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BIGGER
THAN
TEXAS
BY LT Peter Matinelli
Edition 1171, July 26, 2007 |
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GOOD ‘OL BOYS: crew commander Sgt James Dickey enjoys the first sunny day on exercise before going into action.
Pictures: Cpl Chris Moore |
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| GOOD ‘OL BOYS: Driver LCpl KP Jeanes III and AAV mechanic Amine Brittain keep watch for Blue Force personnel |
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IT IS a quiet morning on the Wet Spot.
Three Texas boys, James Dickey, Amine Brittain and KP Jeanes III, soak up a rare moment of sun in a week of record-breaking lows in Rockhampton.
They are US Marine reservists with the 4th Armoured Amphibious Vehicle Battalion out of Galveston, Texas.
Crew commander Sgt Dickey hunches on the Wet Spot’s turret and recounts his vehicle’s christening during a particularly wet and muddy day in Shoalwater Bay Training Area.
“Every time we moved we were in a big wet spot,” Sgt Dickey says.
They are among the “bad guys,” the Red Force deployed to delay and wear down the US-Australian Blue Force column advancing from Freshwater Beach, about two hours drive northeast of Rockhampton.
Their AAV, Wet Spot, is parked off a dirt road in a herringbone formation with three other vehicles. All have teeth – a .50 cal machinegun and Mk19 40mm grenade launcher.
Along the roadside, US Marines crouch, dressed in grimy desert cams. They are subdued – a week of rain and chill in a country renowned for warmth and sunshine have taken the edge off their sense of humour.
“We let the grunts sleep in the back of the track on most nights – maybe I’m getting soft in my old age,” Sgt Dicky said.
From a lower hatch, the driver, KP Jeanes III, drawls out a radio check.
“Victer fahv, victer fahv, this is tooo zero too. Raydeo check, oaver.”
The crew commander is delighted.
“He is straight up Texas … Big Country,” Sgt Dickey says.
“You just know he’s country because his parents named him by his initials – now that is great material.”
KP Jeanes III looks up from his hatch, silver duct tape wrapped around his headphones.
“I don’t know what KP stands for, I asked my family and they don’t know,” he exclaims, resigned to the mystery of his name.
“All I know is that I’m the third.”
He passes around his marine ID card, and sure enough, KP Jeanes III stares out solemnly from the white plastic.
“They took that picture during boot camp,” KP Jeanes III says wryly. “There’s no reason to smile.”
Wet Spot’s engineer and general fix-it guy, Amine Brittain, relaxes in a patch of sun behind the driver.
Sgt Dickey is proud of the diminutive mechanic. “Ever seen that show MacGyver? He can fix anything.
We were driving around the other day and the track lost power. Boom, just like that. He had it fixed in 10 minutes.”
LCpl Brittain understates his mastery of the AAV’s diesel-scented innards. “It’s a pretty simple machine; you just need to know what to look for,” he says.
In the distance, a rumble betrays the approach of the good guys. A Javelin team hold station and Humvees with .50 cals and Mk19s are parked on either side of the road. When they arrive, the Blue Force column will receive a fiery reception.
The crew of Wet Spot come from a mix of civilian occupations. When he is not buried in the AAV’s engine and wiring, LCpl Brittain helps mend broken pets in Houston.
But Sgt Dickey takes everyone by surprise. “I worked in IT, but I got tired of sitting behind a desk,’ he says. “Now I work on death row.”
He shakes his head – a career working among the condemned has opened his eyes to a world beyond information technology.
“There are 17- and 18 year-olds doing 30 years to life,” he murmurs. “It’s like, ‘what are you thinking, dude?’ Crime doesn’t pay in Texas.”
He hopes a few years walking death row in the Polanski Unit at Livingston, Texas, will give him a foot in the door to the Texas state troopers, or perhaps the famed Texas Rangers.
“That would be cool,” he says. “They all dress like Chuck Norris – they’re big ol’ boys with moustaches and big bellies. They love their chicken-fried steaks and watermelon.”
There is a murmur of agreement from the crew; after a steady diet of combat rations they are ready for a post-exercise feast.
Then the war intrudes – the Javelin team yells and a series of notional missiles streak down the road to the approaching Blue Force column.
Marines leap into the AAV and KP Jeanes III guns the engine. Wet Spot howls, jolts forward and fishtails on to the road. The battle moves forward and takes the Texans with it.
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