The 20th Anniversary of what 11th Cav guys call the “Doha Dash”:
Long story short, the 11th ACR was in Camp Doha, near Kuwait City, and we would take turns doing rotations outside the perimeter, guarding the compound, and doing maintenance on vehicles (the sand killed M1’s), and while my unit was in our down phase before going on guard rotation, 2nd squadron had an incident in the makeshift motor pool. By incident, I mean they put the halon bottles in one of the ammo bearing vehicles for the howitzers on mechanical safe, an electrical fire started, ammo cooked off, the vehicle exploded, which caused a chain reaction explosion, wiping out numerous vehicles (more than were lost in the war), cooking off the ammo dump, and basically littering the entire compound with FASCAM, DPICM, WP, and pieces parts of multi-ton vehicles. I woke up when the first explosion went off, and seconds later the receiver base of a .50 cal came through the roof from a 1/2 mile away and landed feet from me.
The “Dash” portion of the name is obvious. We ran like hell, because there is nothing you can do when an ammo dump is blowing up and mines and parts of tanks are landing around you but GTFO. Oh- and the second squadron vehicles were all fully uploaded with DU rounds, and they were cooking off, creating an NBC situation. I’ll never forget Cpl. Dingle sprinting through the desert in his underwear carrying one of those super thin 2″ mattresses they gave us for our bunk over his head for “protection.” I have no idea why, but the only things I grabbed were my rifle and my toothbrush before I ran like hell. Fresh breath is a priority, I guess. Good times.
Wish I were still that skinny. You can read about the entire debacle here. I’ve long suspected that Col. Bacevich (you know him as A. James Bacevich), the regimental CO, lost his star because of that accident, even though it was not his fault at all. He just happened to be the RCO when the folks in 2nd Squadron screwed up.
JGabriel
John Cole:
Doesn’t he usually publish under the byline of Andrew J. Bacevich? That’s what name I see used for him most commonly, anyway.
Edited To Add: Glad you got through that incident uninjured (apparently). It sounds both terrifying and kind of over-the-top ridiculous.
.
Martin
Military jargon is little better to understand than Klingon. An NBC situation? Hmm, interesting! A little petroleum jelly should clear that right up.
How did I never pick up that you deployed to Iraq? Stationed in Germany, I heard. I guess I need to pay closer attention.
Ben Cisco
Holy crap, Cole! That’s some serious shit.
__
My old CO would have called that a DLGE (Dirty Laundry-
Generating Event).
stuckinred
Unass the AO like a motherfucker!
Lojasmo
Dude!
ira-NY
And what was Sgt. Pepper’s role in this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoJGDC10lZw
jl
Glad Cole made it out OK.
Can Cole remember if there was a mascot that looked like Rosie around camp? Might want to see if the ancestral tree heads in that direction.
Trollenschlongen
Glad you survived, Cole. Else I wouldn’t have this blog to gnaw your ankles on.
That said:
Funny how low level folks are often held accountable even for events beyond their control, but a president of the united states can lie a nation into war and retire in good standing; the entire continental united states air space can go unprotected for hours on 9/11 and no one is to blame.
What a fucked up world.
Martin
Good call. 2nd amendment dental remedies are a bitch.
Cat Lady
Munitions dump in Cyprus went BOOM! Must be something about the date.
BO_Bill
If it makes you feel better, here is some video footage from a military unit that is more disfunctional.
stuckinred
George Patton IV was the CO of the 11 ACR when I was in Vietnam. He was in the documentary “Hearts and Minds” and caused a minor furor when he said “MY troopers are a bunch of damn fine killers”.
Col. Bacevich has always impressed me a a soldier of the caliber of Anthony Herbert.
MikeJ
Today is also the first anniversary of the discovery of Neptune. It was discovered one Neptunian, or 164.79 Earth years, ago today.
Sad_Dem
Too bad some people weren’t ready with stopwatches. A few sprinting records might have been broken that day.
Culture of Truth
Wow, that’s quite an incident.
salvage
Stuff that never makes it into the Call of Duty games but should.
David Hunt
I can’t watch the video as I’m at work, but based on what I’ve read so far, I’m glad you came out of it okay. I’m glad to read that there were no fatalities.
trollhattan
Henceforth when I hear “Doha Round” trade will only be the second thing I think of.
Also, too, Yikes!
RossInDetroit
America: even our mistakes are better than yours.
USA! USA!
Ruckus
At least you could run.
USS Forrestal 1967
stuckinred
Did you think it was incoming?
Villago Delenda Est
For you uninitiated out there, NBC = Nuclear Biological Chemical. The nasty stuff. The stuff that causes you to put on special equipment that seriously degrades your ability to get your job done.
Bobby Thomson
Based on the information you linked to, it sounds like Bacevich was sacked because the people doing cleanup weren’t wearing protective gear despite the suspected existence of depleted uranium. That’s my take on it, anyway.
LanceThruster
Yep. Blow’d up good, blow’d up real good!
Don’tcha all know some of that there stuff is dangerous? My gawd, I mean…some of it can kill you…DEAD!
Trollenschlongen
at rossindetroit 19:
Oh, Ross…dear, dear Ross: Why are you such an unpatriotic hater of all that is good and exceptional about America the Awesome?
Culture of Truth
Even Tunch would’ve high-tailed it outta there.
Martin
Nah, Tunch would have jumped on top of it and smothered it with his overwhelming mass.
(Need to periodically remind Cole that in spite of my general dislike for cats, Tunch is a very lovely cat – I too am a fan.)
Tsulagi
That’s funny. Yeah, that 2” of foam will stop a 120mm DU round.
Tim in SF
Hey John Cole,
GTFO is also the name of an addon you should get. It’s indispensable for raiding and comes in handy in instances and even questing.
stuckinred
Tsulagi’
I have a buddy that took a 7.62 in the chin in Cambodia, I saw him last week and he’s doing fine. Ya never fucking know.
Southern Beale
You know what else happened today? The infamous Aaron Burr-Alexander Hamilton duel.
Hamilton lost but how many people even know who Aaron Burr is today? WINNING!
Amanda in the South Bay
My reaction to watching that video was that I was surprised some CSM didn’t chew them out for being out of uniform. That always seemed to be one of the pet peeves for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Captain Haddock
That is nuts. Did you know what was going on or did you think you were under attack?
stuckinred
Amanda in the South Bay’
Good way to get dropped in a situation like that.
Nellcote
But were you nekkid when you were running with your rifle and toothbrush. Sounds like a backstory for the nude mopping thing.
Southern Beale
Black Panther voter intimidation case was much ado about nothing …. an update.
MikeJ
@Southern Beale: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLSsswr6z9Y
schrodinger's cat
@Martin
Is Tunch a white dwarf? How close is he to the Chandrashekhar limit?
Villago Delenda Est
ZOMG! Boner is about to commit a “debt ceiling betrayal!”.
Click here to find out what Ron Paul is going to do about this!
Fuck Ron Paul, and fuck his vile spawn. Sideways. With a rusted chainsaw.
Warren Terra
I’m finally getting around to Netflixing Generation Kill (it’s good, as you’d expect from David Simon), and this is rather a theme.
Omnes Omnibus
Cole, weren’t there 3 Soldiers Medals awarded to people in connection with this incident?
Scott P.
White, yes. Dwarf, no.
stuckinred
Warren Terra
Great show. Be good to read the two books it’s based on as well. One Bullet Away and Generation Kill. The NCO’s are way better than the dumb fuck officers.
eta oops, didn’t know my brother Omnes Omnibus was here.
ErinSiobhan
I’ve always loved meeting people because everyone has at least one good story to tell. You’re a lucky guy – you have at least one great story to tell.
Martin
Let’s just say there’s a reason Cole furminates regularly. He’s that close.
Warren Terra
There is no hyperlink, and “clicking here” does nothing. Or is that your message?
Martin
Oh, no. We like this. A divided GOP is a losing GOP.
Martin
That’s the ad I’m getting constantly off of this page. Well, that and the girl with the inverted green cock.
Reload a few times.
Fax Paladin
Ah, the joys of context-sensitive advertising…
ETA: Somehow I suspect that the game does not include random self-inflicted ammo-dump explosions…
The Moar You Know
Well, that looks like quite a bit of no fun.
John
Never saw anything like that in Viet Nam. I was in a 155 howitzer battery and we had a few powder fires. i remember a 2d lt “organizing” a response to a powder fire ’til a wp cooked off – He was last seen heading south. Showed up the next day though.
I believe elements of the 11th ACR were attached operationally to our parent unit. I think they were more scared of our stupidity – nobody liked being next to us in the field. Or maybe it’s ’cause the loss of their 1/4 tons when they were fresh in country.
I think War Vets make the best liberals. It sure does make you aware of the stupidity/hubris of our leaders.
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
@Culture of Truth:
he would have at least lowtailed it, cement mixers aren’t known for their ability to jack the bear.
burnspbesq
OK, now I’ve never been in the military, but it seems to me that in the civilian world, we have a term that would cover compromising the fire suppression system in a vehicle carrying explosives. That term is “gross negligence.”
Did anybody get court-martialed for this?
Southern Beale
Unbelievable!
Conservative states rely most on government benefits!
And for our host:
kdaug
@Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal: Nah, Tunch would have just backed up. Going “Beep-beep-beep” the whole time.
Southern Beale
@MikeJ :
“AWON BUH!!! AWON BUH!”
LOL
MikeJ
@Southern Beale: Related: Half of US social program recipients believe they “have not used a government social program“
stuckinred
John
Electric Strawberry?
Long Binh Ammo Dump going up
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2397/2494970652_f851da5bb5.jpg
Dennis SGMM
Now that it’s all in the past; Heh! Our tiny base in the Delta had a substantial swamp running along the back of it. The VC, and they were genyoowine VC, would use it to sneak up close and do mischief. Our skipper had sought authorization to defoliate the thing but the Agent Orange business had just come out (This was in 1971) and it was no go. So, one night, skipper got drunk and decided to take things into his own hands.
His plan was simple; he commandeered a tank truck full of JP4, had it backed up to the swamp and then had them pump out its load into the swamp. He then found a rock, tied a good-sized rag around it, soaked it with the last few trickles of JP lit it and and whirled it away into the swamp. Whoomp! Up she went! The flames were fifty feet high.
There was only one little problem: for nearly two years the ordies (Ordnancemen; we were Navy) had been tossing every belt end, loose round, cross threaded rocket warhead, damaged rocket motor and lord knows what else into that same swamp. It was spectacular. The sound of hundreds of 7.62mm and 20mm rounds cooking off provided the melody while the 2.75 (heavy) and 5 inch warheads detonating provided the bass. The occasional unplanned launch of a rocket motor added the much-enjoyed visuals.
It rained shit for at least twenty minutes but, thankfully, no one got so much as a scratch. Everyone for miles around thought that we’d been hit, hard, and the news quickly went up the chain of command to Saigon who radioed us with offers of air strikes within five minutes. We bravely declined the offer of air support and blamed the VC.
When the flames finally died out the vegetation in the swamp was still six feet tall and within a few months it looked the same as it did before our adventure.
Cassidy
@ burnspbesq…. Generally speaking military equipment can just take a shit on you. You can do everything right, read the frickin’ manual to the “t” , and still something can catch fire, explode, not turn over, etc. Just the nature of the business.
WereBear
My comment seemed to have vanished into the ether. It didn’t have any links or anything.
WereBear
I think WP has detected my lack of military experience.
stuckinred
Dennis SGMM
Guess Dong Tam wasn’t all that small so you had to be somewhere deeper.
Dennis SGMM
@stuckinred
I was at Navy Binh Thuy. We were so far out in the boondocks that we had to go twenty klicks downriver to find a whorehouse.
cbear
Col. Bacevich is an incredibly bright military officer and one of the most honest voices we have on the debacle that is/has been our foreign policy for the last 11 years. His book, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism, should be required reading for anyone who cares about this country.
He also lost his son in Iraq in 2007 and wrote an incredibly heartrending piece about his loss.
I still think about that article almost everytime I hear about another young soldier killed in our many wars.
Johannes
Wow, Cole. Glad you got through in one piece.
stuckinred
We would stop at Can Tho, dropped our shit and then took the ferry back and would drive up to Sa Dec from Vihn Long. Pretty good cathouse there but them crazy fucking Seals were always rasin’ hell in there.
scav
odd thought. What with all the hell raising that’s eternally going on, why don’t we ever see the mature crop?
Dennis SGMM
IIRC, we had Team Three stationed with us. We always used them as a standard to gauge whether we were merely crazy or fucking nuts.
trollhattan
Stuff that blows up, Cyprus edition:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14115103
Siezed Iranian gunpowder? Weird.
Citizen_X
More dangerous shit with weaponry, in this case due to abject stupidity: AZ State Sen. Lori Klein points a loaded pistol at a reporter. This would be her pink .380 Ruger with a laser sight (and without a safety), but “the senator assured Ruelas that he wasn’t in danger. ‘I just didn’t have my hand on the trigger,’ she said.”
Three guesses which party she belongs to.
celticdragonchick
I talked to two Cav officers who saw the same event at King Fahd airport from different perspectives. It seems that some DynCorp guys were loading Hellfires on an Apache and doing the power on checks when one of the rounds prematurely fired. The Hellfire went ballistic…narrowly missing two guys doing maintenance on the rear rotor of a Chinook and then proceeded a couple of miles into the inevitable ammo dump where Murphy’s Law dictated it had to go. The guys on gate guard saw it coming and hauled ass. The ammo dump explosion was spectacular, I understand.
Like John said: Good times.
stuckinred
Dennis SGMM
Glad they were on out team.
stuckinred
our team
Ash Can
Oy.
trollhattan
@71.Citizen_X – July 11, 2011 | 7:04 pm · Link
Ladies and germs, I give you John Kyl’s replacement.
Dennis SGMM
@trollhattan
Apparently, dear old dad was so drunk/stupid/senile that he neglected the cardinal rule of gun safety; never point a loaded gun at anyone unless you are willing to kill them.
trollhattan
@77.Dennis SGMM – July 11, 2011 | 7:40 pm · Link
I was thinking something similar but I guess her Hello Kitty edition gun makes it so dang cute. OTOH it might also be SOP for Republican handling of the “lamestream media” now. Beacuse as we all
knowhave been informed, they’re the real terrorists.Jerome
Thanks for your service. Glad you didn’t go boom.
MB
I got a bigger 11th ACR clusterfuck for you – it produced Thomas White (1st Squad. Commander, 11th ACR, Commander, 11th ACR, etc.) who later went on to become Vice Chair of Enron Energy. Waaay bigger boom, in the end. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_E._White
Blackhorse, Sir!?
honus
“Apparently, dear old dad was so drunk/stupid/senile that he neglected the cardinal rule of gun safety; never point a loaded gun at anyone unless you are willing to kill them.”
And the other cardinal rule, treat every gun as if it is loaded.
punkdavid
What else can you say except, “Cool story, bro.”
Phoenician in a time of Romans
EOD POC [Explosive Ordnance Disposal Point of Contact] STATES THAT BURNING DEPLETED URANIUM PARTICLES WHEN BREATHED CAN BE HAZARDOUS. 11TH ACR HAS BEEN NOTIFIED TO TREAT THE AREA AS THOUGH IT WERE A CHEMICAL HAZARD AREA; i.e. STAY UPWIND AND WEAR PROTECTIVE MASK IN THE VICINITY.
Gee, and yet we’re told that there is nothing harmful to civilians in dumping this stuff all over their country, and that there is no link between this and mysterious rises in birth defects and cancers…
Pseudonym
Say, you used to be an Andrew Sullivan reader, right, John Cole?
bob h
Is this the Basevitch who ended up dead in the next Iraq war?