Having utilized the same infiltration method of three black suburban’s with counterfeit government license plates, and federal agency identification for those within, gaining entry onto the appropriate military base had been easy. Subsequently, the removal of the assigned parachute jumpers and the substitution of them by that different group of fourteen attackers had also proved to be no problem. In so doing, the early phase of the Annapolis segment within the three pronged attack had gone according to plan. Even the jump had gone well with significant damage being inflicted upon Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and the military personnel present for the game. Where the plan had run into snags, was during the attempted escape from the target area in the moments following the attack.

Unlike the Air Force Academy in Colorado, or the United States Military Academy in New York, the Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland plays their home football games at a facility that is not actually on the academy grounds. Although certainly in close proximity, the stadiums location is adjacent to route-70 part of the way north from campus toward the nearby east/west directional traffic artery of highway-50. A portion of the surrounding area is residential, with many of the streets and roadways providing alternate access to the same highway. With understanding that the fourteen attackers needn’t be concerned with a potential security lockdown of the academy following the attack, one could theorize that their escape would be made easier. Unfortunately for those fourteen men, there was a known factor that would balance, if not tip the scales, in the opposite direction.

Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, through a series of upgrades after the dawn of the twenty first century, had become nearly completely enclosed around the playing surface. The south end of the stadium would provide no avenues for ease of escape, while the north end offered only two possibilities that could both prove to be difficult at best.

It was therefore decided during the planning stages of the attack back in late March that a few of the point detonated PAW-20 Neopup grenades would be kept in reserve to aid in establishing an escape route. As a consequence of that decision less would be launched toward certain areas of the crowd, but it was a necessary sacrifice. Unfortunately that issue became slightly magnified when the attack plan also called for an assault on three regions of the stadium as opposed to the two main zones at West Point. Unlike the three and four man formation within each of the two waves of jumpers that would strike West Point, the plan for Annapolis was to have each wave in a two, three, two formation.

Floating down with flags trailing into their prearranged choreography, the first two with the larger and more potent grenades from the Hawk MM-1 MGL launcher focused on the east side and the modern media center housed within. The other five split their attention onto two separate areas of the west side, with the three man group striking first at the older multi-level press box with grenades. Then they used their automatic weapons on the lower level seating area where many of the high ranking naval officers were located, while the final two of the seven simultaneously concentrated all of their collective firepower where the current Midshipmen were standing in the sections just north of their superiors. The second wave, scarcely more than an instant behind, had used the same attack pattern, but they were the ones who held back some of the ammunition for the escape.

With those in attendance rendered either dead, injured, or in a state of disbelief and shock, the attacking force shed their parachutes, flags, and all of their empty weapons just as their brethren in both New York and Colorado were simultaneously doing. Then the men turned away from the stadiums closed in southern portion where both teams of the Navy Midshipmen and the visiting Wake Forest University Demon Deacons were located, and made for the large grassy hill beyond the north end zone. Unfortunately, even though the Midshipmen in attendance had been thinned out considerably, some were still available to potentially block the intended escape path.

Scampering up the hill of the northwest corner between the Middies and those civilians with end zone seats above the grass embankment, the tight formation of fourteen began to encounter more resistance than had been anticipated. Waving their silenced side arms as a deterrent, the outer ring protected those few who still had their grenade launchers from many of the advancing hoard. Then when two of the grenades were used to blast a gaping hole in the perimeter fence, the group attempted to spill through unscathed while heading for the adjacent parking area. In so doing, one attacker was tackled by a trio of civilians who were braver than their appearance would imply. Before he could rise, two of them began punching him repeatedly in the kidneys and the backs of his legs while the third kicked him forcefully in the ribs several times. Fortunately there were two of his fellow attackers nearby, and as one held the crowd at bay, the other knocked two of the civilians into unconsciousness with the butt of his grenade launcher before shooting the third with his silenced sidearm. Then joined by yet another of the attacking force, they helped their battered friend stager to his feet and pressed on.

Another of the force, while moving into the mass of parked cars for cover, was shot in the arm by a Maryland State Trooper from a distance of about twenty-five yards. To hit a moving target at that range with a 45-caliber Smith & Wesson would have been difficult for a civilian, but the Trooper was a different matter. The wound created by the jacketed hollow point round was not severe enough to keep the man from continued forward movement, but it did knock him off his feet momentarily which created the additional misfortune of having his silenced sidearm slip from his grasp to slide far beneath a car. As he attempted to rise, he heard another shot from the direction of the trooper, and the safety glass window next to his head exploded into hundreds of pieces. Fortunately for him, it was the last shot that the trooper could squeeze off in his direction, as the law man was then eliminated by two silenced close range shots from behind.

Waiting beyond the parking areas were three escape vehicles, two vans and one car, which sat at pre-designated locations for what had been intended to be a quiet recovery of human cargo. The driver of the blue van which had been positioned in the large parking area east of the stadium a few hours earlier, and then remotely detonated after the attack as a diversionary tactic, now waited in the white van with her counterpart. While perched in the window frame with head and shoulders above the roof line, she looked through a set of binoculars and noticed that the attacking force had run into some difficulties. Sensing the need, she climbed from her perch to stand upon the roof in order to signal members of the attacking force. Having then spotted her position on Farragut Road from a distance, six of the fourteen attackers, which included the two slightly wounded men, made their way toward her. The other eight moved further to the west where another vehicle and the red van were waiting along Cedar Park Road near the corner of Farragut. As that group closed to within fifty yards of their rides, they saw the white van pass by and then turn right onto Glen Avenue. Within seconds they climbed into their own getaway vehicles, and each of the drivers informed them that their counterpart had held up a closed fist followed by a single index finger when she drove past. She had repeated the gesture as verification of her signal that she had picked up six members of the attacking force. Although it was now confirmed that all fourteen jumpers had been accounted for, their successful escape from the area was far from secure.