In November 2007, a destructive new weapon appeared on the battlefield in Iraq: the improvised rocket-assisted munition—or IRAM. They’re also often called “lob bombs” because of the way they’re launched high up into the air and onto a target, and in the first ever IRAM attack against US forces in Iraq, that target was COP Callahan, a combat outpost in northern Baghdad that housed a US Army battalion. Maj. John Chambers was a second lieutenant at the time and was part of that battalion. In this episode of The Spear, he talks us through that attack, what it was like to experience it, and what impact it had on the unit.
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I was part of the team that was took a direct hit in the ASV, I was in the gunners turret. The IRAM hit us directly in the engine compartment, 2 feet behind my position. The over blast popped open all turrets. The gunners hatch was ripped open, both left and right doors where blow off their hinges. The entire ASV was thrown 5 feet forward due to the explosion.
First thank you all for highlighting the significance of that event in history. My name is MAJ Charles Houston and I was the platoon leader of the MP element on ground. I was with the element during the attack and witnessed the heroism displayed from my Platoon Sergeant to the lowest ranking Soldier first hand. Words can not express the pride and thanks that I have for those Soldiers as they truly embodied the Warrior ethos and took care of one another despite injuries and other factors. From seeing the first IRAM come over the wall to the final accountability checks and the mental ramifications that we all went through these Soldiers persevered and I am extremely proud of them.
Charles, I am the CA Team leader at COP Callahan. (LTC (R) Bob Estes. Hope you are doing well! You guys preformed well.