Private Military Contractor International April 2014 | Page 25

IN THE FIELD
IRAQ: CONVOY DUTY

for one night, and taking us on while we were
in a bad mood would not be a good idea. We
rejoined the stationary convoy a few miles
down the road. Two hard cars covered the
rear as Ian’s Reva pulled past them down the
central corridor and took up its position in the
front. In a well-practised ballet of movement,
the trucks slid back into place and moved off.
We dropped in behind and the convoy moved
off as if nothing had happened.

Emergency Scenarios

through the flames where the fuel was burning
less intensely. He didn’t need a second telling.
He went through the flames like a rocket,
and we immediately lost sight of him. “Okay,
now it’s our turn,” Del shouted, and urged our
driver to take the same route. The heat was
intense, and the flames licked at the side of
the vehicle as we motored through at about
50mph.
We drove at speed down the MSR in the
dark, swinging the guns from both Revas’ left
and right, waiting for the follow up gunfire, but
none came. Maybe the militia were content
with destroying one vehicle, or maybe they
figured they had us about pissed off enough

By far the most dangerous job for a contractor
in Iraq or Afghanistan is convoy work. In the
regular army we had been taught to ‘herringbone’ the convoy (basically a staggered
formation) if we came under attack from an
aircraft. However, the insurgents in Iraq didn’t
have aircraft.
In a conventional war, we had been taught
that an ambush has three scenarios. The
first situation is that your vehicle convoy is
ambushed while still moving. Here you would
accelerate and drive through, and keep moving
until you are a safe distance from the convoy
ambush site. Then you wait for other survivors.
If, after a reasonable time, no one turns up,
then get away from the area and to a safety.
The second situation is that you find yourself
in the kill zone with a disabled vehicle. In
this situation, you would dismount and find
cover away from your vehicle: it’s a bullet
magnet and will draw fire from every enemy
weapon in the area. You can shelter behind
the engine block for a short while, which is
the hardest part of your vehicle, and will stop
some incoming rounds. Remember, though,
that there are two types of cover: cover from
fire and cover from view, and the latter will
not stop you getting killed by rounds travelling

through your vehicle. RPGs have no respect
for cover from view, so get the hell out of
there and try not to stay in road-side ditches
for too long. Any enemy worth half his pay
will have mined the area. You’re in the deep
end anyway, so just keep moving – you have
absolutely nothing to lose.
The third, and final, scenario is that you’re
at the back of the convoy, and have not yet
entered the kill area. Stay back and reverse
out if necessary, but try not to turn around, as
you will present a bigger target. If there are
enough drivers and crew, or if you’re lucky and
you’re carrying personnel in the back, then
de-bus and take the fight to the enemy. Find
out which side of the road the main ambush is )