Dagger 9’s Darkest Day, Part 1: It was Sposta be a Normal Mission

"It was March 2006, and my squad - the Charlie and Delta sections of 2nd BCT HHC 1-109th Scout Platoon - had spent the past six months clearing a supply route from Al-Assad Airbase in the middle of Al-Anbar province to as far north as FOB Speicher in Tikrit. My team: driver - SPC Randy VanScotten; truck commander - SSG Joe “Choch” Judson; medic - SPC Jose Martinez (now SSG) and myself in the gunner’s turret combined with three other Humvee teams had already found numerous Improvised Explosive Devices scattered about the streets of Iraq. Despite the number of explosives we had already uncovered, not one had yet to detonate within a life-threatening distance.

Little did we know – that was all about to change."
Boots on the Ground