Our Navy Seals … at work!

Our Navy Seals … at work!

Dedicated to the best military in the world!!

Note:  This is a few pages of a book I am writing …

                   It was quiet with just the crickets chirping and birds were just beginning to wake up in the jungle.  The rising sun was already hot and burning off the morning fog as it came up over the ridge.  It gave the eight person Rescue Team, a clearer view of the terrain and the insurgents who were awake and patrolling the edge of the perimeter.  They watched the tent where they had determined the hostages were being held.  In the dawn hours, they could see that it was the only tent that looked like it was being guarded.  The Commander confirmed with home base that they were in place.  The men looked at each other, nodded and separated. 

                   Each had his own job to do - they were well trained, focused and each knew exactly what to do.  They had gone over the plan for several days to be precise and knew every move they were going to make.  They were U.S. Navy Seals and they were going in to rescue hostages.  It had to be well timed and they wanted to be in and out in the least amount of time possible.  Their Intel told them where the hostages were being held and how many people were guarding them.  They had reviewed the rescue plan for several days.  They knew that the hostages were injured and probably very weak.  They had to have enough men there to assist them to the waiting helicopter. 



         The hostages being held were two American journalists, a French journalist, an American doctor and two nurses.  There was also a British photographer and a translator.  They had been captured 3 months ago by military rebels. They had set up the camp for the women and children who had been in the area where they were working.  They began doing a story on the women and children who had been banned from their homes after a rogue military group had razed the village. They had pillaged and raped women and children, while they made the husbands’ watch.  The women and young girls who had been violated in such a sadistic fashion were banished from their homes into the jungle because they had brought shame to their families.  They found each other somehow and the medical team, journalist and translator found the ramshackle camp on the edge of the jungle that they had put together and began treating them and talking to them.  They wanted to bring their plight to the world so they could get help for them.

                   The inhabitants of the camp had been brought together in shame, bleeding and broken and some of the little girls were ruined for life.  These women and children’s ages averaged from three years old to fifty.  Most of the mothers had been forced to watch their baby girls being raped, as they were being violated themselves.  Their husbands were forced to watch the assaults but it made no difference of the circumstances, they would be a constant reminder of the shame that was brought to their families.  That was why they were ostracized almost immediately after the attacks.

                   These journalists had been working tirelessly getting their stories as well as assisting the doctor and nurses.  They were changing bandages, preparing food and feeding the children and young mothers.  They worked together tirelessly.  Their care for these people were evident in the way they talked to them, rocked babies, fed severely injured women and dressed their wounds. They were caring and gentle and did all they could to make these women and children comfortable. Slowly, they were getting stronger.

         Then, another rogue military group that were attacking surrounding villages, attacked the camp after hearing that there were aid workers working attending to refugees. They killed several of the women and left the children and elderly women to fend for themselves. It was devastating to the team who had been working so hard to help these women.

                    The dissidents took the aid workers with them with plans of reaping a large ransom from their governments.  They had moved several times, even after they had asked for the ransoms so that no one could find them and rescue the group.  They were savage in the way they treated their captives.  They had no problem with torturing any one of the people that they held captives. 

         The Intel had been continuously coming into the headquarters of the Seal team that had been chosen to rescue the group.  They were well trained and a Team that no one doubted could do the job.  They had been reviewing the intelligence they had received and putting together a rescue plan.  They were a disciplined group and each knew their job.  The helicopter was called for and given the coordinates.  They were dropped off a mile from the camp.  The Chinook helicopter was to wait for them to bring the captives through the jungle a half mile away and then take them back to base where they would be taken to a hospital.

                   This morning, they were lucky, only two of the kidnappers were guarding the hostages.  They had watched as the other two headed for a tent on the other side of the compound that emanated breakfast smells of biscuits and coffee.  The two soldiers that stayed were smoking and talking quietly.  It was evident that they were not expecting anything and that’s the way the Seals liked it.  That’s why they were so successful …quietly in and out and as quickly as possible.  Their skills were the best.

                   The Commander and his team were ready and all in place with their equipment.  They were quiet and camouflaged to blend into the jungle surrounding them.  They all waited for the signal and then they quietly entered the compound without making a sound to alert the insurgents.

                   The two enemy soldiers were taken care of in a matter of seconds and they never heard the men coming behind them.  Two of the Seals went in, holding their fingers to their lips and quickly identified themselves.  As they untied the eight hostages, they quietly gave them instructions on what they were to do.  The hostages nodded and listened closely to their rescuers.  They knew that they would be safe as long as they listened to the Seals.  This is what they did, they fought for their country.  They had to trust them with their lives.

                   One of the hostages was very sick and running a high fever.  She could hardly stand.  The Seal picked her up carefully and moved out as fast as possible. The hostages were trying desperately to keep their emotions under control and be quiet.  The Seals quickly moved them out the back of the tent to keep them out of view and into the heavy cover on the side of the camp.  They just had to move quickly through the dense jungle.

                   The women were quietly crying, but they followed the Americans who had put their lives on the line and did as they were instructed.  Most were so weak from hunger and illness.  The men and marines would just pick them up and carry them.  They all helped one another.  One man had a broken arm that had been crudely set.  He took a deep breath and followed his rescuers’ instructions.  He whispered to the woman beside him with tears in his eyes… “We’re going home.”

                   Just as they cleared the compound and were quietly moving through the moist vegetation between the camp and freedom, the other two soldiers came out of the mess tent and walked toward the tent that held the hostages.  They were talking in low tones smoking their cigarettes and drinking their coffee.  As they approached the tent, they called the names of the other two soldiers.  No answer.  They rushed inside the tent and saw that it was empty.  They began yelling and soon found the other two guards lying dead behind the tent.  They alerted the camp and approximately a dozen men were running from their tents and had AK47’s in their hands ready for a fight.

         The Seals moved the hostages quickly as they could toward safety as their captors began shooting wildly into the forest.  Two Seals had stayed behind to make sure that the hostages got to safety and that these kidnappers would not be able to raise the alarm to the other soldiers close by.  Their shouts had already alerted the rest of the camp and the enemy came running out from their tents.  The two Seals were already in position and waiting to hear their shouts when they threw their M84 smoke grenades.  They planned to keep the compound smoky for about 10 minutes. The white smoke was causing a lot of confusion to the kidnappers and their shots were few until the smoke started to clear. The smoke had their enemy somewhat confused but that was to the Seal Team’s advantage.

         The two Seals had M4’s which they trained on the camp and began shooting.  They were snipers and trained to eliminate the men that were beginning to rush them.    Suddenly, they heard the helicopter in the distance taking off with the hostages.  They were safe and would get medical treatment and some nutrition very soon.  They had been in captivity for three months and they were thin, injured, sick and dirty.

         The helicopter would get them to the closest hospital for medical attention and food.  Behind them, they heard the rest of their Team coming back to give them the backup as they had planned to wipe the enemy out.  They were shooting their M4’s for about ten minutes when the rest of their team arrived.  They set up the M203 grenade launchers that would help them wipe out the enemy camp.  Within minutes, after the dust cleared, everyone was dead on the ground or had retreated into the jungle.
 
         The Seals carefully checked to see that their enemy was no longer a threat as they entered the compound.  Then, they grabbed any info and computer hard drives they found and destroyed the rest of the equipment and then headed back into the steamy jungle and toward their next mission.  They felt good that they had completed their mission and wiped out that enemy.  There was a helicopter waiting to take them back to base. 

                   They sat in the helicopter quietly until one of them started to tell a joke and they started to laugh.  It was just enough to break the tension.  The Commanding Officer was on his phone… he got the details of their next mission.  He grinned and said, “Well, boys, we are going by jet for this next one and once we get to the airport, we have to hustle.  We have less than an hour and we are off.  The rest of the team nodded and sat back to relax until they landed.