Victory Point (43 page)

 

SVD:
The Dragunov Sniper Rifle was produced in the Soviet Union, China, and Iraq. A favorite of the well-trained Chechan snipers, this coveted 7.62 × 54 mm weapon is rare.

 

RPK
: Best described as an AK-47 with a bipod, the RPK also has a longer muzzle than the AK-47, but fires the same type of ammunition (7.62 × 39 mm) and has an effective range of up to one thousand meters.

 

PK:
The favored weapon of Ahmad Shah, the PK medium machine gun is a bipod-mounted, belt-fed machine gun that fires 7.62 × 54 mm rounds. The PK is relatively lightweight, and is fed through metal drums containing anywhere from 100 to 250 rounds.

 

RPG-7:
Initially designed as an unguided, shoulder-launched, antitank weapon utilizing an armor-penetrating shaped charge; al-Qaeda fighters often use the RPG-7 as an integral part of a coordinated ambush with other weapons such as the PK and IED strikes. It has a maximum range of just over nine hundred meters, at which point, if it hasn’t struck a target, the warhead will self-detonate.

 

PP87 82 mm Mortar:
Used frequently in nighttime ambushes of Camp Blessing, this Chinese-made mortar tube can launch a projectile out to 4,660 meters (2.8 miles). Because it breaks down quickly into three pieces, Ahmad Shah’s men used these mortar systems in both
Red Wings
and
Whalers.

 

Type 63-2 107mm Rocket:
A North Korean- and Chinese-manufactured unguided rocket containing eighteen pounds of TNT, the Type 63-2 was designed to be launched in twelve-tube multiple-launch vehicles or on single-tube launchers. Throughout the Kunar, however, insurgents and terrorists would simply lean these up against rocks behind the crest of a ridge near the intended target, then launch them. Because the 63-2 utilizes an electric actuator, it could be set on timers, allowing insurgents time to egress back to their safe houses long before an attack began. Inaccurate, these were used as harassment and terror weapons, but nevertheless inflicted causalties.

 

IED:
Most Marines consider the Improvised Explosive Device, or IED (frequently referred to as a “roadside bomb”), to be the most insidious of all weapons used by insurgents and terrorists. IEDs come in an infinite number of designs and types, from command-wire-triggered land mines, to massive radio-controlled “daisy chained” artillery shells (multiple artillery shells, each with a detonator, electrically interconnected to one another). While the Marines of ⅔ utilized a number of techniques to mitigate the threat of IEDs, they ultimately found that the most effective and enduring came from establishing relationships with locals, who would point the Marines in the direction of caches of materials used to make IEDs—as well as identifying those responsible for building, emplacing, and triggering them.

APPENDIX II

All are members of the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment, unless otherwise noted

 

Allan, Nigel J.R. (Afghanistan Historical Expert)

Anes, Mario Corporal

Bambey, John 1st Lieutenant

Bartels, Matthew 1st Lieutenant

Bradley, Justin Corporal

Brown, Richard Lance Corporal

Burgos, Chris Corporal

Capuzzi, Peter Captain

Chizmadia, Jesse 1st Lieutenant

Cirencione, Salvatore Corporal

Cooling, Norman Lieutenant Colonel (Battalion Commander, 3/3)

Corcoral, Kyle 1st Lieutenant

Crisp III, Lee Staff Sergeant

Diss, Corey Lance Corporal

Donnellan, James Lieutenant Colonel

Eggers, Keith Sergeant

Fisher, Cody Corporal

Geise, Steward 1st Lieutenant

Grissom, Kelly Captain

Guyton, Nick 1st Lieutenant

Hagan, Christopher 1st Lieutenant

Kinser, Patrick 1st Lieutenant

Konstant, J.J. 1st Lieutenant

Lemons, Roe 1st Lieutenant

Long, Robert 1st Lieutenant

MacMannis, Andrew Lieutenant Colonel

Middendorf, Ben 1st Lieutenant

Perna, Mark Lance Corporal

Pigman, Jamie HM3 (Navy Hospital Corpsman)

Plunk, Joshua Corporal

Priddy, Andrew Major (operations officer, 3/3)

Rashman, Zach Captain

Ratkowiak, Casmer Captain

Rock (The Rock) (Interpreter)

Roy, Joe Corporal

Sandvick-Monroe, Jeremy Lance Corporal

Scholl, Mike Lance Corporal

Scott, Robert Major

Seiffert, Lance 1st Lieutenant

Strand, Richard (Afghan Historical Expert)

Sultan (Interpreter)

Tracy, Matt Captain

Turner, Regan 1st Lieutenant

Waters, Perry Captain

Westerfield, Scott Major

Wood, Tom Major

Others, undisclosed

After Action Reports, undisclosed

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Borovik, Artyom.
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Jalali Ali Ahmad and Lester W. Grau.
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INDEX

Page numbers in
Italics
indicate map references.

A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog,”

Abbas Ghar,

Abdur Rahman Khan (“Iron Emir”)

AC-130 Gunship

Adams, Anthony (Lance Corporal)

Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG)

Advanced Echelon (ADVON)

Afghan Arabs

Afghan Border Security

Afghan Bureau (of the ISI)

Afghan National Army (ANA)

Afghan National Police (ANP)

Afghan Security Forces (ASF) ,

Afghan Services Bureau (Maktab al-Khidmat al Mujahidin al Arab, or MAK)

Afghanistan

American Invasion of

Civil War

General Overview

Human Geography and History

Physical Geography

Afghan-Pakistan Border

Africa

Afzal, Mawlawi

AH-1W Super Cobra

AH-64 Apache (Call Sign
Shock
)

Air Force Combat Controllers

Air Support Operations Center (ASOC) (U.S. Air Force),

AK-47 Kalashnikov Rifle

Al Anbar Province of Iraq

Al Asad, Iraq

Alexander III of Macedonia (Alexander the Great)

Alexandria, Egypt

Algeria

Alingar Valley

al-Qaeda

al-Rahman, Jamil

al-Zawahiri, Ayman

Amin, Hafizullah

Amin, Ruhola

Amrey Creek

Amrey Road

Amrey

Amu Darya River (formerly the Oxus River)

Anaconda
, Operation

Anaya, Luis “Doc,” (Navy Hospital Corpsman Third Class)

Anticoalition Milita (ACM)

Apocalypse Now
(movie)

Arabian Sea

Arabs

Aral Sea

Arref, Haji,

Arsenic (tainted water wells)

Asadabad, Afghanistan (AKA Chagha Serai)

Asadabad-Jalalabad Road

Ashvakas,

Asia, Central

Asia, South,

Asia, Southeast