“All players, blocking positions, set up a perimeter around Sandman 11,” the Convoy Commander directed.

“I’ll get on that fifty,” Carpenter said as he slid by Gomez toward the roof-mounted .50 caliber machine gun.

Carpenter climbed into the gunner’s seat and checked the .50. He was surrounded on all sides by bulletproof panels, but he had a much better view than he’d had inside the HUMVEE. He tried to pinpoint the direction of fire as the three other MRAPs and HUMVEE moved into position around the damaged lead MRAP.

“Mortars! Incoming!” Carpenter heard over the radio as the bullets continued plinking against the driver’s side of the HUMVEE. Carpenter ducked down as the first mortar hit. It landed in the dirt, just a few meters off the road near the downed MRAP. It shot up dirt and debris in a cloud of dust as it hit with a loud explosion.

Carpenter rotated the turret and started firing in the direction of the incoming fire, hoping to lay down suppressive fire as the .50 cal roared to life. He picked up movement out of the corner of his eye and turned. He immediately found one of the enemy fighters on one knee sporadically firing his AK-47. Carpenter turned and fired, ripping the man to shreds with his large caliber machine gun.

As Carpenter continued to fire in the vicinity of the last fighter, he saw a figure approach as men from the MRAPs dismounted. The man was short, even with boots and a helmet, but he walked as if he were seven feet tall and bulletproof. Despite the bullets zipping by and mortars at random intervals, he seemed completely unaffected as he calmly walked to Carpenter’s HUMVEE and climbed in.

“Gomez, relieve Carpenter on that fifty,” he barked. “Carpenter, get your ass down here, we need air support.” It was Major Hilton, the no-nonsense convoy commander who had been riding with them most of the day until the trip back to Bagram.

Carpenter and Gomez swapped positions and Carpenter went to work with his gear. He pulled out his Harris PRC-117F and powered it up. The dismounted radio, called a manpack, served as a multi-band, multimode radio that covered the gamut of waveforms. Frequencies covered included VHF, UHF, and UHF SATCOM radio. The unit was also compatible with the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System, an Army system. It served as a lifeline for any JTAC to support assets in the air.

“Son, you need to call this in. We’ve got a disabled MRAP and I estimate approximately one hundred fighters approaching from two separate locations. We’re going to need CAS birds and ISR to make sure the rest of the route is clear, understand?”

Carpenter nodded as he wrote down the situation report in the appropriate format. He needed to call in to the FIRES desk to request the Close Air Support and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance tasking orders. With the air order of battle he had seen earlier in the day, he was pretty sure he could at least get a Predator drone on station to scan the route fairly quickly, but he wasn’t sure what assets would be available for the CAS mission.