mortar, and then take them out with the heavy automatic weapons' fire.
Not bad, not going to work, but not bad, Machado thought.
The two mortar men carelessly left their AK-47's out of reach, making them less of a direct threat when he opened fire. Planning his attack, Machado would take out the machine-gun team first, and then go after the mortar men. It would take them time to react to Machado's initial assault. Enough time, Machado hoped, for him to eliminate them before they got to their rifles.
Then, for once, chance intervened in a positive way.
The three Taliban working on the machine-gun, laid down their weapons, walked over to the mortar position, and began arguing.
Machado's elimination of the leader left a void.
Quickly revising the plan, Machado threw two frag grenades into the group and opened up on them in full-auto mode.
Not as economical as his previous work, but quite effective.
Moving down the slope, he retrieved some Russian grenades from the dead, used them to destroy the mortar and machine-gun, and headed back.
Making his way back to Gunny and Sanchez, Machado set up the communication net and called for a medical evacuation chopper. Using the encrypted channel, he provided their position and situation. The response was as expected. Within minutes, several Super Cobra helicopter gunships and a Huey transport chopper arrived on scene.
Hoisting Sanchez onto the chopper first, then Gunny Scotton, Machado threw off his pack, weapon, and helmet and jumped in. The chopper pilot began climbing out. The force of the liftoff threw Machado headfirst into one of the supporting pillars, knocking him unconscious.
The medic, working on Sanchez and Scotton, looked over, saw Machado was breathing, and continued to work on the more severely wounded Marines. He would get to Machado when he could.
On arrival at the Medical Station, the staff evaluated the Marines. Machado regained consciousness, but was having trouble moving his right arm, difficulty speaking, and was unable to follow simple commands.
The doctors managed to stabilize Machado and ordered him transported to the airfield. Within an hour, he was airborne to Germany.
JoJo served his last tour.
Chapter 4: Welcome Homeless
On December 24, 2004, Staff Sergeant Anthony Machado received an Honorable Discharge from the United States Marine Corps. A consequence of his designation as medically unsuitable for duty due to wounds suffered on 5 October 2004 in Combat Operations, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Staff Sergeant Machado received the following decorations for actions while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Navy Cross
Bronze Star with "V" Device
Purple Heart with three Oak Leaf Clusters
The citation for the Navy Cross reads as follows:
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Staff Sergeant Anthony Machado, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving as an Assistant Squad Leader with First Reconnaissance Battalion, First Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force Afghanistan on 5 October 2004, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Sergeant Machado was assigned a part of a three-man reconnaissance patrol in the hotly contested Kajaki region of Helmand Province, tasked with locating and interdicting the Taliban's infiltration routes. Machado, along with two other Force Reconnaissance Marines, engaged Taliban fighters in an ambush, killing twelve and destroying a Stinger missile launcher. A heavy volume of small arms and machine-gun fire then poured in on the Marines from three enemy positions. All three Marines were wounded. Despite suffering a concussion and neck and shoulder fragmentation wounds from 73-mm blasts, Sergeant Machado exposed himself to the unrelenting barrage of enemy fire, taking up several positions to engage the enemy with his rifle and grenade launcher and protect his wounded fellow Marines. Despite being wounded twice
Not bad, not going to work, but not bad, Machado thought.
The two mortar men carelessly left their AK-47's out of reach, making them less of a direct threat when he opened fire. Planning his attack, Machado would take out the machine-gun team first, and then go after the mortar men. It would take them time to react to Machado's initial assault. Enough time, Machado hoped, for him to eliminate them before they got to their rifles.
Then, for once, chance intervened in a positive way.
The three Taliban working on the machine-gun, laid down their weapons, walked over to the mortar position, and began arguing.
Machado's elimination of the leader left a void.
Quickly revising the plan, Machado threw two frag grenades into the group and opened up on them in full-auto mode.
Not as economical as his previous work, but quite effective.
Moving down the slope, he retrieved some Russian grenades from the dead, used them to destroy the mortar and machine-gun, and headed back.
Making his way back to Gunny and Sanchez, Machado set up the communication net and called for a medical evacuation chopper. Using the encrypted channel, he provided their position and situation. The response was as expected. Within minutes, several Super Cobra helicopter gunships and a Huey transport chopper arrived on scene.
Hoisting Sanchez onto the chopper first, then Gunny Scotton, Machado threw off his pack, weapon, and helmet and jumped in. The chopper pilot began climbing out. The force of the liftoff threw Machado headfirst into one of the supporting pillars, knocking him unconscious.
The medic, working on Sanchez and Scotton, looked over, saw Machado was breathing, and continued to work on the more severely wounded Marines. He would get to Machado when he could.
On arrival at the Medical Station, the staff evaluated the Marines. Machado regained consciousness, but was having trouble moving his right arm, difficulty speaking, and was unable to follow simple commands.
The doctors managed to stabilize Machado and ordered him transported to the airfield. Within an hour, he was airborne to Germany.
JoJo served his last tour.
Chapter 4: Welcome Homeless
On December 24, 2004, Staff Sergeant Anthony Machado received an Honorable Discharge from the United States Marine Corps. A consequence of his designation as medically unsuitable for duty due to wounds suffered on 5 October 2004 in Combat Operations, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Staff Sergeant Machado received the following decorations for actions while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Navy Cross
Bronze Star with "V" Device
Purple Heart with three Oak Leaf Clusters
The citation for the Navy Cross reads as follows:
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Staff Sergeant Anthony Machado, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving as an Assistant Squad Leader with First Reconnaissance Battalion, First Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force Afghanistan on 5 October 2004, in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Sergeant Machado was assigned a part of a three-man reconnaissance patrol in the hotly contested Kajaki region of Helmand Province, tasked with locating and interdicting the Taliban's infiltration routes. Machado, along with two other Force Reconnaissance Marines, engaged Taliban fighters in an ambush, killing twelve and destroying a Stinger missile launcher. A heavy volume of small arms and machine-gun fire then poured in on the Marines from three enemy positions. All three Marines were wounded. Despite suffering a concussion and neck and shoulder fragmentation wounds from 73-mm blasts, Sergeant Machado exposed himself to the unrelenting barrage of enemy fire, taking up several positions to engage the enemy with his rifle and grenade launcher and protect his wounded fellow Marines. Despite being wounded twice
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