15th June, day 81,
Following the engagement at Zargabad on the 11th, Alpha squad was spread across the region. Septic, Vart and Ithikial were at Camp Hope, Nelson, Nathan, Spear and me were out in the field. With the team in the field getting split up trying to evade Pakistani forces I had secured myself an SUV in an attempt to return to Camp Hope. I had also come across a British soldier, Cohort, and together we drove the remaining 45km back to Hope. When we arrived the PiRgt100 had packed up everything from the camp and the last remaining convoy was schedule to pull out at 14:00 hours. Septic, Vart and Ithikial waiting with the last convoy for returning comrades. Cohort and I rolled in at 13:50, getting back just before the convoy was due to leave. A quick sit rep from the convoy commander and we were immediately put back into the fight, heading north to a small settlement called Bastam where a squad of engineers had headed to evacuate Europeans from a small aid station. Contact was lost with the group about an hour before.
Mounting up in a command Hunter and the SUV that Cohort and I had arrived with, Alpha followed the convoy for about 7km before breaking off and heading north.
[pic, following the convoy]
[pic, Septic driving the SUV. It was a bit shot up and missing a door, but I'd gotten attached to it]
Once we had broken away from the convoy we soon came across a suspected IED. Septic was in Command and took the decision to secure the area and send Vart in to diffuse the potential explosive threat. It was a solid decision, with Vart finding an IED and disabling the explosives quickly. Once mounted back up we quickly headed towards Bastam, on the journey we had the great fortune to come across Nathan. He had been moving west and with him back in the squad we now numbered six which allowed us to split into two small fire teams. At the outskirts of Bastam we pulled off the road and headed to high ground to get eyes on the settlement. The village was built around a large mosque on a cross roads. From a high vantage point we quickly spotted rebel forces around the buildings and patrolling the immediate area. We also spotted what appeared to be the corpses of German engineers.
Alpha 2 fire team setup overwatch at the high vantage point, Alpha 1 team moved west off the hill to approach the village from the south. Septic, Vart and I were Alpha 1. Once Alpha 1 was in position Alpha 2 opened fire on the settlement, immediately taking out several combatants. Alpha 1 pushed forward through a small copse on the outskirts of the village and was quickly engaged. Both Septic and I took hits leaving Vart the only member of Alpha 1 up. Repositioning in one of the buildings on the outskirts of the village Vart fought a valiant battle, engaging +10 rebels from all sides. His efforts prevented Alpha 1 being overrun and helped turn the tide of the engagement. With Alpha 1 pinned down, Alpha 2 laid down suppressive fire. Cohort and Nathan using rifle fire and spotting for Ithikial as he peppered the area with LMG fire. The engagement was short and fierce, Alpha 2 pushed down from their overwatch position after only a few minutes to support Alpha 1 in CQB at the southern edges of the settlement.
With the southern perimeter of the village secure Alpha 1 stacked up on the east side of the mosque, Alpha 2 stacking up on the west. On Septic’s command both teams breached the mosque, clearing the building swiftly and engaging 1 to 2 rebels. At the east entrance to the mosque we located 3 dead soldiers from the PiRgt100 and in the centre of the mosque itself was one of the aid works, dead. The rest of the team secured the mosque as I took tags from the dead and documented the scene.
[Pic, fallen comrades]
Ithikial, Cohort and Nathan positioned themselves on the northern walls of the mosque and immediately located the PiRgt100 vehicles and the rest of the squad on the main road, they appeared to have been ambushed in the centre of the village. Bodies were strewn around the badly damaged vehicles and a burnt out hunter. Both Alpha teams pushed north, clearing the rest of the settlement before searching the ambush site and checking for wounded. Ithikial located the rest of the aid workers. They had been lined up against a wall and executed, their 5 bodies left to bake in the afternoon sun.
[Pic, executed aid workers]
Identifying and documenting the fallen comrades was a tough job, I knew some of them from Camp Hope. Once I’d finished with the grim task the remaining NATO vehicles were destroyed and the squad turned back south for the drive to Fallajuha.
[Pic, Ithikial provides overwatch with the LMG]
[Pic, Septic running after checking the demolition charges]
With Alpha 1 in the SUV and Alpha 2 in the Hunter the squad drove south. With fallen comrades fresh in our thoughts Septic and I missed a barrel at the side of the road. It was an IED which detonated as we passed, setting fire to the SUV. We immediately bailed from the vehicle, all 3 of us getting out before it blew up. Luckily injuries were light however we now only had the Hunter as transport, which could not carry the entire squad. Ithikial and Cohort headed back to Bastam to try and secure a second vehicle. They returned with a top of the range SUV which Septic immediately fell in love with.
[Pic, Alpha 1 moves out in Septic’s new pride and joy. Check out the camouflage flowers. The smoke in the background was from my faithful SUV]
Back on the move Alpha headed west on the main road. Approx. 10 km from Bastam we sighted an APC on the road. Quickly pulling off the road both teams looked to position themselves to engage if necessary. Vart had taken a PCML from one of the German Engineers and he and I were tasked with finding a position with a shot on the APC. Whilst we were on the move Pakistani soldiers suddenly appeared on the horizon and shots rang out. Alpha returned fire, hitting several Pakistani infantry before the APC started to roll down the road. With the vehicle moving in and out of cover, getting a clear shot was difficult but Vart got a solid hit, destroying the APC and killing the crew. The engagement quickly escalated. I estimate the Pakistani force to be approx 2 squads with one of the enemy fire teams moving up the southern valley slopes to flank us. Nathan had moved almost 100m up the same hillside and was engaged and wounded by the enemy fire team. The battle raged, with tracer fire ripping up and down the valley as Alpha and the Pakistani force tried to suppress each other. With Nathan bleeding out Cohort broke cover, dashing up the hillside with bullets kicking up dust around his feet. Shortly after Vart and myself joined him, trying to move through defilade to support Nathan and Cohort. Once aid had been administered we then directed our combined fire upon the Pakistani force as Septic and Ithikial pushed up the valley. We quickly mopped up the rest of the Pakistani force. None of Alpha was in a mood to be merciful, destroying the Pakistani vehicles to complete the carnage. As the charges were being set we had a brief engagement with Pakistani air transport. A Mohawk was damaged and shot down, the rest of the transports and escort pulling out, continuing on their mission. Alpha quickly mounted up our vehicles and continued our dash west to the NATO base at Fallajuha.
[Pic, with the Pakistani forces routed we destroyed their transport and moved out]
