OPERATION PURPLE SWORD- AFTER ACTION REPORT (20 APR 2016 @ 2001 )

OPERATION PURPLE SWORD - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: SPC Constance Makhandule


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 3x Sectoids, 6x "Floaters", armed with plasma weapons and carbines

o Friendly Forces
 - SPC Ward Parsons (Australia)
 - PFC Constance Makhandule (South Africa)
 - PFC Lieselotte Faber (Germany)
 - PVT Jirina Markusova (Czech Republic)
 - PVT Svetlana Petukhova (Russia)
 - PVT Maurice Vos (Netherlands)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Darwin, Australia, 20 APR 2016 @ 2001 hrs, IOT disrupt alien abduction operations.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

We received the Mission Alert at 1800 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1802, and we touched ground at 2001 hrs near an observatory. SPC Parsons was squad leader, and lead the way, moving to the doors of the observatory, before directing the rest of the squad to stack on the wall for breach. We moved into the building before breaking into two teams, consisting of SPC Parsons, myself and PVT Petukhova in Team A, and PFC Faber with PVTs Vos and Markusova in Team B. Team A breached the storage room to the side, while Team B approached the door at the back of the main room.

At Parson's signal, Vos opened the door, revealing a new X-Ray. The creature appeared to be partly humanoid, but augmented with machines, and had its lower body replaced with rocket thrusters. PVT Vos' initial contact report described them as "Floaters". The floaters stayed clustered, as PVT Vos threw a frag grenade at them. While they were recoverying from the grenade blast, which appeared to do minimal damage, Team A maneuvered to firing positions, and Markusova and Parsons took shots, destroying two of the three. That was when alien reinforcements closed on our position, consisting of more of the floaters, as well as sectoids. The remaining floater fled while we were adjusting cover for the new threat.

Parsons, from his vantage on the roof, designated one of the new floaters, allowing Petrukhova, Markusova and Vos to mass fires and destroy it. The sectoids began moving into the building in an attempt to flank, while one of the floaters blasted off into the night sky, and the remainder took cover and fired on our positions.

PVT Vos tossed a grenade toward where the Sectoids were hiding inside the building, blowing the wall out and exposing the X-Rays. Markusova, Petrukhova, myself and Parsons took advantage of their immediate confusion to eliminate the floater and the two Sectoids revealed.

Suddenly, one of the floaters, presumably the one that had blasted off, came in behind PVT Petrukhova. Despite her position being under fire from the last Sectoid, she took a shot and destroyed the floater before it could take a shot at her. I attempted to expose the remaining Sectoid with a frag grenade, but wasn't able to do sufficient damage to blow out the side of the truck it was using for cover. Immediately after, the Sectoid took a shot at Parsons and managed to severely injure him, and another floater appeared and began suppressing my position as the rest of the squad advanced under fire.

Markusova came to my support and took a shot at the floater, eliminating it, which allowed me to fire a rocket at the Sectoid, destroying some of its cover and forcing it to move, which is when Faber put it down.


Parsons fell to his wounds shortly after, and had to be evacced to the Skyranger while we secured the rest of the site. I am writing this report in his stead, as he is still in surgery at this time.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain:
 - An enemy exposed is a dead one
 - Fire teams and intersecting fields of fire

o Improve:
 - Snipers excel with a good vantage point
 - Never assume your backtrail is clear