All,
It's now 0930 on 29 July 1990, and Captain Stelosavo's TF23 is on the run in Nigeria. They jumped into the country three days ago to save a Cuban Reporter and Cameraman at risk due to a military coup that killed the president and is cleansing the countryside of his supporters. The Cuban commandos quickly secured the Reporter and Cameraman, but when their extraction helicopter was shot down they found themselves attempting to escape on foot to the border with South Leon with a slew of local villagers. Yesterday they heard gunfire and made a quick side-trip to end a government massacre of more innocent country-folk, but the local government commander was able to get a radio call out for reinforcements, which no doubt was received by the enemy units pursuing the Cubans and their 'package.' The Cuban operators pushed the refugees relentlessly, marching them through the night in an attempt to outpace their pursuers, and though haggard ,the villagers were doing a good job of moving quickly and quiet to the border extraction point.
Everything was going well until about 0930, when Tracker, walking point, called the column to a halt…
Overview, north is up. The Cuban/refugee column is on the road in the south (bottom center left), having just exited an abandoned village, moving east towards a bridge crossing a nearby river. They are less than a kilometer from the border crossing, which is up the hill (you can't see from this photo, but everything to the right of the river is a pretty substantial slope uphill) and a bit further east. For you guys that have seen the movie, I'm hoping this is looking pretty familiar.
Looking southwest to east at the Cuban/refugee column, which is moving east, hoping to cross the bridge (center top right) and get up that hill, then off the table to safety.
Suddenly, word gets passed back to halt and post security, Tracker's got something troublesome. Tracker comes on the net and points everyone north. They take a look: a big, open, grassy field, with dense treeline on the other side. But something is definitely out there. Ryder comes on: "skirmish left," and the team moves as one. Tense moments pass…
Ehh???
"All callsigns, stand easy, just a goat." And then all hell broke loose! To see how the fight turned out, please check the bog at:
linkLast fight being worked on, probably posted on Monday.
V/R,
Jack
bases up the rifle teams.
