Secretive Marine Special Ops Trio Discuss Their Role in POW Rescue

Secretive Marine Special Ops Trio Discuss Their Role in POW Rescue

By Doug Mellgren
Associated Press Writer
Published: Apr 16, 2003

NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AP) - Used to working in stealth and small teams, the U.S. Marines called "Sneaky," "Hugga" and "Bo" were asked to do something alien in a daring POW rescue mission: Make noise - a lot of noise.

The three men are in Force Reconnaissance, a Marine special operations team that rarely calls attention to itself. But they agreed Wednesday to talk about their role in the April 1 rescue of Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch from a Nasiriyah hospital.

They weren't the ones who pulled her to freedom; Army Special Forces did that. Instead, these three and 25 other "Force Recon" members were assigned to attack a compound near the hospital, creating havoc as a diversion for the rescuers.

"We don't usually work like this," said Sgt. Pete Strinchen, 32, of Grand Forks, N.D., nicknamed "Sneaky." They are trained to work quietly, unobserved and deep in enemy territory, he said, but this time "they wanted a lot of noise, they wanted people to know we were there."

Lynch was hospitalized with several injuries after her group with the Army's 507th Maintenance Company was ambushed near Nasiriyah. Five other soldiers in her unit also captured by the Iraqis were rescued Sunday in north-central Iraq.

On the mission that retrieved Lynch, Sneaky, Staff Sgt. Jay "Hugga" Root, 30, of Honolulu, and Staff Sgt. Andre "Bo" Bosier, 29, of Houston, drove at night into an area near the looted Nasiriyah museum. Their job was twofold, Strinchen said: secure the area and create a diversion for about 20 minutes. They had plenty of help, with fire from howitzers, tank cannons, mortars and warplanes making it look seem a major attack.

"They really laid into that compound," said Strinchen.

Two U.S. mortar rounds landed just 60 feet from the trio. For Bosier, it was the 500-pound bomb they called in that he hasn't forgotten. "It sounded like a comet, a meteor coming. The bomb coming in was way scarier than it going off," he said.

The raid was timed and coordinated carefully, Bosier said. About 10 minutes after the bomb exploded they saw helicopters bringing in the other special forces to the hospital compound where Lynch was held.

Except for the close call with the mortar rounds, Root, the team leader, brushed aside the mission's risks. "It was a dull night," he said.

Since entering Iraq last month, the team has raided a Baath Party headquarters where they seized secret documents, come under mortar fire from Iraqis, and been surrounded by Iraqi civilians seeking help, only to see two gunned down by snipers. What they haven't done was their usual deep reconnaissance, Strinchen said.

When they allow themselves to be seen, they are easy to spot in Iraq, driving cut-down Mercedes four-wheel-drives like nothing else seen in the Marines - no doors, top or windshield, a .50-caliber machine gun in the cargo bed, a second machine-gun mounted just ahead of the passenger, who also has a grenade launcher at hand. Every inch is crammed with equipment for the three-man crew: hand-held rocket-launchers that can destroy a tank, hand grenades, smoke bombs.

AP-ES-04-16-03 1319EDT
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© 2003, Media General Inc.

LKW gl leicht Wolf
Interim Fast Attack Vehicles (IFAV)

The Marine Corp's Interim Fast Attack Vehicle (IFAV) is a DaimlerChrysler model of the Mercedes-Benz MB 290 GD 1.5 ton truck off-road vehicle built as the Wolf Gelaendegaengige Kleinfahrzeuge {small all terrain vehicle} for the German Bundeswehr. First deployed to a US Marine unit in November 1999, the IFAV replaces its early 1980s counterpart, the M-151 Fast Attack Vehicle, which previously served as a smaller attack version of the humvee. Of major importance to Marine commanders is the increased offensive power the IFAV offers. A primary advantage of the IFAV is its ability to be transported internally by Marine Corps’ workhorse aircraft, to include the CH-46 Sea Knight, CH-53 Sea Stallion, and in the future, the V-22 Osprey. Other improvements to the IFAV have made it far superior to the M-151 in most respects. The M-151 didn’t quite have the mobility, speed, or durability to get Marines into the environments they will need to be in during the 21st century. The M-151’s tendency to tip over as well as the fact that it used flammable unleaded fuel, made it a safety liability. Run by safer diesel fuel and equipped with greater handling ability, the IFAV appears to be tailor-made for the Marine Corps.

LKW gl leicht Wolf Interim Fast Attack Vehicles (IFAV)

LKW gl leicht Wolf
Interim Fast Attack Vehicles (IFAV)