Heroes of Hell's Highway: Bomb on the Front Door

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it's the world's most war-torn country welcome to Afghanistan was heavily my country in the world of the 23rd route clearance company are on a mission to find and destroy enemy bombs you're looking for IDs and people are out there to get you second Platoon defends their home turf when insurgents plant an ie D at the front gate of their base holy crap is gonna be like may well third Platoon is attacked by insurgents on motorcycles they come to Playa Vista right now it is aa good moral swerve here at it three they come in here in southern Afghanistan Skanda har province sits the isolated Army outpost Forward Operating Base Akari karez this is the home away from home for both the second and third platoons of the 23rd sapper about clearance company the bass is in the heart of Taliban country less than a mile to the north coalition surveillance cameras spot the enemy preparing an attack at a local mosque an insurgent carries an AED to a waiting motorcycle he places the IET along the busy a 1 Highway one of the few paved roads in the country the a1 is part of Afghanistan's Ring Road a vital artery connecting many of the major cities the location of the ie D is the main gate of the Forward Operating Base in the command post news of the IET at the front gate comes in that's just off the north side of the road this is the nerve center for second and third platoons the commanding officer captain Patrick filmin receives intel on the bomb the 90s at the gate you can see him sooner right on camera I got more heads the pictures come from PG SS or persistent ground surveillance system high above the desert high-tech camera couldn't reports the activities below on a very low tech platform a 70 foot blimp just do me a favor and lovely china blake see where these guys are at that way it was 42 like right now we're getting second Platoon ready to go out there identify that ID and blow the ID in place as second Platoon races to gear up the trucks go pass 54 miles to the east at the NATO controlled Kandahar Airfield the Army's scrambling to kiowa warrior attack helicopters to chase down the men who planted a bomb but second Platoon will be on the scene before the gunships hey listen up hi dan Simon sir just drive up one dude on a motorcycle other dude runs out hands of a package they sent the package down on the side of the road he's furiously working on it basically we got a surface placed ie D about 100 meters do pulling the left out of our front gate mode on the highway one leak believes he and his men are walking into a trap this is so stupid obvious then they may have something else planned for us out there there may be more bombs hidden waiting when you see the actual package on the ground go ahead and push about 100 200 meters past right over here quick prayer DiMaso huh body guys thank you for this day y'all afraid you give us victory out there over enemies help us stay aware stay alert stay alive I was to go in grace and mercy today your name I pray amen uh demoss on three right up here Oh second platoons rolling out and only half strength with most of their trucks stuck in maintenance torn up by desert wear and tear at the core of this convoy are three gun trucks each with a 50 Cal machine gun or automatic grenade launcher in their Gunther they carry a 30-foot telescoping camera or Talon robot in the back there's one husky with ground-penetrating radar panels to scan for Barry Bonds the convoys biggest vehicle the buffalo is disabled so interrogating an AED will be more dangerous in the smaller trucks go turning onto the highway second platoon only travels the length of a football field before they reach the bomb I clocked both straight towards us to pull up here in front of him gun cocking off to the right lock out the cordon make sure we're tight from this point on no one else comes in or out plate blocks the traffic in both directions with guns rocks tip package sitting on top of the road right there it's off to the north side of the road and although hi stewardess it's facing her data section see the things you need for an IUD is you need someone to be able to over watch it need some sort of aiming point as well lieutenant Blake gets an update from the eye in the sky we got one guy on the ground currently about to pitch my proposition one of the insurgents is now the triggerman and watches ready to blow the I Edie with a remote control one one two six go ahead and drop the Talon and have it start the robots video feed helps Blake figure out exactly what kind of bomb he's dealing with it's a directionally focused charge it's not designed to just boom it's supposed to basically go in one direction take out a vehicle or something the directionally focused charge is packed with shrapnel and has the same basic parts as other IEDs a battery a trigger probably a remote control a main charge and for the container a metal tube you can rip apart a nearby vehicle 2 to 260 look at this little cutout about 10 meters in front of my vehicle on the right side now the real challenge Blake and his men look for signs of a Taliban track another more deadly hidden bomb see tire tracks right there looks like someone pulled up front alongside it backed away see on the ground there like some disturbed earth blow down to six students are and soon Roger given eyes on them in the Husky bloodhound moves up to check a suspicious pile of rocks that may hide a bomb you're ever done Frank mr. Hitler I want mine are protected if you see any of my things double down imagine nothing you're out you're out what do you want to do do you wanna try to go ahead hit that it worries that right now what ones who sticks Rogers to poke around in there see if anything pops out president without the Buffalo second Platoon is forced to interrogate the suspected ie D with a small arm on one of the gun trucks something fitted and he's got a deuce Parsi subtle how it's great at the mouth of is where wires will be running a dual antenna somewhere it's more dangerous the truck has less armor than the Buffalo it's smaller arm keeps the guys closer to the bar and any deadly blast if they trigger a second bomb Didi's could explode in southern Afghanistan Skanda har province 2nd platoon is on a mission to take out an ie D at the front gate of their Forward Operating Base but after six C on the ground there like some disturbed earth platoon leader Alex Blake suspects the ie D is a track and looks for a secondary bomb one to six Rogers poke around and they're SEPA ding pop style now second Platoon interrogate the suspicious pile of rocks a likely place for the enemy to bury a deadly ie D and he's right what's he go he's got her ID wait for him that's pretty crazy they had a wife Hawk right there I think they were trying to get us to go mess with that one and then set the why papa whypark stands for yellow palm oil container readily available and commonly used to hold explosives in an ie D basically we go up there and mess with this GFC and then they hit us with the second the second IUD is just the trap that sappers fear very very close to the more obvious explosive it is designed to blow up anyone who approaches the first bomb right now a second securing the site they're gonna call an EOD to interrogate it they paid but it'll stay out there until you tease honestly these about 8 click season here the DFC has tremendous destructive power so an EOD or explosive ordnance disposal squad is called in to handle the bomb now second Platoon must hold the road until the bomb squad arrives make sure we're tight and allow no traffic in around that's still like Sogo 47 miles to the northwest in Helmut province is the US base camp Leatherneck as well as the British base Camp Bastion two of the largest coalition posts in the country and Leatherneck lieutenant Gerard Payton is briefing third Platoon on their next mission right with the breath we're clearing from all the way down to PBR on your map it'll be labeled P Mon and that's our destination so there's several routes to get through this massive compound sing silly hit didn't juris out here in the desert so that your expectations on that third platoons mission to clear the route ahead of a British convoy checking the road for berry bombs they're headed off-road 12 miles south to promote British patrol base deep in enemy territory there have been reports of motorcycle gangs in the area what they do is they'll jump on the back of your trucks rip something off swing around and steal it they also tend to put a fire when we're interrogating so we've really got to limit the time on target with the IEDs in the event that we do start a fire engage with the crunch we're gonna be cleared right up next to buildings and villages and there's a lot of areas and places that need surgeons can hide in and that's what they like to do they have a small hit-and-run tactics they either hit you they know that they you can't pursue them in your large vehicles so we're expecting some songs fire we find that ATS the right way and August blown up today the 3rd platoon is rolling out in a 12 truck convoy with 35 soldiers outside Camp Leatherneck the British convoy from Camp Bastion falls in line behind third Platoon the British commander comes in with fresh Intel they call me British cold up they receive some Icom chatter which is radio communication between insurgents state that they had observed a large convoy which is us moving to the area and at this point they said they want to attack look the template game-changer that changed southern Afghanistan the Taliban struggle the enemy is everywhere yeah the motorcycle thank you and everyone must be considered a threat they always watches you don't know insurgent out here even when the soldiers are threatened they will not fire until someone commits a hostile act motorcycle first illegal three club swerving around stuff oh my god motorcycles swarm around the convoy what's going on the biker gang third Platoon was warned us is making their move three three three one probably got the first icon your 9 o'clock Scotty slow it down again ghost your vehicle over motorcycle gang three three three they're tryna get that back on the back here truck right now stay right by your vehicle stay coming to play a vehicle right now good little slow come on a tree he's right on your backside right now big lug sign on your side to the passenger let's go into the right oh they're right there lower right corner right there the insurgent climbing around the gun truck jumps off Wow and escapes on the motorcycle with a backpack of supplies we had motorcycle jumping on our cages the attackers could have been simple bandits or a trial run for a larger assault hey go ahead push up to that next road one of the newest Taliban weapons is the sticky bomb where explosives are mounted to a magnet and then stuck to a vehicle most often using a motorcycle I just got a threat warning saying that surgeons took place ten IEDs visually confirmed about a kilometer and a half to the north in the Husky specialist Santos sees something suspicious on the underground radar 3-1 alphas found something they wants Butler to try and take a bigger I rather look suspicious they just back off as soon as you market buffaloes good to go there and come on up and scratch at it not much with table yeah yeah Oh do it we need to be able to get into the dirt and dig around in order to take something out and it's risky digging up IEDs and being careful not to set them off that's a pretty tense situation in there in southern Afghanistan Helmand province third Platoon thinks they may have found a very bomb we had a husky find something he's not exactly sure what it is but we're having the Buffalo just go on up there and give it a scratch this time there was no I Edie the Husky could have picked up old metal from previous wars such as pieces of detonated Russian landmines didn't find anything there so third Platoon pulls out to continue the mission but after pulling off-road for the interrogation the buffalos not going anywhere yes we'll keep on her we're down my cousin forty-five miles to the southeast is Akari karez Forward Operating Base where second platoon is taking out a bomb at the main gate and they just found another one what's he got ID confirming Blake's suspicions that the first ie D is a trap I think they were trying to get us to go mess with that one and then set the light off let's not get blown up today second Platoon is blocking the road to keep locals out of danger but the a1 highway is one of the country's most important arteries connecting all the major cities in southern Afghanistan now the traffic's backing up and the locals are taking matters into their own hands the Afghan drivers going off-road could get themselves blown up holy crap this is gonna be like mayhem or worse for the platoon any driver could be part of a Taliban track a vehicle borne ie D where did he come from oh geez I see him right there pointed something up fast and small the motorcycle is the perfect vehicle for a suicide bomber he's riding coming right out of drove her the motorcycle speeds by now the crowd is growing around second platoons convoy and probably includes insurgents hey were just getting out Sierra's going on why the traffic is stopped they could be just studying the soldiers techniques or they could be planning an attack I'm getting pissed this Oh finally the AAA or Afghan National Army arrives to help control the locals and block the road but then the a a truck heads straight towards the ie D oh dude Creek Creek Hanna a a Vic's going right by the the directional fragmentation charge will tear apart the AA's pickup truck less than a mile to the north the Kiowa Warrior attack helicopters are approaching fast after scrambling from Kandahar Airfield to chase down the insurgents and support the ground troops the triggerman tries to casually leave the area but he has no idea the aerial camera is following his every move with the attack helicopter almost on him the chase is on back with second Platoon the Afghan army is going rove I would you relate it to - they're sending their guy up to look at it have them button up turn it where they go to a na soldiers walked right up to the directional fragmentation ie D hey and they have no idea there's another buried bum right next to them dudes kicking it tear it apart we're not gonna be a apparently just rip the battery pack out and the wire is off oh yeah after disabling the bomb the ane soldiers take it with him holy Frick he's starting carrying this thing back these guys it's just like this just happened he freaking took off I told him don't let him go down there you just are they did is put in the back of their freaking truck the Afghan soldiers steal the bomb driving away with it in the back of the pickup just north the tile gunships are chasing down the insurgents get Forward Operating Base Sakaki caress nord lawson Billman can hear the choppers here that has some you know here over here too often I would say with relative certainty that there are some insurgents that are going to meet their end in Afghanistan's Kandahar province 2nd platoon has stopped all traffic in front of their home base oh this is gonna be like mayhem after uncovering an insurgent track containing two bombs it is about eight klicks east of here now gunships have the insurgents who planted the bombs on the run while Blake and his men hold the road until a navy explosive ordnance disposal team arrives to take out the bomb forty-five miles to the northwest third Platoon is stuck in the desert deep in enemy territory the 50,000 pound Buffalo sinks deeper into the moondust as the tire spin sandy it's like this entire countries of beach with that motion and with each second third platoons at a standstill the greater the risk of gunfire you oh my God look at that shaky come on come on yo here we go here we go we're moving we're going I'm I can put into a entire size of the road must be - can you go ahead and push forward down the route that we were headed down so get our vehicles out of the box once the convoy is moving again it's not long before they spot a dangerous sign of insurgent activity there's like a cement I am the hole that took down about 30 inches ever said a road not which I like this obstacle is different the new hole in the road is a telltale sign of an AED so the Buffalo moves in to interrogate damnit the buffalo arm control is failing the guys need a quick fix the longer they're delayed in Taliban country the greater the chance of an attack obviously it's by being over watched by someone we need to minimize the time on target hey three two I tried to stop the motorcycles but they're coming up on you now yeah they're coming deep in Taliban territory third platoons leading a British convoy to a remote patrol base checking a road for Barry Bonds on Hudson says I'm suspicious now the convoys had a standstill over a possible ie D as Anderson races to fix a broken Buffalo arm the convoy has more problems than the broken arm a32 I tried it without that motorcycles but they're coming up on they're coming that's gonna hit oh wow see arm still doesn't pick it at it that works decoder this 360 can go on up with the Buffalo arm down for the count Santos pulls the husky right over the hole to scan it with the ground-penetrating radar Haghighi we do the good Eva clean it up how do you see something yeah I'm not buying anything just get the hell out of there and thank you husky there was nothing there and we're about to start clearing and the first insertion point third Platoon moves on to the British patrol base - are working buffalo armed to check for any berry bombs forty three miles to the east just outside Sakaki karez Forward Operating Base second platoons on a mission to take out a roadside bomb planted at the front gate lieutenant Blake has the road on lockdown for the safety of the locals and to keep all vehicles away from his convoy this is gonna be like may now Navy EOD or explosive ordnance disposal is on the scene to 360 real ATO D then that areas B Park called out to block the directional fragmentation ie D that bomb is gone a rogue Afghan army soldiers stolen before yo D arrives this has happened the days from the back of the frigging sorry but second Platoon uncovered a track a second bomb that's the wild an EOD is going to blow it up ah do you thing less than a mile to the north the insurgents who planted the IE D have split up the keio attack helicopters still have one in their sights Oh but is on back at the bomb site Zod is ready to blow up the Barry bomb hey one minute out from Biff go ahead and jump down from the gun there get low second Platoon ducks into their vehicles to avoid any flying shrapnel all right here we go 30 seconds the insurgent is playing dead when he sees that the kaya's have peeled away he makes a run for it Roger by now the insurgents are miles away from where they planted the IE d you got these guys I did that but their every move is still being watched all right here we go in Kandahar province Afghanistan 2nd platoon is on a mission to blow up an ie D that was planted at the front gate of the Forward Operating Base all right here we go oh yeah ud is seven to six thank you much for your help and go save truth back over the bomb was big enough to disable a vehicle but was designed as a trap for soldiers on foot the explosion would have killed anyone along the road near the first ie D go ahead and clash with poor Dom they are set to move out back down that's busy with a roadside bomb now in pieces spread across the desert second Platoon reopens the a1 highway and returns to Sakaki caress less than a mile to the north the insurgents who place the IE D are trapped two Kiowa helicopters have them in their sights an army infantry has the compound surrounded the insurgents give up without a fight and are taken into custody a few days later third Platoon blows off some steam at their living quarters we got a call back off to my left while the other half of the 23rd sapper route clearance company is in the flight line striker is gonna close down so we're gonna move on and we're gonna do Brethren or somewhere else sense era shutting down this location will be relocating Todd's Azula third tune will be staying behind at the end of the month we'll all be back together again as part of the drawdown in Afghanistan Forward Operating Base Sakaki karez is closing now company commander Billman First Sergeant north loss and second Platoon are relocating to Forward Operating Base aziz allah about sixteen miles to the west you the area between candy bar here which is whereas utilize is the most dangerous area for IEDs right now when the aircraft house go deal direction - what aircraft the flight - Aziz Allah is less than an hour long but it will take the 23rd sappers into dangerous territory couple of soldiers have been lost there for the last few days but I have faith in it tunes and into soldiers and the company that they'll do a good job I'm really happy to say that we brought all our men back everybody stayed safe and healthy and happy so it's good be moving over to us soon it's pretty hot area label the hottest area for a while I guess now Afghanistan chill import me bring all my guys back home alive Clarence is exceptionally important for the army we have helicopters we have aircraft but the primary means of getting around Afghanistan is good old-fashioned wheels and boots if those roads aren't cleared then our infantry doesn't know what they're getting into being a sapper to me is all about being tough nosed you're expected to be able to fight and move maneuvering vehicles by from vehicles by from the ground it's not easy being this Africa it's just one of those things you got to go out there you got to do it every day I'll do it every day with these guys

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Channel: CommandoMilitary

Views: 1,734,460

Rating: 4.5152259 out of 5

Keywords: US, Army, Roadside, Bomb, IED, Afghanistan, YouTube Capture

Id: 0ov2o-L7qeg

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Length: 42min 0sec (2520 seconds)

Published: Fri May 03 2013

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