Hello all this is my first entry and first time delving into this form of writing while this chapter has no sex it is used to lay some of the groundwork for the rest of the story as always comments and constructive critisms are always welcome enjoy!!! Also lastly but not least i would like to thank my editor fairydedanann you are a great help!!
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"Wha-what the hell just happenedâ€?"‬ I said out loud to myself.†‬My room continued to shake from the explosion just outside,†‬at least it sounded and felt that way.†"‬What was thatâ€? ‬Was it a controlled-det,†‬incoming,†‬or whatâ€?" ‬I asked my roommates.†‬None of them knew.†‬Then one of our unit's platoon leaders opens up the door to make sure we are all†"‬okâ€"‬.†‬We all were thank God.
Thus is life for a deployed soldier,†‬mortars always at the forefront of one's mind but rarely land close enough to truly freak one out.†‬Unless you're a newbie which†‬I'm not but still only on my second tour.†‬While on my first I was a U.S Army PFC working as†an OH-58 Kiowa weapons mechanic. ‬This tour I'm flying the helos but instead of my old Kiowa,†‬I am flying the AH-64†‬apache,†‬the Army and the World's premier attack helicopter.†‬Now I am†‬in Iran doing what I'm trained to doâ€â€”‬kill. â€
While this may be distasteful to many people back†‬home, even†‬downright revolting.†‬I am honored to do my role in the war for when I kill the enemy,†‬my brothers and sisters in†‬arms get to live another day.†‬Another day that draws them closer to having the ones they love in their arms,†‬and that helps me sleep at night.
I'm lost in thought as I hear and feel a massive explosion on the other side of base.†‬All hell breaks loose just as our company executive officer nearly breaks the door down to tell us we were hit by an ICBM or intercontinental ballistic missile. The blast took out most of the bases battalion and division command center.†‬We are all in shock†‬and then realize that retaliation will be next.†‬Sure enough the next words out of our XO's mouth were.
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"‬EVERYONE GET TO Yâ€'‬ALLS BIRDSâ€!‬ THE MISSLE CAME FROM TEHRAN AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE HEADINGâ€!"
With that came the full on sprint by all the pilots to our birds where the maintenance crews had most the preflight check finished and our gear was waiting heloside.†‬As we loaded into our birds and began our run-up checks,†‬command was giving us our briefing on the mission that lay ahead of us.†‬Afterward,†‬I was once again lost in thought as my gunner did his run-ups,†‬which would have us ready to head into battle.â€
Looking out across the airfield,†‬I see that†‬is as busy as I've ever seen it.†‬At least†‬100†‬Kiowa's and Apaches getting ready to take†‬off as well as the†160TH Special Operations Aviation Regiment or SOAR's Nightstalkers UH-60M Blackhawks‬ whom were tasked out to the rangers prepping to drop in the hurtinâ€' ‬after we made it semi-safe for them to land.†‬But they didn't care either way. These guys,†‬especially our medevac pilots,†‬would land even in the middle of a firefight, if it meant being able to bring fellow warriors home.†‬Alive or dead it matters not to us they WILL come home.
On the next pad over I could see the air force getting ready to do their thing as well with around†‬20†‬or†‬30†‬f-16â€'‬s and f-15â€'‬s. Our commanding officer suddenly comes over the com,†‬telling us we all have clearance to take off,†‬snapping me out of my trance.†‬With that we were in the air and heading east.
Even before we left†the airspace over the base,‬ our minds instantly hardened as we passed over the impact site and saw that about half the brigades who had assets in this portion of Iran had lost their command posts with countless dead.†‬Those who were not directly involved in the firefight cheered and threw their fists in support of our impending assault in retaliation to those fallen.†‬We were†‬witnesses as many more warriors†‬perished as a nearby fuel truck exploded engulfing the firefighters and the armoured troop carriers that were on the side of the road providing security for the firemen,†‬incase a ground attack happened.
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"‬OH MY GODâ€"!‬ I heard my gunner say as the flames engulfed them and snuffed the life out of my fellow soldiers.†‬None of us could help reacting to this with anything but pure unadulterated rage billowing inside them,†‬chomping at the bit to get to Tehran and wreak absolute havoc upon the†‬Iranian military.
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"‬Mountain Eagle One,†‬this is Mercury One.†‬You are eighty kilimeters out from the target area.†‬Scout Cav One-Nine will be sending all attack units target†‬Intel within the minute overâ€."‬
â€"‬Roger that,â€" ‬was our commanders reply and with that we dropped down to†‬twenty feet off the ground preparing to begin our assault on the capital city of Iran.
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"‬This is Chalk One lead confirming all chalks have received target informationâ€."‬†‬As my gunner looked at the information,†‬I could almost†‬see him slip†‬on a sadistic smile that I knew all the other pilots and gunners†‬were wearing as well,†‬myself included.
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"‬Looks like there's plenty to go†‬aroundâ€" ‬my gunner said to me.†‬I couldn't help but chuckle to myself at the realization that this would soon be a bloodbath of lovely epic proportions.
â€"‬Chalk One,†‬lead has visual on target areaâ€"‬.
With that came the settling feeling of the vengeance that would soon be wrought in†‬our brothers and sisters honor.†‬Even though lead had called over the radio he had visual,†‬it was only for command back at Forward Operating Base Normandy.†‬We already saw all the smoke billowing from the city.
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"‬Well looks like the Air force has beat us to the punch boys.â€" ‬My gunner said but†‬that†‬was of no concern to me because they only were hitting larger,†‬harder targets like Surface To Air missile systems and Anti-Aircraft Artillery†emplacements‬ and bunkers,†‬that would do nothing†‬to hinder us in killing the enemy. But he,†‬like all of us had been riled into a blood frenzy and we wanted to spill all the blood we could.†‬Finally,†‬the words we were all waiting for squawked over the radio.
â€"‬This is Scout Cav-One-Nine relaying final updated target acquisition information to all attack units nowâ€...‬happy hunting battlesâ€."
â€"‬Information received†‬One-Nine a happy hunting it shall be.†‬Hell Hound†‬One outâ€" ‬was my only reply before we neared the berm that surrounded Tehran that the Kiowa's has been using as cover to relay us our intelligence.
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"‬Task force lead to all call†‬signs,†‬break from patrol formations and move to attack formationsâ€."
â€"‬Hellhound†‬1†‬copiesâ€."‬
Finally,†‬the moment of truth†‬arrived as we†‬flew over the†burms that surrounded ‬Tehran. We were now in sight of the city and its plethora of targets,†‬and then came the words we were all waiting for.
â€"‬Task force lead to all call signs:†‬you are clear to engage all primary designated targets and targets of opportunityâ€."
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‬With that,†‬all hell†‬broke loose.†‬All the Apaches†‬fired all of their sixteen hellfire missiles.†‬Each†‬missile flew to†‬their respective target and the city exploded into a vast fireball of hellish proportions,†‬obliterating all of our intended targets.†‬Unknowingly,†‬I began to emit a freakishly animalistic growl from my lungs,†‬without any thought to the fact that the source of the growl was also the source of†‬immense grief before I deployed.†‬This only slightly disturbed my gunner.
