Hearing from a friend in the sandbox

[Rob Boudrie]

I received the following email from the member in Afghanistan arrived today, and I have obtained his permission to post it here, since it offers some valuable insight into the dedication of those who serve the cause of freedom.

Rob,

TSgt Greg Grutter (A 29384) here writing from Afghanistan. I have been away from area 7 now for just over 17 months and I am not sure when I will be getting back. If all goes well I think I will be heading home in February or March.

What I really want to do is first say thank you to all the shooters in area 7 that have given there support in anyway! I just received a stack of phone cards so I can call home more!

But from cleaning gear to phone cards to shooting DVD's. They are the best and man you guys look great! The area 7 shooters are the best! I really can't say thank you enough!

I really miss shooting with all of you and I hope to get back soon. This shooter is ready!

From my end of the war:

[...unit info deleted on suggestion of a vet...easiest to err on the side of caution...]

On 6 Oct of last year I was hit by an SVBIED that was targeting a different convoy. I was outside and in the open when the blast and over pressure blew me across a driveway and dumped me on my head. I was medevaced two or so weeks later as I was having a great deal of pain. My C6 and C5 are out of wack and I have metal in my right eye for sure and maybe in both. I had to fight with everyone in the hospital in Germany to come back to Afghanistan and finish my tour. I will get more work done when I am done with all this. I am fine, some pain and my right arm from mid neck to my trigger/ring finger. They are numb and pins and needles. Like when your hand falls asleep. I can still shoot and everything, just can't feel much. They say I need to get cut on and they can fix it. We will see. The worst part is my Purple Heart, no one wants to give it to me. They all say I should get one just no one wants to do the work. So I have to fix that as well. I was hit again early this month but there timing was off and it just took some paint off my ride.

On 20 March of this year I was in a hour plus long fire fight with the enemy. It was a wicked battle and we were ambushed 2 times and almost a third. We did a lot of fighting. I called in and marked targets for air strikes but was only able to get NATO birds so no bombs were dropped as I was not able to talk to the pilots. After the battle and days later I did talk to the pilots face to face and said we were knee deep in bad guys but seemed to be getting the better of them. Myself along with some Afghan police kicked there ass and not only out shot them but were able to out think them and keep a number of people alive. For my actions that days I have been put in for a Silver Star. Now I will have to see if I get it or it gets down graded. I just think its cool that I was put in and the people with me think my actions that day warranted it. I ran back and forth through the kill zone a number of times to get my job done. Heavy fire and RPG's filled the air and the funny thing is it was not as hard as some of the stages we shoot at Harvard.

Sad to say but most D class shooters can move and shoot better then a good number of military guys. The training needs to be better and we could keep more men and women alive. No amount of cool guy gear matters if you can't shoot and move.

I have been carrying a Beretta M9 with 20 round Mec Gar magazines with bunner grips and grip tape. I have had no issues with the weapon or 9mm ammo. Just need to keep shooting until the bad guy knows he is done. It would be great to have some 147+p sub sonic hp stuff……

The pistol like all others here works fine if you keep it clean. But as shooters we know that….so why does the military have a number of people that don't……

I had an H&K 416 for a while…..I will just tell you what I know to be true from this end of the war with a piston gun…. Sorry you still have to clean it! Where you clean is not the same but the hot gas and crud still goes some where. Yes the bolt stays cool but man o man the front sight and forward end of the rails get super hot after a number of rounds. Plus its heavy. If you have anytime on the H&K sights then you like them. If you grew up on AR-15 stuff you hate them. I had an aimpoint comp3 on it with a AN/PVS14 to see the bad guys at night. We have AV/PVS 18 and UNS. But the 14 and the aimpoint worked well and together even better. But its gone now……why you ask….

With the H&K rail you can only use an H&K 40mm grenade launcher. I don't like it. Its does have a cool side open loading port so you can use all the long stuff as well. But anything more then that…well not good. So I went back to my M4A1, no burst full auto. It also has a heavier barrel with Knights 3 sided rail and the Colt M203 grenade launcher under. I still have my comp3 and AV/PVS14. Weight is about the same as the H&K……

My gun works and runs well. Cause I keep it clean. Yes full time job. SO thanks again for all the cleaning supplies you all have sent.

*** Lube - I have done a number of test as I call them. Clean the gun Marine Corps clean and tried a different lube. Some work well and some well just don't work. I think its great if you gun can shoot 10,000 rds and no stop or break. But I don't carry but 11 mags. SO it has to work for all 11 and maybe a few more. So what works all the time Mil-Tec and TW-25! I only use the two of them on our machine guns, M249 para saw, M240B medium machine gun (308cal/7.62), M2 50 cal and the MK19 40mm grenade machine. The TW-25 seemed to work better then the mil-tec. But again we clean our weapons all the time.

I also have a few SOCOM M-14's with the shorter barrels. The work with both and I have not have an issue at all. Just we never have enough match ammo. The bad guys hate that gun and man it hits hard down range.

But all in all life he is good! I miss home and the wife and kids. I really miss the weekend shoots and the area ones as well. I will look to see you all on the range again soon.

If anyone has an question please write as I would love to talk about gear and training and what I know to be true.

Please have a great holiday season and may your God bless you all

Your friend

TSgt Greg "CRUZ" Grutter

[...unit info deleted...]

Afghanistan

"UNTIL AFGHANISTAN IS FREE"

l

[zhunter]

Awesome

Thanks for your service!!!

We appreciate you more than you know

[AlamoShooter]

Thank You

I told my wife the best thing about going to the Fort Benning 3 gun event was meeting so many great young people, as in every one of the young men in uniform were Great.

The guys I meet from our bases heer in Texas too

Edited December 17, 2008 by AlamoShooter

[ima45dv8]

Thanks for sharing that, Rob!

Very cool.

[SA Friday]

I was hit by an SVBIED... I have metal in my right eye for sure and maybe in both. The worst part is my Purple Heart, no one wants to give it to me. They all say I should get one just no one wants to do the work. So I have to fix that as well.

Standard AF douchebaggery...

At least they wrote him up for a Silver Star...

Wish him godspeed for me Rob.

SA Sean Myhre

AFOSI EDet 2409

Ali AB, Iraq

[mdstihl]

Outstanding, and amazing. Hope he comes home safe.

[GentlemanJim]

Prayers and support..from my heart!

Jim

[Anubis]

I was hit by an SVBIED... I have metal in my right eye for sure and maybe in both. The worst part is my Purple Heart, no one wants to give it to me. They all say I should get one just no one wants to do the work. So I have to fix that as well.

Standard AF douchebaggery...

At least they wrote him up for a Silver Star...

Wish him godspeed for me Rob.

SA Sean Myhre

AFOSI EDet 2409

Ali AB, Iraq

I couldn't agree more on this, it's easier to get kicked out than get a medal it seems

In any case, Rob wish him a Merry Christmas for me and I hope he comes home safe.

SSgt Christopher Lambert

56 Rescue Squadron

RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom

"That others may live"