Lone Survivor_ The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 ( PDFDrive )

cornered.
But an impending attack requires quick, expert planning. I needed to operate
fast and make Gulab understand our tactics. He immediately gave way to my
experience, which made me think he had never quite accepted my story about
being a doctor. He knew I’d fought on the ridge, and right now he was ready to
do my bidding.
We had two areas to cover, the door and the window. It wouldn’t have been
much good if I’d been blasting away through the window at Taliban down the
street when a couple of those sneaky little bastards crept through the front door
and shot me in the back.
I explained it was up to Gulab to cover the entrance, to make sure I had the
split second I would need to swing around and cut ’em down before they could
open fire. Ideally I would have preferred him to issue an early warning that the
enemy was coming. That way I might have been able to get into the shadows in
the corners and take ’em out maybe six at a time instead of just gunning down
the leader.
Ideally I would have liked a heavy piece of furniture to ram in front of the
door, just to buy me a little extra time. But there was no furniture, just those big
cushions, which were obviously not sufficiently heavy.
Anyway, Gulab understood the strategy and nodded fiercely, the way he
always did when he was sure of something. “Okay, Marcus,” he said. And it did
not escape me, he’d dropped the Dr. part.
When battle began, Gulab would man the end of the window that gave him
the best dual view of the door. I would concentrate on whatever frontal assault
might be taking place. I’d need to shoot steadily and straight, wasting nothing,
just like Axe and Danny did on the mountain while Mikey called the shots.
I tried to tell Gulab to stay calm and shoot straight, nothing hysterical. That
way we’d win or, at worst, cause a disorderly Taliban retreat.
He looked a bit vacant. I could tell he was not understanding. So I hit him
with an old phrase we always use before a conflict: “Okay, guys, let’s rock ’n’
roll.”
Matter of fact, that was worse. Gulab thought I was about to give him
dancing lessons. It might have been funny if the situation had not been so
serious. And then we both heard the opening bursts of gunfire, high up in the
village.
There was a lot of it. Too much. The sheer volume of fire was ridiculous,
unless the Taliban were planning to wipe out the entire population of Sabray.