PS3N

Dear Mum

Apologies for not emailing you sooner, however Intel have only just informed my unit that we are back online, and to be honest I'm only now beginning to get the feeling back in my fingers after weeks of firing these automatic weapons. I cannot begin to explain to you the carnage I have witnessed so far. It seems like only yesterday I was graduating from the academy and looking forward to putting all those hours of target practice to good use on live enemies. It's at times like this I wish I had listened to the advice of Grandad and refrained from signing up. I still carry his old war diary everywhere I go, in fact it's this little book that gives me the strength to carry on, the will to survive both physically and more importantly mentally. My favourite extract so far has to be from his tour of duty in Seelow, Germany. He says :

" Everywhere we turn we are surrounded by the Red Army. As I write this another tank has crossed the old railway line towards us, with the sole intent of finding our platoon and blowing us into the sands of history. We have a sniper at the water tower but realistically our only hope lies in the satchel charges we laid no further than a stones throw away from our hiding place in this old barn. There is an air of hushed expectancy as the noise of heavy machinery ambles towards us. I have one sticky grenade left, it might be the difference between life and death - at least for another few hours anyway." Inspiration, and God knows I need it.

We touched down in Brazil no more than 36 hours ago. The Militia group known as the "People's Liberation Army" have spies all over the place, so we were air dropped on the outskirts of Rio in the urban forrest, then had to make our way on foot to our underground intelligence base. The debriefing session was a real eye opener. It would appear that the conflict we find ourselves in the midst of is set against a background of infighting amonst the rebells over dirty laundered drug money. We were given a tip off from our informants that our enemies were planning a raid on a small village in the heart of the Favela.

At dawn we started the clear out operation. There must have been at least 200 or more women and children all living in these disgusting cramped tin boxes they call houses. Some of them didn't want to leave, but the thought of "what might happen" had we not carried out this exercise did not bear thinking about. We all have enough blood on our hands, having the deaths of innocent women and kids to carry on our conscience as well isn't exactly what I signed up for.

Then we waited. I was awoken by the feeling of intense heat, as the sun broke through the early morning cloud. A few minutes later my daily morning routine was complete, a quick stretch followed up with some severe vomitting then a cigarette. The breakfast of champions. As the details of our impending mission were being relayed by General Fungus one last time, the irony of our situation was not lost on me. Here we were, about to engage in possibly the largest full scale ground war this city has ever seen. There will be soldiers who lose their lives today. There will be unmittigated bloodshed and violence, and it will all take place under the shadow of the magnificent Christ the Redeemer Staue no more than 500 yards away at the top of the Corcovado Hill. Call me a cynic, but I have a feeling we will need more than divine intervention if we are to get through the next hour or so.

We have been given strict orders to hold our fire until given the signal. Our undercover team of Rockman and Sensi appear on the rooftop, barely recognisable in their new found indentities they have had to adopt for the past 3 months to enable them to successfuly infiltrate the infamous "Red Hand". Still no sign of the "signal" as we watch more and more Militia members congregate. Rockman and Sensi look nervous, something appears to have went wrong. More and more weapons are being brandished, and the raised voices have turned into a full blown shouting match. This is all going to kick off any moment. There's the signal, we are green light for go!!

This is what I have been trained for. One final ammo check. One last prayer. My time has come...............

TO BE CONTINUED.......