Everyone except Dan, who was still manning the LP/OP, quickly gathered for the debriefing. The three members of the patrol looked dirty and fatigued.
All three still wore heavy coats of loam and green camouflage paint on their faces and the backs of their hands. “Start with the beginning,” Mike said.
Jeff pulled his notepad out of one of the cargo pockets on his DPMs, and set it on the table. “As soon as Doug split the patrol, I issued my op. order to Lisa and Kevin, and established the new chain of command. After freshening our camouflage paint and checking to ensure that our loads were still quiet by jumping up and down, we moved out. Our first stop was back at the farm we had just been at, to refill our canteens. I wanted us to have plenty of water. Also, like I’ve always said, full canteens are quieter than half-empty ones.
“We made it to within binocular range of the south side of Princeton by four that afternoon. We went prone there and traded off positions once an hour—one observing and taking notes, one on security, and one resting. We stayed in that position until it was fully dark, then backed off, circled around to the east, and approached the town again from the north side. This time, because it was pitch dark, we were able to get within about fifty yards of one of the houses.
“We could hear voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying, except for the occasional obscenities and profanities that they shouted. We stayed in this spot until just before dawn, and then backed off about two hundred yards into the trees to observe for the day. I don’t think any of us slept at all during that first night, but we certainly did the next day. We were really starting to get wiped out. As soon as it was my turn to rest, I was out like a light. After the sun went down yesterday evening, we backed off another couple of hundred meters and followed an azimuth back to the base of Mica Mountain; from there, dead reckoning it back to the retreat. There was no sign we had been detected at any time during the patrol.”
Picking up the notebook, he read, “Strength: Total number of people observed was twenty-four. All, but two of this number, were positively identified as part of the biker gang. Of these twenty-two individuals, eighteen were men and four were women. We also saw two children running from house to house on one occasion, but could not be sure if they were local residents, or if they came with the gang. Four bodies were seen lying in the street throughout the period that we observed.
“Vehicles: We counted eighteen motorcycles parked in various places. Most of them were chopped Harleys. Five of them were equipped with scabbards for long guns. We also spotted a Ford van, which was accessed three or more times during the day by the bikers. This appeared to be their support vehicle. They may have other support vehicles, but it was hard to tell, as there were several other vehicles in the area. Some of these vehicles were obviously out of commission, but others looked operational, and might belong to the bikers.
“Weapons: Set up on top of a wooden crate in front of what used to be a gas station was a tripod mounted M60 machinegun, with one belt of ammunition loaded. We could not get close enough to see if there was additional ammo on hand. The bikers carried a wide assortment of weapons. At least six men carried handguns in hip holsters. One of the females once took off her jacket, revealing a revolver in a shoulder holster. Two of the men carried machetes in scabbards. Seven men seemed to carry long guns wherever they went. These consisted of: three M1 or M2 carbines, a pump action riotgun, a Ruger Mini-14, a scoped bolt action of some sort, and a sawed-off double-barreled shotgun. All of the men had beards. Most of the gang members wore black leather jackets or denim jackets. One wore an olive drab field jacket. No identifying gang markings could be seen on any of their jackets. Just like the old time pirates—only the amateurs flew flags.
“Guard shifts: One roving guard and one man on the machinegun at all times. Guards were observed trading off at 6 p.m., midnight, 6 a.m., noon, and again at 6 p.m. the next day. Relief guards arrived promptly at these hours. The roving guards’ route started at the gas station and then went two blocks west, across the street, four blocks east, back across the street, and then back to the machinegun. The guards appeared to be relatively alert. For example, at just before 1 a.m., the roving guard reacted to the sound of a barking dog. He changed the direction that he was walking 180 degrees and went fifty yards off of his normal route to check out the noise. Once he was satisfied that there was no danger, he resumed his rounds. Although we did not observe additional guards, it is possible that another guard was on duty, most likely at some good vantage point.
“Significant activity:At 11:20 p.m. the first night, two shots in rapid succession were heard inside one of the houses. The reason for the shooting was never identified by the patrol.
“At 10:17 a.m. on the second day, two bikers began using one of the dead bodies lying in the street as a target for pistol practice. They fired about twenty to twenty-five rounds. Both were armed with what appeared to be .45 automatics. They turned the corpse into a rag doll.
“At just after 2 p.m., a naked woman of about fifty years of age was seen running out of one of the houses. She was followed closely behind by a half-clothed man, carrying an M1 Carbine. As soon as he got out the front door, he fired four times, hitting the woman in the back at least twice. He then walked up and shot the woman three times in the head. He was heard yelling, ‘The bitch bit me! The bitch bit me!’ At that point we had to restrain ourselves from opening fire at him.” The heretofore professional tone of Jeff’s voice changed noticeably as he muttered, “I never thought that I’d ever have the gut-level urge to kill anyone, but let me tell you, this guy was an inspiration.”
After clearing his throat, Trasel continued with his report. “At 3:42 p.m., two of the bikers began working on one of the motorcycles, apparently adjusting its carburetor. They returned to the house that they had come from, just after 4 p.m.” Jeff then laid the notebook down, and pulled three sketches out of another pocket. He walked over to the chalkboard and spent the next five minutes comparing the three sketches and combining them into a top-down view of the buildings in Princeton. Next, he traced in the route of the bikers’ roving guard, and marked the position of the vehicles and the machinegun.
After making a few more brief comments about the relative distances between buildings and approximate fields of fire, he asked for questions.
There was silence in the room for a few moments. Mike exclaimed, “That was a well-written patrol report. Everyone should take note of this. That’s how a recon report should be prepared and given.Very professional, Jeff. It covered all of the key elements. It leaves me with a few questions, however.”
“Shoot,” Jeff said.
“First, what was your overall impression of the security that they had posted?”
“Their guards seemed pretty alert. They seemed to have blinders on, though.”
Mike gave Trasel a quizzical look, and asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean the center of their interest seemed to be the road that leads through town. It was as if they only expected an attack to come from either direction down the road, or possibly from one of the houses that face the street. They paid very little attention to the rest of their perimeter. Granted, there’s a huge perimeter, but they didn’t seem to make any effort at actively observing it or patrolling it. That’s why I mentioned that they might have a guard posted in the second story of one of the houses, scanning their perimeter.”