Chapter 9: Fire Force 1974 the beginning

My first trip on Fire Force was to Mt Darwin which consisted of a Police camp, Court house, Farmers Club, Army camp and a few trading stores ... Access to Darwin was a little dodgy as it was still a dirt road from Bindura that the Gooks had a habit of planting a few TMH's in for us to find ... Fire Force base was next to a football ground where the Choppers lived with their Pilots and Techs ... Our base was about the same size with bunkers in the corners and a few trees to pitch tents under ... Our first trip there we were still using a Long Drop (outhouse) but the engineers were busy building toilets and showers in one corner...

We had only 3 troop choppers and one gunship ... Allouette 3 with a 303 Browning for a G Car carrying pilot, tech and 4 Troopies ... K Kar, also an Allou 3 had pilot, Tech and ground troop commander with the tech manning a 20mm cannon...

Now considering we only had 26 guys in the Group (We only got Commando status a few years later) we were hard pushed to supply the 12 guys for first wave and could just make second wave as long as the cook went with and we abandoned our OPS room ... We had been decimated by Selous Scouts starting up with most of tracking troop, our CSM and a few others disappearing over the previous RNR... (My thoughts go to my old CSM's family as he passed away last week Apr 2016)...

We were a sorry looking bunch but we had mostly old experienced soldiers with a couple of new Troopies from training troop ... We didn't take over from anyone as this was a new Operation and we were to be the experiment to put it all together ... We set up camp that evening and got comfortable ... I must admit that an RLI troopy can make himself very comfortable ... As I was a new boy I was presented with the MAG ... At 26lbs this is not a present gladly received but it did have distinct advantages ... For me in that first FF camp was being allocated the corner bunker as my place of residence for the next 6 weeks ... This was a prime spot as two of us created a decent home ... the bunker was raised above the Berm with ½ meter slots looking out over the valley and police camp ... The walls were 4 sand bags thick and the roof was railway sleepers also with a 4 sand bag covering ... Each troop had a corner and the rest of the guys lived in tents which is not clever in 34c heat that can creep up to 40c...

The next morning we met with our pilots and techs and went over the drills for access and deplaning from the choppers, you know, silly little things like not putting your rifle barrel up in to the rotors or letting your foot rest on the handbrake (Collective) ... In later years there was a steel plate put up around the Collective as there were a few problems with guy's big feet ... After a pleasant day of stuffing around we were told we would be active and on standby for call out from the next day ... Ha, Ha, Ha ... We sat on our arses for 4 days cleaning weapons and did PT ... Our first OP wasn't even a FF call out but a night ambush with SB and an informer ... What a scream a minute but we managed to slay the area commander and a few others...

Goodbye Chikwatwa we have got you snyied...

We were called to the OPS room (A Bedford RM with a canvas top, inside there were map boards and a radio setup) Us Troopies sat around outside while out Sgt and Lt went and got a briefing from the boss ... Me – I was still a goby so was the last one on the totem pole to find out what was going on – In fact I think I was the founding member of the mushroom club...

We were to leave camp after last light and travel to our drop off point where we would debus on the move with the vehicles carrying on to the next DC settlement ... we were then to be lead in by the informer to a beer drink where the informers wives were being raped by the gooks ... Brilliant plan ... NOT!!!! Ever tried to jump off a moving truck in the pitch dark? Let me tell you it's not funny especially when laden with an MAG ... Apart from night blindness from the headlights it was black as hell and I face planted the road ... It felt like I had broken my bloody nose, my back and both legs ... remember this was supposed to be clandestine with no noise ... We picked ourselves up and tried to quietly slip through thee bush --for the next 3 hours ... the bloody informer was lost, my face hurt and that bloody MAG caught up on every stuffing branch and twig ... the flippin foot path was full of holes and I had stones in my tackies ... Eventually as the ¼ moon was rising we heard the beat of drums from the beer drink and had a direction to aim at ... We crept along carefully as now the adrenalin was pumping and pain was forgotten ... the moon was just up over the horizon when we got in to extended line outside the village as we planned to assault it ... Just as all was ready the drumming stopped and there was a lot of talking and shouting from the village ... I was standing next to the informer as he was whispering to the SB guy that it sounded as though the gooks were leaving and were going back to their camp ... We could just see a footpath in front of us and he informed us the gooks would follow that ... Lt Jim and Sgt Vance got the guys down and lined up, me, I was standing under a tree in the shadow and had hooked up 6 belts of ammo ... Just as I finished joining belts Vancy touched me and I saw some figures coming out of the village toward us ... the lead guy had and RPD in front of him on a sling and the next guy had an AK ... They were about 20 yards away when some idiot sneezed and the front gook swung his RPD towards us ... Well adrenalin, frustration Buck fever and all I opened up with my gun ... Now I had loaded 4 ball and 1 tracer on all the belts so what happened next was spectacular ... I slowly swept the gooks and the village a knee level shooting from the hip ... Suddenly there was silence and I realized 2 thinks ... I had finished 6 belts of ammo and I had forgotten in my haze to take my finger off the trigger ... There wasn't a thing in front of us moving, Vance stepped out from under the tree and quickly put 2 para illuminating up ... Not even the dogs were barking – shit it was quiet ... and now about midnight with the moon at ¼ mast...