The scariest by far were the outgoing C-RAM rounds. They are super loud, sudden and disrupt all activity. And you know they only shoot the thing without warning because there are inbound rockets or mortars. So everyone is seeking shelter.
Incoming mortar sound just like in the movies. For some reason these were not that scary. Even when followed by a (hopefully) remote explosion.
Rockets are really fast whoosing, much faster than the movies. Followed by some really spectacular explosions.
The really close ones sounded like the biggest bee in creation. moving at Mach speed.
Yes this. But not so much "bee buzzing". More like a crazy fast giant wasp or similar insect.
Strangely I have bullets flying below me when bullets were being exchanged in anger. I was on top of a roof that was next to a street where a firefight was going on at street level. I could not hear the bullets due to all the gunshots.
The freakiest by far are IEDs. The explosion propels a debris and dust field faster than sound. So if you are inside the area of the blast and can see the explosion you get a big flash, followed by darkness, followed by the sound of the explosion. You may even hear parts of your vehicle being destroyed by the shrapnel (if you are lucky).
There is more to it but those are what I most remember.
how did you deal with it then and after the fact?
We just continued mission. If you just sit there getting shot at sooner or later you are going to get hit. Therefore you have to stop the source of the threat. Lots of different ways to do that.
For the IDF you seek shelter and wait for the all clear while counterfire gets it sorted. Most of the time in Iraq they were shooting back at dirt as the IDF was on a fuse or vehicle mounted.