A courtyard is normally surrounded by buildings otherwise it is called just a yard.

People come in a single entrance and are surrounded by buildings... I thought those on the inside firing into a courtyard would have a superior postion.

I'm trying to figure out the pros and cons of standing at the gate vs using the buildings for cover and firing from there at intruders at the gate?

Or was it purely a walled in yard?
It was a walled yard. They were inside it. They had to blow a hole in the wall to even get in . Again they were looking for a place to set up a POW camp. These were engineers not grunts. They were the ones being fired at from the tower above them and could only return fire through the opening they had created. They used the apc to block the entrance hence all the enemies fire was being directed at that vehicle and the good sgt. He Ignored the danger to himself and continued to man his post to the very end. Again this is only the third medal of honor given out in 50 years. This guys is truly a friggin hero.