Chapter 12: Wednesday 03 October 2007 - Friday 05 October

Leadville Colorado — Wednesday Day Thirty-three through Friday Day Thirty-five

I woke up early and was enjoying spooning with Jens and listening to her sweet, soft snores. We had more than worked out our differences last night and had broken new ground. A month ago if anyone told me the most memorable night I would ever have with a woman would not involve sex, I would have looked at them with a blank, uncomprehending stare.

After the apologies and crying finished, Jens and I spent most of the night talking and cuddling. We formed a bond between us that contained no weak links. All doubts about our relationship were gone and the closeness we shared was better than any sex we were to have when we finally married - and we both knew the sex was going to be just incredible! We had become one but with a deeper meaning than the Biblical sense.

The joy I experienced was interrupted by the shrill sound of her mobile phone. I picked it up to throw it against the wall for disturbing us. "My love, give me the phone. This is important." Jens said as she reached for the phone.

She sat up in bed and instantly became all business. "Yes Sir, I understand. No Sir, there's no problem at all. We'll both be there in thirty minutes." She hung up the phone, looked at me and smiled, "Get your ass moving Marine, we're going to war. We have thirty minutes to make it to our cabin and four hours before we deploy."

That lit a fire under me. I was eager to know what was said, but could get the details on the trip to the house. We both started dressing and Jens looked around the room, "Promise someday when we're married we'll come back to this room? I feel that last night changed us."

"I promise we'll return my love. And I agree last night did change us. We don't have time to waste on chit-chat right now. I hope we still have the Jeep."

"It's still where I parked it last night. Are you ready to go?" I looked at her and somehow in five minutes she made herself look beautiful. "I need one thing first - I need a big kiss from you." She ran over, jumped in my arms and planted a big one on me. Then she swatted my butt, "Let's beat feet jarhead."

We raced downstairs. I threw the key on the desk and said, "It's an emergency, send us the bill." We ran out the front door and down the street to the Jeep, "I'm driving this time and you're filling me in on all the details." I said as I opened her door. She jumped in, I ran around to the driver's side, started the Jeep and we were off.

Jens didn't know much because Dad couldn't give her all the details. From what she gathered there was a big push planned in Afghanistan and with so many troops returning home there was a shortage of snipers. Jens reached over and squeezed my hand, "I can't believe we're finally going to get to fight. I've been waiting to fight beside you forever!"

We approached the cabin and pulled right into the garage. Jens bailed out of the Jeep before it had even stopped and was heading towards the house. I was right behind her and closed the garage door on my way out. Mom and Dad were waiting for us on the front porch, Jens ran up and hugged Mom, Dad shook my hand, "Well you two, it looks like your vacation is ending."

I smiled and replied, "Sir, you're wrong. We're just moving the location to ... Shit! I don't even know where we're going." Dad laughed as we all walked in the house, "You two are headed to Afghanistan and some of the other 'stans'."

"I've heard that things are heating up again in Afghanistan, I wondered if we'd end up going there." Jens said, "I wish I had time to talk but Ben and I have to bust a hump to get ready. Come on jarhead let's move." With that, Jens became a logistical whirlwind. Three hours later we were dressed in our MCCUUs and fully packed. I humped all our gear out to the Jeep and came back into the house; everyone was in the living room.

I came in and sat down, Mom looked at me and said, "That's such a nice piano, it's a shame that no one here plays."

Jens laughed and said, "M-o-o-m, Ben plays piano very well. Ben, play us your favorite song."

I sat at the piano and lifted the cover, and opened the lid - this was a very nice Steinway Baby Grand. I looked over at Jens with a few tears in my eyes and saw her whisper "Only the best for the best." I loosened up my fingers and played a few chords. This was a really wonderful piano. Then I started in on George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, my fingers flew over the keyboard, especially on the 128^th notes. I finished and the room erupted in clapping.

"That was beautiful Ben, I didn't know you could play so well. I never see you practice." Mom said.

I looked at Jens, "You want to tell her?"

"Sure my love; haven't you've always noticed that Ben's fingers are never still, especially when he's listening to music? He's constantly practicing either guitar or piano in his mind. Shit! That reminds me of something that I almost forgot to bring. I'll be right back."

She came back in the living room in five minutes and had a guitar case and an amplifier. "Here you go my love; we're taking these to Afghanistan with us." I opened up the case and it was a very nice Fender Stratocaster, black with a white pick guard just like my old one. I put it back in the case and gave her a big hug and kiss, "Thanks my love, it looks just like my old one."

"Look at the amplifier," She ordered. I opened up its case and saw a new Mesa Boogie. "I've always wanted one of these, how did you know?" I asked her. "That's my job and I'm glad you like it. Now you can sing me love songs at night in the barracks." Jens smiled.

I picked her up and said, "Somehow I'm going to find us a better place to live then in the damn barracks." Then I smothered her with kisses.

Liz walked in the living room, "Was that the radio I heard earlier?"

Jens pulled away, "No that was Ben playing his new piano for the first time."

"Shit! I hate missing the opportunity to tape something like that. I guess we'll have to do it later. Well it was hell, but the whole news crew is ready to go." She looked at Dad, "If we need any more gear I'll let you know. But we're taking two of everything."

Dad looked at us, "I'm so proud of all of you! I know you'll exceed everyone's expectations."

Mom cried and hugged both of us, she kissed Jens on the cheek and pulled away and looked me in the eyes, "You keep my daughter safe!"

I stared back at her, "She will be safer anywhere I am than she is here."

Liz laughed, "I know Ben will be. He won't have any bikers to deal with or oceans to swim in." That comment lightened the mood and we were all laughing.

"There's one last thing I want to do before we leave our house." I said, "Follow me." We all walked into the kitchen and I motioned for them to sit at the kitchen table. "When I was in Russia I learned a tradition that you never leave on a trip without sitting first and having a last shot of vodka. It's become a tradition for me and I'd like to share it with all of you." I found the vodka, a very nice Russian Standard, and Jens pointed to where the shot glasses were. I poured us all a shot, sat down and said:

There are good ships, and there are wood ships,

The ships that sail the sea.

But the best ships, are friendships,

And may they always be.

We clinked our glasses and slammed down the vodka, "I look forward to sharing another shot with all of you when we get back." I said.

Dad stood up, "Let's light the fires and kick the tires."

"D-a-d-d-y, this isn't the Navy and we're not at Top Gun." Jens said.

"So do we have to drive all the way to Denver?" I asked.

"No, we have a CH-47 coming to pick us up and fly us to DIA." Jens told me. "Then Evergreen air is flying us to Afghanistan." Jens felt me shudder, "You really don't like Evergreen do you?"

"Most of the missions where I've had trouble have started with Evergreen flights."

"Well, things are going to be different this time - you've got me watching your back." Jens added.

It was a short drive to the Leadville airport. Dad drove the Jeep while Jens and I cuddled in the back. I wanted to get in all the cuddling I could now because once we were on the plane and deployed we'd have to be all business. I think Jens must have felt the same way because she was molded tightly against me.

As we pulled into the airport I could see the Chinook had already landed, I laughed. "What's so funny my love?" Jens asked. "I was just remembering when I was with First Air Cav for a while; one Cobra Gunship pilot said Chinooks are two palm trees gang-banging a Dempsey dumpster." Dad and Jens started laughing. Mom looked in the back, "Don't you corrupt my little girl by telling her jokes like that." Dad started roaring and almost wrecked the Jeep, "Glen watch where you're driving." Dad simmered down and pulled up close to the Chinook.

I bailed out and started humping the gear to the chopper. Liz and the news crew pulled up and started moving their own equipment while taping us. After looking at everything we brought I understood why we had the Chinook. Our stuff didn't weigh that much but it took up a shit load of room. Besides, even though I make jokes about Chinooks, I liked them way better than Blackhawks.

The gear was all loaded and we said a tearful goodbye to Mom and Dad. I had to promise several more times to keep Jens safe. Dad made us laugh by making Jens promise to keep me safe. Then we hopped onboard the chopper and headed towards DIA. In Denver, we humped all the gear to the Evergreen jet and were soon off to the other side of the world.

The flight was smooth and lo-o-o-o-ng. One nice thing about flying Evergreen was we didn't have to stop in Kuwait and screw around - we flew right to KBL (Khwaja Rwash Airport) in Kabul. There wasn't anything else to do on the flight so I slept almost the whole time.

I woke up about an hour before touching down, did some stretches and some body weight exercises just to get the blood flowing.

"Greetings sleepy head, you slept almost the whole flight." Jens smiled, "But I should have expected it."

I grinned, "That's right. I'll never pass up a chance to take a good nap. Besides, with the eleven hour time differential I wanted to kick the shit out of any jet lag. How did you sleep?"

"I slept some, but not enough." She said.

I looked at her, "Are you a little nervous?"

"No, I'm a hell of a lot nervous. I've wanted this forever, but now that it's here I'm not sure I want it anymore. I even have an upset stomach."

"Don't go giving yourself an ulcer. Things are going to be fine." I tried to soothe her. "Just stick by me and we'll kick butt and take names."

"I wish that you could give me a big hug and kiss right now. I really need it."

I looked around the plane, "This isn't training anymore and we have to limit romance to after hours when people aren't around. We both knew this would happen. Just remember how we spent last night and know that you're the only one for me."

She grinned, "Yeah last night, I guess now it was one night ago, was great. It's going to really help us over here."

I saw Liz walking towards us, "Boy you two are sure acting different towards each other. What happened to the loving couple?"

"Oh we're still very much in love. It's just that now we're deployed and we have to maintain the esprit de corps that's expected from Marines." Jens interrupted, "But don't worry, we'll make up for it at night."

"That is if we aren't living in the barracks." I laughed.

"Isn't it hard to turn it off like that?" Liz asked.

We both looked at her, "Death Before Dishonor."

Jens said, "We both knew this day would come..."

I continued, " ... and we know we have a job to do..."

Jens added, " ... and we can't let our feelings cloud or interfere with our judgment."

I finished, " ... but we can use them to make us an even better team."

Liz shook her head, "You two haven't done the completing sentence thing in awhile, I'd forgotten about that. So what's the plan when we land?"

"First you and your crew need to gear up in your body armor, because we're going to be taking a convoy about one-hundred-thirty klicks to another city. From there, we'll deploy to our FOB (Forward Operating Base) and I can't tell you where that will be. Make sure whatever happens you and your crew stay close to Ben and I." Jens answered.

We started our descent into Kabul, the pilot turned on the fasten seatbelt signs. The landing was a little bumpy, "Sorry folks, the runway's recently been repaired and isn't as smooth as usual. I hope you're all okay." The pilot announced. "Welcome to beautiful Kabul Afghanistan, thank you for flying Evergreen."

He started taxiing and I unfastened my seatbelt, got up and started digging out my combat gear, Jens followed my lead. Liz looked at us, "Do we really need this here? This is a major city!"

"Hell yes we do! From what I've heard there are fanatics everywhere just looking for a chance to kill someone - and that someone is not going to be Jens, me, you, or the crew. You and the crew need to gear up on the plane."

After she left I looked at Jens, "You make sure that she has her body armor on right and I'll check the two guys. Even though they've been in battle zones before, I don't want any of them getting hurt."

By the time the plane had stopped, we were all geared up. We had checked Liz and the crew and made some adjustments in their gear. I looked at the crew, "Just a reminder, you three are not to touch any weapons for any reason."

The door opened and we stepped out. It was October and while it was hotter than Colorado, it wasn't too bad. The heat would come in the middle of the summer. I went down the steps first and saw a 7-ton¹ waiting for us. Damn! I was hoping for a Stryker² or maybe a M2³. I couldn't believe we had a 7-ton so I looked it over closely. It even had Plasan⁴ armor on it! I just smiled. I don't know how he managed it, but Dad must have pulled some serious strings to get us in this 7-ton.

¹ MTVR Medium Tactical Replacement Vehicle — an all terrain six wheel all wheel drive vehicle, looks like a BIG deuce and a half.

² Eight wheeled armored combat vehicle.

³ M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle — A treaded troop transport vehicle.

⁴ Plasan — lightweight composite armor manufactured in Israel.

Jens was in the National Guard before so she wasn't used to Marine vehicles. "Shit! We're riding in that big truck." I shushed her, "Sergeant Donaldson, STFU⁵. That big truck is an armored seven-ton and is awesome. I'm sure Dad pulled some string to get it for us. So be thankful for it."

⁵ Shut The Fuck Up.

"If we weren't here I'd kick your butt for that STFU. Remember I'm still your fiancée." Jens whispered.

"Remember first that you're a Marine and I have to treat you and talk to you like you're a Marine. Just know that every swear word I use with you will be followed with an I'm sorry kiss when we're alone." I said.

"Goodie, swear at me some more and I'll keep count." She replied.

We reached the bottom of the stairs and I met our driver Cpl. Brown and our gunner Cpl White. When I met them, I almost started laughing because Cpl. Brown was white and Cpl. White was black. They saw my grin, "Shit! Go ahead and laugh - everyone else has. It's a big joke that they have the two of us together." Cpl. Brown said. We all laughed, and watched our gear get unloaded from the belly of the plane.

When the weapon cases came down the ramp, I went over, grabbed mine, and opened it. I pulled out my Barrett 98 Bravo⁵, an M4⁶ and my Kimber. "Man that's a sweet rifle. Look at the fucking scope on it." Cpl. White said, "I've never seen anything like it."

⁵ The 98 Bravo is Barrett's newest long range sniper rifle. Designed from the ground up to be the most accurate long range rifle available. It's modular, fully adjustable, weighs over thirteen pounds and has a ten round detachable magazine.

⁶ The M4 Carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 made by ArmaLite.

"Thanks it's brand new. It's Barrett's three-three-eight Lapua sniper rifle and has the Barrett BORS⁷ sighting system. It's the best rifle I've ever fired." I replied.

⁷Barrett Optical Ranging system — This is a ballistic computer that works with your scope, it's real and works great!

Jen had been gearing up too, "You get us within twenty-five-hundred meters of a fricken terrorist with one of these and they're dead."

The ammo cases came down the ramp and we both loaded up with mags for our weapons. "Are you two expecting trouble?" Cpl. Brown asked. "Things have been pretty quiet around here."

"I always expect trouble no matter where I am. It's easier to prepare for it now rather than trying to do it in the middle of a fire fight." I replied.

"That makes sense. I'd always heard that you were never surprised." Cpl. Brown replied.

The corporals helped us hump all the gear in the truck and made sure it was tied down so it wouldn't go anywhere. Jens and I hopped up into the back of the truck and helped Liz and the crew. Cpl. Brown started driving the truck to meet the rest of the convoy.

Jens looked at me, "You're not going to sleep?"

"Sergeant Donaldson, I never sleep in a troop transport when we could be in hostile territory." I answered.

"You certainly are different than I've ever seen you before." She remarked.

I leaned over and whispered, "Use a little more formal conversation please."

"Yes Sir, I will." She replied and gave me an evil grin. I knew I was going to pay for that one later.

Another thirty minutes and we were at the staging area for the convoy and we all jumped out of the back of the truck. I wanted to meet the officer in charge of the convoy and introduce him to Liz and the crew. As we headed out to find him, I realized that this was a huge convoy. I looked over at Jens and she saw the concern in my eyes.

"SM Blaine, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Sgt. Donaldson, with a convoy this size, we're going to be a big target that's going to be hard to ignore." I replied.

I saw the officer in charge of the convoy and we walked up. "Son-of-a-bitch! Well if it isn't SM Banzai Ben. I heard you'd hooked up with a woman and we're living the life of Riley. Then you became some sort of hero for saving a kid. I never expected to see your sorry ass again. It's good to have you traveling with us today." Captain Ryan said as we shook hands.

"Sir, it's good to be back. And part of that was true; I'd like to introduce you to Sgt. Jennifer Donaldson my spotter and fiancée."

He looked her up and down, "Shit! How did you luck out and find a fiancée that's a Marine and a spotter." He shook her hand. I could tell that Jens put some serious hurt into her handshake. I'm sure that he knew the answer to the next question, but like everybody else, felt the need to ask, "So how does this all work out? She's your spotter and your fiancée?"

"Sir, General Donaldson knows all about this and approves. We are Marines first and fiancés second." Jens answered. "But Sir, we don't want or expect any special treatment and I would like it if this stayed between us."

I interrupted, "Captain Ryan, I would like to introduce you to Elizabeth Morgan and her news crew from the Truth Network. They are traveling with us and will be taking video of us during our deployment. I personally vouch for them."

He looked at her, "You know Ms. Morgan a month ago if you had asked to travel with my convoy, I would have said Hell No! But with the reports you've been doing lately I'm going to give you a chance, but you fuck-up and you walk."

Liz shook his hand, I could tell by the way she grimaced that he squeezed pretty hard, "Sir, the biggest fuck-up I ever did was let those bastards at CCCN keep me from reporting the truth."

I interrupted, "Excuse me Sir, but Gunny lets her call him Gunny, she even kissed him on the cheek."

"The one from Gunny's in Bethesda?" Cpt. Ryan asked.

"Yes Sir."

"Shit! I don't want to get him pissed at me! If he approves of you then you must have changed. Welcome to my convoy, stay close to Banzai and do what he tells you." Cpt. Ryan ordered. We were done so we left and walked around meeting some other Marines I knew. At first everyone wanted to kill Liz, but after they heard about Gunny, they all accepted her.

We started walking back towards our 7-ton. "Banzai, I didn't realize that Gunny approving of me would make such a difference." Liz remarked.

"Liz that man is a walking legend and Marines have more respect for him than any other living Marine. If you ever have any problem with any Marine just let them know that Gunny approves of you." I told her.

It was very dark and the convoy was getting ready to roll, somehow we were assigned fourth position - I was sure the general had something to do with it. I was thankful that we weren't right in the front, where most of the danger was or in the back where all the dust would be. The lead Humvee took off heading west on A01 and the rest of the convoy fell in behind. I leaned back with both my rifles between my legs and closed my eyes.

"Are you going to sleep Sir." Jens asked.

I opened one eye and said, "Jens, you can cut it out now and get your ass over here for some cuddling. No one other than the news crew is going to see us now. And no, I'm not going to sleep, not on this trip."

She smiled and scooted right up beside me. "I don't know where my fiancé went, because you're sure a hard-ass Marine."

I reached behind her and pinched her butt and she squealed. "I like this hard-ass better," I said.

"Hey Marine, keep your grubby mitts to yourself or I'll tell my fiancé when I find him again." We both laughed for the first time in a long time and had a very enjoyable ride cuddling with each other.

The 7-ton was bouncing around quite a bit; I was surprised because I thought the road was better. I slipped up front to talk to Cpl. Brown, Liz was riding shotgun and he was trying his best to make time with her. "Excuse me Cpl., but what the hell is going on with this road. I thought they had it all fixed up." I asked.

"There have been a number of attacks lately and the road hasn't been fixed since then." He replied. That's what I was concerned about - I motioned for Liz to follow me in the back and then went back by Jens. I called everyone over in a huddle, "I want all of you to be ready. I think we're going to see some action soon. Liz, you and the crew do your best to stay hidden in the truck."

"Like hell we will, if there's a battle we're going to video it." Liz told me defiantly.

"I don't have time to argue with you. However if they start using RPGs you'd better either stay in this truck or get the hell away from all the trucks. Don't try to follow us or I'll send you the hell back home." I ordered.

We started the climb up to the village of Sorubi and the short hair on the back of my neck started tingling. I double-checked all my weapons, Jens saw me and did the same. "You feel something don't you?" She asked.

"Yep, I have the same feeling now that I did when a puma was stalking me years ago." I replied. We made it through the village and I relaxed a little bit. "I figured it was going to happen there." I said.

The convoy started the sharp left turn about halfway between Sorubi and Sar Kand ow Baba Zairat when I heard a big explosion that shook the 7-ton and then the sound of automatic gunfire. Cpl. Brown yelled back, the lead Humvee was just hit with an IED⁸ and is blown to hell in the middle of the road. No one can get around it."

⁸ Improvised Explosive Device

Cpl. White was blasting away with his .50 cal and the brass was raining everywhere. I was getting ready to bail out the back when I heard a yell, "Shit! I've been hit." Cpl. White opened the top and slid down into the truck covered in blood. I jumped up and ran over to him, "Sgt. Donaldson, NV⁹ and man the machine gun." Jens ran past me, climbed up on the roof, and started letting the .50 cal rip. "Shit! There are snipers out here and one almost got me."Jens yelled.

⁹ Night Vision.

"Sgt. Donaldson go tactical." I ordered and slipped on my tactical radio. I waited until I was sure she was on, "Keep your head down and try to disrupt their fire. I'm going to bail out the back and you're going to spot them for me."

Cpl. White was hit in the arm, it broke his arm, but it missed any major veins or arteries. I slapped a field dressing on it and yelled, "Liz get over here and put pressure on this wound." She came over and we switched places. Cpl. White said, "Give em hell Sir." "Orraaahhh," I replied and slipped out the back of the truck.

All hell was breaking loose, and I was almost hit the second my feet hit the ground, "Son-of-a-bitch!" I yelled and rolled under the truck. "Ben-uh-SM Blaine, are you okay?" Jens squawked through the radio. "Yes Sgt. Donaldson, a sniper was waiting for someone to come out of the back of the truck and almost got me. He's somewhere at about one-hundred degrees, see if you can spot him."

I waited, "That bastard, he almost got me." Jens said. "He's at one-one-five I estimate the range to be four hundred meters. Can you see him?"

"Cover me; I need to get to a better position to fire from. On three: one-two-three." Jens let the .50 cal rip and I zig-zagged for a boulder beside the road; rounds were bouncing off the dirt all around me as I dove behind the rock. This was a great position to fire from, the truck blocked all the fire behind me and the rock blocked it in the front, the only problem was I had to rise up above the rock to acquire the target. I was hoping these bastards were not very good or I'd get a round down my scope.

I brought the 98 Bravo around, fired up the NV scope, dropped the bipod legs and slowly set the bipod up on top of the rock. "Sgt. Donaldson, fire a burst at the sniper."

"Just a minute, I'm busy firing at someone else." Jens replied. "Here you go." I watched as the .50 cal tracers gave me a location. I looked through the scope and could easily see the fucking rat bastard. I lined up, took the shot, and saw him crumple. "One down, Lord only knows how many left." I said. "Come on Sgt. Donaldson move your ass and find me another target."

"SM Blaine, I have three targets at forty-eight degrees on the move to the right with what appear to be RPGs." Jens barked. "I'm going to fire at them but you'd better get them." I swung the scope around and saw them just about the time Jens opened up, "Good shooting Sgt. Donaldson, you nailed one." The other two hunkered down but I could see both, two shots later they were both dead.

"SM Blaine I have two targets ... Shit! They almost hit me! At ninety-five degrees - left is a sniper and right is an RPG. I'll mark them for you." I swung and followed the tracers and could see the targets in my NV scope. I got there too late because the RPG fucker fired, thank God it wasn't at our 7-ton; I lined up on him and took him out. The sniper spotted me and started peppering the rock with rounds.

"Sgt. Donaldson, I need covering fire on that sniper. He has me pinned down." Jens laid down a long burst. I slipped my rifle up on the rock, took aim and nailed the bastard. The rock I was hiding behind shook as an RPG hit it; the blast knocked me to the ground. "You rotten bastard, I'm not going to let you do that to my fiancé." Jens yelled though the tactical headset and let loose with a long blast of .50. "Wooo hoooo, I sent that bastard to hell. Are you okay my love-uh-SM Blaine?"

"Just a bit shaken up and really pissed off. Give me some more targets." A mortar round hit close to the lead truck. "Shit! Sgt. Donaldson we need to find that mortar placement."

"I'm trying my best, give me a minute." Waiting seemed like it took forever, I was hoping that we could even see them. Another mortar round hit, this time it was closer. "I can't see them, I think they're over the hill, but I think I have eyes on their spotter; thirty-five degrees behind a rock. I swung my scope and saw Jens's burst. "I have the sneaky bastard; all I can see is his leg." I lined up quickly and hit his leg, he jumped up and Jens finished him with a burst. Another mortar round fell, this one was further away.

"I need to go get that mortar, it has to be somewhere over that hill. Sgt. Donaldson - cover me." I killed the NV scope, put on my NV goggles, slung the 98 Bravo over my shoulder, pulled out my M4 and took off on a zig-zag run up the hill. Jens was laying down ferocious fire sweeping the hills and making sure that almost no one was able to fire at me. There were still some rounds coming close, I figured they must be from the other side of the road. Another mortar round dropped, "Shit! That one hit the first truck and it's toast." Jens yelled over the radio.