The Temple of Eros

After Action Report

Area of operations: Municipality of Artenara Gran Canaria

Date: 7-9 October 2022

We are part of an allied expeditionary force garrisoned outside Belgrade. Our mission is to counterbalance the rise of a confederate military force that is rapidly expanding throughout Serbia, as well as to eradicate the proliferation of elements linked to ISIS, who are trying to establish roaming bases from which to expand their operations throughout Europe. Although the Allies and Confederates share a common goal in their fight against terrorism, their political ideas are incompatible, which makes the situation in the region extremely volatile. Nothing is simple in the old continent.

Midnight is upon us and a messy row of flashlights and headlamps begins to march towards the vehicles, leaving behind the inspiring sight of a camp made up of neatly arranged modular and individual military tents, covering the scene with spots of light everywhere. The meeting point is a warehouse located next to the local football field.

There are many new faces among the 140 people who gathered around, but we greet each other with hugs and jokes, camaraderie uniting old friends, although we miss part of the JSOTF Dagger team, our brothers in arms. 

The organization goes through the relevant aspects of the event and surprises us with a catering service, while purchases are made at the stand of the sponsor, Battlefish. Back at our base, our commanding officer, Commander Weigel, gives us one last harangue and hands out the first mission briefings.

A fundamental part of an event is to create that magic that allows you to disconnect from your everyday life and jump unreservedly into the stage for the next 48 hours. Missions accomplished.

The first mission consists of taking down a communication hub near what appears to be an enemy settlement, a mission that we will carry out in coordination with another team. 

The organization has several similar 9-seater vehicles available for transportation. Although the vehicle is packed, silence and concentration reign as we approach the LZ (Landing Zone). The magic remains.

We maintain a defensive formation as the transport pulls away and we get used to the environment. We start a march of about 40 minutes to reach the target area, and there it is; a large antenna along with a satellite system. The explosives are placed while part of the team provides security and… “fire in the hole, fire in the hole, fire in the hole” 

BOOOOOOM!

The thunder of fireworks echoes in the dark and silent valley. Magic intensifies.

Almost out of breath we reach the DZ (Drop Zone) and we are extracted by vehicle, before the hostile forces organize an effective search party. 

The first mission ends with the corresponding communication of news to the command post.

During a rest shift in the middle of the afternoon, after having carried out larger and smaller missions, the characteristic beating of the blades of a helicopter makes us leave the modular store, without being able to identify a single bird in the air. 

Later, one of the teams assigned to that mission would tell us that they had to carry out the extraction of sensitive material by helicopter, however, due to adverse weather conditions,
the pilot was forced to land. 

The magic begins to reach unsuspected heights. 

Once again under the cover of darkness, we are entrusted with the mission of executing a raid on a house. The intel gathered suggests that this is one of the bases of operations from which continuous attacks are launched in an asymmetric warfare program that has severed the region.

The vehicles approach slowly through a narrow and winding street until about 100 meters from the target house. Under the dim light of streetlights, the team spreads out, filing in as quietly as possible to an outer door secured with a chain. A pear of shears make quick work of the chain. The progression continues until reaching the upper level of the country house, finding a metal door embedded in the stone of the mountain on the roof. Breach! Chaos breaks out.

We suffered heavy casualties, though the insurgents lurking in the nooks and gaps were eventually neutralized. As we inspect the room, we are amazed about the complexity of the operation established there. Rest areas, planning areas, target practice areas, handling of explosives, detention areas… 

We have the feeling that, when we pass through that door, we have been teleported to a mountain refuge in unforgiving Afghanistan. The level of magic is off the charts.

Shocked by the overwhelming causalities suffered, we returned to the base to collect ourselves and await orders. 

A new mission is handed to us. We are assigned a protection and escort service in a meeting of our commanding officer with a local element who claims to have relevant information. The meeting will take place in a restaurant open to the public, so it's time to hang up the BDU and adopt a more discreet appearance. As discreet as a group of men in cargo pants, plaid shirts, caps and bulges at the waist can be…

Upon arrival at the restaurant, we find various diners oblivious to our problems who enjoy what, in our eyes, is a delicacy, as we just snack on power bars and energy drinks, The meeting proceeds normally until out of nowhere someone gets stabbed, and the team from the inner ring shoots down the aggressor, forcing an extraction through the restaurant kitchen of the team that will save the VIP and seek his extraction to the green zone. There is no room for more magic in the Gran Canaria town of Artenara. 

E-milsim, organizer of this series of events, has far exceeded all the pre-existing standards in terms of the set up of the events held in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. There was no need to use imagination. If something has to explode, it explodes. 

If there is a meeting in a restaurant, it is a real restaurant with diners and active service. If a helicopter has to carry out a transfer, a helicopter takes off, and if an insurgent shelter has to be taken, you die… but in the middle of a cinematographic set. 

None of this could have happened without the extraordinary involvement of local authorities, business owners and neighbours, on a level never before seen by us. Artenara is, without a doubt, one of the jewels of the milsim in the Canary Islands, and E-milsim is another.

End of the report.