Tuesday, October 27, 2015

OPERATION FALLEN PRIEST - AFTER ACTION REPORT (13 AUG 2016 @ 0755)

OPERATION FALLEN PRIEST - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: SFC Shaojie Zhang


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 22x EXALT Operatives, armed with conventional weapons

o Friendly Forces
 - SFC Shaojie "Chilong" Zhang (China)
 - SSG Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
 - SSG Leigh "Beacon" Fahey (United States)
 - SGT Ward "Shroud" Parsons (Australia)
 - SGT Lara "Athena" Jordan (Australia)
 - SGT Rainhard "Ogre" Horn (Austria)
 - CPL Jermaine "Da Pain" Glynn (United States)
 - SPC Kaseem Quadri (Indonesia)
o Covert Operative
 - CPL Joosef "Loki" Hintikka (Finland)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Nigeria, 13 AUG 2016 @ 0755 hrs, IOT protect transmitted EXALT Data.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

The Mission Alert came in at 0619 hrs. The squad was assembled and ready to roll by 0633. I made contact with Covert Operative Hintikka who informed me that the data was transmitting back to XCOM HQ, but that the local EXALT cell had caught on; Operatives were in-bound.

I directed the squad forward, taking positions around the trailer where CPL Hintikka and the Transmitter were located. Shortly after we were in-place, SGT Parsons reported contact, in the same moment that CPL Hintikka did so, followed immediately by the sound of laser fire; Moments later, Parsons confirmed one EXALT Operative down, but that several more were in possession of the Encoder.

This was unacceptable, so I directed the squad to advance, to reclaim the Encoder before EXALT could hack it, and gain access to the transmitter. Unfortunately, when SGT Parsons advanced, he spotted another group of EXALT in the other trailer to our front left. As we were positioning to deal with this new threat, I heard CPL Glynn come across the comms "I got this," just before one of the EXALT Operatives, in the cover of the trailer, took a laser in the head. SGT Jordan came in a moment later "Me too," and shot another hostile who was out of cover. CO Hintikka then informed me that the EXALT would be busy for a little bit, so I ordered everyone else to advance.

The EXALT began hacking the Encoder, so I knew time was growing short. SGT Horn announced "Shredder Out" before sending an air-burst rocket into the target zone, injuring several EXALT agents. SPC Quadri followed it up with an HE grenade, but only managed to kill one of the hostiles. Meanwhile, Glynn reported moving to a sniper nest on top of the trailer, and Colman managed to wound another hostile in the target zone. Unfortunately, the EXALT still had decisive control of the Encoder. That was when Hintikka dodged down into the construction zone, and took cover behind an EXALT transponder, furiously trying to hack before they could bring a shot to bear. SSG Fahey followed right behind him, dodging past, right into the midst of the EXALT troopers, and blasting one of them out of cover. With their comms interrupted, the enemy panicked, fleeing in all directions, while Fahey, cool as ice, executed another two of them at close range, and Hintikka snapped a shot off, finishing off another. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the distraction, I took a pair of shots at the hostiles in the trailer, killing one, and wounding the other. 

While the EXALT agents were recovering, SGT Parsons and CPL Glynn teamed up, designating, then eliminating a sniper who had an advantageous flank on the target zone. Once CPL Glynn announced it was clear, Fahey dodged around the cement truck, took a moving shot to eliminate a target, then continued her move into cover to reload. Meanwhile, Quadri moved up and soft-lobbed a grenade, putting it within feet of the remaining EXALT sniper, blowing him down before he could react. The last remaining operative ducked in cover, so I ordered Horn and Jordan to assist me in setting up a kill zone, while Hintikka moved for the next transponder. When he saw that, the hostile took a chance, and paid with his life.

We didn't get a lull, as we received a report of several more EXALT moving into the zone. Glynn reported eyes on the sniper that dropped into the crane overlooking the construction site; A second later, he reported that the hostile was no longer a threat. SPC Quadri managed to injure another agent with a grenade; CO Hintikka, having finished hacking the next transponder, charged toward the injured operative, his pistol (which he later reported was bone dry) raised as if to shoot. When the panicked EXALT agent ran, I took him down with reactive fire. The last hostile charged into the fray, but SSG Colman and SGT Horn were ready, and he only took a half-dozen steps before he was gunned down. 

In the brief lull that followed, the squad moved to more advantageous positions in and around the Encoder, and reloaded their weapons. Then the last wave of hostiles came in, a large contingent; Unfortunately for them, we were ready; Quadri stepped around the corner and flanked an EXALT medic, taking him down. Glynn reported another dead sniper in the crane, and SSG Colman eliminated another at almost the same moment. SSG Fahey and SGT Jordan maneuvered on the last visible hostile, but it was Parsons who took the shot and eliminated him. Horn, having taken several seconds to steady his launcher, fired the lost shot sending a rocket clear across the construction zone to blow the last operative completely out of cover. 

Shortly after, XCOM HQ reported having received the data, and we exfiltrated, not waiting for any further EXALT reinforcements. 


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Positioning makes all the difference
 - Judicious use of explosives

o Improve:
 - Ammo discipline
 - Pre-op review of the intel maps

Monday, October 26, 2015

Great Big Sky (06 AUG 2016)

It was usually fairly quiet in the pilots' barracks, and today wasn't any different. Unlike the barracks for the troopers, there were rarely more than 6 or 7 personnel at any given time, unless there was a pilot awaiting transfer to another air base. Most of the pilots were a mix of U.S. Air Force and Navy pilots, with a smattering of pilots from other countries. There was only one former U.S. Army pilot; Flight Officer Thaddeus "Big Sky" Gentry.

Lt "Casper" Fallis and Flight Officer "Raven-4" Johnson were sitting in the common room, playing a casual hand of blackjack; The pot was the next week's trash duties. XCOM didn't employ any cleaning staff, so excepting the occasional punitive work details, all personnel were expected to maintain their own living and work areas. Johnson was a rookie pilot for XCOM, only recently in from the Interceptor course. His pre-XCOM record was impressive; all of the pilots had impressive records from before, all of them with actual combat missions under their belts. Still, Fallis knew that Johnson really didn't know what it was to fly against the aliens, and it couldn't really be explained, no matter how many simulator missions you ran or cockpit recordings you viewed.

"So, what's up with the bus driver?" Johnson asked, nodding toward FO Gentry's room. "He never seems to come out of there except to hit the chow hall, gym or showers."

"Dude," Fallis said, disgust coloring his tone, "shut the fuck up."

"What'd I say?" Johnson asked, his features warring between surprise and anger. "I'm just asking what his deal is."

"His deal," the Lieutenant replied, allowing himself to take on a lecturing tone, "is that he's not a fucking bus driver."

"Whoa, chill out," the rookie shot back. "I know his mission is important, I'm not trying to disrespect the guy. But he hauls the kids back and forth. He's not out there exchanging fire with the X-Rays."

Fallis just stared at him for a long moment, letting the silence stretch out. Johnson flushed, and the anger started to come to the fore. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Fallis cut him off.

"You really don't get it, do you?" His tone was now more surprised than critical. "Lemme ask you something. How many of us are there, Interceptor pilots?"

"Um," the junior pilot considered for a moment. "Between us here and the pilots in the African base? A dozen or so."

"Nine," Fallis supplied, "to be exact, including those on recovery rotation to South America. Next question: How many "bus drivers" does XCOM have?"

"Just him, so far as I know."

"Exactly. He's flown dozens of missions. I'm the most experienced Interceptor pilot XCOM has got, and I've flown barely five, most of which didn't result in a downed enemy."

"So?" Johnson shook his head. "His missions are cakewalks. Fly in, drop off the squad and wait around until they're done."

"Tell me something. You ever see any ground combat?"

Johnson shook his head. "No. Plenty of fights in the sky, though." Lieutenant Fallis rubbed at the bridge of his nose, then lifted his card to peek underneath, buying time to think.

"I was shot down in the early phases of the Iraq war. Got cocky, barely made it out alive. I broke my leg when the eject mechanism misfired, but I made it to the ground in one piece. I had to sit in hostile territory and wait for Para-Rescue to come get me, and I will tell you something; Having to shoot a man in the face before he can do it to you is a very different thing than what we do in the sky."

"I got no disrespect for the troops-" Johnson cut in.

"I'm not finished. What we do in the sky is a video game. Line up the dots, push the button, and we're rewarded with an explosion if we do it right. He," Fallis paused, nodding toward FO Gentry's door. "has to get down in the weeds every day. Yeah, he's waiting outside the combat zone for the squad to get back, but the X-Rays don't always follow the rules. You know he went through 3 co-pilots in the early days, before he asked the Commander to stop giving him one? Having to sit in the LZ and hope the X-Rays don't come sniffing around isn't a cakewalk."

"I didn't realize," Johnson said, glancing toward the closed door. "So what then? He doesn't socialize because of his dead co-pilots?"

"It's a lot more than that," Fallis said. "Do you realize that we've lost four troopers just in the last month? Two of them veterans who've been here since the very beginning."

"Yeah, I heard about those."

"Gentry's got to bring all of those people back, plus many more wounded. They've got another LT in critical care right now, after the last UFO. They're not sure if she'll pull through."

"Yeah..." Johnson said quietly, his face troubled.

"We've got the luxury of not seeing all of that," the Lieutenant gestured around. "We've got our own barracks, separate from the troopers. All we really see is the bulletin board announcements. Even though we fail to take down the enemy more often than not, we usually manage to make it back alive, and get the crazy stories to tell."

"Okay, fuck man, I get it," Johnson said, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm an asshole, alright?"

"Nah," Fallis said, finally knocking the table to indicate he'd stay on the nearly forgotten hand of cards. "You're just new here. This is a different kind of war than we've ever seen before, and we cannot afford to bring old prejudices with us." Johnson also decided to stay, so they flipped up their cards to reveal their hand. "Shit, twenty one. Looks like I've got trash next week." The senior pilot glanced toward Gentry's door as they shuffled their hands back into the deck. "Honestly, I worry about him," he said quietly.

Then, almost as if the comment had summoned him, Gentry's door opened, and he stepped out dressed in shorts, a T-shirt and running shoes, with a towel around his shoulders. Johnson looked at Fallis quickly, then seemed to make a decision.

"Hey, Gentry!" he called, rising from his seat. "You're headed to the gym, yeah?" FO Gentry stopped, and gave a cautious nod, his deep southern accent rumbling a quiet affirmative. "You mind if I join you? I won't be but a few minutes behind you, just gotta change." At the non-committal shrug, Johnson glanced back at the Lieutenant with a brief, apologetic smile, and moved toward his room.

Fallis leaned back in his chair, and shuffled the cards a few times, meditatively. He doubted that FO Gentry would be drawn out of his shell so easily, but maybe it was a start. This war didn't look like it was going to end any time soon, and if they wanted to survive this, they'd all have to learn to lean on one another.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

OPERATION BLOODY MOTHER - AFTER ACTION REPORT (07 AUG 2016 @ 1508)

OPERATION BLOODY MOTHER - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: LT Jared Houston

SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 5x Seekers, 3x Floaters, 1x Thin Man

o Friendly Forces
 - LT Jared "Mercury" Houston (United States)
 - SGT Svetlana "Eclipse" Petukhova (Russia)
 - SGT Monica "Alpha" de Matos (Brazil)
 - SGT Leigh "Beacon" Fahey (United States)
 - CPL Sa'idah "Wing" Ramli (Egypt)
 - CPL Rhys "Blizzard" Waddell (Canada)
 - SPC Caio de Abreu (Brazil)
 - PFC Mahjoub Benhassi (Algeria)

MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Boston, Massachusetts, 07 AUG 2016 @ 1508 hrs, IOT disrupt an Abduction in Progress.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

The Mission Alert came in at 1425 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1448, with boots down in Boston by 1508 hrs. We approached the office building cautiously, but met no immediate resistance. Once the squad was positioned inside, I sent CPL Waddell up to open the door that lead deeper into the building. Immediately, a pod of Seekers swarmed through the door. PFC Benhassi had a rocket readied, so Waddell and SGT de Matos scrambled back as he fired, severely damaging the Seekers and most of the nearby walls. Before the smoke even cleared, Alpha snapped a shot off, and de Abreu followed up with an AP grenade, destroying most the original Seekers just in time for another to come into view, as well as a pod of Floaters entering the back room.

Waddell was completely exposed, his cover having been blown in the rocket blast, so I yelled at him to get to cover, as Ramli and I finished off the last of the Seekers. Before he moved, he reported a Thin Man in the back; Eclipse said she had him, and a long moment later I hear the sizzle of her rifle and the gaseous detonation of a dying Thin Man in the distance.

Rather than advancing into the unknown, I order the squad to stay put, and let the Floaters come to us. They jet into range, and Alpha is the first to fire, putting down the first of the monstrosities. Beacon dives through the window and blasts the second Floater that was moving directly for Benhassi. A few tense moments pass, and just as I'm about to order the squad forward, a Seeker comes in on our rear flank, and goes down in a hail of laser fire.

Another minute of silence, and Waddell reports that he believes he heard the sound of a Meld canister from the back, so I direct the squad to move that way. No sooner than we start our advance than a final Floater blasts into view on our right flank. Petukhova cripples it as soon as it comes into sight, and I execute the severely damaged wretch with a quick burst.

We continued our careful advance through the building, managing to recover the Meld, and encountering no further resistance.

LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain:
 - Explosives to deal with clustered threats
 - Massing fires to quickly remove threats

o Improve:
 - Flank awareness
 - Don't count on cover to survive an explosion

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

OPERATION FALLEN LAW - AFTER ACTION REPORT (02 AUG 2016 @ 1123 )

OPERATION FALLEN LAW - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: SSG Spencer Donohue


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 2x Outsiders, 4x Floaters, 5x Drones, 5x Sectoids, 1x Muton, 4x Seekers

o Friendly Forces
 - LT Naomi "Artemis" Bowden (United Kingdom)
 - SFC Ana Lucia "Mustang" Mardones (Ecuador)
 - SSG Spencer "Leo" Donohue (United States)
 - SSG Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
 - SGT Sylas "Fawkes" Maillet (Canada)
 - SGT Jirina "Stiletto" Markusova (Czech Republic)
 - CPL Rainhard "Ogre" Horn (Austria)
 - SPC Jermaine Glynn (United States)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Nigeria, 02 AUG 2016 @ 1123 hrs, IOT exploit a landed UFO site, and extract an X-Ray Captive.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

When the UFO was spotted over Nigeria, they told me to assemble my squad at the Skyranger, just in case. The interception did not succeed, but the 
UFO was reported as landing at 0948, and we were boots up by 0954, with touchdown at 1123. The site was a forested area, with the UFO immediately to our left flank. The LT sent Stiletto up to get a closer look, then we all took up cover positions, except Glynn, who remained on watch.

Immediately, a large pod of Floaters lead by a Muton came across the front of the UFO. Half of them scattered back out of view, and Stiletto and Fawkes managed to land a pair of solid hits on the Muton as it moved for cover, but did not finish it off. The LT took a shot as it reached cover, and put it down. We repositioned to engage the remaining visible Floater. Glynn managed to injure one of them as it took a shot at the LT, who returned fire and finished it off. 

SGT Markusova moved up to get eyes on the other Floaters, dodging reactive fire as she advanced. As soon as she called contact, Glynn brought down the pain, blowing the first of the Floaters to scrap before Stiletto, lacking any decent cover, withdrew. We heard the remaining Floaters pulling back, and LT Bowden deemed it unsafe to try the UFO before we'd cleared the known threat, so we advanced across the front of the UFO, careful to avoid lines of sight to inside, while Maillet and myself moved to cover the only open entrance to the craft. Unfortunately, Mustang got spotted by a large pod of Sectoids as she advanced, causing us to refocus to our right, away from the UFO.

Mineral took the first shot, putting a Sectoid down for the count, as the remainder of the squad, out of position for the new threat, moved back to cover. Then one of the Sectoids, glowing with ethereal, violet energy, dodged into view, avoiding two shots, and put a bolt of plasma directly into the LT's chest plate. Before anyone could react, several Seekers burst from the inside of the UFO. I managed to shoot one down point blank, with Maillet taking down a second moments later. Glynn and Colman took down the remaining Seekers, clearing them from our midst, before Colman slewed her gun around and crippled the one that had shot down LT Bowden. Meanwhile, Stiletto was focused in on the Floater that had come back into view, and shot it down with a well-placed shot. I don't even think she'd noticed the LT was down yet.

Mustang ran up the hill, roaring in anger, taking a plasma bolt on her front armor plate; With it still sizzling, she executed the Sectoid that may have killed the LT, and took down the one that shot her for good measure. I just hustled my ass down to check on the LT; She was breathing, but only barely. When a pod of Drones flew out of the UFO, Horn calmly stepped out, set his rocket to airburst, and blew them all to sparking wreckage. I was able to stabilize the LT, but she wouldn't be coming back into the fight.

We repositioned, and waited for the X-Rays to come to us. Stiletto managed to wing one of the Sectoids, but no one else had a clean shot, as the aliens remained back in the trees. I did manage to kill a straggler Drone as it exited the alien craft, though. We exchanged a few shots with the one visible Sectoid before I winged it, and Mineral finished it off. SFC Mardones advanced to try to put eyes on the remaining Sectoid, but it put eyes on her first; She took another shot in the chest, but managed to stay vertical, and crawl to cover. When the Sectoid scampered out of cover, Stiletto took it down, while Mustang made her way back toward me, so I could give her a double-dose of repair nanites, stimulants and pain-killers.

SFC Mardones, temporarily recovered, took charge, and ordered us to assault the alien craft. Ogre was the first one in, getting clear eyes on the interior, and Stiletto took up a good position inside, so the rest of the squad could follow. The Floater took everyone by surprise when it jetted into the bay, avoiding several reaction shots; Colman, standing ready in the back, unleashed a barrage of laser fire, and took it down before it could kill Stiletto.

Moving tactically through the medium-sized craft, we finally approached the aft-chamber of the craft, immediately behind the control console. Thus far, we hadn't encountered any of the Outsiders that usually crewed the alien craft. When Stiletto breached the aft-chamber door, that changed. Mustang fired through the dissolving wall of light as the Outsiders scattered, seriously injuring one. The rest of the squad focused fire on the other, which attempted to flank by coming around to the other side of the control chamber. Colman and Glynn managed to nearly cripple it.

That was when Mustang made the judgment call, abandoned the Outsider in the aft-chamber, and pulled the Arc Thrower as she approached the staggered Outsider, and blasted the X-Ray to the ground; It dissolved, but this time left a strange crystal behind. When she called "Got it!" I stepped out and blasted the other one; We had what we'd come for. 

Before we could return to the Skyranger, SFC Mardones collapsed; The painkillers weren't able to keep her conscious anymore, with her extensive injuries. It didn't matter. Horn shouldered her and we made our way back, picking up the LT on the way, with Maillet carrying our prize.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Decisive response to new threats
 - Tactical advancement

o Improve: 
 - Recklessness when things go badly
 - Utilize lines of sight better

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

OPERATION COLD DAWN - AFTER ACTION REPORT (31 JUL 2016 @ 0813 )

OPERATION COLD DAWN - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: SSG Yusuf Hassan


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 1x Outsider, 2x Cyberdiscs, 4x Drones, 3x Floaters

o Friendly Forces
 - SSG Shousei "Lightning" Daiwa (Japan) - KIA
 - SGT Yusuf "Thunder" Hassan (Sudan)
 - SGT Anant "Rooftop" Dhalon (Pakistan)
 - SGT Beatrice "Preacher" Rydberg (Sweden)
 - CPL Simone "Tomahawk" Ribeiro (Brazil)
 - CPL Osazenomwan "Mental" Olufunke (Nigeria)
 - SPC Synclair Mallari (Phillipines)
 - SPC Caio de Abreu (Brazil)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to rural Oklahoma, United States, 31 JUL 2016 @ 0813 hrs, IOT exploit a crashed UFO site, and extract an X-Ray Captive.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

The UFO was splashed at 0403, and Central told SSG Daiwa to have his squad ready in the Skyranger by 0800. We touched down in Oklahoma by 0813, SSG Daiwa moved first, spotting three Floaters immediately. As soon as he called contact, I drew a bead on the first one, and put a laser beam through its head, while the rest of the squad found cover positions. SSG Daiwa took a shot and wounded another, then we waited for them to come to us. The first took to the air, firing a shot that singed SSG Daiwa's armor, while the second blasted off, coming down on our right flank. SGT Dhalon moved to flank the second Floater, destroying it with a close-range blast, while SSG Daiwa finished off the one he'd wounded, before he ordered the squad to come up on line.

Unfortunately, when CPL Olufunke moved up, he set off a Cyberdisc and its attendant Drones. The Drones moved toward us, drawing startled reaction shots from the squad; The drones were both winged, but not disabled. The Disc took a shot at CPL Olufunke, but he managed to hunker behind his cover and avoid injury, or worse. SSG Daiwa ordered us to focus fire on the Cyberdisc. CPL Olufunke lead off with a Shredder Rocket, killing one Drone, and shredding the Cyberdisc. SSG Daiwa moved to position to get a clean shot on the Disc, designating it for the rest of us, and damaging it severely. SGT Rydberg and I focused fire on the Disc, but as it had closed into defensive posture, we were unable to finish it off. Meanwhile, CPL Ribeiro took a shot of opportunity on the remaining Drone, and took it down. The Cyberdisc continued to focus on CPL Olufunke, so SPC de Abreu took advantage of this to move into range and kill it. While we dealt with that, SGT Dhalon took the opportunity to grab the meld canister to his immediate front.

SSG Daiwa directed the squad forward cautiously, until we had a good position on the UFO, encountering no resistance as we advanced. SSG Daiwa activated his stealth camo, and move directly up to look into the UFO, though he reported no X-Rays inside. No sooner than the squad had gotten into position, however, than the Outsider, a Cyberdisc and a Drone entered the UFO from behind, spotting the squad. Reaction fire took out the Drone immediately, and CPL Olufunke blew out the front wall, removing cover for the Outsider and the Disc. 

SSG Daiwa ordered us to focus on the Disc, as we wanted to capture the Outsider alive. SPC de Abreu tried to soften our targets with an AP grenade, but the Disc's armor appeared to absorb the blow, and the Outsider was only caught in the periphery. SSG Daiwa, CPL Ribeiro, SGT Rydberg and I pumped several rounds into the Cyberdisc, which succumbed to our massed fires, leaving only the Outsider. SSG Daiwa was shouting that we should soften the Outsider up before Dhalon attempted the capture when it moved up to the wreckage he was taking cover behind, and shot him point-blank in the head. 

De Abreu started screaming, and lobbed a grenade at the Outsider, knocking it down and destroying the wreckage. Realizing that someone had to try to salvage the mission, I started yelling over the comms that we had to take that bastard alive. I thought I was going to lose control of the situation, until Dhalon unholstered the Arc Thrower, and said that Vahlen would make that thing regret coming to this planet. Before the Outsider had recovered, I heard the agreement of everyone in the squad. Ribeiro drew her pistol and shot it straight in the chest, knocking it back down, while Dhalon moved up and fired the Arc Thrower at it. At first we thought it was down, but when it raised its plasma carbine toward Dhalon, I knew we'd lost this one, and put a shot through its head, and watched it dissolve in flickers of orange light. When the last Drone hovered into sight, it met the massed fires from the squad, and was nearly disintegrated.

SGT Dhalon checked on SSG Daiwa, but he could only confirm what we already knew. A quick sweep through the UFO revealed no more resistance, and we called the recovery team to come in and salvage the wreckage.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Massed Fires
 - Threat prioritization

o Improve: 
 - Longer engagement range
 - Equipment that actually performs its function