【11月15日】看軍聞學英語

■刀客

原文：

Before the mission began, Payne's team spent an entire week planning and rehearsing, according to an Army account of the operation. The mission received a green light when intelligence showed the hostages' lives were in imminent danger.

What was significant was, there were freshly dug graves, and if we didn't action this target, then the hostages would probably have been executed, Payne said in the video interview.

Payne's team was responsible for clearing one of the buildings in the prison compound.

As we maneuvered to the building, we threw up the ladders, Payne said. The other part of my team went over to their blocking position; that's when we heard that there was a man down, and it was Master Sgt. Josh Wheeler.

中譯：

根據美國陸軍對該行動的描述，在任務開始之前，佩恩的小隊花了整整1週的時間進行計畫及演練。當情報顯示人質的性命迫在眉睫之際，任務終獲准執行。

佩恩在錄影採訪中表示，要命的是，當時已有新墳開挖的跡象，倘若他們不對這個目標採取行動，人質很可能就會被處決了。

佩恩的小隊負責肅清監獄營舍的其中1棟建築物。

佩恩說，當他們機動到達該棟建築物時，就把梯子整個拋出，小隊另一股人員則變換至阻絕位置，就在那時，他們得知有1個人倒地不起，那個人正是惠勒二等士官長。

－關鍵軍語－

※blocking position:

A defensive position so sited as to deny the enemy access to a given area or to prevent the enemy’s advance in a given direction.

例句：

The Australian troops set up a number of blocking positions to contain insurgents.

澳洲部隊設置一些阻絕陣地，以遏制叛亂分子的行動。