“Well done Captain Whitecap,” said Colonel DeMetrie to Bravo Company’s temporary commander. “Now that you’ve captured the hilltop, regroup quick as you can and make sure you can repel any counter attack. Dig in tight.”
“Roger that Captain. We’ll be your anchor,” came the digitized reply.
“Keep me updated if you face any real contact.”
“Yes Sir,” said Captain Whitecap before signing off.
The gamble had paid off. Delta Company had swung far to the right and behind the Russian line. After being flanked, the Russians atop the small hillside had no choice but retreat back to the defensive line built around the interstate about four miles north of the beaches. It had taken all night to finish off the trapped Russians near Bravo Company, but they too had finally been dispatched.
DeMetrie much preferred to push headlong after wresting control of the hill, and capitalize on the change of fortunes. But the lack of intelligence about what laid beyond the hillside, coupled with the desperate need to avoid significant losses forced him into continuing caution.
Studying the map he saw that according to the position reports his companies formed a nearly straight line; Alpha on the far left, Bravo in the middle, 2nd Company and Delta just to the right. Charlie Company was pulled in behind Delta and would serve as a reserve force. The mortar platoon and headquarters group moved straight forward into the wooded positions recently abandoned by Bravo.
Waiting for Captain Lowry to come online, DeMetrie rubbed his eyes. One hurdle had been jumped but another lay before him. They were now moving into the actual town and would be back into urban operations.
The good news was that many of his men were comfortable in this environment after multiple rotations in the hellhole of the middle east. This, however, was stark comfort when one considered the reality that urban warfare, with the possibility of vicious house-to-house fighting, usually translated into higher casualty rates.
“That you Colonel?” inquired Lowy’s voice through the radio on the battalion radio net, shaking DeMetrie from his thoughts.
“Go ahead Lowry,” was the straightforward reply from DeMetrie.
“Bad news; lost fifteen men Sir, those Russians didn't go quietly,” said Lowry.
“Ok, send whoever you can to the CCP. We'll patch up who we can and get them back to you.” advised DeMetrie. CCP, or casualty collection point, was the military euphemism for the very simple aide station that operated in DeMetrie's headquarters platoon.
Wounded men were starting to become a problem. In a normal environment, wounded men would be stabilized, send to the CCP and then medivac, typically by helicopter, to a more suitable field hospital. Given DeMetrie's situation, calling in a Blackhawk to whisk the men to safety wasn't an option.
He had found one solution. One of his medics had driven to the small town of Shelton, only twenty miles north, and made arrangements to send the wounded men to the local hospital for treatment. The problem lie in transportation: shuttling the men to the hospital had tied up a Stryker and several Humvee's and a few men had already died awaiting the long trip.
For now it was the best he could manage for his men.
“Vehicles?” asked DeMetrie.
Without pausing, Lowry answered, “2 Strykers, 3 Humvees.”
“Damn. You didn’t have that many to begin with.”
“No, we’ve got a few, but we’re pretty much foot soliders”
DeMetrie never shied away from asking his men to tackle difficult situations. He found it was better to simply give the order with no beating around the bush. “Listen Lowry. Since you’ve got the lightest company, I want to do a recon in force. Move to grid….” DeMetrie paused as he confirmed the map location,”….and find us a way into the city. We can’t afford to go crashing in headlong.”
“Roger that Sir. I need an hour or so to give the men a breather and get our shit straight. After that I can push forward if that works.”
Trusting Lowry as he did, DeMetrie did not mind the direct approach to letting him know 2nd Company’s needs.
“Good, but don’t get comfortable. Move out soonest. I hate to do this to you, but use your remaining Strikers to shuttle men into position quickly. Once they are done playing taxi, send them to Bravo Company. They lost a few and it's better to have a fully loaded company than diluting our strength across several.”
After a brief pause, Lowry, always the solider, replied “Roger that sir.”
Continuing Colonel DeMetrie asked, “You good out there?”
“Right as rain,” replied Captain Lowry. “It’s almost as if I know what I’m doing.”
“I’m going to send Charlie’s scout platoon to the right of the line to see what we find. But for the middle it’s up to you to see what we’re dealing with. If they respond in force, fall the fuck back, otherwise see if you can find us a hole to shove Delta through.” DeMetrie liked his men to have a good idea of what the operational plan would be.
“Roger sir.”
“Get your men squared away Lowry and shove off asap.”
Lowry replied, “Question Sir?”
“Go ahead.”
“Tyra Banks? I mean, really Sir?”
Originally Posted by Polarbarez
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