2023-02-05 10:30:19
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Irregulaire Last Glance
The rest of the squad were mostly okay. Mark’s ears were still bleeding, and Kris’ upper arm was scratched. But for the most part, they’re okay. We then gathered with the Major who then commanded us to clear the field of fire. The dead bodies of the enemy piled up again, and it needed to be torn down. “Why didn’t you just ride your way out to HQ?” I asked the Major.“I was waiting for you. I need an escort to move out, so I sent for you to stand guard in their place and take care of Grace while we leave,” he said, smoking his pipe. “But we didn’t get to take off because—well, you saw it yourselves. We couldn’t risk getting flanked. Every time I thought it would be clear for me to move out, they make a move on us,” “How about an airlift?” “We couldn’t send out a request,” he shook his head. I remember now that the tower cannot transmit anything. “That radio tower is busted. The last thing I sent for using the radio was you. Besides, it’s too hot of an LZ,” he concluded.A few minutes
Irregulaire Waves
“HERE THEY COME!” somebody shouted. Technicals rolled into the open fields, firing their .50 caliber machine guns towards anything they saw. Tracers and rockets were flying all over the place, tearing the skies with streaks of yellowish light. Explosions went off all over the ground inside the base, some of them hitting the Hesco gabions and the perimeter walls. Every time I tried to get a look on the enemy, their rounds went past so close to my head I had to duck. Red was just waiting there, patient. “Wait until the first line opens fire, then we follow,” she instructed. The hisses of near misses disturbed our ears, tearing through the air. I could hear bullets hitting the other side of where I took cover, and it was way more intense than any of our encounters with the enemy before. I went on and checked my new weapon, whether or not it really was locked and loaded. It’s way too late for that, I know. But I just had to. I pressed the button on the grenade launcher to open the tube,
Irregulaire Confused
Being stationed in the Major’s outpost made us feel the brunt of the enemy forces. We were a little protruding towards the enemy territory, making us more vulnerable. Not to mention, the isolation of the post meant that there was little support. Moving towards the FOB, we felt… more secure. There were a lot more people around, more firepower to back us up.The way I saw it, we were alone being in the Major’s outpost. No other units or even other marines to be around, even when we have this FOB close by. I think this is partly because such big attacks were not expected in that area, being hidden under canopies and among other houses. Plus, as the Major stated, their radio being unserviceable meant that they just couldn’t reach out to this base to support us. Now that we’re in a bigger base, we would be the ones sending support to other Marines as we had enough men. We went ahead and gathered around a few more minutes while the Major walked back inside. Sergeant Major then appeared out
Irregulaire Blurry
Sergeant Major Wilkins came out of nowhere all of a sudden, with a very visible frown on his forehead. He seemed to have argued with someone—most likely the Major. “Ah, there you are. The Major is looking for you guys. He’s just outside the door,” “Yes, Sergeant Major,” we said almost simultaneously. We went outside and saw Major Metford looking uneasy. I guess he was the one Wilkins had argued with afterall. He took out a cigarette and lit it up before he turned towards the door and saw us. “Michael,” he called out to us, “Gather your team and get over here. We have a situation,” he said, taking a drag of his cigarette after. Red went on towards the guys while I stayed with the Major. They joked around and laughed while resupplying themselves with ammunition. Red decided to resupply too while she’s at it. As they walked towards us, I tried to talk to the Major. “What is it, sir? Are we moving out?” “No. Not us. Just you. You’ll be assisting a platoon I’m sending out,” “Were yo
Irregulaire Rescue Mission
Two days later, the Major summoned us again quite late in the evening. Like before, we followed Sergeant Major Wilkins to where the Major was. It was a CP in the middle of the base. They manage every patrol and operation they have in that room. They have everything—maps, radio, sand tables, even coffee. “Alright, so, we have a situation,” the Major started. “There was a group of Marines who radioed in, asking for help. They said they are in bad condition and needed support. These Marines were sent out on a patrol and are on their way back. However, they were caught in a firefight. They say they are with civilians now, which worsens their condition,” “Where are they now, sir?” Red asked. “A residential complex called The Delta Residence, just—" “A mile north of here,” I jumped in. “Oh you know where it is?” The Major seemed surprised. I used to live there when I was in elementary school. “We need you to find the Marines and bring them back to the FOB,” the Major continued. “Any pr
Irregulaire Familiar Faces
“Gavin?” I called. “Is that who I think it is? The hell are you doing here?” “I should be the one asking questions, you son of a bitch! The fuck are you on, here? You with the Marines?” I laughed. “Yea, as a matter of fact I am a Civil Guard—or something. Hold on, are you a Marine?” “Nah, man, we’re Irregular Reserve. But we are with the Marines. Got some of my friends here, we got Red, Mark, Ryan, and Kris. How about you—wait a second. Are you with…?” I gestured, seemingly not wanting to say a name. But he got the idea. “Well come with me and see for yourself,” Gavin said. I followed Gavin to the room they had been in. When he opened the door, I couldn’t believe what I saw—or rather, who. She was looking after the wounded guy. It turned out the guy was their close friend, too. I grinned ear to ear before calling out to her. “Quinn Christensen,” I called her name. She then looked at me, wide-eyed. “Mike? MIKE! OH MY GOD, IT IS YOU!” She exclaimed, walking towards me. “I thought
Irregulaire The Dark Room
“Red? Are you okay?” I called as I approached her. Then there it was. She’s losing it again. I proceeded to grab her by the arm and walked her to the nearest wall she could lean on—right next to Gavin and Q. “Let’s sit down, okay? Come. Here, put the radio down,” I told her, “let’s take that helmet off,”“Your palm is wet,” she complained.“What happened?” said Q as she saw us. She got up and closer towards Red. “I’m so sorry,” Red breathed heavily. “I’m starting to worry I’m not gonna be able to bring you back safely. I should’ve had us waiting in the house,” “Hey, it’s oka—” “It’s not okay, Mickey. It’s not okay,” she started weeping. “A civilian in my group is now dead because of me. How is that okay? What if it was you—or Kris, or Quinn?” “Red, Red. Look at me. It’s not your fault. Okay? I could have objected to anything you said back in the house, but I didn’t. That’s how much I trust you,” “But I promised—,” “Promises don’t matter in combat, Red,” I said, trying to calm h
Irregulaire Return
We spent another half hour in that house, unable to move. We don’t actually need a green light to do anything, but I don’t want to risk it. The morale of the guys was low—they were exhausted and scared, especially the highly inexperienced CivDefs. Red entered the room where Ryan and Harrison were resting, holding on to her ear. “Mouse,” she called, signaling to me to come with her. I obliged. “Hey, you two,” Harrison greeted, “Are we cleared to move yet?” “No idea. I tried contacting Seagull One—no answer,” I said. “Should we try and move out? The firefight has died down, I think,” Red added. “Well… since it did, let’s try. But keep an eye out,” Harrison said. “They could still be out there, you know,” I interrupted. They both seemed to agree. We still can’t risk it. At this rate, we’re just dead squad walking. “How about sending a lookout?” Harrison suggested.“I got enemy NVG, I’ll go,” I volunteered“No. I can’t allow it,” Red denied. “Look, I’ll take the radio with me. I’ll
Latest Chapter
Thank You Note
Thank you for reading Recon: The Battle for Crawford! This was one of my many war story ideas, however only a few turned into a meaningful fruition, including this one. I usually draw instead of write, and this is my first ever completed writing. Like a lot of stories, it began with a “what if”. It did take inspiration behind an amalgamation of various historical wars involving irregular and paramilitary fighting and invading forces, such as the Vietnam War, Korean War, Russo-Georgian War of 2008, etc. The result was quite fun, with world-building (that had not yet been completed as of this publishing date) that takes ages to write and carefully spun-off historical events. I got to experiment with a lot of ideas for the storyline, and it turned out pretty good. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Cheers!
Glossary
2IC: Second in Command, i.e., assistant leader. AG-(number): Autorifle, Grieland (number of iteration). Locally developed service rifle.AK: Automatic Kalashnikov. Introduced in 1947, its design evolved into a wide variety of firearms. ALICE Gear: All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment. A setup of belts and pouches to carry ammunition and several other things an infantry might need.Bandolier: ammunition pouches sewn into belts or sling. Boobied: slang for booby-trapped Booby Trap: traps set up to maim or kill enemy soldiers. The term came from how it fools the enemy thinking it was safe, hence the term booby (=fool). C2: Command and Control center Cal.: slang/short for Caliber Carbine: short rifles.Company: a unit of soldiers consisting of roughly three to four platoons plus their commander Compound: a military encampment CP: Command Post det-cord: short for Detonation Cord. a type of explosive shaped like a cord to cut through various structuresDMR: Designa
Epilogue
I took Red to the casualty collection point near the temporary aid station. Blood was still dripping down her face. Q followed close behind, with Neil and Vic walking alongside her. That 50-meter trip felt like the longest walk I had ever walked my entire life. The fountain we passed by became crowded with wounded men as a temporary aid station was placed there. Bloomberg was reporting to Soko. Colonel Patterson was seen organizing the men, telling people where to go and stuff. I put Red down near the building on the east side of that fountain. A medic then approached us, asking whether or not he could’ve helped. After putting her down, I reached into one of her pockets to retrieve our gold pouch, figuring I would hold on to it, though I wasn’t sure what I’d do with it. Following her request, I also took Red’s leather-strapped watch off her wrist and pocketed it. I caressed her hair one last time before heading back to the rest of our squad. I’ll see you soon, I whispered.Near the f
The Last Push
“Vic, you got a couple of frags?” I asked, to which he responded by giving me two pineapple grenades. I pulled the pin on the grenades and let the spoon fly off before tossing it consecutively inside the house. I closed the door right after, containing the blast inside the room. Two loud thumps and a few screams later, I kicked the door down. We then opened fire towards the inside of the building, which turned out to be a bakery.“CLEAR!” I shouted after looking left, to which everyone responded by coming inside, with Bloomberg and Vic clearing the other rooms. I instructed Q to stay away from the windows and Neil to guard the entrance to the rear. I then took a good look at the enemies laying around and popped off a few rounds to make sure they’re dead. They were in uniform, and it’s the ANM. “Red,” I called out, “Marren troops,” “No, shit,” she exclaimed. “Where the hell are the rest of the Marines?” Yeah. Where the hell are the Marines? We’re sitting ducks here waiting for them
Surrounded
“GET THE HELL OUT OF THE STREETS! GO!” Soko commanded the rest of his men. “Get away from the windows! Mark!” Red instructed. The explosion then rang all around us, rattling windows and kicking dust. A few rounds landed really close to the building we were in—thankfully, none of those landed on top of us. The shelling lasted for only a couple minutes, but it surely scared the hell out of us. When it fell silent, we poked our heads out and looked out the windows. Most of the platoon seemed to be okay, and we got out to the streets again. Soko then told us to move across the intersection, then take the now empty machine gun nest and settle there.“We’ll stay here for the moment,” he said. Feeling too bunched up, he spread his men to cover more area. “Konan, take 1st squad and cover the intersection to the south. Hal, take the 2nd squad and face east. 3rd squad will cover our rear. They might be coming down on us really soon,” The platoon then took a little break from the fights, howe
Going out
“I thought you said we’re walking,” I said to Soko, who was getting the drivers ready. By 10.05, we were already out front, lining up for the vehicles we were boarding to head closer towards our objective. “I thought so, too,” he answered, “But the Colonel said we could use the vehicles halfway through. Didn’t want to tire this little lady over here,” he added, looking at Q. She grinned. Now, these trucks are big, and it could be a bullet magnet if we drive all the way up to the front. Besides, we’re supposed to be a surprise element. It makes sense if we were to be dropped halfway. “Oh, yeah. Tell your radio guy to leave his pack. I got one with me,” “Alright,” I said, “Neil!” I called him. “This is it, fellas,” Red announced up front, carrying a map of the area we were going to attack. “Everyone, check your equipment. Put your helmets on. Team leaders, gather around,” she waved at us.“Here we are, Red,”“Okay, here’s the deal. I want you guys to split into two sections at our en
The Father
8.00 am. Mufudzi was kneeling head slumped, mourning his deceased friend. Victor and Neil knelt beside him, as they had served together. With Benson gone, we’re down to only 12 men. That effectively makes Harrison’s team the only one with four men—a proper fire team. I mean, a team of three had sufficed so far, but four was the actual infantry standard. About an hour later, Soko gathered his sergeants—including us. Looks like a briefing, as we had just been under attack. I figured it’s about the plan to reconstruct the defense in case another attack comes, but I figured wrong.“Looks like we’re heading out. Not now, though. Word is we’ll take three blocks of housing complex about two kilometers towards the northwest of the Airport. Enemy activity in that area is still perceivably high, so take caution,” Soko briefed us. “Wait, just us?” Red frowned.“No, word is I’m going with you,” Soko explained, “but I’m not sure so don’t tell anyone yet,”“Are we gonna be on foot?” I asked. “I’
Rage
Out of anger, a few of the officers and NCOs took off to catch those three men, carrying only rifles. They had already gone into the tall grass towards the South at this point, and a few gunshots can be heard. An eager officer later, a handful of men had already run outside, carrying their rifles and what little ammunition they could immediately take with them. It soon erupted into a firefight, as they had been walking—or running, rather—straight into an ambush. They soon pull back, with the rest of them standing by near the outer fence providing cover. I turned my attention back to Red and Harrison. Red was kneeling beside the Major, putting her hand on the Major’s wound. Soko was both furious and panicking. “Fuck,” Soko exclaimed. “You guys get back to your men. I’ll handle the Major,” he said to crowding Marines.“What happened? I heard gunfire,” Kris asked while coming over towards us with the rest of the crew as we came near our quarters.“The Major was shot,” Red answered. “Wha
Guests
We then saw rolling dust moving in towards the gate. I hope it’s the rescue team returning, as I had left my rifle inside. As it closed in, the gate swung open and three intact vehicles came in. Well, that was quick. But hey, at least they’ve made it. We stood up and walked towards them, and saw the three survivors of the crash—or so I thought. They were all in uniform, although I don’t necessarily recognize them. They were armed as well, only minus armor vests. Look out, we got some hotshots over here. Soko and the Major welcomed them and had them debriefed. It turned out they were not survivors of the crash—they were Long Range Patrols, one of the branches of Army Special Forces. They might have run into the jeeps on their way back here. One of those spec-ops guys was taller than the others, and had strikingly messy hair—something unusual for soldiers, but I guess it’s fine since they’re SF. “Well shit, this base even has a hooker on board,” one of the three exclaimed, looking up