Striker

My name is Samuel Allen Steele. I graduated highschool when I was sixteen. I wanted to join the military but I was to young so I went to a local trade school instead. I learned about working metal and fabrication. When I graduated they even helped me find a job. On my eighteenth birthday I joined the army. I thought I knew what I wanted to do.

First was basic and then advanced trained, after that I went to airborne school and then into Ranger school. After graduating I was assigned to a company that was working out to deploy overseas. Our combat teams were set up like this, they have a point man, two to four flankers for security and a four man striker team plus the team leader or squad leader.

New men normally start out as flankers, that was where I started. Right away I wanted to be a striker. They did the major part of any attack and that was how I got my nickname, Striker. By the time we arrived in Afghanistan I was where I wanted to be. Most of the missions were milk runs and we barely fired a shot. Two months in country all that changed.

It was early afternoon and we were coming back from a patrol. My squad was in the back of the lead truck and we had a hummer leading the convoy. In the intersection in front of us three black SUVs started through and explosions ripped into them. The truck slammed on the brakes and men scrambled to jump out. I was not waiting for that and leaped up and over the side.

I landed in a crouch and scanned the area as I flipped the selector off safe. I started moving towards the intersection as automatic fire began raking the wrecked SUVs. I was past the lead hummer when two men came out a doorway to the right. I knelt as I turned and my rifle came up. In that second before I squeezed the trigger I saw one man aiming a RPG and another lifting a rifle.

I put two rounds through the first man’s chest and he jerked back as he fired the grenade. Even as it sped in front of me, I shifted and shot the second man. The grenade exploded against a car and I was knocked down. I had searing pain in my left upper arm and my left thigh. I rolled to my feet as men yelled and started reacting. I glanced towards the SUVs again and lifted my rifle as an insurgent ran up to one and pointed his rifle.

I put three round through him before limping towards the vehicles, “Men down! Cover me!”

I reached the middle vehicle and knelt in the open back door. The vehicle had been flipped over and I glanced in to see two men wearing black utility uniforms. I pulled the closest out as he moaned and leaned further into the vehicle for the other man. I could see the two men in the front seat slumped together as I grabbed and pulled the other man out.

He was unconscious but breathing as I shifted him around and lifted him to my left shoulder. I grabbed the other guy I had pulled out by the back of his body armor and stood before walking backwards. I was carrying one and dragging the other as I scanned the streets with my rifle in one hand. I fired at two insurgents to keep them behind cover as I moved back.

I pulled the guy I was dragging behind the first hummer where three of my squad were providing cover. I dropped him as I knelt and let the other man slip off my shoulder and my shoulder bag went with him. I stood and lifted my rifle as I stepped out again and moved back to the SUV. This time I had to fight to yank the door open and reach for the first man.

I pulled him out and knelt and moved into the vehicle to grab the guy stuck behind the wheel. I struggled to get him out before shifting and lifting him to my shoulder. I grabbed the other man at the back of his armor before struggling to stand. I moved back as I kept my weapon up and ready. I went back four times to carry and drag men back to safety.

By the time I had the last man behind cover we had air support and two more companies on site. I left them to the medic as I fell in with my squad and we headed towards one of the houses that had insurgents in it. The other squads had covered the backs of the houses which was a narrow alley so we expected insurgents to be inside.

I went through the door third and Sgt James had already taken down two men. He had gone into the first room with the second man, corporal Davis. I moved past the doorway and kept going with specialist McDannels following. At the next doorway I glanced back as I pulled a flash bang. I pulled the pin and nodded as I tossed it through.

I moved as it went off and swept the room as I entered. There were four men trying to recover from the stun, each man held a rifle, there was also a couple of women. I put a burst into the chest of two men and shifted as the last two lifted their rifles. McDannels killed one with a burst through his body as he knelt just inside the door. The last man sprayed where I had been but I had kept moving and he only hit the wall.

Both McDannels and I killed him a heartbeat later with rounds through his chest and head. I covered the women as McDannels moved into the room to remove weapons from the men and search them. He covered the women and nodded towards the door. I stepped out and fell in with Sgt James and he started up the stairs. I turned and went up backwards, pointing my weapon up towards the next floor.

The insurgent that appeared suddenly lifted a grenade and I shot him through the head. We dropped into a crouch and waited a few seconds before there was an explosion. I was up and moving as the sergeant struggled up with blood running out an ear. On the next floor landing I moved across to the opposite wall before sliding my way down the hall trying to watch two doorways.

The sergeant was across from me a moment later and nodded as he pulled another flash bang. I copied him and we pulled the pins together and tossed each one into the rooms.