We Were Warriors

Johnny was convinced he was going to die. He was alone in the middle of a field, now was the sole target of enemy automatic-weapon fire.He threw himself into the ground.The rate of fire from the enemy increased substan-tially - either because they knew we had taken a casualty, or they could see me alone in the field, I could not tell which. Johnny was lying face down in the dirt. He tried to to get up a couple of times, but found myself instinctively ducking down again as rounds ripped past my head. 

It took all his courage to change magazines and get up on one knee and put some rounds into the rounds into the enemy position, but this seemed to anger the enemy and their fire increased, now from a second position. The rounds were bracketing me - meaning some were landing to the left of me and some to the right. The Taliban usually had very poor or no sights on their weapons, but if they bracketed the target, they could correct their fire until they hit it. 

Mercer was totally fixed in his position. He changed his body position to ensure that his helment was facing the enemy, and got as low as he could between two ploughed furrows. He didn't know what the fuck he was doing. He taught that if he had hid the enemymight stop shooting. They were stupid, but perhaps not the stupid. He could see to his left a medical evacuation party who were going to box round him behind some compounds, with their casualty. They clearly had no idea he was there, or had forgotton him in the mayhem. 

He would have been dead if he had just got up and bolted. The rounds were just a single shot from the enemy.They were kicking up the dirt around me.He had hoped death would be painless. He had never been so scared, before or since. But then the old fighting spirit came to him again. Johnny taught of his forefathers, who had died so bravely at Normandy. He didn't know why he always thought of them. He remebered about learning about the war, struggling to understand the commitment required to lay down your life on the altar of your country's freedom.He thought most of them probably died like this. Not in some glorious change; not with others watching them sacrifice all they have for their freedom. Just shit scared. On their own. 

He thought make sure you die like a man. Don't embarras yourself. He resolved to blast his way out. He was so nervous,his fingers were damp with sweat and my mark-ings on the map smudged as he tried to read his map. Hello , any call sign, any call sign, this is Witchcraft four-three. Requesting immediate emergency CAS. Man isolated on is own in contact. The fire from the enemy positions seemed to pick up a little, as if they were listening. Hello Witchcraft four- three , this is Dealer one - four.I am a Cobra gunship and Huey pairing. Mercer the red smoke just in front of my position. He was still uncomfortable and the stakes were too high. A - Firm. You are clear to engage twenty mike mike. Call engaging. The sound was deafening. All hell broke loose as the gunship's Gatling vomited ammo right over my head. The rounds wree not going into the target. Johnny was confused anout who the fuck was firing where. He saw the Cobra spitting lead into the ground.It was now or never.

He got up and ran for the ditch to his front, where a collec-tion of soldiers were now simultaneously engaging the enemy positions with machine guns. It was the noisiest battlefied he had ever heard.He had never been very quick on his feet, and this was no exception. It was only 300m or so, but it was felt like a bloody heavy indeed and the ground was thick. As he ran he braced for the pain of a bullet ripping through him. With the terrain and the weight of the kit, it took him about a minute to cover the distance. It was a very noisy minute. He dived into the ditch on his arse, behind the machine gunner. Fucking hell, boss, that was like someting out of a film, said a soldier. Mercer said let's get the fuck out of here.

of her committment and resilent, Felicity, Mercer's then fiancee. She was not going to cast him adrift to the darkness no matter what. When Mercer had drank himself into oblivion, and Felicity carried him back to their hotel. Felicity through sheer hard work and love, she sought to understand the experiences Mercer had been through.

Mercer has respect above all others for his ability to keep going when others - literally all of the rest of us- could not take another step. This was Cadet Oscar. 

Whoever was responsible for equiping the British Army.On his first tour Mercer was deployed in Cold War - era stab vests, with a plate inserted over the heart, to conduct high intensity war fighting operations. These vests were generally worn because they would keep your body in one piece following an explosion, rather than keep anything out. They also kept you you rather warm at night-time, when teh temperature dropped,but were otherwise useless.Another piece of equipment , the Snatch Land Rover,was already considered a coffin on wheels after the Iraq War,yet we were still travelling around in what was effectively a barely armoured Jeep.