Operation - OX JAW - July 8th AAR

Situation:
Red Star has united with the Moss Land Swamp Devils - a new terror organization on which more intel will need to be gathered. It looks like they are well funded and have hired Red Star to train them in gorilla warfare. Because of the thick jungle and their scramblers our satellites are unable to pick up the activity in that area. We got the location of one of the scramblers before it went on line and blurred out the area. They are up to something and we need to find out fast.

MF American Detachment AAR

The Mike Force was inserted by Black Hawk at an LZ above the northern edge of Moss Land's swamp. A heavy enemy presence was spotted immediately after landing. It was unclear if the build-up along the tree line to west was Red Star or their Red Devil adversaries. On closer observation something that appeared to be Scrambler 1 was spotted between the swamp area and tree line. Romeo One consulted with the three squad leaders for their input on the task at hand. The first two squads didn't have any suggestions. The leader of third squad wanted to perform a flanking maneuver along the right side and attack the tree line from the south. Romeo One ordered the first two squads into a line formation which extended from the fence to the scrub brush. The first and second squads were instructed to complete a bounding overwatch through the swamp area to the edge of the tree line. The third squad was granted permission to perform their flanking maneuver as requested. Recondo Team Charlie Echo Six was given the responsibility to recon the area from north to south in search of the other two Scramblers and unknown device.
All Mike Force elements "moved out" to complete their assignments. As soon as first squad reached the swamp, they became bunched up along the fence line. The second squad continued through the swamp without the protection of a bounding overwatch. The third squad made their sweep along the right flank and was never heard from again. Fighting commenced and first squad took heavy casualties on a trail along the fence line. The second squad stopped their forward momentum as soon as fighting broke out. Romeo One issued the order to break contact and retrograde in order to regroup and reorganize. This order was ignored. A short time later Romeo One linked up with several troops returning from the re-enforcement point. This small element of highly motivated soldiers began an assault along the edge of a tree line facing east. The point man and medic were both eliminated at a bend in the trail. Romeo One was alone and intent on finding the source of noise inside the tree line and the enemy soldier that killed his teammates. Romeo One was shot by a Red Star operative sneaking up from the rear.
Romeo One was reinserted at the original LZ and attempted to rally the troops. After several demands for cooperation the troops were mobilized for another online assault on the tree line through the swamp. During this assault the soldiers of Mike Force were constantly encouraged to keep moving. As soon as the Mike Force received fire from the tree line the forward advance again came to a halt. The squad leaders began expressing frustration at the futile attempts to reach the tree line. Romeo One issued another order to attack and was shot along with his guard because no one advanced. Dissension in the ranks began to occur over the failed assaults, and the plans of attack were criticized. Romeo One met with the squad leaders but they couldn't offer any suggestions for a new plan of attack.
There was a 30 minute break in the action to allow for food, water, and a resupply of ammunition. During this break in action, Romeo One was approached by a Mike Force sympathizer. This individual suggested an all out attack on the northern most end of the tree line occupied by Red Star. This tactic showed promise since Mike Force would have friendly territory to their rear and flanks. In order for this tactic to work, the Mike Force would need to make a fast push forward with all soldiers at once. The theory was to overwhelm the enemies right flank and penetrate the woods which would provide much needed cover and demoralize the enemy.
The Mike Force was reinserted by Black Hawk again at the same LZ as earlier. The squad leaders weren't happy with this plan and their lack of interest filtered down to the troops. The plan was put into action and the mass of soldiers began an assault along the fence line toward the cluster of trees. The Mike Force caught automatic weapons fire when in range of the tree line. The entire Mike Force stopped in their tracks and became bogged down along the fence. Red Star began coming out of the tree line to attack the Mike Force soldiers along the fence. This caused the Mike Force to scatter and the squads to become fragmented. The squad leaders suggested giving up the mission and extracting to the LZ an hour early. Charlie Echo Six reported that they had successfully completed the recon of all zones and were extracted from the LZ. Charlie Echo Six provided Romeo One with the location of two more Scramblers and a "rocket". Charlie Echo Six was requested to assist the Mike Force in completing the mission to destroy the Scramblers. Charlie Echo Six had heard about the intense fighting and heavy casualties coming from the Mike Force location. This caused hesitation on their part and a delay in assisting the Mike Force. While Romeo One was conversing with Charlie Echo Six a large number of Mike Force soldiers left the area en route to the LZ.
It was time for a new plan. Romeo One established new squads out of the remaining soldiers and issued the following assignments. One squad was to find a safe and secure area to lay dog. This squad was to approach and destroy Scrambler 1 when the Red Star enemy left their positions to overtake the extraction point. The other squad was to select an appropriate site to ambush the enemy when they left Scrambler 1 on their way to the Mike Force extraction point. The remaining squad was spread out along the swamp and provided fire into the tree line buying time until the scheduled extraction.
It came time to extract and the order was broadcast to all squads. The Mike Force broke contact and headed for the extraction zone. The squad left to lay dog was able to destroy Scrambler 1 as well as locate and destroy Scrambler 2. The other squad was never able to ambush the advancing Red Star soldiers. The remaining Mike Force soldiers reached the extraction LZ to find it occupied by Red Star. The Mike Force fought for the LZ but continually took heavy losses causing three soldiers to be captured. Romeo One reported this to the Special Operations Command and requested immediate assistance at the extraction zone...

CPT Terrence "Doc" Rogan.