Chapter 4
2nd Infantry Division
Camp Bowie, 15 km from the DMZ
Army Intelligence Detachment
Secure Room One in the CQ Shack
Six weeks later, 0700 hours Korea time
Comment of the Moment: “You’ll take out the warlord if the situation calls for it, right?”
Spence entered Secure Room one. Dutch Slover and Dawn Yeoja scooted their chairs back from the table and stood at attention.
Spence commanded, “At ease. Take your seats, please.”
The two returned to sitting at the table.
Spence said, “Okay, here we go. The following is your abbreviated OPORD.”
Slover reached for his breast pocket for his note pad.
Slover looked at Dawn and nodded at her breast pocket. He whispered, “Captain Dawn.”
Spence ordered, “Oops. No notes. This briefing is strictly VOCO. Just like the last mission.”
Slover replied, “Sorry, Colonel.”
“No problem, Sergeant. The use of VOCO is to protect our unit from discovery. That is if you are caught, it will protect our unit. Also, if you are caught, this and, the use of VOCO, will protect our General, the SECDEF, and SECARMY from blame. So, don’t get caught!”
“Roger that, sir.”
Spence continued his briefing, “Number One: The Situation! Enemy Forces: Intelligence has come to us that in Somalia, one of the warlords has captured the Capitol city. He has a large and strong following.
“He has captured the country’s treasury. He has used the money to purchase a military tactical nuke. He has a small tactical nuke of up to five kilotons.”
Dawn exclaimed, “My God. Even if he has just one tactical nuclear weapon, it would make him practically invulnerable in Africa. No one could bring him down.”
Spence responded, “That’s very close to true. All he would have to do is locate the center of the resistance. Attack them and blow them away. The Situation: His most likely course of action is to approach a rogue nuclear nation to gain more. He will try to buy from them. We need to find out from where he hopes to obtain his other nukes. We think he will try to get one from the Russians. Part of the problem is that he is seldom seen in public. The Somalis know him, but Westerners don’t know what he looks like.”
Slover asked, “Sir, why would buying his nukes from Russia be important?”
Spence looked thoughtfully at the two, “We believe it would place him in competition with General Jagwi.”
“I don’t get it, sir. Why would it be important?”
“Simple: we don’t want Jagwi to get any more nuclear material either. If the warlord goes after one, we’ll want to help him all we can. We need to work to make sure Jagwi doesn’t get any, period. The warlord will be easier to take out than Jagwi. Besides, taking out General Jagwi could start another Korean Conflict!”
Slover nodded, “I can understand that. But if the warlord is successful at obtaining any more nuclear weapons, he’ll be a power to reckon with in East Africa. That makes us create a problem that we have to solve after the fact.”
Spence countered, “Sergeant, this is what Washington wants.”
Dawn observed, “That is so deceitful. It makes us part of the problem.”
Spence hesitated. He shrugged, “Unfortunately that is true. However, Washington will want us to take him out afterward. They will want us to take his nuclear acquisitions out of his country. Remember, Sergeant Slover, you signed up for Team Reliant. You took the training. You know the situation. You are world class Special Operations certified. You were in our sniper training classes. Any more questions about that issue. . . from either of you?”
Spence held up a hand to forestall any more discussion. He leaned toward the two, and by his action invited them to listen closely. They unconsciously leaned toward him. He said, “Look! For this mission, the truly important issue is the nuclear weapon. In the purview of the Chemical, Biological and Radiological (CBR) warfare instructors, we’ve all been taught how to prepare for the issue of dealing with them immediately after their deployment against us and how to protect our personnel. As far as I am concerned, it’s damned sure better to remove from the battlefield before their deployment so that they cannot be used against us. Also, I’ll consider the mission a success if you can just take the weapon away from the warlord.”
He raised his right forefinger, pointed at them, and said, “You never heard me say that, and if you ever say I did say it, I’ll call you a damned liar to your face!”
He leaned back and sad, “Now, we continue with our briefing and Army’s official position! Who wants to lure him out and take him down sniper style?”
Slover looked at Captain Dawn as he wondered if she would take the lead.
She looked at him blankly. Finally, she observed, “I have the skills. I was trained for this by my country. They knew the international situation when they trained me. If I refuse this assignment, the Army will court martial me.”
Slover mused, “We were trained to kill. But we expected to kill in a war.”
Spence offered, “This is a war. While that is clear, there is also a lot of gray area in this war, hence my previous statement. We don’t go around killing civilians. Do you remember my telling you about the fact that setting a timer on a nuclear device is the same as pulling the trigger on a weapon?”
Slover nodded, “Yes, sir.”
“Alright, the warlord has captured his country. He has captured its treasury. He has acquired a tactical nuke. He has put the word out that he wants some more nukes. That is the same as pulling the trigger or setting the timer. Eventually, 300,000 Somalis could die. How many Somalis, or other Africans do you want to die?”
Slover asked, “How many do I want to die? Why am I being asked?”
Spence stated, “You are being asked because we’re equipping you to save them. Captain Dawn, how many do you want to die? We’re equipping you to save them also.”
Consternation wracked her features. Slover’s face mirrored hers.
Slover began, “I…don’t. I don’t think we want. . ..any….”
Dawn interrupted him, “No, we don’t want any of them to die.”
Slover nodded at her, “Right. None of them because of the warlord and his tactical nuke."
“Then, you’ll take out the warlord if the situation calls for it?”
Slover looked at the floor.
He said, “If I try to look at this assignment head-on, it’s like I’ll be looking at the Medusa. I feel I like may freeze and turn to stone. But if I close one eye and turn my head away a little, I might get a lucky shot and take him out!”
Dawn looked sympathetically at him.
Spence asked, “Slover?”
Slover asked, “Who will take the shot at him?”
Spence replied, “If she’s the expert. You’re the spotter. You’re in it together."
Spence commented, “Slover, I know you’ve gone after a target with grim determination before and completed your assignment. Can you do that now?”
Dawn put her hand on Slover’s arm. She said, “It’s alright, Slover. I can do it,”
Slover sighed a deep sigh. “Ah, hell.” With resignation, he said, “Yeah! We can do it” Privately he thought, I’ll be damned if I’ll let the Ninja woman show me up.
Spence commanded, “Good! Now for the who, what, when, where and why of the mission. You two will go to Somalia, via Diego Garcia Island. While at Diego Garcia you will receive training in SCUBA usage. You will go to Diego Garcia in the Submarine, Hellbent. While on the submarine, you will be observers only. The US Navy will crew the submarine. After your SCUBA instruction, they will take you to Somalia for infiltration and for you to carry out your mission. You will find the warlord. Your target is Nashmi Mazbout You will observe him from a distance to learn his intentions. You are not allowed to tell anyone that you are American. You may not tell anyone you are with the Army. You will observe the places he frequents the most. And, if possible, you will learn his favorites. My intent is for you to find the best way to take his nuke from him. If he tries to stop you, you may have to take him out. If you think he poses a threat, then you must take him out. Where you do it will have to be a place that allows you safe and rapid egress.
Slover asked, “Where will we find him?”
“Our information says that he frequents the area of the Mogadishu football stadium.”
Slover exclaimed, “Football? In Somalia?”
Spence grinned, “Sorry Slover. That’s an other worldly term for soccer.”
“Oh, man! But, sir. The map shows that there are three stadiums in Mogadishu!”
“True, but you’ll just have to track him to learn his favorite. I have reserved rooms for you at the Shamo Hotel. It’s about a block and a half off Jidka Afgooye Street. After you complete your mission, the sub crew will bring you back to Korea,”
“Sergeant First Class Slover, you will have Operational Control during the trip to Somalia.
“Captain Dawn, you will have OPCON during the mission in Somalia.”
Slover asked, “Why will she have OPCON during the most difficult part of the mission?”
Spence smiled, “A pretty woman can always get more out of an antagonist than a man.”
Slover shrugged and with resignation said, “Okay.” Chagrin was evident in his acceptance of being under the control of a woman!
Spence asked, “Is everything understood?”
Slover replied, “Yes, sir.”
Dawn answered, “Yes sir.”
“Good! This is Operation Warlord. Here is your new Satphone. It is new. Its encryption is new and undiscovered. Here is my new Satphone number. Memorize it and destroy the paper it’s written on. Slover, your call sign is ‘Spotter One.’ Captain, your call sign is Expert One.
“I will be Control. Here are two credit cards. We cannot give you all the currency you might need. If you have to enter neighboring countries, you’ll need either cash or a credit card to move about. Be sure to keep your receipts. You two need to pack whatever gear you are taking. Then you need to go over to the battalion armorer and draw the weapons you’ll be taking for your assignment. Your sniper rifle will have a carrying case. It will be water proof. It will have a supply of ammunition in it. As part of your cover, here is a kit with cloth samples in it. It has business cards for you to serve as manufacturer’s representatives of prayer rugs. The manufacturer is a real one. It will be recognized by vendors in Somalia if you actually sell any rugs.”
Spence continued, “You will be at Camp Hovey by 1100 hours. You will fly to Busan Harbor where you will board Submarine Hellbent for your week -long trip to Diego Garcia Island.
He emphasized, “And, by the way, there is a proper way to board a Navy ship. You’ll approach it on a boarding ramp, the gangway. At the end of the gangway, if the hour is before 1730, you will face aft. Aft is the rear of the ship. You’ll salute the flag.”
He pointed at Slover, “You’ll turn and face the sailor standing there. Ordinarily you’d hand a copy your orders to the sailor standing there. No matter what the sailor’s rank is, you will salute and say, ‘Permission to come aboard, sir.’ The sailor person standing there might be a junior noncom. That sailor might be a female. You will address that person as ‘sir’ no matter what. You will hold your salute until that sailor returns it.”
Spence reached into his valise, “This piece of paper I’m giving each of you now, is the only paper you will need. It identifies you two soldiers. It orders you to board as Observers. You will say, ‘We are with Mission Warlord.” Your name tags will be visible to the sailor standing there. Have your Army ID cards available, if they want to see them. If you are carrying personal baggage, the sailor has the right to search your baggage.”
Slover exclaimed, “My god, what would they be looking for?”
“Sergeant, it doesn’t matter. They have right to search your baggage. If you have loose items in your baggage, you might wrap and secure them with duct tape. It’ll help if you have to dump the contents on deck if they want to search your stuff. It’ll also help when it comes time to stow your gear in your personal area.”
Spence studied them both to gauge their understanding, “The sailor standing there will give you permission to board. Then you can board. That sailor will direct you to the Reserve Liaison Officer. The RLO will ask you for your ‘page two.’ That’s this page here.” Spence handed each of them an official Navy form.
He said, “It is basically a health history form. It tells them if you might experience health problems during the mission while on board ship. Fill them out before you get there. The RLO will orient you to the ship He will explain the daily routine to you. He will also sign your observation orders. Hang on to them."
Dawn blurted, “Good grief. It sounds like you need to take an orientation course just to board a Navy ship.”
Spence laughed, “Nah, they get it from Navy tradition.” He laughed again, “And maybe they get it from a Navy boot camp.”
Slover asked, “When do we get our Navy orientation?”
Spence laughed again, “You just had it. Now, don’t embarrass me,” he looked pointedly at Slover, “when you get there. Don’t embarrass me by getting into a conflict with the Navy. Is that clear?”
Slover and Dawn solemnly nodded and affirmed, “Yes sir.”
Spence handed to Dawn her Somali papers. He said, “your name is Berbera Cirro.”
He handed Slover his Somali papers. He said, “Your name is Myy Kaal.”
“One last thing. In Somalia, at this time of year, the prevailing winds are from the Southwest. The humidity be dry. As a sniper detachment, you’ll need to know that,
“Any questions?
Slover and Dawn slowly shook their heads.
“Don’t forget: I’ll be moving my office into this secure room tomorrow for the duration of the missions.”