Looks like 250 terrorists picked the wrong day to screw with 30 U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. Frankly, is there ever a good day to screw with the Marines?
In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it. . . .
The day started out with a 10-kilometer patrol with elements mounted and dismounted, so by the time we got to Shewan, we were pretty beat,” said a designated marksman who requested to remain unidentified. “Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our ‘humvees’ was disabled from RPG fire, and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast.The vicious attack that left the humvee destroyed and several of the Marines pinned down in the kill zone sparked an intense eight-hour battle as the platoon desperately fought to recover their comrades. After recovering the Marines trapped in the kill zone, another platoon sergeant personally led numerous attacks on enemy fortified positions while the platoon fought house to house and trench to trench in order to clear through the enemy ambush site.
The biggest thing to take from that day is what Marines can accomplish when they’re given the opportunity to fight,” the sniper said. “A small group of Marines met a numerically superior force and embarrassed them in their own backyard. The insurgents told the townspeople that they were stronger than the Americans, and that day we showed them they were wrong.”
And of all mistakes the terrorists made that day, the worst one was picking the patrol with this guy in it.
During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn’t miss any shots, despite the enemies’ rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position.
“I was in my own little world,” the young corporal said. “I wasn’t even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target.”
The most amazing thing about the battle: Not a single Marine was seriously hurt.
Hoo-rah!
Comments
thank you for the article, I wish the other outlets would cover these types of stories rather than what was on the menus the Obama children are eating.
That's why I do it Sal. Thanks for stopping by.
Being ex-Air Force, I've had moments where I "derided" the Marines, but always in jest. I knew who and what they were about... the best fighting men in the world. They are there because they want to be there, so, they do the best they can do. This article is a great example of that.
Sal, what does this have to do with anything political? Of course US Marines will beat a bunch of insurgent fighters in a firefight. Don't be a douche.
Wow i thought youhad to be at least 18 to post here ;)
Semper Fi
Terry, you don't think politics has anything to do with the Marines being in Afghanistan? The entire Democrat Party had a collective aneurysm over a politician named George W. Bush, who made a political decision to send them to fight the political plan for the Global War on Terror.
So yeah, we're gonna keep posting this stuff. The Marines and all members of our Armed Forces are great Americans and one can't tell their stories too much.
As Ronald Reagan said, trust but verify. There are no named sources! In addition, what is the date?
It is clear that the Taliban is learning what Iraqis learned several years ago: that to take on the US military, which has superior fire power, you need asymmetrical warfare. Therefore, in Helmand and Kandahar, there are more roadside bombs and VBIDS and suicide bombers.
The bravo back here is fun, but the professionals over their know this is not some macho cakewalk.
Being a ex vietnam vet.
what new!
I know that pushed we American fighting man are the best.
OOHRAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
great post, what the politics can't accomplish the Marine Corps will. Peace through superior firepower...Semper Fi
I like our military, I don't like the forces driving the politics behind it. Those men and women defend freedom while morons here at home vote it away from themselves. GO MARINES!!!
Why are "they" the insurgents?
And nobody should ever brag about beating up the weak...I find it pathetic that people think this is preserving my "freedom"
Please explain how this works
Thank you...Concerned Citizen
Bill Dupray,
I'm curious, why didn't you ever join the military?
Peace brah, by "the weak" are you referring to the Taliban? The guys who committed the following atrocities?
"Eight boys, killed because they laughed at soldiers. An entire family burned alive. And 100 Afghans, slain and hung from lamp posts to warn would-be defectors."
That is from a CNN story. Plug these terms into a search engine,
"U.S. documents alleged Taliban atrocities"
and look for the CNN story (I would give you the link, be we cannot put html code in the comments)
These are also the same folks who kill unfaithful wives or daughters who have pre-marital sex and call them "honor killings."
And so yes, the more of them we kill over there, the less they can do to harm us over here by supplying al Qaeda with WMD's.
Thanks how they protect your freedom.
If al Qaeda could have used a nuke in New York, they would have.
I have heard this story before but yet it makes me proud every time I hear it. I pray that those in harms way do the right thing and take out these unforgiving, unrepentent terrorists that want nothing more than the blood of US and Isreal people....Once the poppy crop is eliminated and regular crops subsidized, there will be no end in sight...God Bless the USA!!!
It's good to hear things like this.
-PetRiLJoe
next time cite your sources properly so it looks like a credible article
Robert, I am not sure what you are talking about. I linked to the Military.com source article just before the first block quote.
That's what happen when you mess with USMC !!!
dude, marines are so badass, GO AMERICA
GO CANADA
Oorah!
By weak, Peace brah, do you mean 3:1 odds in the "Weak" combatants favor? I'd say the Taliban thought that they were stronger by having 3 men to our 1. In most cases, this is true, but with the Marines, it's not.
One of the first operations done by Raider Marines (now called Recon) was a true recon mission, a unit of about 120 Marines came ashore on Makin Island and were discovered due to faulty engines on their rubber boats. 21 Marines were killed, 160 Japanese were reportedly killed. Pretty good kill ratio, 8:1.
Now a days, Recon squads run in 10 man squads with 3 man fire teams at the most, being able to deal more damage with squads over light infantry's who are too slow to react given their size.
I'm proud of these Marines, they kept their cool and turned the tide around on an enemy already entrenched on their own ground against impossible odds ... AND no Marine was seriously injured.
Semper Fi!
I would also like to add in Bill's defense on never joining the military; everyone has their role in this life, and the way of the warrior is not for most. Just as an academic field such as Law is not for most ... asking someone why they didn't join the military is like Bill asking you why you didn't go to Law School.
Thanks for the comment 3rdRecon. I didn't feel the need to defend myself against the comment by Stewart N., but thanks for slapping him around anyway.
I don't care if they are just "serving their duty" anyone who chooses to kill, especially if they then think their ability to do so makes them a better person, is not a hero and deserves NO honor.
Anyone who uses violence to solve conflicts (conflicts that aren't even of our concern in this case) are the weakest of all people.
And by the way, the word Taliban isn't even used in that article so stop assuming that any resistance the military faces is the Satan-incarnate themselves the Taliban that we all love to fear so much.
And if you want to see atrocities look in the white house as the president defecates on the constitution or look in Guantanamo Bay as those political "evil-doers" are tortured into confessions.
Wow, ignorance at it's finest.
When you're "doing your duty" (Which by your words I'd say you didn't), you aren't choosing to kill. You're choosing to serve your country, and if you're ordered to kill, it wasn't something you came up with but now are duty bound to follow. And once you're overseas and being fired at by more of those weak killers with fully automatic weapons, you are now defending. I don't know if you've been keeping up with recent events or not, going back only about 5 years or so ... but the US didn't go over there to kill. They went to do several things, but killing wasn't on the agenda and neither is it today. At the most, (besides the ever ongoing special ops operations going on) we are peacekeepers being fired upon by those weak people you mentioned. Those 30 Marines that are mentioned in this article, which you seemed to have chosen to pick only the part you wanted to see, weren't killing anyone. They were on patrol, not hurting anyone, simply driving around looking for IED teams trying to kill them when they were AMBUSHED. They fought back against insurmountable odds and won, that is HONOR. Those Marines didn't join the Marines to go kill weak defenseless people, there is no honor in that. They joined to go fight in something they believed, and those who don't have the guts to FIGHT for what they believe, are cowards simply put. And since insurgents and Taliban don't just hurl harsh words at us, but rather RPG's and 7.62 ammo are flying... do try to keep up.
And to comment on your torture remark ... uh, what are they doing to their prisoners? Feeding them caviar and putting them in white collar prisons? Again, do try to keep up ... how many of our soldiers and Marines, as well as civilians have been tortured and beheaded by them? I don't know who told you war is won by "he who argues the best", but they need to check back into reality.
So in your mind, the hundreds of thousands of people Sadam Hussein was killing by violent methods should've been overlooked, "not our concern"? Where's your honor? Where's your spine? The "atrocities" that the white house commits are far lesser in the world of evil than just one of those bastards that we took out of power and gave back to his people ... he got off easy compared to those he murdered. Stop being so one sided and read the whole news, not just want you want to read.
Sic vis pacem, parabellum.
3rd Recon, you are wasting your breath on that simpleton. He's the president of the local chapter of the Hate-America-First union. If it weren't for the military defending his right to free speech, he wouldn't be able to prattle on like the uninformed pacifist moonbat that he is. He'd be speaking German under the jackboot of the 4th Reich.
LOL!
Thanks for that Bill, I have a deep seated hate for anyone disrespecting the military, and when they ramble on as he did, proving what little he knows and is basing his beliefs on ... tends to get me fired up.
Like the American saying goes ... "If you can read, thank a teacher, if you can read in English ... thank a Marine!"
Keep the faith 3rd Recon.
God be with you Devil Dogs!
hoo-rah keep giving them hell once a marine always a marine,wish i could be with you semper fi.
source: marine corps news. accuracy: dubious at best. i find it hard to not believe that the "250" insurgents were actually a dozen or so, and the 20 "kills" by one man were them fleeing after a guerilla ambush.
Votershatefreedom, if you can find a source stating that it was a dozen, then show it. If you are shooting at someone then run away, that is retreating/withdrawing. If you shoot at a person in the military then run away, you are still a viable target.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!