Garmser; large town, completely empty of locals due to the Taliban taking over the District center. The fighting in and around this town was about 3-4 days, off and on and the TIC in this part is around noon on day 3.
Again, none of this is OPSEC, but I'll leave out the names
My section had the OP on a road on one end of town, watching the footbridge across the canal ( 15-20m across, fast flowing and deep ).
My P-l with elements of 1 and 3 section and pl HQ with a section of ANA and 2 US ETT were escorting 19 over the footbridge to get a look at the area on the far side of the canal.
Immediatly upon crossing the footbridge-contact.
A rough layout of the ground: on the far side of the canal is a road slightly higher than the canal bank, and on the far side of the road is a wall anywhere from 3-6 ft high and running the entire length of road ( like everywhere ) the contact had come from across the field that this wall forms a box around, roughly 75-100m away ( every field is boxed by a wall )
Grabbed my 3 dudes and ran up to the footbridge, while our Lav started its move into a good overwatch position ( the Lav's couldnt cross the canal ) crossed the bridge with my guys and saw that 1 section was pushing hard left to take a compound key to guarding our flank, the P-L was on the radio calling in arty and had secured the immediate wall with 3 sect/hq/ANA so I pushed to the right side.
Volume of enemy fire at this point was pretty high, lots of PKM and RPG coming in, so we started to pick apart their bunkers with M-203 and C-9 as best we could. Noticed a shift in fire on our right side, timmie had started to flank us using a 'T' junction about 125m up the road, he had a short move, all of it covered by his wall on the long end of the 'T'.
Timmie then started to paste us pretty good down the road with PKM and RPG fire. With my 3 guys plus 2 others we started pushing up the road to the junction, now taking fire from the original bunkers on right angle to us, as well as the crew at the 'T' junction.
My Lav had already started supporting 1 section, so I had no immediate help for a few minutes. We were making slow progress, 3 guys up front firing and moving at the same time, running dry then being replaced by the 3 guys right behind them. Sort of an Aussie peel back in reverse. We'd closed to within about 50m of the TB and had them fairly suppressed, when 1 sections Lav arrived ( had to drive from the other side of town) he was about 75m away on an angle to us, and was of course on the other side of the canal. He promptly let timmie know he'd arrived.
Now at this point I fully expected timmie to squirt, the Lav didnt know exactly where he was, but was hitting all around the TB, he did not squirt. Now more TB from about 300m away start firing more RPG/RPK at the Lav, and the RPG are on timed fuze, they quickly bracket the Lav and the commander is forced to get low quite often. Further slowing us down, he now has those enemy to deal with, and the TB we'd already been up close with launch another RPG just missing his Lav.
Decided to make another bound to get within grenade range, using both M-203's together we nailed the ditch and foilage the TB team was hiding in then made a rush for another bit of cover. The Lav noticed where our M203's splashed and started sweeping the ditch with HEIT. I'll leave out the details but that finished that 3 man det. We now had their flank, and it started to show in their fire. We now turned our attention on the enemy 300m away, and some still 75-100m away in their original positions. With our new vantage points on their flank we forced alot of TB to retreat or expose themselves in moving to new positions where we or the Lav took them out.
This is where the Lav starts to work, with a good crew commander using bino's and a good gunner scanning, it can pick apart defences quick, fast, and in a gd hurry. Timmie either stands and dies, or squirts and dies, occasionally he can slip away if the position is prepared well enough.
It was about this time when the first arty came in, on the original bunkers, god bless the guns. Every TIC I was in that we used the guns I was impressed by their speed and accuracy. Direct hits on several bunkers.
A runner from the P-L showed up and said we'd be pulling back across the bridge and back into town. Still taking minor to moderate fire from the further positions so we peeled back along the wall. Firing as we went, the Lav adding to the fire, and 3 Pl arrived as well to cover us across. Got to the bridge, started to cross it when my M203 gunner stopped and started cursing ' my gd fkn ambidexterous mag catch' and starts looking for his mag that's fallen off. ( Infidel knows him
) I mention I have several spares....could we please just get moving.
Break contact- arty mops up- fall back to the town. Get eaten by sand flees and ordered to shave.
edited to mention this took place over about 90min.
