Iraq War stories: Lieutenant Colonel Dan Hubbard - 'We ran out of ammo. It was intense The enemy we encountered were mainly Syrian volunteers. Locals told us how the Syrians had moved in and taken over their homes. They were firing at us with RPGs and rifles and coming at us in motorcycles, buses, trucks, cars - any vehicle they could set their hands on. They were suicidal, keener on the fight than the regular Iraqi army I was on top of the overpass bridge that crossed over Highway 8, commanding 10 tanks and 4 Bradleys. I was in an MI Abrams tank, with my fire support officer in a Bradley. As the first US forces into the city, we really didn't know what to expect. It was a hell of a battle, we fought at Objective Larry for three days. It was very fierce fighting and we were running of ammo. It was very feudal in a way. They didn't have the equipment, but they just kept coming at us. Our adrenalin kept us going. It was intense stuff. I know that on the television news back home it looked like the Americans rolled into Baghdad and that was it. That was true in places, the airport and palace complex, where there was not much of a flight. That was where you saw guys smoking cigars and crowds waving flags. But we were fighting for three long days for Larry. We ran out of ammo while that fight was still going on and we had to call in fire from artillery to take out enemy positions. What we did in Iraq was long overdue. I took part in Desert Storm and back then the Iraqis expected is to come north and remove Saddam from power. When we stopped, the Iraqis who rose up against him paid a very dead price. So it was well worth all the efforts to take Saddam out of power now.