Guerilla Warfare (2006)

by Terral, Jack - Seals 02

  When the work was complete, Brannigan took the whole thing off to a corner by himself for further tweaking and finalization. But even then it wasn't etched in stone. Commanders Carey and Berringer would return to have the OPLAN presented to them in a procedure called the brief-back. If they approved everything, the document became an OPORD and would be considered the bible for the coming operation.

  .

  0645 HOURS LOCAL

  the audience, and they settled down in a couple of the desk/chairs ready to listen, take notes, and comment on the briefback presentation.

  Brannigan, as the commanding officer, led the procedure. "Since the first order of business is reconnaissance, that is exactly what we're going to do. Rather than send the whole detachment out at once, I'm going to commit an assault section at a time to scope out the surrounding area. However, our two scouts Assad and Leibowitz will go on all these patrols. Since the Lozano Grasslands will probably be the scene of most of the action, we'll start there. The sections will take a motorized rigid raider boat, towing the piragua behind it. They will go down the Rio Ancho." He used his laser beam to point at a spot on the enlarged satellite photo mounted on the wall. "It will be the section commander's prerogative which of the creeks extending from the river to explore. They will leave the rigid raider boat hidden, then pole their way along the waterways in the piragua. No contact with the enemy will be made. If such a thing happens, the patrol is to immediately withdraw, engaging the attackers only in self-defense."

  Carey wrote in his notebook as he asked. "How many of these recons do you plan to make, Lieutenant?"

  "As many as it takes to get enough intelligence to launch active ops against the enemy," Brannigan replied. "That sounds simple at this point, but there's every chance things could get very hairy and complicated right off the bat."

  The next speaker was Lieutenant (J. G.) James Cruiser. His topic was the establishment of camps. He swung his laser beam up to a spot on the photograph where the Rio Ancho eased out of the Los Perdidos Swamp. "This will be the location of our base camp for use during the recon phase. If the results of the scouting reveal long distances must be traversed during operations, I plan on having more camps as well as caches for weaponry and equipment. We will need waterproof containers for that. I've already sent in requisitions for a couple of dozen."

  "I've seen the paperwork," Carey said. "It's being taken care of."

  The next speaker was Hospital Corpsman James Bradley. "Due to the high temperatures, humidity and heavy rainfall in the area, I anticipate problems with rashes and possible heat stroke. I have made sure I'm taking plenty of antifungal ointment, and I plan on making sure precautions are taken to avoid heat exhaustion due to the climate."

  "What about mosquitoes, Petty Officer?" Berringer asked.

  "I've arranged for a case of insect repellent that should last for a long time," Bradley said. "I also coordinated with Senior Chief Dawkins on hammocks and headgear with netting. There will be plenty for the detachment."

  "Have you taken any other medical problems into consideration?" Carey asked.

  "Yes, sir. Each man will have an emergency medical kit to carry in his assault vest. These will include bandages, codeine, morphine, sedatives, stimulants and other medicine for illnesses. I will also have my field surgical kit for major trauma."

  Petty Officer First Class Connie Concord gave a quick report on the weaponry. "The major new items in our arsenal are a pair of SAWs with one for each assault section. They will provide support fire when needed. I might add that these use the same 5.56-millimeter ammo as our CAR-15s. They are also magazine fed rather than belt fed, and that makes each man a potential ammo bearer. SIG Sauer nine-millimeter automatic pistols will be the hand weapons. We'll also tote some M-67 fragmentation grenades for defensive and ambush situations."

  Frank Gomez, the commo chief, reported he was taking in an AN/PSC-5 Shadowfire radio with a spare for long-range commo. "All contacts among the Command Element, assault sections and fire teams will be conducted via AN/PRC-126 radios that have handsets. The detachment scouts will also have one. In addition, LASH radio headsets would be employed within the assault sections. That way everyone can transmit to their mates via the throat mike that is capable of making even whispers audible."

  "Call signs?" Berringer asked.

  "The Command Element is Brigand," Frank said. "The First Assault Section is Brigand One and the Second is Brigand Two. All fire teams will use their phonetic alphabet designations. And we will have that emergency relay station in Colombia. That will only be used as directed by the SOL"

  Next Chief Matt Gunnarson presented the personal supply picture. "The first-line equipment, that is what the guys will wear, will be lightweight tropical BDUs. Everyone will also tote along an emergency compass, matches, a good Swiss Army knife, a couple of PowerBars and condoms. The rubbers are good to keep things dry as well as keep the dust out of sensitive gear."

  "Are you calling for combat vests or LBEs?" Berringer asked.

  "The vests will work fine for our second-line equipment," the chief replied. "That'll include a day's MREs, the medical kit, two-quart canteen, frag grenades, binoculars, the GPS and water purification tablets. The third-line Equipment will be carried in the rucksacks. That's a basic load of MREs, entrenching tool; poncho, poncho liner, hammock, mosquito netting, extra socks, water bladder, an extra BDU, and night vision goggles. I checked with Alfredo, and he says there'll be no problem with resupply. It will be brought in by the same oil company we'll use for medevac. So we don't have to hump in two tons of stuff into the OA. Also, on account of security and concealment problems, there's gonna be plenty of FRHs for heating the MREs. It's gonna be rare when we'll be able to enjoy the coziness of fires. That's it!"

  That was the end of the brief back, and Carey stood up. "You're ready to go, as far as I'm concerned flown to Argentina on different airlines, dressed in civilian clothes. Your equipment will go down through CIA channels, and you'll pick it up down there. Alfredo will work out your infiltration into the OA. Times and places will be given you as soon as it's all firmed up. Good luck guys:'

  "Be careful out there," Berringer said.

  The two staff officers walked out of the briefing area, and Senior Chief Dawkins turned to the detachment. "Okay, people. We've got to get our gear, detachment equipment, and other crap ready for the flight down south. Turn to it!"

  The SEALs hurried back to the rear of the building.

  Chapter 2

  EL CENTRO DE TRANSPORTES BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

  25 NOVEMBER

  1400 HOURS LOCAL

  THE trucking center was a staging area for all interior shipments from the port of Buenos Aires. This cargo was not only sent to destinations in that country but to freight depots in landlocked Bolivia. The place bustled madly twenty-four hours a day as containers offloaded from merchant ships onto the trucks at the docks were brought in to be put into the transportation mill that would distribute the goods to their destinations. To the casual observer, the place would seem to be in disruptive chaos, moving slowly but inextricably toward its own self-destruction. But somehow the system worked, and the loaded vehicles were sent on their way.

  One of the trucking companies was an innocuous outfit set off in a far corner of the shipping yard. This was Estrella Roja Transportes, S. A., which had no more than an office with a small warehouse located behind it. At that moment Lieutenant Wild Bill Brannigan, Lieutenant (J. G.) Jim Cruiser and Senior Chief Petty Officer Buford Dawkins lounged on worn vinyl furniture off on one side of the establishment's single room. A middle-aged lady named Rita sat at a battered desk that bore no more than a nondescript personal computer, printer and telephone. At that moment she was printing out a manifest for a shipment of goods to be taken to the small city of Los Blancos to the north. Alfredo, the CIA asset, waited patiently for the documents to be spewed out. As soon as the last emerged, he gathered them up and walked over to join the three SEALs.

&n
bsp; Alfredo sat down in a battered chair that had seen better days. "These papers will be presented to the authorities at checkpoints along the way," he explained. "Everything has been arranged to ensure they will be accepted by the customs inspectors."

  Brannigan, sipping a can of Diet Coke purchased from a vending machine outside the door, asked, "What is this `everything' that has been arranged?"

  "Bribes and other payoffs," Alfredo answered matter-of-factly. "These preparations are not unusual in this part of the world. Normal business could not be conducted efficiently without the payments of what Latin Americans call la mordida--the bite--which is a colloquialism for bribes. This is the way official permits are issued in a timely fashion. To follow proper procedures would take days and days. Thus, what we are doing will not attract undue attention:'

  The phone rang, and Rita picked it up, speaking softly in Spanish. When she hung up, she turned to Alfredo. "El autobas esta a la puerta."

  "Ah!" Alfredo said. "The bus has arrived at the gate. It should be here shortly."

  The SEALs exchanged glances of relief. This meant the Command Element and First Assault Section were now in Argentina. They walked to the front window to look for the vehicle to appear through the bustle of the depot. A couple of minutes passed before an ancient bus coughed its way into view, coming to a squeaking halt in front of the office.

  Eleven obviously disgruntled travelers disembarked, carrying cheap luggage. They were dressed in clothing that would give the impression they were itinerant laborers going from one low-skilled job to another. From all appearances, they had purchased their garments in flea markets or secondhand stores.

  Alfredo opened the door, and they trooped in. The Odd Couple--Mike Assad and Dave Leibowitz--led the way. As the detachment scouts, this was their customary place in any formation. Everyone showed the fatigue of a long, boring trip. They had left San Diego, California, at various times, taking a multitude of airlines through Mexico, Panama, Colombia and Brazil before finally getting together in Montevideo, Uruguay, for the last leg of the trip to Buenos Aires.

  "Listen up!" Senior Chief Dawkins said. "We ain't gonna be here long, so don't try to make yourselves too comfortable."

  "It don't look like we could if we wanted to," Bruno Puglisi growled as he surveyed the dingy interior of the office.

  "Yeah," Connie Concord agreed. "I can't wait to get out into that swamp."

  Dawkins snorted a sardonic laugh. "I'll remind you of what you just said after you been out there for a few weeks up to your ass in quicksand. There's a vending machine with soda pop outside. If you need change, see Rita at the desk. But first Alfredo is gonna brief us as to our movement out to the OA."

  Alfredo stepped up. "You'll be loading into a couple of semitrailers at the warehouse docks to the rear of this building. All the weapons and your personal equipment have already been put aboard, so you will have whatever comfort items you've packed for yourselves. But we don't want you to change into your BDUs until Lieutenant Brannigan gives you the word."

  Frank Gomez searched his pockets for coins to use in the vending machine. "Is my commo gear in there?"

  "Affirmative," Alfredo said. "As well as three rigid raider and piragua boats. I'm afraid you're going to be even more disenchanted with this phase of your infiltration. You're going to have to endure a nonstop one thousand two hundred kilometer trip from here to a place called Los Blancos. That's where you'll marry up with your Second Assault Section."

  "You say this is nonstop?" Chief Matt Gunnarson remarked. "What about heads?"

  Brannigan interjected, "There are Porta Pottis aboard the trailers along with drinking water and MREs. It'll be bleak and harsh as hell, but you guys can tough it out."

  "Ah, well," Chad Murchison said. "I suppose we can pass the time reading."

  "There're no lights:' Brannigan said. "You'll be in the dark, and I don't want you using any batteries up in your flashlights. We don't know how reliable our resupply is going to be until we get a chance to really test it."

  "I'll be going to Los Blancos with you," Alfredo said. "When your entire detachment is together, I'll bring you up to date on all the happenings in the OA. I haven't gotten the word from there myself yet. I'll be staying with the Petroleo Colmo Oil Company, so we'll be in contact with you. Any questions? No? In that case, gentlemen, go get yourselves some soda pop, and we'll get into our luxury accommodations for the big journey."

  Half the SEALs went to Rita for change while the others hurried outside to the vending machine.

  .

  HEADQUARTERS OF BANDERA 1

  EL EJERCITO FALANGISTA

  2045 HOURS LOCAL

  THE camp was so new that it had not yet been named. The commanding officer, Comandante Javier Toledo, had only about three dozen men in a unit that would normally have numbered between six hundred and seven hundred troops. This, in actuality, was a cadre waiting for an influx of additional noncommissioned officers and soldiers to flesh out the rosters.

  The camp itself was crude, as could be expected, but the buildings were well-constructed and weatherproof. The barracks were airy with plenty of space between the bunks. This was where the noncommissioned officers slept and ate. A small parade ground dominated the center of the garrison, while over on the north side was a headquarters hut--actually a CP--that included the living and mess quarters for the outfit's four officers. A flagpole bearing the DFF banner with three broad stripes of red, black and red of the Falangist movement stood in front of the thatched building. But instead of the traditional yoke and arrow symbol of the Catholic royalty, an insignia of a medieval sword with wings dominated the center of the black area. This represented the warrior archangel Michael, who was the spiritual inspiration for these twenty-first-century fascists.

  Comandante Toledo was a ruggedly handsome Spaniard whose deportment and appearance gave strong evidence of having led a tough and demanding life. His physical prowess was backed up by a keen intellect developed through a robust, disciplined lifestyle.

  At that moment, he and his immediate subordinates were enjoying their only luxuries of Cuban cigars and Italian brandy. Their meal had consisted of French Army rations de campagne. These were preferred over American MREs because of the canned bread, cheese, pate and powdered soup. Now, after partaking of the cuisine militaire francaise, Capitanes Francisco Silber of Chile, Roberto Argento of Argentina and Tomas Platas of Bolivia turned their full attention to the liquor and stogies. All looked forward to the day when they would have a proper officers' mess with silverware, plates, cups and other items needed for fine dining.

  Toledo lit his cigar and exhaled contentedly before reaching for his brandy. After a slow, appreciative sip, he sighed. "Well! It was simple fare, but filling, verdad, caballeros?"

  "I think we should appreciate what we have under these conditions," Capitan Silber said. "At any rate, a year from now, we will be dining with beautiful women at a four-star restaurant in a big city."

  "Indeed," Toledo said. "And at much higher ranks. By the way, we may have had a close call yesterday." He glanced over at Argento. "Tell us about it, Capitan."

  "My men on patrol learned of a Bolivian Army unit on the periphery of the Gran Chaco," Argento said. "The people of the village called Novida said they had spotted them while out herding cattle. The Bolivianos were obviously making a reconnaissance, but evidently it was a very timid one."

  Toledo laughed. "I think the various loyalists sense there will be big changes around here, no?"

  "The villagers fully realize that prospect," Silber remarked. "Those gifts of rice and beans we gave them have obviously impressed them quite favorably where our movement is concerned. They are struggling peasants illegally occupying land that is not theirs."

  "The Red Chinese figured out how to take advantage of such situations early on," Toledo remarked. "If you have an impoverished populace within your theater of war, they will be easily won over even by the most basic necessities of life."

  "T
hat is how the Nazis failed in the Ukraine in World War II," Silber said. "My grandfather told me about it. He was in the Waffen-SS at the time and talked about how the excesses of the rear-echelon Allgemeine-SS drove many potential supporters to the Soviet partisan units."

  "That will not happen here!" Toledo exclaimed. "Our men are all well-indoctrinated in the aims and goals of the DFF."

  "They are also well-trained," Plata added.

  "Por su puesto," Argento agreed. "They are professional soldiers of noncommissioned rank. Unfortunately, some are not in the best physical fitness because of years in staff duties."

  "Suboficial Punzarron will take care of that," Platas said with a laugh.