Monday, June 21, 2004
Four Servicemen Killed in Ramadi
The Associated Press received footage of four US servicemen lying dead near a wall in Ramadi, apparently having been shot repeatedly in their heads.
Military spokesperson BG Mark Kimmitt confirms the dead, saying a search was launched after the four failed to check in at the appointed time.
He doesn't mention whether we were able to recover their remains yet. I hope so.
Or I hope we're scouring that neighborhood.
The prime directive is that everybody comes home.
Everyone.
I don't know quite what to make of the circumstances of their deaths. Apparently, we have a fire team-sized unit operating alone, outside of observation and small-arms range and reinforcement from the squad and platoon?
Apparently no one was close enough to have come-a-running when the shots opened up. And standard procedure would have required the squad leader to have immediately accounted for all his men.
This is not something that would have happened when my unit was there. We just did not operate in units smaller than the squad size. I don't believe in splitting squads. They're just not designed that way.
What this suggests to me is that commanders in Ramadi have gotten more confident about the tactical situation there. Otherwise an element that small would not have been deployed alone.
Obviously, that was a mistake in this case.
This is not something I can even imagine happening in a conventional infantry or armor unit in the Army or Marine Corps. We just don't split off fire teams from support in that environment.
It may have been a leaders' reconnaisance (though I doubt it--even leaders' recons usually bring along some sort of security element) or it may have been a special operations unit of some sort.
It seems a little odd to me. I hope some somebody's asking some pointy questions about why four guys were out there all alone.
Splash, out
Jason
Military spokesperson BG Mark Kimmitt confirms the dead, saying a search was launched after the four failed to check in at the appointed time.
He doesn't mention whether we were able to recover their remains yet. I hope so.
Or I hope we're scouring that neighborhood.
The prime directive is that everybody comes home.
Everyone.
I don't know quite what to make of the circumstances of their deaths. Apparently, we have a fire team-sized unit operating alone, outside of observation and small-arms range and reinforcement from the squad and platoon?
Apparently no one was close enough to have come-a-running when the shots opened up. And standard procedure would have required the squad leader to have immediately accounted for all his men.
This is not something that would have happened when my unit was there. We just did not operate in units smaller than the squad size. I don't believe in splitting squads. They're just not designed that way.
What this suggests to me is that commanders in Ramadi have gotten more confident about the tactical situation there. Otherwise an element that small would not have been deployed alone.
Obviously, that was a mistake in this case.
This is not something I can even imagine happening in a conventional infantry or armor unit in the Army or Marine Corps. We just don't split off fire teams from support in that environment.
It may have been a leaders' reconnaisance (though I doubt it--even leaders' recons usually bring along some sort of security element) or it may have been a special operations unit of some sort.
It seems a little odd to me. I hope some somebody's asking some pointy questions about why four guys were out there all alone.
Splash, out
Jason
Comments:
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