on the line this time.
.
0730 HOURS LOCAL
THE Brigands were already occupying the seat/desks in the briefing area when the visitors arrived. There were more than just the usual three-man briefing team; seven SEALs, complete with their personal field gear, also came through the front door. These were the replacements and reinforcements Brannigan had mentioned earlier. Chief Matt Gunnarson directed them to the rear of the briefing area where chairs had been arranged for them. All were known by Brannigan's Brigands from other activities within the SEAL teams at the base. Reacquaintances were accomplished with nods and waves.
Commander Thomas Carey, the N3, took the floor, positioning himself behind a battered podium that had held many an OPLAN in the past. 'Good morning,' he said. 'I see that Brannigan's Brigands are ready to go.' He gestured to his two companions. 'You know Commander Berringer, of course:'
Lieutenant Commander Ernest Berringer, the N2, stood up and nodded to the assembled SEALs.
'And this other gentleman with us is our asset,' Carey continued. 'He'll be known as Alfredo for the time being.' A husky, balding Latino sitting next to Berringer made no reaction to being introduced. Cary took a few seconds to arrange his notes on the podium. 'Well! Shall we begin the briefing? The first item is the situation. A right-wing organization of rebel military officers of the Chilean, Argentine and Bolivian armed forces has occupied an area of southeastern Bolivia known as the Gran Chaco.'
The Brigands began taking notes as Carey explained about the Spanish generalisimo Jose Maria de Castillo y Plato and his Falangist political movement. A question and answer period followed the situation briefing, lasting until all the Brigands were thoroughly familiar with the latest information on their potential enemy.
'I do want to emphasize one very important characteristic of these Falangists,' Carey said. 'These are not haughty Nazis as you would see in old World War II movies. The leader Castillo is a tried and proven officer in the Spanish Foreign Legion. This is an organization noted for brutal discipline. Castillo is also a modern right-wing fascist who has learned one very important lesson from the Communists. He quickly establishes rapport with the common people in the areas he wishes to control.'
Chad Murchison, in civilian life a wealthy preppy with intellectual leanings, folded his arms across his chest as he thoughtfully scratched his chin. 'Is it possible for us to neutralize this relationship he has established with the indigenous people? I am suggesting that this could e managed if we are provided with the means and commodities to launch our own program of goodwill, i. E., food, clothing, medical support and even outright donatives.'
Puglisi looked over at Chad. 'Just what the fuck are do-natives?'
'Gifts,' Chad answered.
Brannigan interrupted, saying, 'I've already got that potential under consideration, Murchison. We'll have to play it by ear until we discover the extent of these Falangists' activities in that area.'
'This Castillo fellow,' Carey continued, 'is in fact striving to establish a nation within the Gran Chaco. This country is to be called the Dictadura Fascista de Falangia. That translates as the Fascist Dictatorship of Falangia. It's evident that he's making no pretense of forming a democratic government. And, by the way, the nation is referred to by its Spanish acronym DFF.'
Joe Miskoski was skeptical. 'This all sounds like a bad movie.'
Brannigan again interjected, 'It's all real, and you had better take it seriously.'
'Now the mission,' Carey said. 'You are to enter the OA and locate the Falangists, engage them in battle, and defeat them. By 'defeat' I do not mean driving them from the Gran Chaco. That will not do--I say again--that will not do! They must be killed or captured to break the back of this revolution. If you fail, the result will be one of the bloodiest uprisings in the history of South America. And that's saying a lot:'
Brannigan looked up from his notes. 'Since the three armies of the affected nations cannot be trusted, who will be our backups?'
'All your support will come through American military and intelligence channels,' Carey answered. 'And the situation in Iraq puts you on low priority. However, actual deliveries will be made through CIA arrangements. But I'm edging over into Commander Berringer's bailiwick. So I'll turn the intelligence portion of the briefing over to him.'
Berringer, a morose man who spoke in a near monotone, replaced Carey at the podium. 'The enemy you face is called the Falangist Army. It is made up of units called banderas that are similar to battalions in our armed forces. These banderas are further divided into three to six destacamentos or companies. Each destacamento consists of four secciones each with four equipos. Naturally these are all conventional in that they have infantry, heavy weapons support, artillery and all the normal organization of military units.'
Brannigan got to his feet. 'Hold on! You're talking about battalions here that could have as many as a thousand men each. Take a look around you, Commander. If you count us, you'll see that we number twenty-one. How the hell are we supposed to take on a field army or army corps?'
'As of this time,' Berringer explained,' the Falangists are only the cadre of such a unit; that is to say no more than the nucleus or core. The commanders and staff are all that make up these banderas. Without the rank and file the average of these units will be equal to your detachment's strength. You'll find lieutenants and sergeants acting as riflemen in squads led by captains and majors.'
'That's good news,' Brannigan acknowledged. 'But how many banderas are we going up against?'
'We don't know,' Berringer replied.
'This is getting more and more interesting with each passing moment,' Brannigan growled as he sat back down.
'Sorry I can't give you more information,' Berringer said. 'But quite frankly there just isn't that much known about this revolutionary army. However, as a side note of interest, in most cases you can tell the nationalities of the hostile force by their last names. Argentines seem to have more Italian names, the Chileans are predominantly German, and Bolivians Spanish.'
Milly Mills raised his hand. 'Is there any cultural clashes or prejudices between 'em?'
'Well,' Berringer said, 'the Argentines and Chileans think of themselves as Europeans. They have a tendency to look down on the Bolivians as country bumpkins, since many of them are of Indian ancestry like the Mayas and Aztecs.' He stuck his notes back in a manila folder. 'At this point, I'm going to let Alfredo continue with the intelligence briefing. He has actually been in your impending OA and knows it well.' Berringer began passing out packets of maps and satellite photos of the area.
Alfredo had no notes with him. The man, a CIA operative, got to his feet and ambled over to the podium with his hands in his pockets. 'Good morning, gentlemen,' he said. Rather than speak in a foreign accent as expected, he had the intonation of southern Florida. 'First of all, let me give you the lowdown on the Gran Chaco, since it is not a particularly well-known area. It is widespread, covering northern Argentina, northwestern Paraguay and southeastern Bolivia. You, of course, will not be expected to operate across the entire spread of the place. Your OA is in an area called Desolado.'
Dave Leibowitz, one of the platoon scouts, asked, 'What's the layout of the terrain?'
'To the west and south is a swamp called Los Perdidos,' Alfredo replied. 'It's pretty desolate and forbidding. You aren't going to be able to travel through there on foot. Boats are the only means of transportation. To the east and north are the Lozano Grasslands, which is a prairie of sorts. That's where several colonies of settlers are located. This is cattle country, and those people are struggling to establish themselves. You can be sure the Falangists have made friends with them, so you must approach the civilians with caution. In fact, I suggest you avoid them as much as possible until it is to your advantage that they know of your presence in the area.'
'You haven't said anything about trees,' Mike Assad, Leibowitz's partner in scouting, said.
'There aren't any on the grasslands or in the swamp,'
Alfredo said. 'However, to the southeastis the beginning of the Selva Verde Mountains that stretch into Paraguay. That is jungle country in the truest sense of the word. It's almost as forbidding as the Los Perdidos swamp. And I might add it's a good place to hide out if it becomes necessary.'
'I was told we'd have one foot in the water,' Brannigan said. 'What about waterways?'
'All right,' Alfredo said. 'The biggest river is the Rio Ancho, which flows west to east through the Lozano Grasslands. The smaller Rio Torcido comes down from the Selva Verde Mountains and goes into Los Perdidos Swamp. I might mention there are numerous creeks and tributaries going out of and feeding the two rivers. You can see that in the satellite photos. Unfortunately, not all these are mapped.'
