Episode 80

ODA 1211, A Co, 2nd Btn, 1st Special Forces Group

“Holy Fucking Shit!”

Peters tried not to laugh as he hit the deck. The JDAM targeting the North Korean radar station lit the night and then pummeled the men with an overpressure wave as it destroyed the building and surrounding facilities. Peters opened his mouth as the pressure wave washed over him which saved his eardrums but not his hearing. Sergeant Smith had managed to get more cuss words out in a few seconds than Peters would have thought possible.

“Those air force boys are not fucking around, are they?”

“Just remind me to stay far away from anything remotely resembling a target.”

“Amen to that.”

Even two hundred yards away, the blast that destroyed the DPRK radar site had been impressive. The A team had been holed up in what they thought was a nice safe copse of trees. They had not realized that a radar station was so close or they never would have stopped there for the night.

“Next they start shooting at anything that moves.”

“Stay away from tanks and trucks.”

“You know it.”

“When we gonna move?”

“Well, since we’re all awake now, might as well get to it.”

“Right. Get your rucks, police the area. I don’t want to see any trash or other signs we’ve been here.” While they fully expected to be extracted before the DPRK could mount a serious search for them, they were well trained and didn’t take the risk of giving their presence away.

As the men gathered their gear and prepared to move, Peters studied the Korean map one last time. According to the map, the command post was just over the ridge ahead. They didn’t have much intel on the site, but it looked fairly small. Hopefully, it would be small enough to take down with their small team.

As they moved to the top of the ridge, they slowed down, alert for sensors or traps.

“See anything?”

“No, looks clean.”

“OK. Move around to the left there and see if you can get a good look-see.”

From the top of the ridge, the small base was clearly visible. Designed to be hard to spot from the air, the facility didn’t have the normal perimeter fence or cleared lines of fire. Instead, there was a small bunker which hid the entrance to the mostly underground complex. The guard towers that would surround an American secure facility were replaced by what looked like light poles but were actually camera platforms. Overall, the place screamed “low profile secure facility” to Peters.

“Any way we take those cameras out from the ground before they see us?”

“Nope. Too high. We might get a mortar down to the base and knock them out.”

“A tough shot for a mortar at night, don’t you think?”

“Well, yeah, if you want to get all nit-picky about it.”

Peters thought about it more. Most likely, they had IR sensors up there. They wouldn’t be able to approach without being seen. Keeping those inside ignorant of what was going on outside would make things easier for the attackers. On the plus side, their current position was a bit higher than the tops of the towers. They were already taking a bit of a risk peeking over the ridge down into the valley, but it was worth it to scope out the site.

“Get Ramirez up here.”

Sergeant Ramirez was the best shot in ODA 1211 and carried the team’s only sniper rifle.

“Yeah, boss?”

“You think you can hit those sensor units up there on those poles?”

Ramirez studied the poles for a moment. “They look like they have IR floodlights attached. Hang on.” He fiddled in his pack for a moment and brought out an infrared scope for his rifle. After a few seconds peering through the viewfinder, he nodded. “Yeah, I can hit them. No guarantees what happens next.”

“Fair enough. Set up and give me your spotter’s scope.”

While Ramirez set up, Peters wriggled over to where Smith was still examining the site. “See anything?”

“Looks like just one guard on the move. I assume there are a couple of more in that pillbox there.”

“Yeah, taking out the cameras will alert them, most likely.”

“Agreed. Let’s put the two mortars over there and get the RPK over to the right.” Since they were carrying weapons that the DPRK would use, their squad automatic weapon had been switched out for a Russian made RPK machine gun.

“What about Billy and his RPG-27?”

“Over to the left. You just know he’s been itching to fire that thing since he saw it.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“OK. We’ll sneak in close to the woodline there. When Ramirez hits the cameras, we go. Keep Billy on the chain until you see us move then take out the pillbox.”

“Respectfully, sir, you should stay up here.”

“Respectfully?”

“Uh.. You should keep your shiny officer’s ass up here so you don’t get it shot off and leave me writin’ all those fucking reports.” Smith scratched his chin and smiled. “Sir.”

“That’s better.” Peters grinned. “Nice try, but I’m down there. You are up here. Get it done.”

“Roger that.”

The timing for the attack was working well. It was around four in the morning which was a low point for human alertness. Most soldiers worked to stay alert when on guard duty, but even for well trained and motivated troops, it was a struggle. For a remote backup communications post like this one, boredom and pure sloppiness were bound to set in sooner or later.

After getting settled in at his advanced position near the bunker, Peters glanced right and left. His men were ready. Once the sniper took out the cameras on the towers they would go in hard and fast. The clandestine nature of the facility worked in their favor as there was only about a hundred yards of cleared land around the entrance to the bunker. While he wasn’t up to a world record nine seconds and change, he could do the hundred-yard dash in a respectable twelve seconds, even with his weapons and ammo. Those twelve seconds would likely be fatal to the two soldiers he could see from his position. The real excitement was around how many more there were out of sight.

Peters heard the metallic “PING” that meant Ramirez was shooting. A muffled “CRACK” came a second later. Peters and the assault team jumped up and started running. Peters was about fifteen yards from the trees when a loud WHOOSH and an impressive explosion announced that the rocket-propelled grenade had taken out the pillbox guarding the bunker approach. As the long guns on the ridge opened up, both of the guards standing in the open were taken out. Peters was still twenty yards from the front door when the firing stopped.

As Peters reached the bunker, he took position to the left of the door, with his weapon raised. Williams, the “eighteen charley” for the team was right behind and began to rig a breaching charge. With a nod from Peters, he stepped back and triggered the charge. A surprisingly muffled “WHUMP” announced the end of the armored door. After the explosion from the RPG-27, the breaching charge was a bit of an anti-climax. Of course, it would be different inside the bunker. Peters signaled again and four men entered the bunker using a well-practiced room-clearing technique. As Peters waited anxiously, he saw Smith approaching.

“Aren’t you supposed to be up on that ridge, protecting my shiny officer’s ass?”

“No, you’re supposed to be on the ridge, exercising your command authority.”

“Then who has overwatch?”

“Ramirez.”

“Good man Ramirez.”

“Yep.”

“Follows orders.”

“So I’ve heard. He’s a wiz at filling out those fucking reports too.” He paused. “Sir.”

“That boy will make general someday.”

“No doubt. Shall we?”

Because they had wanted to take the facility intact, the normal expedient of clearing rooms with grenades hadn’t been used in this case. The only offset for this was the fact that the explosive charge had pushed an overpressure wave into the small facility that likely disoriented or concussed most of the people inside. Peters could hear his team working into the facility with calls of “Clear!” as they worked each room. Then a single pistol shot rang out.

Peters and Smith rushed down the hall to where they could see the team crowded around a doorway. A loud voice called out “Hands! Let me see your hands!”

Peters repeated the demand in Korean. Then addressed the soldier blocking his view. “Ease over. We want a prisoner.”

Drawing his pistol, he walked into what must be the communications room. A man in a DPRK Sergeant’s uniform lay dead on the floor, a bloody exit wound on the back of his head. A very frightened young man in a corporal’s uniform was sitting in a chair, being very still.

Peters kept his weapon trained on the corporal. He continued speaking in Korean. “Put your hands up. We don’t want to kill you but we will. Hands up! Now.”

Slowly, the young North Korean raised his hands. Peters spoke to the others in English without turning his head. “Check the rest of the facility. Double-tap anyone who resists.”

He resumed addressing the young Korean corporal as Smith checked him for weapons or booby traps. “Do you know who we are?”

The man was able to stammer out an answer. “You are spies!”

Peters chuckled. “Spies don’t wear uniforms, son. Do you think the CIA would wear an American flag on their shoulder like this one? I’m a US Army Captain. See?” He turned his shoulder slightly to show off the green camo approved American Flag velcro’d on. “Can you guess why the US Army is here in your country?”

The corporal just shook his head, obviously scared and confused.

“Son, the entire fucking US army is about to come knocking on your front door. Before the end of the week, your country will be occupied by American troops.”

“You lie! The great leader would never allow this.”

“I don’t think my President got around to asking him.”

“You will be stopped, you will bathe in your own blood.”

“You better hope you’re wrong about that one.”

The young corporal could not keep himself from blurting out, “Why?”

“Because you’re my captive now. If we die, you die with us. Even if you escape, what would your bosses do to a soldier who has been under the control of American soldiers? Would they believe you hadn’t tried to defect? Would they believe you’re not trying to spy for us? Think about that for a moment.”