Crushing hard in Marine Bootcamp and Operation Semper Fi

Chapter Seven

Hey yall, its been quite awhile since I posted anything but here you go, its a little short but im gonna update more:) -Thanks 

Braxton's POV 

It had been a week since I had last seen Ashley, in that weeks time my unit had been deployed to Afghanistan. They had placed us in Helmand province at a NATO outpost that was often attacked by the large Taliban presence in the region. Gunfire and mortar explosions chased the day and continued throughout the night. The lower Sangin valley where we were currently posted held a few Marines and quite a few guys from the 82nd Airborne out of Fort Bragg.

Daily temperatures reached up in the hundreds and the dull brown earth was repetitive as far as the eye could see. I was certainly glad Ashley wasn't here, they stationed her in Kandahar Province. Right now it is safer there than it is here. 

"Hey Fisch you comin' with us?", Lt. Marks said eagerly poking his head inside my bunk.

"Yeah, gimme a few", I replied.

He was one of the guys from the 82nd, even after a few days we got pretty friend and he was a cool guy. We were currently mounting the NATO counter offensive against the Taliban, Operation Pickaxe Handle. Ground teams would travel to a small village outside of Kajahi where a large Taliban presence threatened the security of the lower Sangin region. And tonight the guys from the 82nd would mount an aerial strike on a large Taliban compound in the region.

The ground crew headed for Kajahi were leaving in less than an hour and before we left I needed to talk to Ashley. 

Grabbing my worn out laptop from my tiny shelf beside my bunk I opened up skype to see Ash for a few minutes. A few rings later and her lovely face filled my screen and she grinned eagerly at me. 

"Hey baby." She said, her voice sounding tired.

"Hey yourself", I grinned.

She was dressed in almost full combat gear and her golden hair pulled freshly off her face. 

"How's it over there in Helmand?" her voice inquisitive. 

"Same old same old how about you?" 

The video connection buffered and then cut off completely but not before I heard the rapid pops of gunfire exploding in the background behind her. 

I tried viciously to get connection again but to no avail. Dammit! 

"Fisch lets go!!" I heard Marks yell down the hall. 

I sighed audibly and grabbed my gear and M16 and headed out to the staging area out under the hot Afghan sun.

Ashley's POV

The gunfire sounded awfully close as I lost connection with Braxton. I picked up my weapon and donned the proper gear Incase this was really serious. We had gotten lots of enemy activity in the area since my team and I arrived four days ago. 

The other four women who I had arrived with were running outside with all there gear on as explosions began to accompany the rapid bursts of gun fire. The insurgents in the area favored RPGS and other explosive equipment. 

  

   The wooden door to our barracks was bust open and blood dripped down from the metal door handle. Something had gone wrong..... terribly wrong.