Operation LARDER

This was not our first mission, not new to us. The scope of the operation was well known and hard experience gave us more than a little confidence. We were also aware that no plan survives initial enemy contact. We would have to adapt and overcome to come out of this one unscathed.

H-hour was 13:00 hours so we were grateful to have a few hours to prepare. We did the first of several equipment checks and covered our hands in chemical protectants. We taped down anything that would make a noise and pulled on our gloves while the split second timing of the raid replayed itself in our minds. The low hum of our urban fighting vehicle was both soothing and a grim reminder of what was ahead of us.

As we approached the building, a winding series of interwoven perimeters showed the depth of security around the facility but we navigated this maze without incident. At the entrance our ID was immediately accepted with a grunt by a person behind plexiglass. I noted the vest the sentry wore…kevlar?..I couldn’t tell. We had hand-held communicators to coordinate our progress.

I was to take the right side of the site, while my partner took the left. My progress was unhindered but in no time at all, my partner was in a real meat market. There were body parts everywhere legs, ribs, thighs. Comms crackled: “moving to your sector. Give me a sit-rep.” I quickly responded that everything was ok in my area. We met in an area of greenery where personnel were moving surreptitiously through a forest of leafy greens and other fauna; pineapples, berries and more.

We hooked up and moved slowly down a path where we saw bottles of red fluid – blood? and multiple containers of drugs. This was a complex site and we were close to getting everything we needed. It was time to extricate. We would have to pass a gauntlet of officials to get to the free air outside. Our training helped us here and the transactions with the uniforms were smooth.

In a flash, we were back in our vehicle moving slowly out of the danger zone. On the ride back to base my partner and I realized that there was more for us to do in the future but, for now this success was enough. I turned to my wife and said, ” you did well but I hate going to Costco.”

My wife looked at me with the gaze of a veteran and simply said…

“Affirmative.”