Charlie Don't Surf

"We're gonna secure the perimeter and grab Al-Asad. Oorah? Lock and load!"

- Lt. Vasquez

Charlie Don't Surf is the fifth level in ''Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. ''Giving the player control of USMC Sergeant Paul Jackson for the first time in the game, the level sees Jackson and the 1st. Force Recon Marines involved in a hard-hitting raid against an Arabian coastal town in order to capture Khaled Al-Asad.

Plot Summary
Reacting swiftly to the death of President Al-Fulani at the hands of Al-Asad, the US Department of Defense decides to launch an invasion on the small unnamed Middle Eastern nation, in hopes of restoring order to the area and removing Al-Asad from power. A fleet of aircraft carriers, Amphibious Assault Ships and other Navy ships stationed in the Persian gulf deploys United States Marines from 1st Force Reconnaissance Company to a small coastal Gulf town, via Blackhawk helicopters. According to US Military Intelligence and Marine Spotters, Al-Asad is broadcasting propaganda from a radio station on the west side of the town. Flying through anti-aircraft and RPG-7 fire, the Blackhawk helicopters manage to deploy the Marines about 60 yards from the target building, who fast-rope down and proceed towards the hq building. The back door is breached and the raid is quick and decisive, but Al-Asad's body is not amongst the tangos.

Receiving a report that Al-Asad has taken over a local television station half a kilometer east and is broadcasting from there, the Marines move to secure the new objective. Under the chaos of low-flying fighter jets and patrolling Blackhawks, the Marines prowl their way through the town, strategically defending themselves from enemy tangos. After securing a bombed-out building and parking lot, they proceed towards the side entrance of the TV station. They breach and clear the first room and proceed to the main broadcasting studio, where they encounter heavy resistance. After the main studio is cleared, they proceed to a large open hall, where the Marines regroup with their other team. The unit proceeds upstairs to the studio and busts down the door, however Al-Asad is nowhere to be found. In fact, the entire room is empty and the broadcast was simply on a loop. Despite the considerable losses inflicted upon Al-Asad's forces and the capture of the town itself as a front line for the main invasion, the battle remains a strategic loss for the Americans, as their primary target has slipped away, presumably to the Presidential Palace.

Getting Started
The player will spawn in a Blackhawk helicopter.

After fast-roping down, take a left and go through an alley. At the end, there is a square building with allies in its side. Get near the door the allies are against. One of them will place a bomb on the door. After the door is blown open, go in first and eliminate the two hostiles. After the dust settles, Lt. Vasquez will order the player to take point. Move down the stairs, but do not charge into the next room. Doing so will get the player a nice amount of lead in the players stomach and a restart screen to scream at. Instead, get positioned so the player can toss a flashbang against the far wall, into the room. Only after it goes off should the team move in. Take down the hostile directly in front, polish off the two on the right, then move slightly farther into the room and kill the Tango standing behind the box. A Tango armed with a W1200 will spawn in the small room directly behind the player, but nine out of ten times Vasquez and Massey will neutralize him before he can do any damage. (Flashbang and clear that small room to pick up an Intel). Move to the closest doorway, bounce a flashbang off the wall into the room, then move in and clear the area. Move to the right of the green ammo boxes to take down two Tango's on the right, then move to that corner to eliminate another two or three that come from a door on the left. After that the entire building is clear, leaving the player free to pick from the munitions on the table in the main room. Taking a shotgun is tempting, but keep in mind that most of this level's combat will take place at ranges exceeding the shotguns effective range. In all cases, keeping the player's M9 pistol or picking up the USP .45 is probably the best way to go. The player can also grab an AK for extra firepower, although it takes longer to switch to it than it does a pistol. There is also the choice of taking a Dragunov, which helps when street sweeping and taking enemies out on rooftops. Feel free to move on.

Street Cleaning
Now that the player is back on the street, The player can either go forward or go right. Going forward means the player will be flooded with troops firing at the player from the roof. If the player goes right, The player will have to fight troops in a relatively tight area with thin walls. The right area is easier because the player can catch the troops while they are coming in.

From where the player is, turn right, and the player will see some troops firing at him/her from near a car. The player can do the usual flashbang, or toss a primed grenade at the car, causing it to explode and take out all the nearby troops. Either way, when they are dead, go right, then when the player gets near the car, go left.

The player will be in a yard with a structure made out of tin in the center. Go to the right, then up.The player will see troops pouring in. Flashbang them, then finish them off. The player might have to go back and pick them off because some might not get hit by the flashbang. When the area is cleared out, go forward and the player will see a building on the player's right. Go in it and climb up the stairs. The player will find a W1200, AK-47, AKS-74u, AK-47 Grenadier, M9 and Dragunov, along with a troop and an intel piece. The player can grab what ever is need, then go out and go forward.

Get back on the street and keep going until the player gets to an area with tires on the sides. When the player gets near the area, an enemy with a .50 machine gun will perform a drive-by on the player. When the player sees him, The player should run back and wait for him to drive away to the road on the opposite side. When the player sees him driving away, he should take him out. To the right of the opposite street are troops equipped with RPG-7s, so fire though the walls to take them out before they fire. They'll keep on respawning, so when there's a break, run across to the opposite street.

At this location look to the right and look for a staircase. When the player sees it, go up and the player will find a room filled with weapons. There's a AK-47, Dragunov, RPG-7, W1200, AK-74U, AK-47 Grenadier, and intel. The player can grab whatever he needs. The player should get to the top of the stairs and pick off the troops in front of him.

Now the player has a choice. The player can either go left into an alley, go straight, then take a left to skip a fight and go straight into the TV Station, or go forward, then left to take out some troops, then go to the station.

If the player is going straight, go forward, then take a left at the end. The player will see some enemies on the second floor of a building to the right and some hiding behind a cement wall. Take out the enemies on the second floor (the player might have to shoot through the wall in order to get them), then focus on the wall guys. After taking out both sets of troops, get rid of the troops in the ruined building, then head to the station by going forward, taking a left, then going right.

Raiding the TV Station
Once there, take a right and there's a door with allies near it. Get near the door and they will blow it open.

Inside are some troops to the left. Take them out, then look through the doorway in the middle of the room to see more troops. Take them out, then go forward, then take a right.

Once in the control room. On the other side is a server room filled with troops, begin firing at the troops. Some may enter the control room from the right, so keep an eye out there for any troops. Troops tend to hide behind the windows, so fire at the walls under them to flush out hiding troops. Run through the control room into the server room and take out anybody that's left. Be careful not to run into any troops going through the room.

At the end, the player will see the main room. This area can be pretty daunting if the player does not know what to do because of its size and that enemies are pouring in from the upper-right corner. First off, do not run forward and enter the office area. It's a deathtrap. The player can try to plant some claymores to kill troops charging at him. Then turn right and begin walking past the uninhabited rooms. These rooms have respawners in them, and running by them disables them. Eventually, the player will see a room in front of him. the player goes through it and begins taking out the enemies in front of him. Make sure to take out the enemies on the second floor as well, because at least one of them has an RPG-7, and he will fire it. The enemies are being churned out by a respawner in a room on the right, so the player will have to get close to shut it down. The player should wait until he thinks there are few enemies, then run to the room and enter it. Even if there are a few enemies, toss a flashbang just in case.

When the player gets near the room, the player can run into it and wait for his allies to catch up. When they come up, they will destroy a door on the left, revealing the main lobby that the player saw earlier. Go straight, then take a left. The player will see some allies, including Griggs, come in through a door to the right of a stairway. After they introduce themselves, go up the staircase and follow the path to a dead end. Near the end of this scene the player can wait for his allies to come up. When they get there, they will open up a door on the left. Inside is the exit.

Tips

 * When breaching the first building, you can simply spray bullets through the wall before the door is breached. This will clear the first room.
 * When entering the Broadcast room, if the player does not step far enough into the room, then the enemies will not pour out. This is a great advantage. Firstly, chuck grenades at the doorways where the enemies come out. Then run forward to the room in front as close as possible but remain behind cover, shoot everyone in the room and keep to rooms. The enemies in the Broadcast main room are on unlimited, but they stop if one keeps to the rooms.


 * When reaching the upper floor, if the player looks out the windows, one can see troops needing supporting fire. If the player wishes, he/she can make way back through the whole of the building and can kill all of the enemies non-stop. They appear out of nowhere down the passageway entering the car park. Therefore, if the player remains looking at that area, then no more enemies will appear. But if one looks away (even for a brief moment) and looks back, then they will reappear.
 * When the truck with the mounted Browning drives by, the player can destroy it by shooting the hood once with a shotgun. This will prevent any further damage from it when it comes around.
 * This mission is great for Arcade Mode, considering the large number of cars that are each worth 200 points.
 * In the broadcast room, plant claymores on the right and left sides where enemies attack. Be sure to do it fast as enemies come out.
 * After searching the first building (have an Dragunov), the player should jump on to the red car to the right. The player can easily pick off people their fellow teammates are shooting at.

Enemy Intelligence



 * Laptop 5 is located in the first building that is searched for Al-Asad. When going down the stairs into the basement, toss a flashbang into the corner room then enter it and knife the two enemies inside.


 * Laptop 6 is hard to find as it is in one of the random buildings. After regrouping with the rest of the squadron, push North, keeping an eye out for a heavily-damaged house with blue walls on the first floor. The intel is on the second floor.


 * Laptop 7 is also in a random house closer to the TV station. It is a house next to a pile of wrecked cars. Locate the stairs on the building (the stairs are on the outside of the building, not the inside) and head upstairs. The laptop is on the rooftop.

Achievements & Trophies

 * The Search is obtained by completing the level on Veteran difficulty (40 points).


 * Your Show Sucks is obtained by destroying all the TV's in this level broadcasting Al-Asad's speech (20 points). (Video Guide)


 * Roadkill can be obtained by grabbing the RPG in the HQ building and blowing up the car on the right when the enemies come.

Trivia
See Charlie Don't Surf/Trivia

Transcript
See Charlie Don't Surf/Transcript.

Video
Gameplay of "Charlie Don't Surf"