991: Chapter 976 I’ll Solve It 991: Chapter 976 I’ll Solve It Finding a mechanic was a must, Gao Yang didn’t want to fly in a helicopter without safety guarantees.
His mind quickly reviewed all possible candidates that could help find a qualified Mi-style helicopter mechanic, and Gao Yang realized that only Polovich was left.
If Grand Ivan and Uriyangko were still around, why bother with such trouble?
Grand Ivan would certainly hand over the helicopter and its crew without hesitation, but with the strong support now gone, Gao Yang could only think of other methods.
Finding a mechanic was headache enough, but at this moment, Eileen said to Gao Yang, “Sir, these aircraft have no night combat capability and are only suitable for daytime use.”
Gao Yang rubbed his forehead, helplessly saying, “I know, I’ll think of something.
For now, you all go and allocate your rooms, and we can discuss further matters later.”
After giving orders to Satan’s followers, Gao Yang turned to Dani and the other two, “I think we need to sit down and have a serious talk.”
The four of them entered Gao Yang’s office, an office prepared specifically for Gao Yang.
The office was divided into two rooms, with the inner one being a tactical room with maps on the walls, and the outer one being the actual office with a desk.
When there was a need for a meeting, the tactical room would double as a conference room.
There were no pleasantries or formalities as the four sat down at an oval table, and Gao Yang got straight to the point, “The situation is worse than I anticipated.
I remember saying we needed helicopters with night combat capability, but now the helicopters prepared for us do not have that, and moreover, I need reliable helicopters, which at the moment seems not too promising, and this I absolutely cannot accept.”
The atmosphere turned heavy, with Gilanor immediately saying, “We’ve already given the best we have.
The best aircraft, personnel, and weapons in all of Damascus are here.”
Gao Yang sighed and said, “Clearly it’s not good enough.
Lieutenant, is there really no other way?”
Gilanor shook his head, “No, we lack night combat capability.
We’ve never had a precedent for nighttime attacks.”
Gao Yang shook his head, “This won’t do.
For special operations, night is almost the only option.
Can’t we think of another solution?”
Dani spoke in a somber tone, “I can report this issue to the higher-ups, but I don’t have high hopes.
It’s wartime, and anything usable is being put to use.
If there were other options, we wouldn’t have this problem.”
Gao Yang sighed, “Then let’s do this.
I’ll find a way myself.
I will immediately start searching for a mechanic and anything that can enhance the helicopters’ night combat abilities, such as infrared night vision pods, or temporarily adding large thermal imaging detectors.
I’ll be responsible for finding these things, but as for the money, can you sort that out?”
Dani and Gilanor immediately shook their heads, while Farouk also showed a pained smile, saying, “Major, there’s no need to bring that up again in the future.
It’s impossible.”
Gao Yang gritted his teeth, “Alright, then we’ll solve it ourselves.
We’ll pay to modernize the helicopters ourselves!”
Dani looked surprised at Gao Yang, “You’ll solve this on your own?”
Gao Yang nodded, speaking firmly, “We will handle it.
I will immediately purchase any usable equipment.
To quickly acquire what we urgently need, Major Dani, we might need your assistance when the purchases enter the country.”
Dani waved his hand, speaking seriously, “No problem at all.
That’s a small matter.”
Gao Yang said sternly, “We’ll pay to hire a mechanic, buy the equipment ourselves, that’s not a problem.
Now what I want to know is, what is the purpose of our four-person team?”
Dani replied in a deep voice, “We are responsible for providing intelligence support.
Whatever intelligence you need, tell me, and we will cooperate fully.”
Farouk stood up, circled a section of the Damascus garrison map on the wall with his hand, and loudly said, “On the army side, you will receive real-time intelligence support.
If you discover any targets of great value, we can mobilize ground troops to coordinate.
My job is to assess whether the target is worth mobilizing large-scale forces.
If we identify a valuable target, we will provide full support, of course, within our capability.”
After Farouk finished, Gilanor stood up and said, “Our airfield has twelve MiG-27s, six Su-25s, four Mi-24s, four Mi-17s, and nineteen MiG-21s.
Apart from the helicopters already provided to your unit, all aircraft at my airfield can support your operations, provided you find valuable targets.
In addition to providing ground support for your unit, my job is to analyze the intelligence you send back.
If indeed a target worthy of large-scale bombing is confirmed, my unit can provide all necessary resources.”
After speaking, Gilanor said in a deep voice, “Our current military tasks are extremely arduous, so I must declare in advance that it would be difficult for my unit to provide air support unless it is proved necessary.
Moreover, considering my responsibilities, I may need to take action together with your unit.”
Gao Yang understood why the Air Force had sent someone as obstinate as Gilanor to be the liaison officer.
It was only someone as stubborn as Gilanor who would go to great lengths to avoid making false military reports or exaggerating enemy situations.
Gao Yang nodded and said, “Understood.
Now let me discuss our targets.
Our primary objective is an organization called IS.
We need to take out IS’s big boss, Badadi.
That’s our only and greatest operational goal.
On the basis of taking out Badadi, we hope and need to eliminate as many IS members as possible.
Of course, if we encounter members of other rebel organizations, we’ll also try to make an impact, but as for our actions, I am in charge.
You can make requests, but the decision is mine.”
The implication of Gao Yang’s words was that he would not accept commands from any side, and this had to be confirmed.
As foreign volunteer forces, if they had to accept commands from the Syrian side, it would be pointless to fight at all; not even cannon fodder would be treated that badly.
The three of them fell silent.
After a moment, Dani said in a low voice, “You can have a great deal of autonomy.”
“I give the orders; it’s up to you to listen or not.
But outwardly, you must obey.” Dani didn’t say it outright, but he implied his demand.
Gao Yang would never accept such terms.
Whether it was for the Syrian military to save face and have Satan nominally under command, or if the Syrian Army genuinely issued an order that Satan had to follow, none of this was acceptable.
Gao Yang wanted absolute freedom.
Syria could make requests or demands, and then Gao Yang would choose whether to agree or not.
That was the only way.
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “Gentlemen, we are a volunteer force.
We will do our utmost to eliminate IS, but we will not accept any orders.”
Gilanor suddenly said, “A force operating freely on our territory, with no control or restrictions?”
Gao Yang shook his head and replied, “Lieutenant, let’s be clear.
We are here to fight on your behalf.
It may be hard to accept emotionally, but we are indeed an unconstrained force.
Gentlemen, out of self-respect, I understand your feelings.
But please consider our position.
We are not fighting for a country or for values.
We fund this war out of our own pockets, risking everything to help you fight because we share a common enemy.”
The three fell silent again.
Gao Yang continued, “We can abandon everything for revenge, but we cannot accept commands from any side.
This premise is very important.
An order is an order; there’s no possibility of superficial compliance or non-compliance.
I trust you understand this.
To avoid future issues that could affect our cooperation, it’s better to establish clear rules from the start rather than ambiguous and unreasonable ones for the sake of pride.”
After another silence, Farouk said in a grave voice, “I agree with the Major’s words.”
Dani, after a moment of contemplation and silent nodding, showed resignation, but Gilanor hesitated before saying with a complex expression, “But a completely uncontrolled foreign military force…”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “Lieutenant, our base is within your airport.
You have thousands of troops for security.
You provide the planes, the fuel, ammunition, maintenance, and logistic and life support.
Plus, our living area is confined to this location.
I don’t understand what you have to worry about.”
After more hesitation, Gilanor said in a deep voice, “Alright, I have reservations, but I propose one thing: you must wear our uniforms.”
Gao Yang immediately replied, “No problem, as long as you provide the uniforms.”
Farouk instantly said, “Army uniforms, under the name of the Third Independent Infantry Brigade of Syria’s Special Task Force.
Do you have a problem with that?”
Gao Yang smiled slightly and said, “No problem.”
Although the Third Brigade had always been stationed in Aleppo, using the name of the Third Brigade’s Special Task Force to operate in Damascus was not a problem.
Gao Yang was very pleased with this designation, as was Farouk.
Dani, looking helplessly, said, “Actually, we planned to have you operate under the name of the Military Intelligence Directorate Special Operations Group.”
Farouk immediately retorted, “No, both the military and we are very firm about this!”
Farouk was indeed firm; he had seen the combat power of Gao Yang’s group.
Not only had Satan saved his life and his unit’s, but the experience also had a profound impact on Farouk.
Now that Gilanor had become a General and Farouk a Captain, they wouldn’t push for cooperation with Satan if they hadn’t planned to learn something from it.
It’s worth noting that Farouk originally didn’t speak English, but now he spoke it fluently, which explained a lot.
After discussing the specifics of the cooperation and living arrangements, Gao Yang saw Dani and the others off.
Then he called Polovich to see if he and his former subordinates could be ready for combat soon.
(To be continued.
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