Flash, Smoke, Boom.

Photo By Spc. Michael Pfaff | Pfc. Jared Suchan, an infantryman with Alpha Company, 1-68, Combined Arms Battalion, eager to return to normalcy and "get back on the horse".  

IRAQ

06.16.2006

Courtesy Story

133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Pfc. Jared Suchan, an infantryman with Alpha Company, 1-68th Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Heavy Combat Brigade Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native, said that's usually what one experiences when they witness an IED. The last one he experienced was a little different.

"Usually, you see a flash and smoke, and then you hear a boom," Suchan explained. "I didn't hear the boom."

Suchan didn't hear the boom because his vehicle was the one hit with an IED, and the force of the blow knocked him senseless.
"I thought I"d passed out," he said. "But, everyone said I was standing up in the turret while the humvee started to catch on fire."

When Suchan finally realized what had happened, he said his first instinct was to "find the enemy and return fire." Although, when he went to grab the .50 caliber machine-gun it was gone.

"The front shield and the .50 cal were ripped from the turret," Suchan said. "They said it went straight up in the air and landed five feet from the humvee."

When he realized that his machine-gun had been destroyed, Suchan said he immediately reached for his rifle instead. By that time, fellow Soldiers were screaming for him to get out of the humvee.

"I just heard my RTO (Radio Telephone Operator) screaming for me to get out," Suchan said. "I got pretty lucky because after I got out of the vehicle it went up in flames."

Suchan said the first thing that came to mind when he recalled the incident was "confusion." But, then he remembers everyone's training kicking in.

"Our medic ran up and got right to work," he said. "Everyone was pulling security or calling in the medevac. Everyone did pretty well."

Suchan suffered some minor shrapnel injuries and a sprained wrist in the attack, but he said he is eager to get back to normalcy.
After being shipped around Iraq for treatment, he said he just wanted to get back to the people he knew.

"Right now, I kind of just want to be around my platoon," Suchan said. "I'm excited to just get back to normal."
Suchan said he had a chance to contact his mother while he was at the hospital.

"She was worried, but I think it helped when she got the phone call from the unit," he said.

Suchan, 19, joined the Army straight out of high school and was shipped to Iraq shortly after finishing up his initial training.
"I always wanted to be in the military," he said. "I just need to get back on the horse again without getting bucked off."

• Date Taken: 06.16.2006
• Date Posted: 06.16.2006 08:09
• Story ID: 6824
• Location: IQ