Victory Point - Ed Darack [147]
It was refreshing to see the courage and resiliency, determination and initiative, it takes to win such a critical battle in such a major war. You will feel better about the military, about our inevitable victory over terror, and ultimately about America after reading this book. Victory Point is going to remind you that there’s an American man still alive and still strong, preserving the democracy we have enjoyed for the past 233 years. His name is the U.S. Marine . . . just in case you forgot.
Semper,
J. J. “Konnie” Konstant
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First off, everyone mentioned in the book—and their families and friends.
Justin “JD” Kinser, Stacy, Rick and Christy Crevier and family, the Kinser family, the Konstant family, Kevin Crowe (for the name Victory Point), my mother, Kelly Mackey, Scott Miller and the staff at Trident Media, Michelle Vega and Natalee Rosenstein and everyone at Penguin Group, Ellen Liebowitz, Kain “Chewy” Anderson, Doug “Oedi” Glover, everyone at MAWTS-1, Rob Dolan, Danny Ponzo, Gabe Garcia, Doug “2FS” Pasnik, Scott Pierce, Eric Sheline, Mitch Aschinger, Steve Morris, everyone at Bridgeport (MCMWTC), Bart “Pickle” Betik, Robb “Robb-T” MacDonald, Robb Etnyre, Colonel Durrant, Kelsey Smith, Doug and Kathy Stone, Bits—wherever you may be lounging in the dirt, Mike Martley, Ryan Hough, Matt “Shocker” Vought, Rick Scavetta, Michael Swanson, Kerry Knowles and everyone at the Marine Corps Gazette, Patrick Mooney, Kevin Digman, Jeff Lee, Joel Schwankl, Dave and Barbara Arendts and family, Ryan Powell, Matt Sewell, Jill Henes, John Selengo, Ed Ross, Bill and Dorothy Ross, Karina Vesco, Joe Sullivan, Bill Winternitz, Amos Hollar, Cara Zucarelli, Nigel Allan, Richard Strand, Roger Ressmeyer, Ryan Palmer, Lisa Vasquez-Roper, Skip Jacobs, Shasta Jacobs, Bill Murray and everyone at Murray and Young, Linda Shiner, Mark Vogel, Pete Faeth, Robert Timberg and the staff at Proceedings, Jasmine Khan, Lynn Elsey, Brian Kelly, Jason Schmus, Tony Powers, Joe Miller, Graham Golden, Drew Reeder, Henry Christle, everyone at the 107th Weather Flight, the family of Michael Scholl, the family of Jeremy Sandvick-Monroe, the family of Terry Elliot, Alex VanSteen, Fred Wasser at Adorama, Tim Walker, Jason Walker, Matt Watt, TTECG, Jamie and Elizabeth Damm, Caroline Sheen, Steve Mraz, Christian Beckwith and Katie Ives and everyone at Alpinist, Weatherwise magazine, Ben Early, Jason Tarr, Greg McNamee, Maldo, Scott Kensiger, Tom Doyle, Kathy Joseph, Matt Connors, Steve and Melissa Coumo (and Toby), Tony “Tea” Baggs, Ricco “Guido” Scalise, “Smoke” and all of the Green Knights, the “Gunrunners” of HMLA-269, MAG-11 and Colonel Owens, Dustoffs of 45th Medical Company, VMA-231, VMA-211, HMH- 362, VMGR-252, HMM-262, Mike “Sluggo” Farrell, Brian Bracken, Sergeant Major Cowart, Mike Beltran, Sergeant Major Patrick Wilkinson, the family of Max Galeai, Jason Matthews, everyone at the Printer in Davis, Scott Moss, Jeremy Dohl, Joshua Dart, Darrell Carver, Brett Rankin, Dave Moore, Keith Rollin, Noah Hunsacker, Scott Stephan—and everyone from the 2005 Summer MLC course, Sergeant Major Daniel Fierle, Rita Frangie, and Tiffany Estreicher.
APPENDIX I
PRIMARY WEAPON SYSTEMS
Primary Weapon Systems Relevant to Operation Red Wings and Operation Whalers:
GROUND WEAPONS
M16: The hallmark weapon of the US Marine infantryman, the M16 is a tried-and-true rifle that fires 5.56x45 mm magazine-fed ammunition. The iteration currently fielded by the USMC, the M-16A4, can operate either in semiautomatic or in three-shot burst mode. Each Marine of ⅔ typically carried ten to fifteen thirty-round magazines on combat patrols and large-scale operations in the Kunar, with more available through resupply drops. The modular rail system of the M-16A4 allows Marines to mount a variety of optical and aiming accessories, including the ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight), combat flashlights, a variety of laser sight aids