F.R.O.G.

By Roy E. Bean, Jr

The Lieutenants are now Captains and they have a new assignment and with it new challenges. In the desert of Iran they work together with another operative to complete their mission until a twist puts them in danger, and then they have to use all of their training to get out alive. This requires teamwork between various groups and nerves of steel. You don't have to be a 'guy' to be a hero.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Roy E. Bean, Jr
• Release date: Feb 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370786046

Roy E. Bean, Jr

Started writing at 16 years old. Didn't finish first book 'Strange Dayz' until I was 26. Served in the Army and went to college in the mean time. Graduated with a degree in Business. Worked in that capacity as a civilian. Joined the National Guard and rose to the rank of SGM. Retired after over twenty years of service. Served in Military Intelligence, Cavalry, Infantry and as a Chem Specialist.

Book preview

Prologue

In the winter of 1991, after months of talks and a buildup of troops in Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm with the bombing of communications and anti-aircraft facilities by stealth bombers of the United States Air Force. The ground assault was next as M1-A1 tanks, and those of our allies charged across the border between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Many people in Iraq did not believe the propaganda of the invincible Republican Guard and attempted to leave Iraq. The road between Basrah and Kuwait, Highway 80, became known as the 'Road of Death'. Besides retreating Iraqi military columns leaving Kuwait trying to escape back in to Iraq there were Iraqis leaving the country on the road when coalition aircraft attacked. Highway 80 turns into Highway 8 and intersects with Highway 1 just north of the border between Kuwait and Iraq. On Highway 1you can travel south and reach the port of Um Qasr. This was one of many routes that were used to smuggle things out of Iraq and into Iran by boat. Next to Basrah is the town of Zubayr. This town is an industrial center that has a significant warehouse district. Among other things, when Operation Iraqi Freedom commenced twelve years later, traces of weapons of mass destruction were found here. Canisters for sarin and mustard gas, radioactive debris and chemical resistant over garments and gas masks were found. It was widely suspected that Saddam, along with his fighter jets, had sent much of his biological, chemical and radioactive materials out of the country prior to the allied assault in 1991. In 2003, when little was reported about any WMDs being found, the validity of going to war was questioned and the war effort was no longer supported by many. The various reports of military personnel in chemical suits, or carrying gas masks went, for the most part, unpublished by the media. Our troops coming into contact with chemical weapons was also sparsely reported. When special operations personnel on the ground talked with locals who were anti-Saddam and pro Western they were told that convoys of trucks left this warehouse district on the early evening of January 15th, 1991. Part of the convoy had taken the highway southbound and the others went north on the highway that leads to Iran. Other than going into Kuwait, the only other destination for the southern route was the Persian Gulf. Some of the vehicles that went north came back months later, the one's from the south never did. The locals also said that the passengers wore gas masks when they left.

When you cross into Iran you are on Highway 96 until you get to the town of Abbadan. If you go north on Hwy 39 you will come to the city of Ahvaz. Continuing north on Hwy 39 you will come to a mountainous area to the east. It is in this area that there are roads that look like they lead to nowhere. Next to Khuzestan there is a road that travels along the mountains north to south. They are improved dirt roads that get lost in wadis and then disappear. This is not by chance. Traffic on these roads is almost nonexistent. Interestingly though, even on Google maps you can make out a beaten path that could only have been made by numerous journeys from truck traffic. On further inspection the tracks disappear under some sort of covering. If you didn't know where to look, you would never find them. For most of this area it is one big blur of tan, or shades thereof. Even in the cities the color is mostly tan. Now and again there will be blue roofs, or even red ones. In the tan of the desert there are swatches of green. Iraq, which is approximately the size of California has a very small area of arable land. Iran, which is approximately the size of Alaska was blessed with many rivers and a coastline that quite green. Even in the heart of the Iranian desert to the south there is enough water to grow many crops. Only about a quarter of the land is desert that is too hot to grow anything. Another half of the country is too mountainous to live or grow food. Actual arable land is about ten percent for both Iran and Iraq. This leaves a lot of area where there is no population and gives the government a large area to hide things, or build things.

Chapter 1

The Captains had done a crash course in the Persian language with a decidedly southern accent, or dialect. Their 'husband' studied along with them and they were immersed in the culture as much as possible. The last two months of training was total isolation from the outside world except news papers. Some were in English but most in Persian. There were ones from both Iraq and Iran and occasionally there would be one from Pakistan. All of them told their readers that American was weak and Israel had to be annihilated. Some talked about ISIL, not always in a good way. Each of the governments supported ISIL in different ways, but were wise not to tell their people the extent of ISIL's brutality. Some of the governments saw these butchers as a cleansing force, others as a way to weaken areas that they had an interest in. This was a way to more easily take over that government or area when the time was right.

The Captains and husband were moved to the east coast by military transport and put on a military freight flight out of country. The plane that they flew in was a C17 cargo jet. They were armed with Russian P-96 9X19mm semi-automatic pistols. These are light and compact. 9mm ammunition is much easier to procure with foreign case stamping than most other calibers. You can get .380, or 9X18 rounds, and 22 caliber rounds easily also, but both are smaller and have less stopping power. Most adversaries that they will come across with pistols will be armed with a 9X19 pistol and will allow them to refresh their ammunition easily. Each of the pistols had custom threaded barrels and a matching tube silencer. They had ill fitting clothing of a markedly Southeast Asian flare. The Captains had their burqas packed away. They would wait as long as possible to put them on. Even though they dreaded to have to wear them, they realized it was the best camouflage available. They wore comfortable undergarments. Research had shown that many women made up for having to wear the burqas by wearing lacey, frilly underwear. This the Captains didn't feel was necessary. Their pants were of a plain cut, as was the blouse that they had on. They would be flying into an airbase in Kuwait. From there they would be secreted off the base, and transported via a local style lorry. The male that was traveling with them was tall, his beard fully grown and groomed only slightly. His over garment was also packed but it, and his headwear would blend into the local dress code. He held the rank of Senior Field Agent in the CIA. He had spent many years in Iran and had a legend established as a Bedouin who had lost most of his family to an American bombing incident in Iraq during the war.

All three of the Captains were of a complexion to blend in with the locals. They all had dark hair. They were of similar height so as to not bring notice to one over the others. Behind their veils no one would notice anything anyways but there was no chances to be taken on this mission. The equipment that they carried was secreted in their battered suitcases. They had between them two sat phones and two tablets that could access the internet via the small satellite receiver that they had. They also had a couple of folding solar panels to charge the batteries for their equipment. In addition to all of that they had money. Sewn into the sides of the suitcases were various currencies including dollars and Iranian rials. There was also some gold coins from different countries. These suitcases would never have made it through airport security.

The flight of over six thousand miles took more than fifteen hours non-stop with two in-flight refuelings. They were provided two Air Force box lunches for the flight. This would be the last 'normal' food they would eat for some time. This would ensure that they didn't have any smells about them that were out of place. The transport plane took them to Ali Al Salem airbase, that is shared with the Kuwaitis, is located in the central part of Kuwait near the intersections of Highway 70 and the route that runs to the northwest off of Hwy 70. It is a large complex west of the city of Jahra. The timing was coordinated so that they would arrive at the airbase at night. Transportation was waiting when they arrived and from there they were taken by helicopter to Camp New York, next to Camp Buehring to the north. It was from here that they would take a lorry to the north thru Iraq and into Iran. That area at Camp New York was not being used at this time. At one time it had been teeming with members the US military but the current force structure didn't require its use. Although the team didn't look all that strange at this point, once they got into full 'costume' it would not suit the mission for them to be seen. They had one liaison to coordinate the transfer to the local lorry. Sergeant First Class Randy Vance was a decorated Army Special Forces operations sergeant. He had been in theater for well over a year now. He's team had been to Iraq, and Afghanistan numerous times now. He was on loan to this operation and would report back to his team once his job here was complete. After this team was settled in SFC Vance brought them a meal of rice, lamb, flat bread and yogurt with chai tea which was black and hot. They would spend their time here sleeping, resting or preparing for their journey that next evening, spending the daylight hours inside their remote tent. They had all of the amenities that they could ask for right there in the tent except for a kitchen. Personnel who normally would stay there would go to a designated 'chow hall' or mess service center, instead of that their food would be delivered. The sergeant knew Persian and all conversations were conducted in that language. The team went over the operation several more times and then burned any paperwork that was related to it as they prepared for departure. Breakfast was served later than normal due to their late arrival and supper meal. This consisted of feta cheese and jam on flat bread with tea. It was a simple but balanced meal. Portions were similar to what they would have once in country. Even portion control was required to not bring unwanted attention their way. The sergeant brought them two more meals before they were on their way. At twilight the Captains each put on their burqas and rechecked their equipment. A short time later a lorry pulled up outside. A hundred meters in front, and a hundred meters to the rear sat the MP escort HUMMV's. SFC Vance checked for any other activity and then opened the back of the lorry which had backed up to the 'door' of the tent. Quickly the team exited from the darkness of the tent to the darkness inside the back of the lorry. SFC Vance sat in the front to ensure they would make it off base without any inspections. At the gate he got out and spoke to the MP's on duty. After showing the orders and base commanders letter of instruction the MP in the guard shack pushed the button to open the hydraulic barrier. The lorry drove down the road until a turnoff and the male got out of the back and moved up to the passenger seat. He couldn't be seen in the back with his wives and be taken seriously as a muslim man. This journey would take them north into Iraq, and then into Iran. Their travel and identification papers were the best, and their money good also, if it was needed to take care of any bribes. This part of the journey would set the mood for the rest of the mission. If things went smoothly they would most likely be able to achieve their goals. If they didn't make it past these checkpoints they would have to scrub the mission and make their way back to the camp. Programmed into the phone was a picture, and a game app that would decompress the picture into a CEOI (communications-electronics operating instructions) with which they could contact the SF team SFC Vance was a part of. Two Sikorsky S-97 Raider helicopters would be able to reach and extract them with an A-team included if any firepower was needed.

Chapter 2

The trip to the boarder was uneventful, as was the crossing. Basil got out of the truck and spoke to the guard. The guard was tired and didn't really care if some goat herder wanted to come into his country but looked at the papers anyway. After midnight, security wasn't as great, and if you looked and smelled the part you didn't get as much scrutiny. They continued along Hwy 26 which goes east, and then turn south toward the Gulf. Their next passage would be done during the day as a kind of an 'in your face, I'm not doing anything wrong' gesture. They made it to the Arvand Rood and secured passage on a barge to cross. Basil couldn't help but notice all of the boats or ships that were beached and rusting away. Along with these relics were modern vessels who's shallow draft would allow them to navigate these waters. On the other side no one even came to see what the truck was bringing into the country. At this point Basil took the driver's seat and their driver went back onto the barge to head back to his station. The road at this point was not as good as the highways but lead them north to the juncture of Hwy's 39 and 96. They continued up Hwy 39 until they passed Mollasani and then turned off the main highway onto a road that took them to an area to the east of a town called Manhush. This road lead to Highway 45 that lead them to their compound. Manhush was a small town with a small market and Basil was to be employed as a shepherd. The women would be delivered by him to the town market on the days that the merchants and peddlers came to sell their goods. They would see what intel they could obtain. He would sit, drink tea and try to keep an eye on them. This was a male run society and no one would think twice about him just sitting and watching his property. They would also visit the market in Mollasani once a week. This town, with a population of over thirteen thousand, would provide an environment where they would be even less conspicuous. It was only a little over twenty miles, or thirty three kilometers, away.

They arrived at their new home in the late afternoon. It was set off the road about one hundred meters. There was a wall around the dwelling. The dwelling itself had towers on opposite corners and two small courtyards inside. There was a garage in the front that was attached to the flat roofed, tan building. The