Sniper Elite: One-Way Trip

CHAPTER 42

General Couture stood before a large map of the Panjshir Valley hanging on the wall. The map was festooned with large red arrows indicating the directions of the planned American troop movements into the valley. Captain Metcalf and a number of other officers sat in rows of chairs watching on as Couture prepared to share the particulars of Operation Fell Swoop.

“We’ll start with some background on the Panjshir Valley for those unfamiliar with this infamous piece of real estate,” he began. “It’s one hundred kilometers in length with the Panjshir River running right through the middle of it. It is of significant strategic military importance, and for this reason remained a Mujahideen stronghold throughout the Russian war — back when our old ally Ahmad Shah Massoud was still their leader. The Soviets launched six different offensives against the Panjshir, and got throttled all six times. The valley remains littered with knocked-out Soviet armor to this day. The reason for the Panjshir’s strategic importance is that Panjshir Highway leads directly to both the Khawak and Anjoman mountain passes. These passes are absolutely essential to any army wanting to move large numbers of men and materiel over the Hindu Kush. Even Alexander the Great passed through the Panjshir.

“As you know, Al Qaeda assassinated Massoud with a camera bomb back in 2001, but the valley has not been greatly contested since our arrival in Afghanistan — not until now. As a result of the scheduled drawdown of our forces here in the ATO, the Panjshir has not been occupied or even patrolled by US forces for the past six months. At the moment, the valley holds no real strategic value to us, but we don’t particularly want it in HIK hands, either. As you know, these Hezbis have occupied the valley for the past four months now, and all of my requests for permission to drive them out have been refused. Karzai doesn’t want them making a concerted effort to force him from office, so he’s been making certain concessions. Allowing them the Panjshir was one such concession, and our president has seen fit to keep us out of it… until now.

“For those of you who have not heard, the HIK is holding Warrant Office Sandra Brux in the village in Bazarak, using her as a kind of human shield to further curb any attempt at our reoccupation of the valley. UAV reconnaissance indicates they are dug deep into the mountains surrounding the valley. They have filled every position with RPGs and heavy machine guns. Despite the fact they possesses limited artillery, they’ve taken a page right out of the old Mujahideen-Massoud playbook, employing the same tactics that were used to thrash the Soviets. It’s become more and more obvious to me over the passing weeks that the HIK’s overarching, long-term objective is to draw our forces into that valley in the hope of killing off hundreds of our troops, knocking out our armor, and forcing us to wrap up our involvement here in Afghanistan in the face of a final humiliating defeat — much like the Soviets were forced to do.

“We are not, obviously, going to fall into that trap, but the mathematical truth of the matter is undeniable: if we wait much longer to move in there and take Warrant Officer Brux away from these people, it’s going to end up costing us a lot of men and materiel. The truth is that none of our intelligence people believes there is a realistic chance that this Hezbi cleric — Aasif Kohistani — is ever going to release Sandra alive, so it’s been decided we’re going in there to get her.”

At this point, Metcalf realized that Sandra was being used as a pretext to go against Karzai’s wishes and rid the Panjshir Valley of the HIK once and for all.

“The name of the operation is Fell Swoop,” Couture continued. “It is tailor-made for the Rangers of the First Air Cavalry Division, and the Joint Chiefs believe it’s the best way of both securing Warrant Officer Brux and eliminating large numbers of the HIK at the same time. The mission will begin with shock and awe. Air Force will pummel their mountain strongpoints ringing the valley in order to reduce the RPG threat to our Black Hawks and Apaches. Directly thereafter — before the smoke has cleared — the helos of the First Air Cav will swoop in and deploy two full companies of Rangers at either end of Bazarak Village.

“The Rangers to the south will establish blocking positions to prevent the enemy’s escape. Rangers to the north will sweep down through the village, clearing each building along the way in search of Warrant Officer Brux. All of our people will be wearing infrared strobes, of course, so the Apaches flying top cover will be able to differentiate friend from foe. Meanwhile, Air Force will continue to hammer the mountain strongpoints to prevent the mountain fighters from reinforcing the village. Our troops on the ground will be outnumbered, but our superior air power will neutralize the enemy’s numerical advantage.”

Couture took a look around the room. “Don’t worry,” he said with a smile. “Up against our night vision, our superior weapons, and our training, the enemy’s resistance within the village itself should quickly degrade into pockets of panicked gunmen just hoping to survive the night. We’ve mapped every inch of the village into the global positioning system, so our people on the ground will be able to call for tactical Apache strikes against any pockets of resistance they cannot quickly reduce themselves. The name of the game here is speed. After Sandra is secured, our troops will be pulled out of the valley, and Air Force will finish the job. We do not intend to reoccupy the valley, only to eliminate great numbers of the HIK.”

Couture paused again to look around the room. “Any questions?”

Captain Metcalf cleared his throat. “I have one question, General.”

“By all means, Captain.”

“Well, sir, I’m wondering if we’re giving enough consideration to securing Warrant Officer Brux. SOG remains ready and eager to participate in this operation.”

Couture nodded gravely. “I share your concern, Captain, and I understand that our people in Special Forces remain ready. However, it’s been decided that conventional shock and awe is our best means of bringing Warrant Officer Brux out of there alive, especially since we still have no idea which building she’s being held in. The size and shape of the village itself is very problematic. Bazarak is too big and too heavily occupied at present for a special ops team to go in there alone with any chance of survival, and it’s just too damned small for a joint operation. We can’t have Rangers and SEALs running around in there at the same time. The simple truth is that they operate differently, and the heads back in DC have decided to keep this a conventional fight.”

Metcalf appreciated the elaborate explanation, but he recognized it as so much bullshit. It was obvious to him that the Special Forces community was being punished for Bank Heist. Even in these modern times, there existed elements within the United States Army that hated Special Forces — even their own Green Berets — elements who would seize any opportunity to make Special Forces look unnecessary or overhyped in order to brush them aside and keep them out of the fight. There were many egos to feed, and too few operations to satisfy their voracious appetites for glory, recognition, and ever-important funding.

Warrant Officer Elicia Skelton with CID, seated in the back row, put up her hand.

Couture wondered briefly what she was doing there, then remembered that CID would be needed to begin an immediate investigation in the event Sandra Brux was found dead in Bazarak. He recalled that Elicia’s immediate supervisor, Brent Silverwood, was the man suspected of leaking the DNA evidence that had led to the execution of Bank Heist. “What is it, Skelton?”

If Elicia felt self-conscious with all of the brass turning to look at her, it didn’t show. “Sir, I’m curious how much consideration has been given to the fact that the vast majority of people living in the Panjshir aren’t Pashtun. They’re mostly Tajik and therefore largely sympathetic to the West. I believe it’s possible we may end up killing a large number of our allies, sir.”

Couture’s brow went up, but he immediately regained his composure. “This is presently a hostile village, Skelton. While it may be predominantly Tajik under normal circumstances, you may rest assured there are hundreds of Pashtuns living there now.” He took his eyes from her and addressed the entire room. “Remember, people, this is first and foremost a rescue operation. Our primary goal is to recover Warrant Officer Brux, but this is also an excellent opportunity for us to eliminate a large number of HIK fighters… all in one fell swoop.”