Head-to-Head with a V-Bed

Photo By Master Sgt. Raymond Drumsta | BACK IN THE SADDLE: In the gunner's hatch of his humvee, Spc. Dean Levy poses with fellow crew members (left to right): Staff Sgt. Herminio Rodriguez, Spc. Patrick Grubert, and 42nd Infantry Division Artillery Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Flynn. The picture was taken on Levy's first day back to work after recovering from burns he suffered in a VBIED explosion. When the crew spotted the VBIED coming at them, Levy fired at it, and it exploded almost immediately, less than 40 meters from the humvee. It's thought that the crew's alertness and Levy's response caused the terrorist driving the VBIED to detonate it prematurely. The entire crew survived and returned to duty. Flynn is holding the leash of 'Zappa', a Dual-Purpose Explosive Detection Dog.  

BAYJI, IRAQ

10.15.2005

Courtesy Story

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Story and photos by Staff Sgt. Raymond Drumsta
42nd Infantry Division Public Affairs


FORWARD OPERATING BASE SUMMERALL, BAYJI, IRAQ -- Called "V-beds" for short, Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIEDs), are one of the deadliest weapons in the insurgents" arsenal -- mobile car bombs and tools of terrorism faced by Iraqis, Iraqi security forces and Coalition Forces in their fight against the insurgency.

Last May, humvee gunner Spc. Dean Levy of Plymouth, Mass. went head-to-head with a V-bed and won - saving the lives of his fellow humvee crewmen.

The humvee crew, part of the 42nd Infantry Division Artillery Personal Security Detachment (PSD), was in a convoy near here when the crew spotted a car speeding toward them in the oncoming lane.

"He started swerving from the left lane to the right lane," Levy said.
Vehicles driving fast and erratically could be V-beds, said 42nd Infantry Division Artillery Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Flynn, of Tauton Mass., who was part of the humvee crew.

The crew had discussed V-bed signs, were alert to them and ready to respond, he added.

"We talked about this a hundred times ... "how do you stop a V-bed?"" Flynn said.
Flynn said the crew, including Levy and driver Staff Sgt. Herminio Rodriguez, had spotted the vehicle and were talking back and forth on the vehicle intercom in a clipped, efficient manner, with Rodriguez asking, "You see him?" and Levy responding, "Got "em."

"If there's anything out of the ordinary, [the crew] tells me," Levy said.
The car was 40 meters and closing when Levy fired, upping the ante gradually, a type of engagement Coalition Forces call "escalation of force."

"I waited for his left front tire to swerve onto the median," Levy said. "At that moment he turned and drove straight at us. I put three to four rounds into the ground in front of him. It was still coming at us, so I put three to four more into the engine block of the vehicle."

But the vehicle kept coming. Levy raised his 240 Bravo machine gun, fired seven to ten shots through the windshield, and the vehicle exploded - "a huge flame of smoke, body and car parts," according to Flynn.

Levy has distinct tan lines which run along his chin and jaw line, and fork toward his temples and the back of his neck -- a gunner's sunburn formed from his helmet chinstrap, the mark of all those who work in Iraq's scorching, ultraviolet environment. The explosion, Levy said, was "hot, to say the least."

"My whole vision was the fireball," Levy said. "I fell back into the vehicle." Levy's first thought was that he had suffered shrapnel wounds to his face.

By now the crew was securing the scene and checking each other for wounds. Rodriguez, a native of Bakersfield Ca. and 82nd Airborne Division Soldier attached to DIVARTY, told Levy to look at him so he could check for wounds. Levy in turn searched Rodriguez's expression for clues to his condition - shouting over and over if his face was badly wounded.

"I was yelling, to say the least," Levy said. Rodriguez told Levy he was fine, but that he needed to check him more closely for injuries. Levy suffered second-degree burns to his face from the explosion, which also melted his goggles and damaged the humvee.

Crater analysis revealed that car was loaded with five 130mm mortar rounds and 300 pounds of explosives. Flynn believes Levy's shooting caused the terrorist driving the V-bed to detonate it prematurely.

"The entire car was disintegrated," Flynn said.

Levy attributed the victory over the V-bed to a number of things.

"Teamwork's a big thing," Levy said. "Our [techniques, tactics and procedures] helped. Our training helped. Luck had something to do with it. It was lucky we spotted that vehicle."

Awareness on the road and spotting trouble like V-beds is part of the crew's routine, Levy said.

"Everyone calls out what they see at all times," Levy said. "The PSD soldiers get to a point where we like being on the road. Out there, there's nothing else on your mind...worries from home, nothing. Out on the road, you're only concerned with the threats all around you."

This vigilance leads to a high state of consciousness on the road, he added.

"You block out everything except what's on the road," he said. "It's just a rush. When you're on the road, your whole brain is filled with what's going on around you. You're not thinking about all your worries."

The crew's survival also gave Levy a rush. At a Coalition Forces medical facility, Levy initially refused pain medicine before undergoing burn treatments.

"At that moment, I was on such a high because no one else got hurt, that I said no," he said.

The crew is scheduled to redeploy in October. Levy said he won't miss work details, the heat, the dust and the desert.

"There'll be a lot I miss, there'll be a lot I won't miss," he said. "I'm going to miss the friendship we all have, the tight bond. I'm going to miss being on the gun."

The crew knows each other well, Levy said.

"We're really tight. We work great together," he said. "We feel comfortable saying anything in front of each other. It helps a lot. Everyone on the vehicle is more proactive. Everyone knew their role when this happened."

• Date Taken: 10.15.2005
• Date Posted: 10.15.2005 05:41
• Story ID: 3347
• Location: BAYJI, IQ