I thought I'd take a moment to explain what it's like inside of one of those HUMVEE's everyone gets to see on TV so often. The typical gunship can hold five people in the ideal situation. Every person in that vehicle has a crucial role to play in making it back inside the wire alive. It breaks down like this - The TC, driver, gunner and security elements. The ideal amount of people is five per gun truck.

The driver:
The driver has the responibilty of maintaining the vehicle in proper working order. One of the tools he or she (On O'Ryan it's always he) will use is the PMCS (Preventive Maintence Checks and Services). Like it sounds this is nothing more than a checklist of items to be inspected and serviced according to the Army's pre-set schedule. That breaks down like this- befroe operation, during operation, after operation, weekly, monthly and wear and tear. The driver does things like tie down all weapons and equipment, ensure several days of food and water is stowed and service the communication equipment. In addition to all this the driver has a specific area he is responible for durning driving and halts. He must also constantly scan to the front of the vehicle for danger and be ready to react in the fraction of a second.

The TC:

The Track Commander must ensure the overall safety of the "Crew" and completion of the mission. The TC usually moniters two our three different radios for direction and situational updates. The TC is to inspect each gunship before departure and coordinate with other members of the element in movement. The TC aslo acts as part of the security element during halts and directs the crew during battles. The TC is generally considered a link in the chain of command answering to to overall commander.

The security elements:

The security elements are generally assinged to secure the outside perimeter of the vehicle during halts, but always act as an extra pair of eyes during movement thru hostile areas. The security team can be called upon to activly engage and pursue an enemy upon engagement. Some people must stay with the radios and vehicle at all time, so the security people usually get the call to manuever. All members of the security team are crossed trained to fill in when needed and almost always have some form of advanced medical training.

The Gunner:

The Gunner is usually the one all you folks see with the upper half of his body stickning up out of the vehicle. He generally maintains some sort of heavy weapon or the most firepower on the "Crew". This is because of the stability of the fireing platform and the view while elevated. The Gunner has to be aware of everything around the vehicle at all times and must immediatly relay observations to the "Crew". The Gunner must engage and stop any threats to his "Crew" at the farthest possible point. The Gunner must maintain the heavy weapon in a high state of readiness at all time, the life of the "Crew" is dependent on this. The Gunner must also be quick on his feet because he is the most exposed to hostile fire. It is a trade off for the advantages of obsrevation. He can see much more than anyone else in the vehicle because he is the most exposed and becaused he is exposed he is a target.

This is the ideal number and not always met. The mood inside is always rather relaxed and upbeat. We always find time to joke and kid around are always trying to find ways to make the vehicles more comfortable but that's almost impossible with safety being the first concern always. We almost always have some cold drinks and snacks available but never take our attention away from possible threats.

As for what has been happening recently. We lost two more men several weeks ago and were saddend by the loss. The temprature is down near the low one-hundreds and there is slowly developing talk of going home. I haven't been able to visit many villages lately but always find the people glad to see Americans. That's all for now. I hope some of you have a little better picture of life in a gunship.