Warbird Information Exchange

If it Can't be Fixed, Marines Blow it Up

Marine Corps News | Sgt. Zachary Dyer | December 21, 2007

AL ASAD, Iraq - The roads crisscrossing the deserts of Iraq serve as major arteries, allowing local and military traffic to get from one place to another relatively quickly. The cargo carried by much of this traffic is the lifeblood of not just the military mission, but the civilian economy in Iraq. A clot in one of these arteries has the potential to hamper both the military and the local populace.

With that in mind, the Marines of Company C, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, set out Nov. 30, on a four day mission to destroy Bridge 18 near Ar Rutbah.

"This bridge was a target by (al-Qaeda in Iraq), about four or five months ago," said 1st Lt. Todd Peterson, the executive officer for Charlie Co. "The insurgents were trying to do some sort of counter mobility op, trying to channelize (Coalition Forces). This was one of the bridges that was hit. They set an IED on it, and it damaged it to the point where the bridge started dropping."

"Because this is the (Main Supply Route) from Syria over to Baghdad, all the (Third Country National) trucks, like 200 every few days, have to run underneath this bridge," added Peterson, highlighting the bridge's importance to the area. "This is also the main route to get CF to Rutbah. And all those trucks were coming dangerously close to hitting it, and two or three of them actually did hit it."

One caveat to the mission was that the road still be useable after the destruction of the bridge. The demolition of the bridge had to be controlled in a way that minimized the damage to the road that went under it. The Marines also wanted to save the abutments of the bridge if at all possible. This would make it easier for Iraqis to come back and rebuild the bridge, according to Peterson.

When the Marines arrived at the bridge late in the night, a local trucker had just lost part of his shipment of potato chips to the bridge and was in the process of trying to salvage what he could. The Marines set up a makeshift forward operating base and then got as much sleep as they could before starting early the next morning.

Over the next three days, the Marines rigged the bridge with explosives. First, they bolted wooden frames to the underside of the bridge so they could secure the charges to the bridge. Before the charges were placed in the frames, boosters were inserted into the C-4. Once the charges were strapped to the bridge, detonation cord was attached to each charge. Each length of cord had to be the same length to ensure that all the charges went off at the same time. In the end, the bridge was wired with 2,080 sticks of C-4.

"Because we wanted to do this in a controlled manner, and not just shoot a bunch of (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) at it or something like that, we decided to use controlled charges called counterforce charges," explained Peterson.

"Basically they work in a scissor-type action. One charge on one side, one charge on the other and offset a little bit; and then they push against each other and chop it like a scissor. So, we set a bunch of those charges all along the girders as well as the support columns, and basically just cut the bridge in specific areas to allow the heavy equipment to push it around and get it off the road."

The Marines set the explosives off early Dec. 3. Then the company's heavy equipment operators stepped in. Using two D-9 bulldozers and an excavator, the Marines pushed the pieces of bridge off the side of the road making sure the debris was far enough away that it couldn't be used to hide an IED.

At the end of the day, after the Marines had cleared the road packed up for the trip back to Al Asad, there was little noticeable damage to the road.

"Everything went smooth," said Gunnery Sgt. Johnny Mendez, the company gunnery sergeant. "The demo went off and the bridge came down just as we planned."

This is not the normal mission for combat engineers in Iraq. When the war started they were kicking in doors and blowing up buildings, but now that the military is focused on rebuilding Iraq, the engineers are used for tactical construction to increase force protection measures and destroy weapons caches, according to Mendez, a Las Cruces, N.M., native.

The controlled demolition of a bridge is something that has not been done in Iraq before. Because of this, the engineers documented every step they took in the hopes that Marines in the future will be able to use what the leathernecks of Charlie Co. learned, according to Peterson.

While both Peterson and Mendez are combat engineers, the weight of the mission fell on the shoulders of the junior Marines – the combat engineers and the technical engineering specialist.

"They're outstanding, I couldn't ask for better," said Mendez. "The heroes are the ones below me, they're the ones that kicked butt."

"The mission gave the younger engineers a chance to shine. For most of them, this was the first time they had seen an explosion that big or used that much explosives," said Lance Cpl. Andrew Wilson, a combat engineer with Charlie Co.

"I enjoyed putting the demo together, putting the boosters in, and watching all that explode," said Wilson, a New Castle, Va., native. "It was a learning experience. That's the first time I've ever used boosters, and the first time I've ever really made a bunker buster."

At the end of the day, the Marines were just happy they got the chance to do what they have trained to do and support the mission at the same time.

"I wish we did more of that," said Wilson. "I love being an engineer. We build, we blow up – that's a pretty good life."