What is your fondest Route Clearance Story?

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 14:17:26 -0500

As a 12Z Combat Engineer clearing the routes for every unit deployed can you let me know your best story.

Response by SFC James Baber made Feb 2 at 2014 8:06 PM

SFC James Baber — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 20:06:21 -0500

Not a 12Z, but I am interested in hearing some of these as well as I have many seen and experienced from DS/Bosnia/Kosovo/OIF/OEF, but would like to hear some others to see if what I have seen is the norm or way out there.

Thanks for starting this one.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 3 at 2014 3:22 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 15:22:00 -0500

You Fear 'EM we Clear 'EM

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 31 at 2014 2:39 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 02:39:01 -0400

Setting: RC South, Kandahar. We had just spent a long night at a SF COP and were headed back to fire support base manned by our sister PLT. To get from this COP to the actual dirt road we had to travel through about 2.5-3 k of wadi. As we near the point where we can drive out of the wadi and back on marked road we see a line of rocks, with another line about 20m beyond that. Me and my TC just kind of look at the rocks, then at each other, then back at the rocks wondering if they are really that stupid, or they think we are, or what. The radio just starts going nuts. Insurgents in the nearby village had started firing RPGs at the tail end of our convoy. So as I'm trying to locate a way out of the wadi that the entire convoy can take I hear the SF guys jump on our net. Basic jist of their traffic was "help is on the way". Finally up and out of the wadi, none of the gunners have a target, there is just no one around. Until SF shows up. Bear in mind up to this point they were supposed to be the cavalry. Dude pops out from behind a mud hut, lets off an RPG, and disappears. RPG ricochets off the hood of the lead SF gun truck, and the radio explodes with their demands that we "push push push". The icing on the cake was about an hour after leaving the village we finally get the CAS show of force we asked for. Scared the crap out of my truck.