Did an Iraqi or Afghan person get hurt or killed because they helped your unit down range?

CPT Aaron Kletzing — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 08:11:39 -0500

Like many units, mine in Iraq had lots of local elders and tribal sheiks who actively helped us better understand the area, including the enemies operating there, etc. A few of those sheiks ended up getting killed by Al-Aqeda or some group like the Madhi Army. I think about that sometimes and wonder whether it was worth it for them to make that sacrifice. Did your unit experience anything similar?

Response by Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin made Dec 15 at 2016 8:34 AM

Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 08:34:01 -0500

My Interpreter told me stories of his monthly visits from Shindand AB to Herat when he went to take care of his family and personal business. His life there was like a scene from a movie complete with threats, chasing him through marketplaces, hiding from those pursuing him. At one point he had to jump into a cab and beg the driver to get him out of the area as another car chased them while shooting at them. They managed to get to an ANA checkpoint, at which point the other car sped away. Over the last few years since he managed to get a Visa to the US, he still has to move his family around in Afghanistan to ensure their safety.

So while he was never harmed, he sure did make some impressive escapes.

Response by LTC Greg Henning made Dec 15 at 2016 8:40 AM

LTC Greg Henning — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 08:40:21 -0500

We had several Iraqis working in the embassy in Baghdad that lived on constant fear of being killed because they were assisting us. One person was robbed on the way into the Green Zone. It was hard to separate criminal activity from your everyday acts of terrorism. There was a lot of pay backs going on

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 15 at 2016 10:15 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 10:15:23 -0500

No, not from helping my unit. Did have one die from being ran over those big conex movers after it had hit a bump while he was sitting on the front fender.

Response by CPO Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 15 at 2016 10:24 AM

CPO Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 10:24:53 -0500

Yes, I was attached to a JTF in Iraq 2010-2011 are mission was coordinating Re-Construction and Transition Projects along with Working with SOF MiTT and PRT teams. We had Iraqi's that worked with us on FOB's and out in town, and we would meet with them all the time in town and other locations trying to hide the fact that they worked directly with us. We had one Iraqi Consultant shot and his family was killed, we believe related to him working with us.

We also had a PMC (Aegis World wide) company that was our PSD and took us to all meetings and out to out of wire sites unsecured areas. The teams were all EX-Military SOF guy's like SAS and so on, each team had two Iraqi's and on one site we were on one of our Iraqis was shot in the head. We later found out that we were not the target he was, and died protect me and my team. The thing that sucked is he was there, because we were there, had we not gone he may not have gotten shot.

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Dec 15 at 2016 11:55 AM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 11:55:30 -0500

We rolled up a bad guy that always seemed to be around when things got bad but the Iraqi legal system kept releasing him. So after bagging him for the 5th time, we completed our tactical questioning and instead of sending him to the green zone we got approval to release him - so we brought him to the market place and released him while our interpreter got on the PA system & politely thanked him for his cooperation with the U.S. forces.....the locals took care of it from there and surprisingly enough the IED strikes decreased drastically!

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Dec 15 at 2016 11:57 AM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 11:57:21 -0500

Many died attempting to hurt our unit!

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Dec 15 at 2016 12:32 PM

SGM Erik Marquez — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 12:32:30 -0500

Twice, not my proudest time in life

Response by PO1 Dallas Shewmaker made Dec 15 at 2016 3:30 PM

PO1 Dallas Shewmaker — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 15:30:23 -0500

Yes. A few times... and to be honest, it's something that I have a hard time talking about publicly.

Response by SFC George Smith made Dec 15 at 2016 11:23 PM

SFC George Smith — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 23:23:41 -0500

I heard Reports of many Reprisals by ISIS when they moved in after the Americans were Snatched out early By BHO...

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Dec 16 at 2016 12:35 PM

SGT Ben Keen — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 12:35:13 -0500

We had a few interpreters that had "accidents".

What is truly sad about all this is for the most part, these people wanted nothing more than to help their country. Of course, the money they earned was accepted but at the end of the day, I think those that volunteered to to help knew the risks and still did it all in the name of a better future.

Response by SSG Gregory Robideau made Dec 22 at 2016 2:24 PM

SSG Gregory Robideau — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 14:24:50 -0500

Yes, we had a translator who as soon as he transferred to a different unit was killed for helping Americans.