The Enemy Within

CHAPTER 8 LOCK-ON

SEPTEMBER 11

32nd Armored Brigade exercise area, near Ahvaz, Iran.

(D MINUS 95)

Three Russianmade GAZ jeeps were parked on the crest of a low, boulder-strewn rise north and east of the industrial city of Ahvaz. Iranian Special Forces troops in full combat gear stood guard at key points on the hill, forming a protective perimeter around the high-ranking Army officers clustered near the three vehicles.

Standing at the center of the small group, General Amir Taleh swept his binoculars slowly back and forth, carefully scrutinising the area selected as a training range for the newly reequipped 32nd Armored Brigade. He nodded to himself in satisfaction. It was good ground.

Regular patches of green dotted the distant northern and western horizons some of the date and sugar plantations that made Ahvaz Plain an important agricultural region. Oil wells were visible to the south, marking the edge of one of the vast gas and petroleum fields that had made the province both one of Iran’s richest regions and a prime objective for neighboring Iraq during their bloody, endless war. Brown, rugged slopes rose to the east the foothills of the Zagros Mountains.

No plantations or oil wells marred the emptiness of the stony, uneven landscape immediately to Taleh’s front. There were only the rusting hulks of obsolete tanks and armored personnel carriers. Thousands of track marks were visible crisscrossing the barren plain, silhouetted by the slanting rays of the late afternoon sun. Heat waves shimmered among the abandoned fighting vehicles, distorting distances and shapes.

The long, low, deadly silhouettes of modern T-80 tanks and BMPs crammed with Iranian infantry maneuvered in and around the hulks. Dust kicked up by their speeding treads merged into a single, ragged brown cloud. The tanks and infantry fighting vehicles were firing on the move, all the while smoothly deploying into platoon-sized wedge formations.

As each T-80 fired, 125mm shells screamed through the air. Even at more than two thousand meters almost all of them burst somewhere around the target hulks. Taleh smiled, pleased by the accuracy the 32nd Brigade’s tank gunners were demonstrating.

One round triggered a bright, orange-red ball of flame.

Taleh turned in surprise toward the bearded, hawk-nosed brigadier who commanded the 32nd. There shouldn’t have been any reaction from those burned-out vehicles.

“We place tanks of diesel fuel and a few rounds of outdated ammunition inside the hulks before each exercise. My crews are trained to shoot until they see a fireball or explosion,” the other man explained. “I have found that it increases the realism of the battle drill.”

“An excellent idea, Sayyed.” Taleh nodded approvingly. Like the other armies in the region, too many of Iran’s battalions and brigades were hollow units accumulations of first-rate hardware and second-rate, poorly trained men. Leaders who understood the danger of that and who could forge their commands into capable units were rare and valuable soldiers. Clearly, he had chosen the right man to command this formation.

He glanced at Kazemi and indicated the burning wreck now visible through a gap in the smoke. “Make a note of this, Farhad. We will recommend the technique to all units.”

Taleh swung back to watch the rest of the armored assault as it swept across the barren, explosion-torn landscape before him.

An hour later, with the exercise complete, the small convoy of three jeeps rolled through the gates of the Ahvaz Garrison, heading for a long, low building that contained the brigade headquarters. Barracks, maintenance sheds, and storehouses lined the paved road on either side. Most were dark in the fading light.

Taleh glimpsed bright arc lights shining inside one of the sheds. Technicians were hard at work inside, scrambling over and under an armored behemoth like ants ministering to their queen. He leaned forward and tapped the bearded brigadier on the shoulder. “Stop here, Sayyed. I want to see this.”

He never kept to a rigid itinerary, especially on inspection tours. Part of that was for security reasons. He still had enemies, now perhaps more than ever before. Randomly changing his schedule kept them guessing, especially those with lethal plans. But mostly, it was because he wanted to make sure his officers learned to expect the unexpected in peace as much as in war. Above all, he thought, they must come to understand that uncertainty is the central feature of any battlefield.

At the brigadier’s direction, the jeeps pulled up and parked beside the floodlit maintenance shed.

Without waiting for his subordinates, Taleh jumped out and strode into the building. His bodyguards hurried to take up their positions around him, shoeing away startled technicians and mechanics like so many frightened geese. He paid only cursory attention to the sweaty, oil-smeared men as they formed ranks under the brigadier’s glare. His gaze was focused on the mammoth T-80 they had been working on.