Yahya Khel Research Paper

James R. McDonough sets a spectacular example of what it is to be a second lieutenant in the United States Army and what it is truly like to lead a group of enlisted soldiers for the first time. Lieutenant McDonough, a graduate of West Point, was deployed as a platoon leader in a small fort with the mission of holding a Vietnamese village out of the hands of the Viet Cong. When he arrived, Lieutenant McDonough discovered that the former Lieutenant and platoon leader of the 2d Platoon, Bravo Company, 4th Battalion, 503d Infantry (Airborne) hardly ever left his

My arrival to the unit was a little chaotic and confusing. The soon to be brigade staff was minimally manned, and co-located with whom would soon be formerly known as the Army Contracting Agency (ACA). The ACA was primarily a civilian organization, and did not have a functional staff that could receive and in-process personnel. Therefore, we had to rely on U.S. Army South for support. I asked my sponsor when our staff sections were going to be established and do we currently have any in-bound personnel to fill those positions, and the response relayed to me was “That’s you!” At this point, I realized that the

Among these leaders was Bravo Company’s 1st platoon’s SFC Robert Gallagher. The platoon endured terrible living conditions including no running water and filthy living space. These inadequate living conditions must be met with some relaxation on the standards they were expected to follow. Company leadership viewed this as a bribe to keep the soldiers in high spirits. In reality, they set the stage for the erosion of the morals the enlisted soldiers are supposed to possess. While the morals were being chipped away, so was the original plan the battalion had hoped to follow. Fragmentation orders became a pseudo-standard for the boys of Bravo Company. What had originally started as short-term overnight patrol bases turned into fortified traffic control points with the exception of any form of fortification other than in notion only. Despite the fact that platoon-level leadership requested for supplies they were repeatedly turned down. A major breakdown in the communication between the leadership created a loss in faith in the higher leadership for the lower-enlisted soldiers on the ground. Very soon into deployment, Bravo Company began to experience contact with unseen enemy forces. The enemy was able to engage and plant IED’s and cause casualties while remaining elusive. After the first few casualties within the company, the mission to start set up traffic control points was to begin. While conducting patrols down the road time and time

It was 115 degrees; the platoon was walking through the middle of the desert each of them with 40 pounds of gear on and an M16A2 rifle. It was summer time in the country of Afghanistan and the temperature was rising. At this point I asked myself what the hell I am doing here and why did I join the United States Army? Right when I was thinking that I felt a tug on my leg and there stood a young boy about 7 years old with only one arm, “Candy,Candy” he asked. Upon speaking with the local villagers we found out that his arm was taken from an improvised explosive device (IED) planted

I have two battalions in the trenches of the first line and the third in relief at rest just behind our trenches. The three rotate. Our boys have had their baptism of fire. They have patrolled No Man 's Land. They have gone on raids and one of my lieutenants has been cited for a decoration…I am very proud of what we 've done and are doing. I put the whole regiment through grenade (live grenade) practice. Nasty, dangerous business. They did it beautifully… The boys keep

On March 10, 2010, at 13:30 a.m., 3rd Platoon, Company D, 1-22 Infantry Battalion, was conducting a convoy operation. The purpose of the operation was to transport equipment and selected Service Members to the battalion’s main Forward Operating Base. Twenty minutes into the convoy operation, Patrick’s unit was under attack by an enemy force equipped with automatic weapon systems. During this time, Patrick maintained his confidence and began returning firing toward the enemy force. As Patrick was returning fire from the vehicle that he was in, he was struck by one round from the enemy force. The medic that was attached to the convoy operation immediately tended to Patrick’s wounds and managed to get him to a medical facility,

For over hundreds of years men have lost their lives fighting for their country and what they believe in. Everyday, the battle ground is enhanced as technology proves to become more hi-tech throughout the many years of war known to man. Back in WWII, service members were not so reluctant to have the same luxuries as we do today during war. The least to say, a legend at his best, LT. Audie L. Murphy fought alongside with the 3rd Infantry Division with only one objective in mind. This battle, The One-Man Stand at Holtzwihr, is a memory to be told and a legend to be lived on.

I thought completing Marine Corps boot camp was my most cherished accomplishment, completing boot camp merely stood in the shadows of my last work up for my last deployment. I was holding the Bravo Squad Leader position. At this point in my Marine Corps career I obtained three combat oriented M.O.S.’ or jobs; however, there was little to no preparation for what I got myself into.

SNC delivered a confident and complete order successfully addressing all paragraphs of the five paragraph order. SNC assigned primary and secondary tasks to subordinates and reiterated the Enemy Situation. SNC properly controlled the fire team’s formation utilizing proper dispersion and smoothly transitioned from column to wedge. Upon enemy contact SNC relayed a clear and effective ADDRAC and directed SNC’s fire team to provide suppressive fire. SNC maintained mission focus when SNC’s fire team took a casualty. SNC directed his fire team in a tactically appropriate manner as they evacuated the casualty. Upon return to MA-2A SNC submitted the map to higher without being prompted by the evaluator. SNC displayed suburb leadership potential

Ridgeway’s men spent the entire day rebuilding and enhancing their defenses. He ordered recon patrols to be pushed out and deny enemy movement. A patrol led by LT. McGee who was in charge of one of these recon patrols found and captured five enemy Chinese hiding in a culvert, and returned with an additional 17 wounded Chinese Soldiers. The Artillerymen focused their efforts on their defensive posture and relaying the howitzers, moving them from two platoon formations to laying the howitzers in pairs. There was a lone building close to the Artillery position, outside of the security perimeter, that they decided to destroy it using direct fire and white phosphorus before the Chinese could occupy and use it as a strong point. During the evening of the 14th Gen. Ridgeway held a meeting at the FDC tent to discuss the night’s defensive plans and capabilities. After the meeting everyone felt confident and secure about holding out through the night against another possible Chinese Offensive. The meeting also brought to light a possible Chinese offensive plan of action. It was determined that the Chinese might use a natural saddle in the terrain that approaches the right Flank directly behind the firing batteries. In response to this threat Gen. Ridgeway’s officers agreed to place three out post positions and two B.A.R. teams in defense of the avenue of approach. The 23rd RCT was in charge of incoming supplies throughout the day, receiving

As a new Corporal and a team leader for a Mortar Squad, we had trained

but this time, they finished at dawn, due to the higher caution. It was still dark and there was not any daylight, when they were returning somebody suddenly heard a clack from the minefield. He alarmed the others. Fear had left everyone breathless. There was a strange reticence. Everyone was expecting a horrible thing. The longer the silent moments of waiting, the bigger the people's panic and fear. They were sticking to the rocks and sandbags more and more, like they were rooting into the soil. The clack repeated in the field. The troops got on standby in prone position. The critical circumstance had taken our breath away. An urgent call was made to the division headquarters which was on a high alert. The mortars and artillery groups were

SNC established security prior to brief. SNC was able to provide the accurate Azimuth in the allotted time. For the brief, SNC utilized the terrain model to cover Scheme of Maneuver. SNC's order was delivered in a confident manner and he ensured understanding from his fire team leaders. SNC gave an inaccurate Mission Statement. SNC maintained situational awareness while the squad quickly moved towards the ammo pick-up point. SNC failed to identify in his "Tasks" who will pick up the ammo, but quickly designated this during execution. SNC then adjusted his formation before the hill climb, demonstrating forward thinking in possible enemy contact up the hill in order to best control the fire teams. Upon enemy contact, SNC did not call an accurate

My military service reshaped who I am. My training stripped away any sense of entitlement and I learned more about myself in four months than I’d ever known before. It not only gave me discipline and taught me to perform under pressure, but everything I did wasn’t just for me anymore. I was working hard for the marines next to me in my platoon. The time came when each of us hit a breaking point physically or mentally.

At approximately zero seven hundred hours the rounds started flying and the battle commenced for the day. Attack point one and two were being engaged from the mountain side in the west north westerly direction from 600m. From my position AP 3 the squad could not engage the enemy due to a structure blockage; due to a house in-between the squad and the engagement. The team needed to relocate to a better position, so I informed the driver to progress the truck forward so the squad could acquire an enhanced view of the vicinity doing the engaging. After moving the truck of only fifty feet my gunner was able to gain positive ID on the positions that the enemy was shooting from. From inside the truck my gunner pressed the button to the CROW system that would send 7.62 cal. rounds hurling at the enemy. The first one hundred rounds went through the system smoothly, than the CROW jammed. Throwing open the Crow hatch to the gun, mu gunner was unable to fix the jam in an expedient manner. Calling up the MK-48 my dismount in the back fed the second weapons system up through the gunner hatch