We had been in Iskandariyah for a little over two weeks, and it was finally our turn to stay out in the field for an extended amount of time, which was supposed to be about four or five days. I had grown accustomed to doing our daily patrols and then getting some R&R back at the base, eating a decent meal, and going to the PX on a daily basis, so going out into the field didn’t appeal to me too much at the time. A day before we were going to move out, everyone began to stock up on snacks and cigs to hold us over for the four days we were told we were going to be out there. I made sure to send out a few e-mails to family, stocked up on some good snacks so I could avoid eating MREs, and bought about four or five packs of cigarettes. We were told not to pack everything since we would be back in a few days, so I left some of my belongings in the hangar so I wouldn’t have to carry around so much weight and so I could carry more snacks. Smart thinking on my part, or so I thought.

The morning of our departure into the far outskirts of the city was upon us, and it began with the arrival of White Platoon coming back from their stint out there. They looked worn out, filthy, and in much need of some rest. Lieutenant Nunnally and Lieutenant Snipes spoke briefly, and then Snipes came back to our section of the hangar to give us a briefing on how we were going to proceed out to our area of operation. Once he finished speaking, we gathered up our belongings, mounted or stored them in the vehicle, and then got in the vehicles, ready to begin our journey to our outpost.

Shortly after we got into our vehicles, Lieutenant Snipes’s voice came over the radio to ensure everyone was good to go. Once all the vehicle commanders rogered up, he gave the signal to move out. The engines of all the vehicles came to life almost simultaneously, and we began to move forward.

The journey was uneventful and seemed as if it only took about a half hour. Our destination was nothing special, really, just a small patch of grass in the middle of a palm-grove-type area, with vegetation and small farming canals surrounding us. About a mile away was a small farming village, and in the near distance, you could easily see the smokestacks from the power plant towering into the sky.

Once we assessed the area to ensure it was safe, the vehicles set up in a defensive 360 perimeter, and everyone dismounted. I, along with Staff Sergeant Phelps and a few other Marines, headed over to Lieutenant Snipes’s position to get an idea of what we were going to do next. He gave us a quick rundown of what our mission would be over the next few days. It was fairly simple. We would be conducting several daily foot patrols in and around our area in order to deter any insurgents from mounting mortar attacks or planting IEDs. Half of the scouts would remain at our outpost, and the others would go out on patrol.

Once Lieutenant Snipes finished with his orders, we dispersed and went back to our vehicles. Everyone began to settle down into our new spot. Some guys broke out MREs, others began maintaining their rifles or vehicles, and the rest of us just goofed around until the patrols began.

Sergeant Jones took his scout section out first. I watched as they formed up and began heading out toward the canals. I gave several scouts a nod and wished them luck and turned back to do whatever nonsense I was doing to keep myself busy. A few minutes later, I peered back in the direction they had gone and watched as the last scout in the patrol walked through tall reeds that were on the banks of the nearest canal.

A few hours later, Sergeant Jones and his group came back and debriefed Lieutenant Snipes. They had seen nothing out of the ordinary, so there wasn’t really much to discuss. A few Marines from Jones’s section came over to give us an idea of what they had seen, and it really didn’t seem like much—just a bunch of canals that were waist deep and a lot of nothingness in the surrounding area.

About an hour after Jones’s section came back, Lieutenant Snipes had me prepare my section for patrol. I gathered up all my scouts, did a quick glance over their gear, and made sure everyone was ready to move out. We briefly met with Lieutenant Snipes to get an idea of what he wanted us to do and then formed up into a tactical column. I gave my point man, Lance Corporal Zabala, a rundown of what the plan was for the patrol and headed back toward the middle of the column. Staff Sergeant Phelps decided he wanted to tag along with us on the patrol, so he grabbed his gear and an extra M-16 and made his way toward my location. I briefly ran him through the plan, he acknowledged, and I gave Zabala the signal to move out.

The patrol was absolutely boring. The only thing that really stood out was the many canals we had to wade through. For me, a six-foot guy, it was fairly easy because at the highest point, the water only made it up to mid-stomach. For some of the shorter guys, the water was pretty close to chin level. I had some of the other Marines help the shorter guys out by supporting them as they made their way to the other side. But aside from the canals, our patrol was uneventful.

These patrols and periods of boredom went on for the next few days. We’d mix the patrols up daily just to keep the Marines alert and on their toes. Sometimes we’d conduct them right at dawn, or we’d send out some midnight patrols. But during the time we were out there, nothing ever happened, which kind of bummed us all out.

Toward the end of our stay at our outpost, we were all getting antsy to get back to the base. Cigarettes and snacks were running low, guys wanted to contact friends and family back home, and tempers were beginning to run a bit high. So everyone was really looking forward to our last day out there. Except that it wasn’t. Our last day out in the field, word was passed down that the whole company would be coming out to our location. This was the last thing anyone wanted to hear. All we wanted to do was go back and replenish our supplies, but we were overruled.

Sometime that afternoon, the rest of the Outlaws, to include Headquarters and Weapons Platoons, met up with us out in the field. At that point, everyone who was low on snacks and cigarettes in our platoon began begging to grab some from the other guys who had just come out. Fortunately, most of them were generous and hooked us up.

No one was quite sure why the whole company was now out there. It didn’t appear there was any threat to deal with. However, our job was not to question, it was to follow orders. The one thing that did change was that we moved our outpost slightly closer to the farming village. I was guessing that was the point of the whole company coming out, but again, I wasn't told the exact reason why.

Patrols commenced again, but our platoon was given a bit of a break since we had been doing them the last few days. The patrols mainly covered the areas that we had already been patrolling before, but there were some that began skirting the small village.

After a few days of the whole company being out there, it became apparent that our mission was to gather intel on the small village. One afternoon, Lieutenant Snipes brought the platoon together to give us a new set of orders. We were to conduct a patrol into the town itself. None of the vehicles would be accompanying us, but they would be within a half-mile in case anything happened. He gave us a layout village and began delegating responsibility to the various scout teams. As I was the only scout who spoke limited Arabic, I was assigned to accompany the intel officer who was attached to our company for the patrol, and provide security as well as some form of interpretation. Fortunately for me, we were also given a local interpreter who could assist in talking with the villagers.

In addition to my scout section, a couple of other scout teams from White and Blue Platoon were going to be accompanying us. They were all briefed the same information I was given. Essentially, our mission was to gather intel on the village and determine if there were any insurgents in or around the area. It seemed like an easy enough mission at a glance. My only concern was that there was only one main road going into the village, and it was surrounded by buildings on both sides. It also didn’t help that the locals had been giving us evil stares the last few days either.

Once everyone was set to go, the various scout teams formed up into a tactical column, and we began to make our way to the village. We moved from our outpost, which was about half a mile away from the village, over rocky, lopsided terrain, and finally began approaching the village. Once the townspeople saw us, some of them began hurrying out of sight. This really unnerved me. I felt we were about to be ambushed.

A few minutes later, we stepped foot on the main dirt road that cut through the village. The tactical column split into two, with one half staying on the left side of the road and the other on the right. I happened to be on the right side with the intel officer and interpreter. We continued along the road until we approached the first building that had a makeshift sidewalk in front of it. At that point, we made our way onto the sidewalk and slowly began making our way to the middle of town. Glaring eyes stared us down the whole time. Little kids who had been playing soccer in the street paused to stare at us curiously. Some of the residents went inside their buildings and closed their doors.

I turned to the intel officer to get an idea of where he wanted to go. We were only a few hundred feet into the town, and it didn’t seem as if many were willing to talk. He looked past me at a man who was selling things from a cart and seemed to be motioning for us to come toward him. I called for the interpreter to accompany us and then motioned for the rest of the scouts to kneel down and take cover. I then escorted the intel officer and interpreter to this mysterious man. As we got closer, I could see some type of fear and anxiety in his eyes. He appeared as if he wanted to tell us something, but we had to hurry. Through the interpreter, the officer began to ask relatively basic questions to make it seem as if the conversation was normal to any outside observers. The man spoke very quickly and in a hushed tone. He began answering the questions but then brushed them off and spoke quickly to the interpreter. The interpreter took it all in, nodded his head, and turned to us.

“We must leave now. He said that there is an ambush waiting for us down the road, and they will attack us if we continue down that way,” the interpreter said.

The intel officer glanced down the road, turned to me, and told me we needed to move out and in a hurry. I glanced in the direction that the officer did, and I could see that the street was clearing out. I turned to my guys and told them we’d be heading back. Although I was disappointed that we wouldn’t be going into the fight, the rational side of me knew that if an ambush did lie ahead, we would all probably get killed. Calmly, we all turned around and headed back the way we had come. As we left, the people who had gone into hiding came back out, and the nasty glares continued until we were out of sight.

About twenty minutes after we left, we arrived at the company outpost. I, along with several other scout leaders and the intel officer, debriefed our leadership, informing them of everything that had happened. When they were done with the scouts, we left to go back to our respective platoons, and they continued to talk with the intel officer. At the time, I wasn’t too sure what else was discussed among the officers, but whatever it was must have had an impact because within a day, we were all headed back to the base.

When we returned to the base, it became very apparent that it wasn’t to get some rest. Our brass was hovering over some maps and discussing things among themselves. Eventually, they called the platoon sergeants over to discuss some more events. In the meantime, we were all given some time to gather our thoughts, grab some chow, and get some snacks and cigarettes.

After a while, as I was sitting on my cot inside the hangar chatting with Sprenger, Lieutenant Snipes, Lieutenant May, and Staff Sergeant Phelps came over to my area and called the other Marines in our platoon over. Something seemed a bit off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I’d just have to wait until Lieutenant Snipes and Staff Sergeant Phelps told us what was up.

Once everyone had gathered around, Lieutenant Snipes was the first to speak. He explained that since we were getting toward the end of our deployment, our company had to begin preparing for our trip back to the States. A few Marines were going to be sent as a forward party to begin ensuring everything stateside was ready for us. Our XO, Lieutenant Earlie Walker, was going to be heading back early to get everything prepared for us. As such, he needed to go back to Camp Baharia to get everything prepared there before he left. Once everyone got back to Baharia, he would take a few Marines with him back to the States.

That left the company executive officer position open, and it needed to be filled immediately. Captain Shepard decided that the position would best be held by Lieutenant Snipes. With Lieutenant Snipes leaving to be the XO, Lieutenant May of Weapons Platoon was assigned to be our platoon commander, and Gunnery Sergeant Zenoni would be the acting platoon commander for Weapons Platoon. Obviously, this was great news for Lieutenant Snipes as it was basically a promotion for him, but it left us with a platoon commander we knew well but had no experience with.

The other piece of news was that prior to the rest of us going back to Baharia, we had one more mission to complete. The village that we had gone into was apparently much more important than we initially realized. During his discussion with the local man from the street, the intel officer discovered that a high-value target (HVT) was holed up in a building in the village. Our mission was to go in with several other units, as well as an Iraqi army unit, capture the HVT, and get out of there as fast as possible.

Lieutenant Snipes excused himself, and Lieutenant May began to give us the plan. The Outlaws would head out to a location about three hundred yards from the village a few hours before dawn. At daybreak, we would quickly make our way into the city with a few Iraqi army units attached to us, set up a perimeter around the building that held the HVT, have the Iraqis nab him, and then head back to base. He instructed us to get some sleep because we would be heading out in just a few hours to get into position.

We headed back to our cots to get some quick shut-eye. I didn’t sleep much, though. With everything going on, my mind was going in every direction. A new platoon commander, an HVT raid, and going home soon. So much information and so little time to process it. I tossed and turned, and I may have slept for a little under an hour before I was woken by the fire watch. I threw my camouflage blouse back on, put my boots on, and gathered up my gear. All around me, the other scouts were doing the same in silence.

I went around to the rest of my team to see if they were doing OK. Then we headed over to where our vehicles were staged in preparation for the mission. The rest of the Outlaws were doing the same. Lieutenant May and Staff Sergeant Phelps made their way to our position and immediately began to run us through our mission once more. When Lieutenant May was certain we all understood our duties, he had us mount our vehicles so we would be ready for the signal to go.

About twenty minutes of twiddling my thumbs later, word was passed down over the company communications that we were ready to head out. The engines roared to life, the drivers put their blackout lights on, and the scouts who were popped out of the scout hatches donned their night vision goggles. The line of LAVs began to slowly move.

It was about two hours before dawn, with barely a star in the sky. Our company slowly made its way to the rendezvous point. I glanced to the front and back, and it was truly a sight to behold. It was like seeing a giant, dangerously armed snake slithering its way toward its prey. It sent a chill up my spine.

Thirty minutes had passed when we finally arrived at our destination. We were about two or three hundred yards away from the outskirts of the village. At our location, towering about forty feet into the air, was this massive mound of dirt. It kind of reminded me of a castle archer tower. The top of the mound was flat, and it seemed as if walls were erected at the top to protect whoever was located there.

A countdown was given over the radio, and as it reached one, all the engines were shut off simultaneously, and there was utter silence. I’m pretty sure you could have heard a pin drop. Staff Sergeant Phelps dropped down inside the turret and began to give us a quick briefing of what we were going to do. As we had two hours before the raid began, all of the LAVs were set up in a defensive 360 perimeter around the mound. Since no one had gotten much sleep the night before, word was given to set up fire watch within each vehicle, with one LAV Marine and one scout per vehicle providing lookout for an hour while the others rested. Some of the vehicle commanders were deploying their scouts to provide perimeter security, and some just had their scouts stay inside the scout compartment.

Phelps decided he wanted the former. He had me take my team to the mound and set up a lookout post on top so we could provide overwatch for them. He told me to make sure everyone got some rest, though. So we opened the scout hatch and made our way to the top of the mound. Once there, I set up a schedule so there were two Marines awake and two resting at all times. I had the first shift along with Redd, so we both just sat there and kept an eye on the village. And we waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity. After a while, I glanced down at my watch and saw that our shift was over. We woke up Barajas and Zabala, and they took over our positions. I found a small spot on the ground, took off my helmet, used it as a headrest, and closed my eyes. I was out in seconds.

A half hour passed, and Barajas and Zabala woke Redd and me up. I wanted to make sure everyone was up and ready to go before the raid began, so I ensured that my shift was shortened. Redd and I got up and got in positions next to Zabala and Barajas. We kept an eye on the village and the surrounding area. From time to time, I would look down at our vehicle, which was about one hundred feet away, just to make sure everything was OK. I was slightly concerned that there was no one standing up in the turret, but I figured they had it all sorted out.

Dawn slowly crept up on us, and I watched the horizon as the sun began to make its way into the sky. Scouts from the other vehicles were beginning to make their way back to their LAVs, and drivers were making sure everything was good to go before the raid. I stared in the distance at our vehicle, and not a soul stirred. I was beginning to get nervous, but I didn’t want to move my team back without Phelps giving us the word. And I was really pissed at myself that I hadn’t brought our comm gear with us. So for about another five minutes, we sat there anxiously awaiting someone to pop up and tell us to make our way back. And then suddenly, the air was filled with the roar of engines. All around us, the scouts were mounting up into their vehicles, and engines were rumbling and ready to go. I looked back at our LAV and still saw no signs of life. Now I was getting really worried. My scouts were looking to me for an answer, and I had no idea what to say. I couldn’t figure out why the hell no one from our vehicle was calling for us to mount up.

Frustrated, I decided to have us all make our way back to the vehicle. I told my team that we would quickly run back and find out what was going on. As we rose from our positions, though, the LAVs in our company began to move out one by one. Now I was really concerned. We were about to be stranded. At that time, I decided to forego safety and told my team to haul ass to our vehicle. No shot in hell was I going to be left alone in the middle of nowhere.

We were about twenty feet away from our vehicle when I finally saw Staff Sergeant Phelps rise from his turret. I could hear some other commotion inside as well. Bleary eyed, Phelps was screaming at us to mount up and yelling at Rankin to start the vehicle. By the time my team got into the vehicle and secured the doors, the rest of the company was out of sight. Sergeant Honigsberg popped out of his turret hatch and looked back at me. I glanced over and gave him a “What the fuck?” look. Knowing exactly what I wanted to say, he just shook his head and quickly looked at Phelps. Enough said.

Staff Sergeant Phelps gave Rankin the command to move out and catch up with the rest of the company. Rankin gunned the engine, the LAV kicked up dust, and we were hauling ass to get to our destination. It only took us about three or four minutes before the rest of the company came into view. All the vehicles were set up in their defensive positions in the middle of the town. Lieutenant May’s vehicle, along with a pickup truck carrying some of the Iraqi army soldiers, was situated in the middle of the road outside of the building that was supposed to house the HVT. We pulled up alongside May’s vehicle, and Phelps had me and the rest of the scouts jump out and provide close perimeter security around our vehicle. Lieutenant May looked over at Phelps and then down at me. He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, and I quickly glanced over at Phelps. He knowingly nodded and then went back to concentrating on the mission.

One point of the mission was not to actually do the work ourselves. At this point during the war, there was a heavy push to stand up the Iraqi army and have them either do all of the work or at least assist them in completing the mission. In our case, we were there only for support. So when we pulled up, the Iraqi soldiers in the back of the pickup truck had already deployed and begun the raid in the house. In fact, since we were late, they had already been inside the house for a few minutes, so by the time we arrived, it was only a minute or two longer before they exited the house with the HVT in tow. They quickly threw him into the back of the truck and got in with him. Once they were all inside, Lieutenant May gave the order to move out. All the LAVs began leaving the town with the pickup carrying the HVT located in the center of the column.

All in all, the entire mission lasted no more than twenty minutes from beginning to end. The point wasn’t to level the town. It was to get in and out with little to no confrontation. In that case, the mission was successful.

I could tell as we left the city and made our way back to the base that things were about to get heated. Lieutenant May had a look on his face that could kill, and Staff Sergeant Phelps seemed very nervous. I was definitely not looking forward to the debrief.