I work as a mercenary in northern Myanmar.

Chapter 555 Early Reconnaissance
Half an hour later, at the shooting range of the Raqqa defenders.

Putting the HK416 back on his back, Chen Chen was a little uncomfortable with the gun for a moment.

The trigger is too light, the buttstock feels too heavy against the shoulder, the front grip is too cumbersome, and the rear grip is too slippery
He tried firing a few rounds, and while his accuracy was fine, something just didn't feel right.

Seeing his performance, Li Bang on the side couldn't help but laugh a little.

He is no longer a newbie now. Even if he doesn't look at the target paper, just by looking at the way Chen Chen holds the gun, he can tell that Chen Chen is not used to this "new gun".

"What do you mean? Do you want to switch back to the AK-74M?"

Hearing Li Bang's words, Chen Chen shook his head and replied:
"It takes time to get used to it. But to be honest, the feeling of holding these two gun families is completely different. Switching from the AK series to the AR series is probably the most difficult transition for a shooter."

"On the contrary, it is not that difficult to switch from AK to AR. Why do you think that is?"

"You don't even know, and it's even less possible for me to know."

Li Bang spread his hands helplessly, then raised his gun and quickly fired a long burst of shots. After roughly checking the landing point of the bullet with the sight scope, he said with a little doubt:

"My touch isn't good either, but it's about the same as yours. My accuracy doesn't seem to be affected."

“Muscle memory works like that.”

Chen Chen could only give an unreasonable explanation in the end. After emptying the magazine of bullets, he continued:
"Continue to talk about your plan. What are you going to do?"

After hearing Chen Chen's words, Li Bang also put down his gun and replied:
"I plan to lead the team to conduct a round of reconnaissance first."

"A round of all-round, three-dimensional reconnaissance."

"I summed it up. Actually, our battles have not been going very smoothly since we arrived in Syria."

"It's true that we won almost every battle, but it's also true that we suffered a lot of losses that we shouldn't have suffered."

"And the root cause of this loss is the lack of human intelligence."

"We can actually discover many things in advance - such as the enemy's convergence trend and their equipment updates."

“But we didn’t find any.”

"There are two main reasons for this. The first is that the pace of the battles is too tight. It's almost one battle after another, without any breathing time."

"This forces us to compress the reconnaissance time to a few hours or even tens of minutes before the battle begins."

"Second, we rely too much on aerial reconnaissance. When we didn't have the CH-3A, we used individual drones; when we had the CH-3A, we relied on it again."

"It is undeniable that reconnaissance with the help of drones is highly efficient, but at the same time, it also has huge loopholes."

“Without real perception, we can’t see many things.”

"If you can't see it, you can't imagine it—that's what you taught me."

"Do you remember the lesson you took in Chase? Don't try to find the enemy, but try to find evidence of the enemy's existence, such as a burning cigarette or a started car."

"This is the meaning of human intelligence, which I'm afraid will never be truly replaced by aerial reconnaissance."

After Li Bang finished speaking, Chen looked at him silently for a few seconds. Then, he patted Li Bang's shoulder solemnly and said:
"Congratulations, you have officially entered the real command sequence of the Dongfeng Corps."

Chen Chen's eyes were full of admiration. He really didn't expect that the Li Bang could grow to this level in just three years.

You know, even those officers who have been in the barracks for 10 years, and those old hands who have fought on the battlefield for 10 years, still believe in the advantages brought by equipment.

But now, Li Bang has broken free from the shackles and started to consider truly "effective" means of combat.

What he said is absolutely right. Manual reconnaissance can never be replaced by aerial reconnaissance, and this is also the significance of the existence of the "scout" branch of the military.

Looking at Chen Chen's eyes, Li Bang smiled shyly and replied:
“I’ve been trying to learn.”

"Maybe it's far worse than Shi Dakai and Bao Qi, but it should still be acceptable, right?"

“Very qualified!”

Chen Chen gave a thumbs up and then asked:

“When are you going to start it?”

"Right now."

Li Bang answered without hesitation:

"The sooner we conduct manual reconnaissance, the better. If the clearing operation is to be launched in two days, then I'd better set off now."

"I have calculated that the total length of the key points in the entire area is 840 kilometers. In other words, to complete the reconnaissance of these villages, I need to walk a total of 840 kilometers."

"Considering the travel, concealment, reconnaissance, and evacuation, it is reasonable to reserve 40 hours."

"I have already arranged the personnel in advance."

"Linhe, Pingchuan, Yangshu, follow me. Baigou will stay here to help you."

"this is not good."

Chen Chen immediately shook his head, and after a little thought, he corrected himself:

"Yang Shu stays here, I'll go with you."

"You are the commander-in-chief, how can you go?"

Li Bang frowned and asked back.

Hearing his words, Chen Chen shook his head again and explained:

"In fact, our team has never had a real commander-in-chief. Our command sequence is constructed according to the complexity of the mission."

"Now, I have arranged everything that Raqqa needs. Next, they just need to follow the orders I left behind and continue to execute them."

"This is not difficult at all. Besides, even if it is difficult, it will only take two days."

"And using these two days, I can get first-hand and most intuitive intelligence just like you. Isn't this more cost-effective?"

".You just can't leave the battlefield, right?"

Li Bang did not respond to Chen Chen's words, but asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Chen Chen spread his hands helplessly and replied:
"Indeed it is."

The two smiled at each other and didn't say much.

But they all tacitly packed up their equipment and headed towards the camp.

Half an hour later, Chen Chen had put on a bulletproof vest, inserted the magazine, put on his SCAR-H, and held the HK416 that had been converted into a Christmas tree.

"No need for stun grenades, no need for too many grenades, save the hanging points for smoke bombs."

"Make sure you bring enough bullets. We won't have any chance to resupply during this round of reconnaissance."

While counting the equipment, Chen Chen asked:
"Staffing?"

"12 people, including you, three precision shooters. Considering there is no need for sniper operations, there is no need for observers."

"Two medics, Pingchuan also serves as a drone pilot; three drivers also serve as support and demolition operators, and four machine gunners."

After receiving Li Bang's reply, Chen Chen nodded and continued to ask:

"No problem. Is the vehicle ready? What configuration?"

"Considering the need for concealment in the reconnaissance mission, there are no special vehicles. Instead, three ordinary pickup trucks are used, equipped with heavy machine guns and MK3, all of which have been covered with camouflage cloth."

"Okay. In the air?"

"Four CH-4As take turns to accompany and monitor, and two SU-3s and two helicopters are on standby and ready to provide support at any time."

"Perfect. Map?"

"I just got it. It's the latest one and very accurate."

"communication?"

Chen Chen spoke again.

"In addition to basic communication tools, we carry a military radio that can contact the command center in an emergency."

"Also, the map has marked the locations of towns with smooth wired communications, which can be used as contact points." "Disguise?"

"We don't conduct disguised reconnaissance, but I have prepared a batch of robes. If necessary, we can temporarily impersonate local residents."

"Very thorough - is there anything I've missed?"

"Backup vehicles. I have already discussed this with Xia Xing in advance and prepared three vehicles in Ain Issa Town."

“Ain Issa is located at the intersection of several roads and can be used as an evacuation point.”

"Perfect."

Chen Chen nodded slowly, thinking about it for a while, and confirmed that there was nothing missing, so he waved his hand and immediately gave the order:
"set off!"

"understand!"

After the order was given, the team members, who had been unable to hold back for a long time, quickly boarded the car. Then, under the white dog's "reluctant" gaze, Chen Chen rolled down the window and said:

"I'll leave Laka to you during the two days I'm away."

"Watch it carefully, don't let me destroy the whole city when I come back!"

"rest assured."

The white dog said with a bitter face and a little bit of complaint:

"Why don't you always take me with you on such matters? In fact, we can leave Lin He here. He has grown up and can fully take on the responsibility."

"Or let Li Bang stay. Isn't he the No. 2 commander? He should exercise more."

"Stop talking nonsense."

Chen Chen interrupted Bai Gou's complaints and said:

"We are the ones who lead the charge, and you are responsible for maintaining stability in the rear. We are both contributing to the revolution."

"What? Are you still worried that I'll take away your credit?"

"It's because it's too dangerous to conduct reconnaissance at close range. I wish I could take your place."

Bai Gou's aggrieved expression gave Chen Chen goosebumps all over his body. He waved his hands quickly and rolled up the car window without waiting for Bai Gou to continue speaking.

Lin He stepped on the accelerator and the pickup truck sped out with a cloud of dust.

It was evening, and the setting sun was falling towards the horizon.

In front of them was a desert that seemed peaceful but had become extremely dangerous because of the infiltration of ISIS defeated soldiers.

In the next 48 hours, their team will blow through the desert like a gust of wind, taking away all the intelligence that can change the outcome of the war.

As it was getting darker, Chen Chen ordered the car lights to be turned on.

He held the gun at his side and gave the sights one last check of their working.

Li Bang was in the co-pilot seat, briefing everyone on the mission.

"Our first stop, Abojedi."

"The population is 4000. The town is located on the north bank of the Euphrates River and is distributed in a long and narrow shape along the river."

“There are two main roads running through the town, running north-south and east-west respectively, and the main buildings in the town are located at the intersection of the roads.”

"Our goal is to observe the movement of people and vehicles in the town to determine whether there are JD elements gathering inside the town, and if so, how many people are there and what weapons they have."

"In addition, we also need to mark high-risk locations in advance to provide coordinate guidance for subsequent air strikes that may be carried out."

"Please note that this reconnaissance mission must be conducted in a non-contact manner as much as possible. In other words, we cannot be exposed unless necessary."

"Now, we are still 18 kilometers away from our destination."

"After 15 minutes, all vehicles turned off their lights and waited in place. At 8 o'clock, they started on time and slowly entered the target area."

"do you understand?"

"understand!"

The radio brought responses from all the team members, including Chen Chen.

Li Bang subconsciously turned his head to look at Chen Chen, but soon, after accepting his own identity, he returned to the work of map analysis.

The convoy continued to move forward, and CH-3A sent the first aerial picture, but Chen Chen could not see any useful information from just this one picture.

There were no unusual vehicles, no armed men, no barricades, no positions.

This seems to be just an ordinary small town.

And this is the significance of close reconnaissance.

15 minutes later, the convoy arrived at the designated location.

A single-soldier ultra-short-range drone was released, and Pingchuan controlled the drone to fly over the slowly moving convoy.

Ten minutes later, the convoy approached the reverse slope of the high ground less than 10 meters away from Abojedi. The reconnaissance team immediately deployed their formation and began a one-hour observation.

And this time, they finally got what they wanted.

Several militants appeared on the streets of the town, brandishing their weapons recklessly.

A private house has been converted into a fortress, with obvious signs of bunker construction on the windows.

An armed pickup truck was hidden under the awning in the alley, carrying a heavy machine gun of unidentified model.

“It is confirmed that there are militants active, but their numbers are small.”

"This should be a small stopover for ISIS's defeated soldiers. The danger level is relatively low."

Li Bang made his own judgment on Abojedi's situation and then gave the order:

"Group 1 detoured to the southeast, made a circuit, and observed and filmed from multiple angles."

"The rest of the team will continue north. The next target, Dula Mahal, will be waiting at the marked position."

"clear."

As soon as the words fell, the team took action immediately.

Group 2 and Group 3, where Chen Chen and Li Bang were, bypassed Abojedi and continued to head north, while Group 1 stayed behind to complete the final intelligence supplement.

Abojedi is 25 kilometers away from Duramaha. After 40 minutes, the slow-moving convoy arrived at the designated assembly point.

Then another 15 minutes passed and a group of team members arrived to meet up.

The three vehicles started again and headed towards Duramaha.

Li Bang briefed the situation of the target town and confirmed the division of tasks, and everyone was ready for battle.

However, when they actually arrived at the observation point indicated by the drone, they suddenly discovered that something was wrong with the situation here.

Completely different from Abogidi, the city of Duramaha was dead silent.

Although this small town with a population of only a few hundred people could not be compared with Abogadi in terms of scale, even so, the city was still a little too quiet.

There were no lights, no voices, not even a hint of life.

This city is dead.

After half an hour of observation, the reconnaissance team found nothing.

Then, Li Bang ordered:

"Group 1, alert."

"Rainbow, prepare to attack."

"Groups 2 and 3 walk into the city and conduct close reconnaissance!"

(End of this chapter)