I'm done with concrete!

Yesterday, I loaded a truck with concrete for the last time. This morning, I got up at 2:30 am, walked down to get coffee, came back and then went out on my last road reapir mission. It was completely uneventful, and once we made it back onto Al Asad, I put my iPod on, and listened to "DJ Bekcore - Mix it Up" an entirely too happy mix of dance music. I had a smile on my face and a spring in my step when I got out of the truck and went back to the tent to shower. Unless anything changes, I should finish out the rest of my deployment quietly here on Al Asad.

So as promised, more details on some of the work I've been doing out here.

Mine Clearing

So since my Mom reads this, and my Dad and Sister get unhappy with me when I post pictures that are likely to freak my Mom out, I didn’t go in to much detail on the mine clearing back during the first half of this deployment.

Most of our mines were actually found by the front security element during convoys, although my Marines accounted for a few mines while out on security patrols. After we lost one of the supply convoy commanders (Warrant Officer Wells*) we started running dedicated patrols who’s only job was to drive up and down “Mine Alley” checking for mines and trying to catch the insurgents emplacing the mines.

*WO Wells was one of the best officers I’ve ever met. He was on is third deployment, and it seemed like he remembered every Marine he ever met. In addition to seeing him on convoys, We would run into him a few times a week on Al Asad, and instead of the usual mechanical exchange of greetings between officers and enlisted, he seemed genuinely happy to run into us. My last memory of him is the half smile and shake of the head he gave when surveying the damage after my rather inexperienced driver managed to rear-end his humvee. No one was hurt, both vehicles were salvageable, and he figured our driver was already beating himself up enough over the incident. I can’t help but feel like I let the man down. I wasn’t out the day he hit the mine. I can’t assign blame to anyone, because the MP’s and the mine clearing team out that day were extremely competent. I still have to wonder what if though. If I were out that day, would I have seen it? Is there something more I could’ve told the Marines that went out that day to prevent what happened? That’s the worst part of being out here. All the things you can’t do a damn thing about. His funeral was a wake up call to many of the junior Marines. One of them after the memorial service was talking about how real it suddenly all seemed. That the dead over here aren’t some abstract number, but they are people you know.

Usually who ever found the mine uncovered at least part of it. It should be noted that the insurgency frequently did stupid things that make the mines easier to detect, although occasionally we’d find one that was extremely well hidden. From there, I’d dig out around the mine, searching for secondary triggers, booby traps, etc. Not that we ever found any of those things, but it’s one of those things they teach you at engineer school that sticks with you, take the time to figure out exactly what you’re dealing with. Your average anti-tank mine has a pressure fuse that requires 250-450 pounds of downward pressure to detonate. They are stable enough you can handle them, although it’s entirely possible to detonate one on foot (I’m right at 250 with all my gear on). With very few exceptions, anti-personnel mines aren’t found in this area. On a side note, mines are another one of those things that Hollywood gets wrong. If you step on a mine, it goes boom. If you step on a mine and it goes click, you can take your foot off and dance a jig, because you just stepped on a dud.


An Italian VS 1.6 Anti-tank mine, stacked on top a Soviet TM-57 Anti-tank mine
Because some mines (although none we encountered) are tilt sensitive, we’d use a grappling hook and a length of rope to initially move the mine, and after that we would remove the mine from the road to be explosively destroyed. Frequently there would be a second mine in the same hole.

Me with an Italian VS 2.2 Anti-tank mine. Because I’ve always wanted to say it:
I am a trained professional, and must ask that none of you attempt this at home.

Speaking of things not to try at home, after the C4 went to blow up a pair of mines we’d removed, the blast was way too small and quiet. After waiting for cook off, I went up to check it out, and found out that one of the mines didn’t go. It was black, cracked, and had holes burnt in it, but hadn’t detonated. Two of us prepped another charge and placed it on the now much more sensitive mine. Both of us agreed after to make sure we never had to do that again.


Take a close look at this picture. See the humvee tire tracks? The cracked pressure plate? When we found this mine, it was obvious that someone had run over it previously, blissfully unaware as they just drove on. Sometimes you just get lucky.

I have a perfect safety record, no vehicle behind mine ever struck anything, although I did encounter eight IED’s, five that were found and detonated safely, and three that detonated within two vehicles ahead of me. The average IED has either some sort of command detonation setup (Someone was watching our convoy and detonated the charge remotely) or had some sort of pressure sensitive switch that would detonate on the first vehicle that drove over it. The IED’s ranged in size from a single mortar round all the way up to the biggest one we encountered, which was made up of three 155mm artillery rounds, three 122mm arty rounds, and two propane tanks. Here you can see a picture of what a small IED did to a humvee. This humvee had broken down not 30 minutes prior to this, and was being towed at the time it struck the IED thankfully. When it comes to the large IED’s, it doesn’t matter if you’re in a humvee or in a tank, it’s enough explosives to destroy anything.

Anyway, my final mine count was 11 destroyed, which along with destroying the semi truck has satisfied my inner pyro for some time to come.