Operation Nightfall

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Operation Nightfall is a fictional military operation referred to in the Fox television show 24.

The mission took place in Kosovo exactly two years before the events of Day 1. It was the motive behind Season 1 and the base of the terrorist's plot in Season 3.

Beginning November 2006, a new six-part Comic titled, 24: Nightfall will also tell the story of Jack's doomed mission.

[edit] Operation

The operation, led by Captain Jack Bauer of the US Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force), was authorized by Senator David Palmer and organized by NSA agent Robert Ellis. Bauer and his team, which also consisted of Special Air Service trained MI6 agent Stephen Saunders, executed a HALO (High-Altitude, Low-Opening) parachute jump into Kosovo to avoid NATO radar, as the operation was in direct violation of NATO parameters.

Once they had made visual confirmation of Victor Drazen, they were to call down "Hammer One" - the codename for the F-18 Hornet that would make the air strike against the Drazen Compound.

Team leader was Jack Bauer. They arrived at the Drazen compound at 0800 hours and completed reconnaissance at 0900 hours. At 1111 hours they spotted an armored car approach the compound and watched the man they assumed to be Victor Drazen enter the house. They called Hammer One who had an ETA of 6 minutes.

After the explosion, Bauer called for them to leave the area when he heard shots and realized their radios were being jammed. Bauer hurried to their position to find Shelton, Gardener and Graham dead. Illjec and Peltz were on their way to the extraction point. Bauer followed them and realised they were being tracked by their radio frequency and attacked. It was too late for the others who were shot and killed by the remainder of Drazen's men who had located them as they called to be picked up. The house was laser-designated, and it was originally thought that Stephen Saunders had gotten too close to the blast and had died as a result, though it was later realized this was not the case (see below). Every member of the Delta Force detachment, with the exception of Captain Bauer, perished in the operation.

The members of the team that were with Jack Bauer were:

• Warrant Officer Dwayne Shelton
• First Sergeant Brice Gardener (Weapons Specialist)
• First Sergeant Haj Illijec (Communications Specialist)
• First Sergeant Gary Graham (Medical Specialist)
• Technical Sergeant Roger Voss (Air Force Special Operations combat controller)
• Master Sergeant Fred Peltzer (Intelligence Specialist)
• Operational Officer Stephen Saunders (MI6 Officer)

[edit] Aftermath and Results

During the events depicted in Day 1, Jack, who had since left the military and joined the Los Angeles branch of the Counter Terrorist Unit, discovered that Victor Drazen was alive. When he was captured by Drazen, Jack learned that the building had been occupied by a body double, and that Drazen's real wife and daughter had been inside the building. Bauer then realized that all the attacks of that day amounted to a personal vendetta designed by Victor's sons Andre and Alexis, against Jack Bauer, David Palmer, and even Robert Ellis for the events of Operation Nightfall. The revenge was intended to be "an eye for an eye." This kind of retaliation is also known as "Blowback."

It was also later revealed in Day 3 that Stephen Saunders had actually survived the blast and had been kept captive and tortured by Serbian forces for two years. During this time Saunders underwent a profound change of character. When he finally escaped, he had a vendetta against the United States' foreign policy and blamed the country, as well as Jack Bauer, for what happened to him. This eventually culminated with his acquisition of a new strain of a very deadly virus and attempt to release it which is the main terrorist plot theme throughout Day 3.

[edit] Trivia

• In The House Special Subcommittee's Findings at CTU, as reported by Marc Cerasini, several classified details on this Operation were revealed. With some contradictions to Day 3, the entire Delta Team led by Jack Bauer was revealed. Noting how each of these men mostly died from gunshots, it appears that Jack entirely neglected to mention the very existence of Stephen Saunders, perhaps to avoid a confrontation with MI6 should they gain access to the report. However, since the book was released in early 2003, many months before Season 3, it's likely the author had not known about the Stephen Saunders plotline and therefore was not mentioned in the book. The six men killed were:
  • Warrant Officer Dwayne Shelton
  • First Sergeant Brice Gardener
  • First Sergeant Haj Illijec
  • First Sergeant Gary Graham
  • Master Sergeant Fred Peltzer
  • Technical Sergeant Roger Voss (Agent on the side, to be met with at the end of the operation)