Charlie Don't Surf

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

- 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 don't charge into the next room. Doing so will get the player a nice ammount 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 ice 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're 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're dead, go right, then when yhe 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 layer 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 theres a door with allies near it. Get near the door and they'll 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 doesn't 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 playre 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'll 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'll open up a door on the left. Inside is the exit.

Tips

 * When entering the Broadcast room, if you don't step far enough in the room then the enemies won't pour out. This is a great advantage for you. Firstly, chuck grenades at the doorways where the enemies come out. Then run forward as close to the room in front of you as you can 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 you keep to the rooms.


 * When you reach the upper floor, if you look out the windows you can see troops needing supporting fire. If you want a bit of fun, then make your way back through the whole of the building and you can kill all of the enemies non-stop. They appear out of nowhere down the passageway entering the car park, so if you remain looking at that area the no more enemies will appear. But if you look away for a second and look back then they will reappear.
 * When the truck with the mounted Browning drives by you can take it out by shooting the hood once with a shotgun. This will prevent you from taking any further damage from it when it comes around.

Enemy Intelligence



 * Laptop 5 is located in the first building that you check in for Al-Asad. When you go down the stairs into the basement, toss a flashbang into the corner room then enter it and knife the two enemies inside. Beware, if you don't throw a flashbang and go in the room your most likely to be killed.


 * Laptop 6 is hard to find as it is in one of the random buildings you walk past. 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.

Xbox 360 Achievements

 * 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

 * At the end of the level, if you get far ahead of the group, two randomly generated Marines will spawn at the door. Although far behind, Griggs will still say his line ("I think he's in there, I hear him". The door will be breached. Only you and the randomly generated Marines will be in the room for quite some time.
 * After exiting the HQ building, the dead Marine scripted to be outside of the door will sometimes be frozen in mid-air.
 * After roping down, look left a bit and you will see an Infinity Ward logo on a wall.
 * Immediately after roping down,run to where some Marines are putting a barbed wire.When you run to the spot before they have covered it completely,you will notice that there will already be a invisible barrier,and you cannot get past.
 * All of the Marines that have landed, besides the ones with Vasquez and the ones that put up the barbed wire mysteriously die after the player clears the first building.
 * The mission's title is a reference to the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.
 * The TV station is based on the real-life Aljazeera Arabic newsroom.
 * The player can gain access to a Browning M2HB heavy machine gun if they manage to glitch outside of map. It has been taken out of the newer patches of the game.
 * When you rope down the helicopter, the Marine that ropes down first isn't always wearing gloves (he would be wearing gloves if you are continuing playing from the previous level). In real life he would have to wear gloves or else it would burn away the skin on his palms.
 * When you are storming the first building, there is a group of Marines standing at the other entrance to the same building. When you have cleared out the building and exit it you will notice that they have all been killed. It's unclear as to who or what killed them since it's triggered when you are fighting inside, but once exiting the building OpFor will be firing from another building on the other side of the wall, which could be the reason
 * All marines except Lt. Vasquez and SSgt. Griggs (wielding an M16 with a grenade launcher and an M249 SAW, respectively) are carrying standard M4A1 Carbines with the Aimpoint Red Dot Sight and Foregrip.
 * You can be killed by the first breaching charge on the door when entering the first building.
 * After going on the second floor of the television station, shooting enemies in the car park, Griggs will say "Watch your six, Devil Dog". Devil Dog is a nickname for the Marines given by the Germans in World War I.
 * Many players have compared the beginning of this mission to that of the landing of US military forces during the Battle of Mogadishu, which has been portrayed in the book and film, Black Hawk Down.


 * Also, after you fast rope down from the Black Hawk, there will be a dead Marine by the rope. This is another reference to Black Hawk Down where a young Pvt. Blackburn slipped and fell from his Black Hawk while trying to fast rope down and was critically wounded.
 * Another reference to the film, in the beginning you can notice the OpFor are burning tires. (in the movie Somali civilians burned tires to signal to the militia that the Rangers were coming).


 * Sometimes an RPG will hit a friendly chopper as you're flying to the fast-rope point but nothing will happen.


 * Cpt. Price said in the previous mission that the American invasion was to begin in a few hours. However, Blackout takes place at night, meaning that a few hours would probably be early morning. This is not the case since the time of the invasion is around 13:45. The town on the Persian Gulf and the Caucasus mountains are in the same time zone, so this is continuity error on the writers part or Cpt. Price just said "a few hours" to keep Nikolai quiet. That is, however, unlikely because after that line Cpt. Price asks Nikolai "why?", to continue the discussion.


 * If you listen closely to the TV with Al-Asad speaking, he says a line that was not heard during the Coup level. He may have spoken the line after he executed Al-Fulani.


 * Occasionally, Blackhawks passing by will shoot at hostiles. Sometimes while inside the Broadcast station tracers will pass through the roof and into the ground.


 * Right before the part where the pick up truck with the Browning 50. cal is a building on the right where there are a few OpFor. Sometimes, one of them will have an M249 SAW that you can take if you kill him.
 * The sound of the Browning 50. cal that is outside of the map is also used in the DS version of Modern Warfare.
 * SSgt. Griggs can be seen with several rap CDs on his vest.
 * In the Wii version of the game the TV screens don't move and you can't destroy them
 * In the last part of this mission you can shoot and destroy the TV on the left side of the little walled in area of the recording room and Griggs will still change the channel
 * In the TV station, if the initial Marines die, more Marines will constantly spawn with different names. They always spawn until you kill every Tango in the room.
 * The tires burning in this level is a reference to Black Hawk Down, in which civilians burn tires to warn the militia of US forces.
 * If you use the noclip cheat,and head over to the docks,you will see some helicopters in the distance.Go over there and the Blackhawk helicopters will hover over the water. The pilots of the helicopters will be the random marines. If you stand over the rotor blade, and disable the noclip, you will get killed, and the unfitting message will say: "You were killed by an exploding barrel. Red barrels are likely to explode when shot".
 * All of the guns in the first HQ building include the following: two RPG-7s, four M9 pistols, one USP .45, seven AK-47s (four on the table, three on a wooden crate to your right when you enter the room.), three AK-74u's (two on the table, the third is on a green crate in the room you are told to throw a flashbang into), three SVD Dragunovs, ( two on the table, the third is on a wooden crate across from the area of the table with frag grenades), three W1200's, and one AK-47 Grenadier.
 * If you let the technical move on so it parks in an alley, then shoot it so it explodes, the explosion will kill you no matter how far away you are from the technical when it blows up.
 * During the beginning of the mission briefing when the helicopters are taking off from their launch pads, Captain Pelayo's dialogue from Shock and Awe can be heard saying "Outlaw, this is Deadly, refueled and fully loaded."
 * If you listen closely to the rap CD Griggs puts into the radio at the end, you will hear that it is playing "Church," a rap song by Sean Price. The full song can be found in CoD's music folder ("armada_seanprice_church.m4a").
 * It's interesting to know that just before the first breach all the marines against the wall have W1200 shotguns.
 * The video camera in the same room is invincible, but if you shoot the camera, bullets will go through it. If there is a Marine on the other side, he will be killed without you receiving the friendly fire fail message.
 * This is the only USMC mission where you can use the USP.45.
 * On the Wii version, if the player pauses the game at any point after the first building, the map will show a green arrow (friendly) at the first building. If the player goes back to this point, a marine will still be guarding the breach process.
 * There is an interesting glitch in this level similar to the M2 Browning glitch. If the player manages to get out of the map before storming the TV station and go in front of the building, where the huge glass windows are, then the three Abram tanks that the player originally watches passing by, from the inside of the building, will instantly spawn and continue their scripted path. However, when the player returns to the map and after clearing the newsroom gets in the stairs room (where he meets Griggs and his squad) the marine will still say "Yeah, there go our boys!", mentioning the tanks. No Abram tanks can be seen though this time, as they've already spawned earlier.
 * If the player manages to kill the driver of the pick-up that carries the M2 Browning machine gun, then he can notice that on the base of the M2's tuuret there are some ammunition rounds. Now, if the player starts shooting the vehicle in order to destroy it, when it catches on fire the ammunition rounds will explode, making a sound like fireworks and leaving smoke trails in the air. Then, the pick-up will explode normally.

Transcript
See Charlie Don't Surf/Transcript.

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1NxG3-pDWM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhvyf3z1IjI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrUchGucJvU