25.12.2014 Views

American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

274/439<br />

We found two 60 gunners, including Ryan Job, to provide a little<br />

muscle, and with an officer headed out to help the Marines.<br />

Seven Story was a tall, battered building about two hundred yards<br />

outside the Marine outpost. Made of tan-colored cement and located<br />

near what had been a major road before the war, it looked almost like<br />

a modern office building, or would have if it weren’t for the missing<br />

windows and huge holes where it had been hit by rockets and shells. It<br />

was the tallest thing around and had a perfect vantage into the city.<br />

We went out in early evening with several Marines and local<br />

jundis for security. The jundis were loyal Iraqi militia or soldiers who<br />

were being trained; there were a number of different groups, each with<br />

its own level of expertise and efficiency—or, most often, the opposite<br />

of both.<br />

While there was still light, we got a few shots here and there, all on<br />

isolated insurgents. The area around the building was pretty rundown,<br />

a whitewashed wall with a fancy iron gate separating one sand-strewn<br />

empty lot from another.<br />

Night fell, and suddenly we were in the middle of a flood of bad<br />

guys. They were on their way to assault the Marine outpost and we just<br />

happened to be along the route. There were a ton of them.<br />

At first, they didn’t realize we were there, and it was open season.<br />

Then, I saw three guys with RPGs taking aim at us from about a block<br />

away. I shot each of them in succession, saving us the hassle of ducking<br />

from their grenades.<br />

The firefight quickly shifted our way. The Marines called us over<br />

the radio and told us to collapse back to them.<br />

Their outpost was a few hundred treacherous yards away. While<br />

one of the 60 gunners, my officer, and I provided cover fire, the rest of

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!