Mission Operation “Free the Eagle”
As a navy officer, my job is to provide assistance to individuals who are in distress. Or perhaps imminent danger at sea and also defend my country from sea attack mission. Mostly, my teams and I save people from drowning into the deep in the event of a boat or cruise ship accident. But not only that; we also put our necks on the line for hostages at sea.
My job is quite challenging yet very exciting and fulfilling; especially when we complete successful searches and rescues. There is nothing as rewarding as going back home at the end of the day knowing that you have saved lives. Sometimes we do work with rescue teams from other countries like Britain, Europe and so on. Especially during important missions in international waters.
Operation Free the Eagle
Of all the joint rescue mission that I have been deployed to; this is certainly the most significant mission I have taken part it. The following is a detailed account of what happened on operation Free the Eagle thousands of miles into the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
We had just been summoned to an emergency briefing after Captain Maine received a crucial intel that a cargo ship full of weapons; narcotics and 2 hostages was on its way to the port of Florida. As usual, we only had a couple of hours if we were to get to the location of the vessel before daybreak.
In combat, night attack provides significant tactical advantages to the attacker. It can accomplish a mission that are not always possible during daylight hours. The enemy is at their most vulnerable state during this time as they are exhausted; as well as limited in terms of visual capability. If we had to gain access without being detected; it would probably be during nighttime.
So, we drew up a strategic action plan where the 6 of us plus the captain would get to the location of the ship by a military chopper at exactly 3 am, descend to the ship quietly; cut power as well as communication systems and then engage the enemy combatants for about 45 minutes or so.
1900 hrs: Departing for Mission
We boarded our chopper at 7pm while heavily armed and in protective body armor. We smoked plenty of marijuana throughout the journey without taking any food. This is because we saw no need for us to indulge in food when we weren’t sure whether or not we would be corpses in the next few hours. How would have the food benefited us? But we chose to smoke bang because we wanted to chase away the fear.
0250 Hrs: Descending from the Chopper and Taking Shooting Positions
By 2.50am, the position of the embattled vessel was about 60 degrees below us and almost 3 miles away. The chopper we were using was not an ordinary chopper that you know. This state-of-the-art machine provided us with stealth flight capabilities. About 10 minutes later we were right above the vessel aiming our sniper rifles at four hostiles stationed at different points on the deck. A few seconds later, we managed to kill them simultaneously and rappelled from the chopper without creating any commotion.
Now it was time to head for our firing positions; which is a very crucial step in combat. You must seek cover from fire, and concealment from observation before you engage the enemy otherwise you might easily be killed even before the battle begins. We all secured our positions and acquired enemy targets in a tactful, pleasant and professional manner waiting for the captain to give orders to engage. This is no science project either.. This is some real serious sh*t.
0301Hrs: Getting Into Action
A few seconds later, all hell broke loose; gunshot sounds rented the air with heavy and continuous suppressive fire from our side. I can recall how the bad guys were running for their lives helter skelter in total confusion; we had actually caught them totally unawares.
0321Hrs: End Of Battle
After about 20 minutes, there was no fire coming from their side that’s when we knew it was over. Unfortunately, two of my colleagues got killed in the battle. We immediately took care of their bodies and then rushed into the ship to search for the 2 hostages who we eventually found dead. What a tragic end of the mission?
Of all the sea rescues that I have undertaken, operation ‘Free the Eagle’ remains to be one of a kind. This is because I lost 2 very good friends of mine as well as the hostages who were the key part of our mission. Although the outcome of this mission might seem like a double loss; it’s totally not. We managed to eliminate the most notorious bunch of criminals and save many from falling into their hands.
&nsbp;
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