Covert Ops

The CH-53E Super Stallion flared slightly into a landing configuration as it approached the fantail of the Cowpens.  The ship had on the landing marker lights for the helo, the seas were relatively calm as were the winds.  Rick felt and heard a thud as the helo touched down on the deck.  After a few minutes the three big GE turbo shaft engines were shut down and the crew chief flipped a switch causing the ramp to begin opening.  The helo had burned only 32% of its fuel on the trip out, so it wouldn’t need refueling for the short hop to the LZ.  “Let’s get the boat loaded,” ordered Rick.  The Zodiac was being moved toward the rear of the helo by several seamen just as the team members stepped off the ramp.  The Zodiac was only 15 ½ feet long, but could hold ten men and carry just over a ton of weight excluding the engine and fuel.  The seven men with all their gear would come close to the maximum payload.  Two team members picked up the boat at its stern and two picked it up at the bow.  The boat was loaded stern first in the back of the helo, it was a tight fit width wise.  The team loaded their rucks and weapons into the boat, and tied them off, with two men remaining by the bow and the rear ramp, the rest took seats behind the boat.  Rick signaled for the crew chief to raise the ramp.  The helo’s engines were started one at a time, it took six or seven minutes before they lifted off.  It was about a 22 minute ride to their drop zone.  The pilot stayed over the horizon and out of sight from the coast as long as possible.  They were flying at about 100 knots and 75 feet over the water during the inbound segment of the flight.  The sea state at the DZ was reported as two foot chop and swells, mild conditions for boat operations.  Rick was wearing a headset and was able to communicate with the crew.  He heard the copilot say, “Two minutes to drop,” then removed the headset and yelled to the team to get ready.  The helo flared hard and began a slow decent in a hover.  The crew chief hit the control to lower the ramp, it was dark but Rick could see the small whitecaps from the waves.  He knew the pilot had rotated the helo 180 degrees during the hover to place the ramp facing toward the beach, they were about a mile away and could paddle the Zodiac to shore if the motor didn’t start.  The rotor wash was sending large amounts of sea water into the air and back down on the aircraft, it was like a rain shower just outside the rear ramp.  The helo was only a foot or two off the water, the two men at the bow pulled and three more pushed from the rear to get the Zodiac onto the ramp.  They continued pulling and pushing until it slid off the ramp like a sled into the ocean.  Three of the men, including Rick were able to jump into the boat from the ramp, the rest were in the water.  The helo’s ramp began closing and the pilot had pushed the cyclic slightly forward to begin forward movement away from the team.  In two minutes the helo was a mile away picking up speed as it climbed back up to 75 feet, heading out to sea.  The four men in the water had been pulled onto the Zodiac and all were sitting quietly and listening intently until the helo was long gone.  The Zodiac’s motor started on the first pull, it was a silenced motor barely audible over the surf.  Rick motioned to steer north while maintaining the same distance off the coast.  At a mile out in the darkness they were invisible and could easily move undetected.  It was 0515 hours, in ten minutes they’d be on the beach before first light.

Alpha had made it to within 50 meters of the bridge and road.  They stopped and listened, Jack whispered to Manual.  “Move up to the bridge and assess the situation.”  Manual nodded, slipped off his ruck and moved off quietly through the woods toward the bridge.  Five minutes after Manual had left the team could just barely hear a truck, it sounded like the driver was using the engine to help brake coming down a hill.  In that case it must be coming from the west since the roads running north and south are relatively flat in this area.  The team heard the truck engine grow louder and heard the driver shifting through the gears; they saw its lights through the trees as it passed in front of their position.  Jack checked his watch, Manuel had been gone 9 minutes, it would be light soon, they had to make their move across the road very soon or find a good hiding place.  Manuel was only 10 meters away when Jack detected his movement, instinctively he pointed his CAR in that direction.  (CAR-15 SMG – Sub Machine Gun, a.k.a. XM-177E2)  “There are two guards, look like guerillas.  They appear to only have rifles, but they are both sitting and leaning against the end of the bridge’s foundation sleeping, I could hear both of them snoring.  The truck crossed the bridge and kept going.  If we move west about 20 meters the road curves slightly, we can cross there undetected.”  Jack nodded in agreement.  Manuel slipped his ruck on and took point again, leading the team west.  The Cordillera Oriental mountain range on the east side of the valley delayed sunrise in Puerto Berrío by about ten minutes longer than it would have been without the mountains.  Alpha had made it to within 13 klicks of the ranch, they were traveling west of the road and river.  The vegetation had been lighter than expected up to that point, given the rich, moist soil close to the river.  However, now it was rapidly getting denser as they moved south and the terrain hilly.  The heavy vegetation and trees were ideal for concealment, but would slow the team’s movement down to less