Page 31 - 100 Hours to Destiny

men and entire task force inside each vehicle, a crew of 7 fabulous Marines,
the future at this point a coin toss.”
As I scanned with the high-powered binoculars I came upon one of
the vehicles and stopped to observe each man on board, it was the crew of
Red 5, Steel Justice, the vehicle and crew that I had fought alongside as
driver at the battle of OP4. The tough Texas Marine Vehicle Commander Sgt
Kyle Reynolds was being observed speaking to the crew, I could hear his
voice 200 yards away in my mind, I could read his lips in the binoculars and
hear what he was saying to his crew. 22 days and changes had been made to
the vehicle assignments, drivers, crews and scouts had been shifted. I had
moved to the Company GySgt Steven Dell’s vehicle, as driver/sub-
Commander, and a new driver went to Red 5.
With the Gunny I would find myself in a unique position, much more
responsibility as we were tasked with providing logistics support to the line
companies, we would conduct mail call, water and chow, bullets, beans, and
band-aids, conduct fuel, ammo and resupply points and sometimes hear out
a disgruntled Marines complaint about whatever the hell that might be. Yet
the benefits came ten-fold as I was able to see far more events, situations,
and communicate with the entire company on a daily basis. Each day I had
the privilege to observe Delta Company’s inner-workings, hear decisions
made and watch them play out. I felt far more involved than before. My new
position with the Company GySgt of Delta Company allowed me to watch the
ultimate team of Marine Corps professionals, perhaps one of the greatest
teams of commissioned and non-commissioned officers gathered together
on any battlefield, in any time throughout the history of United States
Marine Corps. Here from my position with the Company Gunny, I observed
firsthand perhaps the greatest Commander of Marines facing combat, in a
combat zone, leading troops every day from the front, Captain Roger “Rock”
Pollard. Then perhaps one of the all-time greatest close air support air
controllers in tight combat situations, 1stLt Scott Williams, Executive Officer
of Delta Company. Working hand in hand with the Captain, the powerful
1Sgt of Delta Company, former drill instructor, Alfonso Villa was personally
responsible for carrying out the orders of the day/directives of Roger “Rock”
Pollard. This Marine, the 1Sgt was a walking encyclopedia of the Marine
Corps. Together Captain Pollard and the 1Sgt could answer and come up
with a solution, on the fly, of any complex problem Delta Company
encountered.
So now through my binoculars, I saw them. This incredible team that
I just mentioned. They were at Captain Pollard's vehicle, the vaunted
American Hero. I watched the Captain and 1Sgt talking together; looking at
them through the binoculars gave me a feeling of inner peace, a confident