lessonslearned
Tell Your Story Military Officer seeks
Always Prepared
A young Marine Corps lieutenant working at a traffic control point in Iraq learns a lesson about preparedness and the importance of humor from a most unlikely junior Marine.
O
ne of my platoon’s mo- notonous duties in Al Anbar Province during the 2007
“Surge” in Iraq was manning Traffic Control Point 3 (TCP 3) on the southern end of the city of Ar Rutbah. TCP 3 served as one of three “gates” granting access to and from the city, which was surrounded by a berm topped with barbed wire. My light armored reconnaissance pla- toon spent its days paired with local Iraqi police searching hundreds of vehicles and people entering and exiting the city. This potentially dangerous but repetitive mission was a recipe for antics among the Marines. Returning from a patrol one afternoon, I met with my platoon sergeant to check on the Marines and Iraqi police working in the area. As we turned the corner of a blast wall shielding the firm base from the search pit, we saw an Iraqi policeman sit- ting on a bench, handcuffed. A small group of Marines and policemen were laughing. “What the hell happened here?” barked
my platoon sergeant. The driver of my light armored vehicle, an intelligent and sociable lance corporal, confessed he had bragged about his speed- cuffing abilities. The Iraqi police chal- lenged him to prove his talent. “They have handcuffs, but no handcuff keys,” the lance corporal reported sheepishly. Just then a private first class (PFC),
a Marine who constantly found himself on the wrong side of the platoon’s NCOs, ambled around the corner of the blast
80 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2016
wall to begin his four-hour shift in the search pit. “What’s going on here?” “Shut up,” replied my platoon sergeant, as he geared up to lay into the lance corpo- ral for the handcuffing and the policemen for not carrying keys. (We used plastic flex- cuffs, similar to heavy-duty zip ties, and carried no handcuff keys ourselves.) “Do you need a handcuff key, staff ser- geant?” asked the PFC. “Shut up!” The PFC reached into his shoulder pocket and produced a handcuff key. “I have one here if you need it.” We both looked at the
service-related anec- dotes that left an im- pression. See Directory on page 4 for submis- sion information. All submissions will be con- sidered for publication.
PFC, a little bemused. “Why do you have a handcuff key in your shoulder pocket?” I asked him. “Well, sir, in case some- one is handcuffed and no one has a key,” came his reply. My platoon sergeant and I laughed as the PFC proudly freed the Iraqi policeman be- fore nonchalantly posting him- self at his station. I learned it pays to be prepared for all eventualities, and that young Marines create both aggravation and entertainment, even in a war zone.
MO
— Mathison Hall served for 12 years on active duty as an infantry officer. He is a major in the Marine Corps Reserve and lives in Annapolis, Md. For submission information, see page 4.
“They have handcuffs, but no handcuff keys,” the lance corporal reported sheepishly.
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