Battleline (2007) (5 page)

The next confrontation with the Americans in Afghanistan occurred ten days later. This time they had AP capabilities, and used the nimble DPVs to advantage in quick strikes and envelopments. Sikes lost thirteen of his twenty vehicles and retreated across the international border. When he complained to the Iranians about the lack of reserves along with no artillery or air support, they disbanded his armored cars. He and his men were transferred as infantrymen to Pashtun allies in the Gharawdara Highlands.

Things went to hell again when the Americans wiped out the Pashtuns' opium poppy smuggling operation. The Pashtun leader surrendered, and Sikes took his command back into Iran, where they ended up in the present operation to strike into Afghanistan and grab a big hunk of territory to lure the Pashtuns back to their cause.

Sikes had now worked his way up to the rank of major in the Iranian Army, and he stood ready with his Iranian comrades and his own Arab followers to do battle with whoever would be moving into the old Pashtun stronghold across the valley. This time Sikes and his men were well equipped with the latest night vision capabilities of goggles and binoculars, LASH radio sets, and heavy fire support. Reinforcements and resupply were also available to sustain this latest operation.

Sikes Pasha smiled to himself, his confidence buoyed by the strong support from both the Iranian government and Army. The tide had at last turned.

CHAPTER
2

SEAL HANGAR

SHELOR FIELD

8 JUNE 0930 HOURS

THE folding chairs had been arranged into a semicircle, with two to the direct front for Commander Tom Carey and Lieutenant Commander Ernest Berringer. Dr. Carl Joplin would not be present at the briefback for security reasons. The Undersecretary of State was a trusted individual with a top-secret and cryptography security clearance, but his exclusion was because of that traditional requirement of not having a "need to know."

When the two staff officers walked into the area, Carey let it be known it was unnecessary to call the detachment to attention when he loudly proclaimed, "Carry on!" He and Berringer went to the chairs obviously set out for them and settled down. They had left their briefcases behind and did not produce as much as a notebook in which to jot down the highlights of the briefback.

Brannigan took the obvious hint to hurry things along. He spoke from the center front chairs, where he sat with Lieutenant JG Jim Cruiser and Ensign Orlando Taylor. "Before we start the briefback, Ensign Taylor has an announcement to make. It's a bit of information that every member of this detachment will take to heart. Lieutenant Cruiser and I only learned the facts last night."

Taylor stood and turned to face the SEALs. "I told the Skipper and Lieutenant Cruiser last night about a cousin of mine who had served with the SEALs. He was KIA on an operation, but our family was never given the full details of the incident. We did not know his whereabouts when he sacrificed his life for his country, nor were we aware of the exact circumstances. Naturally my cousin had told the whole family about the possibility of such a thing happening because of secret missions. When I mentioned his name, the Skipper told me he was a Brigand, and was killed in action on your deployment to South America." Taylor paused to get hold of his emotions. "I was very close to him and I am honored beyond belief that circumstances have permitted me to take his place in this detachment. His name was Lamar Taylor, and he's left me some pretty big shoes to fill."

Connie Concord nodded to the ensign. "I was his fire team leader, sir. Lamar was a hell of a fine man. A real SEAL."

"Alright!" Brannigan barked. "Let's get this briefback rolling along. Lieutenant Cruiser!"

"Aye, sir!" Cruiser stood to address Carey and Berringer. "My portion of the briefback will cover the movement from Shelor to the OA. I won't be using any maps or aerial photos, since we all know the exact location of the place. So! I'll start with an announcement of my own. Two choppers are going to be used, and I'll discuss them one at a time. We'll be utilizing an Air Force Pave Low MH-fifty-three J chopper for personnel, equipment, weapons, and ammo. It's more than adequate to handle all our needs for the mission. We have set up a new departure time of zero-six-hundred hours. That will be for the first chopper. The Pave Low will follow at zero-seven-hundred hours."

"Where does this additional first chopper come in?" Carey asked.

"We want to drop in a recon team to scope out the area prior to landing and deplaning. All available aerial photos indicate the site is secure, but we want to make sure. I've made arrangements through the Army transportation company to have the use of an Afghanistan Army Huey helicopter for this parachute infiltration."

This piqued Lieutenant Commander Berringer's interest. "Why did you go to the Afghans? We could easily arrange for something larger."

"The sight of an Afghan aircraft will not excite the enemy too much," Cruiser explained. "They make frequent flights in the OA as part of their normal activities. The local AFSOC folks can spare us three T-Ten chutes. Petty Officers Leibowitz, Assad, and Redhawk will jump in at approximately zero-six-thirty hours and make a recon."

"That's a good idea up to a point," Carey opined. "But don't you think when the Iranians catch sight of three parachutes descending into the area they'll figure something special is happening?"

"The jump will be made at five hundred feet," Cruiser explained. "I'm hoping the chutes will not be spotted from the enemy positions, since a mountain range is between them and the LZ. Or the DZ in this case."

"I don't know," Carey said. "Exiting the aircraft at five hundred feet can be extremely risky."

Brannigan interrupted. "During our operation against the al-Mimkhalif fortress in the Yemen-Oman desert, that is exactly what we did. A jump altitude of five hundred feet will afford the jumpers a minimum time between the aircraft and the ground."

"Alright, Lieutenant," Carey said. "If you're not concerned, then I'm not concerned."

Puglisi spoke up with a silly grin on his face. "Hell! If you want minimum time between the aircraft and the ground, don't use parachutes."

"Shut up, Puglisi!" Brannigan snapped.

"Aye, sir!"

Cruiser continued, "When we receive the all clear from the recon team, the Air Force chopper will go in. We'll disembark bag and baggage and move into our fighting positions to get the show on the road."

"I'm glad you came up with the recon idea," Carey said. "That hadn't occurred to me. It sounds like you guys should be able to make a smooth infiltration."

"Right," Berringer agreed. "Our intel says the place is empty, but it's wise to check it out before committing a deployment."

Cruiser sat down, and Brannigan stood to give the organizational portion of the briefback. "We have three officers, two chief petty officers, and thirty-six petty officers for a total of forty-one guys. I've set up a headquarters for command, commo, medical, and special tasks. My Headquarters will be Gomez as RTO and Bradley as corpsman. Puglisi and Miskoski make up the Sniper Team, with each toting his own A-fifty sniper rifle. We will assign them spotters when possible. A special Patrol Team for recon and combat patrolling will be utilized, with Petty Officer Concord as the leader. His personnel will be Assad, Matsuno, Redhawk, and Leibowitz."

Carey was curious. "Were there special qualifications for assignment to the Patrol Team?"

"Yes, sir," Brannigan answered. "Assad, Leibowitz, and Redhawk have already demonstrated their skills in this area during past operations. Lieutenant Cruiser personally recommended Matsuno."

"I agree, sir," Senior Chief Dawkins said. "I've been on operations with him before, and he is from a Japanese-American background, where he did some serious study of ninja techniques. He's damn good at sneakin' and peekin'."

"Seem excellent choices then," Carey said.

"The rest of the detachment is going to be broken down into three assault sections. These will be commanded by the two officers and a senior chief. Each of them will have a SAW gunner tagging along with him. The rest of the section consists of two fire teams of a team leader, rifleman, and grenadier."

"What about the guys that are left over?" Berringer inquired.

"That's the Fire Support Section, sir," Brannigan replied. "Chief Gunnarson will honcho three M-sixty machine guns. Each will have a gunner and a rifleman who will also be the ammo bearer."

The next speaker was PO2C Frank Gomez, who gave the commo portion of the briefback. "All the gear will remain the same as on Operation Rolling Thunder, sir. I will use my Shadowfire for long-range commo, while everyone will tote AN/PRC-one-twenty-six radios with LASH headsets. Call signs are Brigand Boss for Headquarters, Hit Man for the Sniper Team, and Sneaky Pete for the Patrol Team. Brigand One will be for the First Assault Section, with the others being Brigand Two and Three, respectively. The fire support will be Brigand Four. All the fire teams will use their designations. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and so on."

Hospital Corpsman Doc Bradley came forward for the medical side of the operation. "We're in good shape with personal medical kits that have the usual battle dressing, Ace bandages, et cetera. This also includes codeine, morphine, and the array of sedatives, stimulants, and pills for normal sickness that occurs in the field. I'm planning on setting up a treatment station in one of the bunkers. And I'll have my field surgical kit for the big hurts. I've checked everyone's shot records, and they're up to date. The LZ will be used for medevac. So, medically speaking, we're ready to go."

"Sounds good," Carey remarked. "Next!"

PO2C Bruno Puglisi represented the weapons and ammo side of the operation. "All the guys is gonna be packing issue Beretta nine-millimeter auto pistols in drop holsters. "The headquarters weenies--"

Mike Assad interrupted, saying, "Who're you calling headquarters weenies?"

"The headquarters section," Puglisi replied. "Who else? And remember I'm in headquarters too. Being called a weenie just goes with the territory."

"Stick to the briefback!" Senior Chief Dawkins snarled.

"Right, Chief," Puglisi said. "So, as I was saying before that rude interruption, the
elite personnel
of headquarters, along with the section commanders, fire team leaders, riflemen, and machine gun crews will tote M-sixteens. The grenadiers is gonna have the same along with M-two-oh-three grenade launchers. And, as the Skipper said in his organization spiel, we'll have three M-sixty machine gun crews. The SAW gunners will be packing their M-two-forty-nines, as can be expected. We can have all the ammo we want, so I laid in for plenty.

Also, the load will include a couple of flare guns and a crate of smoke grenades for signaling on the LZ, since we'll be depending on aerial resupply."

"You've nailed it, Petty Officer Puglisi," Carey said. "Also keep in mind that because of the static situation, you'll have no trouble obtaining additional weaponry and ammunition."

That pleased Brannigan. "Great, sir! I'm thinking there's a possibility we'll be needing some mortars to soften up enemy positions for any big pushes."

"I'll see that some are available for immediate use," Carey promised. "Okay. Who's next?"

SCPO Buford Dawkins stepped forward. "Our organizational and personal supply situation is excellent, sir. I ran an inventory on every swinging dick and they were standing tall. We have everything we need, including additional night vision apparatus. Enough night vision binoculars have arrived that each section commander and team leader will be issued one. That also includes the Skipper, Patrol Team, and Sniper Team."

"Now, there's a pleasant surprise," Berringer said. "I wasn't aware of that."

"What about creature comforts at your base camp?" Carey asked. "I'm talking about ergonomics."

"Well, sir," Dawkins said, "the guys will be well off with plenty of room. We're starting out with MREs, but if circumstances permit, Randy Tooley said he could arrange for some cookpots, pans, and hot chow from the mess hall from time to time."

"Randy Tooley?" Carey said. "Isn't he that weird little guy who drives around in the DPV?" He looked at Brannigan. "That reminds me. You were supposed to submit a report about that DPV that was lost in action. The Army S-four at Station Bravo has been bugging the hell out of me about it."

"Right, sir," Brannigan said. "I've got the first draft done. I just need to tweak it a bit."

"Get it to me PDQ!"

"Aye, sir!"

Carey glanced at Berringer. "Do you have anything to add, Ernie?"

"Negative, sir," Berringer replied. "It sounds complete to me."

"I agree," Carey said, standing. He gestured to Brannigan. "Turn it into an OPORD. You'll depart Shelor Field tomorrow morning."