Came across this interesting little video from the Pentagon’s mega list of multimedia coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan and thought it was worth sharing with the BTDTs on Defense Tech.
I love the idea that before becoming an Army infantryman, this guy was a rodeo clown.
An honest interview of a private’s first taste of some bang-bang.
So what was your first firefight like? My first time being shot at was in Afghanistan in 2004. I was on a 5-day patrol with some Joes from the 1st of the 501st and we were eating lunch with a border checkpoint commander when we heard a loud explosion. One of our uparmored Humvees had been RPGed and we rushed out to meet up with the screening patrol to assist. As we were barreling down the mountain in our Humvee we were being shot at with high caliber rounds. Then we dismounted and began to call in air and got plinked at for a little bit longer.
It was exhilerating at the time, but as soon as it was over my mouth was bone dry and I had to take a crap. And tha’s been the exact same reaction every time I’ve ever been in a firefight since.
So join Private Stafinski and tell us what your first time was like…
– Christian
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
huh?
Is one of the Joes wearing Multi-Cam about 9 sec. into the video?
It looks like a very dirty UCP IMO.
Sorry, I don't mean to second guess what occurred, but aren't you guys potentially opening yourself up to getting multiple casualties by being so bunched up together near the berm? If the Taliban have a good spotter and mortarman, one round could take quite a few of you out.
Tuzla, august of 1994. I was a navy non-com TDY'd to Dutchbat2, a Dutch UN Blue Helmet army unit doing 'presence' patrols in hilly and urban terrain during the fracas at the Balkans. We never figured out who shot at us – Serbs, Bosniacs, ever present smugglers or just a local farmer – but we took incoming fire and were instructed to clearly identify and report back, and only use direct fire when in 'dire situations'. The always comical UN ROE were a real hoot back then. I was scared and angry. Scared of getting seriously injured and angry because I couldn't understand WHY a dumb navy squid was doing grunt stuff in the hills of the Balkans, of all places. My job was finding submarines and not some bored and probably skunk drunk AK gunner.
Damn right I was scared.
I dealt with it the best way I could think of, by switching services and join our army three years later.
Tuzla, august of 1994. I was a navy non-com assigned to a Blue Helmet army unit doing 'presence' patrols in hilly and urban terrain during the fracas at the Balkans. We never figured out who shot at us – Serbs, Bosniacs, ever present smugglers or just a local farmer – but we took incoming fire and were instructed to clearly identify and report back, and only use direct fire when in 'dire situations'. The always comical UN ROE were a real hoot back then. I was scared and angry. Scared of getting seriously injured and angry because I couldn't understand WHY a dumb navy squid was doing grunt stuff in the hills of the Balkans, of all places. My job was finding submarines and not some bored and probably skunk drunk AK gunner.
Three years later I joined our Army.
Tuzla, august of 1994. I was a navy non-com assigned to a Blue Helmet army unit doing 'presence' patrols in hilly and urban terrain during the fracas at the Balkans. We never figured out who shot at us – Serbs, Bosniacs, ever present smugglers or just a local farmer – but we took incoming fire and were instructed to clearly identify and report back, and only use direct fire when in 'dire situations'. The always comical UN ROE were a real hoot back then. I was scared and angry. Scared of getting seriously injured and angry because I couldn't understand WHY a dumb navy squid was doing grunt stuff in the hills of the Balkans, of all places. My job was finding submarines and not some bored and probably skunk drunk AK gunner.
I dealt with it the best way I could think of, by switching services and join our army three years later.
Wow..is that not a perfect example of why we need the troops to have something with more reach that the few hundred yards an M4 is capable of???!
agreed!
U need more SPR/DMRs is what u need.
It's possible a number of US ARMY units are testing Multicam and UPC-delta
Shooting at a spot on the hill (never did see them)…scared to death cause I only had a general direction….felt a tingle on my leg and said a silent prayer that I didn't piss my pants….talked shit like He Man afterwards and hoped to God that I'd get a chance to do it again so I could give a better account of myself.
Panama, '89, is one that i can talk about. The sound of AK rounds zipping by… the flash/bang of a RPG hitting near by. The yelling… my whole team opening up at the same time… the sound. .. (Best i can describe it as 100 little kids dragging steel sticks across corrurgated tin) the smell of burnt powder … the tinkling of brass hitting the ground. I was never more scared… or never felt more alive.
Is it just me, or does UCP blend in pretty darn good in Afghanistan? Heck it seems to blend in pretty good in most places in "combat" photos, but not so well in photo op photos.