an enemy scout after a forty-five-minute hunt, drove him to ground, and killed him. A tough bastard, he had fought to the last, in the final moments throwing his radio off a cliff in order to protect whatever frequency it had been set on. The crush of time negated sending down a team to retrieve it.
Subsequently, the engineers came up and removed the mines from in front of the obstacle, allowing the task force to resume its movement. An artillery barrage came in, but missed by a wide margin; the dead enemy scout was to have adjusted it. Although the attack was being slowed (the supporting attack was held up to allow for coordinated movement), there was no way around the mine field. Every pass through the wadis at this juncture had been similarly mined. Always would have to reduce them methodically.
Nonetheless, things were going fairly smoothly. With only a few casualties, the task force had moved approximately half the distance planned. The ambush had been nullified and theobstacles were being reduced. Only the lack of communication with the infantry on CHOPPER bothered Always. He was reassured, however, by the fact that the TOC reported that all helicopters had made it back safely. They had gone in unharmed. Yet, time was slipping away. It was almost 0700, and they still had a way to go. For mechanized forces that were able to sprint at more than forty miles an hour, they were moving at a snail’s pace. Always tried to control his impatience.
He did not know, could not know, how critical time was to his mission. The armor battalion on his right was suffering heavy casualties at the moment, faltering in its attack, and relieving enemy concerns from that direction. Having deduced that Always was making progress, albeit slow, the enemy shifted forces to defeat him before he could mount his final assault. The defenders had seen the airmobile insertion, and although they could not react immediately, they were mustering two motorized platoons with an attached section of tanks to destroy Bravo’s infantry. In the meantime they made life as uncomfortable as they could for the dismounted force by plastering the area with mortar and artillery fire. Lieutenant Rodriguez, in command of the two-platoon force, was having to move out of the fire, strapped with increasing numbers of casualties. His attempt to reach his commander on the radio met with repeated failures. It was only by dint of his strong leadership that he held his men together, determined to press on with his mission.
At 0800 the attack helicopters appeared, approaching from the task force’s left rear.
“Romeo 36, this is Sierra 82. I’ve got your dust in sight. What is your situation?” It was the lead company commander.
“Shit!” Always cursed over the intercom. The aviator was talking on his radio in the unsecure mode (in the “red”).
“This is Romeo 36. Go secure. I repeat, go green.” Always had switched his radio off secure.
“Uh, negative. Can’t do that. We don’t have your cipher. I’ve got to stay red. Where do you want us?”
Always was furious. Trying to control his temper, he told the captain he was not ready for his fires yet, that he estimated it would be another forty-five minutes before he was in position to assault, and that he needed the aviators to get the right cipher before coming up on the battalion net.
The aviator responded that he could not burn fuel for the next forty-five minutes and still have enough for the fight, that he was not sure he could find the cipher, and that he would have to go back and set down to conserve fuel. With that he led his element back down the valley.
The whole conversation had taken only two minutes. But it was enough. The enemy picked it up, and although the eavesdroppers could not hear the subsequent conversations when Always went back to secure, they had the frequency. They would know whenever he was talking by the break in squelch. They now had some options. They could allow the broadcasts
Subsequently, the engineers came up and removed the mines from in front of the obstacle, allowing the task force to resume its movement. An artillery barrage came in, but missed by a wide margin; the dead enemy scout was to have adjusted it. Although the attack was being slowed (the supporting attack was held up to allow for coordinated movement), there was no way around the mine field. Every pass through the wadis at this juncture had been similarly mined. Always would have to reduce them methodically.
Nonetheless, things were going fairly smoothly. With only a few casualties, the task force had moved approximately half the distance planned. The ambush had been nullified and theobstacles were being reduced. Only the lack of communication with the infantry on CHOPPER bothered Always. He was reassured, however, by the fact that the TOC reported that all helicopters had made it back safely. They had gone in unharmed. Yet, time was slipping away. It was almost 0700, and they still had a way to go. For mechanized forces that were able to sprint at more than forty miles an hour, they were moving at a snail’s pace. Always tried to control his impatience.
He did not know, could not know, how critical time was to his mission. The armor battalion on his right was suffering heavy casualties at the moment, faltering in its attack, and relieving enemy concerns from that direction. Having deduced that Always was making progress, albeit slow, the enemy shifted forces to defeat him before he could mount his final assault. The defenders had seen the airmobile insertion, and although they could not react immediately, they were mustering two motorized platoons with an attached section of tanks to destroy Bravo’s infantry. In the meantime they made life as uncomfortable as they could for the dismounted force by plastering the area with mortar and artillery fire. Lieutenant Rodriguez, in command of the two-platoon force, was having to move out of the fire, strapped with increasing numbers of casualties. His attempt to reach his commander on the radio met with repeated failures. It was only by dint of his strong leadership that he held his men together, determined to press on with his mission.
At 0800 the attack helicopters appeared, approaching from the task force’s left rear.
“Romeo 36, this is Sierra 82. I’ve got your dust in sight. What is your situation?” It was the lead company commander.
“Shit!” Always cursed over the intercom. The aviator was talking on his radio in the unsecure mode (in the “red”).
“This is Romeo 36. Go secure. I repeat, go green.” Always had switched his radio off secure.
“Uh, negative. Can’t do that. We don’t have your cipher. I’ve got to stay red. Where do you want us?”
Always was furious. Trying to control his temper, he told the captain he was not ready for his fires yet, that he estimated it would be another forty-five minutes before he was in position to assault, and that he needed the aviators to get the right cipher before coming up on the battalion net.
The aviator responded that he could not burn fuel for the next forty-five minutes and still have enough for the fight, that he was not sure he could find the cipher, and that he would have to go back and set down to conserve fuel. With that he led his element back down the valley.
The whole conversation had taken only two minutes. But it was enough. The enemy picked it up, and although the eavesdroppers could not hear the subsequent conversations when Always went back to secure, they had the frequency. They would know whenever he was talking by the break in squelch. They now had some options. They could allow the broadcasts
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