Threat Assessment:
Estimated Number of Hostiles: 48
Estimated Firepower: vz58's, rp46's, Degtyarev's, Dragunov's, Z84's, Grenades, Jeeps, and a BMP.

Introduction

Let me preface this with some administrative notes. This is not your typical walk-through. As an old saying goes, "There's more than one way to skin a cat." Rather than present to you a traditional walk-through with my idea of how this mission should be completed, I have set this up as an intelligence briefing on what you can expect. First, there is basic mission information from your briefing. Next, I break down what you can expect from the opposition forces with regard to strength, equipment, locations and patrol routes. Following that, you will see what kinds of reactions to expect from the enemy. Finally, I will give some tips on potential strategies and tell you what worked for me on this mission. The finally decision about how to tackle this one is entirely up to you. Please note that the whole point of this is to give you 'spoilers' about the mission in order to help you complete it. Please stop reading now if you do not want any surprises ruined.

Briefing

It looks like morale's starting to drop on the other side. We're still getting reports of FDG squads hitting villages on the western side of the island, but we're seeing more defectors every day. With the elections coming up in less than a month, this is a good sign.
The biggest turncoat is a man named Esteban Ordonez, who until three days ago was a high-ranking official in the Priego presidential campaign. Priego's the FDG's candidate, and he's also the one calling the shots on the military side of things. Obviously, getting someone this close to Priego to switch sides is a tremendous break for us.
The bad news is that we got a call from Ordonez about twenty minutes ago. It seems that his assistant figured out that he was going to turn, and ratted him out. He ran for it with an armload of FDG documents, which he hid as soon as he was out of sight. Unfortunately, they caught up to him a few minutes later. We know this because he was literally on the phone with our people when they found him. We don't think he's dead, but that could change at any minute.
Your mission is to rescue Ordonez and get those papers. Find where he hid the parcel, then find him and bring him back alive. Our first flyover of the region showed that they'd moved a BMP in, so you may want to take that out as well. Remember, they're not going to keep Ordonez alive much longer, so there's real time pressure on this one. Best of luck to you, gentlemen. Now get to work.

Opposition Forces

Key: Green = present on all difficulty levels Red = present on elite only Yellow = strength of team varies by difficulty level Click for full image.

B1 = Two men on all difficulty levels. Armed with vz58s. Patrol indicated zone west of bridge.
B2 = Two man patrol in indicated zone, west of team B1. Armed with vz58s.
B3 = One or two man patrol, depending on difficulty. Both armed with vz58s. Patrol zone indicated.
C1 = A two man stationary team at the west end of bridge. Ready for action. Armed with vz58s.
C2 = A two man stationary team at the east end of bridge. Ready for action. Armed with vz58s.
D1 = Stationary team, drinking and smoking. Armed with vz58s and an rp46 on elite. Two present on veteran and three on elite.
E1 = Three man stationary team on eastern path. Two personnel are armed with vz58s, one with a Degtyarev. Patrol zone indicated.
F1 = Two man stationary team. Armed with vz58s.
F2 = One man patrol with z84. Patrols assigned path.
G1 = Three man patrol walking assigned path and armed with vz58s.
H1 = Two man patrol in indicated zone. Armed with vz58s.
H2 = One or two man patrol on veteran and elite. Armed with vz58s. Patrol zone indicated.
I1 = Two man patrol on veteran and elite. Armed with vz58s. Patrol path indicated.
J1 = Four man stationary guard at Ordonez's starting location. Fifth man added on elite. Armed with z84s.
L1 = One or two man stationary guard, armed with vz58s. Stationed at east end of northern bridge.
L2 = Two man stationary guard, armed with vz58s. Stationed at west end of northern bridge..
M1 = Lone sniper armed with Dragunov. Alert and covering bridge from elevated position. Present on veteran and elite.
M2 = One man stationary guard armed with rp46. Covers arc indicated.
P1 = Three man stationary unit armed with z84s.
X = Two men armed with vz58s.
BMP = Armored Personnel Carrier.
Jeep1 = Two men in a jeep, armed with vz58s.
Jeep2 = Two men in a jeep, armed with vz58s.

Enemy & Friendly Plans

Enemy Actions - Some things you need to be aware of. The opposition is not just going to sit back and wait for you on this one. Click for full image.

X = The first thing you should do in this mission is locate the information that Ordonez stashed. If you don't get to it quickly, then this team is going to start sweeping the area and find it. If that happens, you have failed the mission.
Jeep 1 & 2 = Whichever bridge you head to first, the Jeeps will immediately race to, acting as a quicky reaction force. Be ready for them.
Ordonez = After awhile, Ordonez will roam over to the FDG BMP. Once he's there, if the enemy gets alerted to your presence, the BMP will escort him out of the area and you will fail the mission.

Course of Action

As in all Ghost Recon missions, the tactics and plans employed by your team are entirely up to you. There are as many different ways to perform this mission as there are players. Whatever approach you use, just remember to move slow and keep an eye out for that crafty enemy AI. With the upgrade to v1.3, the AI can hear you when you move quickly and they will use decent tactics against you. Reinforcements will make your life difficult. The enemy can shoot well, throw grenades as needed and will outflank you. You need to recover the information, get Ordonez, destroy the BMP and get out of there.

I used a mix of the traditional, team-based approach and the lone-wolf method. Using one specialist on Alpha team, armed with a suppressed M4 carbine, three operatives on Bravo team (one rifleman, and two demo specialists -- one with the MML and one with the M4/AT-4 kit), and a sniper on Charlie, I methodically cleared the map.

I first cleared a route in using Alpha, then brought up Bravo and Charlie for support. As I headed east towards the bridge, I stationed Bravo and Charlie on a hill to cover the road. As I dealt with the forces in the vicinity of the bridge, Bravo and Charlie ambushed the Jeeps that came down the road.

Once I recovered the information, all three teams travelled around the road toward the northern bridge. After clearing the high cover postion, I left the Charlie sniper to cover the bridge from there, then moved Alpha and Bravo down to take out the BMP with the AT-4 and mop up enemy resistance in the area. Ordonez had already linked up the the BMP by the time we got in position. As the BMP crossed the bridge, I took it out, then quickly finished off the FDG infantry before they could kill Ordonez.

Once Ordonez was safe, I had Bravo and Charlie escort him back the way we had come to the exraction zone and used my specialist on Alpha to finish off the enemy forces.

Click for full image