RAMADI, Iraq - An insurgent's lifeless body lay on the ground, evidence of the fighting the night before. Five Marines reflected on the situation before turning away to listen to Army Capt. John P. Hiltz brief them on their task at hand: quickly build a wall to protect a new combat outpost in southern Ramadi.
For the next three days this handful of Marines would fight sporadic attacks from insurgents and lack of sleep while operating their lumbering, armored forklifts to emplace concrete and sand-filled barriers at the makeshift base dubbed Combat Outpost Falcon.
Combat Outpost Falcon would be one of the newest fortified positions emplaced in the battle ridden capital of the Al Anbar province during a month-long operation aimed at taking and holding key terrain throughout the city. The Marines and their forklifts would play a critical role in accomplishing this mission.
Moments after arriving at their destination the Marines, and Hiltz' Army engineers they were supporting, were welcomed by two mortars landing nearby - a sign of events to come.
In the first hour, rockets and mortars continued to harass the compound as the heavily armored forklifts - called TRAM's - were offloaded and the Marines were briefed on their mission.
TRAM is the Marine acronym for
Date Taken: | 07.17.2006 |
Date Posted: | 07.17.2006 14:36 |
Story ID: | 7199 |
Location: | RAMADI, IQ |
Web Views: | 170 |
Downloads: | 40 |
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