Joint Endeavor Storyline

It was a warm morning and the wind was calm off the coast of Somalia. As the sun was rising in the East a fishing trawler came upon a large yacht, but nobody could be seen on the bridge. The yacht appeared to be going in a large circle. The trawler moved in as close as it could without getting hit, as the yacht went by the trawler moved into the inner circle and set a small dingy with three men on board to come up behind the yacht as it pass by. The dingy crew worked their way into position and threw a grappling hook at the stern as it went by, they worked their way on-board. The crew ran to the bridge and stopped the engines. They then began to search the yacht, as though nobody was on the deck. One of men went below deck to check it out as the other two looked to see whom the registered owner was, down below nothing looked out of place. The crew gather on deck as the fishing trawler tied off. After a couple of hours of looking about the yacht and finding nobody or reason why the captain of the trawler radioed a message to the Mogadishu dock master. Later that day the yacht was moved to a slip at the Mogadishu dock yard. The dock master was informed that yacht was tied off and waiting for him to inspect. The dock master did his inspection, which included running the registry number. As with most things in Somalia nothing happens fast. It took three days before anything was returned on the owner of the yacht, but all that was printed out was that owner was an American. What nobody in Somalia knew was that their inquiry was picked up by the CIA and they also ran the registry number the through their computers. As it did a large red light went off in the CIC of the Pentagon. The officer of the deck pickup the message from the printer and after reading the message he ran to the phone and called ADM Mudflap Chief of Staff. Then the Officer of the deck yelled red alert, red alert this is not a drill…. Once the phone was hung up ADM Mudflap immediately called all the divisional headquarters to ascertain readiness of all divisions and to his astonishment had come to the realization that the division heads were also aboard the yacht at the time of departure. He then called the CIC of the pentagon to advise them of this situation. Everyone in the Pentagon knew that the lights would be burning bright thru the night until these officers were accounted for. They were aware of special tactical knowledge of world situations and were deemed a high value asset. Given the current situation in and around Somalia with the piracy trade about this could not only prove costly but deadly. For if the information was found out, sold to the highest bidder the world could be at war within just weeks. It was just a short 30 minutes when orders came from the pentagon down to all divisional headquarters that all branches of the military were to go to alert status and remain there until relieved. Intel was desperately needed. Assets were being alerted to not only locate these officers but to find out what happened and was some one behind it or was it an accident at sea. Too many variables and the main office wanted answer and now. Within just a few short hours agents in the region where notified of what was needed and the priority level set to getting this information back. Given the fact that Somalia was a hot bed of criminal activity due to the lack of a governmental structure that could control such activities gathering data could prove to be a bit more difficult than by normal means. Abide was sitting at a makeshift café watching the traffic going by or so it appeared. He peered over his paper now and then across the way at a dull pink building. It seemed as though there was quite of activity going on there. Men coming and going at frequent intervals. None of which looked like they were your average business types. One thing Abdi knew was that bad company loved good business. Piracy, drugs, and arms sales are the major investments in this country. All of which were illegal but there was no one there willing to enforce the laws for fear of retribution. These businesses were so large that it would take nothing less than a state of war just to put a dent into it. There were enough small battles between the factions that are there to gain turf and status. It was like playing king of the hill with the only difference is kill or be killed to get there. Abdi was born in Somalia so he knew who he could trust and who was in serious business. But there were times that there were too many close calls. Watching over at the doorway of the pink building he noticed something rather odd about today’s business. Too many people coming and going and it seemed as though they were moving with some urgency. Way out of the normal day to day operations. He was seeing more prominent people going in and staying in for long periods of time. Back at the CIC, ADM Mudflap had arrived very early in the morning and was being briefed by the duty chief. They were just now putting the time frames together. The most disturbing news was that they were 75 hours behind the Intel of the missing officers. They could be anywhere in the world now. ADM Mudflap asked the duty officer whom do we have in Somalia? ADM Mudflap then made a call to Space Command to order up a satellite configure positioning over Somalia. He also asked if there were any pictures off the Somalia coast for the last 75 hours. Shortly thereafter he had found out that no birds had been tasked in that area for surveillance. It would take at least 30 minutes to turn the bird to get an aerial view of Somalia. He would have to rely on the ground personnel to see what information they could get quick. He wanted answers right now but the information was not forthcoming. Finishing his cup of coffee and getting ready to leave Abdi Notice that some of the most important people started to exit. Along with them were four individuals with hoods on. He could see that they had uniforms on but could not figure out what uniforms they were. But he knew by the rush that these were important people being detained. They swiftly put the three men into a SUV and headed off to the southwest. In the hours that followed Joint Command had ordered the USS Ronald Reagan CVN 76 and the Carrier wing group to the Horn of Somalia. Their public order was maritime security operations (MSO), but ADM Uzzi had a private conference call with ADM Mudflap as to the real reason for the deployment, soon after the call was completed ADM Uzzi ordered the carrier group to general quarters and set them to sea at flank speed. RADM Sparchy was the commanding officer of the group, he did not understand the true meaning of the orders from ADM Uzzi, but he knew from experience not to ask to many questions when given orders from the Admiral. RADM Sparchy trusted his commanding officer but he also knew that when it was time that ADM Uzzi would bring him into the information loop. On his way to the CIC room RADM Sparchy asked his XO to ready the war room and to get ADM Uzzi’s quarters ready, as he would be flying in later that night. It was going to be a long night. Over at the Tactical assault headquarters MG Firefox received his orders to deploy all companies to be ferried out to the task force surface ships. They were given orders to be ready to fly in less than 24 hours. This meant a lot of grumbling within the companies. But then everyone knew that if grunts weren’t complaining they weren’t happy. Not much had been given in the way of information but based on the information that was received he knew it was going to be hot. Chocolate chip digi’s were the uniform of the day. SOCOM Headquarters was also a sober place to be at the moment. General Mudd was holding formation and yelled “Listen up Marines, Time to earn your pay. I want you packed, stacked, and ready to rock in 12 hours.” Time was short and GEN Mudd knew this. “This is what we trained for so suck it up and let’s get moving” he expounded. What ever it was that was about to happen ADM Uzzi knew that it wasn’t going to be pretty but it was a job that had to be done. Some of the planning was going to have to happen on the fly. ADM Uzzi had just been working on a war exercise and burning the candle at both ends trying to get it prepped when out of the blue these orders came in. That meant he was short on sleep and a bit tense. ADM Uzzi was a “Get it done” kind of man that pushed until it was done. Problem with that was there was always something to do. RADM Sparchy knew this and was making sure that everything was in order so that when the ADM Uzzi arrived onboard there were no glitches. He wanted everything to go smooth and by the numbers. He had ordered that the supply ships catch up with him at sea. This meant loading up all the provisions that were needed for a lengthy engagement. Things such as Coffee, Ice Cream, Ammunition, and plenty of medicinal brandy. ADM Mudflap knew he could trust his staff but what he didn’t know was could he trust the intel he was receiving. Was it old? Was it correct? Was it missing some pieces to the puzzle? He knew that the hardest part of putting the puzzle together was the beginning stages. Not knowing what the picture was. Somehow in the back of his mind he kept thinking that it was the FADM’s turn to supply the next Intel meeting and he wasn’t going to get out of it that easy.

Day of Departure
RDML PJB and RDML Fireball stood ready for operations. Once scuttlebutt started regarding an operation they had immediately set up their groups for any eventuality. But even with all their preparations they would soon find out that there would be much more needed of them and their groups. RDML Fireball knew that it was all about the math. Mostly subtraction. He knew he would leave with so many aircraft but what would he come home with? That indeed was the true question. He had the pilots but very few were battle tested. How would they perform? What would they run up against? Would their aircraft perform as expected? These are all questions that haunted him. RDML PJB was sitting there in his lavish cabin aboard his home away from home in the lead FFG eating a yogurt with a gelato back when word came down on the wire. “SORTIE IMMEDIATELY”. He casually lifted the phone in his cabin and rang up to the captain. “Let’s get under way” was heard on the receiver on the other end followed by an “ Aye Sir”. He had been waiting for this particular communication to come thru. He knew it was inevitable. Not much he could do about it though until he was in area. Just rig the sails and head to sea. He had two separate task forces to command at this point one loaded with special operation forces and the other with Tactical assault teams each to be delivered on time and on target and intact. The Commander also had taken the precautions of send a sub in the area that he thought was the most probable point of ingress given the Intel he had at the time to ascertain the tactical situation. He wasn’t going to send billions of dollars worth of hardware into an unknown area of hostility without some idea of what he was up against.
In a dark, hot, and musty room Admiral Shipdown is contemplating on not will my boys arrive but when? He wanted payback but first he had to get free of the situation. He was on his way back with 2 generals and a Fleet Admiral from a secret meeting where new Intel briefs where made available to eyes only personnel. He knew the return trip would be anything less than an extraordinary party aboard the Fleet Admirals Yacht. After all that’s where the best Cognac and Brandy was. Not those cheap off the shelf bottles but the 100 year old kind that warms the hard and dulls the senses. This too along with entertainment that can only be described as beyond the imagination. But no more than 30 Nautical miles out that would all change and all he could do at this point was wonder about his boys and the price of admission to this party came pretty steep. Admiral Mudflap who everyone knew as the Chief of Staff for the Fleet Admiral was never truly happy behind a desk. Receiving word of this new situation he was less than happy sitting there as well. He was the type that wanted to be in the thick of it. His motto was “Give me a raptor and let the chips fall”. He had even placed a quiet call out to the CAG to advise him that was available to jump in a bird and ferry out to lend a hand even if it meant hiding his face behind a visor to keep the rest of the crew in the dark about his presence there. All he wanted was action. Little did he know he may get what he wished for. Not exactly as he had pictured it but it was going to be close enough.
Information had come in to the war office. THREE PLANES DOWN. Last thing Admiral Uzzi wanted was to be known for being a major distributor of airplane parts, literally. He knew the job had to be done and the price tag wasn’t going to be cheap. It would take more than caffeine and No-Doz to keep this operation going. Planning had to be meticulous.
One of the most vital bits of information RDML PJB was looking for was civilian traffic in the area. The killing of a neutral be it a fishing boat or a cruise liner would not do him any good in the public relations department as well as the large amount of paperwork involved in this from the upper COC. He questioned whether the sub he had sent in was going to be able to relay this information to him. He had some skippers who were battle tested and yet also some that were fresh from the yards. More questions than answers at this point.
Back in the room where the captives are the Fleet Admiral was talking to General Storm and General Cyberwarrior. Discussing the value of a big beautiful gun to be mounted on the yacht and a new GPS system. When the Fleet Admiral Ghost Dog boarded the yacht prior to departure he also made mental notes that this vessel would not pass a white glove test. Someone would pay for this once he got back. He was an easy going guy with one exception. When it came to his boat anything less than perfection was a court martial offense. There was no such thing as a half empty bottle of scotch on the shelf behind the bar. Either it was full or it was gone. The last Ensign to make such a simple infraction found himself in Alaska digging latrines with a small pick for the duration of his career.
RDML Fireball knew one thing was for sure. Once he went in it had to be a total victory or he would have to go back again. He hated making two trips for one job. In the briefing room he was quoted several times “We need to cut the head off the snake”. Air superiority was crucial. Take at least one airstrip and leave the rest for the dozers to clean up. “Boys, we gotta do this and do it right. The first one to hit the silk and come back has to buy the drinks for the ones that didn’t come back” he stated. He had even known as he spoke the words this would happen. Not that he wanted it to happen but that’s part of the job. Nothing in life was easy and flying sophisticated hardware was a true test of that statement.
General Storm knew his soldiers would make him proud. It was just a matter of time. Practice and drill. Drill and Practice. Drill so much that it because an instinct rather than training. He relied heavily on his XO to make sure this would happen in any case or situation. Major General Firefox knew the area. He knew what his companies were capable of. What he didn’t know was what new curves would the enemy throw at him. Each battle a learning experience. Sometimes costly but education none the less. He knew that General Storm had entrusted him to make sure that all was ready to go at a moment’s notice and that he was ready to do so. Once the call came in the Tactical assault teams were boarded on ocean going vessels and stood by for further orders once at sea.

Major General Lonewolf was ready to go. He had squared away his operations and was prepared in case a new situation may arise. Adapt and overcome. His outfit knew this saying better than their own names. He had even noted in the barracks at night when his companies were sleeping that you would hear the occasional rifle number being spoken from a dead sleep. His main objective was to make sure the enemy ran out of body bags. He would get his chance……………………………

RDML Fireball ordered his pilots to their F16’s. It was time to get into the air and get started on the long job ahead. Air Superiority was a key element to making sure that all went well with the rest of the divisions. He was heard in the briefing room just minutes ago “Let’s cut the head off this snake”. The pilots were keen to his enthusiasm. Truly not knowing what to expect from his pilots he was still willing to take the chance. His escort was setup to clear a path and he had the iron to deploy on target. All he had to do now was get there and get it done. Take the airstrip if possible but if not make sure the enemy couldn’t use it against them. Two sorties one right after the other. Going to be a long day. The package was delivered on time and on target. LT TBlaster and RADM Sparchy plowed the road and RDML Fireball and ENS JCav planted the seeds. ENS JCav could be heard “Look at the size of the craters”.

Battle damage assesment was done and the trip home was quiet. One down and one to go. While in debrief the planes were reloaded and refueled and waiting for the pilots to come back online one more time. With the first mission under their belts they all felt confident in the next mission. This would prove to be a disastrous thing. Once back in the air strategy was discussed but things just went wrong from there. RADM Sparchy comes on comms and states he is getting really good photos of the airfield, when out of no where WHAM. “I’m Hit” he stated. “Don’t even know where it came from”. SA14 right in the tailpipe. Next thing you hear is “I am in the silk” followed by ENS JCav calling out ” Where’s the ejection lever”? By the time he located the lever it was too late. Like a starburst he went down in flames. RADM Sparchy landed right smack in the middle of the water just a mile or two off the coast. Sitting there in his rubber raft he was thinking of how nice it would have been had he remembered to bring his flask of brandy. RDML Fireball thinking to himself “ROOKIE PILOTS” . More training was needed and he was making mental notes of everything happening in this mission to make sure it didn’t happen again. LT Tblaster flying in along side of RDML Fireball was wondering how far this would go and what was the outcome going to be. The CAG then stepped it up and decided the best thing to do now is take out their headquarters and that he did flawlessly. The order to Return to base was given. Two pilots gone and one in the drink. Not a great way to start a war.

RDML PJB was having troubles of his own. Over the squawk box came an irritating message “Two pilots in the water”. As if it wasn’t bad enough having to deliver troops to an ingress area now he had to setup and execute rescue missions. “Let them paddle awhile, we got bigger fish to fry right now” he thought. “Sonar Conn” came from the MC. RDML PJB replied and the word came thru. Neutral kills in the first operation. He wanted some one’s head on a platter for this one. Some one’s dolphins are about to turn into guppies. Finally with the last LSD moving it then it was just a matter of time. Admiral Uzzi took charge of rescuing RADM Sparchy. He and LTJG Mudhugger set out to do just that. After awhile of silent running they found RADM Sparchy and LTJG Mudhugger deployed to get RADM Sparchy into the boat. Somewhat sunburned and a bit dehydrated the first thing he said to LTJG Mudhugger was “Where’s the ice cream”? Capt Smackie still floating on the ocean sitting there wondering where is the rescue. When will they get here? Sitting there looking at his rubber raft he was also thinking of where he could steal a bigger better boat. This is going to be a long drawn out process he feared. He didn’t realize just how right he was. It wasn’t until the next day that he was plucked from that small piece of rubber keeping him alive. LTJG Mudhugger once again to the rescue of another downed pilot. While on the bridge he spotted Capt Smackie in his little raft and noted how sad he looked. The Iowa Captain most certainly out of his element. He also noted to himself that if Captain Smackie is brought aboard and complained about ice cream he was going to throw him overboard himself. RDML PJB could just hear CAPT Smackie talking to him. “Peejh what took so long”?. LTJG Mudhugger just to taunt CAPT Smackie went right by his raft at higher rate of speed then needed to deploy the rescue party and then turned back around to slow. It was a sorry site to see. CAPT Smackie soaking wet from all the waves crashing in his raft. He was wondering why he got the “Dinghy Without Drain”. Having lost sight of CAPT Smackie for a minute LTJG Mudhugger wondered “Did I run him over with my Boat”? Such a small boat and a lot of water. LT Hitman proclaimed over the radio “I hit him I hit him” Sure enough RDML PJB stated back on comms “You got a Whale Sir” The Comms went quiet. Just then LTJG Mudhugger comes across the radio traffic “ I have him spotted and I can Gaff hook him onboard” Admiral Uzzi listening in on the traffic thought to himself “ Now there is a mental picture” Thinking of CAPT Smackie dangling from a gaff hook soaking wet. If LTJG has to get any closer he may holler at him to swim for it. This day was starting to turn out to be interesting to say the least.

Ingress.....The fun begins
Admiral Uzzi had been burning the candle at both ends once again. Tracking tactics and all this paperwork. One thing the COC demanded was paperwork. Ducks in a row so to speak. It had to be all the good news and the bad news. So far the Navy was running on the plus side. So far that is. Fortunes of war could change that as lady chance is a fickle lady.
Admiral Mudflap getting impatient but trying to maintain by looking up to the stars contemplating the long arduous trek across the ocean so he could get in to the fray. “I should be up there not down here the ground. He would rather be imposing battle damage rather then assessing it.
General Lonewolf was also looking up at the night sky,” A full moon”. Might as well be a spotlight on his troops. His boys were eager for a fight. He knew that the first 30 minutes of battle would sort out the chaff from the wheat. He expected no less then the very best from his troops. Anything below that and they were going home in plastic wrap. “He shouted to his men “It’s our turn let’s show them what special operations forces can do and hopefully by the time we are done they will start to realize it”.
To the northern front things were not going so well for STAT. They had gotten to shore alright but their gear didn’t arrive. That means they will have to fight with what they came with. Tactical operations from this point on till they received their gear was going to be a hard fight no doubt. The one thing that made this situation worse was the fact that they had an embedded war correspondent. His name was Geraldo La Boca. Geraldo was known for giving away vital information detrimental to operations just so he could get the scoop of the day. He was known to give away map coordinates and artillery information over the air waves even before the COC had a chance to assess it themselves. But not this time. He was told in no uncertain terms his radio was to remain off until the COC changed orders for him to use it. Major Sanitie would be the first one to shoot him should she see so much as an antenna in the air. She had no problem whatsoever in plugging him should that occasion arise and in fact she was kind of hoping that he would just so she could send a message to the rest of the war correspondents.
General Lonewolf had his last minute tactical update to his men on shore. “Listen up, I want silencers on and we are going to take the sentry’s out first. Do it quietly. Lets keep them sleeping as long as we can”. In a hush he heard his troops say “Aye Sir”. Smooth and by the numbers, that’s how this had to go. You could feel the tension mounting. “CPO JCav BLACK OUT THAT FACE” General Lonewolf stated quietly. This helped break that tension and put the focus back on the mission for all.
RADM Sparchy was thinking about how nice it would have been to have a Kodak on his parachute ride down to the water while he was aboard LTJG Mudhugger’s boat. Short ride back to his tactical station but it seemed to take forever. What will the next mission be he also wondered, how would it turn out? More questions then answers. Listening to the comms he could tell things were starting to go at a more even pace. Our people were on shore. Now it’s just a matter of taking out some nice juicy targets with a missile or two. Maybe a couple of unfriendly boats as well. Once the first taste of battle was taken things normally would calm down and battle comms would become more coherent and to the point. The hardest part of all this was going to be the evaluations afterwards. Was the training correct? Did it need to be modified? Who needed what training? Who was actually doing to the work? Who was in and who wasn’t. Again more questions then answers. Sitting idle wasn’t going to get the job done. It was a get in and get in the thick of it was the standard. Things were not going to go perfect no matter how much planning was setup. But it was those who chipped in without being asked to just get the job done was were the fruit salad was at. After all there was nothing more appealing then a nice set of new ribbons to flash at the Fleet Admirals lavish parties. That is if there would be anymore. The FADM still sitting in a room with his Upper Command staff starting to get nervous. He knew there would be action he just didn’t know when. It was hard enough ordering other men into battle but when they go to battle on your behalf was an overwhelming thing. He had faith in his chain of command. He had to rely on that to make things happen. Some times at a crawl but they did get done. General Cyberwarrior stated to the Fleet Admiral” Just wait until my boys are on the ground, they will not only right this situation but I am sure they are going to bring us some of that fine cognac that you have onboard your yacht. Special Operations Forces where known for fighting hard and playing hard. So much so that the brig on Saturday night looked like a briefing room. General Cyberwarrior took care of his boys. No charges were ever stuck on his boys but they quietly paid for the damages and moved on. General Storm hoped that his division would show up the Special Operations Forces. There was always a rivalry between the two divisions but in a good competition sense. It helped build qualified officers to use in the mix. It was the not knowing that drove them all a bit mad.
Just hours prior General Lonewolf went thru the equipment list to make sure everyone had what they needed before the stepped ashore. Who was going to carry what? Didn’t really matter as long as it got a shore. The rest could be sorted out as we go he thought.
Admiral Uzzi and RADM Sparchy knew that there was going to be some battle critiques when this was all done. How bad it was going to be was yet to be determined. RDML PJB on the other hand loved nothing more then to look at a ship burning on the horizon by his own hand. Looked just like an artificial sunset on the water. “”Looks like the end of their beautiful day” he pondered.
Major General Firefox kept thinking to himself as well “Hurry up and wait and wait and hurry up”. Waiting on the go signal is the hardest part. But until he gets that the pressure is not on. The word comes over the 1MC “Tactical operations teams prepare for debarkation. It will now become a short trip rather then a long haul across the big water. They were there. They just had to get their feet on dry sand and starting pounding the beaches. Major Iowtheme looked at the beach and thought this would make a great beach party location had it not been for the sharks, pirates, and the angry Somali population carrying arms with a shoot first worry about it later attitude. A nice bon fire and a big keg of brew and a host of food and music. Perhaps if these Somali’s had that they would lay down their guns and party on. A dream to be sure. But the invite would be costly.
RDML Fireball spends the remainder of the day making sure that everything on the list is loaded for a C-130 flight. He knew the ground pounders would need this gear if they were to succeed. Time was the critical factor here. He was known for being on schedule and today was no exception. The train was going to be at the station come high water or lack of pilots. If he had to he would sit in the left seat and make sure they got there.

Once the SVN unloaded the SOC MEB at the ingress point, they organized their men, equipment and laid out the path to recover the SeaWolves CoC. During an intel meeting with the SOC Coc, a small fire team went walk about in the area. These men were PO2 JCav, CPL Uzzi and FNG PJB. As they were checking out their new home for the next few weeks they got into a pissing contest. This usually happens when you get a Sailor, Soldier and Marine together in one place. As they were bragging about marksmanship and stealth tactics they have, they came upon a village just over the hill. Since it was a few hours to chow and no one was really looking for them, they got in closer to have a peak.

As PO2 JCav peered through his scope, he noticed a bunch of pirates with AK-47's and small weapons running around causing civil disobedience to the locals. This was an invitation for the SOC MEB fire team to react. Although the mission was not approved by the CoC and it happened without radio communications back, the fire team reacted to what they were witnessing. So over the hill the fire team went. PO2 JCav set up a good sniper position while CPL Uzzi and FNG PJB went into the heart of the village. PO2 JCav directed the two through the maze of buildings and cleared away bad guys with precision shots. After PO2 JCav took the majority of the confused and dazed pirates out, CPL Uzzi and FNG PJB closed in on a well constructed encampment. As FNG PJB tried to give the encampment a few new windows with a frag grenade, things went wrong. The combination of wind and some sad muscular composition caused a really poor trajectory and the grenade fell within the kill zone of FNG PJB. As CPL Uzzi ran to try and revive him he noticed several pieces were missing, so he took the remaining grenades off FNG PJB and carried on. He would come back after he disposed of the last two armed pirates. Maneuvering through the encampment, he heard PO2 JCav say he lost visual and was changing positions and to stand by. CPL Uzzi attempted to find suitable cover and concealment and in doing so tripped up the suspicion of one pirate. CPL Uzzi made it into a building and went topside to get a better field of view and as he stepped out onto the balcony he was picked clean by a Somalia pirate.

PO2 JCav seeing the 2nd member of the team go down, decided to take matters into his own hands and hunted the last two pirates down and took them. He then carried CPL Uzzi over his shoulder and dragged FNG PJB's body back into camp. All the while he was thinking, Man these guys got off lucky, I will be the one that tells General Mud and General LoneWolf that while we did a good thing, we lost 2 in the mission and to make matters worse, they never were told we went. Somewhere in the distance you heard "Some heads are gonna rolll" playing from a radio within the SOC MEB camp...... PO2 JCav was thinking; that see all too fitting.

A day at the beach
It was going to be a hot day in more ways then one Major General Firefox thought. Starting off on the wrong foot was not how expected things to go. Short on equipment to get the job done right he had to rely on his people on the ground to get the job done regardless of the situation at this point. That communications tower seemed so far away when you’re facing an unknown enemy and terrain. Sure he had maps but that didn’t tell him where every hiding spot was at the enemy chose to use. What bush would they crawl out from? Not that there was many bushes in this forsaken place. A four soldier team should do it he thought. First to go was their communications he thought. If they can’t talk they can’t fight at least coherently. Splitting them up into two man teams they charged in carefully. After a few minutes he could hear rounds being fired. The enemy was now alerted to their presence. It seemed like a long long way over that hill to the tower that needed to be taken. As if time where to stand still and yet motion kept going. The air rang out with a voice on the radio, “MAN DOWN MAN DOWN”. Right away Major General knew that voice. It was LT Greebo speaking the words rather loudly thru the squawk box. He grabbed the handset and keyed it up. “Greebo Sitrep now”. LT Greebo replied back “Sir we have had a friendly fire incident. Major Iowtheme is down”.
“Roger” Came back the reply. “We will have to proceed accordingly. We need to take that tower ASAP.” The words Friendly fire rang over and over and over in Major General Firefox’s head. How bad was it and can he be extracted? These were but some of the questions he pondered as he tried to focus on the task at hand. The objective was starting to show its true price to capture. One by one the fire team picked the enemy off. Slowly working their way to the tower and then finally it was theirs. At least for the time being.

The Pirate Village Battle Fought and Won
The SOC MEB humped it all night to the outer perimeter of the next objective which was the Pirate Village. There they dug in and waited for the chance to strike. Come early morning at 0500 hours in the twilight of early dawn, the men and glanced up at the strikingly colourful dawn sky. They admired the beauty and serenity of it all but knew this serene scene was short lived and wondered if any of us would see another! Gen Mudd crawled over to GEN Lonewolf’s fox hole and quietly said, “We know what we have to do! Let’s get this done; we have a COC waiting to be rescued out there after this mission!”
GEN Lonewolf noticed that he intentionally held open the transmit button on his head set boom mic so that the rest of our team to hear his message. GEN Lonewolf nodded and smiled and then ordered “Synchronise watches everyone”! Night Vision goggles were donned.
{As told from General Lonewolf himself}
Our strike team crawled into position where a lethal cross fire was planned for these Pirates. I “ordered silencers on”. My thoughts wandered for a second wishing for a FLIR scope but knew that we decided to leave any extra equipment behind to reduce weight in our rucks. Then an anxious but soft voice came across the headset “lock and load, weapons free in 30 seconds”!. That order snapped me thoughts back into the situation at hand.
We quietly flicked our safety switches off; I could feel the tension among us as we drew down on an 8 tango strength roving patrol that were equipped with Night Vision. We all knew these guys had to be taken out first, and then concentrate on the camp itself. The order was given,” Open Fire”!

My cross hairs were set on a Somali Officer for some time; I squeezed off a round and dropped him. I knew that usually eliminating an officer could aid in the disarray of their troops and lead to uncoordinated counter attacks. *I hoped!) A barrage of AK 47 counter fire snapped over our heads with that familiar and unmistakable sound that only AK can make, is something you always seem to remember.
My EBR M14 SD ShortDot 7.62mm was always dependable and popular amongst Special Forces for its accuracy and power, with particular fondness in this team. But I knew the only thing better than any weapon is the operator behind the trigger!. Our guys knew their business as there was none better than elements of Delta, Navy Seal and SF Marine elements here.
All hell broke loose as Gen Mudd, SGT TooFat and CPT Tblaster opened up with a deadly ferocity, then almost as suddenly as the battle started, it faded back into an eerie silence. Dawn was upon us seemingly too quickly and I ordered over the comms “Night Vision Off…. Status Report everyone”! To my relief and satisfaction Gen Mudd, SGT TooFat and CPT Tblaster reported-in and are 100% ok. I thought to myself, these guys really are good!..
Next was the central part of the Pirate Village where there were several tangoes taking prone and looking for cover.

With the precision of a surgeon our team dealt with them quickly and cleared out the village of all threats. The majority of local civilians were spared but unfortunately, a few were killed by the Somali Pirates who fired back wildly spraying some civilians trying to flee the area who they mistook for their attackers in the madness of their panic. At around 0600 hours our team stands in the middle of the objective, with not a scratch on anyone. We all knew the reality of the situation….lady luck was smiling at us that morning!

SeaWolves FADM and Division Cmmanders Captured!