==================================================================== GHOST RECON *DESERT SIEGE* WALKTHROUGH - VETERAN LEVEL ==================================================================== A few more words from the author... Again, I've included the text of the briefings because I believe it provides useful information and sets the tone of the missions. Squad members from a previous Stealth at mission each earn a Combat Point and I like to keep least one point ahead of Weapon, ignoring Endurance and Leadership altogether. Why? Because the point of this walkthrough is that no one gets hurt -- no body bags or Purple Hearts. My choice of platoon members in both Ghost Recon and Desert Siege is based strictly on the initial Combat Points of each soldier. Feel free, however, to choose whomever you like. Specialist Jodit Haile joins the platoon in Mission 6. Her character may very well be based on Jodit Jemahe, who was wounded and lost her sight in 1990 while fighting in Massawa, Eritrea. March 30, 2003 Jedi Writer (aka Ed Hassler) jedi_writer@macmail.com Copyright (c) 2003 All rights reserved. ******************************************************************** DS MISSION 01 - BURNING SANDS ******************************************************************** Samhar Awraja, Eritrea May 16, 2009 03:00 =Briefing= "This is the Horn of Africa, gentlemen. I hope you like it, because we're going to be here a while. "This is our situation: We're going in as part of a multinational force operating at the request of the Eritrean government. It seems that one of the ways our friends back in Russia bankrolled their coup was selling surplus weapons, cheap. A faction of the Ethiopian military led by a certain Col. Tesfaye Wolde was one of their best customers. Once they got their arms, Wolde and his supporters made their move, overthrowing the legitimate government and then making a push for the Red Sea coast. Right now they own everything on the water south of Massawa, and they're rolling up the Eritrean army as they head north. We're here to do something about that. "In order to leave some kind of infrastructure intact, the Eritrean government has also requested that we try to preserve as much of the local architecture as possible. That means that your unit is going to be getting a lot of work. Your first mission is to secure a radio transmitter on the beach north of Massawa. The beach is guarded lightly, but the approach up the bluffs that the station's sitting on is another story. Clear the beach first, then work your way up to the heights and take that transmitter. Once that's in hand, clear out the machine gun nests guarding the beach approaches. If you can, clear the area of all hostiles. The troops following you will appreciate it." =Objectives= 1 - Eliminate Beach Encampment 2 - Neutralize Machine Guns 3 - Secure Area Around Radio Tower X - Eliminate Main Tent Camp =Platoon= ALPHA: Wong, Homes, Kline BRAVO: Fuentes, Port CHARLIE: Turner =Notes= Charlie packs sniper kit 2 with an M9SD. BEACH ENCAMPMENT Switch to Charlie, activate night vision, and set a waypoint for both Alpha and Bravo on the west side of the small rock on the beach to the NE. Run north, past them, to the rock cliff, crouch, follow it a short distance to the point where the cliff angles east, and locate and shoot the two enemy standing to the left of the north tent -- if you don't see them, start taking out the ones standing by the campfire. When they return fire, hit the sand and wait for them to appear. When all six are down and objective one is complete, head south halfway to Alpha and Bravo's rock (to get on slightly higher ground), crouch, and wait for three more to come down the East Approach and into view. If no one shows up, send Alpha behind the large rock to the east. Easy. MACHINE GUNS Put Alpha and Bravo by the campfire, if you wish, so they can dry their boots. Run west along the shore, crouch as you near the West Approach such that you can see both walls of the ravine, go prone as you near the level grade of the palms, and take out the west machine gunner at the top and the accompanying three hostiles from right to left. If you don't get all three, they'll sneak down either side of the ravine, so move high enough on your grade to have a clear view of its entrance. Next crawl sideways to your right, if necessary, just out of sight of the east machine gunner and take out three more -- they, too, will try to sneak down the side of the ravine. Crawl sideways to the west and shoot the east machine gunner to complete objective two. Too easy. MAIN TENT CAMP Head up the west wall of the West Approach ravine, go prone and poke your head over at the top, then pick off the six enemy to the north by the tent camp. A seventh, hidden by a rock below the watchtower, tries to sneak up. Move to your left, if necessary, and shoot the eighth in the tower to complete the optional objective. Way too easy. RADIO TOWER Hike up to the north side of the large rock NE of the tent camp, go prone as you approach the valley to the east, and pick off the four hostiles next to the radio tower building. If you don't see them, they'll soon come into view as they circle it clockwise. Move north a short distance to the mountainside and find and kill a fifth on the roof. Run down to the SW corner of the low cut stone wall enclosing the radio tower complex, couch, and find a sixth in the open doorway of the shed in the SE corner of the complex. Continue east along the wall about 15 meters until you spot the small building east of and overlooking the complex and shoot three more. If you don't get all of them, retrace your steps, stay couched behind the west wall, and pick them off as they head for the shed or as appear from behind it. Move north along the west wall, to the second breach, then head NE for the shed between you and the radio tower building, step around its NW corner and find the top of the head of another enemy in a room through the far lighted window of the radio tower building. He's crouched, and if you can't see him even when you're standing, continue to the open stairway on the west side, go up, open the door, enter, stay crouched, pull out your sidearm, find the interior stairway down, descend, and nail him around to the right with a leisurely head shot. Head back to the building (house?) in the SW corner of the complex, open the back door (the one on the north side), and kill the remaining enemy with another sidearm slug to the head to end the mission. ******************************************************************** DS MISSION 02 - FLAME PILLAR ******************************************************************** Massawa, Eritrea May 23, 2009 11:00 =Briefing= "It looks like we have a rush job on our hands. We're making good progress in the push for Massawa itself, but the Ethiopian forces have adopted a scorched- earth policy as they fall back. Their latest target is the refinery complex just outside the city, one which Eritrea desperately needs intact. Recon reports that the Ethiopians have already leveled part of it, however, and they're in the process of planting the charges that will destroy the rest. We can't allow that to happen. "You'll be approaching the refinery from the south. Move in, secure it, and deal with the squad planting the demo charges. We've also heard that some members of the refinery staff were taken hostage, back when the invaders thought they were going to be operating the refinery themselves and needed expertise on hand. Find the survivors still being held hostage and extract them along the rail line that links the complex to the main track grid. Again, if you can, eliminate all of the enemy forces on site. However, rescuing the hostages and the refinery is more important." =Objectives= 1 - Eliminate Explosives Squad 2 - Rescue Captive Workers 3 - Reach Extraction Zone X - Eliminate All Enemy Units =Platoon= ALPHA: Cohen, Wong, Homes BRAVO: Kline, Fuentes CHARLIE: Turner =Notes= Cohen joins Alpha; Kline moves to Bravo replacing Port. Specialist Lindy Cohen is back -- this time to lead the platoon. Gentlemen, I expect you to accord her the utmost respect. Nine minutes after the mission begins, the Ethiopians blow up the refinery and the mission fails. We have plenty of time to save it. ROAD TO THE REFINERY Switch to Charlie, crouch, move NW along the long low rock by the river, stop where the rock angles to the west, and go prone facing north. In your scope you'll see a lone tree, rocks on either side, and four enemy -- pick them off from left to right and try to prevent any from taking cover behind the rock on the left. If two are behind the rock on the left, wait until they walk toward the tree. After twenty seconds from your first shot, cease fire and wait a few more seconds for a jeep to come into view from behind the rock on the right -- if you fire as it comes into view, its occupants are alerted to our presence. Scenario One If the gunner in the back of the moving vehicle is facing east, they don't know Charlie's position: wait until it comes to a halt, shoot the gunner, then the driver as he jumps out and either runs for cover or tries to pull a grenade out of his pocket. (Or go for the trick two-for-one shot: put a slug in the upper right of the driver's head and into the gunner's upper body.) Scenario Two If the gunner is pointing his weapon at you, they know where you are: take him out first as they approach, then the driver as he jumps out. Eliminate any of the four on foot you may have previously missed. Crouch, move west, face north when you come to the low rock, continue sidestepping west, zoom scope, and find the head of the enemy to the right of large rock to the NE. THE REFINERY Run NE to the wall of the refinery, step in and quickly step out of the doorway with the open chain link door, move west along the wall halfway to the chain link section, stop, and do not move. Shortly thereafter, your threat indicator glows as four enemy in various parts of the refinery sense the intrusion, rush to investigate, and seeing and hearing nothing, pass from east to west in the alley on the other side of the wall, then head north to a gate in the NW corner of the refinery complex. It is imperative that you do not move as they pass UNLESS you shuffle (move slowly and silently), otherwise they may hear you and... well, I don't even want to talk about it. If you dare, peek through the chain link section of the wall and watch them leave or play it safe and wait until your threat indicator signals their departure. Once they're gone, mount your M9SD, head through the open door (you can run again), head east then north between the buildings (a building with three large plate glass windows is to your right), east again between the building and the low twin pipelines to your left, follow the pipelines north, and stop where they end. Crouch, head east around the building to your right, move toward the two large storage tanks, shuffle silently when you reach the first tank, continue east, and notice the large electrical transformer box between the tanks. The enemy demo guy is happily whistling and humming to himself while planting a charge on the east side of the box -- sneak up and put a silent slug in his head. Objective one is complete. Silently continue east and head for the near end of the three small tanks lined up north-south. Move south along the west side of them, stop between the second and third, and wait a few moments for two guards to appear in front of you, heading left to right. They don't know where you are but seem to sense something is wrong and may appear singly or one behind the other. Confirm their suspicions with quick shots to the head -- very quick shots if they're together. Head back between the two large tanks, step over the demo guy's corpse, and make for the small trailer-like building to the NW -- a third guard stands outside at its NW corner. Crouch with your back to the air-conditioning unit and wait for him to investigate. Head back between the two large tanks, run south toward the large partially open double doors, turn west past the doorway though which you entered, crouch, and move along the chain link fence toward another transformer box. Keep your back against the small section of the fence running east-west, zoom scope, sidestep west until you see the head of one of the four enemy you evaded earlier at the end of the alley, shoot, and immediately run east for cover behind the corner of the familiar building with the three large plate glass windows, turn around, and go prone facing the pipeline walkover ramp. Wait for the three remaining enemy to follow, then pick them off as they cross the ramp. Return to the chain link fence, find the open doorway in the main west wall of the refinery complex, go prone inside the doorway, locate the patrol of three up the hill to the SW, and pick them off. When they're down, crouch, move outside to the end of the low rock pipeline support on your right, wait for a pickup truck to appear near the gate to the north, shoot the driver first, then the two gunners in the truck bed. ON TO THE DEPOT Three enemy guard the near ravine leading to the extraction zone: head toward the pickup, locate them to the west, go prone with an unobstructed view, and take them out. Head to the top of the ridge between the pipelines and the road, advance until you spot a patrol of two far in the distance, kill them both, then head for the now unguarded ravine. Proceed to the railroad tracks, go prone facing south on the tracks in front of the derailed tanker car, wait if necessary for another patrol of two circling the loading shed at the end of the tracks, and pick them off. In a few moments, a third will appear from behind the end of the rocky ridge ahead on the left. Take a stroll down to the end of the tracks, around the right side of the concrete bumper, go prone facing east when you get to the wall, and crawl along the wall until you see the machine gunner in the bunker. Shoot him and wait for a guard to come to investigate from the large depot building ahead on the left - - he may disappear for a moment so wait patiently until he comes back into view. Head around the NW corner of the depot building, fire a shot through the open overhead door into the far wall to distract the remaining enemy guarding the hostages, hoof it counterclockwise around the building, go in the door near the bunker, crouch, and shoot the unsuspecting guard through the large window on your right. The hostages are, of course, saved and the mission ends. ******************************************************************** DS MISSION 03 - COLD STEAM ******************************************************************** Southern Denakil Awraja, Eritrea May 29, 2009 15:30 =Briefing= "The invasion force is bringing in most of its supplies by rail. Our next goal is to put a stop to that. The first step is going to be seizing a depot along the main rail line that runs to Djibouti. Normally we'd just take it out with air strikes, but they've parked a SAM launcher on the heights above the depot, and that needs to be taken out before we can send in the flyboys. We have gotten some satellite reconnaissance that tells us there's a tent encampment near the SAM site. You need to clear that out as well, otherwise taking out either the SAM launcher or the railroad depot is going to be tricky. "The final objective is the depot building. Take it as quickly as possible -- we believe that there's important intel in there relating to the supply lines for the Ethiopian troops. They're sure to try to destroy it once they realize what's going on." =Objectives= 1 - Eliminate Mobile SAM Launcher 2 - Neutralize Tent Camp 3 - Secure Depot Buildings X - Capture Intelligence Items =Platoon= ALPHA: Cohen, Wong, Homes BRAVO: Johnson, Fuentes CHARLIE: Turner =Notes= Johnson replaces Kline in Bravo and packs demo kit 2 with anti-tank rockets. CLEAR THE FIELD BELOW THE INSERTION ZONE Time is of the essence in first part of this mission -- the enemy may, for no apparent reason, foil our attempt to capture the intelligence items -- so make sure everyone hustles. Set a waypoint for Charlie south to the cover of the west end of the long low rock. Move Alpha to the pass at the east end of the same rock, crouch, head down sideways facing west, hit the dirt when you see all three enemy in the field (who are walking away and don't notice your presence), take out the one in the middle, then the others. Move back up the hill, position Alpha prone two meters from the edge of the slope such that everyone is to the right of the tree, and order Alpha to hold. Switch to Charlie, crouch, and find a prone position near the perimeter wall such that you have a clear view of the field below and the pass leading up to the SAM site (not the rocky trail) -- the idea is to be as far away from the SAM site as possible. After a minute or so, a patrol of four strolls through the pass created by the long low rock farther SW and the point of the perimeter cliff to its north (we'll call this "point A" for future reference) and walks SE along the far low rock toward the SAM pass. Wait until Alpha opens fire, then help pick off the others. THE DEPOT AREA First order of business is to capture the intelligence items. Order Alpha to advance and set a waypoint to your position, then SE along the cliff to point A. Crouch, hook around through the pass, head NW hugging the cliff, and from the cover of the end of the last low rock, locate the guard shack below next to the rail spur -- the guard standing outside is drinking, so you don't have to worry about being spotted. Scope along the main tracks for signs of movement -- an enemy patrol of four may circle counterclockwise around the depot buildings and the storage tanks to the north. Scenario 1 If after a thorough scan you don't see the patrol, shoot the guard outside the shack, then the other inside. Order Charlie on recon, switch to Alpha, order Alpha on recon and advance at all costs (AAAC), crouch, and follow Charlie's route but continue hugging the cliff all the way to a small triangular area due east of the northernmost storage tank: you'll know it when you get there -- a natural bunker that slopes back toward the cliff. Set waypoints along the cliff to this spot for Charlie. Continue NW hugging the cliff, cross west over the tracks at the railroad tunnel, then south to the electrical transformer box north of the storage tank. Switch to Charlie momentarily (who by now should have arrived at the natural bunker), crouch, and scope the depot buildings for any signs of the patrol, but ignore the patrol of three in the east side of the maintenance building. Switch to Alpha, head south along the west side of the storage tanks, onto the west porch of the north depot building, south to the other end of the porch, then across the alley to the porch of the south depot building. Pause while the rest of the squad catches up, then head east along the north porch. Pause again at the door so the platoon follows in your footsteps, open the door and go in, turn right and move along the north wall just beyond the loft above until you're notified that the intelligence items have been captured (completing the optional objective). Move back under the loft and head along the east wall by the barrels: don't worry if the three hostiles in the loft shout and stop whistling, they won't come down the stairs. Order Alpha to engage and hold. Switch to Charlie, order Charlie to engage, and scope between the rail cars and the south depot building for the patrol of four. You should see either two hostiles standing on the far side of the rail cars, or one, barely visible, beyond the porch -- shoot whomever you find. (If you see no one, move NW along the cliff until you do. Shoot as many as you can, then quickly move back to the cover of the natural bunker.) The survivors advance toward you and shortly thereafter three guards also advance along the outside west wall of the maintenance building, so you're gonna have your hands full. Beware of one of the foursome who may crawl across the tracks and sneak toward you using the guard shack for cover -- he's hard to spot, so you may want to occasionally check the map and move from side to side. To make matters even more interesting, three enemy from the loft of the north depot building emerge one-by-one though the north door. If you take out the first one soon enough, the others may not follow, but we'll deal with them later. Finally, turn your attention to the three in the east side of the maintenance building. Switch to Alpha, retrace your steps to the spot at which you captured the intelligence items, face the corner with the stairs, back up along the wall almost to the stacked crates, and send a round from the GL end of your OICW into the ceiling above the loft about 4 meters from the south wall to eliminate the three guards standing directly below. If Charlie didn't get all three in the north depot building, order Alpha to advance and head on over to its south door and finish them off to complete objective three. Scenario 2 This is a bit trickier. If you see the patrol walking north along the tracks, order Alpha on recon and AAAC and set waypoints for them along the cliff such that they will arrive just behind you. When the patrol nears the north storage tank, eliminate the two guards in the shack, then order Charlie on recon. Switch to Alpha and follow the same procedures as described in Scenario 1 until you arrive at the transformer box. The difference now is that the patrol of four will be on the move in front of you and will circle around back to the storage tanks -- and you don't want to be caught staring at each other in the alley between the buildings. Watch the patrol from the cover of the north storage tank and when they round the south depot, continue down the west porches of both depots. Carefully peek around the corner of the south depot to make sure they're out of sight before opening the south door. (If one of your squad is straggling, you may want to quickly switch to that soldier and help him get the lead out of his pants. Also helpful is briefly switching to Charlie to find out exactly where the foursome is, then order Charlie to hold.) Stay crouched, go in the south door, and head for the east wall by the barrels -- the enemy in the loft are close enough to the wall that they don't see you. Retrieve the intelligence items as described above, then follow the walls back and take up a position in the SE corner of the building. Push the other two in your squad against the south wall so that the open doorway is visible to no one. Order Alpha to engage and hold. Switch to Charlie, and if there's time, start taking out the foursome as they head north along the tracks; otherwise, wait until they arrive at the transformer box at the north end of the storage tanks. The only difference is that now Charlie needs to be prone having lost the benefit of the cover of the natural bunker. While you're waiting, find a comfortable prone position such that you can swing your rifle west to the transformer then south and clearly see the enemy advancing from the west side of maintenance building. The remainder of the action leading to completion of objective three plays out the same except that the three guards in the north depot building may decide to head out the south door to see what's going on in the south building and Alpha will be waiting for them. Or they may head out the south door and try to sneak up on you using the guard shack as cover. Likewise, the threesome outside the west wall of the maintenance building may not make a frontal assault, but may try to sneak up on you in the cover of the rail cars and the guard shack. Lastly, once Alpha dispatches the three enemy in the loft of the south depot and you're not notified that objective three is complete, one of the enemy may have become stuck crawling under one of the rail cars -- he's no threat in this obsessive condition and easy to find. This last oddity may also happen in the other scenarios. Scenario 3 If Charlie sees the foursome somewhere between the south depot building and the storage tanks and they've come to a halt, order Charlie on recon and hold. Switch to Alpha, order Alpha on recon and AAAC, head SE toward the large rock formation separating the SAM site hill, then follow it down to its SW tip (you'll be heading toward the tent camp). Cross the dirt road to the other large rock formation to the west and watch the movement of the three enemy in the west side of the maintenance building (ignore the ones in the east side). Wait until they circle clockwise outside the building and disappear around the north end, then head west along the cliff and cross the railroad tracks to the west perimeter. Head north along the perimeter until you get to the paved road, then scope north to see if the original foursome has arrived. If so, wait until they disappear between the depot and the large rock to its south, then head for the south door and proceed to the intelligence items as described above. Switch back to Charlie. If the foursome has not moved, shoot the two guards in the shack, shoot the foursome, then run like hell to the natural bunker and start taking out the three hostiles advancing from the maintenance building -- they may have climbed up to your previous position, so beware of an attack from the high ground to the SE. THE SAM SITE You may have noticed at the south end of the railroad tracks that there's a rocky trail leading directly up to the tent camp. While it's possible to attack and neutralize the camp from this approach, the fighting is up close and personal and may result in casualties. I chose, as usual, the safe plan. Switch to Charlie, order all squads to engage and AAAC, and set waypoints for Alpha back to point A (remember point A?), then NE above the familiar long low rock south of the insertion zone, east along the rock, and position them at the familiar pass so that Cohen in crouched against the left side of the lone tree. Make your way to the same rock, but stay on its southern side and stop halfway across. Scope up through the pass to the SAM site, find the silhouette of the fixed machine gunner in the bunker, and send him a long distance head shot. Now -- we've all been waiting for this -- climb up the rocky trail to the SAM site, crawl to the top, and take out the three dumbfounded guards. If some escape, crawl backwards down the trail a few meters and wait -- one may circle around the rock north of the SAM site and try to sneak up on you from either end of the trail, but Alpha has you covered either way. If one does manage to sneak up to the top of your trail, put a 9mm slug between his eyes when his head appears. Set waypoints for Alpha and Bravo to the SAM site, switch to Bravo, and destroy the mobile missile launcher to complete objective one. THE TENT CAMP Three enemy patrol counterclockwise around the camp and two more stand guard near the rocky pass leading down to the railroad tracks. We have the high ground and, except for the haze, an unobstructed view. You decide. Well, I can't resist a suggestion: Johnson has two more perfectly good rockets. Nuff said. ******************************************************************** DS MISSION 04 - QUIET ANGEL ******************************************************************** Tigray Kilil, Ethiopia June 4, 2009 16:00 =Briefing= "This one's a little different, gentlemen. We've been tapped to do a good deed. As you may know, the coup in Addis Ababa coincided with the worst droughts they've had in twenty years. The pictures aren't making the news back home, but rest assured that there are a lot of starving people in the interior, on both sides of the border. Making it worse, local warlords with ties to the new government have taken to hijacking the relief trucks and stealing or destroying their contents. "As a result, a coalition of international relief agencies has asked for military escorts for supply caravans heading for the refugee camps. You'll be handling the first run. You'll be escorting a small convoy of four trucks to the refugee camp near the western edge of the Denakil desert -- territory that's technically across the Ethiopian border. Furthermore, we've spotted a band of Ethiopian irregulars sitting across the logical route to the camp. They're most likely going to try to disable the trucks and make off with the supplies. Preventing that is your mission. Making sure they don't ever bother anyone else would be a bonus. "The route the convoy will be taking moves through an old riverbed, a perfect ambush point. Make sure all of the trucks make it through in one piece. Get up to the high ground and take out any of the patrols with rocket launchers who are waiting to poach those supplies. If you can wipe out the entire enemy force, so much the better, but the most important thing is to get those trucks through the riverbed in one piece." =Objectives= 1 - Secure Rocket Launcher Site 1 2 - Secure Rocket Launcher Site 2 3 - Defend All Friendly Trucks X - Eliminate All Enemy Units =Platoon= ALPHA: Cohen, Wong, Homes BRAVO: Munz, Fuentes CHARLIE: Ibrahim =Notes= Munz joins Bravo replacing Johnson; Ibrahim replaces Turner in Charlie. As soon as the mission begins the convoy starts rolling and if everyone hustles, we can be on those trucks and outta here in about ten minutes. The riverbed road meanders in the shape of the letter S from the NE to the SW corners of the perimeter. For the purpose of describing a location, consider the east-west sections of the road as three parts -- north, middle, and south. NW ROCKET SITE Switch to Bravo and set a waypoint for Charlie up the rocky trail north of the insertion zone, then west on the ridge to the three small rocks. Set a series of three waypoints for Alpha: up the rocky trail south of the insertion zone, then west on the middle section of road to the west tip of the long cliff that forms the south edge of the road, then east up the trail between the cliff and the rock formation to the entrance of the first trail leading south. As Bravo, take the first leg of Alpha's path, then head west to the tip of the rock formation east of the NW rocket site, crouch, continue counterclockwise to the east side of the first boulder, go prone, and notice the five enemy walking down the short pass on the other side the road. Crawl ahead far enough to see the road, wait until they descend, then mow them down with Munz's MG3 from far to near, right to left -- they try to run back up the pass. When they're down, rise to a crouch. (Optionally, use Fuentes and take them all out at once with a rocket-powered grenade.) Switch to Charlie, crouch, move west beyond the three small boulders, take out any survivors (you'll see their heads), then swing your sights to the NW rocket site on the ridge across the road and take out the enemy rocket guy thus completing objective one. Run west along the ridge, go prone at the edge of the cliff just beyond the pass, and find the fixed machine gunner against the cliff, down on the road, west of the rocket site. Stay prone, locate five more hostiles on the rocket site, and pick them off -- if you don't count a total of six corpses, crouch and move farther west along the ridge. If you still can't locate them, switch to Bravo, continue toward the rock formation, and finish them off.* Another possibility is that they may try to advance toward Bravo -- take them out or let Bravo do it. *Note: If you switched to Bravo to eliminate the last of the six enemy on the NW rocket site, set the waypoints now for Charlie, as described below, to save time. Switch to Alpha, order all squads to advance, and set a series of waypoints for Charlie back to the insertion zone, up the rocky trail to the south, then counterclockwise around the perimeter to the east end of the ridge overlooking the middle section of road where it bends south. Set waypoints for Bravo down to the middle section of the road and park them on the south side in the gentle indentation of the cliff about two thirds its length to the east. If Bravo and Charlie eliminated the twelve hostiles without undue delay, Alpha should see the convoy down on the road rounding the corner and approaching from the west. This is good -- we're ahead of schedule. SE ROCKET SITE As soon as Charlie announces that he has arrived at his destination (or take over sooner if you wish), switch to Charlie, go prone at the easternmost edge of the ridge, and shoot the patrol of three down on the road to the south, under the demolished bridge. Scope the pass at the eastern end of the distant ridge to the south and shoot the rocket-toting enemy standing at the SE rocket site to complete objective two. Run west to within about six meters of the other end your short ridge (Bravo can be seen down on the road, slightly to the west), go prone facing south, and notice the demolished building through the trail on the ridge across the road: if you see enemy within, hold your fire. Likewise, if you see more enemy on the distant SE rocket site ridge to the south, do not disturb them yet. DOMED TOWER Switch to Alpha, crouch, hug the rock formation to your left while heading south through the short trail. Look around the corner, scope to the left of the partly demolished domed tower for enemy near the same demolished building Charlie is watching, but before you mow them down, wait for the fixed machine gunner within the base of the domed tower to reveal part of his body and shoot him first. Immediately switch to Charlie, scope the demolished building, and take out any hostiles hiding within. After switching to Bravo in the next maneuver, Alpha should be able to handle any survivors -- there are a total of six including the fixed machine gunner in these ruins. (Note: Although rocket-powered grenades are effective in clearing the ruins including the machine gunner in the tower, using them usually alerts the enemy patrol on the south section of road as described below.) END GAME Switch to Fuentes in Bravo (the convoy should be nearby), order Bravo on recon, run east on the road, follow as it curves south under the demolished bridge, find the rocky trail on your right, hug the rock to your right as you ascend, run past the tree to a point about halfway between the tree and the boulder ahead, crouch, then move south to the edge of the cliff, locate the enemy patrol of five, and plant a rocket-powered grenade in their midst. The idea is to keep a safe distance from the cliff's edge so as not to be spotted by the patrol until you engage them. All that remains is a patrol of five on the southernmost ridge across the road. When they're down, the optional objective is completed and the mission ends successfully. If your rocket-powered grenade is off-target and one or more of the patrol survives the blast, move north to the latitude of the tree to avoid grenades, go prone, eliminate all the enemy on the ridge, crouch, move to the edge of the cliff, and shoot the survivors. Scenario 1 The remaining patrol is walking east along their ridge. Go prone, order Bravo to advance, and take them out. Some may run behind the boulders for cover, but they emerge shortly. Arcing another rocket-powered grenade over the boulders may bring them out sooner. Scenario 2 The remaining patrol is nowhere in sight -- they're walking behind the boulders to the west end of their ridge to intercept the convoy. Switch to Charlie, order Alpha to advance if they're holding, and set a waypoint for Alpha SW to the top of the wide pass leading south down to the south section of road. As Charlie, crouch, move west a few meters to the corner of your ridge, scope the west end of the distant south ridge, and shoot as many as you see. When Alpha arrives at their destination, they may take out the remainder. If not, switch to Alpha, head down onto the road, run west to the narrow pass leading up to the south ridge, ascend, and finish the job. You can also switch to Charlie again and try to earn Ibrahim a bronze star. ******************************************************************** DS MISSIION 05 - GAMMA DAWN ******************************************************************** Denakil Desert, Ethiopia June 11, 2009 23:00 =Briefing= "We have a potentially delicate situation on our hands. Officially, once Washington shut down the SR-71, we haven't had a high-speed manned reconnaissance aircraft. Unofficially, it's called Aurora and one just went down deep in the heart of the Denakil. We need to destroy the wreckage before the locals get their hands on it. The last thing we need is for whatever's left of our classified aircraft to go on the international auction block, with Col. Wolde banging the gavel. "The good news is that the region's been blanketed under a sandstorm until recently. That means that the Ethiopian troops in the area haven't had a chance to salvage the wreckage. Our best estimate is that there are three significant chunks of the Aurora left, scattered along the length of a dry riverbed. Find them and plant charges on each. They'll be detonated 30 seconds after you plant them, so move quickly. "You'll also want to take out the Ethiopian outpost nearby. We don't think that they've managed to salvage anything, but it never hurts to be sure. Take the site and then get out of there. Return to your insertion zone for pickup. Assuming the weather stays clear, the choppers will be there in a hurry. "There's also a small supply dump in the area. If you can take it without too much risk, do it. Be warned, though -- enemy light armor's been spotted in the area. It's been immobilized by the storm, but now that the weather's cleared you're likely to run into it, and sooner rather than later." =Objectives= 1 - Place Demo Charges at Crash Sites 2 - Secure Enemy Base 3 - Reach Extraction Zone X - Secure Supply Depot =Platoon= ALPHA: Cohen, Wong, Homes BRAVO: Tunney, Fuentes CHARLIE: Ibrahim =Notes= Tunney replaces Munz in Bravo and packs demo charges. There's no need to take two demos on this mission: the enemy's light armor HQ refers to are nothing but a couple of small pickup trucks or old jeeps. Arguably the easiest mission in either Ghost Recon or Desert Siege, our lone sniper can move with near impunity and neutralize all resistance. CLEAR THE CRASH SITE Switch to Charlie, activate night vision, run east along the south ridge until you see the patrol of four in the valley below, go prone, and eliminate them. Locate the two enemy guarding the 3rd Aurora fragment on the ridge across the valley and take them out. Retrace your steps, crouch to the right of the bridge, set waypoints for Bravo east along the ridge, down the steep pass to the valley, to a point in the valley about halfway between the 1st Aurora fragment and the bridge: shoot the two enemy running down the slope to the north across the valley if Alpha doesn't pull the trigger first. SECURE THE ENEMY BASE Next stop: the buildings south of the enemy base. Cross the bridge, approach them through the sand from due south, go prone, and shoot the three enemy huddled around the burning trash barrel. Run NW to the top of the sand dune due west of the NW building (you'll be at the west perimeter of the sector), go prone, shoot the machine gunner in the west guard tower of the enemy base, then the patrol of three walking back and forth on the main road in front of the base. Wait prone to see if three more appear from the breach in the south wall of the compound and shoot them as well; if not, head for the breach in the wall at the west end of the compound and crouch. If the second threesome did not come out, they're patrolling counterclockwise within the compound. If you see them emerge from behind the building with the lighted windows, wait until they completely circle it before climbing the west guard tower. Go prone on the top of the tower and notice through the lighted right hand window of the building the lone gunman walking slowly around the room. When the patrol of three almost disappears into the darkness to the east, shoot him first, then the lone guard by the campfire, then the patrol. Descend from the tower, head for the front of the building, and shoot the guard in the east guard tower. The remaining hostile in the base is in a room in the back of the lighted building -- circle it counterclockwise, past the back door, to the first window on the west side, and shoot him in the far room with your silenced M9 to complete objective two. Last stop: the buildings SE of the enemy base. Head SE out the breach in the south wall for the top of the large sand dune between the two groups of outbuildings, go prone, and take out a patrol of three on the road behind the buildings. DESTROY THE AURORA FRAGMENTS Although destroying the remains of the Aurora is not necessary to successfully complete the mission once all resistance has been neutralized, let's do it anyway. Switch to Tunney in Bravo, plant the demo charges at each of the fragments, then park Bravo a safe distance from the last one. ENEMY DEPOT Scenario 1 Switch to Charlie, run north to the breach in the east wall of the enemy base, approach the depot from the west, and locate the three guards outside. They walk from the front of the depot to its west side -- find a position where you can see them all, go prone, and pick them off. In a few moments, two vehicles approach from the main road to the east: one parks in front of the depot and the other circles clockwise around it. Shoot the driver of the moving vehicle as it circles up behind the building, then the gunner. Crouch, sidestep to your right toward the main road, go prone, and pick off the two occupants of the parked vehicle. Three enemy inside the depot are visible through the window on the west side of the building -- crouch, zoom scope, and begin circling the depot counterclockwise until you spot the first, then continue for the second and third. If you can't find the last one, maintain your distance, circle around to the east side, and find him through the large window; if he still remains elusive, continue around to the back door, open it, and put a 9mm slug through his head to complete the optional objective and successfully complete the mission. Note: If the moving vehicle escapes, you'll have to search for it -- try the far east end of the main road. Scenario 2 If you're craving some unpredictability, switch to Charlie, run east from the top of the dune and cross the road leading to the depot -- the vehicles now appear at any time, one may try to run you over, and one or both speed to the insertion zone where Alpha promptly takes their keys. Otherwise, you're on your own. ******************************************************************** DS MISSION 06 - SPECTRE WIND ******************************************************************** Adi K'eyih, Eritrea June 16, 2009 19:05 =Briefing= "Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Ashenafi Abate. He's a local strongman who used to be based out of the area east of Wik'ro. However, he's also an old friend of Col. Wolde's, and has now set up residence in a ghost town outside of Adi K'eyih. He and his command are your target. "As the Ethiopian troops fall back, they're leaving something behind: land mines. Not only do they slow our advance, it's highly unlikely that we're going to find and detonate them all, and that means they're going to be providing unpleasant surprises for the local populace for years to come. "Your first priority is to recover the maps of the minefields that are being laid. Abate's in charge of this section of the project, and he's keeping them in his field HQ in a box canyon northeast of the town. On the opposite end of town is a motor pool tucked into a junkyard. You'll want to disable all of the vehicles there as well. Then you get to go after the big prize: Abate himself. "If Abate's not in the field HQ, he'll be in a house he's commandeered, on a hill just outside of what's left of the town. He's dug in there, with a trench network defending it, and his troops are positioned all through the wreckage. You're going to go in there and drag him out. Once you've got Abate in hand, head for the pickup point. It's located in the ridges to the south of town." =Objectives= 1 - Retrieve Map of Minefields 2 - Neutralize Vehicle Pool 3 - Capture Warlord 4 - Reach Extraction Zone =Platoon= ALPHA: Cohen, Homes, Haile BRAVO: Tunney, Wong CHARLIE: Ibrahim =Notes= Wong moves to Bravo replacing Fuentes; Haile joins Alpha; Tunney packs anti-tank rockets. Yes, I know gentlemen, Jodit Haile is not much more a kid, but she's been fighting here since she was twelve years old, knows the terrain like the back of her hand, packs a wallop with a PKM, and more than anything else wants peace in her country. You won't regret it. SECURE THE NORTH RAVINE As soon as the mission begins, order all squads on recon and advance at all costs (AAAC), set waypoints for Charlie SE up the steep trail, then east about ten meters (just beyond the dark shaded portion of the map) into the narrow ravine along the north perimeter, and set his view arc facing west. Ignore the enemy down in the west end of the town, run up the same trail, crouch at the top, and notice the enemy patrol of three, ahead, walking east through the ravine. Follow them (it's easy to stay relatively close), Charlie announces that he has arrived, then plant a rocket-powered grenade in their midst as they reach the bottom. Move down the ravine along the left rock cliff, go prone about ten meters from the bottom, order all squads on hold and engage, and shoot the six enemy who approach one-at-a-time, the last three of which appear from around the rock cliff to the right. Shoot them on sight -- some have grenades. (Normally all six enemy attack the bottom of the ravine, but Charlie is guarding the top just in case.) A jeep drives up and parks west of the HQ compound: if you see it, venture out of the ravine, go prone, and take out its occupants, driver first, then the gunner. If not, it's hiding behind the far boulder. Move to the cover of the near boulder and shoot the guard standing next to the far boulder. If the jeep still doesn't appear, move back to the ravine and let Charlie snipe them later. CLEAR THE TOWN Switch to Charlie, order all squads to advance and engage, climb to the top of the ravine, locate the patrol of three on the long trail on the ridge to the SW (they may be down in the area between the ridge and the road), go prone, and shoot them. Move a few meters SE to the top of the trail leading down to the town and find and shoot three more patrolling the area between the west end of the town and the hill of the warlord's villa. Crawl a few meters down the trail toward the town and shoot the enemy sniper in the lower bunker on the warlord hill. Scope the far side of the cluster of buildings below, find the jeep, shoot the driver first, then the gunner. Crouch, head east on the trail overlooking the town, find the jeep parked by the enemy HQ, and shoot the driver first, then the gunner. (If you don't see the vehicle from your current position, it's parked farther north and it's view is obstructed by the large rock formation to the east.) Continue on the trail, step sideways facing south as you approach the end of the low rocky wall to your right, and shoot the driver of the pickup truck parked directly south among the shacks but do not try for the gunner yet -- at this close range he will see you and fire first. Retrace your steps west to the point at which the low rock wall begins, go prone, and shoot the fixed machine gunner in the upper bunker on the warlord hill. Three enemy behind and to the right of the bunker stand guarding the warlord's villa and if you can see one of them through the haze, shoot him and the others will follow; otherwise, head south down the previous trail (that's where we're headed regardless) and take them out. Move counterclockwise around the boulder at the bottom of the trail, then south between the corrugated shack and the concrete block foundation, go prone facing south, zoom scope, peek around the far end of the shack, and shoot the gunner in the driverless pickup truck. This part of the town is now clear, so if the jeep near the enemy HQ was not previously visible, take it out now -- driver first, then the gunner. If you like, take out your M9SD and shoot the tires of the vehicles. WARLORD'S VILLA Climb up to the west side of the upper bunker on the warlord hill, locate the bunker on the west side of the hill, crouch, and maneuver into a position where you can shoot the unsuspecting gunner within. Approach the front windowless wall of the villa from the NW, step around the corner, and notice two windows: the guy with the olive drab shirt swaying to the music is Ashenafi Abate, so don't shoot him. Instead, fire a shot through the left window to break the glass, then step back behind the wall -- he's armed and will not surrender while he still has a bodyguard. Circle the hill clockwise and low enough so as not to be seen from either window, head for the south tip of the narrow boomerang-shaped rock formation separating the town, then east to the rusty corrugated shack, and find and shoot the guard patrolling behind the HQ (if Alpha has not already taken him out). Head south to the tip of the rock outcropping on the SE perimeter, scope for the remaining bunker to the left of the warlord's villa, and send him greetings from the USA Special Forces. HQ AND MINEFIELD MAP The only thing now between us and the map is a guard huddled in the NE corner of the HQ shack -- the building with the antenna on the roof -- and you can do it several ways: a) Switch to Alpha, go in the door and shoot him; b) Switch to Alpha, go around behind the HQ, and shoot the glass out of the back window followed by a grenade; c) As Charlie, move clockwise around the rock outcropping and shoot him in the head through the south window. Grab the map and objective one is complete. CAPTURE THE WARLORD Order all squads on advance and engage and set waypoints for Alpha and Bravo to meet at the lower bunker north of the villa. Head for the east side of the villa, move to its NE, and while it's easier to step to the right and shoot the bodyguard through the broken window, I chose to creep silently to the window (shuffle) and pop him in the head with the M9SD. Uh, be sure to kill the guy in the camo shirt. When he's down, Abate drops his AK-47 and shrugs with a sigh of resignation. Open the door, go in and capture Abate by bumping him, and... what the hell... will you take a look at this. Big screen projection TV, surround sound, major appliances from Sears. But wait, there's more. Marble countertops, Kohler bath fixtures, towels from the Holiday Inn. Pass off the fat sweaty warlord to Alpha. Objective three is complete. NEUTRALIZE THE VEHICLE POOL The enemy in the junkyard are expecting us to approach along the trail to the north, so we're gonna come in from the south. Run SW from the villa, across the road, to the large rock outcropping west of the extraction zone, and notice the fixed machine gunner and guard in front of the garage by the junked cars and a third patrolling directly to the west. Take them out in the order of your choice, then a fourth who appears from behind the boulder in front of and to the right of the garage. Switch to Tunney in Bravo, run to Charlie's position, then straight west (man, that late afternoon sun is bright) to the high ground south of the vehicle pool, and destroy the tank to complete objective two and successfully complete the mission. ******************************************************************** DS MISSION 07 - SUBTLE KEEP ******************************************************************** Akale Guzay Awraja, Eritrea June 22, 2009 18:00 =Briefing= "I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that we have a re- formed column of Eritrean infantry advancing along one of the major north-south roads from Asmara to Adigrat. The bad news is that the Ethiopian commander in the region is a damn sight more efficient than your friend Abate and has prepared an unpleasant surprise along their route. He's got a roadblock thrown up across the route, with his troops dug in on both sides of it and holding a fortified position on the heights west of the road. Furthermore, he's parked his men right next to a field hospital, which means you'll be doing this without air support. The last thing we need is all the cable news networks showing endless re-runs of us accidentally blowing a hospital to smithereens. "You need to take that roadblock. To do that, you're going to need to clear out the trenches on either side of the road leading up the obstruction, and take out the encampment on the heights as well. If they've got any vehicle support, neutralize it. Then proceed along the road to the west. Don't worry about stragglers. The troops coming in behind you will handle the mop-up work." =Objectives= 1 - Neutralize Roadblock and Snipers 2 - Secure Compound 3 - Neutralize All Enemy Vehicles 4 - Reach Extraction Zone =Platoon= ALPHA: Cohen, Homes, Haile BRAVO: Wong, Fuentes CHARLIE: Ibrahim =Notes= Fuentes replaces Tunney. SNIPE THE BUNKERS Switch to -- who else? -- Charlie and shoot the enemy in the four nearest elevated bunkers along the road: one on the opposite side and three on your side. Run east along the cliff to the bunker ridge on your side (we'll call this the perimeter side) of the road, but crouch as you approach the first of the three now-vacant bunkers -- they're catching on fast -- and from the cover of its near end, take out the guard in the distant bunker farther to the south on the other side (we'll call this the interior side) of the road. As long as we're bunker hopping, continue SE along the ridge, down to the road, hug the cliff as you approach the last pair of bunkers on the perimeter side, and take out the enemy in the near bunker -- the one next door to the south is unoccupied. (The far bunker on the interior side of the road is unoccupied as well.) ROADBLOCK AND ENEMY VEHICLES Kindly disabuse yourself of the notion that it would be fun to get to one of those bunkers and start picking off the road crew -- Charlie will get creamed. Ditto for a position on the low north end of the ridge leading to the bunkers. Instead, go prone facing south in the thin grass in the angle of the cliff just north of the trail leading to the bunkers on the perimeter side of the road, wait until most of the nine hostiles congregate in the middle of the road behind the vehicles and crates, then fire away. Shoot whoever fires back, then pick them off as they scurry for or emerge from cover. Distance is the sniper's friend. Two more vehicles drive up from the south and park behind the roadblock -- a jeep on the left and a pickup truck on the right, the latter blocked from Charlie's view by the low cliff on the interior side of the road -- so when there's a lull in the action, take out, as always, the driver of the jeep first, then the gunner. Scope from side to side or zoom to half power occasionally to make sure no one is sneaking toward you along either of the cliffs. Depending on their proximity when Charlie launches his assault, three enemy patrolling up on the sandy area NW of the roadblock may join the fray. They descend one of the two short ravines behind the interior side bunkers then the steep trail leading to the road, so keep an eye in this direction. Be aware also that they may hear Charlie's shots when neutralizing the pickup truck and the remaining bunker as described below. When all is quiet, crouch, move south the twenty meters along your cliff to the beginning of trail on your left, go prone again, zoom scope and focus on the bunker across the road, crawl up the trail sideways until the rifle and arms of the guard within are visible, then quickly peek left and take him out with a surprise head shot to complete objective one. (Shooting his arms a few times also works.) Continue crawling left if necessary until you can see and eliminate the occupants of the pickup truck thus completing objective three. Alternate tactic: If the pickup gang is visible before the guard in the bunker, take them out first. Crawl a short distance to the right for safety, crouch, cross the road, pull out your M9SD, head south along the interior cliff, move silently (shuffle) as you approach the steep trail leading up to the bunker, activate night vision (you won't be able to see with the sun in your eyes), cross the opening of the trail, ascend in the cover of the triangular side of the trail, and put a silent 9mm slug between his unsuspecting eyes. Road kill count excluding the two bunker boys: two in the jeep, three in the truck, twelve on foot -- nine if the trio from the area to the NW didn't show. THE COMPOUND Head up the steep trail to the bunker then south past the second bunker to the far ravine and go prone in the ravine where the thin grass becomes sand. Let's assume the trio in question above did not show up. They patrol clockwise around the demolished building ahead -- wait until they turn right at the far end of the building and pick them off. Another three patrolling near the thatched huts south of the road near the extraction zone run up the wide pass and appear from around the far end of the large rock formation to your left. A pair patrols to the left of the fixed machine gunner straight ahead and another pair patrols behind and to his right -- take them out in whatever order they appear. Set waypoints for both Alpha and Bravo SE a little over halfway down the road, then NW up the long ridge on the interior side of the road to the mouth of the pass leading up to the compound area. Run NW along the rock formation on your right, separating the sandy compound area from the road to the NE, crouch at the boulder (Alpha and Bravo should be coming up behind you), sidestep north and find and shoot the fixed machine gunner in one of the shallow trenches north of the compound. The idea now is to get Alpha to the middle of the south wall and Bravo to the middle of the north wall of the compound without being spotted by the remaining patrol of three who run frantically on the steep sandy slope farther west. Order all squads on AAAC. Set waypoints for Alpha at coordinates due south of your boulder and due east of the south wall of the building, then to the middle of the south wall. Set waypoints for Bravo at coordinates due south of your boulder and due east of the north wall, then to the middle of the north wall. As Charlie, head west for the other trench, go prone at its west end, wait for your squads to get into position, then wait patiently for the patrol to appear to the SW beyond the tufts of grass. Why all the elaborate prep work? The patrol of three are a wily and highly unpredictable bunch -- if Charlie doesn't get all of them they'll run or crawl for cover behind any of the three partial walls around the compound including the one north of the fixed machine gun. Usually they head for the far side of the J-shaped wall SE of the building and may crawl to the NW corner of the building. Use Charlie to ferret out survivors: start by circling counterclockwise around the north wall, then head west to the far boulder, down the steep sandy slope, then up behind the J-shaped wall. Furthermore, two hostiles somewhere in the building may try to escape out either door but we will be waiting. If they don't come out, well, you know what to do. When they're down, there's no need to get to the extraction zone, objective two is completed, and the mission ends successfully. ******************************************************************** DS MISSION 08 - TORN BANNER ******************************************************************** Mereb Wenz crossing, near Adi Kwala, Eritrea June 25, 2009 11:00 =Briefing= "This, gentlemen, is it. We've pushed the Ethiopian forces back across the border, and we've been in contact with the legitimate government in exile. With any luck, they'll be back in power shortly, and we can wrap this up. "There's just one detail left to take care of: Colonel Tesfaye Wolde. Wolde has decided that the best way to salvage the current situation is to ride out with whatever armor he's got left in an effort to rally the troops personally. I'll leave the wisdom of that particular approach for you to judge, but you can't fault the man's guts. "In any case, the column he's riding with is moving north. We're expecting it to hit a bridge over the Mereb Wenz at approximately 1100 hours, and you're going to be there to greet it. "The column will be moving over a bridge that crosses a gorge near a series of waterfalls. You'll be going in downstream, near a broad, shallow ford guarded by a few customs buildings. You'll want to secure that crossing immediately, then move into position to take out the tanks. The bridge is probably the best place to bottle them up, and you'll definitely want to take out the infantry holding it before the armor gets there. If not, they'll link up and you'll be in a world of hurt. One more thing: The last of their SAM launchers is guarding the bridge as well. It's positioned to the west of the crossing, along the route the tanks are going to follow. Take it out and we can end this once and for all." =Objectives= 1 - Secure Secondary Crossing 2 - Neutralize Mobile SAM Launcher 3 - Stop Tank Column 4 - Neutralize Bridge Defenders =Platoon= ALPHA: Cohen, Wong, Homes BRAVO: Tunney, Haile CHARLIE: Ibrahim =Notes= Tunney replaces Fuentes in Bravo; Wong moves to Alpha; Haile moves to Bravo. HQ has it backwards -- we have less than two minutes to kill the first tank in the column before it crosses the bridge -- the infantry guarding it and the secondary crossing can wait. Bravo needs to hustle. As the mission begins, an enemy pickup truck, followed shortly by two on foot, rolls down the dirt trail from the tent camp in the SE quadrant of the sector and heads for the secondary crossing -- if our platoon remains at the insertion zone, we'll get annihilated. STOP THE TANK COLUMN Switch to Bravo, set waypoints for Alpha and Charlie to the east side of the rock formation south of the insertion zone, and order Bravo on recon and advance at all costs (AAAC). Run like hell west to the cover of the right side of the boulder (there's a dead bush in front of it) on the bank of the river, wait for Haile to catch up, and go prone -- the pickup truck passes directly behind you. Let the truck pass, crouch as it continues to the crossing, move north along the bank to the point where it becomes marshy, hook left into the river, move upstream to the south, look back to make sure Haile has followed you into the river, then run. Run up the steep rocky trail on your right, keep to your left near the edge of the trail as you ascend, and crouch near the top when you see the stone guardhouse across the gorge. Ignore the enemy guarding the bridge and watch as the enemy tank column approaches the bridge from the left. Wait until the lead tank is almost to the middle of the bridge, then move forward and take it out with a rocket before it reaches the other side -- make damn sure you're forward enough so that your rocket doesn't slam into the end of your ledge! Don't hang around to watch the armor explode -- pull the trigger and immediately head back down to the bottom of the trail, check the point at which you splashed into the river, and shoot the hostile(s) if any. Switch to Haile in Bravo, take cover behind the boulder such that you can see partway up, and order Bravo on hold and engage. NEUTRALIZE BRIDGE DEFENDERS Enemy infantry guarding the bridge climb the near rocky trail on the north side of the gorge (see map), hook clockwise around the small round rock formation, and take up a position on the ridge where Bravo destroyed the tank. The situation is very fluid: They may or may not descend your trail and attack Bravo; there may be none or as many as ten; some may descend while others do not; they may pursue singly or in pairs; there may be a minute or more delay between attacks. Wait patiently to see if any show up and mow them down with your PKM as they round the last bend in the trail. If your threat indicator glows but the enemy remains hidden up the trail, move out sideways into middle of the river such that Haile can see farther up the trail, take him/them out, and wait to see if there are any more. Move back to the cover of the boulder as you were before and when all is quiet take a deep breath and relax. Switch to Charlie, run toward the secondary crossing, go prone at a safe distance on the north side of the road where you can see the pickup truck, pick off the enemy patrolling near the building -- there are four on foot including any Bravo may have killed after destroying the lead tank -- then eliminate the three in the truck for a total of seven. Head SW up the dirt trail until you see the remaining bridge defenders standing at the top of Bravo's trail, go prone, and pick them off thus completing objective four. Warning: even though you've been notified that the bridge defenders have been neutralized, there may yet be more enemy on the same ridge near the small round rock formation. Continue up the dirt trail and carefully check the top of the ridge across the gorge from various points. When you're sure all hostiles on the ridge are dead, set waypoints for Alpha to the group of small boulders and bushes about forty meters north of the tent camp such that they have a clear view of the steep rocky trail leading down to the tank road. Continue SW along the edge of your ridge, find enemy down on the flat ground north of the bridge, and shoot them when Alpha announces they've arrived at their destination. Check also for enemy hiding behind the tanks. Move carefully up to the west edge of your ridge overlooking the bridge and check for hostiles directly below. Alpha will eliminate any that try to climb the trail leading up to the tent camp. Scope the visible portion of the distant ridge in the SW quadrant of the sector: three enemy patrol from end to end. If you see and shoot two, the third may head south, then east across the rope suspension bridge. Order Charlie to hold. DESTROY THE REMAINING TANKS Switch to Bravo, order Bravo to advance, ascend the rocky trail, finish off the two remaining tanks, then move around the small round rock formation on your right and crouch on its east side. Switch to Charlie, scope again along the distant ridge to the west, then to its north end for the patrol trying to sneak up on you. If they don't show, set waypoints for Alpha down the rocky trail near the tent camp, over the suspension bridge, north along the distant ridge, and find and eliminate them -- the total body count is twelve including the six bridge defenders, three other enemy in the area of the bridge, and the patrol on the distant ridge. Follow Alpha down the rocky trail, then head across the bridge, up the short rocky trail near Bravo, and find a comfortable spot to watch the north entrance of Alpha's ridge. Set a final waypoint for Alpha among the small boulders at the north end of the delta-shaped entrance. SAM SITE Move counterclockwise around the larger round rock formation to the south, keep low, and go prone and crawl to the edge overlooking the SAM site. Take out the two fixed machine gunners in the bunkers below then the patrol of three, but if they start firing, crawl backwards for cover, and let Alpha take them out as they advance or switch back and forth between Charlie and Alpha as necessary. As Charlie, move to the center of your ridge, find another pickup truck (looks like it has engine problems and is smoking) parked farther west up the secondary crossing road, and take out the three occupants. Order Alpha on AAAC and set a waypoint for them at the tip of the perimeter, about twenty-five meters west of the mobile SAM launcher. Switch to Bravo, hike along the tank road to the SAM site, and destroy the armor. The remaining unseen defender across the road to the north is eliminated by Alpha as he runs toward the SAM site. SECONDARY CROSSING The last three enemy of the mission and the campaign are holed up in the secondary crossing building. One of them can and will fire at you through the west-facing window. As a gesture of triumph, I chose Haile to go in through the front door and finish them off.