Delta Company Outlaws Storyline #1 - Realityport

Rob · 03-23-2006, 02:20 PM

Well to ease my mind a bit, I figured I would try this out to get some things off of my mind. It might help or so I have been told so I will do a little non-fiction. If you all don't like it then I will stop after this post. This story will be a bit more gentle than the ones I will post from now on. And the post will be out of order in date but I will just tell my memories as they pop up in my head.

A quick background:

I belonged to the Delta Company "Outlaws", 2nd Light Armored Reconnaisance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. I was a scout section leader (infantry) for my platoon. We deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in March 15, 2004 with 158 Marines and left September 28, 2004 wwith 133 Marines.

So here's one of my better memories:

I believe the time of year was about May 2004. It was about 9:30pm. Our companies overalll mission in Fallujah was to secure the main service routes to allow military convoys to safely travel through Iraq. My platoon, 1st Platoon, was on another routine patrol outside of Fallujah, Iraq. We had just started our shift at 8pm and our shift lasted 8 long hours. We did 8 hour shifts with the other 2 infantry platoons in the company. One shift for patrols and missions, one shift for down time, and one for working. It got kind of monotonous after a while and you kinda lost that edge you first had coming in country. It's called the fog of war.

By this point in time we had already lost two Marines to a vehicle suicide bomber about a month back. One of the Marines killed, "Vinny", was someone I had just met and had become decent friends with. The other, "Wilfong", was an engineer attached to the platoon who had extended his service contract so he could be with his friends for a few extra months. Anyway, our first losses were a shock to us all and brought the spirit down to say the least.

Back to the story. We had recieved a report that there was gunfire heard near a local mechanics garage so we were told to go investigate. The scouts loaded up into the vehicles and we took off to our destination.

We arrived there about five minutes later. There was a deadly silence. The scouts deployed from the vehicles to patrol the surrounding area to check for anything unusual. After patrolling the area and determining it was secure, I ordered my section to set up a small defensive perimeter near the shop. The area we were overlooking was on a small mound on the left side of the shop overlooking Fallujah. From time to time, you could see a red or green tracer shoot into the sky above Fallujah. Once in a while a parachute flare would be launched which gave the sky an eery glow.

Suddenly, the sound of dogs barking erupted from the side of the mechanic shop. Around the corner came three little puppies which seemed to be some kind of golden retriever mix, the cutest little things ever. They looked so malnourished. You could see their rib cages.

When they noticed me, they started barking even louder. This was a problem because it would give away our position to anyone nearby. So, I stared the three of them down and was able to calm them down a bit; however, they would not come any closer to me. I reached into my patrol pack and took out a MRE (meal-ready-to-eat). I rummaged through it to find a beef stick that I never ate. I tore a piece off of it and placed it in the palm of my hand. I held my hand out to invite them to come a bit closer. Only one of them budged, the smallest of the group.

Scout, which I came to call him in 5 minutes, edged closer and closer. His siblings followed suit but trailed a bit farther behind. Finally, Scout got to my hand and began eating from it. I tore a few more pieces for his siblings and gave it to them. They were a bit more reluctant to eat from my hand so I had to lay the food in the dirt. They were ravenous. I went back into my MRE to find some more food and fed them all a little bit more.

Pause in story: You might be wondering why I wasn't in the defensive position like the rest of my scouts were. Well, once I had my scouts in place, I moved to my own little corner also so I could keep a watch on all of them and also an eye on the city.

Anyway, once the three little rascals finished eating what little I had, two of them began to tussle a little bit. Scout, however, followed me around wherever I went.

I decided to crawl up onto the edge of the small embankment next to the shop to get a better look at the city. I put my NVGs (night vision goggles) on to get a better look of what was in my immediate surroundings. When I took the NVGs off of my head, Scout was sitting right next to me scanning the horizon. It was almost as if he was mimicking me, trying to be an actual scout himself.

His siblings ran over the hill and started wrestling a bit on the other side but Scout stayed where he was. He looked over to me as if to say "Give me an order, Corporal". I looked back to the city and so did he. This continued for about 5 more minutes. The whole time I was trying to figure out how I could take this puppy back to base with me.

Eventually, we got the call "Scouts In" from the vehicle commander. I stood up, made sure my scouts heard the command, and then ran back to the vehicle to load up to go somewhere else. Scout came running after me wanting to load up into the vehicle. He had the saddest eyes and such a questioning look like he was saying "Why are you abandoning me? Please take me with you." It kinda tore my heart.

Our vehicle began to move and kick up dirt. Scout and his siblings chased for a bit the whole time barking. All I could remember was seeing Scout staring me down as we took off.

I don't think I ever saw him again and sometimes I wonder what might have happened to him. I truly hope he found a home and someone to feed him. God knows, I have seen what insurgents use animal carcasses for and I hope he wasn't one of them.

That night was one of my most fondest memories of Iraq. When I graduate school this May, I am buying a Chocolate Labrador. I hope she will be just like Scout.

Epictetus · 03-23-2006, 03:16 PM

Wow, thanks for writing this. I imagine it might be hard for you but also maybe good to get some of it out. Your story has a depth to it and a level of seriousness that I didn't expect but I thank you for it and for your service.

PE is a game made in Sweden and played by people across Europe and the world. Many of those people have negative feelings about this war and the U.S. in general and they are not shy about expressing them. I have heard so many people (people I don't even know) tell me how horrible my country is while I am playing PE that I usually just TP away when it starts. I guess their home country has never done anything wrong.

Whether the war is right or wrong, people should realize that folks like yourself are doing a mission designed by other people. The individual marine in Iraq is not in charge of the government or foreign policy.

Rob · 03-23-2006, 03:24 PM

Thanks Epic. I understand your concern about other's opinions. I just ignore it now. It used to bother me a bit but then I realized that I served to allow people like that to voice their opinions. I fought to protect thier freedom of speech.

And you're right. I personally don't like our president but it was my job and I did it to the best of my ability. I had friends die that felt the same way. So at least respect the person, even if you don't respect the concept.

If I get more positive responses, I will continue to write some more of my memories but I warn you that some of them may turn a bit gruesome or upsetting.

Too bad I can't post video clips that are 50Mb. I have a decent one that my friend and I made.

The Ripper · 03-23-2006, 05:29 PM

Rob.... Awesome.

I dont want to talk about the war and whether its right or wrong but I do know, that being a soldier for your country is a proud thing to do. At the end of the day, like you say you are there to protect and to serve.

I was in the forces in the UK and i know that leaving was one of the HARDEST things i have ever done. not because i wanted to go anf fight, but because i was serving my country, and enjoyed doing it.

Gr8 story bud.

I would like to read a few more m8. just make sure you warn ppl at the start if theyre a bit detailed you'll be fine.

One of the best stories ive seen here mate. gr8

Rip

MindStar9 · 03-23-2006, 05:51 PM

This is an absolutely wonderful storyline, and thx Rob for sharing this with us, but as Epic mentions, PE is a very diverse-entrenched game, and many from other countries are not so kind.

I'm truly sorry Hon, but I'm going to have to close this thread bcuz it has the potential to invite those who are not so appreciative of something like this, and I would not like to see it destroyed.

You have a wonderful writing style and I would definitely like to see more from you, but would encourage you to write about your experiences at CND, and perhaps even add pictures to enhance the enjoyment. We prefer to keep the storytelling about CND and our virtual world experiences bcuz we come here to often leave the IRL situations that we would rather deal with IRL, especially due to the diversity of the membership and the potential to have something like this escalate into something not so positive.

I hope you understand Hon, and know that we support your efforts in a big way ... now give us some of that Rob style and flare in a CND fashion so that we can enjoy that too.

Hugs,
MS9

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