Battlefield Tourist

May 8th 1140, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan

I watched the Marines. I didn't know whether to grab my pack and run or put my pack on and run. With the chopper being filled and little room to move, this was a small issue. So like a good neophyte, I watched the guys in front of me and most were moving to put packs on and run, so that's what I did.
I ran out of the chopper hard and ran for the nearest boulder, which was already occupied by a Marine. Being unarmed, that's fine by me. In an air assault, the Marines will run out about 20 meters and fan out behind cover in a defensive manner until the bird is gone and the surrounding terrain is assessed.
I noticed a few guys get up and begin to head towards a pass, so I followed. It was easy to see that something happened here. There were pop up flare caseings and smoke grenades. Besides, the place was a picture perfect ambush point: One lane dirt road that's cresting a hill. On the right is a steep hill covered in in rocks of all sizes. If the sky weren't so blue, you'd think you were on the moon.
To the left is a much bigger, but slightly less steep hill.
It was just after 2:00 am on May 8th when a small five man patrol from the 2nd LAV was scouting a position to set an attack position that was scheduled to begin at sunrise, three hours away.
Over the hill was the town of Gumbad. Inside that town, US intelligence had strong evidence that a senior Taliban leader was in the area. The troops had been on his tail for the past two weeks.
According the the BLT commander, Colonel Assad Khan: As the patrol came to the crest of the hill, a man was seen on the hill to the right and the Marines waved for him to come down. As the men approached, he opened fire on them with a Kalishnikov, hitting squad leader SSgt Robert Thompson in the groin. Lance Corporal Gary Spangler immediately returned fire, killing the man. Spangler is described as "the smallest guy in the platoon". This started a firefight at close range, within 20 meters, that included as many as 15 insurgents.
SSgt. Thompson was able to crawl behind a boulder and start first aid. He was soon joined by HM3 Robert Spejcher, a a decorated Navy Corpsman who had already served with valor in the War in Iraq.
Soon, another Marine goes down. 6'4, 235 lb., Corporal Ron Payne. A former high school football and lacrosse player from Orlando, Florida. He is hit several times in the neck and upper chest with both gunshot and RPG wounds. Thompson sends the corpsman to Payne's aid. Spejcher grabs the wounded marine and drags him 10 meters to cover behind a nearby set of boulders. His wounds are too serious, and Corporal Ron Payne becomes the first Marine KIA in the 22nd MEU's mission to restore order to the area.

Now himself taking fire, the medic returns fire, first with his pistol, then with Payne's M-16. The medic fires a flare to signal the need for help and makes one quick transmission into the reciever that contact hhad been made. As he finished that sentence, a rocket propelled grenade slammed into the boulder right next to him. The blast destroyed the radio, and showered the medic with shrapnel and rock along the left side of his body. Also under fire, Private Brett Miller falls and breaks his leg.
Keeping the most pressure on the insurgents was LCpl Spangler. He lobbed grenades with such accuracy that after the fight, you could see the aftermath of two direct hits. The grenades also kept the fighters from successfully trying to surround the Marines.
In the meantime, the M-16 and two successive machine guns used by the Corpsman jammed. Using one final grenade as diversionary cover, the Marines withdrew. Two of them forced to evade more than 7 km. Including Miller on a broken leg.
This attack set off an operation that was unplanned and probably unprecedented in this war. It set the tone for how the Marines of the 22nd MEU plan to play this out. Their Battalion Landing Team Leader is a tough Lt. Colonel that is originally from Pakistan's tribal region. He speaks the language and knows the people. His name is Assad Khan. A handsome, tough looking man with a friendly demeanor in person. A hard Marine that is looking to bring peace to his region of birth and drives his Marines to get the job done.
For the past two weeks, his men and women have been conducting non-stop foot patrols, going village to village, making contact with people who have yet to see a coalition soldier.
The area is also full of Taliban. A line of fighters that stretches through Uruzgan, Helemand, and Kandahar Provinces. Several high ranking Taliban leaders come from this area which is fiercely conservative.
After immediately sealing off the area, Khan sent Bravo and Alpha companies into action. At first covering a platoon of Afghan National Army soldiers as they entered the villages, then taking control once they were in.
In my experience, the villages were nice by Afghan standards. Still primitive, but very green. The primary industry was poppies, but they also grew other things including fruits and herbs..