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At 62, US special forces veteran battles against ISIS on lonely desert front
FOX ^ | November 04, 2016 | Benjamin Hall

Posted on 11/04/2016 9:48:40 PM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com

NORTHERN IRAQ – On the Western side of Mosul, lies a forgotten front crucial to choking off ISIS' lifeline to Syria.

Fox News recently made the eight hour trip west from Mosul to the front outside the devastated city of Sinjar and found a small outpost where a handful of men hold off near-daily attacks from ISIS fighters.

One soldier manning the post was David Shumock, a 62-year-old Floridian and former U.S. Air Forces pararescueman. The American fights side-by-side with the Kurdish Peshmerga, and serves as medic and trainer to his comrades, as well.

Shumock has called the dusty, makeshift, camp surrounded on three sides by ISIS, for a year. When he and his fellow fighters arrived, ISIS had only just been ousted from Sinjar city. Their first effort was to rebuild the forward base by hand – fixing roofs, and ringing it with lookouts posts.

From this base, the men, part of the Kurdish quick reaction force, support a 500-mile long line, responding to attacks wherever and whenever they come. Often, it's their base under attack from artillery.

The line they oversee straddles the ISIS corridor to Syria, and is a key supply route to reinforce Mosul with both men and equipment. Yet even as the long-awaited move to retake Mosul is underway, the western front has been largely unguarded by the coalition of Iraqi army, Kurdish forces, Shia militia and U.S. advisersworking together against ISIS.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: abandoned; iraq; iraqwar; isis; mosul; nosupport; peshmurga; roe; shumock; supplies; syria; syrianwar; underequipped

1 posted on 11/04/2016 9:48:40 PM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTLOFAxYIsU

As he watches these convoys, Shumock explained how they’re prohibited from attacking unless they are certain no civilians are in the line of fire.

It’s not just the rules of engagement handcuffing Shumock and his fellow fighters. They are sorely lacking in support, he said.

“In the year I’ve been here, we’ve never seen a U.S. officer, or received any support from them,” he said.

They’re so undersupplied they’ve had to raise money in the U.S. just to buy night vision goggles so they can see what they’re shooting at during nightly raids.

Shumock came to Iraq after losing his only daughter in a car crash, and seeing videos of ISIS murdering women and children. He said he wanted to put his military skills into service of a righteous cause


2 posted on 11/04/2016 9:49:58 PM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

Put a pot on Obama’s head and let him lead the charge against ISIS.


3 posted on 11/04/2016 9:55:34 PM PDT by CMB_polarization
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

ISIS has artillery? Next they’ll get warplanes.


4 posted on 11/04/2016 9:58:54 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com
Shumock came to Iraq after losing his only daughter in a car crash, and seeing videos of ISIS murdering women and children. He said he wanted to put his military skills into service of a righteous cause.

The only thing I can say to this is... Bravo-Zulu, Mr. Shumock, Charlie-Mike...

the infowarrior

Ps:
Mr Shumock, and other vets would understand what I just said, but for those reading who have never served, my message, decoded, is Well Done! Continue your Mission...

5 posted on 11/04/2016 10:12:45 PM PDT by infowarrior
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

May God bless him.


6 posted on 11/04/2016 10:15:01 PM PDT by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

I hope he doesn’t come back until Trump is sworn in. If he comes back while the communist is still squatting in the white hut, the poor guy will be thrown in Leavenworth immediately.


7 posted on 11/04/2016 10:20:26 PM PDT by wastedyears (The best self-destruction you'll ever see.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-06-25/isis-holds-parade-captured-us-military-vehicles


8 posted on 11/04/2016 10:22:12 PM PDT by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> ---)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

THIS is something that should be made into an action film, not the idiocy we see in films today.


9 posted on 11/05/2016 1:43:59 AM PDT by CorporateStepsister (I am NOT going to force a man to make my dreams come true)
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To: UMCRevMom@aol.com

A true American hero. Well done, Mr Shumock.


10 posted on 11/05/2016 3:06:28 AM PDT by Rummyfan
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