[h3][b] The Assault![/b][/h3]
The air was thick with small metallic objects flying back and forth and tremendous speeds. The roar of the machine guns, rifles and High Explosive (HE) grenades detonating the kill zone disrupted the silence of the jungle. It was a thunderous sensation in the heat of the tropical setting.

In a firefight or ambush, a soldier tends to adapt a tunnel vision. Fear denies them of vision, to see what is immediately in front of them, unaware of anything to the left, right or rear. It is imperative leaders to snap out of that tunnel and pay attention, to look around even when the bullets are flying. Experience creates combat veterans with the ability to overcome the fear and do what is necessary regardless of the risk. 

After a full minute of firing, Brian Park felt a heavy whack impact the front of his Kevlar ballistic helmet. It snapped his head back, causing trauma upon the upper trapezius muscles which would be sore for several days to come. Less than a half a second later, a second round impacted with his left zygomatic arch, the prominent point of the cheek bone. The bullet plowed rapidly through the dermal layers of the left side of his face removing the lobe from his left ear. The impact put more strain on his upper trapezius leaving a stinging sensation along the left side of his face; comparable to seven yellow jackets stinging him at one time. It was enough of a sensation to cause his left hand to reach up to his face, feeling a warm liquid oozing out of the wound. He pulled himself behind a tree, to get out of the line of fire; never a good place to stay for very long.

“Danny!” Brian yelled at his A team leader. “I’ve been hit!” Then he looked for Atwater, “Medic!” He didn’t know the extent of his injury, but assumed he needed medical attention.  After several second, he realized he wasn’t about to die. They were still in this fight. “Increase your fire!” Brian yelled at the first squad. “Keep those HE rounds flying.” He looked over at Tony Collins, the platoon leader as he pushed off to the right away from the platoon.

[h3][b]Anthony Collins, Major, Infantry, SAS [/b][/h3]
The platoon laid down a heavy base of fire with the two pigs in the middle of the line raking 7.62mm fire back and forth across the enemy position. 40mm HE grenades exploded amongst the shocked Salvesh soldiers, their cumbersome bodies crumpling under the massive weight of firepower. Enemy fire slackened only slightly, but Tony wanted a full two minutes of fire before he assaulted into the kill zone. He slowly led the assault element consisting of the 13 soldiers of third squad, the Assistant Platoon Sergeant, the two Anti-Armor Gunners, Rachel Koh and Pieter Gunn. There were nineteen in all. Platoon Leader Collins led the team on an oblique angle away from the right end of the base of fire so that they would not pick up any ricochet fire or be caught in the kill zones by fragmentation producing grenades. The soldiers moved quickly with their rifle butts in the socket of their shoulders peering over the sights hitting any of the Salvesh who may be on their end of the Kill Zone. Collins was concerned about the enemy being reinforced from the direction the Salvesh had just traveled from, to the right. He positioned a fire team in the direction the enemy just traveled from in anticipation of someone reinforcing them.

After the two minutes on his clock ended, he blew his whistle loudly, a long-extended blast. It was the predesigned signal to cease fire. Platoon Sergeant Gustav Boggs yelled, “lift and shift,” over the comms. Sergeant Park yelled, “lift and shift! Lift and shift!” This order tells the soldiers of the squad to shift fire away from the friendly assault element and engage targets who may still be moving on the left side of the kill zone and then lift all fires completely. 

The momentary silence in the air lasted less than a quarter second as fifteen soldiers of the assault element moved on ling across the direction of march where the Salvesh infantry had just passed. They fired double taps into every enemy body in the kill zone regardless of whether they were dead or alive. The enemy was completely overwhelmed in the engagement, never having a chance to recover. Once the Assault element moved past the area where all the Salvesh lay, crumpled and distorted, third squad’s C Team took a knee providing security to the left of the ambush site, roughly in front of the left end of second squad. The B Team hastily gathered as many Salvesh firearms as they could, strapping them over their backs. Even Major Collins picked up one and slung it over his shoulder.

Collins’ heart beat rapidly, the rush of adrenaline flowing through his body. He rifled through a few pockets to see if he could find anything of value for the Battalion S2, Intelligence Officer. He stood up, “Koh!” he yelled to the former Singaporean Intelligence Officer. “Anything more on your drone? We need to get some photos of these blokes. Damn, they are ugly.” Collins pulled out his smart phone and began snapping photographs of the dead Salvesh. One moved. It startled him. The beast was wounded, but unconscious. “I’ve got a live one here!” He yelled at the third squad leader, “have an aid and litter team put together a litter. Let’s get this jolly green chap back to base. Maybe the doctors can learn something from him?” Each squad would have one or two 2-man aid and litter teams. The soldiers would scavenge up two long sticks from the undergrowth and then wrap a poncho or two around the sticks to form the litter. It might take four men to carry this thing out of the jungle.