It was 0600 hours on Saturday and John reflected on his situation. He had a squad of 10 GIs and 10 rocketeers and no contact with base. He was in a wooded area just south of Reading, England, on a small island... how the hell did those damned commies manage to make a successful attack he pondered... Oh well, time to think over that later. Now he had to get moving. Commander Richards had specifically told him that the UK would be a no tolerance rescue operation. If any civilians were killed in crossfire then John was gonna lose his job. "Sir? We've located a Commie patrol group at 12'o'clock"... Andrewson informed John. "How many of them we got here Andrewson?" "We got 5 Conscripts, 3 dogs and 5 flak troops. Are we ready to move out?" "Yes sir, we are mobile!" "Take them out Andrewson."

As Andrewson jogged over to the GIs John picked his M60 up from the dead leaves. Funny, this time if the war wasn't on he'd be in bed still, now he was about to go kill someone. He jogged over to his men to brief them quickly. "Okay guys, we got a small commie squad, we got a few dogs, some conscripts and some of those flak guys you all love." Some people laughed nervously. This was a running joke in all of his squads. He found that flak troops were a bitch unless you had the tactics, John had those tactics and a whole lot more. "But seriously guys, we gotta be careful though, the flak troops are a few paces behind the rest. Waters, you are gonna lead your squad to take the flakers out, then take care of the dogs. Miller, you take your Rocketeers and take out the conscripts" "SIR, YES, SIR" voiced the soldiers. "On the bounce!" he shouted. 

As the G.I squad ran over to take care of the flak troopers, the rocketeers took off. Soon the flak troopers cries filled the air and soviet dogs ran over to take care of the G.I squad. Michael Waters opened fire on the first one. It fell straight away, and with M60's they only had a 70% chance one hit stop, but a round in the leg soon upped those odds! However, this knowledge was not shared in the whole group it seemed. Neither was Michael's accuracy. Julio was the first to go down, a round in the leg from a conscript's gun. While they had been dealing with the dogs, the commie soldiers had snuck up, taking their chance by the throat. It worked! the G.I squad didn't know what had hit them, but soon the Rocketeers had spun over to deal with that....setback. Michael yelled at them..."Didn't you know? This is a private party!"

An hour later John and the troops were backpacking it across to another good camp spot, scouts sent a while ago had returned informing John that their would be room to advance across Berkshire. The only person having a hard time with the hike was Matt Fernandez, he had acquired a shot in the leg during the gunfight. He was optimistic about it though. "Well, I guess I'll get to go home now"...he said to John jokingly. "With a scratch like that? C'mon Matt! I thought you were a better soldier than that!!!" replied John. "Yeah okay Sir, I'll stay on the team"...said Matt. John and Matt had been together too long to take this conversation literally. "Oh SHIT! Sir we got a 10 commie Tesla squad incoming! They know where we are!" yelled Andrewson. "TROOPS, I WANT YOU ALL IN FULL GEAR IN 5 MINS!!" Yelled John, not leaving a second wasted. "SIR YES SIR!" they all replied in unison.

Five minutes later John was hiding in the bushes with his men, ready for a surprise attack. The commies had tracked them down, but he was pretty sure the commie's couldn't pinpoint them that well. He turned out to be right. The Tesla's walked straight past them. As they did the Rocketeers took off. It was amazing how quietly they could fly, and within seconds the sky was full of bullets. The Tesla bolt couldn't reach high enough to reach the Rocketeers. Only one remained, hidden behind a thick tree. The rocketeers couldn't see him though, only one person noticed, Michael, he fired his M60 tearing the tree to pieces, and probably the Tesla too. "What the Hell are you doing Waters?" Yelled John. "Sir, there was a Tesla behind the tree!" Michael replied. "Check it out then Waters. Go with him Fernandez"...John said. Michael and Matt walked around the tree and dragged the lifeless corpse of the trooper round so John could see. "Waters, this will be commended"...he breathed hard. "Why do you look so sad sir?" Was Michael's reply "Do you realize what would have happened if you didn't see that?" John whispered. "Sir?"..said Michael. 
"We would have a major casualty AT LEAST"..."Pretty damned lucky I saw him then eh?" "I guess"..said John. "As long as we're all okay, but I should have seen it, I'm supposed to be responsible"....he added. "Forget it John" laughed Matt..."You can't be everywhere!"

"Okay, the commies know our position and we have to find some....." "Sir, is that a Night Hawk?" John laughed..."Sir! It is!" "Get out the flares!"...said John. "Yes sir"...Matt got a flare from his pack and lit it, threw it into the air. John watched it explode with glee, finally, back to base, sleep...

Suddenly he noticed something. The 'copter wasn't looking as if it was about to land, but rather it was heading toward them at full speed! "ROCKETEERS, TAKE IT OUT! EVERYONE ELSE DOWN"...John shouted.  But it was too late. And it wasn't one of their Night Hawks. It was an enemy chopper.  The Soviet Hind helicopter had already sent a heavy rain of bullets down on the rocketeers, and some hit the rocket packs, which exploded. The rest rained down on the men, killing 11 including the ones dead from the exploded rocket pack-tanks. The only men left were John and 9 GIs including Matt, Andrews and Michael. "C'mon men, run for cover!"...screamed John. "They've landed and more Tesla's are pouring out, we've got no chance sir!"...exclaimed one of the men.  "Just shut up and run sergeant!"..said John. "SIR YES SIR." "It's too late.. they..AHHHHHHHH"... Andrewson yelled as a thousand volts were rammed through his body. The rest weren't far behind. Soon only John, Michael and Matt were left running alone, they were so full of fear that they almost missed the noise of the 'copter up above them. When they did however it made them run at a faster pace. What they didn't notice was the fact it was one of their own copters, the Night Hawk they had been looking for.

The Allied Nighthawk pursued Major John Williams and two of his men and prayed to himself that a clearing would turn up in these damned woods soon. They needed to pick John up. He was too experienced an officer to be allowed as another name on the casualty list. Frank Briggs, the pilot,  was desperately looking for a spot to land.

John ran. It was all he could do at that time. He was scared, being pursued by what he thought to be an enemy 'copter and behind enemy lines. Their was a clearing coming up. Suddenly the
'copter zoomed ahead, obviously intent on landing. John was about to turn around when he noticed something, the 'copter was a Nighthawk! They were saved!

As the copter landed John walked forward to greet the pilot. "Didn't you know? This is a private party!" laughed Michael. "Damned right SERGENT"...laughed John. 
"Congratulations Michael, welcome to the Officer and a gentleman's club,
Well.. the officer part.." 

Continue to Private Party Part 2 here...