What happens when stupid plans succeed…

After successfully picking up our 4th highest value target, Abu Oo, our missions dropped off for a while. Considering that most of them had been to acquire him, it only makes sense that we really had no further objective for the moment. That isn’t to say that we had zero objectives however.

A few days later Team Awesome got called out again in the evening. Our objective, we were briefed, was to drive out to a random location (random because I have no idea where it was) and hopefully acquire a bad man. I’m sure he has a name, but I have no idea what it is. And here’s why!

After driving towards the objective zone, we were told that the target we’d been pursuing had suddenly changed to someone new. To make this easier, Target #1 turned into Target#2. Okay, we’ll adjust. Adjustments aren’t quite that easy with our job when you’re rolling out, because not only do the interrogators on scene have to know the details of their target but also what questions to ask him that have a poignant relationship to the reason for capture. You wouldn’t ask a serial killer where his stores of chemical weapons are, and for that reason you need to know who you are chasing.

But whatever, we changed over the target and moved on. #2, here we come!

But then we were told to look for Target #3 instead. Sure “Widow Maker”, we’ll just change it all again. Less than 5 minutes later I hear over the radio for us to be looking for #2 and #3, and not #1. No problem, I’ll just add #2 onto the #3 possibility.

Then, in an Abu Oo-esque movement, the commander of the mission decided we would sit and wait, near a traffic circle, in the hopes that #s 1, 2, and 3 were driving aimlessly around Mosul. So we sat and waited.

Another worthless mission, thankfully this time it failed so that we wouldn’t encourage the “Widow Makers” to try it again. We also didn’t wait as long, maybe only a few hours this time.

At least they’re learning…I guess.