The Only Easy Day... Was Yesterday

"Boys, I know I'm sending you into the meat grinder on this one..." "They're defending it, so it means we want it. Especially if it gets us to Six-Two-Seven."

- General Shepherd and Captain MacTavish

 is a singleplayer level of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The player controls Gary "Roach" Sanderson. The objective is to take over an oil rig being used as a SAM site by the Russians so Task Force 141, as well as the U.S. Navy and Air Force, can safely assault The Gulag. The player will begin the level by riding on a SEAL Delivery Vehicle (also known as SDV) from the USS Chicago, a Los Angeles-class submarine, to the oil rig. At various points of the level, the player will have to choose where to breach into a room. After breaking into it, the player will move in slow-motion as they kill the various enemies and save the hostages. As you work your way up the oil rig, you will encounter a Little Bird helicopter (at which point some enemies will rappel down from the upper deck); There is an AT4 in the immediate vicinity, and several rocket launchers behind you. Once you reach the top deck, the enemy will deploy smoke. Your SCAR with Thermal Scope will come in handy, but if you replaced it, there are several F2000 and PP2000 with Thermal Scopes nearby. This is a good place to use your claymores as the enemy may try to flank you around the cargo containers. Once the area is clear, there is a final breaching door; be especially careful on this one. Not only are there hostages, but also explosive barrels. Take care of the enemy that rushes you, then carefully aim at all the other enemies. Once all enemies are dead, you will join Soap on the helipad and climb onto a Little Bird, which will take you to a Russian gulag

.

Intel Items
Intel No. 21 (1/3 Intel) After 1st breach, go up 2 flights of stairs. A room just before outside, a middle shelf facing South.

Intel No. 22 (2/3 Intel) After 2nd breach and plan B. Inside a small room North of the stairs to 2nd level, on one of the shelf.

Intel No. 23 (3/3 Intel) On 2nd level, near the stairs before 3rd breach. Enter the building facing west, then turn North.

Trivia

 * The level's title is derived from the motto of the U.S. Navy SEALs "The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday".
 * In the art book, it is stated that originally, there were plans for a campaign level that had the player controlling a U.S. Navy SEAL team member, leading to the inspiration of this level, and Oil Rig takedowns are something SEALs train for. Also, the infiltration method, is via SDVs. It is very possible, that some of the TF141 members are SEALs themselves.
 * It is strange that Russian soldiers take their own people hostage, although they clam themselves Ultranationalists.
 * As a possible nod to the SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs series, one of the TF141 members that assists in this section has the callsign "Boomer", the same name of a SEAL team member from the series, along with "Jester", another reference as well.
 * The player's team (Team 1) is launched from the dry deck shelter (DDS) of the USS Chicago (SSN-721) while Team 2 is launched from the USS Dallas (SSN-700). Both are Los Angeles-class submarines. In the present day, the Dallas is indeed a DDS-capable submarine; however, the Chicago is not. Of course, by the year 2016 (the time during which the game takes place), it is possible that the Chicago could be converted into a DDS host ship. Also of note: during the mission briefing, the Chicago's DDS is erroneously shown fitted in front of the sub's sail structure. However, in the actual mission, the DDS modules are correctly configured aft of the sail on both subs.
 * The Russian helicopter actually is a Little Bird which are only use by US Special Ops forces.
 * The ocean colours and design are the same as the blue tiger camouflage.
 * The submarines U.S.S. Chicago and U.S.S. Dallas were both featured in Tom Clancy novels, Red Storm Rising, and The Hunt for Red October, respectively.
 * When fellow TF141 members help you out of the water after you take out the guard it is unknown how you get out of your scuba gear, or if you even remove it before you move out to secure the hostages.
 * The body the player plants C4 on in one of the rooms is scripted to lay in that location and is dead as soon as the player breaches the room.
 * When the player places the C4 and blows it up, the soldiers which were in the room are still in one piece, which is odd, because in real life, they would be blown to pieces, this was probably done to keep the violence low, and Robert Bowling himself confirmed that there was no dismemberment in the game.
 * After the player plants C4, the hostages can be seen (if you look quickly enough) being escorted downstairs. The hostages then go downstairs where you cant follow them.
 * At the end of the level, the player gains the sniper rifle that they will use in the next level, and there is no way to replace it.
 * This is the only mission in which the Marines are physically seen, as they rope down a helicopter to disarm the SAM sites and rescue the hostages; however, they all wear the Army Combat Uniform, as opposed to the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform. This was likely done to conserve memory and disc space resources.
 * A PP2000 with a Thermal Scope can be found in this level, though it's not an attachment in multiplayer.
 * It is interesting to note that after ambushing the patrol after detonating the C4, the M4 SOPMOD and the SCAR-H Silenced w/ Thermal Sight both lose their respective silencer after detonating the C4. However, if the player exchanges one of these weapons for another, and picks it up again after detonating the C4, they will retain their silencers.
 * The Russians can still fire through the smoke screen, despite their weapons do not have thermal scopes attached.
 * At the end of the mission when you are in the Little Bird, you pull out an M14 EBR with a scope. Even though you may already have 2 other weapons you still equip this. It may be possible a crew member on the Little Bird gave it to you.
 * It is strange that the guns you start with would operate correctly, because many waterlogged guns would jam or would not fire at all. FN SCARs, M4s and HK MP5Ks however would operate in such circumstances, as they were specifically designed for extreme conditions.
 * Team One is comprised of Soap, Ghost, Roach and Peasant who doesn't get replaced after getting killed.
 * Peasant always carries a MP5K with red dot and silencer, but sometimes it has red camo.
 * Team Two which comprises of Robot and Zach disappear after rescuing the second group of hostages directly after you plant the C4. However, two Zodiac boats carrying what appears to be the freed hostages, can be seen leaving the oil rig after the second group of hostages are rescued. It is most likely this is Team Two.
 * When the Little Bird comes to attack you after troops rope in, it is possible to shoot down the Little Bird with an RPG, M203, or an AT-4, but you have to aim and fire it fast before it blinds you with a searchlight and its guns tear you apart.
 * The soldier that the player drags underwater and kills always has the same model, while the one opposite him will always be different. Likewise, the soldier having a smoke while leaning over the rails will always be the same.
 * If the player alerts the helicopter that is seen patrolling the perimeter, it will spin up its guns, and they will fail the mission and receive the message "You have alerted the enemy - the hostages have been executed."
 * If the player ignores the enemy helicopter when it attacks them, it will continue to pursue them all the way to the top deck, providing the player stays in its spotlight. If they evade its light, it will stay on lower decks searching for them. It will instantly disappear when the player breaches the final room.
 * The "breaching charge" used is actually a Frame Charge, which is typically used to blast holes in walls or blow out windows. An actual Breaching Charge used by Special Forces is a small pack of plastic explosive on the end of a stick or a frail rod. When used it is leaned on the door with the explosive near the middle to clear the doorway evenly. Strangely, such a tactic was discarded more than a decade ago when breaching rounds were found more favorable. On rare occasions real Breaching Charges were effectively used as door traps.
 * Of the two pilots on your helicopter at the end of the level, the pilot on Soap's side, the side on which you are supposed to sit, has the model of Lt. Volker from Shock and Awe, whereas the other has the model of Cpt. Pelayo, the female pilot you rescue also in Shock and Awe. The female pilot also has the last name Pelayo.
 * The two pilots at the end have enlisted ranks; this is impossible as pilots are neither officers or warrant officers.
 * If you look at the soldiers riding on the Little Birds as the mission ends, you can see they are character models of the Army Rangers instead of the TF141 operators.
 * If you look at the pilots of the Little Birds at the end of the mission through the thermal scope, you will find that their body heat can not be detected at all.
 * At the beginning, you can see Roach's arms on the SDV.
 * In the mission "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday," Private Roycewicz (from Modern Warfare) can be seen, alive, at the end of the mission riding on the outside plank of a littlebird. It is worth noting that when you put the crosshairs over him, the name that pops up will be "Sgt. Roycewicz," meaning that between the events of Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2, Roycewicz was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
 * After Peasant is killed a random TF141 soldier will be spawned carry an M14 EBR Scoped. He can last until the smoke scene but will be shot down quickly or disappear.
 * Soap is the only one on the Little Bird that does not have an M14 EBR instead an M4.
 * You start off with an M4A1 SOPMOD. It has a silencer, a red dot sight and M203 grenade launcher. After you plant the explosives the silencer disappears and it becomes a Silenced M4A1.
 * In Multiplayer, the Navy Seal's faction borrows character models from the Task Force 141 in this mission