Tactical Decision Game #95-9
Tactical Decision Game #95-9 September 1995
Stuck in a Ditch
by 1stLt Jeffrey R. Eberwein, USMC
View a map of the situation
Situation:
You are the commander of a supply convoy of eight 5-ton
trucks working in direct support of 3d Battalion, 10th Marines. The first
and last vehicles have ring-mounted .50 caliber machine-guns. The second
and seventh are equipped with vehicle-recovery winches. Your current task
is to resupply Battery K with ammunition. You are convoying south on a
narrow, unimproved road which is just now trafficable after 2 days of
torrential rains. The rain has hampered resupply operations, but it has not
decreased the tempo of combat. The infantry is slugging it out in close
combat, and the battery is in desperate need of 155mm ammunition to support
them. The stretch of road you are on runs about 20 meters east of dense
woods. Between the road and woods is a low drainage ditch now full of muddy
water. The ditch is about 7 feet below the road surface, at the bottom of a
sharp drop. Under the slippery conditions, this is a significant concern
for you, and you have issued instructions to the drivers to take special
care. To the east at a distance of about 300 meters is another stretch of
thick woodland. Between the road and this treeline is a marsh, impassable
to vehicles. You are about 20 miles from your release point, the battalion
command post (CP), and about 5 miles from the battery position. Your
security element, consisting of a five-man team equipped with four M16s and
a SAW, is on the fifth truck. The ammo is contained on the third, fourth,
and sixth vehicles - two 2,300 pound-pallets on each truck. Miscellaneous
resupply - sandbags, wire, rations, etc. - is carried on the other
vehicles.
From your position in the lead vehicle, you spot in the side-view mirror a
commotion behind you. The third vehicle in the convoy, one of the ammo
trucks, has skidded over the embankment and slammed into the ditch -
fortunately it has not turned over. You halt the convoy and scramble down
the ditch to check on the situation, muttering angrily to yourself: "I
told them to be careful." The assistant driver is shaken, but
otherwise fine. The driver is another matter; the driver's side window is
smashed, and the driver is slumped forward with a bullet wound in the neck.
The corpsman is already working on him. Your staff sergeant arrives from
the rear of the column. "What do you think, staff sergeant?", you
ask. He takes one look at Number 3, shakes his head and says, "It'll
take us forever - or longer - to get this thing winched out without a
retriever. We might just have to helo-lift it out." Just then you hear
a rifle shot, a bullet rips through the tarp of Number 4. What do you do
now lieutenant?
Requirements:
In a time limit of 5 minutes, decide what you will do
by issuing instructions to the appropriate subordinates and making any
reports/requests. Then provide a sketch of your actions and a brief
rationale.
This TDG was developed as part of Truck Company, 2d Marine
Division's officer and SNCO professional military education program.
According to the commanding officer, Capt N.A. Springer, the intent was
"to produce a TDG that was focused on combat service support, and to
instill in theses officers and SNCO's the importance of being tactically
aware and proficient, despite what one's MOS might be." Truck company
uses TDGs as a regular part of its PME program. The Gazette thanks
Truck company for sharing the game with us.
The window for sending in solutions to this game has expired.
For more detailed information on the structure
of Marine Corps units, Marine Corps equipment, and
symbols used in Tactical Decision Game sketches, see
Marine Corps Gazette, October 1994,
pp. 53-56 and the modification reported in the
January, 1995, edition on page 5.
