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Fighting back from 'Friendly Fire': they called it a "dead head" mission. After a full day of convoy escort duty, Sean Long and his fellow Georgia National Guard soldiers were heading back to their forward operating base at Talil, Iraq, without a convoy to defend.

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Since his post-9/11 enlistment in the National Guard after a 10-year break in service, the former Marine became known for volunteerism. The early morning hours of Dec. 29, 2005, were no different. Just as with other missions, Long drove the lead gun truck, hoping for an uneventful trip.

"Route Tampa" is one of the U.S. military's main arteries in Iraq. It is regularly monitored for explosive devices and enemy activity. As the convoy moved, Long's troop commander called command and control on the radio to report their location.

Long wasn't surprised when he saw another escort team defending a halted convoy east of Balad Air Base. He slowed and followed usual procedures. "As we got closer, we signaled to them. They initiated, I replied. Everything was going as it was supposed to. It was an open area and pitch black," Long recalls.

At 500 meters, things started to get weird. The opposing convoy repeatedly signaled to Long's team.

"It was odd to get that many signals. We kept going back and forth." Traveling around 45 miles per hour, at 400 yards, Long replied to the final signal.

"The next thing I know, I hear a .50 cal go off. When you hear that fire, there's no mistaking it," he said, referring...

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