Charging Into the Fray

Deja Vu

The platoon was back in Afghanistan, Taliban forces and activity had gone up and SOCOM wanted as much intelligence as possible. The new AOIC and newest platoon members, Ensign Henry Jones and Petty Officer Third Class Barret Floyd. Jace had been tasked with helping Barret transition in while Grayson assisted Jones.

"Barry," Jace called out. "Let me help you with that."

Julian helped him pack the Pelican cases into the armory. Afterwards he dismissed Floyd to meet with the others. He inspected his weapons cache, he cleaned his SR-25, MK13, and MK12s, Jace was in deep thought. The last time he was in Afghanistn he had barely survived by the skin of his teeth. 

The rules for recon operations had changed, now they were traveling in teams of six, adding two operators being SAW gunners. A dedicated QRF was on standby with contingencies in place and UAVs were going to be in place lone-term. New communication protocols and equipment were issued, they were even given a remote operated drone.

Jace, Hal, Grayson, Reese, Bridgestone, and Hunter were the recon team to scope out a Taliban camp. Jace was packing a MK12 with an 18-inch barrel, six rifle magazines on his chest rig (another four in his pack), five mags for his secondary, and an advanced trauma kit. Other inventory included four fragmentation grenades and smoke grenades. He outfitted his rifle with a Leupold Mark 4 MR/T scope with a Docter mini-reflex sight, suppessor, and AN/PEQ-15 laser. He double checked his NODs, MICH ACH, and ballistic plates.

He knew that he was packing heavy for a Recce but he didn't want to leave anything to fate. Last time everything went wrong, they entire QRF was nearly taken out and Jace had to fend for himself until a random act of chance saved him. If not for that he would've died in the mountains.

Julian thought about Kathleen, she was nervous and worried for him, he said words similar to what his father would tell his mother.

I will come back in one piece and I will look you in the eyes when tell you how much I love you.

He had something to loose outside of the platoon.

It was time to go.

Everyone loaded up and the Blackhawks took off. Once they reached the LZ they patrolled their way to the encampment. Once there, Grayson deployed and operated the drone. They split into teams of three and observed the camp. They took note of everything, guard rotations, truck arrivals & departures, and security measurements.

All was clockwork until Jace saw the most outrageous sight.

Samoon Bulfati.

The original HVT the squad was sent to find and report back to SOCOM.

Jace, Hal, and Grayson couldn't believe their eyes. They reported it back to the TOC.

"Hotel Stations, does anyone have a shot at the HVT?"

Grayson reported a no-go, Jace evaluated the wind speed, trajectory, and potential compensation factors. Bulfati was in range and the weather seemed to be on Jace's side but he wasn't the objective this time. Even if Jace had a better suited weapon he couldn't take the shot. Even under the cover of darkness the odds of a clean escape wasn't on their side. The Taliban would be on them in less than an hour.

"If I take him out now we might not get out alive."

Julian swore, he wanted Bulfati but not at the risk of loosing his team. Hal called in a drone strike. ISR would stay on target until the Stealth Bomber arrived. They packed up and left as ordered. The sun was coming up in less than two hours and it would take as long to reach the EXFIL point.

"I'm sorry, Jace." 

Hal was particularly disappointed.

"Why? It was my idea not to shoot him," Jace scolded himself internally. "And it's not why we're here."

"The last time we had him, he got away and we left you behind," added Grayson.

"It was a result of war, Boss."

"No excuses."

"I'm alive and the Bomber will take him out."

The squad marched to the LZ and waited for the helicopter.

Back at the FOB they watched as the B-2 destroyed the encampment.

Everyone cheered at this, finally the nightmare was over. Jace called Kathleen, she was ecstatic to hear from him, relieved. Their call was cut short when they got news of a helicopter crash in their AO.

An Apache had been shot down and Al-Qaeda and the Taliban was closing in.

Hotel Platoon was the nearest force available. Everyone kitted up and loaded into a Chinook, once they reached the LZ they set a perimeter. Jace lead a four-man team to the crash site. The others covered their entry.

Jace and Reese grabbed the two pilots, one had a fractured clavicle and broken leg, the other had bruised ribs and a skull fracture. One of the others used a thermite grenade to destroy the remains of the aircraft. Jace stabilized the pilots and everyone got ready to move.

The rest of the platoon helped them get the pilots ready for EXFIL and held the line, Grayson fired off a M72 at a technical. Jace took out three Taliban fighters trying to flank them.

Finally the CAS and extraction Chinook arrived. The platoon loaded up and handed the injured off to the flight medics.

Back at the FOB,  Jace cleaned and stowed away his gear and weapons. He was cleaning out his MK12 when Grayson came in.

"How you holding up?"

Jace packed up his rifle and they walked back to the platoon quarters.

"I've made my peace with what happened the last time we were here," replied Julian. "I'm still standing and I'm not done being a doorkicker."

Ben nodded. "And just how are you so well adjusted?"

Jace sat on his bunk. "It wasn't easy, but I started trying to have a life outside the platoon."

Grayson smirked, leaning closer. "Does the nurse have something to do with all that?"

"I may be a loner and a bit of an enigmatic oddball, but I am by no means a monk."

Ben howled, imagining what Jace could possibly get up to on his own.

Julian spent the rest of the day cleaning and sharpening his knives. This prompted his teammates to wonder where he kept his blades and how he stored them on him.

Another thing for me to know and for them to. . .