STIRLING AIRSOFT
Embedded journalist James Phillips reports from Chad, where Stirling Airsoft’s
All Out War continues. Although now largely free of rebel forces, many rural
areas still hold pockets of resistance, sworn to fight to the last man
was inserted into the Task Force (TF)
at a Forward Opera ng Base (FOB)
in the Bousso region, where Divine
Brotherhood of Roy (DBR) fighters were
known to be ac ve. The Task Force’s objec ve:
to find and capture the DBR Commander and
eliminate the rest.
It was dark when I arrived at the patrol
base, a derelict farmhouse standing on a
small plateau at the end of a long valley. The
quarters weren’t exactly five star, but I found
some floor space and a er a quick meal
bedded down for the night. Sleep did not
come easily but I eventually got a couple of
hours’ shut-eye, having been assured there
was no enemy nearby.
Dawn was beau ful and the sun came up
to the sound of tea being made and weapons
being readied. I would spend the day on
patrol with Zulu (a four-man squad), checking
buildings and searching for opposi on forces.
Their High Value Target was the local DBR
Commander who, from the picture Zulu had
of him, was instantly named Ginger.
With briefings complete Zulu moved out
I
028
November 2011
of the FOB to their patrol area. It’s strange,
but no ma er how many mes you do it you
always feel vulnerable leaving the FOB. To the
guys it was just standard opera ng procedure
but to me it felt like I was leaving safety and
walking into danger – somewhat prophe c as
it turned out.
Zulu was to move along the valley to a
par cular loca on, checking the status of
previously iden fied buildings and looking
for any sign of DBR ac vity. On reaching their
objec ve they would be extracted back to the
FOB by motorised transport.
It all seemed very peaceful as we moved
through the fields, reminding me of walking
in the Welsh Valleys – although that seemed
far away from where I was now. A hand signal
brought me crashing back to reality as the
patrol came to an abrupt halt and, with a li le
encouragement from the man behind, I hit
the ground.
The building ahead showed signs of
occupa on: the door ed closed with a piece
of rope… Wood placed across the bo om to
keep out wildlife... Zulu closed on the building,
cut the rope, removed the wood and, with
perfect ming, burst in.
Nobody home – but there certainly had
been. Sleeping bags, food and clothing meant
whoever was here was definitely coming back
– they could be ‘acquired