Free We Go On (THE DELL) by Stephen Woods Page A

are divided into two
platoons and Dave would take the entire second platoon on the assault. His
assistant for the operation would be the actual platoon leader, Jenny Moss. She
was tough and capable. First platoon would stay in the compound and provide support
from their covered positions under my command with their platoon leader, Darryl
Aikens, as my assistant.
    The plan’s basically a flanking maneuver. Dave's unit would
go over the compound fence in back of the warehouse then make their way around
to the right. That would put them in a position to hit the Gangs left flank. My
unit would provide fire support with the heavy machine guns from the front of
the compound. The plan called for a sniper team on the roof of the warehouse
and they would fire the initiating shot. It was about a six-hundred yard shot
and a former Air Force security specialist named Chad Bennett was our shooter.
I wanted him to find and kill Man-bear with the first shot. That would be the
signal for the assault to begin.
    Sun up was around 5 a.m. and I wanted to give Dave an hour
and a half to get into position. His unit would have to go over the fence at
3:30 a.m. and that left him two hours to brief both platoon leaders and then
for them to brief their respective platoons. As soon as I was sure Dave had all
the detail and understood our signal plan, I told him to take off and start his
briefs. That left me with Jim.
    He started the second Dave was out the door. Actually,
begging me to reconsider. I’d finally had enough. I reminded him of the
conversation we had yesterday afternoon and stressed the point about supporting
my decisions. He quieted down so I could explain his part. His part was
relatively simple. As soon as we broke from the meeting, he would pass the word
inside the warehouse to go to red alert. He also had to make sure everyone got
to their assigned positions and were prepared to handle their jobs once the
shooting started. Between now and then, he had to make sure that the
non-combatants had everything they needed to stay in the safe areas until the
operation was over.
    At 4 a.m., I wanted everyone in their assigned safe areas
one hour before the assault kicked off. I hoped this gave us enough time for
any last minute emergencies. I asked him if he understood his part of the plan
and he nodded his head in the affirmative. I asked him if he had any questions
and he shook his head in the negative. He still didn't look happy but at least
he wasn't arguing. The last thing I said to him was, "Okay Jim, make it
happen."
    "You got it," he replied as he got up and left the
room.
    Alone in the planning room, I mentally wrestled with myself.
Had I made the right decision? Was my plan sound? I'd know the answers to those
questions in about four hours.

Chapter 6
Stinkies to the Rescue
     
    As I sat alone in the planning room, I was reminded of
"Murphy's Laws of Combat." Murphy stated that no military plan
survived first contact and Murphy had been a constant companion to me since the
Event. If old Murph was around this morning, we were screwed. We didn't have a
QRF, Quick Reaction Force, in case something went horribly wrong and we needed
to rescue Dave's group. There were a thousand things that could go wrong and
you can't think of everything. I had contingency plans for everything I could
think of but what had I missed? My mistakes would cost people their lives. If
we won, we got to survive a few more days, maybe to die slowly from starvation.
If we lost, well, then the struggle was over. I wasn't a quitter and I never
give up but these were the thoughts that plagued me in that quiet room, alone
in the small hours of the morning.
    I got up off my ass and headed out the door. Instead of
sitting there worrying, I needed to supervise the preparations for the
operation. I walked through the upstairs area and it appeared to be deserted. I
then headed down stairs to the main floor.
    The main floor looked like the inner workings of a bee hive.
There