Saber's Edge by Thomas A. Middleton

Author:Thomas A. Middleton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University Press of New England

IRHABEE AMBULANCE

Later that same night, SSG Murtha and his gunner, SPC Rittenburg, were manning OP 293 when they spotted a civilian ambulance moving through 5K. It was well past curfew, and civilian vehicles were forbidden to travel during the night, but our forces were under orders not to interfere with Iraqi emergency services, provided their dispatch notified our command center when the ambulances were responding, where they were going, and their destination hospital afterward.

In this case, there was a radio call ahead of time advising of a medical emergency in Tameem. The ambulance made several stops around 5K and Tameem—not going to the house in Tameem and back to the hospital as one would expect. SSG Murtha grew suspicious, and he radioed in an inquiry through the TOC. There was no legitimate reason for this ambulance to be traveling through 5K. SSG Murtha radioed the roving patrol to investigate, and they stopped the vehicle on a side street near Route Barry within view of OP 293, on the far side of Route Michigan.

The rovers ordered the crew out of the vehicle and they complied. When the interpreter told them to shut off the engine, the crew jumped back into the ambulance and fled. The rovers fired warning shots at the vehicle, but it did not stop.

At OP 293, SPC Rittenburg saw the rovers firing at the ambulance as it entered his field of fire. He engaged the vehicle, aiming at the engine compartment. The rounds disabled the engine and killed both the driver and the frontseat passenger. Another Iraqi ran for the cover of a nearby house but was engaged with 5.56 mm M-16 rifles while Spec. Rittenburg directed the fire using the CROW’s night sight.

The roving patrol discovered three Iraqis in the back of the vehicle; the patient (who had suffered from a heart attack and was already dead), his son, and a third Iraqi who had two gunshot wounds. One was fresh and probably from the dismounted troops from the roving patrol, while the second was to the lower torso and had already received first aid. We later discovered that the third Iraqi was actually an IED triggerman who had been shot by marines while fleeing an ambush north of our area. The triggerman fled into 5K where he received shelter and was able to call for help. The ambulance crew waited for a legitimate emergency so they could use it to enter our area and pick up the insurgent at the cost of an innocent man’s life. Our guys felt bad for opening fire on an ambulance at first—until they learned what really happened.

It was not until further reflection that I came to think of the victims of the glass factory disaster as true victims. These men were trying to become Iraqi Police. Of all the indifference in Ramadi, of all the cowardice, greed, and betrayal, these men were actually standing up for a cause. True, many of the Iraqi Police were insurgents, but not all of them.

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