Page 504 - Total War on PTSD_FINAL

We thought that was going to be the worst part of the night. But as darkness set in, we decided that we were going to continue the mission, that it would not be a good idea to stay in this area. That’s when all hell broke loose.
In the same area where we had just set up security, we swapped positions with my LT. A minute later, his vehicle was attacked by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire and was struck by a catastrophic IED. This was no ordinary IED. This was 500 pounds of explosive with 200 pounds of incendiary, which has the ability to melt metal and penetrate armor. Immediately, what you would consider a non-flammable armored vehicle erupted into flames.
As I looked back, I could no longer see their vehicle. The explosion was so powerful that the vehicle was now sitting in a crater. Nobody could completely understand what was going on. Our patrol’s first reaction was to push forward, so they had left us. As we tried to call on the radio, the rest of our group was already too far away to return to our aid. We had driven into a trap, and I realized we were all alone.
Staff SGT Pennington (our platoon sergeant) and our medic were the first to respond, leaving me to set up security and call in our medevac. As we got closer to the IED site, I saw one of my best friends, Walley, crawl out of a hole with his leg beside him. At this point, I told the rest of the people in my vehicle to dismount and go care for the wounded. I watched them drag my best friend to the back of my truck. He had an injury that most people die from. As we provided care, my driver from my first deployment, Woodard, crawled out of the hole on fire. The first thing he asked was, “Is everybody out of the truck?” He had no regard for his own injury. Once I called in our medevac, I came to realize that we were missing one — our LT.
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