Posted: 8/29/2007 7:02:17 PM EDT
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A friend of my brother's is an enlisted squad leader in the U.S. Marines. I'll call him B. B. started as an MP, and pulled guard duty at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, guarding the infamous "enemy combatants" captured from Afghanistan and Iraq. The inmates are so dangerous that the guards don't carry weapons--for fear that an inmate would grab the weapon and kill a guard or himself. So on numerous occasions, B. had to literally wrestle with inmates who were trying to hurt him. I remember he told me once that it was a bad idea to walk close to the cell doors, or to look through the "beanhole" (food slot) because often inmates would throw feces through the slot at anyone who was within range. After his stint in Guantanamo, B. volunteered for combat duty in Iraq. He wanted to fight. He shipped over, and was promoted to Lance Corporal for his leadership skills. One day, an armored vehicle was hit by an RPG and caught fire. One of the crewmen was splattered by diesel fuel and caught fire. B. was nearby, and dropped his gear, ran to the burning man, and smothered him with his body, rolling in the dirt with him. The man had burns over 2/3 of his body, but he survived because of B.'s quick thinking. Recently, B. was guarding an Iraqi police station when a car bomb was detonated outside the security checkpoint. B. and his partner were blown back and knocked down, and many Iraqi soldiers were killed by the explosion. B. jumped up and started shooting, and he and his partner killed several insurgents who were attacking after the explosion. B. had suffered fractured vertebrae from being thrown into the air by the force of the bomb. Unable to carry his duty pack, he was put on desk duty. Then his memory and concentration began to show signs of damage. He was diagnosed with a mild closed head injury. B. is now on his way back to the U.S. for treatment and recovery. The war is over for him. We are fortunate to have such men to send to war. |
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Your first paragraph describes standard SOP in u.s. correctional facilities. Yep never put your face near the cuff port of a cell door. I hope the best for your friend. I read a national geographic several months ago that describes how the military is just starting to find out how severe brain injuries can be from explosives even if the trooper shows no physical injuries. In one case a soldier or Marines vehicle was hit by an IED. Several in the vehicle were seriously injured but the trooper in the article apparantly only suffered a concussion and blacked out. If I remember correctly months later he began slurring his words, exhibited memory, coordination. and anger problems due to brain damage from the blast. The military is so behind the curve his family had to pay out their own pocket to send him to a specialist because the military said there was nothing wrong with him. They have since started to catch on that high explosive can inflict severe long term injury even though the soldier appears to be uninjured. |
