The Fires of Babylon: Eagle Troop and the Battle of 73 Easting by Guardia Mike

Author:Guardia, Mike [Guardia, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Published: 2015-08-03T16:00:00+00:00

The 2d ACR’s plan of attack, December 1990-January 1991. The ‘Right Hook’ maneuver initially had two options: drive on to Basrah or turn right to destroy the Republican Guard.

When Hawk Company was called upon to “punch right,” they were nowhere to be found. Frustrated, Macgregor called out to the Hawk Company commander: “Hawk 6, Cougar 3, punch right, acknowledge, over?” 6 Hawk 6 responded that he could not see Eagle Troop through the growing clouds of dust and sand. To make matters worse, the Ghost Troop commander, Captain Joe Sartiano, radioed in that his movement had been halted by local wildlife.

Incredulous, Macgregor replied, “Explain wildlife, over?”

“This is Ghost 6, we are surrounded by sheep . . . I mean, we can blast through them but the local nationals might not like that, over.” Meanwhile, Sartiano’s driver was pleading with a Bedouin herder to move the sheep out of their way so Ghost Troop could resume its attack. In a tone of unmistakable disappointment, Macgregor replied, “This is Cougar 3, roger. Don’t kill the sheep. Catch up when you can. Cougar 3, out.”

By this time, Rudd’s combat trains were overrunning the squadron, driving right past Eagle Troop. “They had outmaneuvered our combat elements, and they knew it,” Macgregor said. “I have to admit that I was truly depressed. Moving a squadron decisively in any direction was something like turning a battleship at sea . . . all we could do on this last day of our three-day maneuver was hold an after action review [abbreviated: AAR].”

After the dust settled, Macgregor opened the AAR by restating the mission and having each of the commanders explain their actions and proffer any ways to improve. Sartiano reiterated his close encounter with the Saudi wildlife, which drew long peals of laughter from the troops. McMaster began his portion of the AAR by conceding that the combat trains had held their own throughout the fight. He then drew the squadron diamond on a nearby whiteboard, identifying the location where the play-enemy had been spotted, and made “a number of comments on how the scouts would liaise with Hawk Company in the future.”

During these simulated engagements, Eagle Troop’s performance underscored McMaster’s emphasis on training and crew-level initiative. He led from the front, but was always willing to defer to his junior officers, whom he trusted immensely. “McMaster’s approach worked,” Macgregor said, “primarily because he was blessed with a collection of lieutenants and senior non-commissioned officers who liked his kind of down-and-dirty, personal leadership, especially his emphasis on the use of the tank platoons as assault forces, attacking on the move.” The scout platoons, on the other hand, rode forward of the tanks, or on their flanks—acting as an early warning system to detect the enemy force and determine its disposition before handing off the fight to the tanks. Gauthier and Petschek loved this battle field synergy and appreciated that McMaster let them retain a great deal of control over their scout platoons.

When they weren’t training, the men of Eagle Troop found a number of ways to keep themselves entertained.

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