| Big Sarge |
10-31-2012 10:24 PM |
Not spreading the lies, just trying to share the truth because I have been there, done that, and have the T-shirt. Unfortunately, most of you base your opinion on what the talking heads on the news decide to tell you. Our infantry and TWATS are issued bayonets and are expected to carry them when they exit the wire. The M9 is used as an all purpose combat knife. I carried an Air Force Survival Knife on my IOTV since I am not a front line troop.
Many reports of using a bayonet are simply reported as hand to hand combat. The Army said today it has 419,155 bayonets in its inventory. The Marine Corps has another 195,334 bayonets that it bought in 2004 and it plans on buying 175,061 more bayonets this year. A Marine official says it’s not accurate to add the two totals together as the new ones will include replacements for ones already in service as well as additional stocks.
Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) knows a thing or two about how the U.S. military uses bayonets, because he sent soldiers into battle with them in Iraq. “I can tell you that when I was a battalion commander, we did still issue bayonets to our troops when we deployed to Iraq in 2003. The second thing I will tell you is that in 2001, Special Forces soldiers were on horseback riding with the Northern Alliance to fight against the Taliban,” West said. “So obviously we have a president who does not understand the full capabilities and capacities and what we do in the United States military.”
The Brits and Canadians document their bayonet usage closely. Corporal Sean Jones, 25, of 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Regiment, "reversed a potentially dire situation" when his patrol came under attack in a carefully planned ambush in October last year. Caught in the killing zone and unable to advance into the hail of fire, the soldiers withdrew to the relative safety of the water-filled ditch to return fire but were trapped as the insurgents moved in to try to overwhelm their position. "We had to react quickly," said Cpl Jones. "There was something different about this. It was obviously a well-planned ambush and they overwhelmed us with fire from three points initially." Firing a rocket at one of the insurgent positions, Cpl Jones ordered three of his men to fix bayonets before breaking cover and leading them across 80 metres of open ground raked by enemy fire.
The British Army performed bayonet charges during the Falklands War (see Battle of Mount Tumbledown), the Second Gulf War, and the war in Afghanistan.[36] In 2004 in Iraq at the Battle of Danny Boy, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders bayonet charged mortar positions filled with over 100 Mahdi Army members. The ensuing hand to hand fighting resulted in an estimate of over 40 insurgents killed and 35 bodies collected (many floated down the river) and 9 prisoners. Sergeant Brian Wood, of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, was awarded the Military Cross for his part in the battle.This engagement brought to notice the tactical use of the weapon for close combat and the sheer psychological effect it can have.
British forces in Afghanistan have used bayonets on numerous occasions. In 2009, Lieutenant James Adamson, aged 24, of the Royal Regiment of Scotland was awarded the Military Cross for a bayonet charge whilst on a tour of duty in Afghanistan: after shooting one Taliban fighter dead Adamson had run out of ammunition when another enemy appeared. Adamson immediately charged the second Taliban fighter and bayoneted him. In September 2012, Lance Corporal Sean Jones of The Princess of Wales's Regiment was awarded the Military Cross for his role in a bayonet charge which took place in October 2011. Brian Wood was just a young lance corporal at the time when he dismounted his thin-skinned vehicle amid withering enemy fire, and followed his commander's order to fix bayonets.The order came from from Sgt. Dave Falconer, reports The Sun and BBC, who later said he was proud of the actions from his men that day. The date was May 14, 2004, and Falconer, along with Wood, Private Anthony Rushforth, Sgt Chris Broome, and privates John-Claude Fowler and Matthew Tatawaqa, were speeding down a roadway 150 miles south of Basra in Southern Iraq. They were on their way to relieve fellow comrades caught in an ambush when they were caught in one of their own. The fire was so close and at such an angle (a close quartered, L-shaped ambush) that the only way to defeat it "was to put boots on the ground," said Falconer. So he immediately ordered his men to dismount and fix bayonets.The six soldiers charged across open ground, pausing only to throw themselves to the ground to avoid enemy fire, and return a bit of their own. In a few small sprints, they had traversed to the first trench, into which they immediately leapt, coming face to face with the enemy.
"Basically, it was short, sharp and furious," said Wood, who was later awarded the Military Cross for actions that day.
While not a bayonet attack, this US soldier is being Considered for the Medal of Honor. David Bellavia (born November 10, 1975) is an American Iraq War veteran who was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the Second Battle of Fallujah. Bellavia has also received the Bronze Star, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals and the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross. He has also been nominated for the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross. The actions for which Bellavia earned a Silver Star took place on his 29th birthday. As a member of Company A, Task Force 2-2, 1st Infantry Division, his platoon was assigned during Operation Phantom Fury to clear a block of twelve buildings from which insurgents were firing on U.S. troops. The platoon began searching house-to-house. At the tenth house, Bellavia fatally shot an insurgent preparing to load a rocket-propelled grenade. A second insurgent fired at him, and Bellavia wounded him in the shoulder. When Staff Sergeant Bellavia entered a bedroom, the wounded insurgent followed, forcing Bellavia to kill him. When another insurgent began firing from upstairs, Bellavia returned fire and killed him. A fourth insurgent then jumped out of a closet in the bedroom, yelling and firing his weapon as he leaped over a bed trying to reach Bellavia. The insurgent tripped and Bellavia wounded him. Bellavia chased the insurgent when he ran upstairs. He followed the wounded insurgent's bloody footprints to a room on the left and threw in a fragmentation grenade. Upon entering the room, Bellavia discovered it was filled with propane tanks and plastic explosives. He did not fire his weapon for fear of setting off an explosion and instead then engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the insurgent, which lead to Bellavia killing the insurgent by stabbing him in the collarbone with a knife.
The Army also reported today that it has 176 horses. The horses kept at Fort Myer, Va., are used mainly for ceremonial duties at Arlington Cemetery and the Capital region. There are also some horses located at Fort Hood, Texas. The Marine Mountain Warfare Training Center in California trains Marines in using horses, mules and donkeys to carry supplies in mountainous regions. In October 2011, a monument to Special Forces who led the Afghanistan invasion on horses was preparing for the final touches before finding it’s resting place across from the World Trade Center site. The Unit, known as the “Horse Soldiers” were awed by what they were doing on that day. The statue is scheduled to be erected across from the World Trade Center site in New York on November 11, Veterans Day. The artist rounded up these “horse soldiers” to share their personal stories and mission photos as inspiration for the 18-foot, bronze monument.
So are these lies or the truth? Have you actually seen this or are you basing your opinion on what someone told you??
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