A/N -- Hello. At the moment, though this is a fictional story, it's still based on an element of fact. Three more chapters will continue in this manner and in this category. I'll explain more later at the end of Chapter 10.
I've also avoided writing detailed action scenes, simply because I've never served, so I'd either come up with bullshit, or rely on what I see in movies etc. Therefore, I've kept it all rather simple and vague. Plus, though I'm sure some people would be interested, I'm thinking you're all mostly here for the sex... right? (If I'm wrong, let me know!)
*****
"We've been watching the television night and day, Nate. Do you know where you're going?"
"I can't tell you that, Mum. I'm just going into Afghanistan with my men."
I did know where I was going. Bravo and Charlie Companies of 40 Commando were inserting into Bagram Airfield. The base had been secured by our very own Special Boat Service (SBS) during the early days of the invasion. What excited me was the fact I knew the 82
nd
Airborne would be based out of Bagram. One thing I did know was my military history. Sort of...
"When do you ship out?"
"Soon, Mum. You know I can't go into exact details. I can tell you that I'm not in the United Kingdom right now though."
"Your sisters are worried sick. They know this is what you've spent all that training to do, and you've been to Northern Ireland, but this feels... real."
"It is real, Mum. But you're right. This is what I've been trained to do, but also my men. We go through all that training for a reason. And I'm going to be surrounded by some bloody good soldiers at the same time. It's not going to be easy, but I'll be fine, Mum."
"You'll manage to keep in contact?"
"Might be difficult at first. I'll whip out the old pen and send off a few letters every so often. How's Dad?"
"Proud as punch. Keeps talking about his Royal Marine warrior son, off to fight all the jihadi's by himself."
"How's the situation there?"
"Oh, you know how it is. A few dickheads want to tar everyone with the same brush, but it's remained mostly calm. Australia has already committed troops to helping support the invasion."
"From what we've been seeing on the news here, the Americans are pounding them into submission. Could end up being another Desert Storm, over before it started."
"I won't lie and say I won't be relieved if you get there and find yourself not shooting anyone nor being shot at."
"We'll find out more on the way but it'll probably be patrolling. I'm just a Royal Marine, Mum. I'll leave all the big plans for those in charge." Someone tapped their watch next to me. "Okay, Mum. Got the signal. Got to go."
"I love you, Nate."
"I love you, Mum. I'll speak to you soon."
"I hope so. Speak soon."
My men were busy preparing for our operation. They were as confident as one could expect as we received plenty of news through the grapevine. The Taliban already falling apart. al-Qaeda and whoever else had fucked off into the mountains.
We arrived at Bagram three days later aboard a C-130. There was more than one joke on the way about inserting by parachute in honour of our brothers in the 82
nd
, with more than one further dark joke about the fact none of us had trained, so we'd likely land with a thump rather than a bump. Still, spirits remained high until we began our descent. When the ramp opened and we disembarked, we knew Afghanistan would be a little different, but fucking hell... it was like going back a thousand years. And that was being polite...
What we learned is that most of the locals didn't know what to make of our presence, and generally stayed out of the way. Some of them did prove rather friendly, or at least curious about our presence, and though none of us really spoke the local language, we managed to make each other understood. Frankly, all they wanted was to be left alone, whether by Russians, British, Americans, and even whoever was running the show from Kabul. Didn't blame them, to be honest.
To be honest, by the time we'd arrived, the invasion was pretty much complete. Two weeks after we landed, the Taliban had fled Kabul and an interim government was already being established. That left most of us wondering what we'd be doing as it was a six-month deployment. We (the Royal Marines) had no involvement in an operation to the south in the Tora Bora mountains, as the Yanks were on the trail of bin Laden. We knew the SAS had been busy since the early days of the invasion.
Operationally, we remained quiet until after the new year, the Americans doing most of the heavy lifting. It simply made sense. Four-Five Commando was in the country at the same time, and we ended up working alongside them as we were given orders to eliminate further Taliban and al-Qaeda resistance. Surprisingly, we had next to no contacts with the enemy. It was already reported they'd escaped over the border into Pakistan, and we simply couldn't follow them as Pakistan was meant to be an ally... of sorts. Working alongside Australian SAS soldiers provoked some amusement when we could afford a laugh, as more than one heard my accent and asked what the fuck I was doing with the Royal Marines.
We left Bagram for Kabul in the January as we effectively became a peacekeeping force. Compared to the capital cities I'd visited previously; Kabul was... different again. And most of the locals seemed rather relieved to see us. We'd all read the stories about life under the Taliban after they'd taken control of the country. We were sure they still had their supporters, but anyone willing to pick up a gun to fight for them had long since fled. That didn't stop the occasional attack or bombing.
For a first deployment in a war zone, it was all a bit of a damp squib. We did have the occasional bit of 'excitement' where a few morons thought they'd fire some guns. That just drew the wrong sort of attention. Half the time, they were just being idiots, shitting themselves when a bunch of men in uniform turned up, armed to the teeth, ready to start firing should they prove more idiotic than they already were. There were operations to clear out reported strongholds, but most of the time, we walked in to find abandoned homes and warehouses.
