test please delete

[Diver]

Two hours later we were ordered to proceed to such and such coordinates to link up with X-Ray.
We hadn't fired a shot yet and were gritting our teeth as we listened to the radio chatter and the ongoing fight.
Kurt was in a foul mood as were we all. we had got to know and like some of the SA boys in Citizen force and now we were being ordered not to help them.
We spun the vehicles out of the brush where we had lain up and headed for the rendezvous with X-Ray

[Diver]

Task Force X-Ray was made up of a Mechanised battalion with a squad of armored cars and several infantry companies, They had two troops of mobile rocket launchers and an artillery battery along with several other outfits.
Delta force desperately needed their help and we were going to find them a safe route to the battleground.
Well that was the plan anyway.
Less than a mile and we were under fire. the lead jeep had a near miss from a mortar round that took out a front wheel.
The jeep slewed and dumped kurt swearing over the side. he had been in the rear of the jeep.

[Diver]

We started to take small arms fire as the mortars ranged on us, we simply piled everything and every one into the other jeep and floored it.
Our orders were not to engage but to reach X-Ray asap.
Was never to happen. we got no more than a 1000 yards and piled the jeep into a gulley.
We were still taking fire but at least it was inafective fire. we were out of range of the mortars and way out of accuracy range of the small arms fire.

[Diver]

We piled out of the jeep and grabbed everything that we could carry. I had a facefull of blood, I'd smashed my face on the MG mounting in the crash, and Torchy had injured his wrist on the steering wheel.
We crawled along the gulley, wadi, wash whatever you want to call it. for about 200 feet and then broke for cover in the brush (the gulley was getting too shallow for cover)
We could hear shouting behind us but couldn't see any movement.

[Diver]

The SWAPO or FAPLA boys that we had run into were too wary of aproaching the jeep, they probably thought that we were waiting in the gully.
We knew that we were outnumbered from the volume of fire, and had no intention of giving away our position.
We would be a valuable prize as we knew the composition of the force they were fighting.
And I don't care how tough you think you are, everybody talks, everybody.

[Diver]

We melted away into the brush and headed back toward Delta.
when we were far enough away, Kurt called in and gave a sit rep.
We were ordered to make our way to such and such coordinates to meet up with a recon patrol that had transport and maintain radio silence.
It took us half a day to reach the coordinates and no patrol, so no transport.
Kurt called in again and we were given new coordinates about an hours march away.
By this time we were low on water and physical wrecks. Flies were driving me insane, pestering me constantly because of the blood on my face and Tunic, (I was in the mood to kill by then and would have taken on the whole of the angolan army on my own).

[Diver]

The Patrol was at the Coordinates given this time.
They had come under fire at the last coordinates and pulled out.
Nice of them to let us know, we could have walked into an ambush.
They had plenty of water with them and I was gratefull to wash the crusted blood off myself.
We chowed down, sorted our kit and waited for orders.

[Diver]

The orders weren't long in coming.
We were to move in on the group and gather intel on the way.
We were now out on the left flank of the group having moved around them to link up with the patrol.
We decided to split the force into two units, we would maintain separation of
about 200 yards.
Twenty minutes after setting out we were under fire. this time it was only small arms.
It was a small unit of SWAPO and we soon mopped them up, they had fired on our unit but hadn't noticed the SA boys, who rapidly moved around to flank them and between us we cut them to pieces in the crossfire.

[Diver]

Goodnight

[DS23]

eh? you can't just stop like that!