The Battle for Marjah Page #3

Better put my gear on.

Can't leave the building

without my gear on.

Or I can, but that wouldn't be very...

My wife wouldn't like that.

What they're saying on the radio,

says that they're trying to move

closer to the base,

to our defense here, so...

We've got to fix our post up,

so they're probably gonna see us

on this roof and start firing.

So I'm gonna get down

as quick as possible.

Just we got to roll with the beast.

Needs to be right here.

All right. Come on.

We're gonna link up

with 3rd Platoon first.

All we're gonna do is push north.

Hey, they said they got one

out in the road over there.

They said they can see the line.

Spider drop, baby.

Spider drop.

Boot-camp style.

Show them the wire and stuff

that you see.

Hey, hey, listen up.

Hey.

There's a f***ing IED over there.

It's f***ing huge.

It's huge. I don't know

what the f*** it is.

It looks like maybe

a 50-pound bag or something.

All right.

Hey. Hey, don't be walking

too close to the wall.

Could be anything in there

but it's big as f***

and it's electric and it's

running into the other compound.

Yeah, it looks at least

a 50-pounder,

whatever it could be.

Just keep f***ing eyes on me

till I get back

'cause I got to sweep down there.

'Cause I don't want somebody

popping over with a f***ing gun

and capping me.

You know what I'm saying?

Yo, get ready to move,

get ready to move.

Back, behind here.

Let's go.

Quickly!

You only got a minute!

Come here.

Mohammad, get over here.

Get down.

Get down against the wall.

Get low.

Hey, listen up, after it goes off,

listen for frag, all right?

So everybody be quiet.

Goddamn.

All right. I'm just gonna look

down the alley,

make sure it's all f***ing gone,

all right?

Check.

Let's walk around the corner here.

I've got two guys up there.

Two guys running?

No, they're not running.

They're walking.

Spot it.

See what you've got.

They just went down behind

like a f***ing little berm

or some sh*t.

Is that shooting at us?

Whoa!

That's live fire.

Hey, let's go!

Where's the f***ing target at?

Give me a goddamn shot at them.

For Christ sakes,

at the f***ing ones you see.

You see a guy out there,

you f***ing hit him.

See the brown?

Show it to him.

Show it to him.

It's 12:
00.

Yeah.

One shooter on top of the roof.

We spotted him.

We're gonna take a long shot

and knock him out.

Now copy.

Slow and methodical.

Look at those motherfuckers

and hit them.

Bring the other one.

Give me a shot at it.

Hey, put your head down, Perry.

You ready?

Go.

We got a hit!

We got confirmation.

Did you volunteer to do this job?

Yes, I did.

Gets a little fun sometimes,

a little crazy others.

- Did you see that?

- Keep eyes on him.

We're going over the wall.

They're going into

this f***ing building.

- John!

- John!

- John!

- Get over the damn wall.

Find out what the guy's waving at.

You think we speak Pashto?

Get the f*** over here.

He called me a motherf***er!

This little son of a b*tch!

Come on, hey.

He's 20 years old.

- Is he really 20 years old?

- Yeah.

That's freaky.

He said, "I stay here."

You stay here?

Yeah, it's good.

He can stay here with us.

Tell him we're gonna kill

whatever needs to be killed.

Tell him we're gonna find the Taliban.

We're gonna kill 'em.

Go back there.

Is it safe to walk here?

Is there any more Taliban bombs?

Any there?

Ask him.

No, no, no, no, no!

He says there's nothing.

No mines, no IEDs.

Hey, let's go.

He is the father of these guys.

- He is?

- Yeah.

He's been stuck in the house.

He can't pray.

Right there.

That's mortars.

That did not sound good.

Get inside!

Is there any way we can get eyes up...

So, anything else?

We would just like to rent

this place out for the night.

- For tonight?

- Yep.

No, they'll stay here with us.

They'll be okay to stay here with us.

- For tonight?

- For tonight.

This is good.

We're good?

Give me a mad dash.

Mad dash.

Roger.

All right.

Yeah, they're on the southeast side.

It sounds like it's coming from

the building directly east

of a mosque.

...from across the street.

Hey, George.

I'm gonna pop out.

You just run to the middle of...

Keep your head down.

F***ing death!

Yeah!

In that compound!

My direct front!

I said 600!

Six, zero, zero.

Did they shoot the sandbag?

I don't think so, sir.

It sure looked like

he shot the sandbag to me.

He did.

Sniper.

Most psychologically effective

weapon on the battlefield,

'cause there's nothing

you can do about it, you know.

Hey, sir, who you got up there?

Koenig and Langdon.

Langdon.

Yeah.

That's him firing.

I wanted what direction

they hear this from.

I came up and I turned around

to get my rifle past me

and as I turned around,

I guess my head was just

a little above the sandbags

and he shot,

and he ended up hitting me

directly in the head.

And it cracked me back and I was dazed

and didn't really know

what was going on,

and I just told...

I was like, "I'm hit."

But this is where it hit...

about an inch above my eye.

And this is the mount where it hit.

This is what they say stopped

the round

from actually coming through

the Kevlar.

It hurt like really, really bad.

I thought I was dying.

I thought I'd actually been hit.

So it scared me pretty bad.

Where does Koenig think

it's coming from, do you know?

He said 200 or 300 meters

from the cracks.

Bossman, stay motivated.

Clear the enemy out,

and let the people return.

General McChrystal

and every expert did talks

about counterinsurgency,

you know, that we pretty clearly

understand now

that the key to winning

any fight like this

is to control the population and...

Not control them, but...

I don't want to use

"win hearts and minds,"

but that's basically it,

you know, to get the people

on your side,

and let them understand

that you're here for them.

Afghans believe more of what they see

than what they hear.

This is a struggle for the

support of the Afghan people.

A willingness to operate in ways

that minimize causalities or damage,

even when doing so makes

our task more difficult,

is essential to our credibility.

The hope for NATO...

trying to win support

among the locals.

Civilian deaths in Afghanistan

have put pressure on foreign troops

trying to win the trust

and support from citizens.

I cannot overstate my commitment

to the importance of this concept.

There we go.

We've done this before.

We do have three individuals KIA

in the field.

- Nice.

- Three.

We got three.

Three guys dead.

Building Number 29.

The general's got to have his feed.

That's what...

And north, 1,800 meters.

Egress, right pulls into the overhead,

advise ready for final remarks.

Line 8, 1,800 meters northwest.

That is northwest, 1,800 meters.

We got everything we need?

Roger, that is confirmed.

That is your target.

We are waiting approval.

We're trying to get f***ing clearance.

We've been watching them

for 30 minutes prior to this.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes