: Iraq Update

This is the first SitRep I've seen since the Marines arrived back in Iraq. We all pray it continues to go as well for them as their first taste of combat this time around...

We arrived at Taqaddum yesterday. It took us a week to get here. The trip was uneventful until 11 March, when we spent the entire day running through a gauntlet of IEDs, (Improvised Explosive Devices). Four in all. These were big rounds, not soda cans. They were mortar rounds and 152/155 mm artillery rounds. Big explosions. I was inside the blast radius on the first one, but no scratches. By the Grace of God we have no casualties.

We put armored doors on all of our vehicles, and the reinforced glass on the windshields worked. I pulled golf ball size pieces of shrapnel out of the windshield that were stuck in it, but did not penetrate. Death came knocking at our door that day, but we denied him access. All of you need to be aware that the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force has up-armored all of it's vehicles, and it works. Myself and several other Marines are alive and uninjured because the Marine Corps saw fit to protect our Marines. I am grateful to you all for spending the money. One of these IEDs was covered by small arms fire, that is they started shooting at us right after the bomb went off. They discovered quickly the fury of ****ed off Marines.

I will update again after I get settled.

Sergeant Major
24th Marines

http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/...9.0370400337011


Ellie