1. Get the teams away from the bodies right now and terminate personnel recovery ops.
2. Report the IED and progress at the site (to include heel marks and tire tracks) to higher HQ. Also tell them the company may shortly be under attack and that we are displacing to the hospital compound for safety.
3. Inform the company of the possible IED and attack threat. Order them to pull all dismounts back, mount up and move to the hospital compound with whatever we have collected so far, now. We will set up a defensive position there and await developments. Order of march is inside units first, then two of the tanks from tank platoon and then the rest of the road blocks. Maintain eyes on the watchers and the vehicles toward us and do not let them get closer than 100 meters. There is the slight chance they are friendlies or local police, but let’s not find out the hard way.
4. Inform the attack helicopter that we are displacing and he is to cover us and continue to watch the moving vehicles.
Company: The stack of bodies is an IED; everybody steers clear. The recovery mission is complete. We withdraw immediately. 1st Platoon: Load up what you've got and withdraw west through 2nd Platoon. Herringbone 500m west of 2nd Platoon's position and wait for the rest of the company to join you. Follow in trace of Tanks once they pass through you. Weapons: Mount up and follow in trace of 1st. Tanks: On order, once Weapons starts moving, withdraw west to 2nd Platoon's position. Once there, put an HE round into that stack of bodies to detonate the IED. I'll be there to direct you. Then continue west, pass through Weapons and 1st and lead the column. 2nd Platoon: Once Tanks pass through your position, follow in trace and form the rear of the column. Attack helo: Cover our withdrawal. If that suspected VBIED turns south at the mosque and starts heading toward us, engage.
I'm going to declare mission complete and withdraw. I have no interest in sticking around and getting into a pitched fight. We withdraw the search/recovery elements first and then the security elements. I want the tanks to lead the movement back to the FOB for security reasons, which is why I have them pass through 1st and Weapons. This gives us the same order of march going back as coming in, although I'll pick a different route. We don't have time to call in EOD, so I'll detonate the IED expediently with a tank main gun round. I'll be coordinating everything from 2nd Platoon's position. The attack helo will provide overhead cover; it can line up a clear overhead shot south-north against the VBIED.
All platoons: we’ve found an IED under the bodies and there are possible hostile elements maneuvering to our north. We’re withdrawing from this position and returning to base.
Weapons Platoon and 1st Platoon: head west back along the MSR, Weapons in lead. I will follow 1st Platoon.
Tank Platoon: hold your blocking position until you see HQ Platoon pass through Second Platoon, then begin displacing west along the MSR toward Second Platoon.
Second Platoon: hold the blocking position until HQ Platoon passes through you, then begin moving your vehicles west along the MSR. As the lead of Tank Platoon approaches your position, displace your last vic and follow HQ Platoon. Tank Platoon, keep you barrels oriented north as you pass the intersection that potential VBIED seems to be positioning itself to come down. If the truck turns south and accelerates towards you, use your coax to fire into its engine block until it stops. Once your last vic passes the intersection, keep its barrel pointed east to cover us with same ROE should the truck approach.
FiST: keep the helos in the overhead to relay updates on what the possible hostiles are doing, and coordinate with the DASC to keep either CAS or ISR overhead of the remaining bodies to maintain situational awareness should we or another unit get tasked to return to this location.
Rationale: I want to extricate the company from this place as quickly as possible, so those units not in a blocking position move first. I want tanks covering our rear on the off chance the possible VBIED gets close without us disabling it; if it is a VBIED, the tanks can handle the blast better than the rest of the company.
Back to part 1 of this TDG: I’m not lobbing tank rounds into an urban environment. If that truck is, in fact, a VBIED—which we only suspect at this point—and it comes down the north-south road, I could shoot a tank round into it, which might detonate or might pass through and blow up the mosque, making my next day’s job, and the days after that, all that much harder. Additionally, if I can disable the VBIED with the coax rather than just blow it to hell, I also mitigate potentially blowing up civilian housing located along that north-south road.
I’ll leave CAS in the overhead to cover our withdrawal and keep eyes on the location. We now know there’s an IED—if we make the effort to regroup, get some EOD support from higher, and maintain eyes on the location via CAS/ISR to ensure hostile reinforcements don’t reinfiltrate, it leaves open the option for us to return with the appropriate assets to disarm the IED, recover the rest of the bodies, and earn goodwill from the host nation for our efforts to recover their dead intact rather than blow the remaining bodies into smaller parts. I’m also not keen on detonating two 155 shells right next to an urban area and causing unnecessary civilian harm. If the IED were command-detonated, the insurgents would’ve blown it by now to inflict casualties on me. It hasn’t blown, which means it’s in my control whether it detonates at this point or not. So I will keep it under observation via aviation, and again, maybe earn some local goodwill by returning to disarm it rather blowing a hole in a local road and knocking down buildings—and potentially causing civilian casualties—by detonating it myself.
A vehicle believed to be a VBIED, accompanied by what appear to be insurgent vehicles, is advancing toward our position from the west. Enemy intent and full disposition remain uncertain.
Mission:
The company will break contact and withdraw from the current location, aborting the recovery operation.
Execution:
• Objective: Battalion assembly area
• Route: Along the main highway
• Order of march:
1st Platoon
Weapons Platoon
Company HQ
2nd Platoon
Tank Platoon (rear security)
• Intent:
While it is deeply regrettable to abandon the body recovery operation midway, priority must be given to avoiding potential catastrophic losses from a VBIED attack.
• Assessment:
Although current contact suggests we hold a favorable tactical position, we cannot rule out the possibility that unseen insurgent elements are preparing close-range ambushes from nearby structures.
• Concept of movement:
Avoid dense urban terrain where possible. Execute a rapid withdrawal along the highway, utilizing clear lines of sight and maintaining formation integrity. Stay alert for secondary attacks during movement.
"All units this is 11, mount up hastily. Situation update to follow:
SITUATION: We have identified IED´s beneath the casualties, and we have possible hostile units on approach less than 2 clicks NORTH of our POS. We are terminating the recovery mission at this time.
MISSION: Company is to immediately RETIRE towards the SOUTHWEST and RTB along new axis of advance iot. avoid contact with ENY.
EXECUTION:
1st PLT: RETIRE as second unit in column of march towards the SOUTHWEST. Maintain flank security towards the NORTH.
2nd PLT: RETIRE as foremost unit in column of march along new axis of advance.
Weapons PLT: RETIRE along with HQ section as third in column of march.
Tank PLT: RETIRE as last in column of march. Maintain rearward security.
Situation update finished, all units execute"
END OF TRANSMISSION
"HELO this is 11. Request you maintain visual on possible VBIED and report his movements. We are RTB at this time."
RATIONALE: My intent is to extract my company from a situation I deem to be favorable to a potential enemy that has us in what could potentially be a kill zone. The sedan coupled with the IEDs under the bodies and the possible incoming hostiles makes me think the ENY might have prepared a hasty attack after the initial ambush. Furthermore, I do not wish to exfiltrate back the same way we came, as the ENY might have had time to prepare new ambushes along this route. Therefore, I want to retire my company along an alternative axis, fully aware of the risks this entails. I retire my units in such an order so that I maintain my armored units both at the front and the rear. Lastly, I request the HELO to continue feeding me SA so that I may be aware of how ENY movements are occurring in real time.
Good discussion. The consensus seems to be to withdraw ourselves quickly to avoid additional casualties and the possibility of a fixed fight. The reasoning is that we have done what we can for now. What to do about the remaining bodies and the live IED, which still poses a threat, remains an open question. Presented options include abandoning the IED/bodies as no longer our problem, coming back later with EOD to dismantle the IED and recover the remaining bodies, and expediently blowing the IED (and bodies) in place. I think reasonable cases can be made for all three. The main argument for abandoning the IED/bodies is that it minimizes the direct threat to friendly forces, although it leaves in place a threat to military and civilian traffic using the MSR and it exposes the bodies to potential further desecration. Returning with specialized EOD capabilities offers the possibility of recovering the remaining bodies and decreases the risk of collateral damage if the IED can be dismantled, but it incurs additional risk, as it is very likely the enemy could be waiting to conduct a secondary ambush or may have emplaced additional booby traps. As IanTB points out, those risks could be mitigated if we can keep an overhead asset in place to make sure the site remains secure and not tampered with. Detonating the IED in place solves the IED problem expediently (as well as, you could argue, the problem of recovering the remaining bodies), thereby eliminating the risk to friendly forces of having to return to the site. Of course, it fails to recover the remaining bodies and it risks collateral damage to the surrounding buildings (although better to do that now when the area has been cleared and isolated).
This TDG is based on an incident that occurred in the Iraqi city of Hit in 2005. At that time and place, EOD assets were not readily available, so returning later to dismantle the IED was not considered a viable option. As for the approaching potential VBIED, based again on the situation in Hit at that time, there was no justification for benign activity at that hour, and that fact pattern was considered conclusive indication of hostile intent.
1. Get the teams away from the bodies right now and terminate personnel recovery ops.
2. Report the IED and progress at the site (to include heel marks and tire tracks) to higher HQ. Also tell them the company may shortly be under attack and that we are displacing to the hospital compound for safety.
3. Inform the company of the possible IED and attack threat. Order them to pull all dismounts back, mount up and move to the hospital compound with whatever we have collected so far, now. We will set up a defensive position there and await developments. Order of march is inside units first, then two of the tanks from tank platoon and then the rest of the road blocks. Maintain eyes on the watchers and the vehicles toward us and do not let them get closer than 100 meters. There is the slight chance they are friendlies or local police, but let’s not find out the hard way.
4. Inform the attack helicopter that we are displacing and he is to cover us and continue to watch the moving vehicles.
Company: The stack of bodies is an IED; everybody steers clear. The recovery mission is complete. We withdraw immediately. 1st Platoon: Load up what you've got and withdraw west through 2nd Platoon. Herringbone 500m west of 2nd Platoon's position and wait for the rest of the company to join you. Follow in trace of Tanks once they pass through you. Weapons: Mount up and follow in trace of 1st. Tanks: On order, once Weapons starts moving, withdraw west to 2nd Platoon's position. Once there, put an HE round into that stack of bodies to detonate the IED. I'll be there to direct you. Then continue west, pass through Weapons and 1st and lead the column. 2nd Platoon: Once Tanks pass through your position, follow in trace and form the rear of the column. Attack helo: Cover our withdrawal. If that suspected VBIED turns south at the mosque and starts heading toward us, engage.
I'm going to declare mission complete and withdraw. I have no interest in sticking around and getting into a pitched fight. We withdraw the search/recovery elements first and then the security elements. I want the tanks to lead the movement back to the FOB for security reasons, which is why I have them pass through 1st and Weapons. This gives us the same order of march going back as coming in, although I'll pick a different route. We don't have time to call in EOD, so I'll detonate the IED expediently with a tank main gun round. I'll be coordinating everything from 2nd Platoon's position. The attack helo will provide overhead cover; it can line up a clear overhead shot south-north against the VBIED.
[yup, knew there was a bomb under those bodies]
All platoons: we’ve found an IED under the bodies and there are possible hostile elements maneuvering to our north. We’re withdrawing from this position and returning to base.
Weapons Platoon and 1st Platoon: head west back along the MSR, Weapons in lead. I will follow 1st Platoon.
Tank Platoon: hold your blocking position until you see HQ Platoon pass through Second Platoon, then begin displacing west along the MSR toward Second Platoon.
Second Platoon: hold the blocking position until HQ Platoon passes through you, then begin moving your vehicles west along the MSR. As the lead of Tank Platoon approaches your position, displace your last vic and follow HQ Platoon. Tank Platoon, keep you barrels oriented north as you pass the intersection that potential VBIED seems to be positioning itself to come down. If the truck turns south and accelerates towards you, use your coax to fire into its engine block until it stops. Once your last vic passes the intersection, keep its barrel pointed east to cover us with same ROE should the truck approach.
FiST: keep the helos in the overhead to relay updates on what the possible hostiles are doing, and coordinate with the DASC to keep either CAS or ISR overhead of the remaining bodies to maintain situational awareness should we or another unit get tasked to return to this location.
Rationale: I want to extricate the company from this place as quickly as possible, so those units not in a blocking position move first. I want tanks covering our rear on the off chance the possible VBIED gets close without us disabling it; if it is a VBIED, the tanks can handle the blast better than the rest of the company.
Back to part 1 of this TDG: I’m not lobbing tank rounds into an urban environment. If that truck is, in fact, a VBIED—which we only suspect at this point—and it comes down the north-south road, I could shoot a tank round into it, which might detonate or might pass through and blow up the mosque, making my next day’s job, and the days after that, all that much harder. Additionally, if I can disable the VBIED with the coax rather than just blow it to hell, I also mitigate potentially blowing up civilian housing located along that north-south road.
I’ll leave CAS in the overhead to cover our withdrawal and keep eyes on the location. We now know there’s an IED—if we make the effort to regroup, get some EOD support from higher, and maintain eyes on the location via CAS/ISR to ensure hostile reinforcements don’t reinfiltrate, it leaves open the option for us to return with the appropriate assets to disarm the IED, recover the rest of the bodies, and earn goodwill from the host nation for our efforts to recover their dead intact rather than blow the remaining bodies into smaller parts. I’m also not keen on detonating two 155 shells right next to an urban area and causing unnecessary civilian harm. If the IED were command-detonated, the insurgents would’ve blown it by now to inflict casualties on me. It hasn’t blown, which means it’s in my control whether it detonates at this point or not. So I will keep it under observation via aviation, and again, maybe earn some local goodwill by returning to disarm it rather blowing a hole in a local road and knocking down buildings—and potentially causing civilian casualties—by detonating it myself.
FRAGO
Situation:
A vehicle believed to be a VBIED, accompanied by what appear to be insurgent vehicles, is advancing toward our position from the west. Enemy intent and full disposition remain uncertain.
Mission:
The company will break contact and withdraw from the current location, aborting the recovery operation.
Execution:
• Objective: Battalion assembly area
• Route: Along the main highway
• Order of march:
1st Platoon
Weapons Platoon
Company HQ
2nd Platoon
Tank Platoon (rear security)
• Intent:
While it is deeply regrettable to abandon the body recovery operation midway, priority must be given to avoiding potential catastrophic losses from a VBIED attack.
• Assessment:
Although current contact suggests we hold a favorable tactical position, we cannot rule out the possibility that unseen insurgent elements are preparing close-range ambushes from nearby structures.
• Concept of movement:
Avoid dense urban terrain where possible. Execute a rapid withdrawal along the highway, utilizing clear lines of sight and maintaining formation integrity. Stay alert for secondary attacks during movement.
"All units this is 11, mount up hastily. Situation update to follow:
SITUATION: We have identified IED´s beneath the casualties, and we have possible hostile units on approach less than 2 clicks NORTH of our POS. We are terminating the recovery mission at this time.
MISSION: Company is to immediately RETIRE towards the SOUTHWEST and RTB along new axis of advance iot. avoid contact with ENY.
EXECUTION:
1st PLT: RETIRE as second unit in column of march towards the SOUTHWEST. Maintain flank security towards the NORTH.
2nd PLT: RETIRE as foremost unit in column of march along new axis of advance.
Weapons PLT: RETIRE along with HQ section as third in column of march.
Tank PLT: RETIRE as last in column of march. Maintain rearward security.
Situation update finished, all units execute"
END OF TRANSMISSION
"HELO this is 11. Request you maintain visual on possible VBIED and report his movements. We are RTB at this time."
RATIONALE: My intent is to extract my company from a situation I deem to be favorable to a potential enemy that has us in what could potentially be a kill zone. The sedan coupled with the IEDs under the bodies and the possible incoming hostiles makes me think the ENY might have prepared a hasty attack after the initial ambush. Furthermore, I do not wish to exfiltrate back the same way we came, as the ENY might have had time to prepare new ambushes along this route. Therefore, I want to retire my company along an alternative axis, fully aware of the risks this entails. I retire my units in such an order so that I maintain my armored units both at the front and the rear. Lastly, I request the HELO to continue feeding me SA so that I may be aware of how ENY movements are occurring in real time.
Good discussion. The consensus seems to be to withdraw ourselves quickly to avoid additional casualties and the possibility of a fixed fight. The reasoning is that we have done what we can for now. What to do about the remaining bodies and the live IED, which still poses a threat, remains an open question. Presented options include abandoning the IED/bodies as no longer our problem, coming back later with EOD to dismantle the IED and recover the remaining bodies, and expediently blowing the IED (and bodies) in place. I think reasonable cases can be made for all three. The main argument for abandoning the IED/bodies is that it minimizes the direct threat to friendly forces, although it leaves in place a threat to military and civilian traffic using the MSR and it exposes the bodies to potential further desecration. Returning with specialized EOD capabilities offers the possibility of recovering the remaining bodies and decreases the risk of collateral damage if the IED can be dismantled, but it incurs additional risk, as it is very likely the enemy could be waiting to conduct a secondary ambush or may have emplaced additional booby traps. As IanTB points out, those risks could be mitigated if we can keep an overhead asset in place to make sure the site remains secure and not tampered with. Detonating the IED in place solves the IED problem expediently (as well as, you could argue, the problem of recovering the remaining bodies), thereby eliminating the risk to friendly forces of having to return to the site. Of course, it fails to recover the remaining bodies and it risks collateral damage to the surrounding buildings (although better to do that now when the area has been cleared and isolated).
This TDG is based on an incident that occurred in the Iraqi city of Hit in 2005. At that time and place, EOD assets were not readily available, so returning later to dismantle the IED was not considered a viable option. As for the approaching potential VBIED, based again on the situation in Hit at that time, there was no justification for benign activity at that hour, and that fact pattern was considered conclusive indication of hostile intent.