Call us gruesome (you’ve called us worse), but this is one amazing video.
The background: A marine unit got pinned down in the street in Tal Afa, west of Mosul in Iraq. They had a video camera mounted on the bumper of their armored HUM-V. The bad guys are hiding behind the white van parked just down the street. Be aware that every time you hear a ping, it’s the sound of a bad guy’s bullet hitting the HUM-V.
Keep your eyes on the van when the Marine says they just fired the “rifle.” That’s military slang meaning an F-16 aircraft just launched a Maverick missile. You’ll hear the Maverick coming in and a split second later, see it send the bad guys off to meet their virgins.
End of story. For the bad guys, that is.
(We’ve watched this thing about a dozen times. Watch closely and you’ll see something fly up out of the frame after the explosion and fall back through the left side of the frame just before the end of the video. Is that Akbar?)
This post was last modified on February 15, 2011
View Comments (22)
You just have to love that sudden judgement from the air. Hoorah.
Job well done.
That was a pretty Akbar vid (akbar means "great" doesn't it?)
Sierra Hotel! Always glad to see a situation where OUR boys/girls will be coming back to base, and eventually, to home!
Damn good shootin', Falcon!
Amen brother!
Damn! I wish we had that kind of capability when I was in the service! When we called in for air support we might have been lucky to get a Huey with a couple of 20mm cannons and a .50 cal. sticking out the side door. We had to make sure we were at least 100 yards away, it was hard to aim accurately when riding in a helicopter, getting fired at from the ground, and trying to find the target at the same time. These boys are some kick ass dudes!!
When, exactly were you "in the service?"
From my "limited" experience (F-100C, Vietnam, 1968-69, 250 combat missions -- all close air support) whenever there were "friendlies" in trouble we were there. I was one of hundreds in the air at any one time.
A Huey with 20 mike mike? Hmmmmm......
Just sayin'
You know, I wasn't there (was in diapers at the time), but I'm damn glad we had men like you guys out there. I'm willing to bet, though, that no matter how many things up there in the sky spraying lead around, I'd always say that there was never enough.
There is no overkill.
Only 'open fire' and 'time to reload'.
I love those guys, Damn I proud of them.
Hey Abdullah, Akbar, and Hamid!
Enroll in the new smoking cessation program offered by the US military!
It's free!
To enroll, just fire a few rounds towards US troops, and soon your smoking days will be over, just as fast as your corpse will cool!
You've heard of the anti-smoking 'patch'. Now, *you*, can be the first greasy patch on your block!
Remember, kids, "You don't get your virgin if you live to see a surgeon!"
I like how the shot comes down from heaven....
Ironic? Poetic? Appropriate? I don't know but it was beautiful.
I love a story with a happy ending.
It made me smile, it made me cheer, it brought a tear to my eye. 5 stars!
at 28 seconds you can actually see a round shoot by camera right-that is crazy! JTAC guys go where the badguys are to call in air-they are nutty to say the very least-and very good at their jobs as you can see.
It reminds me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the scene with the 3 questions.Here is the updated Iraqi version...
Akbar: Hey you Marines over there near that Hum-V, What is the air speed velocity of of an unladen swallow?
Marines: Akbar, What do you mean? An African or European Swallow?
Akbar: ha, I don't know that. **ka-BOOM**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWS8Mg-JWSg
That was awesome. We all need that kind of rifle backing us up.