Here’s an excellent video showing a firefight at “Trash OP”, situated on the north side of Husaybah and manned by India Company.  After you view it, see my amplifying comments below (***language warning***)

I don’t know the names of these Marines, yet. Hopefully I’ll have that info soon…

There’s a few things to note here.  First, this wasn’t random firing at all. They’d just been shot at by insurgents, and returned fire.

Second, the sheer exuberance of the Marines was typical. Most grunts in India Co. actually looked forward to a rotation at Trash OP, because it was likely they’d get into a firefight. This is hard for many to understand, but it’s indicative of the aggressive attitude among Marines in combat.

Third, even though it may seem like the firing starts to get out of control, and the Squad Leader struggles for a few seconds to get his Marines to cease fire, that is very common in combat. The noise of modern firearms can easily drown out verbal orders.  Actually, he quickly gets the firing under control, gets on the radio to coordinate further actions, and the squad gets water to cool the MG barrels down, prepping for the next engagement. Even though there’s some hootin’ and hollerin’, their actions are efficient and professional.

Finally, notice that somebody suggests they leave the expended brass where it lies, to impress the next squad with the firefight’s intensity. But the Squad Leader says, no, “We’ll police it all up. We have to, we live here!”  Another sign of professionalism and discipline.

–Ajax