HEY! ALP AGAIN WITH ANOTHER STORY! THE MILITARY IS ALWAYS CHANGING. IF YOU HAVENT NOTICED HOW ITS GONE FROM "UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU FOR THE US ARMY" TO "BE ALL YOU CAN BE" TO "ARMY OF ONE" TO NOW, "ARMY STRONG" (UGH....) ME PERSONALLY I THINK IT SHOULD HAVE STAYED "ARMY OF ONE". ANYWAY IM GETTING OF TRACK.... WHILE I WAS TRAINED TO FIX AIRCRAFT COCKPIT ESSENTIALS, I STILL HAD ESCORT AND GUARD DUTIES. IN THE MIDDLE OF GUARD SHIFT, MY UNIT DECIDED TO PUT SOME PEOPLE ON THE GUARD TOWES AROUND THE EXTERIOR OF THE CAMP. ITS ALSO ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACES TO BE.
ME AND MY BUDDY WERE HEADED TO EAST TOWER 7. ITS ONE OF THE SAFEST TOWERS, NOBODY GETS ATTACKED ON THAT SIDE........ YEAH RIGHT!!! AN HOUR INTO OUR SHIFT WE HEARD GUN FIRE COMING FROM TOWER 5 AND 6, RESPECTIVELY. WE COULD HEAR THE OTHERS ON THE RADIO. WE CALLED IN ON THE ATTACK ON THE OTHER TOWERS. AFTER WE FINSHED, TOWER 7 GOT HIT WITH AN RPG. THE TOWER GOT HIT, NOT THE OCCUPANTS, THANKFULLY. IT STILL SCARED THE LIVING CRAP OUT OF ME AND MY BUDDY. WE KNEW WHAT WE HAD TO DO, BUT WE WHERENT SURE IF WE COULD DO IT. THAT WAS WHEN I DID SOMETHING REALLY STUPID..... I JUMPED STRAIGHT UP AND STARTED SHOOTING BACK OUT IN THE DARK! MY BUDDY THEN DID THE SAME THING, ONLY HAD THE MACHINE GUN GOING ALL OUT IN THE SAME AREA! I THINK WE WENT THROUGHT ABOUT 200 ROUNDS BETWEEN THE BOTH OF US. I NEVER WANT TO GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN..... WE ENDED UP STOPPING THE INSURGENTS (12 ALTOGETH FROM TOWER 5 TO TOWER 7). WE KILLED 7 OF THEM AND CAPTURED THE OTHERS. WE LATER FOUND OUT THEY WERE PART OF A STRAGGLING GROUP OF AL-QUIDA THAT WAS IN THE AREA. OUR EFFORTS HELPED GET RID OF THE LAST REMAINING BIG AL-QUIDA THREAT IN THE BAGDAD! (JUST SO YOU KNOW, CAMP TAJI IS ONLY 20 MILES FROM BAGDAD)