OPERATION FLYING HYMN - AFTER ACTION REPORT (29 JUN 2016 @ 0316)

OPERATION FLYING HYMN - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: LT Naomi Bowden


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 8x Thin Men, 2x Seekers, 2x Mutons, armed with Plasma Weapons

o Friendly Forces
 - LT Naomi "Artemis" Bowden (United Kingdom)
 - SGT Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
 - SGT Monica "Alpha" de Matos (Brazil)
 - SGT Shousei "Lightning" Daiwa (Japan)
 - CPL Wushun "Tu-Tu" Zhu (China)
 - CPL Leigh "Beacon" Fahey (United States)
 - CPL Tegan "Cable" Reed (United Kingdom) - KIA


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to China, 29 JUN 2016 @ 0316 hrs, IOT plant transponders and redirect the X-Ray Assault Cruiser.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

We received the Mission Alert at 0045 hrs. The squad was assembled in the Skyranger by 0108, and we touched down in China at 0316 hrs. We received word upon getting into the train station that the Cruiser was inbound, and that we didn't have much time. We moved into position near the back of the train, with CPL Zhu set to provide cover the length of the train. He was the first to get eyes on the enemy, and put down the Seeker as it moved toward the squad.

SGT Daiwa moved to the first designated location, and placed a transponder. The rest of the squad moved into the train, and I fired upon the Thin Man. When it moved to avoid further fire, SGT Daiwa finished it off. Then he advanced up the train toward the next designated point, where he spotted several Thin Men and a Seeker, which he reported went immediately into stealth mode as the Thin Men scattered.

CPL Zhu had eyes on, and managed to put one of the Thin Men down instantly. On the other side of the train, CPL Fahey charged forward and put down the only Thin Man to cross over. SGT Daiwa provided cover for Fahey by critically wounding the Thin Man on her flank, while SGT Colman critically wounded another, on the far edge of the station. The X-Rays returned fire, and CPL Reed managed to wing the Seeker as it came out of hiding and grabbed Fahey. However, she exposed herself to do so, and a Thin Man burst into the train and put her on the ground with a plasma burst that burned through her chestplate.

SGT Colman put a burst into the Seeker on CPL Fahey (further padding her reputation as a Seeker-bane) while de Matos moved to check on Reed, and get her back on her feet. Daiwa managed to wing the Thin Man up ahead in the train, which I followed up and destroyed. CPL Reed, back on her feet but still seriously wounded, moved to cover, but didn't quite make it before another Thin Man fired and put her down again. De Matos, preparing to move to her side again, was taken by surprise by a Muton from the next set of tracks. Her injury was severe, and she fell to the ground, screaming for several seconds. Fahey moved up and planted another transponder, while Zhu provided cover, and blew the Muton's head into a greenish mist. The rest of the team was shaken, and was less successful in their counter-attacks.

Two Thin Men fired on the prone de Matos, which seemed to snap her out of her panic. While she gathered herself and moved to check on Reed, Daiwa spotted another Muton that appeared to be teleported in. He charged forward to draw it's fire, and landed a solid, but non-critical hit on it. Colman finally managed to get into a position to kill the Thin Man that killed Reed, and Zhu managed to finish off the other one. After confirming that Reed was dead, de Matos crawled to the nearby designated point, and planted a transponder, and managed to provide self-aid. No one has a solid shot on the Muton, so the squad advances under cover, as de Matos manages to dodge yet another shot.

Advancing to the next transponder location, Daiwa gets eyes on two more Thin Men. He quickly plants the transponder, while Fahey charges up, hops the railing and blows the muton into the planter behind it. Daiwa, complete with the transponder, puts a bullet into one of the Thin Men. 

Zhu reported movement to the squad's rear, but did not have a clear shot. I peeled Fahey and Colman off to support Zhu while de Matos moves up to start the train running, now that all transponders have been emplaced. 

I order the squad off the train and we maneuver to eliminate the rest of the X-Rays, but apparently with the train gone, their command ordered them to exfiltrate. We did not encounter any further resistance as we cleared the station, so we collected CPL Reed, and returned to the Skyranger for our own exfiltration.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Sniper support and overwatch
 - Tactical momentum

o Improve:
 - Insufficient use of cover
 - Unfocused fires