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Escort team: more than 800
missions and still going strong
By Staff Sgt. Merrion LaSonde
122nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
CAMP
RUSTAMIYAH, Iraq -- In the time they have spent driving the
highways and byways of Baghdad, the "Scorpions" have seen many things
such as a road-side car bomb that engulfed one of their trucks in
flames and the occasional enemy sniper. Of all the experiences, none
stands out more in their collective memory than Dec. 3, 2004.
"As we approached the situation we didn't know exactly
what was going on," explained Birmingham, Ala., native Spc. Jermarcus
Hunter, an M240B machine gunner with the 1st Battalion, 82nd Field
Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
"I had a feeling something was about to happen, so I
unlocked my turret to spin around. It was right then that I actually
saw a round coming straight at me," Hunter recalled. "Literally, [it
was] about two or three inches from my face. It was like that movie
"The Matrix." I ducked down, the round hit the shield, bounced over my
head and I came back up firing."
Their convoy was headed out to take Soldiers to the
airfield, for their 15-day environmental leave, and was supposed to be
a break from the action.
On the way, the convoy commander, 1st Lt. Derek Brown,
noticed a few of the Iraqi police lying on the ground wounded and
covered in blood. He pulled the convoy of up-armored [HMMWV]'s to a
halt and told them all to make a U-turn to gather the wounded and take
them to a safer place.
The IPs had just been ambushed and now it was the
Scorpions caught in the cross fire.
While making the U-turn, the rear vehicle of the convoy
started receiving small arms fire. The third vehicle came under fire
as well.
Soon, they were receiving fire from all directions,
including rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47 armor-piercing rounds and
small arms fire.
Rounds were ricocheting off the gunners' shields as
they stood up out of the vehicles to return fire.
Remarkably, the Scorpions sustained no casualties
during the firefight due in no small part to the selfless and vigilant
actions of Seattle, Wash. native Spc. James Vanderpool. He provided
much-needed suppressive fire while the other members of his team
extracted the downed rear vehicle from the kill zone.
"Dec. 3 was the worst experience I have ever had,"
Vanderpool said. "I would prefer an [improvised explosive device] over
that ambush, any day. The attack only lasted a few minutes but it
seemed like forever. I am doing this more for the guys I am with than
anything else. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be able to go out
there every day," he said.
Spc. Thomas Alderson, a native of Portage, Ind.,
echoes his teammate's sentiments. He, however, had a slightly
different perspective on the battle.
"We were in the rear vehicle," Alderson said. "We took
two shots to the engine and were shut down right there. Then all four
tires were shot out. I was scared. We took over 30 shots on our truck,
were pinned down and nowhere to go. We couldn't get out because we
were being shot at from every angle. Luckily we had three other trucks
that were more than willing to get us out of there."
Sgt. Jason Perrego is the escort team's noncommissioned
officer in charge and currently calls Fort Hood home.
"Being in a situation like this gives the Soldiers and
leaders an opportunity to validate all the training that they have
done over all the years they have put into the military," Perrego
said. "I know for most everyone here, this is their first deployment.
When we were in that situation on Dec. 3, we were the lead truck and I
told my driver to turn around, go back into the kill zone and help
recover the damaged truck still stuck in the rear. To have to make a
decision and give a Soldier an order when both of your lives are on
the line and given the fact that he has to not only trust in your
order, but carry it out instantly just validates us as leaders, them
as Soldiers and makes you realize all the training prior to this
deployment really paid off."
Their lieutenant, Derek Brown, is a native of Prince
George, Va. He joined the team as the platoon leader late in the year
after completing Ranger and Airborne school.
"We are a battalion asset," Brown explained. "Whatever
they need us to do from escorting a battery from War Eagle to Cuervo
to transporting prisoners to Abu Ghraib, we are the go-to team. It is
a 24/7 job so it is rare that we get a day off. We have completed over
800 missions, logged more than 25,000 miles and seen just about every
inch of Baghdad. "This is a pretty close bunch. They look out for one
another and watch each other's back because they have to and they want
to. The nature of our mission is simple," he said.
"The high threat level on the roads we travel is what
makes it difficult. While I shadowed the former platoon leader prior
to taking over, I automatically became comfortable with these guys. I
trust in their ability to get the job done. I have seen what they
could do in all kinds of situations and each time they handled the
situation extremely well. I have every confidence in them. They make
my job easy. I give them the mission and they execute. I will do
anything for these guys. They are a great group of guys and I am glad
they are on my team," he added.
THIS STORY HAS ACCOMPANYING PHOTOGRAPHS. TO RECEIVE THE PHOTOS, E-MAIL
THE CPIC PRESS DESK AT CPICPRESSDESK@BAGHDADFORUM.COM.
For more information, please contact LT. COL. James hutton, 1st
CAVALRY DIVISION PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE, AT JAMES.HUTTON@US.ARMY.MIL OR
MSG DAVID LARSEN AT DAVID.J.LARSEN@US.ARMY.MIL
Release #A050208c |
