OPERATION FALLING APOLLO - AFTER ACTION REPORT (12 SEP 2016 @ 1603)

OPERATION FALLING APOLLO - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: CPT Jared Houston

SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 5x Mutons, 5x Floaters, armed with plasma rifles and grenades

o Friendly Forces
 - LT Jared "Mercury" Houston (United States)
 - SFC Constance "Deadbolt" Makhandule (South Africa)
 - SGT Jermaine "Da Pain" Glynn (United States)
 - SGT Beatrice "Preacher" Rydberg (Sweden)
 - CPL Qutuz "Bad Hand" Safar (United Arab Emirates)
 - CPL Viktor "Dragon" Lehmann (Germany)
 - CPL Rhys "Blizzard" Waddell (Canada)
 - SPC Glenn "Freaky" Friendly (United Nations)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Dao Paolo, Brazil, 12 SEP 2016 @ 1603 hrs, IOT disrupt Abduction Operations.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

The Mission Alert came in at 1434 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1450, with boots down by 1603 hrs. As soon as we were on the ground, I sent Waddell up to get a look into the graveyard. Immediately he called contact with a squad of Mutons moving to engage. Preacher, Glynn and I all opened fire, while SPC Friendly moved to cover and tossed a plasma grenade into their midst, and SFC Mak launched a rocket. The rest of the squad advanced, firing, and the surviving pair of Mutons withdrew into the darkness.

Advancing under cover, Waddell spotted a pod of Floaters which attempted to swarm us; I managed to kill one, with Safar using his psionic abilities to disorient another, which slowed their advance; Meanwhile, Waddell managed to eliminate one of the Mutons who'd withdrawn earlier. The Floaters continued to aggress, Friendly winged one just as it shot me, burning through my armor.

Waddell and Lehmann advanced, drawing fire and managing to severely damage one of the Floaters. Meanwhile Glynn, still in the backfield, blew the head off one of the bastards on the right flank. Under the cover of fire, Deadbolt did what she does best, putting a Shredder rocket into the heart of the Floater cluster, killing one. Preacher and Friendly followed up, with Rydberg killing one of the Floaters, and Friendly crippling the last remaining Muton. 

Cowed, the surviving X-Rays did not advance; The Floater dropped down behind a tombstone, and the firing blindly at Waddell's position. Waddell ran forward, screaming wildly as the plasma burst all around him, then drew his laser pistol and executed the dying Muton. While the Floater was tracking Waddell, Lehmann darted forward for a flank and blew the Floater to pieces. 

We finished crossing the graveyard, but met with no further resistance. It was a surprisingly light mission, all things considered; It is my recommendation that we brace ourselves for heavier resistance in the future.

LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain:
 - Synergistic fires and maneuvers
 - Maintaining tactical momentum

o Improve:
 - Explosive firing discipline
 - Distribute medkits throughout the squad

OPERATION DRIVING JUSTICE - AFTER ACTION REPORT (27 AUG 2016 @ 1558)

OPERATION DRIVING JUSTICE - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: SFC Leigh Fahey

SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 3x Thin Men, 8x Chryssalids, 3x Seekers, 2x Zombies

o Friendly Forces
 - SFC Leigh "B.A.M.F." Fahey (United States)
 - SSG Monica "Azrial" de Matos (Brazil)
 - SSG Lieselotte "Maschine" Faber (Germany)
 - SSG Rainhard "Ogre" Horn (Austria)
 - SSG Sylas "Fawkes" Maillet (Canada)
 - SSG Peter "The General" Van Doorn (United Nations)
 - SGT Ward "Shroud" Parsons (Australia)
 - SGT Simone "Tomahawk" Ribeiro (Brazil)

MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Montreal, Canada, 27 AUG 2016 @ 1558 hrs, IOT halt a Terror Mission in progress. 

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

The Mission Alert came in at 1520 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1536, with boots down by 1558 hrs. As we approached the AO, I sent SGT Parsons ahead to get a better look, and he spotted three Thinnies moving to cover. Liesel provided overwatch, taking one of the Thinnies down with a headshot. Az moved to cover, then immediately reported contact, as a pod of Lids came charging up. Horn was ready though, and leveled 'em with a rocket, and Fawkes followed up with an AP 'nade to finish them off. The General cut loose on one of the Thinnies, but didn't manage to kill it, leaving it to Tomahawk, covering my six as I advanced, to put it down for the count. With most of the X-Rays down, I moved up to the first civilian and sent him packing toward the Skyranger.

The last Thinny hightailed it, but we didn't get a break, as another pair of 'Lids ran into sight, backed by a zombie. Az managed to wing the first Lid, send it staggering into my line of fire, where it went down hard. I heard another blaze from Maschine's snipe, and then she reported the walker was down. I was focused on the second 'Lid as it approached. I waited until I could see the slaver glistening on it's mandibles before I blew it's head clean off, then waved another nearby civilian to run for it.

In the brief respite that followed, I ordered everyone to advance, double-time. The slower we moved, the more civilians died, which we could clearly hear them doing. I took point, bursting into the store, and taking cover by the bookshelves, just as a pod of Chryssalids came careering toward me. I shot the lead monster point-blank as I backpedaled, yelling for backup. It kept coming, even after Parsons nailed it with a solid shot through the window, though it was obviously hurting. Just before it leapt at me, Horn managed to put it down with a third hit. As I got to cover, Monica winged the second 'Lid, and Fawkes tossed another AP grenade into their faces; Both were briefly stunned, but they kept moving. To make matters worse, I heard Tomahawk yelling about Seekers on our flank.

The General decided to make himself useful, and eliminated two of the Seekers. Meanwhile, the 'Lids decided to go after softer targets, one fleeing back inside the building, the other going after a civilian, just as the surviving Seeker went into stealth mode. Fawkes managed to slag the one Lid before it could reach the civilian, but the other was out of sight inside the building. Az ducked inside for a quick look, but didn't see it before I ordered her back out.

We needed to regroup, so I had everyone find cover, and check their weapons; Fortunately, as the Cryssalids burst out of the side of the building, and Tomahawk cut it down; A zombie, presumably a recent victim, followed immediately after, but The General blasted it off of its feet. When it tried to rise again, Az finished it off, and I moved toward the cowering civilian that had been the target of the recently dead 'Lids, and Shroud reported that he was taking to the rooftop for a better look. Everyone else regrouped and kept an eye out for the Seeker. When it finally appeared, trying to grab Maschine, it went down in a hail of laser fire. 

Based on SGT Parsons' motion-sensor report, we swept out to envelop the back room of the building. I ducked into the building, only to find a Thinny raising its weapon; I dodged through the doorway before it could fire, nearly crashed into a civilian, and swatted him out of the way, telling him to run. Everyone else came running on my report, while that coward-ass X-Ray decided to murder another unarmed civilian rather than coming out to play. Luckily, Van Doorn managed to get a good angle, and lit that fucker up before it could get back into cover.

We moved through the rest of the building, clearing all of the remaining civilians, and finding no more hostiles. We dropped the civilians off near a refugee camp that was forming outside of Montreal, and returned to base.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Aggressive advancement saved lives
 - Judicious use of explosives and cross-fire

o Improve:
 - More use of the motion sensors
 - Better awareness of our flanks

OPERATION CRYPTIC SLEEP - AFTER ACTION REPORT (23 AUG 2016 @ 1547)

OPERATION CRYPTIC SLEEP - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: LT Jared Houston

SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 1x "Berzerk Muton Thing", 1x Muton, 6x Floaters, 4x Drones, 2x Outsiders

o Friendly Forces
 - LT Jared "Mercury" Houston (United States)
 - SFC Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
 - SGT Svetlana "Eclipse" Petukhova (Russia)
 - SGT Lara "Athena" Jordan (Australia)
 - SGT Clarisse "Interrogator" Poncelet (Belgium)
 - CPL Kelly "Luna" Meirelles (Brazil)
 - CPL Osazenomwan "Mental" Olufunke (Nigeria)
 - CPL Al Safi "Stretch" Ahmadi (Egypt)

MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Boston, Massachusetts, 23 AUG 2016 @ 1547 hrs, IOT exploit a splashed UFO.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

The Mission Alert came in at 1520 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1539, with boots down by 1547 hrs. Big Sky had dropped us closer than expected; No sooner than we'd pushed through the underbrush, but the UFO was before us. I ordered CPL Ahmadi to stretch his legs, and take a look around the aft of the UFO; Before he'd gone any sort of distance, a pod of Drones appeared, several of them taking shots before he could duck behind a stout tree. Eclipse had been tracking him with her scope, so it took her no time to refocus on the drones, and take one of them down. The rest of the squad cut loose, with SFC Colman and Poncelet registering kills. The remaining Drones zipped forward, with Athena and I managing to damage it, before Interrogator darted forward and took a close-range shot to finish it off.

With that initial engagement done, I order the squad to find cover before we advanced again, especially considering the likelihood that the Drones had signaled for reinforcements. Unfortunately a pair of Mutons and a pair of Floaters came around on our flank from the fore of the ship. The larger of the two mutons was different than anything we'd seen before. First, it was MUCH larger than its companion, and red; It also did not appear to be carrying a weapon. While the other muton and the Floaters took some sort of cover, this beast came charging directly at us, fast. Ahmadi took a shot at it, but misjudged its speed.

We repositioned and started taking shots at the monster, but it kept coming, despite several solid hits. Only the fact that it seemed intent on charging whoever shot it kept it from reaching me in no time at all. It was terrifying to see the juggernaut shrugging off laser fire, and I heard someone whimpering behind me; At the moment, I was only glad it wasn't me. Finally, as it closed on Luna, its monstrous paws reaching to tear her apart, she shoved her scatter las into its chest and fired; Finally, the beast succumbed. 

Eclipse reported that she never had a clear shot at the beast, so she focused on the others; I was too distracted to notice, but she reported a Floater down once we'd finally taken down the berzerker. Luckily, the remaining X-Rays didn't feel like engaging after we'd taken their monster down, so they withdrew and we had time to reload and regroup. As we prepared to advance, the other Muton darted out, apparently trying to surprise us, and was cut down by combined fire from myself and Jordan. 

As Ahmadi was in the back of the formation after our re-direction, Luna took point. As we neared the fore, several Floaters darted in, just at the edge of sight; Jordan and Petukhova managed to take one down, but the others remained out of range, taking potshots at CPL Meirelles. While they focused on her, Interrogator darted forward and took a shot, taking one more of the ugly bastards down. The other cowards had had enough, and withdrew again. I didn't allow myself to get overeager, and ordered the squad forward carefully. Meanwhile, Luna talked Eclipse onto the only visible target, which then quickly died.

Once in position, Mineral made short work of the only other Floater in range, and we moved forward again, until finally Ahmadi spotted and engaged the last Floater as it attempted to flee toward the far side of the UFO. It didn't make it. At this point, I was tired of chasing X-Rays that didn't want to fight, and re-directed again, into the UFO. It was time to take down the Outsiders I knew would be waiting inside. An earlier motion scan had given us their rough position, so we moved in through the deflector shields to engage. 

Once we were in position, Athena dissolved the door, and Luna darted in, just in time to see both Outsiders waiting for her. As she reversed course, dodging for cover, I order Olu to blow the wall. Before the smoke had even cleared, Mineral laid down a blazing wall of laser fire, covering Poncelet's advance with an HE grenade to further destroy any cover they may have left. As soon as I could see, I took two quick, targeted shots, one at each Outsider, hoping to wound them enough to try for another capture, but Interrogator's grenade had worked too well, and both of them went down.

Surprisingly, though we waited for reinforcements, and then did a sweep of the perimeter, there was no further resistance; Either this was a skeleton crew, or many of them had been killed when the craft crashed down.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Explosives shape the battlefield to our advantage
 - Preparation leads to smooth execution

o Improve:
 - Don't make assumptions about X-Ray locations
 - Never assume we've seen everything

OPERATION CURSED SMOKE - AFTER ACTION REPORT (21 AUG 2016 @ 2053)

OPERATION CURSED SMOKE - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: LT Oskar Lindemann


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 7x Mutons, 5x Thin Men, 5x Floaters, 2x Sectoids

o Friendly Forces
 - LT Oskar "Armarnis" Lindemann (Germany)
 - SSG Leigh "B.A.M.F." Fahey (United States)
 - SSG Sylas "Fawkes" Maillet (Canada)
 - SGT Monica "Azrial" de Matos (Brazil)
 - SGT Ward "Shroud" Parsons (Australia)
 - SGT Rainhard "Ogre" Horn (Austria)
 - SGT Jermaine "Da Pain" Glynn (United States)
 - SGT Simone "Tomahawk" Ribeiro (Brazil)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to La Plata, Argentina, 21 AUG 2016 @ 2053 hrs, IOT rescue U.N. General Peter Van Doorn.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

We received the Mission Alert at 1923 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 1937, and we arrived at the mission site at 2053 hrs. As soon as we were on ground, a U.N. soldier made contact, identifying himself as Friendly. The whole area was in flaming ruins, so I knew the X-Rays wouldn't be far; I ordered SGT Parsons forward first; He immediately spotted a pod of hostiles, some of which advanced, others retreating. The rest of the squad moved to cover and engaged. SSG Fahey moved up to protect the U.N. troop, who explained that the General had moved up ahead to try to recover an injured soldier. SGT Parsons took a well-aimed shot, and put the Muton down, while I and SGT de Matos took down the Floater. The X-Rays retreated further, so we advanced, and SGT Parsons took down a Sectoid. It's companion stayed in cover, at the farthest range of visibility, until SGT Glynn shot it, and SGT Horn finished it off. 

Now it was time to move forward to find the VIP. We did not immediately discover any further threat, so I activated my motion sensor, which revealed several hostiles on the wrecked section of the bridge. The VIP made contact via radio shortly after, explaining that he was currently hidden in a wrecked car, and the soldier he'd gone to recover hadn't made it. I told him to stay put until we'd cleared his immediate vicinity of threats.

While we were communicating, the X-Rays made their move, as a Muton and two Floaters ascended from the wreckage. Shots were exchanged, but other than a hit on the Muton that didn't seem to even slow it down, no one was injured. Once they'd established a beachhead, two more Mutons climbed up, taking cover positions. SGT Horn said he had a shot; I told him to take it, kill them all if he could. His rocket exploded at the precise point of maximum effect, and two of the Mutons were killed outright. SGTs Ribeiro and Parsons cut down two of the remaining hostiles, leaving SSG Fahey to eliminate the Floater which was coming down on top of her position. This left our level clear, but there was still heavy resistance below; SGT Fahey advanced to the edge and took a long range shot, injuring another Muton.

I had a shot on one Muton below, so I cut loose with a long burst, ripping it to shreds as the squad moved closer to the edge. The Floaters responded by moving up, trying to use their air mobility to flank us; Maillet and Fahey proved this futile, eliminating one of them, SGT Horn reported that one had come down from a high flyover. Our attention was diverted forward however, as another Muton climbed up and started taking shots at Fahey. In response, she dodged through its fire, rolled into cover behind it, and blew it away. A few seconds later, Horn reported that the Floater behind us was no longer a threat. SSG Maillet called to Fahey for a spot report; Then he lobbed a grenade over the edge. After the detonation, I saw SSG Fahey turn back with a grin and report a clean kill.

I advanced SGT de Matos and SSG Fahey to make contact with the VIP, while preparing the rest of the squad for whatever retaliation we'd see from the X-Rays. De Matos reported that the VIP was uninjured, and I ordered her and SSG Fahey to stay with him as he came back up. Then we heard Friendly come across the radio; There was a X-Ray immediately near him, but he'd crawled into one of the wrecked cars, and it didn't seem to have seen him yet. I ordered the squad back toward the Skyranger to protect him. The VIP advanced as well, despite not having a weapon to engage the enemy; He said he owed it to his men to not go down without a fight. 

Then the X-Ray, a Thin Man, stepped around the cars and shot SGT Glynn. He reported that it had scorched his armor pretty good, but that he was okay. De Matos called out movement behind us, so I told her and SGT Ribeiro to stay on rear-guard. SSG Maillet, meanwhile, lobbed a grenade over the cars; Glynn reported that it was hit, but was still moving, so SSG Fahey once again charged into the breach and finished it off. With the way forward clear, I told the VIP to get to the Skyranger, just as I looked back toward the wrecked section of bridge. It was pure chance that I saw the Thin Man, not advancing as expected, but falling back. I sprayed the area with my Autolaser, and put the X-Ray down. No sooner than another Thin Man dropped down from the overpass above, directly in front of me; I thought I was dead, because I couldn't bring my gun around in time, but then several lasers fired, intersecting with the hostile's body; It was dead before it had a chance to raise its weapon.

SGT Horn turned back toward the Skyranger, and caught sight of another Thin Man creeping up; It didn't see him in time, and he shot it down. Then SSG Fahey escorted the VIP back to the Skyranger, and I directed Friendly to join him. Central reported continued movement back toward the wreckage, and directed us to clear any further hostiles. If we could keep the X-Rays from reporting the rescue of the General back to their command, perhaps it would give us an edge. 

I directed the squad back, down into the wreckage, cautiously looking for any further resistance, but at first we saw nothing, even with the motion scanners. It wasn't until SGT de Matos advanced up to the high ground on the far side of the wreckage that she saw a Thin Man, weapon ready. She ducked behind a car before it could draw a bead on her, and I used her report to light up the target, but not quite enough to kill it. SGT Glynn, right beside me, sighted in and put a single shot into the wounded Thin Man's head. SGT De Matos and SSG Fahey reported that the bridge was completely gone just beyond the Thin Man's position, which is probably why it hadn't retreated further; There were no more hostiles. 

We made it back to the Skyranger, and returned to HQ with the VIP and his surviving soldier. Both expressed interest in staying on with XCOM; It is my official recommendation that they be allowed, as their courage and level-headedness against an unknown enemy are traits I want to see more of in our troopers.

LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Controlled advancement allows us to fight on our terms
 - Hold the high ground whenever possible

o Improve:
 - Never assume the enemy is only in a single direction
 - Use motion scanners/ battle scanners more judiciously

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

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

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

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

OPERATION RED STAR - AFTER ACTION REPORT (28 JUL 2016 @ 0726)

OPERATION RED STAR - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: SFC Shaojie Zhang


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 1x Sectoid, 4x Mutons, 10x Floaters, 6x Thin Men

o Friendly Forces
 - SFC Shaojie "Chilong" Zhang (China)
 - SGT Wushun "Tu-Tu" Zhu (China)
 - SGT Lara "Athena" Jordan (Australia)
 - SGT Clarisse "Interrogator" Poncelet (Belgium)
 - CPL Maurice "Nitro" Vos (Netherlands)
 - CPL Kelly "Luna" Meirelles (Brazil)
 - CPL Meixing "Yuan Gui" Wong (China) - KIA
 - PFC Sivert Harstad (Norway)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Aswan, Egypt, 28 JUL 2016 @ 0726 hrs, IOT extract a scientist with possibly useful research.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

The Mission Alert came in at 0515 hrs. The squad was assembled and ready to roll by 0533. We made contact with Dr. Marazuki by 0726, and prepared to escort him back to the Skyranger when Central came across comms and alerted us to incoming hostiles.

I directed Wong into the next room to try to get eyes on our flanks, and she caught sight of a mixed pod of X-Rays. Myself and Meirelles moved to support, backed by Jordan and Poncelet while the rest of the squad took up positions near the other entrances to the observatory, closest to the LZ. Before we could get into proper position, the Muton fired through the window and killed Wong instantly.

Meirelles moved immediately into the room where Wong was killed, and took the Muton down with a blast from her shotgun. Vos and Harstad opened the door to reveal a trio of floaters and another Muton moving into cover positions between the observatory and the LZ. Luckily, one of them took cover inside of the room that Tu-Tu was covering, so he kicked open the door and shot the Muton, nearly killing it. Vos took a shot at the nearby floater, critically wounding it as well. Poncelet threw a smoke grenade to cover Zhu; The Muton was still dangerous, even wounded. Harstad fired a rocket at the Floaters further back, but only managed to injure them slightly. 

The X-Rays, meanwhile, continued to advance, including one Floater who rocketed up to come down on our rear. Before it could draw a bead on our flanked troopers, I dove through the window and shot it point blank. Meirelles, still stationed at the window, took out a Sectoid as it approached. Vos eliminated one of the Floaters that Harstad had damaged, and Zhu came under fire as he drew his pistol to finish off the Muton he'd injured, but the smoke seemed to do its job, and he was unharmed. Jordan joined Meirelles at the window, and took a shot at a nearby Floater as it took a shot at Meirelles, managing to throw off its aim, but not kill it.

I caught the sound of movement on the rooftop, so I directed someone to try to get up there and investigate. Jordan responded that she saw a ladder up, but the Floater was covering the window. She and Meirelles took shots at it, finally taking it down. Vos and Harstad combined fires on one of the remaining Floaters, and eliminated it at the same time. This seemed to set the X-Rays off, as several more Floaters jetted into the cover of the distant panel van. Meirelles took this momentary calm to charge out, and climb the ladder, her shotgun raised to shoot. However, once on the rooftop, she reported negative contact. Then we waited for the aliens to move in.

When the X-Rays moved, they moved fast. We took several shots, but only Zhu and I managed to wing one Floater. Meirelles finally spotted a Thin Man on the rooftop, and move in for the kill. Vos and Harstad continued their double-team, and took down another Floater. Jordan, moving to support Meirelles on the roof, took a shot of opportunity and finished off the injured Floater. Then even more Floaters and Mutons charged into view, quickly scattering to cover positions.

Realizing we were in a target rich environment, Harstad threw his launcher up on his shoulder, and launched another HE Rocket into their midst. One was killed in the blast, and their cover was completely destroyed. Vos followed up on the Muton before it could recover and blew it away. Poncelet, inside with Zhu, popped the door and took a shot at a Floater, knocking it out of the sky. Jordan, moved back into ground cover, took some potshots at one of the remaining Floaters, while everyone else repositioned and reloaded. 

Most of the X-Rays, disoriented by the blast, withdrew out of range, but two Thin Men charged forward, both focusing fire on Poncelet, injuring her. She returned the favor with a grenade that appeared to do minimal damage. Vos managed to catch and eliminate one of the withdrawing Floaters before it was out of range. Zhu moved up to support Poncelet, throwing a Flashbang into the panel van. Meirelles, Jordan and I moved up to the forward edge of the roof to provide overwatch for the rest of the squad below.

The X-Rays focused fire on Zhu and Poncelet, but the flashbang had done its work, and they both escaped injury before Zhu returned fire, resulting in a dead Thin Man. I took out the remaining Thin Man and Muton that were plaguing Zhu and Poncelet from my rooftop vantage. Poncelet moved forward to cover Meirelles' advance to the fore. 

When a single Floater returned to the fray, Zhu ensured it didn't survive to regret its decision. Meanwhile, Meirelles, having moved to the front, provided first aid to Poncelet. With no immediate resistance, the squad advanced carefully, clearing the way for Dr. Marazuki to move to the LZ. Suddenly, Central broke in with a report of incoming hostiles, at the same moment that Poncelet, Harstad and Jordan reported contact to our rear, and fired. The single Thin Man never had a chance as he was vaporized by three lasers at once. We advanced slowly, weapons at the ready, when another Thin Man came into sight from the rooftop to our rear. Vos designated it, and I shot it down so the rest of the squad could continue their advance; With Marazuki in the open, we could afford to keep still.

The squad continued to advance until the LZ was fully covered; We could see the pilot revving the engines through the back hatch. When Central reported movement on our left flank, we repositioned, with Meirelles moving to the roof, where she was able to lock a Thin Man down and injure it. Then I directed Dr. Marazuki to make for the Skyranger, while the rest of the squad moved to eliminate the remaining hostiles. Poncelet and Jordan moved to support Meirelles on the roof, as she barely avoided return fire from the Thin Man. Jordan was able to catch the Thin Man as he withdrew to cover, and that was the end for him.

A cursory inspection discovered no further resistance, so we returned to the Skyranger to bring the VIP home.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Fire team structure
 - Clear enemy cover with explosives

o Improve:
 - Move carefully into the unknown
 - Withdraw into more secure cover when in doubt

OPERATION BURNING CROWN - AFTER ACTION REPORT (25 JUL 2016 @ 0605)

OPERATION BURNING CROWN - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: LT Jared Houston

SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:

 - 6x Chryssalids, 1x Cyberdisc, 1x Drone, 4x Seekers, 3x Thin Men

o Friendly Forces
 - LT Jared "Mercury" Houston (United States)
 - SSG Spencer "Leo" Donohue (United States)
 - SSG Ana Lucia "Mustang" Mardones (Ecuador)
 - SGT Jade "Mineral" Colman (United Kingdom)
 - SGT Lieselott "Maschine" Faber (Germany)
 - SGT Sylas "Fawkes" Maillet (Canada)
 - SGT Jirina "Stiletto" Markusova (Czech Republic)
 - SPC Osazenomwan Olufunke (Nigeria)

MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Ogmobosho, Nigeria, 25 JUL 2016 @ 0605 hrs, IOT combat Alien Terror Attack.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

The Mission Alert came in at 0420 hrs. The squad was assembled and ready to roll by 0437, with boots down in Nigeria by 0827 hrs. The site was completely destroyed by the time we arrived, but we found what cover we could as the first pod of Chryssalids came into view. Stiletto was the first to fire, managing to injure one of them, with Olu taking a shot immediately after, injuring a second. Donohue flashbanged the pod, which caused them to pause briefly in disorientation, allowing Fawkes and myself to maneuver and kill two of them. The last one, showing more self-preservation than we've previously seen from the bugs, fled into the line of fire from Mineral and Maschine, who put it down. Only seconds later, another pod of 'Lids charged Mustang. She let loose several hasty shots, but only managed to slow them down slightly, injuring one as she withdrew.

Olu followed up with a Rocket which seriously injured the pod, leaving Fawkes to bomb them into oblivion with an AP grenade. When there was no more immediate resistance, we advanced to locate civilians to evacuate. Stiletto made contact with a single drone, but did not manage to do more than graze it. This brought the Cyberdisc into the open, where it started to focus fire on her. The rest of the squad took shots at the Seeker that swooped over the wall, hitting it with several shots, but failing to stop it before it wrapped Markusova up. Faber didn't let that stick too long; She put the Seeker down from the back almost as soon as it got to Stiletto.

Markusova didn't rest long; Despite just having been choked by the Seeker, she drew her pistol and designated the Cyberdisc for Mineral. Unfortunately, it managed to jink aside as she cut loose with her cannon, completely avoiding damage. The rest of the squad, lacking a clean shot, held in place and waited for a target. Meanwhile, we could hear the X-Rays continue to make civilian casualties.

Colman took a second before firing another burst, and managed to nail the Disc head on, while Stiletto eliminated the Drone before it could move forward to support the Disc. Instead of advancing, the Disc continued to focus it's fire on Stiletto, who thankfully avoided it, and spanged a few pistol rounds off of it, which didn't seem to help the rest of the squad. Fortunately, Olu had been taking careful aim with his rocket, and managed an air-burst which badly damaged its armor, without seeming to slow it down any. Finally, Mustang took it down with a shotgun blast, freeing the squad to move.

Our line of advance didn't reveal any more X-Rays, but Fawkes did manage to direct two civilians back to the Skyranger, before I decided we needed to flex to the right. As soon as we redirected, A pod of Seekers jetted out from behind the ruins of the building. I managed to take the first down with a reaction shot, while Fawkes ran up and lobbed an AP grenade, damaging one and killing another. Leo took a few shots and managed to finish off the damaged Seeker before it could close further.

When Fawkes move to the left flank, he spooked three Thin Men into cover, though his HE grenade blew one of them out of cover before it had properly made it. Stiletto, waiting for a clean shot, finished the Thin Man off before it could recover. I moved up and managed to wing another as it peeked out from cover. When it tried to advance, Olu, from his elevated position, finished it off. Leo and Mineral managed to eliminate the last one as it tried a desperate charge into range.

We scouted the rest of the ruined district, but we managed to find no more civilian survivors. The only thing I was thankful for is that we didn't have to deal with any survivors that had been caught by Chryssalids. We evacuated the two survivors, and returned to HQ.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain:

 - Use of Cover and Terrain

 - Explosives to control the fight

o Improve:

 - Faster OPTEMPO could have saved lives

 - Pre-Combat Checks on Equipment

OPERATION BROKEN CALM - AFTER ACTION REPORT (24 JUL 2016 @ 1254)

OPERATION BROKEN CALM - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: LT Naomi Bowden


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 5x Sectoids, 2x Seekers

o Friendly Forces
 - LT Naomi "Artemis" Bowden (United Kingdom)
 - SGT Leigh "Beacon" Fahey (United States)
 - CPL Beatrice "Preacher" Rydberg (Sweden)
 - CPL Rainhard "Ogre" Horn (Austria)
 - SPC Jermaine Glynn (United States)
 - SPC Qutuz Safar (United Arab Emirates)
 - SPC Joosef Hintikka (Finland)
 - PFC Kaseem Quadri (Indonesia)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Marseille, France, 08 JUL 2016 @ 2301 hrs, IOT assist CO Markusova in protecting the transmission of EXALT Data to XCOM HQ.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

We received the Mission Alert at 1229 hrs. The squad was assembled in the Skyranger by 1244, and we touched down in Arizona at 1254 hrs. We expected it to be blazing hot, based on the intel reports, but the sky was incredibly overcast, though it wasn't yet raining. It was still uncomfortably warm however, and it didn't take long to be drenched in sweat.

There was scant cover near the LZ, so I advanced my squad the best I could, and was able to get everyone to some sort of cover before Hintikka made contact with a pod of Sectoids. Glynn was able to zap one, which forced them to keep their heads down while the squad moved into killing formation and took two of them down, leaving the third to flee. 

Hintikka advanced again, taking cover in front of a semi-truck, and spotted a pair of Seekers, which immediately advanced, snaking through the air and dodging our initial fire. From the back, Glynn managed to line up a shot and knocked one of the squiddies out of the sky. Hintikka drew his pistol and designated the second, lighting it up for Rydberg to blow to hell.

Our next bound forward revealed a live canister of meld. With no contact, I ordered Hintikka and Safar forward to keep eyes on it as the rest of the squad moved into position. Just then, we heard movement off to our right flank, and a pair of Sectoids came into sight, just as the Sectoid we'd scared off earlier came back, presumably to secure the meld before we reached it. Safar and I took reaction shots at the sectoids on our flank, managing to kill one.

PFC Quadri moved under cover and claimed the meld, spotting another in the distance, then lobbed an AP grenade at the Sectoid to his front, wounding it. Rydberg was perfectly positioned to eliminate the Sectoid on our right flank, and took the shot, putting it down for the count. Horn attempted to blow the Sectoid to our front out of cover, but his rocket went slightly astray. I drew a bead on the Sectoid, but ordered Beacon forward, holding my shot in reserve. She was able to finish off the X-Ray, after which point, we met with no further hostilities. We also managed to recover the second Meld canister, just before the rain started.

LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain:
 - High Operational Tempo
 - Multiple shooter coverage

o Improve:
 - Better Skyranger recon
 - Calibrate weapon sights prior to mission

OPERATION PATIENT THUNDER - AFTER ACTION REPORT (21 JUL 2016 @ 0826)

OPERATION PATIENT THUNDER - AFTER ACTION REPORT

PREPARED BY: SSG Constance Makhandule


SITUATION

o Enemy Forces:
 - 16x EXALT Agents

o Friendly Forces
 - SSG Constance "Deadbolt" Makhandule (South Africa)
 - SSG Shousei "Lightning" Daiwa (Japan)
 - SGT Wushun "Tu-Tu" Zhu (China)
 - CPL Anant "Rooftop" Dhalon (Pakistan)
o Covert Operative
 - SPC Edward Dudek (Poland)


MISSION

o Strike Team deploys to Argentina, 21 JUL 2016 @ 0826 hrs, IOT extract CO Dudek with EXALT Data.

EXECUTION NARRATIVE

We received the Mission Alert at 0655 hrs. The Skyranger was wheels up by 0714, and we touched ground at 0826 hrs in a trainyard in Argentina. We made contact with CO Dudek, who notified us that he needed to hack two more transponders before he was complete, but that EXALT had already moved into the area. I directed him to flex around the edges of the trainyard, and meet up with us, so that we could attack from the same direction. 

As he moved toward us, we moved toward him, and spotted the first EXALT agent. Daiwa, in concealment took a shot and crippled him, leaving him vulnerable for me to finish off. When Dhalon advanced, he spotted another, and was able to put Zhu on target to take him down. When another pair of EXALT came into view from the trainyard interior, Zhu was able to put one of them down as well. When I advanced to get a better angle, I was spotted by a few other EXALT, who scattered to cover, leaving myself fairly exposed. To eliminate the biggest threat, Dhalon charged in and took him down. The remaining EXALT, caught off guard by our advanced, took one shot at Dhalon and pulled back to regroup.

One of them was foolish enough to take cover in a direct line from SGT Zhu, who ensured he'd never learn from the mistake. SSG Daiwa moved forward to the nearest transponder, drawing fire from a pair of EXALT, which cleared Dhalon to advanced and take down the sniper across the flatbed car, and me to move up and injure the other agent. He was still able to take a shot at Dhalon, but he reported no injury. I then advanced to nearby cover, but did not account for the sniper in the rear; I felt the bullet pass through my chest, and I had to crawl into cover. 

Zhu and Daiwa reported black ammo, and Daiwa withdrew to reload, which left Dhalon to cover the center. he advanced and eliminated the injured EXALT, remaining in cover to hopefully dissuade any further advance. Dudek also linked up with us, and hunkered in cover near me, asking if I was good to continue the fight. Somehow, knowing I was injured, the EXALT fired on my position, but I avoided further injury hunkered by the cargo crate.

Daiwa and Zhu, reloaded, advanced to provide cover. I attempted to eliminate the two who had Dudek and myself pinned down with a rocket, but when the launcher kicked against my shoulder, I nearly dropped it, and the rocket went wide. Dhalon went after the sniper remaining on the right flank, taking a hit in the armor as he charged. Unfortunately, he only managed to wound him, when the sniper threw himself to the ground. Meanwhile, the EXALT on the left side continued to focus fire on my position.

Then I felt the heat as Zhu took a long shot directly over my head, through the train car, and eliminated the EXALT agent furthest back on the right side. Then Dudek rushed forward, disabled the transponder and shot the EXALT rocketeer at close range. Daiwa took this opportunity to meet me and provide first aid for my wounds. Feeling somewhat better, I took a shot and winged the wounded rocketeer. The EXALT withdrew, disoriented by the comms outage from the disabled transponder, as heavy reinforcements came in from an EXALT chopper.

Dhalon finally managed to catch the sniper in the open and put him down, clearing our right flank for now, and opening the path for Dudek to move to the second transponder, once the overwatching reinforcements were taken care of. In the meanwhile, he finished off the rocketeer he'd wounded. I took another shot at where the reinforcements were positioned on top of the train car with a Shredder Rocket. At the same time, Daiwa moved into the open to draw their fire, allowing CO Dudek to get clear and move toward the second transponder, before dropping back into cover. 

As Dudek continued toward the second transponder, Dhalon did a scoot-and-shoot, throwing himself into the train car where one of the EXALT had taken cover, putting him down decisively. Daiwa moved onto the top of the train car to take a look, and spotted the other EXALT agent, eliminating him before he could get a shot off. Then Dudek reported that the second transponder was down, and we started to move back toward the LZ.

That was when I heard a warning beep from my rocket pack. I pulled a Shredder rocket and realized it had been damaged when I took that hit, and was about to detonate. I flung it as far as I could, but wasn't able to get completely out of range before it detonated, peppering me with flak. Only the painkillers from the medkit kept me upright.

Then EXALT reinforcements came in from our front, and rear flank. Zhu was able to take down one immediately, while Daiwa killed another. I ordered Dudek to get the data onto the Skyranger, and tried to get the squad back too, but we found ourselves surrounded on all sides. They started firing at me and Dhalon, pinning us down. I managed to make it to the Skyranger ramp, but was still in the open while the rest of the squad maneuvered in. I did not expect to survive. 

The rest of the squad moved in as quickly and safely as they could, except for Dhalon, who opted for cover by superior firepower, shooting down the EXALT agent who tried to get into his way as he made a beeline for the LZ. I can only credit God that the sniper who had me pinned did not manage to hit me as they moved in. I also credit Daiwa, as he reached the LZ, for not giving the sniper another chance. I fired my last rocket at the remaining target, managing to catch him in the blast, though he was still moving. Then Zhu and Dhalon made it in, and I was unceremoniously scooped up and carried into the Skyranger before I passed out and woke in medbay.


LESSONS LEARNED

o Sustain: 
 - Coordinated movement and fires
 - Maintaining appropriate OPTEMPO

o Improve:
 - Manage ammunition better
 - Trust cover over divine intervention