by Geoff Wolak
‘Yes, a major in the army.’
‘Then I shall call you sir.’
‘Thought you guys were all casual about such things.’
‘They are, I’m not, sir.’ I pointed at his bag. ‘Ground to air radio?’
‘Yes.’
‘What range, sir?’
‘It’s good for aircraft up to ... well any altitude, but lateral distance is about ten miles on a good day, less with hills and trees around.’
‘We don’t need much more than ten miles, sir. And you have a way to contact the ship?’
‘Sat phone.’
‘What we need, sir, is for a dawn lift off of both Lynx, armed with missiles or 30mm cannon, their targets being armoured personal carriers. They would fly here, follow the road north above a thousand feet – the rebels have fifty cal machineguns, and check the area north.
‘If it’s clear, they would check the area just across the border, and we have a ground target to hit, an armoury stuffed full of explosives. Your Lynx would need to stand-off a thousand yards at least, because if the armoury goes up it could bring down your bird.’
‘What the hell is in the armoury?’
‘Ten tonnes of anti-tank mines, mortar shells, RPG, the works. We were making ready to blow it when we were rudely interrupted and chased off.’
I showed him the map, the border and the base we demolished, and he called his ship, a lengthy sitrep given.
‘Need a cot, sir?’
‘Just got out of one, so ... no. My duty cycle is till noon tomorrow.’
‘Any good with babies, sir?’ I asked.
‘I have two, little experience, was always away. They were handed to me when they reached two years old.’
I laughed. ‘A good way to do it, no nappies.’
My lads were all up well before dawn, except Rocko and Rizzo, men taking showers, washing clothes, replenishing ammo and rations, webbing cleaned up.
I kicked up Rocko and Rizzo half an hour before the command meeting, having coffee sent to them. They still looked a bit rough.
In our HQ Room, as it said on the wall outside, I gathered the officers and the troop sergeants, the room quite full, our Naval visitor listening in, Max listening in – having just photographed a naval officer keen to have his picture taken.
‘OK,’ I began. ‘We had a quiet night, we’re still alive, and I have no fresh intel on movements.’ I pointed at our Forward Air Controller. ‘This officer is from the ships offshore, his rank is equivalent to a major, so those of a lesser rank will acknowledge him as sir ... or get a punch to the head.
‘Two Lynx helicopters will go after the personnel carriers and provide us with eyes-on intel within a few hours. In addition to that, I would like to send out “B” and “G” squadrons to establish forward OPs, to be manned for a few days between rotations.’ I made eye contact with O’Donnell. ‘OK to use your men, sir?’
He nodded. ‘Yes.’
I pointed at the “B” Squadron troop sergeants. ‘I want no patrol less than eight men, big for an OP, but if you run into trouble you need to fight. Take two RPG launchers, ten heads, at least one GPMG.’ I put a finger on the map. ‘The high ground here, eyes-on the river bridge and road, teams rotate every few days.
‘Your team that is back here patrols northeast along the river to that spot and back again when not sleeping.’
‘”G” Squadron, you move along the track north to the road here, close to the druggy camp, eyes on, stay hidden, same weapons make-up per patrol, eight men at that point.
‘Second troop goes northwest to this road junction, gets above it, gets hidden. When moving there ... avoid the village and the farms.
‘Final troop should be armed with RPGs and GPMG, positioned where you intercepted the armoured personal carriers. One troop on rest.
‘Sergeant Crab, take the infantrymen now housed here out on patrol in small groups, teach them, work them hard, always let them feel that they’re in danger.’
‘Not pigging hard around here,’ he quipped.
‘We should get some 66mm soon, maybe 105mm from the local army, that will help with the personnel carriers. RAF Regiment, send your experienced men south and east to the river, regular patrols, and with an infantryman if you like, make use of Sergeant Crab and his team. OK, questions?’
O’Donnell said, ‘Those are static positions, so are we aiming to sit for a while?’
‘We need intel, sir, good intel, and when we have it we move on it. Hopefully, by the end of today, the Lynx will give us some, and your lads in position will give us some. We can then make a plan. Troop sergeants, please prepare your teams, get stocked up, and leave as soon as ready.’
Many of the men shuffled out.
I faced Rocko and Rizzo. ‘Have all kit checked, replenish everything, be ready to go, but rest the men after some exercise, they’ll get stiff otherwise. Plenty to eat today, get those bodies back to full fitness. Check scratches, get cream on, check feet.’
They turned and left.
‘Mister Haines, the 2 Squadron lads with us have practised with the RPG, so get them teaching the rest of your lads. But before test firing, warn everyone, eh. Oh, and give the infantrymen a go as well.’
‘How many shells can we fire?’
‘How many are in the boxes?’ I countered with.
‘Hundreds.’
‘Then you can fire twenty. When your lads are proficient, put some RPG up on the roof ready.’
He stepped out.
I faced our FAC. ‘Next step is up to you, sir.’
He checked his watch. ‘They should be overhead in ... thirty-five minutes.’
‘Coffee then,’ I suggested. ‘And when they land, have them step down and be photographed.’ I turned to Max and he nodded. I stared at the FAC for a moment. ‘Could ... Max sit in a Lynx?’
‘I ... don’t see why not.’
Max’s face lit up.
I smiled. ‘I think the Navy is going to get some necessary exposure.’
The Lynx flew past half an hour later, radio contact made as I sat in the HQ Room. Ten minutes later they reported the road north clear, the druggy village clear. Ten minutes after that they reported the roads northwest clear, and they buzzed the camp we hit. Movement was seen, but civvies.
They flew down the river and checked the road, reporting three personnel carriers in the same position on the road bridge, and again at the road bridge six miles north.
‘You are clear to engage, watch out for civilians nearby,’ was issued.
When my phone trilled, it was “B” Squadron. ‘The Lynx just flattened three personnel carriers, they’re burning, no fucker got out in time.’
‘Excellent. Keep eyes on, stay hidden, report movement, out.’ I hung up and faced the FAC. ‘Your Lynx destroyed three carriers.’
The Lynx pilots came on the radio a minute later, heading back to ship, all missiles expended. But one set down first, picking up the VIP passenger, Max. He would go out to the ship and take pictures.
I drew a big red cross on the map, at the position of the first road bridge. ‘The pilots earned their breakfast.’
When my phone trilled it was Bob. ‘What’s happening on the ground?’
‘We have patrols out with RPG, all roads cut, and the Navy Lynx just destroyed three carriers at the border, they’ll return later. I can confirm – no carriers seen inside Sierra Leone at this time.’
‘That’s good to know. What’s your plan?’
‘First we use the Lynx, then we gather intel on movements, then we slice off small pieces day by day.’
‘Local army should be with you soon, and British Dragoons.’
‘I can hear someone arriving, call you back.’ Outside, I found two green British Land Rovers followed by two 105mm mounted jeeps, local black drivers, three jeeps pulling up the rear with an old three tonne lorry, but not British Army.
A captain stepped down and I closed in on him. ‘Looking for Wilco,’ he said.
&n
bsp; ‘You found him. Brought us some toys to play with?’
‘We’ve got 66mm, quite a few of them. Have you got some lads?’
I turned. ‘Let’s have some help out here!’
Some of my lads jogged over, a few RAF Regiment.
‘Ammo for the 105mm?’ I asked him.
‘Yes, boxed up. These black chaps want to stay with their jeeps.’
‘No, we’ll drive them, or they can take them back and protect the capital. Let them know that, because around here we shoot black faces.’
‘Oh, right, well I’ll have a word then. And I’m supposed to take back a secret package.’
I went and fetched the diamonds, but put them in a small box first so that they could not be identified. ‘Guard that with your life, it contains evidence against gun dealers, don’t open it. Lose that box and you’d best hide in the jungle for the rest of your life.’
‘Crikey.’
Boxes were soon piled up alongside other boxes, flysheets placed over them to keep the rain out, little room inside for them, the three tonne lorry fixing a cable to a burnt out personnel carrier. It dragged the carrier off the road and into bushes as I observed, soon onto the second carrier.
‘Captain Wilco?’
I turned to find a British Second Lieutenant. He saluted. ‘I’m your liaison to the British infantry here, and logistics, should you need an extra kit. I’ve been based at the airport, now to be based here. Name is Fisher.’
‘Who did you upset to get a posting here?’ I asked.
‘Upset? Oh, I take your meaning, sir,’ and he looked around. ‘Bit basic I guess.’
‘Bit fucking dangerous, and you can drop calling me sir,’ I said as I observed the second carrier being dragged.
‘Oh, right oh. We have grenades for you and 5.56mm ammo.’
‘That ammo is for the RAF Regiment, we use Russian standard.’
‘Don’t have any of that, could try and find some.’
‘We have plenty, and we take it off men we kill.’
‘We have GPMG ammo as well, a few Gerry cans of water and rations.’
‘All good stuff,’ I commended. I pointed at the black drivers arguing with the captain. ‘See if you can sort that; we want the jeeps, not the drivers.’
With the third and fourth carriers dragged off the road, we now had a road that was clear for someone to use to attack us – not the best of ideas, but we had men north with RPG, so attack was less likely.
The unhappy black soldiers went and sat in the three-tonne lorry, no doubt to sulk, and the rest of the boxes were unloaded and stacked up, two jeeps left behind for us to use, the rest leaving. And those jeeps had ten shovels in, a few pickaxes, a subtle hint to dig our own trenches.
I approached Haines as he moved boxes. ‘Those jeeps are yours to use, no idea what use they are till we’ve quelled the entire fucking country. Could go to the capital for supplies, but you risk being shot at. Up to you. And there are picks and shovels, so ... dig some holes.
‘And find a bed for the new liaison, Fisher I think. He’ll get whatever we need, so do an inventory and ... let’s get some double beds with soft mattresses, eh, some air conditioning, a few girls...’
An hour later, as the clouds departed and the sun came out, the Lynx hit the northern bridge, Max taking photographs over the shoulders of the pilots, and flying south they dropped him off at the base. I got a firsthand report of the action, three carriers burning, one possibly damaged but unknown. The Lynx would now refuel and return, their task being a recon or attack of the large base we demolished.
Sergeant Crab took out young infantrymen, the RAF Regiment lads blasting the old digger with RPGs, the nurses complaining that they had woken the baby.
An hour later the Lynx flew back to us, contact established, and flew on northeast, back on the radio thirty minutes later as I keenly waited. The base was reported to be full of personnel carriers and lorries, at least it had been. They hit two carriers before they hit a truck by accident, the resulting explosion suggesting that the truck had been stacked high with mines or RPG.
Instead of aiming at the armoury, they had aimed at another truck, and they had set off a second massive explosion, leaving the base shrouded in smoke. They estimated six carriers as being a bit too close to the exploding trucks, dozens of men killed on the ground, a good day’s work, and Max had his story.
But the news an hour later was of two helicopters in need of the delicate touch of a mechanic, both playing up. It was unlikely they would fly in the morning.
I had an idea, an outlandish idea, and when I told Moran he looked at me like I was crazy. Mahoney asked me if I was crazy, so I decided not to discuss it with Major O’Donnell.
I called in a favour with the 7 Squadron pilots, a few of my lads ready after dark, two Chinooks touching down, boxes of RPG heads loaded up. What I knew ... was that if you dropped an RPG from height it landed on its nose, and at even a slow speed it would detonate. We would put that to the test.
We lifted off and headed northeast, the ramp down, RPGs having their nose caps taken off and moved from one box to another, but very carefully, the loadmasters concerned – if not horrified. Climbing to over a thousand feet, the pilot used the town as a navigational aid, and we slowed down to just twenty miles per hour forward speed, soon tossing down RPG heads, thirty in total. Moving off, we peered down, seeing dozens of flashes.
The trailing Chinook dispensed its make-do cluster bomb as we descended and turned, lights out. We came in fast and low, peering down at the base, seeing many fires burning, a good ten minute’s work for us, so we headed back.
Back down, the Chinooks off to the airport, I called Bob. ‘We just flew over the base in Liberia, hand-throwing down RPG shells.’
‘You .... threw RPG heads down, by hand?’
‘They fall nose down and go off, dozens of fires burning, and the only thing there left to burn was carriers and trucks.’
‘Unconventional, again, but you get the results. And it sets them back.’
‘And Max the reporter was aboard a Lynx this afternoon, they hit two carriers and two trucks, but the trucks were laden with mines, massive explosions, many carriers destroyed, many men killed.’
‘Even better. So we set them back a fair bit.’
‘Lynx are unserviceable at the moment, but if they’re OK in the morning they could do a fly-by and have a look. I’ll let you know.’
‘No action your side of the border?’
‘Quiet day, lads got some rest, I’ll take them out tomorrow. Oh, we got 105mm jeeps, and 66mm rockets, so we could do some damage now. And your diamonds are with that captain you sent.’
‘I know, they’re on a plane.’
‘Bob, I think O’Leary needs to be in possession of a large pile of cash when we return, say two grand for each man, some time off, some well earned rest.’
‘I’m sure that can be arranged.’
I sat with Major O’Donnell and Haines in the canteen and told them what we had done. O’Donnell stared back at me, his mouth open, thinking me crazy.
In the morning, Captain Harris called me. ‘We have some intel - they’ve pulled back most of the forces. They suffered heavy losses, couldn’t afford any more losses for now, so they’re heading back to Monrovia, a token force left.’
‘That’s good news, because I can deal with a token force,’ I joked. ‘Is the Rapid Reaction Brigade on its way?’
‘No, why?’
‘It was mentioned, never mind.’ I called a command meeting of officers and troop sergeants, Rocko and Rizzo now looking far more with it. ‘We have some fresh intel, and the large force that moved west to our border with Liberia has been recalled, a token force left behind. They took heavy losses, and decided to stick to harassing the local women instead of a punch-up with us.
‘Major, I don’t know how long the politicians will wish “G” Squadron to remain, but whilst you’re here I’d like to get back to the job we started, which was to cle
ar Sierra Leone of rebel gunmen.
‘As such, I’d like you to reduce all local OPs and patrols to four men each, down from eight, and to organise eight man patrols west and northwest, insert by Chinook, denial of area, as well as patrols to reduce the gunmen. The detail of the patrols could be left down to you, my team will be across the border today.
‘Gentlemen, it appears ... that the main threat to us has gone, for now.’ I faced our naval FAC. ‘Sir, you can scale back your involvement if need be, but if you have any spare capacity – and a keen desire to assist us – then please carry on with recon patrols over the same area.’
‘I’ll consult with my captain,’ he offered.
I faced Major O’Donnell. ‘I’ll have a word with London and see what timescale they have for you, sir. But first ... what would you like to do?’
‘Like to do?’
‘Yes, sir. Would you like a few more days or weeks here, experience for the men, this is an excellent training ground.’
‘I’ll give that some thought.’
I faced Haines. ‘Get some spare lads, the infantry, and chop down the bushes at the gate and on the road, give yourself a clean arc of fire, dig some trenches, let’s get organised eh, not have men just sat about.’ He nodded. I faced Morten. ‘Do your people need some R&R?’
‘Haven’t been here too long, not going off the boil yet.’
‘You had some wounded, so ask for replacements by all means. I’d send you to the capital for some R&R, but it’s more dangerous than here. And now that the large force has pulled back ... this place should go back to being boring.’
‘You said that the last time, and then we were attacked,’ he joked.
‘Have your people practise with their weapons, some fitness training, keep them active and not bored, eh.’ I faced Rocko and Rizzo. ‘Have all the men ready to leave in an hour, rations for a few days, plenty of RPG lugged, a couple GPMG, ammo shared out.’
My liaison to the Army raised a hand. ‘Back at the airfield they were wondering ... about the GPMGs they loaned you.’
‘We left them behind in the jungle, your weapons, but brought back fifty news ones, so ... please replace them.’