From: 1st Lt Taylor Biggs
Date: August 18th, 2006

I am sending you this short account of an IED incident, on behalf of Maj McGriff, myself and the 10 Marines still alive.

We were the engineer company in the Headquarters for Regimental Combat Team 8 (RCT-8) in Fallujah from Aug 2005--April 2006. We drove down routes using spotlights and our eyeballs to spot IEDs.

On a route verification going into a polling station in Dec 2005, this truck was leading the team down into the area. The Vehicle Commander spotted the IED. As he began to back off the thing went off within one meter of the Cougar vehicle.

After the blast, I began calling for the Marines inside the troop compartment. About 2 minutes later, the Vehicle Commander called back saying everyone was good.

He turned the truck around and drove it home: approximately 30 miles on just 2 good tires. We did not realize this, but the truck had taken a number of light MG rounds as well.

Injuries sustained to the Marines in the vehicle were minor: blown ear drums and a broken bone.

We used 3 Cougars in our team, along with the Buffalo, another very capable truck. These mine-resistant vehicles gave us a capability to safely approach, confirm and in some instances neutralize IEDs. I can imagine that they would be just as capable against anti-tank mines.

I want to say that all of the work those Marines have done to field this equipment need to have a complete sense of accomplishment because it has saved lives and the Marines who work in these vehicles have the greatest confidence in their abilities to defeat the bad guys. IEDs are our greatest threat. They frustrate Marines who want to engage targets, not be targets themselves.

Thank you for your hard work. I know the guys who took over these vehicles when we rotated home probably can say they same thing. The mission in Iraq is a legitimate one and would not be possible without this gear. Please accept my gratitude for the hard work and the perseverance to convince the powers that be that these things need to be in Iraq, in greater numbers for all types of units involved and not just for EOD units. Thank you!!!!

1st Lt Taylor Biggs
Engineer Planner
Marine Forces Pacific, G-4