Page 88 - 100 Hours to Destiny

HEAD ON A SWIVEL

The battle line of Delta Company LAI was set. Now came Captain
Pollard over the communications net, “Delta Company, great bit of
maneuvering there Marines. We are going to keep this formation for just a
moment until I give the command for a Company Wedge, then we push 800
meters forward, to allow ripper and 3rd tanks with Col Alfonso “Buster”
Diggs to penetrate through the minefield. Gunners stay on your sights and
let’s keep watch, there’s a lot of war trash all over the place. Could be enemy
combatants anywhere. Standby to engage. 1st Platoon, dedicate two LAV-
25s to keep eyes on that greenbelt at our 1 o’clock, It goes on for about 3
clicks … that’s a good place for the enemy to launch an attack.”
Now the full furry of Delta Company could be brought to bear on any
attacker we encountered. Delta continued to roll forward in a massive screen
line, vehicles maneuvering through terrain features and over or around
obstacles. As Rock Pollard gave the command to form the Company Wedge,
an effective battle formation designed to allow optimum firepower on either
side of the traveling assault wave, the formation began to materialize. Now
the opportunity for each variant to possess that vehicle's own field of fire
was accomplished. I was watching Delta Company form it up from my
vantage point to the rear of American Hero, and once again it was poetry in
motion directed by the grand conductor. I was totally in awe, a masterpiece
in the making.

Listen: At Tower Where
Enemy Destroyed

The Marines of Delta Company were rolling forward with confidence
high. Each Marine had “head on a swivel”, turret gunners peering through
gun sights of the LAV-25s ferocious bushmaster M242 25mm chain gun.
Scouts peering through high-powered binoculars looked closely at every
piece of battle trash and destroyed vehicle as we moved through. We had
come about 2 clicks from the last minefield and I was grateful to be putting
distance far behind that stressful event. But now every inch, every foot was
its own new peril. We had already made contact with the enemy with the
artillery attack and defeated them alongside Task Force Cunningham. Things,
of course, could have been different had that attack landed rounds onto the
Marines of Deltas LAVs, but it was just close calls….no cigar!