Mano-a-Mano: The Battle of Kharg Island

By Tommy Acosta

Sedona, AZ – Mano-a-mano. That’s what the war in Iran is going to come down to, and Kharg Island is where it all happens.

This fight cannot be waged by bombers alone, or helicopter gunships, or missiles. The refinery, the oil processing facilities on that island—they’re too valuable. You can’t just bomb it into dust. You can’t destroy everything.

So what’s our only choice if we want to take that island without “obliterating” it? Mano-a-mano: Hand-to-hand combat is the only one.

Troops are already on their way, sailing inside amphibious assault ships loaded with military hardware—2,500 soldiers, maybe more. Ready to respond. Ready to protect. Ready to fight to the death and kill their way back home.

This is what makes it real.

Not kids sitting 3,000 miles away behind a screen, playing war like a video game. Not drones. Not missiles.

This is flesh and blood meeting flesh and blood on the field of mortal combat.

Now imagine this: Iran has forces hidden somewhere on that island. They’re waiting. And when American troops land, they won’t be able to just wipe them out from the sky. They’ll have to go in and clear them out the old-fashioned way.

Room to room. Building to building. Through pipes, steel corridors, and tangled refinery infrastructure. All the while trying not to spark a fire that could blow the entire place to hell.

So, they will face each other. Up close and personal, as they say — Mano-a-mano.

We’re about to find out what the true metal of our armed forces really is. And the same goes for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. How well trained are they? How far will they go?

What happens if we lose? You don’t even have to imagine losing the whole thing. Imagine ten American soldiers dead. Twenty. Thirty. Forty. Will the American people accept that?

For many, the death of even one young soldier is too much. Did they have to die? Did it have to come to this?

But once you’re in, there’s no turning back. If we pull out, credibility is gone. Power is weakened. Resources already spent. Munitions already burned. Lives already lost. And, for what?

This conflict doesn’t just bleed on the battlefield—it bleeds into the global economy, into the future of everything.

And deep down, a lot of people already believe there was no real nuclear threat left. That even if Iran had the bomb, they wouldn’t use it. Not if it meant turning their entire country into radioactive dust.

They’re not that stupid.

But here we are.

Now it’s no longer theory. No longer black and white images of explosions seen from far above. No longer politics. This is reality.Soldiers are going to die. Sorrow and sadness await their families and loved ones. The fruits of war will come home to them.

Now it’s men and women facing each other with rifles, knives, fists—whatever it takes. Close enough to see each other. Close enough to hear each other breathe.

Old-school war.

Bayonets fixed.

Kill or be killed.

Eye-to-eye contact.

What happens next?

How will our soldiers fight?
Are they ready for this kind of war?
Are the Iranians?

I don’t know.

But it’s coming down to this.

Mano-a-mano.

The world will be watching. Not from far away like Ukraine on a screen, but zoomed in, tight, brutal, immediate.

If there’s an Iranian army on that island, it will be settled there.

If there isn’t—

Then that island belongs to us.

Let the games begin

JB on March 20, 2026 9:23 pm

“What happens if we lose? You don’t even have to imagine losing the whole thing. Imagine ten American soldiers dead. Twenty. Thirty. Forty. Will the American people accept that?”

MAGA America already accepts the 23 dead and 214 wounded service members. They accept it because their draft dodging so called leader lies to them every day and they believe every word of his lies to include- No More Foreign Wars! There are some in MAGA, primarily the hardcore racist fascist who would rather see that military force used here upon Americans rather than wasting it on another foreign entanglement. And then there are those of us who have been to war or have family who have that will never accept another death over draft dodger Trump’s bigly lies and self enrichment profiteering off of the war. War makes the rich richer and the poor, oppressed and down trodden (Christ’s preferred company) are obliterated with nuclear bomb 20 and 40 kilo ton equivalents in a conventional stupid bomb known as the MOAB currently being dropped in heavily populated neighborhoods or on targets adjacent a children’s girl school.

Not to be a stick in the mud Tommy, but it’s Hand to Hand in military speak not Mano a Mano. Us GI “suckers and losers” can’t comprehend foreign speak. And there will still be heavy drone use on that island from all involved. Our military has kamikazi and Switchblade drones for bunkers, vehicles etc. They have a plethora of one way equivalents. We have drones the size of houseflies for reconnaissance. They don’t need to do reconnaissance it’s their island and I expect they’ll defend it like Japan did Iwo in WWII, as you said they’re likely there just awaiting the big game to kick off. Don’t forget, they know our tactics! They’ve been on every battlefield since Somalia that we’ve been on and they watched and learned our every move. They were in Bosnia helping the Bosniak forces that the US also aided and so rather than engage us they sat and watched and learned exactly how our dismounted Infantry and armored convoys moved about. Where we set up our artillery guns, how the 1st Air Cavalry operated and responded to support mission calls from the infantry. As you said, “they’re not stupid”! Not by a long shot or the Persians would not be one of the oldest peoples on earth. Just think Afghanistan and the Taliban and Mujahideen who defeated the Soviet Military invasion with Genghis Khan Era weaponry then they put a pretty good hurting upon US using their Genghis Khan and captured Soviet era weapons, enough so that after 10 years of war, 2,456 U.S. military deaths and over 20,700 U.S. service members wounded in action, trillions of taxpayer dollars in weapons and equipment squandered the Taliban and Mujahideen are still standing and cursing us as they also laugh at us. (the Taliban and Mujahideen we’re also in Bosnia with the Bosniaks many married into the local culture). It matters little who has what “Buck Roger’s Bullshit” when war on the ground is urban and the fighting is hand to hand. The Marines who fought the Battle Of Fallujah will attest to this. The ones that survived it that is. The Somali’s put a beating upon our arrogant asses as well using small arms and a few RPG’s to take us out of the sky and put us on our knees.

Tonight King Nothing announced that the straight of Hormuz will “reopen itself”! One of the more ignorant of the always ignorant things he tries to say without his brain malfunctioning and his speech garbled like he has a mouth full of marbles. Any who, no the straights will not reopen magically on their own. The US will need to take out all of the IRGC, their heavy weapons, their air land and sea drones and all of their grunts. We’re no where near having accomplished that as evidenced by their daily retaliatory strikes throughout the region upon US bases and support mechanisms. As usual the one sided air campaign was pretty effective. Effective in killing IRGC leadership (of which there are thousands more waiting to be handed the reins to the Kingdom and don’t mind being martyred to get there). But now comes the hard part- Boots on the ground! Our troops are to my knowledge based upon previous personal experience trained for missions in the Middle East in general just as we are trained in Artic, Desert, Jungle, Mountain and river borne operations But so is the IRGC. It’s going to be a shit show for someone no matter what. Hopefully not US, not for a lying criminal who started this war to get himself out of the Epstein shit show falling down all around him.

One must wonder that since Putin is Trump’s bestie and he’s helping Iran target our troops and assets, is Trump giving Putin that information in his secretive phone sex pillow talks with Vladimir?

May no more of our troops not have to die for that draft dodger insurrectionist coward!

1 Comment

JB on March 20, 2026 9:23 pm
“What happens if we lose? You don’t even have to imagine losing the whole thing. Imagine ten American soldiers dead. Twenty. Thirty. Forty. Will the American people accept that?”
MAGA America already accepts the 23 dead and 214 wounded service members. They accept it because their draft dodging so called leader lies to them every day and they believe every word of his lies to include- No More Foreign Wars! There are some in MAGA, primarily the hardcore racist fascist who would rather see that military force used here upon Americans rather than wasting it on another foreign entanglement. And then there are those of us who have been to war or have family who have that will never accept another death over draft dodger Trump’s bigly lies and self enrichment profiteering off of the war. War makes the rich richer and the poor, oppressed and down trodden (Christ’s preferred company) are obliterated with nuclear bomb 20 and 40 kilo ton equivalents in a conventional stupid bomb known as the MOAB currently being dropped in heavily populated neighborhoods or on targets adjacent a children’s girl school.
Not to be a stick in the mud Tommy, but it’s Hand to Hand in military speak not Mano a Mano. Us GI “suckers and losers” can’t comprehend foreign speak. And there will still be heavy drone use on that island from all involved. Our military has kamikazi and Switchblade drones for bunkers, vehicles etc. They have a plethora of one way equivalents. We have drones the size of houseflies for reconnaissance. They don’t need to do reconnaissance it’s their island and I expect they’ll defend it like Japan did Iwo in WWII, as you said they’re likely there just awaiting the big game to kick off. Don’t forget, they know our tactics! They’ve been on every battlefield since Somalia that we’ve been on and they watched and learned our every move. They were in Bosnia helping the Bosniak forces that the US also aided and so rather than engage us they sat and watched and learned exactly how our dismounted Infantry and armored convoys moved about. Where we set up our artillery guns, how the 1st Air Cavalry operated and responded to support mission calls from the infantry. As you said, “they’re not stupid”! Not by a long shot or the Persians would not be one of the oldest peoples on earth. Just think Afghanistan and the Taliban and Mujahideen who defeated the Soviet Military invasion with Genghis Khan Era weaponry then they put a pretty good hurting upon US using their Genghis Khan and captured Soviet era weapons, enough so that after 10 years of war, 2,456 U.S. military deaths and over 20,700 U.S. service members wounded in action, trillions of taxpayer dollars in weapons and equipment squandered the Taliban and Mujahideen are still standing and cursing us as they also laugh at us. (the Taliban and Mujahideen we’re also in Bosnia with the Bosniaks many married into the local culture). It matters little who has what “Buck Roger’s Bullshit” when war on the ground is urban and the fighting is hand to hand. The Marines who fought the Battle Of Fallujah will attest to this. The ones that survived it that is. The Somali’s put a beating upon our arrogant asses as well using small arms and a few RPG’s to take us out of the sky and put us on our knees.
Tonight King Nothing announced that the straight of Hormuz will “reopen itself”! One of the more ignorant of the always ignorant things he tries to say without his brain malfunctioning and his speech garbled like he has a mouth full of marbles. Any who, no the straights will not reopen magically on their own. The US will need to take out all of the IRGC, their heavy weapons, their air land and sea drones and all of their grunts. We’re no where near having accomplished that as evidenced by their daily retaliatory strikes throughout the region upon US bases and support mechanisms. As usual the one sided air campaign was pretty effective. Effective in killing IRGC leadership (of which there are thousands more waiting to be handed the reins to the Kingdom and don’t mind being martyred to get there). But now comes the hard part- Boots on the ground! Our troops are to my knowledge based upon previous personal experience trained for missions in the Middle East in general just as we are trained in Artic, Desert, Jungle, Mountain and river borne operations But so is the IRGC. It’s going to be a shit show for someone no matter what. Hopefully not US, not for a lying criminal who started this war to get himself out of the Epstein shit show falling down all around him.
One must wonder that since Putin is Trump’s bestie and he’s helping Iran target our troops and assets, is Trump giving Putin that information in his secretive phone sex pillow talks with Vladimir?
May no more of our troops not have to die for that draft dodger insurrectionist coward!

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