Soldier's Medal (Vietnam Ground Zero Military Thrillers Book 5) by Eric Helm

Author:Eric Helm [Helm, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2021-01-25T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

GERBER’S HOOTCH IN THE REDOUBT AT CAMP A-555

Gerber sat behind his field desk, his hands laced behind his head, and stared at Sean Cavanaugh. The younger man was wearing a new set of fatigues so green they almost glowed. Although it was early in the morning, Cavanaugh was already sweating, the perspiration staining his uniform.

“Got a problem, Sean,” said Gerber. “Need to send out a patrol to check on a couple of things and don’t have anyone left to do it. Tyme’s out with Washington, I need Fetterman here and Bocker has picked up some kind of rash and low-grade fever.” Gerber smiled. “Personally, I think he’s gotten used to sitting in that commo bunker of his and doesn’t want to go out.”

“I don’t mind going out again, Captain,” Cavanaugh said. “So far, we haven’t had to stay in the field more than one night.”

Gerber leaned forward and put his elbows on his desk. He wondered again if it was a good idea to send Cavanaugh out on his own. The man hadn’t used good judgment when his radio failed, if it had failed. Bocker had been unable to find anything wrong with it, but Gerber knew that the moisture in the air sometimes shorted out a radio, and when it dried the next day, it worked perfectly. Still, he wanted someone out in the vicinity of the village, and Cavanaugh was the only man he had left.

“I’d like an ambush set up in the region of Cai Cai to see if we can catch anything,” Gerber said. “This would be for one day and one night, two at the most. I don’t like sending you out without a medic, but that can’t be helped. You’ll be pretty close to the camp so that we can get you assistance quickly if you need it.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gerber reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a map of the AO. He spun it so that Cavanaugh could see it and began to brief him on the operation. Given the facts that his patrols had run into the VC to the south and west of the camp and the VC had raided the village of Cai Cai, it seemed that a clandestine operation into the region, an ambush patrol, might have some success. Since it was a hit-and-miss proposition, Gerber told the sergeant that there shouldn’t be any trouble that Cavanaugh couldn’t handle. Maybe it was the type of responsibility that Cavanaugh needed to help him work through his problems. Gerber wanted nothing flashy. He wanted a quiet ambush patrol that would disrupt the enemy and take no casualties itself. A simple, by the book operation.

When he finished, he asked, “Think you can handle it?”

“Yes, sir.” Cavanaugh nodded. “It’s pretty basic.”

“Basic and simple,” agreed Gerber.

“When would you like me to move out?”

Gerber glanced at his watch and then said, “You could leave soon after lunch. Ambush sites are scattered all over the place, most of them within fifteen klicks or so.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.