Prosser stands above the crocodile who bit his watch. A young 2nd lieutenant who had only been in Iraq three weeks, and hadnt seen any real combat; and a young specialist, who, per chance, is one of the few Deuce Four soldiers who is not a seasoned veteran, though he has seen some combat. weapons, and had in their possession photographs of US If soldiers dont go fast, the bad guys simply get away. 23 Jan 2005. invasion of Panama, the first Persian Gulf war, Operation Uphold Mosul, where it takes a special penchant for fighting. Within minutes, I was running out my room, still pulling zips and fastening buttons, when I came sweating into the TOC. Meanwhile, SSG Konkol's men were clearing toward us, leaving the three bad guys boxed, but free. snapped in half. The struggle is just beginning. It will not be a victory for America and Great Britain and others against Iraq. I had a camera. This was happening in seconds. We were roaring through little streets and along roads, horn blaring, cars zipping off the sides, the steady chatter of multiple radio channels colliding inside the Stryker. Kurillas reluctance to allow anyone outside Deuce Four ride with his soldiers including writers is well known. young soldiers, "Throw a grenade in there!" The sweet and heartfelt message inside ended with-. On Monday, while conducting operations in west Mosul, a voice came over the radio saying troops from our brother unit, the 3-21, were fighting with the enemy in east Mosul on the opposite side of the Tigris River. He appeared to be shot down and dead. freelance writer Michael Yon, who is embedded with the battalion known to miss a stride; he did a crazy judo roll and came up Leading three soldiers, Kurilla ran through a maze of shops and alleys. When the very experienced When Kurilla woke in recovery a few hours after surgery, The Commander of Deuce Four, LTC Erik Kurilla, was shot three times in combat yesterday in front of my eyes. Kurilla is direct, but at least people know they are getting an accurate account. opponent of some in the Army's Detention Facilities The brigades rear detachment commander, Maj. Nicholas Mullen, might be dead because of all the blood on his legwas About fifteen seconds later our ramp dropped. But Bullets were hitting all around Kurilla. shutter button. Jim T. posted images on LinkedIn. There was a quick and heavy volume of fire. Yon wrote this about Erik Kurilla's sense of duty and his courage just a few days ago: Bullets are snapping, and I'm crouched The Alpha Company soldiers ran through the propane and dust cloud and swarmed the shop. Kurilla had gone A short time after Kurilla gave me the book, following But the terrorist can get shot to pieces and I don't care.Instead slightly to the side of the shop. posted by Michael Yon @ 1:09 AM | Permanent Link, AP's Antonio Castaneda Features Walt Gaya, A tribute for service members and families, Update: Iraq Constitutional Referendum Dispatch, First in a series of five posts about Michael\'s travels with Command Sargeant Major Jeffrey Mellinger, the top enlisted solider in Iraq, whose mission is to observe and report on conditions at the front. It was just a flesh wound. He walks with LTC Doug Crissman into the headquarters of General Hamid, an Iraqi police chief who had rid his Anbar Province town of al Qaeda elements but subsequently faced accusations (from his fellow Iraqis) of corruption and brutality himself. One bullet smashed through his The doctors rolled LTC Kurilla and the terrorist into OR and our surgeons operated on both at the same time. Everybody loves him. It was afternoon when LTC Kurilla started his rounds in Mosul. When I shot the propane canister, Prosser had nearly strangled the guy, but my shots made Prosser think bad guys were coming, so he released the terrorists throat and snatched out the pistol from his holster, just as SSG Konkol, Lewis, DeVereaux and Muse swarmed the shop. Combat Support Hospital If Kurilla gets shot, I'm definitely going to get him. Kurilla was running when he was hit in three places, including his femur, which was shattered. In 2000, Yon published a memoir titled Danger Close, describing his murder trial for killing a bar patron the day after he became a Green Beret. Current HCS Projects and Updates. action this way and that. Senior Director, ARMA Global-GDIT, A General Dynamics Company 1y The Iraqis noticed., We can win this war, Yon declares. and firing, yelling at the two young soldiers to get in Among other American-made failures, Yon points out that Madison Avenue at its best could not have done more for al Qaeda and other insurgent groups than the flattening of Fallujah, or the Abu Ghraib photos.. leader that Americans admire and Iraqis respect. bases, including a map of this base. Neither had real combat experience. After spending some time with the Commander, CSM Prosser and I drove back to the unit. Its just some minor A true and abiding understanding of both its value and its costs. After spending some time with the Although the situation in Mosul is better, our troops still fight here every day. but there was no time to reload. A man came forward, trying to shoot Kurilla with a pistol, apparently realizing his only escape was by fighting his way out, or dying in the process. boxing up his photos of his wife and children, and his You are the only one who might understand, the passage registered in my mind. interpreter is near-right.) Police were on the roof with machine guns and AK-47s . couldn't hold on well. One was training to be a sniper, while the other was training for different combat missions. We loaded the Strykers and drove down to the Cash, and there was Chaplain Wilson, who might be the most popular man on base. men, while others blamed the terrorists, although blame He had given me a copy and told me to read it. Your gifts ensure that you will continue to get unfiltered reports of whats happening on the front lines of this fight for freedom. The Coalition was If you pick up another weapon, you are out of here the next day. Michael Yon was there and witnessed this: The operation has begun. Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com. The treatment terrorists get here is better and more expensive than what many Americans or Europeans can get. femur, snapping his leg. SFC Bowman shields the eyes of his Commander. was, after all, still fighting. BamBamBamBam! Five soldiers from ReconHolt, Ferguson, Yates, Welch and Rosswere moving through moon-cast shadows when an Iraqi man came out from a farmhouse, his AK-47 rifle hanging by his side. But all Kurilla saw was LT Flynn stepping off the ramp, and then there was a lot of shooting. Kurilla was aiming at the doorway waiting for him to come out. by Curt | Nov 26, 2005 | The Iraqi War . But he said No. (Thank God; running in front of the shop might have proved fatal.). rifle, an AK, pistols, a silencer, explosives and other While in Baghdad he captured another iconic photo Muslims and Christians rebuilding St Johns church in the Dora district. In the four months theyd been doing joint operations, Crissman couldnt recall ever seeing Hamid carrying a rifle, yet there he was outside the police station with an MP5 machine pistol. I looked back at the two soldiers who were with me Soldiers cant just shoot anyone who runs. In order for leaders of Kurilla's rank to know the pulse Some blamed his men, while others blamed the terrorists, although blame alone could not compete with disbelief. that Prosser went "black" and ran into the shop. For more than eight months, a blog written by independent journalist Michael Yon has chronicled the battles, strategies and sorrows of Kurillas unit, the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry (Deuce Four). That poor woman. commander still kept giving orders, even telling Munoz He has traveled or worked in 82 countries, including various wars and conflicts. J.R. Michael is a veteran of two tours of duty in Iraq and blogs at mudvillegazette.com. [8], From 2004 to 2014, he was stationed in the geographic area of responsibility of the U.S. Central Command,[8] deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. The one to go back and speak. They had night vision gear, so they moved quickly. The 1-17th will relieve the 1-24th soon, so Triscari has been conducting operations with Deuce Four. Kurilla was running when he was shot, but he didn't seem Lt. Col. Erik Kurilla is out of Iraq, recovering from gunshot wounds in a Tacoma hospital. actually fighting hand-to-hand on the ground. The Surge operation continued as we returned to base. Really, Daniels okay, and dont worry about it when the Army calls you.. Kurilla continued, Trail section clear the car and clear south to north! The pilot swooped low and the co-pilot aimed his rifle at the Opel, firing three shots and blowing out the back window. Kurilla is direct, but at least people know they are getting an accurate account. Just some minor stuff. That poor woman. "Erik! Shots were fired behind us but around a corner to the left. Keep an eye on Yon's blog for the next dispatch. It is unclear when Kurilla will be released from Madigan Army Medical Center. Kurilla continued to direct his men until a medic gave him morphine and the men took him away.. They were on a recon of American forces when Kurilla sensed their intent. The propane canister at rest (left), the terrorist in In other dispatches Yon has described how Kurilla climbed into burning Strykers to pull his wounded men to safety. When the bullet hit that canister, Prosserwho I thought might be dead because of all the blood on his legwas actually fighting hand-to-hand on the ground. It was not The combat drama was ended, so I started snapping photos Recon returned the man his rifle, and started making their way back, umbral and silent across the ploughed fields. Both the young 2nd lieutenant and the young specialist were inside a shop when a close-quarters firefight broke out, and they ran outside. The terrorist who shot Kurilla, and who was now a eunuch in a nearby bed, might well have been the same terrorist who, after being released, shot Lama and Thompson and others. Army photo) Lt. Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla, the commander of the Army's 18th Airborne Corps, is the White House's pick to lead American forces in the Middle East . The soldiers from Alpha Company were heading toward him when LTC Kurilla yelled out that he was okay, but that CSM Prosser was still in the shop. Those parts range literally from boots on our feet to satellites zipping overhead. The Commander and the terrorist were both being prepped for surgery, when LTC Kurilla said, Tell Major Bieger to call my wife so she doesnt get a call from the Army first. But someone gave the Commander a cell phone, and I heard Kurilla talking to his wife, Mary Paige, saying something like, Honey, there has been a little shooting here. Kurilla was running when he was shot, but he didnt seem to miss a stride; he did a crazy judo roll and came up shooting. for surgery, when LTC Kurilla said, "Tell Major Bieger Kurilla ordered the Kiowa to fire a warning shot, then quickly authorized the Kiowa to disable the vehicle. battle-hardened bravery that makes him the kind of pistol strapped on his right leg, or get to his knife on The Iraqis who seethe over the shooting of Kurilla know that the cunning fury of Jihadists is congenite. Deuce Four soldiers would have killed every man in that I screamed to the young soldiers, Throw a grenade in there! but they were not attacking. Meanwhile, The other In Yon's account, confirmed by others. Carrying both books, we drove to the Cash. A Kiowa helicopter pilot radioed that he spotted the car. Kurilla was, after all, still fighting. left. #DeuceFour Wrapped in a ground fight, Prosser could not pull out his service pistol strapped on his right leg, or get to his knife on his left, because the terroristwho turned out to be a serious terroristhad grabbed Prossers helmet and pulled it over his eyes and twisted it. Kiowas are small, carrying just two people; they fly so low the two flying soldiers are practically infantrymen. Understand. After some conversation, the Commander looked over at the next bed and asked, How are you doing SGT Lama?, Good, the Commander said, You are my new PSD. [Personal Security Detachment: Bodyguard. help arrived in the form of one man: CSM Prosser. leg. SSG Konkol's men were clearing toward us, leaving the And if we do it will be a victory of the same magnitude as the fall of the Soviet Union. I gulped in deeply. Jan. 7, 2022 WASHINGTON President Biden has nominated Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla to be the next head of the military's marquee combatant operations command responsible for prosecuting the wars. He wrote Kurilla was shot three times in combat yesterday in front of Kurilla was in the open, but his judo roll had left him [7] In 2022, he deployed to Germany to oversee U.S. troop deployments in response to the 20212022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis.[12]. a young LT screamed for backup down the dusty Mosul alleyway as shots fired, LTC Kurilla ran toward the gunfire, leading the. This was not the Deuce Four I know. Kurilla talked about it almost daily. In the end the jets just flew low in a show of force and then rumbled away, Yon says. Kurilla, though down and unable to move, was fighting As the Stryker dropped its ramp, one of the terrorists pulled a pistol from under his shirt. Opels may be faster than Kiowas on straight-a-ways, but when the car made turns, the helicopter quickly caught up. had given me a copy and told me to read it. The other suspects started running. | One bullet smashed through his femur, snapping his leg. Update II: Soldiers' Angels is on the job! We were searching the area for the source of that automatic weapons fire when Kurilla spotted three men in a black Opel and his sixth sense kicked. CSM Prosser flex cuffs Khalid Jasim Nohe That was in December. Need health insurance? Mosul, Iraq. medic, Specialist Munoz, put morphine into Kurilla, the chain of command, but had otherwise not changed the Dont I look okay?. Automatic weapons fire started coming from at least two places. rifle. But as Yon explains, in our fight with al Qaeda in Baqubah we gained the support of many of the citizens of that town including a major insurgent group that months before had been fighting against the coalition because we controlled the moral high ground. While others might argue that point, in the aftermath of the battle, Yon accompanied an Iraqi Army unit as they exhumed the corpses from an al Qaeda produced mass grave. Last steps. LTC Kurilla began running in the direction of the shooting. what the outcome might have been? Please enable JavaScript if you would like to comment on this blog. love." The young 2nd lieutenant and specialist were the only two soldiers near. Reporters from The Associated Press, Chicago Tribune and other organizations quoted Kurilla as he explained the insurgency and efforts to train Iraqi forces. Serving under this hero in Iraq was one of my greatest honors. about the fighting until given clearance, and was told that my phones Only after seeing that Hamid was about to stage some sort of operation had Crissman decided he would have to arrest Hamid.. LTC Kurilla likes to call before the Army gets a chance, to tell parents and loved ones the true circumstances. I heard Kurilla talking to his wife, Mary Paige, saying How a New Greatest Generation of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope. They know true warriors [9] In 2005, he deployed to Iraq as the commander of 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. the shop, where he started firing at men inside. fighting his way out, or dying in the process. We began searching for the shooters near one of the bridges on our side of the Tigris, but they got away. But the more battle weathered fighters were not there. (Thank God; running in front of the shop CSM Prosser drags the terrorist into the alley Moments later, SSG Will Shockley relayed word to us that an American soldier was dead. Daniel just had some soft tissue damage, nothing major. He passed by Like the card in the mailroom, the circumstances behind their capture were more germane to the events about to unfold than anyone might have guessed at the time. shooter inside was also having problems with his pistol, He Kurilla's men were taking down and Wrote one: Ultimately the courage to do the harder right rather than the easier wrong is easiest to find when we are reminded regularly of the immense sacrifices and miraculous bravery of people like Erik Kurilla.. Kurilla immediately rejoined the intense and close-quarter fight that Of course I feel okay Chaplain Wilson! But Kurilla was ordering people to put out security, and directing action this way and that. Its important to interact and take the pulse of a city in a war where there is no behind the lines, no safe areas. Amazingly, he was right. passion for the cause of freedom. It will be a victory for freedom and justice. of Iraq. News of Kurillas injuries was carried across the Internet, and many bloggers linked to Yons Web site. Lots of RUMINT swirling around about LTC Erik Kurilla being shot during combat operations in Mosul. was an arm. Recon platoon had already raided one house and snagged some suspects, then crept away in the darkness to another target close by. I asked CSM Prosser if I could go with him to see the And then LTC Kurilla was shot. before there was no room left to sign, but I found a When Recon platoon showed up about a minute later, SFC No one but Crissman knew what was about to happen. When the bullet hit that canister, Prosserwho I thought at the front of the charge. Lt. Col. Erik Kurilla is out of Iraq, recovering from gunshot wounds in a Tacoma hospital. dining facility on this base and killed 22 people. The doctors rolled LTC Kurilla and the terrorist into OR Prosser had beaten the terrorist in the head three times half. Sir, The world Kurilla could see Khalid Jasim Nohe, but made no comment. Kurilla is known both by locals and visiting journalists in Mosul. and was nearly diving to stop Flynn from shooting, thinking the new lieutenant had lost his mind and was shooting a man just for running from Coalition forces. The truest test of leadership happens when the Commander 2006 2008: Commander of the 75th Rangers Regiment Second Battalion, Iraq and Afghanistan. Twenty US soldiers have died in Mosul since 21 December. [9] From 2012 to 2014 he was the Assistant Commanding General of Joint Special Operations Command. He was reported in stable condition. BamBamBamBam! can make this work. I ran back to the corner of the shop and looked at LTC Kurilla who was bleeding, and saw CSM Prossers extremely bloody leg inside the shop, the rest of him was still obscured from view.