Preacherman
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From the Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-0304260220apr26,1,6811804.story):
Urban war in plain sight
By Ray Quintanilla
Tribune staff reporter
April 26, 2003
BAGHDAD -- The pop, pop, pop of sporadic gunfire has drawn the attention of Sgts. Daniel Osborne and Cyrus Field.
Responding to persistent Iraqi attacks on a nearby U.S. military compound, the Army snipers have taken positions on the roof of a nearby abandoned building to wait for the right moment to lock on their targets.
For them and other sniper teams lurking in Baghdad, a successful mission often ends with a ferocious craaaaack! And so it would be on this night.
A short time after Osborne and Field set up on the roof, the hostile gunfire on the ground is interrupted by four thunderous blasts. Then there is only silence.
"That's a confirmed kill!" a voice on a radio exclaims as the snipers sit on the roof, scanning the streets below. "That's the fourth one tonight!"
With the conventional war in Iraq all but over, U.S. forces are working to clear pockets of resistance in Baghdad and other cities where, as U.S. ground forces advanced three weeks ago, thousands of Iraqi soldiers and other loyalists simply removed their uniforms and went home.
The battle is now being waged from rooftops and other vantage points against isolated attacks on U.S. troops. The enemy is no longer a conventional Iraqi soldier. It's one who has chosen to strike under cover of darkness. U.S. officials here say some are former Baath Party members or the Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary force.
American forces have responded by deploying dozens of sniper teams--such as Osborne and Field--to thwart those attacks.
Their standing order: Shoot to kill anyone who fires on U.S. troops or equipment. In the last two weeks, this team alone has recorded more than 20 enemy kills.
"All day, you build up for the moment when you fire the shot," Field, 23, says as he and his partner take positions in a hostile zone. "Then there's a feeling of exhilaration, and you feel like you've really done something for your country. You've taken someone out."
But selecting a site for the night is the most difficult decision a sniper will make. The spot must be secure, and it must offer the clearest sight lines.
Deciding who and when to shoot is the easy part, Field says.
Long-range night-vision equipment enables them to see up to 1,500 yards. No shot can be fired without clearing it with a superior. High-powered rifles, such as the M24, sold as the Remington 700 hunting rifle in the civilian world, and the M4, a more compact version of the M16, are the sniper's primary weapons.
And on this night, with loaded weapons strapped to their backs, the two men sidestep piles of garbage to climb a dark and musty stairwell before finding the right spot on top of a four-story building.
They are here to find a group of Iraqi men firing a .50-caliber machine gun--so far without effect--at a nearby U.S. military compound.
A single round from the Iraqi gun can cut a man in two, the snipers say. And Lt. Col. Jeff Ingram, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, has given Osborne and Field simple instructions: Take care of the problem.
"What do you see over there?" Field asks his partner while seated on the building's gravel roof shortly after 11 p.m.
"There's all kinds of people out on the streets," Osborne, 27, says, peering through a night-vision scope. "Some are shooting guns in the air, some are just standing around. It's hard to tell what the hell is going on. I thought none of these guys were supposed to have guns."
The mission has become complicated this night. Electricity was restored in some parts of Baghdad, and thousands of Iraqis are in the streets discharging firearms to celebrate.
Some are firing pistols. Others are shooting automatic rifles they have picked up in the streets in recent days, left by retreating Iraqi soldiers.
"Let's wait," Field says, a nervous tone in his voice. "It might settle down. We're only looking for the guys shooting at us."
Mental notes on little sleep
For the next hour, the two men sit quietly, scan the streets and make mental notes of who is going where. And they patiently polish their weapons.
Neither man has slept much since the war began. Each night is a battle against fatigue, they say. Osborne, raised in Tomahawk, Texas, doesn't sleep much more than four hours a day. Field, who grew up in Kailua, Hawaii, is no better off. It's hard to sleep during the day in a military compound, he whispers, with soldiers driving trucks with no mufflers and loud track vehicles such as the Bradley.
Both men said they were raised in religious homes. Both said they have learned to separate their feelings from their duties. It hasn't always been easy, especially when the man targeted is close enough for a sniper to see the color of his eyes.
Two nights earlier, they strained to climb a 125-foot radio transmission tower, each man with 50 pounds of body armor and a rifle, looking for these same Iraqi shooters. They spotted them that night, Field says, but couldn't get off a clear shot.
But tonight will be different. A few minutes past midnight, they hear the familiar sounds of a .50-caliber machine gun firing short bursts near a clump of trees 800 yards away.
No second thoughts
Amid the machine gun's dull pop, pop, pop, one of the snipers pulls out a hand-held radio and calls the compound, confirming the building is under direct fire. Seconds later, a call is placed to Ingram.
"We've spotted these guys," Field says, readying his rifle. "They're back in action off to the west. Four of them."
Ingram, who is preparing for bed, replies: "There's no change in my previous order. Take care of it."
Within 30 seconds, the snipers are in position. One rifle is mounted on a bipod. The other rests over the building's ledge. There are no second thoughts about firing, the men say.
"This is what we do," Field says, before looking down the barrel of his rifle. "I don't think about what I've done until it's over. And even then, I only pause for a moment or two. This is what I've been trained to do."
Their green-image night-vision scope indicates four men standing around a machine gun. Each one is no bigger than the head of a pin from this distance. The snipers see they are in civilian clothes and are taking turns firing at U.S. soldiers before running to hide.
Rapid flashes of light can be seen from the Iraqi gun's ventilated barrel.
Within 10 seconds, Field and Osborne fire four shots. Two rounds are fired simultaneously. Sparks and flames are thrust out of the gun's barrel as the trigger is pulled. Craaack! An empty shell casing is ejected from the bolt-action M-24 and bounces onto the ground.
A fraction of a second later, another simultaneous craaack!
Two Iraqi men are hit while standing next to the gun. The two others are struck while trying to run.
In just a few seconds, four Iraqis are face down within 15 feet of one another.
"They aren't going anywhere"
Osborne explains it's not a "confirmed kill" until a U.S. soldier in a
Bradley Fighting Vehicle can check the bodies. That can take 20 minutes or more, he says.
"I saw them go down," Osborne says. "I know they aren't going anywhere."
The two men light up cigarettes. And then the conversation turns to their completed mission.
"I didn't have any doubts we would succeed," Osborne says, wiping his rifle down with a small rag. "No doubts at all."
The long hours of training have paid off, he says.
"It feels good knowing this is over," Fields says while preparing to climb down from his perch. "But at the same time, you know someone is dead on the ground over there. Now we have to get out of here quickly before someone shoots back at us."
Urban war in plain sight
By Ray Quintanilla
Tribune staff reporter
April 26, 2003
BAGHDAD -- The pop, pop, pop of sporadic gunfire has drawn the attention of Sgts. Daniel Osborne and Cyrus Field.
Responding to persistent Iraqi attacks on a nearby U.S. military compound, the Army snipers have taken positions on the roof of a nearby abandoned building to wait for the right moment to lock on their targets.
For them and other sniper teams lurking in Baghdad, a successful mission often ends with a ferocious craaaaack! And so it would be on this night.
A short time after Osborne and Field set up on the roof, the hostile gunfire on the ground is interrupted by four thunderous blasts. Then there is only silence.
"That's a confirmed kill!" a voice on a radio exclaims as the snipers sit on the roof, scanning the streets below. "That's the fourth one tonight!"
With the conventional war in Iraq all but over, U.S. forces are working to clear pockets of resistance in Baghdad and other cities where, as U.S. ground forces advanced three weeks ago, thousands of Iraqi soldiers and other loyalists simply removed their uniforms and went home.
The battle is now being waged from rooftops and other vantage points against isolated attacks on U.S. troops. The enemy is no longer a conventional Iraqi soldier. It's one who has chosen to strike under cover of darkness. U.S. officials here say some are former Baath Party members or the Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary force.
American forces have responded by deploying dozens of sniper teams--such as Osborne and Field--to thwart those attacks.
Their standing order: Shoot to kill anyone who fires on U.S. troops or equipment. In the last two weeks, this team alone has recorded more than 20 enemy kills.
"All day, you build up for the moment when you fire the shot," Field, 23, says as he and his partner take positions in a hostile zone. "Then there's a feeling of exhilaration, and you feel like you've really done something for your country. You've taken someone out."
But selecting a site for the night is the most difficult decision a sniper will make. The spot must be secure, and it must offer the clearest sight lines.
Deciding who and when to shoot is the easy part, Field says.
Long-range night-vision equipment enables them to see up to 1,500 yards. No shot can be fired without clearing it with a superior. High-powered rifles, such as the M24, sold as the Remington 700 hunting rifle in the civilian world, and the M4, a more compact version of the M16, are the sniper's primary weapons.
And on this night, with loaded weapons strapped to their backs, the two men sidestep piles of garbage to climb a dark and musty stairwell before finding the right spot on top of a four-story building.
They are here to find a group of Iraqi men firing a .50-caliber machine gun--so far without effect--at a nearby U.S. military compound.
A single round from the Iraqi gun can cut a man in two, the snipers say. And Lt. Col. Jeff Ingram, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, has given Osborne and Field simple instructions: Take care of the problem.
"What do you see over there?" Field asks his partner while seated on the building's gravel roof shortly after 11 p.m.
"There's all kinds of people out on the streets," Osborne, 27, says, peering through a night-vision scope. "Some are shooting guns in the air, some are just standing around. It's hard to tell what the hell is going on. I thought none of these guys were supposed to have guns."
The mission has become complicated this night. Electricity was restored in some parts of Baghdad, and thousands of Iraqis are in the streets discharging firearms to celebrate.
Some are firing pistols. Others are shooting automatic rifles they have picked up in the streets in recent days, left by retreating Iraqi soldiers.
"Let's wait," Field says, a nervous tone in his voice. "It might settle down. We're only looking for the guys shooting at us."
Mental notes on little sleep
For the next hour, the two men sit quietly, scan the streets and make mental notes of who is going where. And they patiently polish their weapons.
Neither man has slept much since the war began. Each night is a battle against fatigue, they say. Osborne, raised in Tomahawk, Texas, doesn't sleep much more than four hours a day. Field, who grew up in Kailua, Hawaii, is no better off. It's hard to sleep during the day in a military compound, he whispers, with soldiers driving trucks with no mufflers and loud track vehicles such as the Bradley.
Both men said they were raised in religious homes. Both said they have learned to separate their feelings from their duties. It hasn't always been easy, especially when the man targeted is close enough for a sniper to see the color of his eyes.
Two nights earlier, they strained to climb a 125-foot radio transmission tower, each man with 50 pounds of body armor and a rifle, looking for these same Iraqi shooters. They spotted them that night, Field says, but couldn't get off a clear shot.
But tonight will be different. A few minutes past midnight, they hear the familiar sounds of a .50-caliber machine gun firing short bursts near a clump of trees 800 yards away.
No second thoughts
Amid the machine gun's dull pop, pop, pop, one of the snipers pulls out a hand-held radio and calls the compound, confirming the building is under direct fire. Seconds later, a call is placed to Ingram.
"We've spotted these guys," Field says, readying his rifle. "They're back in action off to the west. Four of them."
Ingram, who is preparing for bed, replies: "There's no change in my previous order. Take care of it."
Within 30 seconds, the snipers are in position. One rifle is mounted on a bipod. The other rests over the building's ledge. There are no second thoughts about firing, the men say.
"This is what we do," Field says, before looking down the barrel of his rifle. "I don't think about what I've done until it's over. And even then, I only pause for a moment or two. This is what I've been trained to do."
Their green-image night-vision scope indicates four men standing around a machine gun. Each one is no bigger than the head of a pin from this distance. The snipers see they are in civilian clothes and are taking turns firing at U.S. soldiers before running to hide.
Rapid flashes of light can be seen from the Iraqi gun's ventilated barrel.
Within 10 seconds, Field and Osborne fire four shots. Two rounds are fired simultaneously. Sparks and flames are thrust out of the gun's barrel as the trigger is pulled. Craaack! An empty shell casing is ejected from the bolt-action M-24 and bounces onto the ground.
A fraction of a second later, another simultaneous craaack!
Two Iraqi men are hit while standing next to the gun. The two others are struck while trying to run.
In just a few seconds, four Iraqis are face down within 15 feet of one another.
"They aren't going anywhere"
Osborne explains it's not a "confirmed kill" until a U.S. soldier in a
Bradley Fighting Vehicle can check the bodies. That can take 20 minutes or more, he says.
"I saw them go down," Osborne says. "I know they aren't going anywhere."
The two men light up cigarettes. And then the conversation turns to their completed mission.
"I didn't have any doubts we would succeed," Osborne says, wiping his rifle down with a small rag. "No doubts at all."
The long hours of training have paid off, he says.
"It feels good knowing this is over," Fields says while preparing to climb down from his perch. "But at the same time, you know someone is dead on the ground over there. Now we have to get out of here quickly before someone shoots back at us."
