14:00 - Azerbaijan Campaign

 Well I've got the last four stingers at the FARP; I think there are 4 more total spread out among the other 3 FARPs. There's been a lot of enemy choppers out there the last two days, we've lost four crews and their longbows.

Maverick, my CP/G is finishing pre-flight and we just got clearance. I look to my right at my new wingman, a kid with the callsign Kingpin, and give him the thumbs up, he gives it back with a big grin. It's his first time out.

I say,"Here we go Mav, back into the grinder". "I hear ya." Mav says.

We've got to nail one of a couple artillery sites that have been pounding the hell out of us for the last 8 hours or so. Pops and his wingie are going after the one to the south. Voodoo is playing guard dog for a Blackhawk dropping off a LRRP. We're passing waypoint 2 now. Man! There's a lot of enemy armor to the north We'll have to come back and take some out on the way home. Whoa! It's windy, caught a big down draft there. Correcting. Mojo, my old wingman has the only radar bird in the group. They split up Moj and me due to the losses we took over the past 2 days. They wanted to put us with the new kids to try and spread the experience around. I don't like it, Moj and I have saved each others tails too many times to count. But what I like or don't like doesn't mean anything out here.

Anyway Mojo and his tenderfoot are supposed to take out a command post and the General intel say is there.

Seems this guy has been coming out to the front and setting butts ablaze. And that's why the Iranians have been so effective the past couple days.

Mav spots a 13 four clicks ahead, I tell Kingpin to kill it. Mav spots a 23 and a couple tanks, we burn the 23 and leave the tanks for the way now. Coming up on wp3, the arty is some where around here. Coming up on a ridge, slowing down, ok hovering now, slipping left along the ridge to take a look see.

Command gives a warning about enemy choppers south of us in E6, hmm...... that's where the base Mojo's going after is. I slide from behind the ridge and there they are, about 3 clicks east. Three 109s, 2 ZSUs, some tents, trucks and troops. About 2 clicks south of the artillery is a SAM site. I call in arty on the SAMs, tell Kingpin to get the 109s, and Mav locks up the ZSUs and takes them out. Our arty is hitting the SAM site, Mav and I are hosing the tents trucks and troops. I hear Mojo's wingman screaming into the radio that he's on fire and going down.

Kingpin has killed the 109's, I tell him to regroup, we're going to go help Mojo.

Command tells us there are fast movers in the area, Mojo's calling for help, he says he's got choppers on him.

"SAM! SAM!" blasts over the radio, it's Voodoo, he's HIT! The Blackhawk with the LRRP is hit too, it's crashed! Voodoo is bugging out, he's lost an engine and has major rotor damage. Fast movers warning again, we're getting close to Mojo's position. I hear Pops call that he got his targets but he and his wingie are winchester and going home.

Mav spots two Rapiers on a hill to the west, I pass them off to Kingpin. The kid wastes no time and hits both with Hellfires. Mojo's last postion was just beyond the line of hills we are coming up on, Moj hasn't answered my last two calls. Closing on the hill, I ease up on the collective and flare the nose up yawing left and right to drop speed, I ask Kingpin what he has left," 2 Hellfires 50% rockets and cannon." he says. I tell him to cover me, I slow to 10 mph and pull the collective back so I can get a look over the top of the hill. There goes Mojo!

He's about 3.5 clicks off, he's smoking but so are two Cobras! I shout " LETS GO!" Mav fires a Stinger at each Cobra as I drop the nose and power up to head in and help Moj. I can see the base is burning and there are a couple tanks between us and Mojo, the Stingers are tracking...annnnd YEAH! They both hit! The cobras go down!

We're coming down the side of the hill, Mav lases one of the tanks and fires a hellfire at it, it hits, then Mav yells "TRIPLE A! 3 O'CLOCK!!!" The words are hardly out his mouth when Kingpins bird EXPLODES!!! There were two ZSUs on the side of the hill and we didn't see them. SH*T!! WE'RE HIT!!!!!! I kick the tail around hard, Mav locks one up and hoses it, I keep slipping us to the left, the first one blows, Mav hoses the second but we're getting HIT!!!. The second one blows, we're hurting, engine one is on fire, I've lost an MFD, so has Mav. I hit the extinguisher and put the fire out, we're losing oil and I've got to correct for a spin to the left. I look around and see what's left of Kingpin's bird, damn at least they went fast. I can see Mojo headed for home, he looks in worse shape than we are. I turn us west and head for our side of the line, picking up speed, we seem ok for now. Hey! There's a Hip heading south 3.5 clicks away about to go around a hill, that's probably that general's chopper!

"Let's go get that sumbitch" Mav says, so I turn us toward the Hip.

Mav's about to fire a Stinger when we lose L.O.S., "MOVE! MOVE IT!" Mav yells, we're doing 90 now and coming up on the hill the Hip went around. I decide to go over the hill instead of around it. Yeah I know, but what are the chances it will happen twice? We blast over the top of the hill still doing 90 and there it is 1900 ahead and we're closing fast. Mav lases it and hoses it, it blows up reeeaall goood.

"Let's go home" Mav says, "You said it Mav" I say.

We make it back to the FARP, I settle us down, and just as I hit the rotor brake, the Stinger starts humming. HOLY SH*T!!!!! There's a MIG!!!!

A Mig is coming over the top of the hill in front of us and it's strafing the FARP. It's out of the Stinger's seeker in the time it took us to pick up our jaws. I release the brake, power up and spin us the direction the mig passed. The Stinger starts to hum, THERE IT IS!!! SHOOT!!! SHOOT IT!!! Mav fire's our last two stingers at it, they're tracking.........the Mig is dropping flares...... DAMN! The first Stinger is spoofed. Comon,comon.....YESS! the second one hits! Mig's burning! Down it goes. We had risen to about 300 ft while watching the Mig, as I settle us down, Mav calls armor at 10 o'clock. I don't believe it! Remember the armor I was going to hit on the way back? Here it comes. We've got nothing but a few cannon left, and that's damaged too. Our FARP is going to have to bug out, so we head south to Delta 4 the next FARP down.

I look at the clock, it's 14:30. Half an hour ago I took off from here with a kid on his first mission, a kid who had no idea it would be his last.

At least Mojo got back safe.

Just another afternoon in sunny Azerbaijan.

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I LOVE THIS SIM!!!

I haven't enjoyed any sim this much since FALCON 3.0