SeanFromCanada's Blog

Originally posted on 10.03.13

A LAV is a Light Armored Vehicle. It’s a cross between a tank and a turtle. It takes 2 highly skilled drivers to maneuver the beast, and the back compartment holds approximately 6 soldiers. As the back hatch closed on my group (we were split and stuffed into 2 vehicles), I was immediately transformed into another world.

My new world was dark, cramped and filled with noise. Our briefing prior to entering the LAV consisted of a high level summary of what lay ahead. We were being transported to a drop off zone just outside an “enemy camp”. When the ramp was lowered, we were told we’d exit the vehicle, and form up ‘in a safe place, out of sight from the enemy’. From there, we’d make an assault plan, and attack.

As the vehicles started to move, the noise quickly dominated our senses. It was so loud, we had to yell to exchange even the briefest of information. If we knew any hand signals, we’d have used them. The vehicle we were in was designed for communications. I sat on a bench in front of a computer and radio system that looked like it was from a 1960’s rocket ship. Being a technology guy, you’d think I’d have recognized some of the equipment…not so. As I studied the switches and dials, I couldn’t make sense of a single apparatus. The equipment looked really old and foreign…I couldn’t imagine working it in the midst of a combat situation.

Five of us sat on a bench on the ‘drivers side’ of the vehicle, and a sixth knelt beside the communications station. None of us found any obvious hand holds to secure ourselves, so as we rambled off to battle, we bounced around like lotto balls in an air machine. We had our helmets on, thankfully, as I hit my head against the side of the vehicle several times. As the LAV slowed and sped up, we slid up and down the bench like children…trying to hold our weapons safely, and stay seated. I suspect our drivers took us on a little bit of a ‘ride’ on purpose, as the runway we’d walked an hour earlier certainly didn’t contain the bumps we were now experiencing. (I later learned that of all the activities we’d been permitted to do during this great day, getting to ride in these vehicles was the one that took the most paperwork and approvals…it makes sense, it was hard for the soldiers to control this activity for us…we were kind of on our own back there).

It probably won’t surprise you to hear that there are no windows in the back of a LAV. There was actually nothing to help us orient ourselves. As we drove, turning and bumping along, I quickly lost all sense of direction. Between the noise, the semi-darkness and the bouncing around, we could have been anywhere. I suspect this is a familiar challenge for the soldiers being delivered into battle in these things. While they may have seen maps prior to entering the vehicle, I’m sure they all exit it wondering where the hell they are… and what they’re entering into.

As the LAV came to an abrupt stop, and the ramp slowly lowered, we were told to exit the vehicle and seek cover. We could hear rounds been fired, and even though we knew it wasn’t live fire (aimed at us), it was unsettling. We had no idea where “safe cover” was. The environment we were entering was completely unfamiliar and our group staggered out of the vehicle lost and disoriented. We had no idea where to go, or what to do next.

We kept our heads low while Sergeant John Prior called us over to a gravel embankment and assembled the group. We were issued 3 magazines, each with 30 blank rounds. As we loaded our rifles and stored away the extra mags (now benefiting from some level of familiarity with the equipment), John drew up an attack plan.

There were three phases to the plan. The first was to make our way around our current salvation (the gravel hill we were hiding behind), down a hill to the ‘base’ of the camp. From there, we’d move in an attack formation and enter the camp, and finally we’d clear the buildings the enemy was occupying.

I took a peak around the embankment to the camp we’d be raiding below. I could see the first phase of our plan involved maneuvering down a hill, through waste high grass, on uneven terrain.

Just as I contemplated the journey, a loud bang rang my ears, and red smoke began to fill the area between us and the camp…the attack was on.