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Honey Run Canyon.........shots fired!
When this Ferret, #00-DC-10, was released from the BAOR and sold at auction,
I'm sure everyone involved believed it's fighting days were over. Actually
this particular Ferret spent it's whole time in Germany, training and was
never in combat and never saw any fighting whatsoever.
That was it's first life, now in it's second life #00-DC-10 finds it's way to
California retired from British service. It's over a year later from that
great ocean crossing and believe it or not, this Ferret is unexpectedly part
of a combat force sent in to engage the enemy under fire.
Well, all right, I suppose it was a bit of a stretch to say engage the enemy,
it actually never engaged anyone and the enemy....well, it was just one
gunman. In fact the Ferret was just out of harms way as the bullets were
flying, however, it was fair to say that she was at the ready. Hatches
battened down and prepared for combat... but not really "in" combat! ; )
I was told early in the day that a berserk man, possible high on drugs, had
started firing at passing cars from his home. Police were summoned and shots
were exchanged. SWAT forces moved in and more shots were fired, perhaps a
hundred or more rounds total were fired by both sides. By the time I arrived
on the scene, it was well into the 10th hour of the stand off and the
sometimes gunfight.
In the begining I was at a road block, far away from the action and it was
not till after midnight that I was asked to move the Ferret into position
near the front line while the SWAT team prepared for an assault on the house.
This was a very well coordinated, well equipped military type operation...
very impressive. Wished you could have seen it. Officers in kevlar helmets,
battle dress uniforms, automatic weapons with silencers, tear gas launchers,
flash bangs, etc. It was for real and the moment was deadly serious. As
the SWAT team moved toward the house under the cover of darkness, I sat
safely out of range and inside the closed confines of the Ferret.
I kept one armoured flap on my left in the up position...... my one and only
link to the outside. I listened for instructions from the commander who
stood nearby in a light rain. It had been coming down off and on for an hour
and it suddenly turned into a real gully washer.......I soon learned that no
matter where you sit in a Ferret, the rain always dribbles into your lap,
especially so when it's pouring outside. If you have ever driven a Ferret in
the rain, you know what I mean.
The assault time was near (0024 hrs) and I tilted my head close to the one
open window and sat as the minutes passed, but still no shooting. Nearly 10
minutes later, the Ferret was still chugging along at an idle...and I was
still waiting. It was a funny feeling sitting there, not a hundred yards
away from gunfire. I imagined my British counterparts not so long ago
probably doing much the same in Northern Ireland.
So there I was, in the dark, soaking wet and waiting for the signal to jump
in, followed by the inevitable sounds of bullets thumping against the hull.
I have to admit I was a little worried about the headlights being shot off or
some other hard to find part being damaged, but I was not concerned in the
slightest about the integrity of the armour. It was comforting to know there
was nothing in the gunman's arsenal that could penetrate the hull... he was
firing a .357 and a .22.
I have to tell you, it's a different sound in that Ferret when it's all
buttoned up like that, especially if you slide back into the gunners seat.
From up there in the turrent section, the engine noise takes on a more
throaty rumble..sounds meaner I think, but maybe that was just the excitement
of the moment speaking.
Then it happened, the first of two loud explosions, definately too loud for
gunfire, I figured it had to be the grenades. They came in rapid succession
and that meant the SWAT team had broken through the windows and tossed in the
flash bangs...the stun grenades. I listened for the sound of gun fire, but
there was nothing for almost 3 minutes. Then a radio message received by the
operations commander signaled a code 4, all clear. It would be another 10
minutes before the swat members would come trudging up the canyon road. They
looked more like a platoon of soldiers than police officers..something out of
a movie too. They were walking in the rain, illuminated by emergency flood
lights. From the distance of about a 100 yards they almost looked hazy. An
ereey sight I can guarantee you, especially from the dark confines of the
Ferret.
The good news was the suspect was in custody and nobody was injured. He
apparently fled the house as the flash bangs went off and surrendered without
further incident. Despite the shooting, he was remarkably completely
unscathed, although he looked exhausted. He showed absolutely no emotion as
he was marched back to a caged unit. He had survived dozens of rounds of
small arms fire and somehow escaped any serious effects of the tear gas that
was launched repeatedly, perhaps 14 or 15 times, into the small house.
As the suspect was placed in the back of the patrol unit, a few of the
officers went back to search the house for weapons and the gas mask he must
have worn. As for me, my job ended where it began, sitting in the Ferret,
waiting for the signal to go in, possibly as a shield or a distraction or
even as a scout as the need may be. As it turned out, I did none of those
things, but the Ferret was absolutely ready. In fact everyone acknowledged
it was better equipped for its task than the SWAT team transport vehicle on
the scene... it was definitely better armoured! A few of the SWAT officers
walked slowly by peering into the cockpit, then one said, "Who's is this,
DOJ's?" I said, "No..... MVPA," with a smile that went unnoticed. The
acronym was not challenged, perhaps because they were just too exhausted or
possibly because it seemed to fit well with all the others present like CPD,
BNE, BCSO, etc. I did explain it anyway and they seemed amused that this was n
ot a police vehicle.
As things wrapped up and the vehicles began to leave the scene, more than one
officer walking by me said it was pretty neat to have the Ferret there, just
in case. I have to agree... it was pretty neat being there with it too. I
was pleased to help, but in the final analysis I didn't really do anything,
yet it was an experience I'll not soon forget!
Keep em rollin, you never know when they might be needed! lol
Jack
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Jul 02 2000 - 23:51:27 PDT