Tuesday, August 2, 2011

CIA Contractor Raymond Davis - gear and tactics

  Raymond Davis is the former Army SF (Special Forces) dude that recently touched off an international incident in Pakistan.  Raymond was working there as a contractor for the CIA.  It appears that he was tasked with helping the CIA agents do their job and more importantly; to protect them.

  Raymond was in Lahore Pakistan, driving a Honda Civic.  He was armed with a Glock 17 9mm (3rd Gen) and 75 rds of ammo.  Two magazines according to the post at theModernSurvivalist.com but I see what could be Glock magazines alongside what are clearly AR15/M16 aluminum magazines and what looks to be a third Glock magazine in the picture with the Glock and magazines encircling a pile of ammo.   I'm not a flashlight guy so I can't ID his lights; maybe someone else can.  I can see what looks to be a filter or diffuser on the light pictured.  

  Raymond was driving the Honda Civic and stopped because of traffic.  A motorcycle with a passenger had pulled in front of his car and stopped.  A motorcycle carrying two young men following Raymond that he had noticed doing so earlier.  The passenger turned towards Raymond in his Civic and cocked his weapon (most likely a revolver).  

  Click.

  In an instant Raymond's mind switched from CIA contractor attempting to be the "gray man" (blending in, inconspicuous) to fighting for his life.  He knew he was alone in a foreign city, marked and easily found because of his race.  He knew that being outnumbered and being the lone white American male in a crowded Lahore neighborhood made for stacked odds against his survival unless countered with an immediate and aggressive counterattack.  He had almost certainly seen the grisly home videos of what happens to wayward Americans when kidnapped by militants in Islamic countries.  Not that these two Pakistani men's motives were ever clearly identified.  

  Raymond shot a five round group with his Glock 17 through the windshield at his attackers.  A tight group, almost certainly fired one-handed.  He hit the passenger in the stomach, behind the right ear, the left arm, and the left thigh.  Only one shot did not hit the passenger.  

  The man driving the motorcycle fled as his accomplice dropped his pistol and collapsed.  He ran towards the intersection as Raymond exited the Civic and shot him at least three times.  Twice in the back, once in the chest, and one grazing his thigh.  Apparently not fleeing.

  Both assailants having been killed, Raymond walked back to the Civic, got his camera, and calmly, deliberately took photographs of their bodies.  He contacted his team for assistance and extract but a mob formed against him.  He attempted to escape in the Civic and did get away from the crowd only to get caught by another crowd and a traffic warden.  Luckily, the local police took him into custody before the mob could kill him there on the street.

  Meanwhile, the international incident boiled over.  The team sent to extract Raymond ran over and killed a motorcyclist whilst going the wrong way against traffic in an attempt to get to Raymond.  The Land Cruiser did make it to the scene of the shooting but Raymond had already fled the mob.  A Pakistani man approached the Land Cruiser and flung the door open, only to be persuaded to leave by the muzzle of an assault rifle pressed to his head.  The Land Cruiser then fled to sanctuary of the American consulate.

  Raymond endured months in Pakistani prison.  Never said a word.  He was released after the US government paid diyah; the traditional Islamic law allowing for monetary restitution when bloodshed is involved.  He was also fined $235 for carrying an unlicensed firearm.

  Now back in the States, Raymond worries about getting work to make a living.
  For further reading, look no further than this excellent Men's Journal article by Matthew Teague.  

  I hope that Raymond is back in our country's service.  I hope that our country recognizes the debt owed to him.  

  Mindset and training kept Raymond from being another grainy execution video or simply a missing person.  

  

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