text: PATROL The mission was meant to be simple. A routine patrol through some villages, a show of force to help keep the area calm. Four hours out, four hours back. A quick stop here or there to dish out some aid, boring stuff. Our platoon had been in country for four months by this point, only two left til we rotated back to the world. Our squad had been doing patrols like this everyday since we got here and nothing had ever happened. The war was over, all we were doing was keeping things stable while the politicians worked out what next. It was dull as hell, and all any of us really wanted was a little action. The jungle was thick. It was a real bitch to move through. At the end of every patrol we’d strip down and go over each other removing ticks and leeches. Tommo had the record of 37 ticks and 12 leeches from a single patrol. He’d picked them up when we went through the low lands, it was probably all the creek crossings. We moved in a tight diamond formation, good for all around defence. Mayer was point man, Eddie and Tommo on the flanks, Boss man in the middle and me bringing up there rear. It was slow going, we had to halt almost every half hour to cut through the bush. Mayer had gotten so good at it we’d nicknamed him “Machete Man”. About three hours into the patrol, as we approached Lagai village Mayer threw up the field signal to halt us. The whole team stopped dead. My first thought was that he’d come across some wild boar or something. That thought snapped away as Mayer gave us a big thumbs down, the signal for enemy. The team dropped, taking up firing positions, covering three-sixty degrees. Slowly the Boss moved forward to Mayer. “What you got?” He whispered. “About forty meters ahead, slight right. Three fighting age males carrying rifles. Moving left to right up that trail.” Mayer answered. The Boss gave quick orders over our inter-team comms. “Ok boys, Mayer has seen some possible local militia. We are going to sit tight and watch out arcs. Give it a half hour and they should clear out. From there we will begin to make our way back to the patrol base and report what we’ve seen. This war is done, no need for us to get in a fire fight over some idiot kids with a rifle or two. Got it?” We all sent back an acknowledgement. Then the waiting began. Watch the bush, make sure nothing is creeping up on us. Sit and wait. It was the last thing I wanted to do after finally finding some enemy. After what felt like an age the Boss gave the signal, we got up and began heading back the way we'd come. Having turned on the spot I was now point man. We started off at a snails pace. Knowing there were armed kids banging around this bush got me excited. Plus there was no rush. I was happy to take all day, if it meant maybe we could bump into them again. We continued on at this pace for a kilometre or two before we eased up a bit. Making it out of the area we went back to our standard patrol pace, working our way through the jungle like it was any other day. About halfway back, somewhere between Lagai and Yagayua villages, we got hit. We’d come out of the scrub into a clearing, the ground sloped down from our right. It began with a spray of automatic fire. The team hit the deck fast. Rounds were coming in from the high ground. Tommo started blatting away with his rifle, trying to force the enemies heads down. The Boss shouted across the team comms “Contact right, extended line on Tommo.” We’d been ambushed and the Boss was moving us to counter. It took me three bounds to get into position. There was no cover for us so we got on our guts and began firing. Who needs cover when you’ve got cover of fire. As I took up my position, the MG began blasting away on the far left flank. It was Eddie, giving them hell. Our high rate of fire slowed the enemies attack. The Boss started screaming to give him a target indication. Tommo was on the ball and screamed out “Sixty meters, slight right, treeline, seven enemy popping up and down.” As he said it I turned to see the group, and with a set target I locked my sights on. One, Two, Three, CRACK! Got one. With Eddie spraying away with the MG it was my job to take well aimed shots. My rounds began to ring true. I hit one enemy trying to sprint between trees. One, Two, Three, CRACK! Another. This one moving to check on the first. The enemy attack stalled under our harsh response. The Boss saw the opportunity and screamed to us “Up the guts, fire and move!” Our team began to advance toward the enemy. We moved in pairs, one man covering the other as we bounded. The would-be-ambushers broke into a full retreat. They dropped there rifles and sprinted up the hill. We chased them to the crest, reaching it the Boss called us to a halt and began to reorganise. He began with a head check. Eddie, check, Tommo, check, Mayer.... Fuck where was Mayer? The team rushed down the hill. As we got near the clearing I came across the two enemy I had shot. One was dead, the other bleeding profusely. I called over to the boys “One enemy KIA, one enemy WIA.” The boss yelled back “Fuck them, leave them be. Where the fuck is Mayer?” We continued out to the clearing. And there we found him. Laying on his guts, unconscious and bleeding heavily. “FUCK!” yelled the Boss. We rushed to Mayer. Tommo ripped out his med-kit as Eddie began checking Mayer’s wounds. “One bullet wound, lower abdomen. He’s breathing” “Good!” I replied as I began setting up our long range radio. By now the Boss had ripped out his notebook and begun working on a plan to get Mayer out of there. Tommo and Eddie did the best they could. They packed the wound tight with bandages, hoping to stem the bleeding. The moment I got a clear signal, the Boss snatched the radio handset and began smashing out a casualty report. The clearing was perfect for a helicopter to land on. And the response from the med-evac guys was outstanding. Within less the twenty minutes they were landing down beside us. By now we had stemmed the bleeding and moved Mayer onto a imrpovised stretcher. It all happened so fast. The chopper radioed that they were two minutes out, we prepped, they landed, we loaded Mayer on, they shot away. From when we found him to when the chopper disappeared in the distance couldn’t have been more than half an hour. With Mayer in the hands of the medics we now turned to our next task. One dead and one bleeding enemy back at the tree line. With a silent glance between us, we moved to their position. Arriving back to where I had left the pair, we found nothing but a blood soaked shirt. The enemy must have come back for their own while we were busy with Mayer. We bagged up the shirt and the boss gave us snap orders for the patrol back. Morale was low when we made it back to camp. Two hours walking through thick terrain wondering if your friend is dead will do that to a team. Arriving back at camp we were met at the gates by the Padre. “Fuck Fuck FUCK!” the Boss began when he saw the man. The Padre smiled and said “You can stop cursing Lieutenant, your man is alive.” Eddie, Tommo and I gave a collective sigh of relief. The Boss? He broke down crying. I can’t imagine the weight that had been on his shoulders. The Padre sent three of us towards the operations tent for a debrief and ushered the Boss away. We didn’t see the Boss again for a few days, when we did he told us he was being sent home. The army was concerned about his mental health. He also updated us on Mayer, telling us he’d been evacuated to a medical ship off the coast and that we should be expecting letters any day now. Eddie, Tommo and I got spread across the other teams in the platoon soon afterwards. The rest of the tour went on much like the rest had been. Daily patrols, lots of leeches, no action. Only now I knew I didn't want any action.