The fallout from Liz’s fight with the contractors came at many levels. New contractors came in and found out that the atmosphere at Ft Campbell was nowhere near what they were used to. The Base Commander directed the Contract officer to advertise for local contractors; to openly solicit local businesses. As regards things that could not be done by locals, there were some contractors that did do things right and they were known; the contract officer contacted them directly. It took some work but in a few months they had things back going again.
At the level of the huge contractors, this was noticed but not cared about. This was not an area they got into so it was not their problem. It was the medium sized contractors that over the years had gotten very fat on government contracts loosely written and loosely enforced that took it in the shorts. They realized that a public fight would see their entire position threatened; and that General Parker had them outgunned. So they just got out and would not consider contracts where she was.
The congressman had been very successful in his conversations with certain members that were for all intents and purposes bought and paid for by contractors. They realized that they had no choice but to stay out of it.
The DCMA, seeing that he had no support, would not have anything to do with Ft Campbell. The rest of his command got the message and any complaints by any contractors from that base would be ignored from then on. That word trickled down fairly quickly. The remaining contractors on Ft Campbell found themselves in the position of having to fully live up to the letter of their contracts and that was something new. The actual running of Ft Campbell began to get better and that was noticed and of course why that was so got out just as fast. Which made the support for Liz grow stronger and harder.
There were honorable companies out there that tried to do right; and they got the word and began to look at Ft Campbell. It was a large base and there were lucrative possibilities there. The Contract officer found companies contacting him that he had never heard from before.
This had all gotten out eventually at the upper level and FORSCOM and XVIII Airborne Corps found themselves talking about it one day not long after.
“So she told the DCMA to go buy a drink using the bribe money?”
“That is what I have heard.”
“That is pretty extreme.”
“But accurate.”
“Telling the truth can sometimes be costly.”
“The hints I get are that she does not care. If it gets too bad she calls a press conference and resigns on air and tells everyone why.”
“Wow. Talk about the nuclear option.”
“Yep. The bodies from there to the Pentagon would be waist deep; and the contractors would be declared public enemy #1. Talk about a wasteland. Needless to say the SECDEF and everyone else backed off. Congress as expected ran and hid. That left the contractors out in the open with her all by themselves. They are not stupid so they folded their tents and snuck out of town.”
“Do you think she would do it?”
“In a heartbeat. I talked with the ex SOCOM chief that knew her pretty well. Basically if she cannot do it her way she will just walk away. No compromises.”
They both contemplated the singularity of someone who would walk away rather than compromise what she thought important.
Unaware of this, and frankly uncaring if she had been, Liz moved along towards the goal of having the best division in the world. One year after taking command, she felt that she was probably as close as she was going to get. So now it was a case of having to maintain it. She was a fairly frequent visitor to the 160th, borrowing a Super Apache to play with; which to her was running the other Super Apache’s ragged. Joe just stood back and watched and his training officer took notes from the acknowledged best.
“That is her hobby?”
“Pretty much. Every other month or so she schedules a day with the 160th and runs their Super Apache battalion ragged.”
The Base Commander had gotten an offer from a friend to go into business and decided to retire. Once Liz heard about this she made a phone call.
“Yo, Jim, how are you doing?”
“Pretty good Liz. What is up?”
“How long have you been at Hood?”
“You know I left Scotland 4 months after you did. So it is just about 2 years here.”
“Do you like it?”
“Why do I think this is a loaded question?”
“Well I recall you saying you were going to retire once.”
“When I got my promotion we decided to just see what happens next. Hood is not a bad posting; a little too hot and dry but not all that bad.”
“How would you like to come back east?”
“And do what?”
“Be base commander at Campbell. The current one is getting out. Since this is unexpected I know that the powers that be have no one in line at the moment.”
“Well, why not?”
“Great. I will get your orders cut. Probably in 60 days.”
Feeling better to have a friend at Campbell, Liz called up IMCOM and made a formal request.
The personnel officer spoke to his chief.
“General Parker wants the new Base Commander at Campbell to be the current one transferred from Hood.”
“Was there anyone already chosen?”
“No sir. This was an unexpected vacancy.”
“Then do it. What she wants she pretty much gets.”
The debate and argument about the capabilities of light divisions vs heavy divisions had not cooled off much. It was still percolating pretty good. The heavy proponents felt they needed to show who was really boss and wanted another face off. The new commander of the 1st ID felt honor bound to prove that the debacle was a onetime thing brought about by an incompetent and rigid commander. From almost the day he took command he was on FORSCOM and TRADOC to schedule a rematch with the 101st. But he was told that due to the expense that doing another one with the same two divisions was not justified. So he then began to push to take on the 82nd. He was told to shut it; but TRADOC did point out that the 82nd had not had a real full division exercise in some time and it was agreed that they and the 3rd ID would go to the NTC for a faceoff.
The commander of the 82nd had been a little ticked off at the thumping given one of his brigades by the 101st and decided that this was a chance to prove he was as good as Parker and accepted the challenge. In February they met and the 3rd ID did well; though not overwhelmingly the winner. The heavy proponents felt somewhat vindicated. The Light proponents shrugged and basically said you did not beat our best and you had more time to get ready since they had a full 90 days. This did very little to settle anything.
Liz observed this and smirked a little; she did not like the commander of the 82nd.
FORSCOM and TRADOC discussed the exercise.
“He did not exactly back up his talk, did he?’
“Still did pretty well all things considered.”
“He did well as long as he could move; but once pinned down he was done. Does not have the same ability to improvise as she does.”
“The comparisons will really frost him now. I know he does not like her.”
“The feeling is completely mutual.”
The commander of the 82nd was very dissatisfied with the exercise and leaned hard on his brigades to improve. His brigade commanders voiced their disapproval for what they felt were needless drills and the like; they had performed quite well they felt given the conditions of the exercise. He became aware of this and had a closed door session with them.
“Right now the 101 and her are considered the best around. I am not satisfied and will not take second place to a glorified rotorhead masquerading as a division commander.”
The Brigade commanders looked at each other and kept quiet. Mostly. But one of them mentioned it to his wife; who really did not like the General and was an admirer of Liz. She talked to a couple of others and it began to leak.
About a week later it came to the attention of XVIII Airborne Corps commander and he was quietly furious. Knowing that confronting the general would result in him working over his brigade commanders to find out who talked, he was determined to put him in his place. He went to TRADOC and let him in on it.
“I think he needs taken down a couple of pegs.”
TRADOC nodded. He also did not like the 82nd’s commander.
“I think we can arrange this.”
Liz received notice of a divisional exercise at Ft Bragg. She smiled. And called in her staff.
“We get to shut him up once and for all people. In 30 days.”
He got off the phone. “I want a staff meeting in one hour. We have 30 days to kick her ass.”
Liz and her staff and the brigade commanders poured over plans for the next week. She looked at them then made a call to TRADOC.
“Sir, would it not be best if we made this a meeting engagement. No plans; last minute taskings and the like?”
“That would seem to be something airborne units should do well. I agree.”
The 82nd commander put down the phone. “Change in plans. Throw them out. This will be a meeting engagement and taskings during the event. So we just have to be ready to react and move fast. We will see who the better commander is.”
The 101st showed up in transports with their helicopters in formation. Liz had calculated this to make a show and further piss him off. It certainly did that.
“He did not show up to greet her?”
“Sent his deputy commander.”
“Does this guy ever get it?”
“Doesn’t look like it.”
The first day Liz was told to take a position that the 1st Brigade of the 82nd was holding; it was in a hilly area. She sent in her Apaches and from range saturated the area with 2.75’s and 30MM; it was shown that a carefully drawn up fire plan put a rocket or shell on virtually every square yard the entire area that the Brigade was in. They demonstrated it on an unoccupied area. Then she sent in hard and fast her Little Boys to drop off raiding teams while the Attack Little Birds covered them. Then put a brigade on each side and squeezed.
It took only 3 hours to take the position. The 101st took 25% casualties while the 82nd brigade was declared virtually destroyed.
The next day the 101st was put in the same position. This time the 3rd Brigade was dropped and told to dig in for attack. Liz had her attack little birds land and get covered with camo netting. She gambled that the 82nd would not look and notice. They did not and brought their helicopters in too close and were massacred.
The 3rd day the entire 82nd was dug in and waited to be attacked. They expected the 101st to maneuver to try and get an advantage before attacking. But Liz through everything she had right at the center of the 82nd’s position without showing anything until the attack. She thus had an overwhelming advantage at the point of attack and followed it up, ironically doing just what a heavy brigade would do. She had her people carry twice the issue of ammunition and use marching fire; whereupon you fire in a general area as you attack. It was over in one hour.
That evening Liz was looking over the last days exercise. It was expected that the entire 101st would be placed in a defensive position and give the 82nd the opportunity to show what it could do on a divisional level. She had some ideas that she discussed with her staff; they were risky but seemed to give them an edge.
At 0600 they received their tasking and as expected it was a divisional defensive operation. Liz looked over the scenario carefully. Then smiled.
He looked at the recon footage and smiled. Finally they had her!
“Plan Baker! We caught her still moving. We will roll them up.”
Liz had been told that the objective was to hold this position; but she was gambling that she could destroy the 82nd without playing defense. She once again used her sustainment personnel to actually dig in on the objective while she partialed out each of her brigades to take down one of the 82nd’s brigades one on one. Basically to let them commit then sweep in around and either flank them or hit them from the rear. Within one hour of the beginning of the exercise it was now basically 4 battles on the ground and one in the air; and while interesting to the observers it did not help the 82nd at all as they were unable to get near the objective. After 8 hours it was declared over. Since the objective had been barely brushed, it was declared solidly held. And the overall casualties favored the 101st 2-1. So four scenarios and four clear victories for the 101st.
That night the 82nd commander drank too much beer and proceeded to air his grievances right out in the street of the middle of the senior officer’s residence area. Which just happened to be where the VIP quarters were as well. And FORSCOM, TRADOC and XVIII airborne were. Since this was at midnight, the ruckus woke them all up.
FORSCOM called XBIII on his cell phone.
“He is under your direct command.”
“I will take care of it.”
Not liking this at all but knowing it was his responsibility XVIII headed over to corral his drunken general. He dragged him into his house; and sat him down.
“General, you are within an ace of being relieved so shut up and SIT DOWN.”
But he kept yelling insults and very explicit remarks about General Parker. Finally XVIII had had enough and called the MPs and had him tossed in the shower and forcefully sobered up.
What no one knew was that one of the teenagers who had been watching this had gotten her cell phone camera and it was one of the new models that had audio as well. She proceeded to share it with a bunch of her friends. The General was not very popular on base. So it would not have surprised anyone that by morning it was on You tube and Face Book both. And not long after that the media found out about it and it was by noon the next day all over everywhere.
The President saw it and was very pissed off. And he passed that down to the SECDEF with orders to take care of it right away. By 1400 that afternoon the general was relieved from his command.
The official critique and review had been canceled and Liz and her staff were trying to find out why when they found out about it. Liz promptly ordered everyone to not say a word and then gathered up her command and left the post immediately; one day ahead of schedule. XVIII called her and informed her that TRADOC would talk to them soon; but for the time being to just go home and keep quiet.
This was a very juicy story and the media loved it. The army was happy that only a part of what the general had been ranting had been captured on video; it was not as bad as some of what he had been saying. And nothing compared to what he had said in his own home in the presence of the XVIII Airborne Corps commander and post MP’s.
Then the media found out how the 101st had not only just kicked the 82nd’s butt but the recent past where they had kicked everyone else’s butt as well.
So a year and a half into her command of the 101st Airborne Division Liz was once again a subject of household and widespread conversation.
SECDEF had a meeting to discuss the situation; it was decided to keep it simple. The General had acted in a manner unbecoming of an officer and gentleman and he was relieved for cause. After that he ordered a meeting with TRADOC, FORSCOM and XVIII.
“Gentlemen, I hope I do not have any more division commanders who are either stupid or drunks.”
The three generals looked at each other and then at SECDEF. Finally answering for them all was FORSCOM.
“I think at the moment he was the last one, sir.”
“Very well. Now I want to know if she is really that good or has she just run up against poor commanders.”
XVIII took that one. “Sir the margin of the victories were greater due to the commander in the exercise with the 1st ID but she would have won anyway even if he had been better. Here the 82nd actually maneuvered pretty well but her units were faster and quicker; and she got into his head and messed him up. As we all saw.”
FORSCOM agreed. “She won by a bigger margin due to the mistakes her opponents made; but she would have won anyway since she plain out thought them.”
SECDEF pondered that. “OK. Now my next question is for the future. She is halfway through her tour with the 101st. She has ramped that unit up to the point that it is arguably the best division in the army, correct?”
All three nodded.
“Her entire record seems to indicate that she is best at building units up and fixing them. This posting was actually a test case for her; to see if she could handle a large unit as well as she did a smaller one. That question has been answered in the absolute affirmative manner. But what to do with her next?”
TRADOC answered first. “As a roving inspector and examiner, I would love to have her. She can spot bad units and problems very quickly. And reworking training doctrine would be a huge help. She clearly has the ability to do that beyond anyone else we currently have.”
FORSCOM was pensive. “Partly I hate the idea of her not commanding a unit because that is so clearly what she does best. But General Miles comment about reworking training doctrine is dead on. Her exercises in Europe, which her successor has kept up, have become models for how to do it as a means of keeping a unit sharp and identifying officers just not up to the task. Frankly that is what we need more of here in the US.”
XVIII sighed. He could see this coming. “I would love to have her as my deputy but frankly I think she can be of greater use to the Army in TRADOC. At least for a few years. Then to be honest my position would be best; she would still command even if at a distance.”
TRADOC and FORSCOM agreed and SECDEF nodded.
Liz, unaware of the fact that her next position had already been agreed on kept right on working her unit.
One thing that Liz had noticed and had been looking at hard was the combat load that her troopers had. The army had tried to reduce this as the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan had driven home the fact that the US military expected its troops to carry too much to battle. Some progress had been made but the usual bureaucratic BS and interference from contractors and congress had bogged it down. She had talked to Sid about it early on in her command.
“Just how much weight are they carrying?”
“70 lbs plus. It is down from what it was in Iraq but still too high. I think right now it is right about 75 lbs and it is going up again.”
Liz shook her head. “That is just plain stupid. What is it that weighs so much or is it a combination?”
“It is a combination; the body armor is worst. But the extra tools and above all water we are supposed to carry is where a lot of the weight is coming from. The heavy weapons people with MG and Mortars and the like are much worse off.”
Liz had gone back and searched her memory from her time in Iraq and remembered seeing the troops almost literally bowed down by what they had to carry. Then she thought about Afghanistan not that long ago and it was the same. She looked at Sid.
“I noticed that the Brits did not carry as much.”
“No they don’t. And I do not think any other army carries what we do.”
“Look into it.”
6 months later he had come back with a fair amount of data including a couple studies done early in the Iraq conflict by TRADOC that had been mostly buried or ignored. Liz spent several days going over this after the exercise with the 82nd. Her troopers were considered light but that was not the case with what they carried. She then had Sid pull in some troopers that had been with the division for some time and found out what it was like for them in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Liz tried to meet with small groups as much as she could; she found that after a while they forgot she was their general and just talked openly. She learned a lot this way.
“If we could find a cart or something like it we used that as much as possible; anything to not carry it on our backs.”
“As much as possible the only time we wore the backpacks we were issued was on inspections and reviews. Otherwise the guys would use commercial stuff that we worked on so that it was the way we needed it.”
“Carrying so much water was a big problem yet we needed it. We were able to get a couple of bladders on a cart and we used that the last 4 months we were there on that deployment.”
After they left Liz contemplated things. She looked at Sid.
“The heavy units do not worry because they mostly ride into combat and leave their heavy stuff with the vehicles. We cannot do that.”
He nodded. “We have to pretty much march when we are dropped off. We need something to either carry stuff for us or much lighter gear.”
At the two year mark Liz was working hard on this along with a picked group of troopers. She had authorized purchase of commercial gear and had them working on putting together a hybrid type of pack. She got a chance to talk to TRADOC not long after they had finished their products.
He had come to visit and look around at what was now accepted as the best division in the US Army and the best trained as well. He was almost counting the days until he could get her into TRADOC where he had some big plans for her. Then she showed him what she had been working on.
Liz waited as he looked over the bastardized pack system that her people had put together. It weighed considerably less than issue equipment; and she showed him what she had authorized as the combat load for her people.
He sat there and mused for a minute then looked at her.
“We have had study groups and lots of high paid so called professionals working on this for years and they had not accomplished much. I know about that report that was done back in 2003. Almost 15 years ago. It has been pretty much forgotten.”
“We need to do more than has been done to lighten the load. My people have come up with some solutions but the issue of requiring our troops to carry so much extra crap has to be solved.”
“So you mind if I take this with me. And your study? I want some others to look it over.”
“No problem.”
He got FORSCOM and XVIII to come by and look at well. They poked at it and actually put it on and tried it out. Then they read what her group had come up with. Finally FORSCOM looked at him.
“We need her working on this full time. But frankly even with the third star that will be coming soon where would you put her that she can really get things done?”
“I am going to ask that a couple of my areas be consolidated and that I be given a 3 star position just for her. To work on these sorts of things.”
He had gone to SECDEF not long after that visit and he had signed off on it. SECDEF then talked to her congressman to get support in Congress and was assured that it would be forthcoming.
Liz looked around at her office that she had been at for almost 2 and a half years; she knew the clock was ticking again and wondered where she would go. Odds were it was either Pentagon or TRADOC. She thought that TRADOC would be the place to go. She really liked the current one and his deputy who was slated to take over in about a year was a lot like him; she thought they could get along well. But no longer really commanding was something that she would miss. Her 101st was now openly acknowledged as the best division in the US Army.
SECDEF had called in TRADOC for a meeting.
“The bill has been written and the President has agreed; her congressman will present it next week. There should be no problem getting it through by the end of next month. So realistically we can cut the orders now. Her replacement been decided on?”
“XVIII and FORSCOM agree that her idea of promoting her deputy to the position is a good one. She has him fully trained and he appears to be a good one. If he has been able to make her happy for over 2 years then we should give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“In a surprise ceremony today, Elizabeth Parker, Current commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division located at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was promoted to Lieutenant General. While not unexpected, as her record as a division commander has been as impressive as her other commands, it still came as a surprise to her. The timing was curious as she still had several months to go as commander of the 101st. And in another interesting development, there appears to be a special bill going through congress to establish a special position at the Training Command, known as TRADOC. And from all accounts General Parker will be nominated for that position. She will as a three star have to be confirmed for that position even though she already has her promotion.”
Liz had been stunned that everyone had managed to hide this from her. All of a sudden SECDEF had appeared and there had been a ceremony in front of the entire division where she got her 3rd star pinned on her by her husband and her mother. Then he had told her that a special position had been established for her at TRADOC where she would basically be taxed with rewriting the training doctrine for the US Army infantry and light forces. And at the same time be in charge of the program to reduce the combat load. She had a hunch she would be very busy; but she had been able to pick her own people. So Jim Harkness was coming along as well as Sid. And she was pulling the sergeant and troopers who had been helping Sid with the project.
One month later she surrendered command of the 101st with great regret; but she was looking forward to the challenge given her: rework the US Army heavy and light infantry.
Adjusting To Peace (AU,M/L,Mature) Complete 8 May
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thumper1942
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thumper1942
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Re: Adjusting To Peace (AU,M/L,Mature) Part 10 3 May
Liz’s official job title was Director of Special Projects. She was basically going to be the utility fielder for TRADOC. If something needed to be done quickly she would be getting the call. But this was beyond what he had immediately tasked her with: first coming up with a new pack for the US soldier that was lighter and would allow them to move farther and faster. And to look at the combat load and cut it down. Then she would be reworking the training doctrine from the top on down so that training would be more meaningful. Then she was also to look at the basic tactics involving the US infantry to see if it needed changing. Her 3 stars and access to TRADOC (he had installed her in an office just down the hall from him) would give her the clout to get things done.
The move to Virginia was not really that far but it was very different being so close to the ocean. James, who was now almost 9, accepted the reality of the move but was interested and Liz figured he was happy. Max had found a good job with a friend from the corps working on a project to come up with temporary airstrips; it was interesting and challenging.
The confirmation hearing in the senate had been more of a show as various Senators just wanted photo ops. Liz had been calm and quiet in her testimony as since the position was new and very flexible there was not much to say about it. She only had to testify for one day and then the Senate has unanimously approved her selection. Which was very rare, she was told.
Liz gathered her crew. Sid, now considered a team leader while still at his Command Sergeant Major Rank, had assembled a Master Sergeant, Josh Simmons; a Staff Sergeant, Zack Watson; and four sergeants, Tom Snyder, Robert Brewster, Ed Walsh and Bruce Webster. All foot loose and fancy free. And sometimes fairly rowdy but Liz liked all of them. She had talked to her retired Sergeant Axton who agreed to look over some of their ideas and give input.
Jim Harkness, now her Chief of Staff, had collected a few officers he thought would help out. Liz had quietly put out the word to those that had served with her to be on the lookout for mavericks and free thinkers among officers.
Liz looked around her. She had a grand total of 8 officers and 7 enlisted men. She would have an admin staff of clerks and secretaries to do the paperwork, who she would share with the rest of the HQ staff. She was well aware that they were wary of her; the newcomer with the new position and full access to the boss. She tried to make it clear that she would not be poaching and was happy for any input. But she knew it would be a while before they let down their guard and she accepted that.
“OK, people, first things first. The pack. I want it ready to outsource. And we will need to get a patent lawyer somewhere to see if we violate anything. Jim, talk to JAG about that. Also we need to look at the combat load. I want only what the average grunt will need not what someone THINKS he will need. That is the primary reason I got you guys; you have all seen combat recently and know the score.”
Sid had held a lot of brainstorming sessions with the troopers for a long time so he was very familiar with what they wanted. A pack that was useful and got done what was needed without being too bulky or heavy. Detachable pouches that you could fill and leave and either put on or take off. They were mostly done but they wanted to tweak it then get enough to have a real field test. They had contracted a local company to do all this.
Liz was also looking at the standard issue body armor and was not happy with it; for the protection it gave it was just too heavy. She had calls in to all the R & D firms who were working on this.
The combat load was just flat out stupid. Liz had Sid and the ground pounders cut it back to the absolute minimum. They were going to cut down on water as since they pack would be lighter they would not need as much. Two canteens and that was all. Basic first aid kit which was cut back as well. Tools would be virtually removed as their use was too limited. What was needed to keep their weapon going and that was that.
The helmet was also being looked at. It was also just too heavy. It gave good protection but they needed to find a way to make it lighter. The carbon fiber Kevlar mix looked promising but they needed to check it out.
One of the big problems was night vision goggles and other electronic gear and the radios. The US army had gotten big on that and Liz thought they had gone too far. But Night Vision goggles were an absolute must and she knew it. Which also meant spare batteries. The same with radios.
One month in she had a meeting.
“OK, where are we?”
Sid shrugged. “The Pack is ready and the company is starting to churn them out.” She looked at Jim.
“What about patents and copyrights?”
“The JAG got us a copyright lawyer and he is looking at that now; does not expect any problems. We are mixing and matching and changing so much He doubts there will be any issues.”
“OK. Now tell me about the combat load.”
Jim pulled out his list. “Here is what we can agree on as regards the minimum. It comes to 54 lbs without the helmet, goggles or radios.”
She grimaced at that. That meant they would still be well over 60 lbs. Not that much of an improvement.
“It is the body armor.”
They all nodded. Jim sighed. “It is 25 lbs and that is that. We have cut almost 15 lbs elsewhere but that body armor is the big thing we have not been able to do anything about.”
Liz sighed. TRADOC had flat told her that there was no way that it would be approved to be dropped. Congress was absolutely stone cold on this. She could see the point but really wondered just how much good it did. Against a typical AK-47 7.62MM X 39MM bullet, if you were closer than 200 feet it would penetrate. And most of the combat they came up against was closer than 200 feet. Now it did very well at protecting against shrapnel from grenades and explosions; and the IED’s had been huge killers in Iraq and Afghanistan. And that was the main reason behind the unyielding demand for it. So Liz had talked to the various companies doing R & D and had asked for a helmet and body armor that would protect against fragments and shrapnel only. She hoped they would come up with something.
She looked over the list of the combat load and then emailed it to former Sergeant Axton to see what he thought of it. She also sent it to some of her contacts with the various British regiments she had worked with over the years. The guys on the crew would also send it to others they knew for their input. She sat back and thought for a minute. Really they had gone as far as they could with what they had. So time to move on to the next issue.
She looked at her people. “OK. For the time being the pack will wait until we have enough to test out. Combat load we will also wait for input from others. So now we will start looking at the training doctrine. We have copies of what we used with the 101st so let’s get to looking at them and decide if anything needs to change for infantry units.”
The Commander of the Infantry school looked around at his staff.
“OK. Word I get is that she will be rewriting the training doctrine then look at the tactics used. She has from what I have found out a small staff of enlisted men from the 101st; and I imagine she would also reach out to others she would know, probably in the British Army. So we need to be ready to move when she starts sending things our way. I got a firm commitment from TRADOC that he will not change anything until we have got our input in. Change is coming people and if we try and stop it we will get run over. Anyone that has gotten in her way before has become a grease stain on the road. We will not make that mistake. Especially since I am willing to bet a lot of what she will come up with has been tossed around here before and rejected for what were probably stupid reasons; or got shot down as they went higher. She will have the clout to make it stick so we have got to make sure it is the right type of changes.”
TRADOC had talked to her about the school and she realized that she really should make nice with them so she scheduled a visit to Fort Benning and to talk with the people that actually taught infantry tactics.
One nice thing about getting a third star was that she had access to a jet just about whenever she wanted to. So she whisked herself, Jim and Sid and went to talk to the teachers at the school (as she put it). As she got off the jet she looked around and realized she had been back here since she had left aviation school. She wondered if any of the instructors were left; but she doubted it. It had been almost 11 years. She mused to herself about the times she had thought about becoming an instructor. She now knew she would not have been happy doing it.
One thing she did not like about her present rank was all the so called deference and brown nosing it inspired. She made it a point to get informal every chance she had to try and defuse it as much as possible. But it got old.
The one star liked to think of himself as fairly unimpressed by most that came to visit; and to be honest it was rare that they got three stars that really came to talk. But this general was unique and like just about everyone else who met Elizabeth Parker he felt the presence as she entered the room. Which was all the more amazing considering how tiny she was.
“OK. I am here to talk to the pros here about changing training doctrine and also about looking at changing basic infantry doctrine. I want your input on both. To start with I will show you my thoughts on both; what I and my staff have come up with.”
With that Jim started the power point presentation that they had finished up only the week before.
Liz had spent a lot of time talking to Sid and the other veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan about small unit tactics. The training doctrine actually did not address tactics; it addressed how to train and what to do to train. It went with her ideas about simple training programs that forced both officers and enlisted men to be light on their feet and able to make changes on the fly. The tactics of squad and platoon combat had to very depending on the situation. And that was the point she was trying to make. Have a standard core of tactics and then very them depending on who they were fighting and where they were fighting. There were major differences in how you fought in the jungle vs how you fought in the forests vs how you fought in cities and towns. But some rules were the same no matter what and that is what she concentrated on.
The presentation basically covered the entire spectrum of basic training for infantry through small unit basic tactics. The concept of minimally scripted and controlled training was a very big change. That got a fair amount of comment.
“You cannot mean just send them out and let them run around?”
“Give them straightforward objectives and then stand back and let them sink or swim based on their own abilities. Basically what has been happening for some time is that we have started to look like the Warsaw Pact and their training films.”
That went over like a real lead balloon as one thing that had been harped on for a long time was how inflexible the Warsaw Pact had been. Liz pointing out that the US Army had been heading in that direction was like a glass of cold water poured down the shirt.
Interestingly the small unit tactics proposals mostly met with approval as they were pretty much what had been recommended by the school but had been shot down at a higher level. The Training Doctrine did grate as they were basically being told to throw out their manuals and start over.
“People, since we are in agreement with the small unit tactics then I propose that you write it up as a formal proposal and I will push it.”
That brought them all up short; this would mean they would get credit for it.
After several hours of back and forth they came around to her way of thinking on the training doctrine. She pointed out that there were similarities to what she was proposing and what Special Forces had been doing for years; as well as the SAS and other commando units. She saw no reason that the regular troops could not learn the same things. Move fast and hit hard. Do not expose yourself if possible and above all take the initiative.
The one star felt he had to make a comment.
“SF has years of experience; are we sure we can get our regular infantry to that level?”
“Why not? It will mean throwing some of the previous training out to make room for it but a lot of that was unnecessary.”
By the end of the day they had agreed on most things and were working on writing it all up. Liz had blocked off two full days for this but it looked like they would get it done if they were willing to work into the evening. No one objected and they finally finished everything at 1900.
The VIP quarters at Benning were nice and while she missed sleeping next to Max Liz dropped off to sleep right away. And there was nothing she could do about the fact that she woke up right at 0530. She decided to just go with it and got up and hit the mess hall as soon as it opened at 0600. It shook a few people up to see a 3 star casually come into a mess hall but she just laughed at the shocked looks.
“Come on people, it is not like I have horns.”
After a bit they relaxed and since most of them were officer candidates they were not as shy as others who had been in the military for a long time so she invited them to sit with her at one of the tables at the back reserved for Brass. There were 9 of them; all OCS candidates that had served one hitch.
“General, when you were looking at that bunker what were you thinking?”
“I had seen them go in just seconds before. Now there was a chance they had been working on the bombs but it seemed very remote; I was as sure as I could be that they would not be able to do anything. So it was almost target practice as I sent those Hellfires one by one at that door.”
She spent an enjoyable half hour talking to them before they had to run to class. She got up and headed out and decided to just wander a bit. Which is something that no general, not even a three star, is really supposed to do.
She walked into the Aviation School and almost panicked the poor office crew.
“Just wandering and remembering.” She went to the flight line and scared the crap out of the ground crew preparing the choppers for the morning students.
“Just bringing back old memories.”
Feeling she had been evil enough, she headed back to the Infantry School.
The one star was looking over the proposals when he got a call.
“General, she is wandering around the aviation school; the commandant almost had a heart attack!”
“Well, I am not her keeper and why would anyone be surprised she would want to see a place she has not been to for a long time but spent a year in?”
He shook his head; she was definitely one of a kind but good lord why in the world were they panicking?
The Infantry school had quickly scheduled a show for her and she was appreciative. She spent the rest of the day just talking to the various schools for the discipline. She ended it by talking to some of the Armor School officers; who wanted to get their two cents worth in.
“Contrary to what you may have heard I believe that heavy tanks will always, as long as there is ground combat, have their place. Even in Iraq in the cities they were a huge factor. And I will always have a soft spot in my heart for an Abrams since they rescued me from that cluster fuck convoy mess.”
About that time Jim stuck his head in the door of the classroom that had been appropriated for her impromptu visit.
“Looking for a wandering 3 star. They have not yet set the hounds loose but it won’t be long.”
Liz grinned. “Yeah, I know I was not supposed to slip out the window using a bed sheet but hey I felt like wandering around.” She got up and waved a goodbye to the bemused officers and headed out.
Her visit to Benning cleared the air and unruffled some feathers. She reassured people she was not just rolling in and running over everyone.
Meanwhile one of the gang of 6, as they called themselves, had viewed old pictures from WW2 in the museum at Ft Eustis and had noted that the Airborne troops had used carts to move equipment and supplies around. One of the things that had been looked at to drop with the troops were ATVs to move their equipment. Small trailers and ATVs were being looked at but the same old problems came up. You had to have fuel and they needed maintenance. Even if you kept them simple they still took up room. He looked around the internet and found a place that two wheeled carts could be purchased and got one on his own nickel; Liz had told them to do that rather than wrestle with the system and she would find a way to pay them back. So when Liz got back with Jim and Sid from Benning she found them tooling around the area with a cart packed high with supplies.
“General, this might be the simplest way to solve the problem.”
The more they looked at it the more it seemed right. They could get carts that actually folded into a more compact transportable bundle but could be assembled in a few minutes and carry up to 400 lbs of materials. Of the others had also wondered if folding bicycles could help as well. But that faded when it was pointed out the relatively limited times they would have access to good roads which were a must for bicycles.
After some debate Liz authorized a buy of 50 folding two wheel carts that seemed pretty sturdy. One thing that would have to change would be to find some or make them so that they did not reflect light but for the moment that was a secondary concern. They were shipped to Campbell and she asked the Division commander to try them out in some exercises.
He looked at the carts that General Parker had asked him to try and shook his head. What next?
But over the next month he was amazed as his infantry admitted that it was a great idea. While being transported in helicopters usually meant they did not have far to walk, it still was a whole lot easier using those carts then it was humping the stuff. And even out on patrols it came in handy as it allowed most of the patrol to strip down to fighting gear only and yet still have their other gear nearby. Of course it would not work everywhere; but most places it would.
The new packs had come in and they had been tried out and found good; so 1000 were procured and sent to Campbell. By this time the division commander had learned to roll with the punches and sent them to one of the brigades to try out. Within a month he was being besieged by requests for more.
Rewriting the training doctrine was a long involved process that took several months once the basic tenets were agreed on. And then they tried it out once again at Campbell, which was beginning to be called Parkers Playhouse.
Liz looked at the calendar and was actually surprised that it had been almost a year since she had come to TRADOC. A lot had been accomplished; and one company had come up with some new possibilities for helmets and body armor that looked very promising. The training doctrine and new small unit tactics and training plans had been staffed and were now being sent to the various commands for comments.
TRADOC had read it first and had marveled how simple it was; it was less than half the length of the previous edition. Simplicity was the key. Even the wording of it was much plainer. And blunt. It straightforwardly talked about killing the enemy and destroying his means of supply and the like. No euphemisms or stupid acronyms. Liz had been very hard on this.
“An army is meant to defeat its enemies by killing them and destroying their support and infrastructure. This is written to make that plain. It is NOT politically correct.”
Liz had pushed TRADOC into giving all commands 90 Days to comment. She was not really surprised to see that the regular commands did not have too many comments. But JAG and the Legal types did. She asked them to come to a meeting at Ft Eustis. They sent a two star and a few colonels.
“General, we have some problems with the wording.”
“General, with all due respect I do not care if any of this offends ANYONES feelings. An Army exists to kill and destroy. It is a CRIME, is it not, to Lie?”
Liz bored right on him with this.
“Is it or is it not a crime to Lie?”
“Yes sir, it is.”
“I do not lie. Nor do I permit anyone under me to lie if I know about it. To use euphemisms is to lie.”
The Two star and his colonels left realizing that they were not going to get anything.
That took care of Legal. Next to whine and cry was safety; they claimed that not enough safeguards were in the manuals. Once again Liz called them to come with a meeting.
“The SOP’s that are written will be reviewed by Safety. Correct?”
“Yes General.”
“Then if you do your jobs correct there will be no operations without SOP’s that are signed off by Safety, Correct?”
“Then what is your problem?”
“Sir there are not enough safety measures.”
“That is not the job of those that write these manuals. That takes place when the manuals are implemented at each individual installation. The Army Safety Manual is still the guide, correct?”
“Yes sir.”
“Does this manual contravene it in any way?”
“Sir it can be interpreted…”
“Show me where it contravenes the Army safety Manual.”
“Sir, it is somewhat vague.”
“It is vague to allow each command and installation to make adjustments so as to fit what they need. Once again I am asking you a question, general. Answer it. Does it contravene the Army Safety Manual?”
“No sir.”
“Then I believe our conversation is over.”
TRADOC looked at his Chief of Staff. “Legal and Safety are whining?”
“Yes sir. But they cannot show where it contravenes any current regulations.”
“So tell them to piss up a rope.”
“Yes sir.”
After the 90 days Liz had her people look at the comments and they did change a few things but nothing major. It was at that point that Liz decided it was time and gave it to TRADOC to sign off on. From him it would then go to the SECDEF (technically the Secretary of the Army but he was just a rubber stamp).
SECDEF talked to TRADOC.
“So what about the whining I have heard from Legal and Safety?”
“The legal whining is from the same idiots that tried to push those stupid rules of engagement in Iraq. Where basically you had to let the other side shoot first before you could do anything. Means nothing. Safety wants it more specific.”
“Is it valid?”
“No. She explained that she wanted to give each command and if necessary each installation room to modify it somewhat with their local SOP’s. Safety will still have to sign off on their SOP’s so their whining means nothing either.”
“Very well I will sign off on it.”
It would be a while before all the various commands and the like actually implemented the new training doctrine, but it would come.
Liz looked at the examples the company had come up with. She had put out the criteria that the helmet and body armor should be frag and shrapnel resistant with the ability to install more protection for actual bullet protection. This rather small company had gotten back to her with their ideas.
The helmet was a steel alloy that was lighter than most but still pretty strong; and it would still be cheaper than the current Kevlar helmets but much lighter; almost half the weight. It did offer less protection against bullets but only slightly less protection against fragments and shrapnel. The lack of bulk and the much lighter weight were clearly the tradeoffs. They had sent her 20 examples and Liz ordered 10 of them used for testing of their ability to give protection. The design was good in that it would protect the ears and the back of the neck; it looked more like the WW2 german helmet but there were clear differences. One of those was the new gelpacks for padding; they would not heat or cool like old ones did; were much lighter and gave a significant cushioning effect that would help prevent concussions. They were not gell at all; more like high tech foam that was supposed to last for some years before they lost their elasticity. They told Liz that they had tried every type of plastic available but the weight factor went up and the protection factor barely changed; and the plastic would crack and thus be much more expensive to repair. The metal could be just straightened out.
The body armor was made of a new type of glass and carbon fiber combination. Not as resistant as Kevlar but much lighter. Almost half as heavy. And it could have plates installed to protect more; as well as the foam type padding to absorb impacts and kinetic energy. Just the bare basic armor could protect against all but heavy artillery frags. It would protect against fragmentation grenades. Mortar fragments could penetrate but would have very little energy left. Liz put a set on and noticed that not only was it much lighter, it was also less bulky. She ordered that sent to Aberdeen Proving Ground for testing with the helmet.
The last one of the initial assignments was to examine and refine small unit infantry tactics. Liz called for the SF and the Infantry school to get together and discuss the possible changes at Ft Eustis and scheduled it for a month later.
At the meeting was the chief of the Infantry school, the SOCOM training chief, and people they chose. They included Rangers and SF and Light and heavy infantry officers; all with experience in the recent wars. Liz had been very firm about that; she wanted no one at the meeting who had not been in ground combat.
The meeting lasted three days and they managed to thrash out a standard doctrine for the Infantry. It would serve as the base for all infantry training no matter where they would go. Ranger, SF, Light and Heavy Infantry would build upon the base for their own particular needs.
The small unit tactics for any purpose would depend on the enemy and terrain; but the basics were the same as regards movement and use of weaponry. The Heavy Infantry had more available to them than any of the others; and control of that weaponry had to be added in.
After 6 months on the job the primary tasks were either done or almost done so Liz decided to see what TRADOC wanted next. He was just about to leave for retirement so he had decided that his deputy, who would be replacing him, needed to take care of this. So Liz had a meeting with the Deputy TRADOC commander.
“OK. Pretty much got all that was tossed on my plate done or almost done so I need to know what is next.”
“Simple. You did a great job with the Infantry so now I want you to review all doctrines and tactics for Aviation, Armor and Artillery. And combined teams as well. ”
The move to Virginia was not really that far but it was very different being so close to the ocean. James, who was now almost 9, accepted the reality of the move but was interested and Liz figured he was happy. Max had found a good job with a friend from the corps working on a project to come up with temporary airstrips; it was interesting and challenging.
The confirmation hearing in the senate had been more of a show as various Senators just wanted photo ops. Liz had been calm and quiet in her testimony as since the position was new and very flexible there was not much to say about it. She only had to testify for one day and then the Senate has unanimously approved her selection. Which was very rare, she was told.
Liz gathered her crew. Sid, now considered a team leader while still at his Command Sergeant Major Rank, had assembled a Master Sergeant, Josh Simmons; a Staff Sergeant, Zack Watson; and four sergeants, Tom Snyder, Robert Brewster, Ed Walsh and Bruce Webster. All foot loose and fancy free. And sometimes fairly rowdy but Liz liked all of them. She had talked to her retired Sergeant Axton who agreed to look over some of their ideas and give input.
Jim Harkness, now her Chief of Staff, had collected a few officers he thought would help out. Liz had quietly put out the word to those that had served with her to be on the lookout for mavericks and free thinkers among officers.
Liz looked around her. She had a grand total of 8 officers and 7 enlisted men. She would have an admin staff of clerks and secretaries to do the paperwork, who she would share with the rest of the HQ staff. She was well aware that they were wary of her; the newcomer with the new position and full access to the boss. She tried to make it clear that she would not be poaching and was happy for any input. But she knew it would be a while before they let down their guard and she accepted that.
“OK, people, first things first. The pack. I want it ready to outsource. And we will need to get a patent lawyer somewhere to see if we violate anything. Jim, talk to JAG about that. Also we need to look at the combat load. I want only what the average grunt will need not what someone THINKS he will need. That is the primary reason I got you guys; you have all seen combat recently and know the score.”
Sid had held a lot of brainstorming sessions with the troopers for a long time so he was very familiar with what they wanted. A pack that was useful and got done what was needed without being too bulky or heavy. Detachable pouches that you could fill and leave and either put on or take off. They were mostly done but they wanted to tweak it then get enough to have a real field test. They had contracted a local company to do all this.
Liz was also looking at the standard issue body armor and was not happy with it; for the protection it gave it was just too heavy. She had calls in to all the R & D firms who were working on this.
The combat load was just flat out stupid. Liz had Sid and the ground pounders cut it back to the absolute minimum. They were going to cut down on water as since they pack would be lighter they would not need as much. Two canteens and that was all. Basic first aid kit which was cut back as well. Tools would be virtually removed as their use was too limited. What was needed to keep their weapon going and that was that.
The helmet was also being looked at. It was also just too heavy. It gave good protection but they needed to find a way to make it lighter. The carbon fiber Kevlar mix looked promising but they needed to check it out.
One of the big problems was night vision goggles and other electronic gear and the radios. The US army had gotten big on that and Liz thought they had gone too far. But Night Vision goggles were an absolute must and she knew it. Which also meant spare batteries. The same with radios.
One month in she had a meeting.
“OK, where are we?”
Sid shrugged. “The Pack is ready and the company is starting to churn them out.” She looked at Jim.
“What about patents and copyrights?”
“The JAG got us a copyright lawyer and he is looking at that now; does not expect any problems. We are mixing and matching and changing so much He doubts there will be any issues.”
“OK. Now tell me about the combat load.”
Jim pulled out his list. “Here is what we can agree on as regards the minimum. It comes to 54 lbs without the helmet, goggles or radios.”
She grimaced at that. That meant they would still be well over 60 lbs. Not that much of an improvement.
“It is the body armor.”
They all nodded. Jim sighed. “It is 25 lbs and that is that. We have cut almost 15 lbs elsewhere but that body armor is the big thing we have not been able to do anything about.”
Liz sighed. TRADOC had flat told her that there was no way that it would be approved to be dropped. Congress was absolutely stone cold on this. She could see the point but really wondered just how much good it did. Against a typical AK-47 7.62MM X 39MM bullet, if you were closer than 200 feet it would penetrate. And most of the combat they came up against was closer than 200 feet. Now it did very well at protecting against shrapnel from grenades and explosions; and the IED’s had been huge killers in Iraq and Afghanistan. And that was the main reason behind the unyielding demand for it. So Liz had talked to the various companies doing R & D and had asked for a helmet and body armor that would protect against fragments and shrapnel only. She hoped they would come up with something.
She looked over the list of the combat load and then emailed it to former Sergeant Axton to see what he thought of it. She also sent it to some of her contacts with the various British regiments she had worked with over the years. The guys on the crew would also send it to others they knew for their input. She sat back and thought for a minute. Really they had gone as far as they could with what they had. So time to move on to the next issue.
She looked at her people. “OK. For the time being the pack will wait until we have enough to test out. Combat load we will also wait for input from others. So now we will start looking at the training doctrine. We have copies of what we used with the 101st so let’s get to looking at them and decide if anything needs to change for infantry units.”
The Commander of the Infantry school looked around at his staff.
“OK. Word I get is that she will be rewriting the training doctrine then look at the tactics used. She has from what I have found out a small staff of enlisted men from the 101st; and I imagine she would also reach out to others she would know, probably in the British Army. So we need to be ready to move when she starts sending things our way. I got a firm commitment from TRADOC that he will not change anything until we have got our input in. Change is coming people and if we try and stop it we will get run over. Anyone that has gotten in her way before has become a grease stain on the road. We will not make that mistake. Especially since I am willing to bet a lot of what she will come up with has been tossed around here before and rejected for what were probably stupid reasons; or got shot down as they went higher. She will have the clout to make it stick so we have got to make sure it is the right type of changes.”
TRADOC had talked to her about the school and she realized that she really should make nice with them so she scheduled a visit to Fort Benning and to talk with the people that actually taught infantry tactics.
One nice thing about getting a third star was that she had access to a jet just about whenever she wanted to. So she whisked herself, Jim and Sid and went to talk to the teachers at the school (as she put it). As she got off the jet she looked around and realized she had been back here since she had left aviation school. She wondered if any of the instructors were left; but she doubted it. It had been almost 11 years. She mused to herself about the times she had thought about becoming an instructor. She now knew she would not have been happy doing it.
One thing she did not like about her present rank was all the so called deference and brown nosing it inspired. She made it a point to get informal every chance she had to try and defuse it as much as possible. But it got old.
The one star liked to think of himself as fairly unimpressed by most that came to visit; and to be honest it was rare that they got three stars that really came to talk. But this general was unique and like just about everyone else who met Elizabeth Parker he felt the presence as she entered the room. Which was all the more amazing considering how tiny she was.
“OK. I am here to talk to the pros here about changing training doctrine and also about looking at changing basic infantry doctrine. I want your input on both. To start with I will show you my thoughts on both; what I and my staff have come up with.”
With that Jim started the power point presentation that they had finished up only the week before.
Liz had spent a lot of time talking to Sid and the other veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan about small unit tactics. The training doctrine actually did not address tactics; it addressed how to train and what to do to train. It went with her ideas about simple training programs that forced both officers and enlisted men to be light on their feet and able to make changes on the fly. The tactics of squad and platoon combat had to very depending on the situation. And that was the point she was trying to make. Have a standard core of tactics and then very them depending on who they were fighting and where they were fighting. There were major differences in how you fought in the jungle vs how you fought in the forests vs how you fought in cities and towns. But some rules were the same no matter what and that is what she concentrated on.
The presentation basically covered the entire spectrum of basic training for infantry through small unit basic tactics. The concept of minimally scripted and controlled training was a very big change. That got a fair amount of comment.
“You cannot mean just send them out and let them run around?”
“Give them straightforward objectives and then stand back and let them sink or swim based on their own abilities. Basically what has been happening for some time is that we have started to look like the Warsaw Pact and their training films.”
That went over like a real lead balloon as one thing that had been harped on for a long time was how inflexible the Warsaw Pact had been. Liz pointing out that the US Army had been heading in that direction was like a glass of cold water poured down the shirt.
Interestingly the small unit tactics proposals mostly met with approval as they were pretty much what had been recommended by the school but had been shot down at a higher level. The Training Doctrine did grate as they were basically being told to throw out their manuals and start over.
“People, since we are in agreement with the small unit tactics then I propose that you write it up as a formal proposal and I will push it.”
That brought them all up short; this would mean they would get credit for it.
After several hours of back and forth they came around to her way of thinking on the training doctrine. She pointed out that there were similarities to what she was proposing and what Special Forces had been doing for years; as well as the SAS and other commando units. She saw no reason that the regular troops could not learn the same things. Move fast and hit hard. Do not expose yourself if possible and above all take the initiative.
The one star felt he had to make a comment.
“SF has years of experience; are we sure we can get our regular infantry to that level?”
“Why not? It will mean throwing some of the previous training out to make room for it but a lot of that was unnecessary.”
By the end of the day they had agreed on most things and were working on writing it all up. Liz had blocked off two full days for this but it looked like they would get it done if they were willing to work into the evening. No one objected and they finally finished everything at 1900.
The VIP quarters at Benning were nice and while she missed sleeping next to Max Liz dropped off to sleep right away. And there was nothing she could do about the fact that she woke up right at 0530. She decided to just go with it and got up and hit the mess hall as soon as it opened at 0600. It shook a few people up to see a 3 star casually come into a mess hall but she just laughed at the shocked looks.
“Come on people, it is not like I have horns.”
After a bit they relaxed and since most of them were officer candidates they were not as shy as others who had been in the military for a long time so she invited them to sit with her at one of the tables at the back reserved for Brass. There were 9 of them; all OCS candidates that had served one hitch.
“General, when you were looking at that bunker what were you thinking?”
“I had seen them go in just seconds before. Now there was a chance they had been working on the bombs but it seemed very remote; I was as sure as I could be that they would not be able to do anything. So it was almost target practice as I sent those Hellfires one by one at that door.”
She spent an enjoyable half hour talking to them before they had to run to class. She got up and headed out and decided to just wander a bit. Which is something that no general, not even a three star, is really supposed to do.
She walked into the Aviation School and almost panicked the poor office crew.
“Just wandering and remembering.” She went to the flight line and scared the crap out of the ground crew preparing the choppers for the morning students.
“Just bringing back old memories.”
Feeling she had been evil enough, she headed back to the Infantry School.
The one star was looking over the proposals when he got a call.
“General, she is wandering around the aviation school; the commandant almost had a heart attack!”
“Well, I am not her keeper and why would anyone be surprised she would want to see a place she has not been to for a long time but spent a year in?”
He shook his head; she was definitely one of a kind but good lord why in the world were they panicking?
The Infantry school had quickly scheduled a show for her and she was appreciative. She spent the rest of the day just talking to the various schools for the discipline. She ended it by talking to some of the Armor School officers; who wanted to get their two cents worth in.
“Contrary to what you may have heard I believe that heavy tanks will always, as long as there is ground combat, have their place. Even in Iraq in the cities they were a huge factor. And I will always have a soft spot in my heart for an Abrams since they rescued me from that cluster fuck convoy mess.”
About that time Jim stuck his head in the door of the classroom that had been appropriated for her impromptu visit.
“Looking for a wandering 3 star. They have not yet set the hounds loose but it won’t be long.”
Liz grinned. “Yeah, I know I was not supposed to slip out the window using a bed sheet but hey I felt like wandering around.” She got up and waved a goodbye to the bemused officers and headed out.
Her visit to Benning cleared the air and unruffled some feathers. She reassured people she was not just rolling in and running over everyone.
Meanwhile one of the gang of 6, as they called themselves, had viewed old pictures from WW2 in the museum at Ft Eustis and had noted that the Airborne troops had used carts to move equipment and supplies around. One of the things that had been looked at to drop with the troops were ATVs to move their equipment. Small trailers and ATVs were being looked at but the same old problems came up. You had to have fuel and they needed maintenance. Even if you kept them simple they still took up room. He looked around the internet and found a place that two wheeled carts could be purchased and got one on his own nickel; Liz had told them to do that rather than wrestle with the system and she would find a way to pay them back. So when Liz got back with Jim and Sid from Benning she found them tooling around the area with a cart packed high with supplies.
“General, this might be the simplest way to solve the problem.”
The more they looked at it the more it seemed right. They could get carts that actually folded into a more compact transportable bundle but could be assembled in a few minutes and carry up to 400 lbs of materials. Of the others had also wondered if folding bicycles could help as well. But that faded when it was pointed out the relatively limited times they would have access to good roads which were a must for bicycles.
After some debate Liz authorized a buy of 50 folding two wheel carts that seemed pretty sturdy. One thing that would have to change would be to find some or make them so that they did not reflect light but for the moment that was a secondary concern. They were shipped to Campbell and she asked the Division commander to try them out in some exercises.
He looked at the carts that General Parker had asked him to try and shook his head. What next?
But over the next month he was amazed as his infantry admitted that it was a great idea. While being transported in helicopters usually meant they did not have far to walk, it still was a whole lot easier using those carts then it was humping the stuff. And even out on patrols it came in handy as it allowed most of the patrol to strip down to fighting gear only and yet still have their other gear nearby. Of course it would not work everywhere; but most places it would.
The new packs had come in and they had been tried out and found good; so 1000 were procured and sent to Campbell. By this time the division commander had learned to roll with the punches and sent them to one of the brigades to try out. Within a month he was being besieged by requests for more.
Rewriting the training doctrine was a long involved process that took several months once the basic tenets were agreed on. And then they tried it out once again at Campbell, which was beginning to be called Parkers Playhouse.
Liz looked at the calendar and was actually surprised that it had been almost a year since she had come to TRADOC. A lot had been accomplished; and one company had come up with some new possibilities for helmets and body armor that looked very promising. The training doctrine and new small unit tactics and training plans had been staffed and were now being sent to the various commands for comments.
TRADOC had read it first and had marveled how simple it was; it was less than half the length of the previous edition. Simplicity was the key. Even the wording of it was much plainer. And blunt. It straightforwardly talked about killing the enemy and destroying his means of supply and the like. No euphemisms or stupid acronyms. Liz had been very hard on this.
“An army is meant to defeat its enemies by killing them and destroying their support and infrastructure. This is written to make that plain. It is NOT politically correct.”
Liz had pushed TRADOC into giving all commands 90 Days to comment. She was not really surprised to see that the regular commands did not have too many comments. But JAG and the Legal types did. She asked them to come to a meeting at Ft Eustis. They sent a two star and a few colonels.
“General, we have some problems with the wording.”
“General, with all due respect I do not care if any of this offends ANYONES feelings. An Army exists to kill and destroy. It is a CRIME, is it not, to Lie?”
Liz bored right on him with this.
“Is it or is it not a crime to Lie?”
“Yes sir, it is.”
“I do not lie. Nor do I permit anyone under me to lie if I know about it. To use euphemisms is to lie.”
The Two star and his colonels left realizing that they were not going to get anything.
That took care of Legal. Next to whine and cry was safety; they claimed that not enough safeguards were in the manuals. Once again Liz called them to come with a meeting.
“The SOP’s that are written will be reviewed by Safety. Correct?”
“Yes General.”
“Then if you do your jobs correct there will be no operations without SOP’s that are signed off by Safety, Correct?”
“Then what is your problem?”
“Sir there are not enough safety measures.”
“That is not the job of those that write these manuals. That takes place when the manuals are implemented at each individual installation. The Army Safety Manual is still the guide, correct?”
“Yes sir.”
“Does this manual contravene it in any way?”
“Sir it can be interpreted…”
“Show me where it contravenes the Army safety Manual.”
“Sir, it is somewhat vague.”
“It is vague to allow each command and installation to make adjustments so as to fit what they need. Once again I am asking you a question, general. Answer it. Does it contravene the Army Safety Manual?”
“No sir.”
“Then I believe our conversation is over.”
TRADOC looked at his Chief of Staff. “Legal and Safety are whining?”
“Yes sir. But they cannot show where it contravenes any current regulations.”
“So tell them to piss up a rope.”
“Yes sir.”
After the 90 days Liz had her people look at the comments and they did change a few things but nothing major. It was at that point that Liz decided it was time and gave it to TRADOC to sign off on. From him it would then go to the SECDEF (technically the Secretary of the Army but he was just a rubber stamp).
SECDEF talked to TRADOC.
“So what about the whining I have heard from Legal and Safety?”
“The legal whining is from the same idiots that tried to push those stupid rules of engagement in Iraq. Where basically you had to let the other side shoot first before you could do anything. Means nothing. Safety wants it more specific.”
“Is it valid?”
“No. She explained that she wanted to give each command and if necessary each installation room to modify it somewhat with their local SOP’s. Safety will still have to sign off on their SOP’s so their whining means nothing either.”
“Very well I will sign off on it.”
It would be a while before all the various commands and the like actually implemented the new training doctrine, but it would come.
Liz looked at the examples the company had come up with. She had put out the criteria that the helmet and body armor should be frag and shrapnel resistant with the ability to install more protection for actual bullet protection. This rather small company had gotten back to her with their ideas.
The helmet was a steel alloy that was lighter than most but still pretty strong; and it would still be cheaper than the current Kevlar helmets but much lighter; almost half the weight. It did offer less protection against bullets but only slightly less protection against fragments and shrapnel. The lack of bulk and the much lighter weight were clearly the tradeoffs. They had sent her 20 examples and Liz ordered 10 of them used for testing of their ability to give protection. The design was good in that it would protect the ears and the back of the neck; it looked more like the WW2 german helmet but there were clear differences. One of those was the new gelpacks for padding; they would not heat or cool like old ones did; were much lighter and gave a significant cushioning effect that would help prevent concussions. They were not gell at all; more like high tech foam that was supposed to last for some years before they lost their elasticity. They told Liz that they had tried every type of plastic available but the weight factor went up and the protection factor barely changed; and the plastic would crack and thus be much more expensive to repair. The metal could be just straightened out.
The body armor was made of a new type of glass and carbon fiber combination. Not as resistant as Kevlar but much lighter. Almost half as heavy. And it could have plates installed to protect more; as well as the foam type padding to absorb impacts and kinetic energy. Just the bare basic armor could protect against all but heavy artillery frags. It would protect against fragmentation grenades. Mortar fragments could penetrate but would have very little energy left. Liz put a set on and noticed that not only was it much lighter, it was also less bulky. She ordered that sent to Aberdeen Proving Ground for testing with the helmet.
The last one of the initial assignments was to examine and refine small unit infantry tactics. Liz called for the SF and the Infantry school to get together and discuss the possible changes at Ft Eustis and scheduled it for a month later.
At the meeting was the chief of the Infantry school, the SOCOM training chief, and people they chose. They included Rangers and SF and Light and heavy infantry officers; all with experience in the recent wars. Liz had been very firm about that; she wanted no one at the meeting who had not been in ground combat.
The meeting lasted three days and they managed to thrash out a standard doctrine for the Infantry. It would serve as the base for all infantry training no matter where they would go. Ranger, SF, Light and Heavy Infantry would build upon the base for their own particular needs.
The small unit tactics for any purpose would depend on the enemy and terrain; but the basics were the same as regards movement and use of weaponry. The Heavy Infantry had more available to them than any of the others; and control of that weaponry had to be added in.
After 6 months on the job the primary tasks were either done or almost done so Liz decided to see what TRADOC wanted next. He was just about to leave for retirement so he had decided that his deputy, who would be replacing him, needed to take care of this. So Liz had a meeting with the Deputy TRADOC commander.
“OK. Pretty much got all that was tossed on my plate done or almost done so I need to know what is next.”
“Simple. You did a great job with the Infantry so now I want you to review all doctrines and tactics for Aviation, Armor and Artillery. And combined teams as well. ”
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thumper1942
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Re: Adjusting To Peace (AU,M/L,Mature) Part 11 4 May
Liz had to admit that the shock on her staff’s faces had raised her spirits some.
“That is right – we have to look at and update the training doctrine for Aviation, Artillery and Armor just like we did with Infantry.”
They still looked shocked. She grinned.
“Come on, guys, it’s no big deal.”
Liz sat and watched with the rest of the parents and family as the class of 2022 graduated. Aliya had decided that she wanted to be a teacher. And Liz had no doubt she would be a very good one. Les Atkins was right with Aliya as he had been pretty much from their freshman year. They had been engaged for 2 years now but were firm in waiting until they were graduated before getting married. Les was a civil engineer and they had both been lucky in getting jobs in the Nashville area. Liz was glad since they would have friends all around. She felt the years passing though. She was now 39. Max was 55 but still gorgeous. She had found her first grey hair just a little while ago. Max insisted that she looked hardly a day over 30; she barely had the beginnings of lines around her eyes and mouth. James was now 10 and was as happy go lucky as ever; but he was starting to really get interested in computers so she and Max had a feeling which way he was going.
They had a graduation party that evening at the park they all liked in Nashville. Liz was happy to see that the whole Posse and Crew had made it. Maria and the others had visited as well but had to get back home. Her mom and Ted were very much the proud grandparents. Liz was just happy that she was able to take some time off; the new mission she had been given was a lulu. By the time they were done they would have pretty much re written the training doctrine for just about the entire US Army. But she had to admit that she did enjoy the challenge.
They had decided that they should go over it one at a time starting with Aviation, which Liz correctly figured would be the easiest due to her experience. She pretty much just used what they had been doing with the SOAR and made it a little more general. It took only two months to do and she sent it out for suggestions while they moved on to Artillery. Since none of them had any experience with it she roped in some people with the Artillery school.
But first she had to get through the wedding of her daughter. Aliya had decided that she wanted it simple and Liz was quite happy about that. They had it at Campbell in the part that she and the Posse and Crew knew so well. It was not a huge wedding; only around 70 all together.
Liz had given Les a hard time; just as the prospective mother in law should. But she liked him. He complimented Aliya very well. His parents were frankly shocked that he had settled down so quickly and were completely in awe of Liz.
Maria, Tess and Isabelle stood with Liz as she waved goodbye as the Limo with Aliya and Les took off to head to the airport where they would go to Hawaii for their honeymoon. Liz felt the tears slowly running down her cheeks as her best and oldest friends hugged her. She looked over at her mother, understanding how she must have felt when Liz got married and went away.
“Come on, Chica, no more tears. This is a great day.”
“Then what is that running down your cheeks, Maria?”
Liz guessed that in one way she was lucky; she had gotten used to Aliya being at school so that the jarring absence of her daughter was not so bad. But she would always miss that little girl she had picked up one terrible day in Afghanistan.
She smiled at the memory of some years ago when she had been at the Smithsonian to see the unveiling of her Super Apache as it hung next to other famous aircraft. She still managed to find time to sneak to Campbell and borrow one at least a couple times a year to stay reasonably current. Or depending on things would sometimes make it to Scotland and borrow one there. She felt only a visitor there anymore; no one was left who had been there when she was. They had decided to let those in the 160th and 161st trade back and forth and that was what had happened. She actually did run into one or two at Campbell but many had moved on past the SOAR into other aviation Brigades. The demand for the best never let up.
One could almost ask why they needed them anymore; since the collapse of the Iranian regime there had been more peace around the world then there had been in a very long time. The brush fires in the Philippines and Indonesia had been about the worst. Though she knew the 161st had had to go to southern Africa a couple of times, very quietly. And the Balkans still acted up as did the Chechnyans. Korea had to the surprise of many just quietly collapsed and the Song family killed by desperate and starving people. It had been a mess and South Korea had had all it could do to cope. The US had helped but in the end it was the grit of the Korean people that had finally allowed the long overdue Reconciliation and Reunification. But China was once again growling; but even there it was clear the hard line Chinese Communists had lost their grip; what few remained. They were inevitably heading towards some kind of democracy.
Looking around the world outside of China there was only one other problem brewing and it was an old one: Russia. It seemed like true freedom and democracy would still elude the people there. A new autocratic leader had worked his way into the power seat; the illusion of real democracy only a tattered threadbare sheet anymore. The Ukraine was clearly worried and was working at closer relations with Europe and the US, which of course ticked off the Bear. The Russian government was accusing the Ukraine of harboring and supporting the Chechnyan resistance. Most thought that was a crock of shit but the Russians hammered away at it. After years of stupidity, they had realized that they needed to invest in infrastructure in the oil and gas industry and that was paying dividends. More was flowing than ever before; and way too much of it was being spent on military programs. New fighters and Tanks and the like were coming online. Not quite as good as what the US and Europe had, but competitive.
The F-22 was now the acknowledged king of Fighters but its price had meant only 3 wings had been produced. The F-35 was a good aircraft but not as great as had been hoped. The next fighter was in the prototype stage and was thought to probably be the last totally atmospheric fighter; if rumors were true about the successor to other top secret programs. The Abrams block 3 had been upgraded and was still as good as anything around. The Stryker had quietly been relegated to the NG as the reality of it was it was too big a target. The Bradley was looking at being replaced but as of yet no decision had been made on what. But the unmanned world was gaining greater acceptance on the ground and in the air.
UAV’s had made huge strides; but were not yet able to displace manned craft; but for recon and the like it was king of the world. Liz was amazed how far the successor to the Predator had come; the new one could carry a fair amount of firepower and was still very hard to spot.
As regards her first love the Super Apache was still king. Nothing else had come close yet. The regular Apache had been upgraded with the Fenestron tail and other advances so that it was not that much less capable than the Super Apache. The Blackhawks and the rest had not been replaced thought there were prototypes out there. Liz actually thought it was remarkable how few weapon systems had been replaced; upgrading and modernizing was the way just about everyone went anymore. The Chinese had finally after 10 years got their first carrier operational and now had two; with two more building. Clearly looking at rivalry with the US Navy. Something to be watched down the road.
Liz sighed as she pulled her thoughts away from the world situation and looked at the paperwork on her desk. It had taken them 4 months to really work on the Artillery doctrine; mainly because none of her people were really familiar with it. But they had gotten it done. She had just marked her first year in TRADOC and now only the Armor question remained.
They had tried to put an unmanned turret on the Abrams but had found out that an auto loader still did not get it done the way they wanted. The Lasers that were being worked on were still too much of an energy hog for anything short of a ground installation or an aircraft the size of the C-17. So outside of a new more powerful engine and modernized electronics the Abrams was much the same as it was. Still, the treadheads claimed, the best Tank in the world. And it probably was. It had not gone up against the new Russian tanks yet. Liz had talked to the intelligence wonks who quietly told her they had information that the latest Russian tank was being oversold. But the Russians had been pouring a lot of money into their Air Force and army. But interestingly they had not put much into their surface navy; they had modernized their attack and missile submarines but not hugely. Clearly they wanted to be ready for the Chinese or for a fight with the West. Ukraine had been also working on building up their military but clearly was no match for the Russians; hence their closer ties with the west.
The Armor school had moved from Ft Knox to Ft Benning; one of the many BRAC moves that made no sense and saved little money. She and her crew flew there for a 3 day meeting with the Armor School.
“All right we know the score. She was tasked to rewrite training doctrine for the entire US Army and we are the last major area to get the treatment. So it is up to us to convince her we know what we are doing. She will write it and it will be accepted. But we have the chance to shape it.”
The main meeting started out with Liz being blunt as usual.
“Your tactics have changed very little since the preparation to face off with the Warsaw Pact. The chances of actually having a major tank battle are pretty slim; so most of the training and orientation needs to be elsewhere. However, we will make sure that is part of it. There are still a couple of tank heavy militaries out there that we might have to fight. And unfortunately they are big ones.”
Everyone knew what she was talking about: Russia and China. Really the only two countries on earth with large tank forces left. And unfortunately two that the US had to consider as possible opponents.
“OK. The three advantages of the Abrams were that it was faster than any other tank; the 120 with DU rds could take out any other tank head on; and the DU armor added to it meant no other tank could take it out head on. The latest DU models are as far as we know able to still do that; and as far as we know there still is no tank out there that can fire anything that will penetrate the turret from head on. And well as regards speed that has not changed a whole lot either.”
The top speed of the Abrams had always been OFFICIALLY 45 mph. But on the wall of the commander of the Armor School was a small framed copy of a German traffic police ticket given to a US Army Abrams crew that was tracked on the Autobahn in 1982 doing 162 KM per hour. Which by conversion is right at 100 MPH. The latest model with the new gas turbine engine of 2000 HP gave it a hp to ton ratio of 26 to a ton which put it right hp there with any other tank in the world; and its advanced transmission allowed it to apply that power to its tracks fully. It was not much of a secret that the Block 3 when it came out 7 years earlier had gone over 70 MPH. Now it was not smart to go that fast unless you really had to; it was very easy to lose control. But the potential was there. It still outranged just about any tank it would come up against and its latest laser site system was the acknowledged best in the world. It would get the job done.
The Bradley had been modernized and given a new engine so that it could almost keep up with the Abrams. The new version of the HELLFIRE missile gave it a longer reach than the TOW it used to carry; and just as capable of taking out any tank. Better yet it had the new fire and forget system so that the Bradley could fire the missile and then move on immediately. The 25MM Bushmaster could still take out any vehicle short of a tank head on and could take out a tank from the rear. Its protection had been improved; but it still could not take a hit from anything designed to fight tanks; and no one should have ever expected it to.
One good thing about the downsizing back in 2012 was that enough Bradley’s had been freed up to fully equip every heavy and regular brigade in the Army so that no infantry had to ride into or through battle in anything other than a Bradley. The Heavy US Divisions (1st Armored, 1st Cavalry), had 3 heavy brigades; 1st Infantry-Mechanized had 2 Heavy Brigades and one Regular. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th INFANTRY Divisions had 1 Heavy and 2 Regular Brigades. The Total thus in the Regular Army was 11 heavy brigades. A heavy Brigade had two armored Battalions and 1 Armored Infantry Battalion. A regular Brigade had 1 Armored Battalion and 2 Armored Infantry Battalions. There were 3 mechanized divisions in the NG as well as 3 infantry divisions.
With the problem in Korea gone the 2nd ID had come home and had been based at Ft Riley. So now you had the 1st Armored and 4th Inf at Ft Bliss; the 1st and 2nd ID at Ft Riley; the 3rd ID at Ft Stewart and the 4th ID at Ft Carson, and the 1st Cavalry at Ft Hood.
The reorganization of 2015 had worked this way: an armored battalion had 4 companies of Abrams and a company of Armored Infantry. Each Tank company had 14. Each Armored Infantry company had 18 Bradley’s each capable of carrying 6 men. The only really vulnerable people were those still running around in the Hummers and trucks that serviced the units and brought up the ammo and supplies. The Bradley Cavalry model had been converted into a mortar and heavy weapons carrier. A boxy vehicle that went with the GMRLS system carried the 120MM Mortars; while the heavy MGs and 60 and 81MM mortars went with the Bradley’s. An Armored Infantry Battalion had one company of Tanks and 6 Armored infantry company’s. The Heavy weapons were attached to the Battalions. The Artillery was still a mixture of towed 155MM Howitzers with the Infantry and M109A5 Self Propelled 155MM Howitzers with the Tank and Cavalry and 1st ID.
Liz also had the problem of reworking the combine arms doctrine; which had the Air Force supporting the Army and Armor, Infantry and Aviation all working together. Easier said than done.
Liz thus brought in as well the Aviation School and the Infantry school so that they could all get on the same sheet of music. She wanted to emphasize movement and fire at all times; no one should sit and wait if there was any real threat. Shoot and scoot. Never give anyone a stationary target if you can help it. And that way an enemy can never really be sure what you are doing.
The arguing and such went on for a full two weeks before there was enough agreement to start getting down to serious manual writing. All in all it took two full months to get it written. And then another two months to finally agree on everything.
The good news was that the new helmet and armor had performed as hoped and would be going into full production. Liz had been able to short circuit the still messy acquisition process by showing savings and speed. The carts would now be standard issue for all light companies. By the time Liz was celebrating her 40th birthday, all the changes were going into effect. She was just at the two year mark in TRADOC.
The Chief of Staff looked at TRADOC.
“You are serious.”
“Yes. She has gotten everything that the previous TRADOC and I had wanted her to do in 2 years; we thought she would need 3. We really have nothing left big enough to warrant her efforts.”
The Chief of Staff of the US Army considered this.
“Well I will need to talk to SECDEF about this.”
“What do you suggest?”
“She would be wasted at TRADOC from this point on. Anything else for a 3 Star is frankly not going to be much of a challenge for her as regards staff or Pentagon duty. But XVIII Airborne Corps is going to move up so we have a 3 Star Slot there that is frankly tailor made for her. And the way things look, frankly, I want our best there.”
The latest SNIE was not looking good for Europe. Specifically eastern Europe; most specifically Russia. The Chechnyans were causing big trouble after being driven underground and virtually hunted to extinction; it turned out that they had been just getting ready. They had launched half a dozen major attacks on Russia and they had all been very bloody and very public. Attacks in Moscow and most of the major cities in European Russia. Russia had accused Belarus and Ukraine of turning a blind eye to them. That was highly debatable but was the party line in Russia at the moment.
The XVIII Airborne Corps consisted of the 82nd, 101st, 10th Mountain and 3rd ID. However there had been proposals to substitute the 1st Cavalry for the 3rd ID. To give it more power. That seemed to be likely to happen soon. It was also likely that they might decide to attach one of the MEF’s if needed. As well as either the 161st SOAR or the 160th SOAR depending on where it had to go.
Liz sat and contemplated the view from her office window; it was pretty nice but she did not see it. TRADOC had been rather vague about what he wanted her to do next. The last bits of it were pretty much done; responding to comments was almost done as well. The new training manuals and doctrines would be going into effect the next year. So what would he have her do next?
TRADOC was smiling as Liz came in to see him.
“First things first. You will be doing a whirlwind tour of our active duty divisions. A few days with each as basically an Inspector. Then after that comes this.”
He handed her an official message and grinned as she looked at It in shock.
“Knew you would be surprised. But I totally agree with it; as much as I would like to keep you around you would be wasted being stuck here now. You got everything important done.”
Max found Liz sitting in the sofa in their quarters as he got in. This was fairly rare and usually meant something.
“Ok, hon. What now?”
“Command of the XVIII Airborne Corps.”
Max nodded thoughtfully. “That does not surprise me. Best place for you.”
“Well we move to Ft Bragg. Not too far I guess.”
But first came her tour. Her appointment was to be kept quiet until 1 September; so she had a little over 6 weeks until then. She decided she could get the inspection tour done first. She would take Jim and Sid with her; they would poke around like she did. The rest of her ‘staff’, 2 Majors, 2 captains and 3 Lts and the Gang of 6 would also spread around looking things over. They were well briefed on what to look for.
She decided to hit Ft Bliss first; Then Ft Riley. She would spend a week at each and that would take care of 4 divisions. Then 3 days at each. And they would not be told she was coming.
Liz came off the C-12 and was met by the airfield Commander; who was in shock at the sudden appearance of a 3 star.
“General Parker. No one told us.”
“You were not told on purpose. This is a no notice inspection.”
Liz went immediately to the ASP and from there the maneuver area, McGregor Range. She found the ASP in decent shape; but had some comments about a few things. She was at McGregor watching a company of Abrams practicing live move and shoot from the 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored when the commanding general pulled up.
General Summers knew he had to tread carefully.
“General Parker, I was just getting back in; my plane arrived just a half hour after yours.”
“Not a problem General Summers. This was a no notice. Your ASP has a few small problems but nothing major. I notice that this company is using the box formation. Glad to see the new training doctrine being used even if it is not yet official.”
“What do you wish to see now General?”
“My people are looking around your unit now. We can just talk.”
The 1st Armored was in good shape; so Liz spent only one day looking them over before moving on to the 4th ID. Which was not in as good a shape. She spent 4 days and gigged the Commanding General on his ASP operation, his training SOPs for being out of date, and his equipment situation, which was not good either.
FORSCOM looked at her report and then at his Chief of Staff.
“I did have some concerns about the 4th ID. What do you think?’
“The general has only been in command for 4 months; so let’s give him one more chance. We will do a follow up in 30 days.”
“Reasonable.”
The 4th ID commander looked at his staff.
“OK. The good news is that we get a second chance. The bad news is that we will need to show significant improvement or I will not be the only one out. You will all carry part of the can.”
Ft Riley was next. Liz went straight there; catching them by surprise. But both divisions were in good shape; 1st ID and 2nd ID. She spent 4 days looking them over and saw only minor problems. She then went home and rested for a week then hit Ft Drum and the 10th Mountain. In two days they had some write-ups but overall was in good shape. She went right to Campbell and looked over her old division next. They were ready for her and she smiled as she came off the Jet and found the division staff waiting for her.
“General Parker, your old division welcomes you back.’
And they were in excellent shape; but then she expected if for two reasons: one, her old Deputy was a good division commander; and two, pretty much everyone was expecting her anyway.
She hit Ft Bragg and the 82nd next and they did well. Ending up with the 3rd ID at Ft Stewart, and the 1st Cavalry at Ft Hood. They had plenty of time to get ready but she felt they were in good shape anyway.
Two days after she returned the DOD announced her appointment as Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps.
She had decided to take Jim as her Chief of Staff; and the rest of her people as well. It was unorthodox but she did not care. It worked out that the XVIII CSM was due out so Sid could slip right in. As a matter of fact the whole staff was going so Liz was left with a clean slate. She began to go over personnel files in order to fill the positions. She wanted people who had been there and done that; she did not want anyone who had not deployed during the Iraq/Afghan wars. She noted that her Deputy Commander was also going out; so she was going to have to replace everyone. Then she found out that the Chief of Staff position was a general slot. So she called and found out if she could get Jim promoted.
“General Parker, it is possible but policy is that he go to command school first.”
“So?”
“It is policy sir.”
“Who changes policy?”
“Good god, just promote the man.”
“But sir, policy…?”
“Major, just in case you have not noticed, policy is not regulation.”
“Yes sir.”
Liz smiled evilly as a week before she left for the XVIII at the TRADOC going away party she called Jim up to the front of the table at the mess hall.
“Jim has been around since I grabbed him to be my XO for the 161st. Kind of got used to having him around. So since the Chief of Staff position at the XVIII Airborne Corps calls for a Brigadier General, we had to do something.”
Jim was stunned when his children appeared and pinned stars on his shoulders while his wife smiled through her tears.
“That is right – we have to look at and update the training doctrine for Aviation, Artillery and Armor just like we did with Infantry.”
They still looked shocked. She grinned.
“Come on, guys, it’s no big deal.”
Liz sat and watched with the rest of the parents and family as the class of 2022 graduated. Aliya had decided that she wanted to be a teacher. And Liz had no doubt she would be a very good one. Les Atkins was right with Aliya as he had been pretty much from their freshman year. They had been engaged for 2 years now but were firm in waiting until they were graduated before getting married. Les was a civil engineer and they had both been lucky in getting jobs in the Nashville area. Liz was glad since they would have friends all around. She felt the years passing though. She was now 39. Max was 55 but still gorgeous. She had found her first grey hair just a little while ago. Max insisted that she looked hardly a day over 30; she barely had the beginnings of lines around her eyes and mouth. James was now 10 and was as happy go lucky as ever; but he was starting to really get interested in computers so she and Max had a feeling which way he was going.
They had a graduation party that evening at the park they all liked in Nashville. Liz was happy to see that the whole Posse and Crew had made it. Maria and the others had visited as well but had to get back home. Her mom and Ted were very much the proud grandparents. Liz was just happy that she was able to take some time off; the new mission she had been given was a lulu. By the time they were done they would have pretty much re written the training doctrine for just about the entire US Army. But she had to admit that she did enjoy the challenge.
They had decided that they should go over it one at a time starting with Aviation, which Liz correctly figured would be the easiest due to her experience. She pretty much just used what they had been doing with the SOAR and made it a little more general. It took only two months to do and she sent it out for suggestions while they moved on to Artillery. Since none of them had any experience with it she roped in some people with the Artillery school.
But first she had to get through the wedding of her daughter. Aliya had decided that she wanted it simple and Liz was quite happy about that. They had it at Campbell in the part that she and the Posse and Crew knew so well. It was not a huge wedding; only around 70 all together.
Liz had given Les a hard time; just as the prospective mother in law should. But she liked him. He complimented Aliya very well. His parents were frankly shocked that he had settled down so quickly and were completely in awe of Liz.
Maria, Tess and Isabelle stood with Liz as she waved goodbye as the Limo with Aliya and Les took off to head to the airport where they would go to Hawaii for their honeymoon. Liz felt the tears slowly running down her cheeks as her best and oldest friends hugged her. She looked over at her mother, understanding how she must have felt when Liz got married and went away.
“Come on, Chica, no more tears. This is a great day.”
“Then what is that running down your cheeks, Maria?”
Liz guessed that in one way she was lucky; she had gotten used to Aliya being at school so that the jarring absence of her daughter was not so bad. But she would always miss that little girl she had picked up one terrible day in Afghanistan.
She smiled at the memory of some years ago when she had been at the Smithsonian to see the unveiling of her Super Apache as it hung next to other famous aircraft. She still managed to find time to sneak to Campbell and borrow one at least a couple times a year to stay reasonably current. Or depending on things would sometimes make it to Scotland and borrow one there. She felt only a visitor there anymore; no one was left who had been there when she was. They had decided to let those in the 160th and 161st trade back and forth and that was what had happened. She actually did run into one or two at Campbell but many had moved on past the SOAR into other aviation Brigades. The demand for the best never let up.
One could almost ask why they needed them anymore; since the collapse of the Iranian regime there had been more peace around the world then there had been in a very long time. The brush fires in the Philippines and Indonesia had been about the worst. Though she knew the 161st had had to go to southern Africa a couple of times, very quietly. And the Balkans still acted up as did the Chechnyans. Korea had to the surprise of many just quietly collapsed and the Song family killed by desperate and starving people. It had been a mess and South Korea had had all it could do to cope. The US had helped but in the end it was the grit of the Korean people that had finally allowed the long overdue Reconciliation and Reunification. But China was once again growling; but even there it was clear the hard line Chinese Communists had lost their grip; what few remained. They were inevitably heading towards some kind of democracy.
Looking around the world outside of China there was only one other problem brewing and it was an old one: Russia. It seemed like true freedom and democracy would still elude the people there. A new autocratic leader had worked his way into the power seat; the illusion of real democracy only a tattered threadbare sheet anymore. The Ukraine was clearly worried and was working at closer relations with Europe and the US, which of course ticked off the Bear. The Russian government was accusing the Ukraine of harboring and supporting the Chechnyan resistance. Most thought that was a crock of shit but the Russians hammered away at it. After years of stupidity, they had realized that they needed to invest in infrastructure in the oil and gas industry and that was paying dividends. More was flowing than ever before; and way too much of it was being spent on military programs. New fighters and Tanks and the like were coming online. Not quite as good as what the US and Europe had, but competitive.
The F-22 was now the acknowledged king of Fighters but its price had meant only 3 wings had been produced. The F-35 was a good aircraft but not as great as had been hoped. The next fighter was in the prototype stage and was thought to probably be the last totally atmospheric fighter; if rumors were true about the successor to other top secret programs. The Abrams block 3 had been upgraded and was still as good as anything around. The Stryker had quietly been relegated to the NG as the reality of it was it was too big a target. The Bradley was looking at being replaced but as of yet no decision had been made on what. But the unmanned world was gaining greater acceptance on the ground and in the air.
UAV’s had made huge strides; but were not yet able to displace manned craft; but for recon and the like it was king of the world. Liz was amazed how far the successor to the Predator had come; the new one could carry a fair amount of firepower and was still very hard to spot.
As regards her first love the Super Apache was still king. Nothing else had come close yet. The regular Apache had been upgraded with the Fenestron tail and other advances so that it was not that much less capable than the Super Apache. The Blackhawks and the rest had not been replaced thought there were prototypes out there. Liz actually thought it was remarkable how few weapon systems had been replaced; upgrading and modernizing was the way just about everyone went anymore. The Chinese had finally after 10 years got their first carrier operational and now had two; with two more building. Clearly looking at rivalry with the US Navy. Something to be watched down the road.
Liz sighed as she pulled her thoughts away from the world situation and looked at the paperwork on her desk. It had taken them 4 months to really work on the Artillery doctrine; mainly because none of her people were really familiar with it. But they had gotten it done. She had just marked her first year in TRADOC and now only the Armor question remained.
They had tried to put an unmanned turret on the Abrams but had found out that an auto loader still did not get it done the way they wanted. The Lasers that were being worked on were still too much of an energy hog for anything short of a ground installation or an aircraft the size of the C-17. So outside of a new more powerful engine and modernized electronics the Abrams was much the same as it was. Still, the treadheads claimed, the best Tank in the world. And it probably was. It had not gone up against the new Russian tanks yet. Liz had talked to the intelligence wonks who quietly told her they had information that the latest Russian tank was being oversold. But the Russians had been pouring a lot of money into their Air Force and army. But interestingly they had not put much into their surface navy; they had modernized their attack and missile submarines but not hugely. Clearly they wanted to be ready for the Chinese or for a fight with the West. Ukraine had been also working on building up their military but clearly was no match for the Russians; hence their closer ties with the west.
The Armor school had moved from Ft Knox to Ft Benning; one of the many BRAC moves that made no sense and saved little money. She and her crew flew there for a 3 day meeting with the Armor School.
“All right we know the score. She was tasked to rewrite training doctrine for the entire US Army and we are the last major area to get the treatment. So it is up to us to convince her we know what we are doing. She will write it and it will be accepted. But we have the chance to shape it.”
The main meeting started out with Liz being blunt as usual.
“Your tactics have changed very little since the preparation to face off with the Warsaw Pact. The chances of actually having a major tank battle are pretty slim; so most of the training and orientation needs to be elsewhere. However, we will make sure that is part of it. There are still a couple of tank heavy militaries out there that we might have to fight. And unfortunately they are big ones.”
Everyone knew what she was talking about: Russia and China. Really the only two countries on earth with large tank forces left. And unfortunately two that the US had to consider as possible opponents.
“OK. The three advantages of the Abrams were that it was faster than any other tank; the 120 with DU rds could take out any other tank head on; and the DU armor added to it meant no other tank could take it out head on. The latest DU models are as far as we know able to still do that; and as far as we know there still is no tank out there that can fire anything that will penetrate the turret from head on. And well as regards speed that has not changed a whole lot either.”
The top speed of the Abrams had always been OFFICIALLY 45 mph. But on the wall of the commander of the Armor School was a small framed copy of a German traffic police ticket given to a US Army Abrams crew that was tracked on the Autobahn in 1982 doing 162 KM per hour. Which by conversion is right at 100 MPH. The latest model with the new gas turbine engine of 2000 HP gave it a hp to ton ratio of 26 to a ton which put it right hp there with any other tank in the world; and its advanced transmission allowed it to apply that power to its tracks fully. It was not much of a secret that the Block 3 when it came out 7 years earlier had gone over 70 MPH. Now it was not smart to go that fast unless you really had to; it was very easy to lose control. But the potential was there. It still outranged just about any tank it would come up against and its latest laser site system was the acknowledged best in the world. It would get the job done.
The Bradley had been modernized and given a new engine so that it could almost keep up with the Abrams. The new version of the HELLFIRE missile gave it a longer reach than the TOW it used to carry; and just as capable of taking out any tank. Better yet it had the new fire and forget system so that the Bradley could fire the missile and then move on immediately. The 25MM Bushmaster could still take out any vehicle short of a tank head on and could take out a tank from the rear. Its protection had been improved; but it still could not take a hit from anything designed to fight tanks; and no one should have ever expected it to.
One good thing about the downsizing back in 2012 was that enough Bradley’s had been freed up to fully equip every heavy and regular brigade in the Army so that no infantry had to ride into or through battle in anything other than a Bradley. The Heavy US Divisions (1st Armored, 1st Cavalry), had 3 heavy brigades; 1st Infantry-Mechanized had 2 Heavy Brigades and one Regular. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th INFANTRY Divisions had 1 Heavy and 2 Regular Brigades. The Total thus in the Regular Army was 11 heavy brigades. A heavy Brigade had two armored Battalions and 1 Armored Infantry Battalion. A regular Brigade had 1 Armored Battalion and 2 Armored Infantry Battalions. There were 3 mechanized divisions in the NG as well as 3 infantry divisions.
With the problem in Korea gone the 2nd ID had come home and had been based at Ft Riley. So now you had the 1st Armored and 4th Inf at Ft Bliss; the 1st and 2nd ID at Ft Riley; the 3rd ID at Ft Stewart and the 4th ID at Ft Carson, and the 1st Cavalry at Ft Hood.
The reorganization of 2015 had worked this way: an armored battalion had 4 companies of Abrams and a company of Armored Infantry. Each Tank company had 14. Each Armored Infantry company had 18 Bradley’s each capable of carrying 6 men. The only really vulnerable people were those still running around in the Hummers and trucks that serviced the units and brought up the ammo and supplies. The Bradley Cavalry model had been converted into a mortar and heavy weapons carrier. A boxy vehicle that went with the GMRLS system carried the 120MM Mortars; while the heavy MGs and 60 and 81MM mortars went with the Bradley’s. An Armored Infantry Battalion had one company of Tanks and 6 Armored infantry company’s. The Heavy weapons were attached to the Battalions. The Artillery was still a mixture of towed 155MM Howitzers with the Infantry and M109A5 Self Propelled 155MM Howitzers with the Tank and Cavalry and 1st ID.
Liz also had the problem of reworking the combine arms doctrine; which had the Air Force supporting the Army and Armor, Infantry and Aviation all working together. Easier said than done.
Liz thus brought in as well the Aviation School and the Infantry school so that they could all get on the same sheet of music. She wanted to emphasize movement and fire at all times; no one should sit and wait if there was any real threat. Shoot and scoot. Never give anyone a stationary target if you can help it. And that way an enemy can never really be sure what you are doing.
The arguing and such went on for a full two weeks before there was enough agreement to start getting down to serious manual writing. All in all it took two full months to get it written. And then another two months to finally agree on everything.
The good news was that the new helmet and armor had performed as hoped and would be going into full production. Liz had been able to short circuit the still messy acquisition process by showing savings and speed. The carts would now be standard issue for all light companies. By the time Liz was celebrating her 40th birthday, all the changes were going into effect. She was just at the two year mark in TRADOC.
The Chief of Staff looked at TRADOC.
“You are serious.”
“Yes. She has gotten everything that the previous TRADOC and I had wanted her to do in 2 years; we thought she would need 3. We really have nothing left big enough to warrant her efforts.”
The Chief of Staff of the US Army considered this.
“Well I will need to talk to SECDEF about this.”
“What do you suggest?”
“She would be wasted at TRADOC from this point on. Anything else for a 3 Star is frankly not going to be much of a challenge for her as regards staff or Pentagon duty. But XVIII Airborne Corps is going to move up so we have a 3 Star Slot there that is frankly tailor made for her. And the way things look, frankly, I want our best there.”
The latest SNIE was not looking good for Europe. Specifically eastern Europe; most specifically Russia. The Chechnyans were causing big trouble after being driven underground and virtually hunted to extinction; it turned out that they had been just getting ready. They had launched half a dozen major attacks on Russia and they had all been very bloody and very public. Attacks in Moscow and most of the major cities in European Russia. Russia had accused Belarus and Ukraine of turning a blind eye to them. That was highly debatable but was the party line in Russia at the moment.
The XVIII Airborne Corps consisted of the 82nd, 101st, 10th Mountain and 3rd ID. However there had been proposals to substitute the 1st Cavalry for the 3rd ID. To give it more power. That seemed to be likely to happen soon. It was also likely that they might decide to attach one of the MEF’s if needed. As well as either the 161st SOAR or the 160th SOAR depending on where it had to go.
Liz sat and contemplated the view from her office window; it was pretty nice but she did not see it. TRADOC had been rather vague about what he wanted her to do next. The last bits of it were pretty much done; responding to comments was almost done as well. The new training manuals and doctrines would be going into effect the next year. So what would he have her do next?
TRADOC was smiling as Liz came in to see him.
“First things first. You will be doing a whirlwind tour of our active duty divisions. A few days with each as basically an Inspector. Then after that comes this.”
He handed her an official message and grinned as she looked at It in shock.
“Knew you would be surprised. But I totally agree with it; as much as I would like to keep you around you would be wasted being stuck here now. You got everything important done.”
Max found Liz sitting in the sofa in their quarters as he got in. This was fairly rare and usually meant something.
“Ok, hon. What now?”
“Command of the XVIII Airborne Corps.”
Max nodded thoughtfully. “That does not surprise me. Best place for you.”
“Well we move to Ft Bragg. Not too far I guess.”
But first came her tour. Her appointment was to be kept quiet until 1 September; so she had a little over 6 weeks until then. She decided she could get the inspection tour done first. She would take Jim and Sid with her; they would poke around like she did. The rest of her ‘staff’, 2 Majors, 2 captains and 3 Lts and the Gang of 6 would also spread around looking things over. They were well briefed on what to look for.
She decided to hit Ft Bliss first; Then Ft Riley. She would spend a week at each and that would take care of 4 divisions. Then 3 days at each. And they would not be told she was coming.
Liz came off the C-12 and was met by the airfield Commander; who was in shock at the sudden appearance of a 3 star.
“General Parker. No one told us.”
“You were not told on purpose. This is a no notice inspection.”
Liz went immediately to the ASP and from there the maneuver area, McGregor Range. She found the ASP in decent shape; but had some comments about a few things. She was at McGregor watching a company of Abrams practicing live move and shoot from the 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored when the commanding general pulled up.
General Summers knew he had to tread carefully.
“General Parker, I was just getting back in; my plane arrived just a half hour after yours.”
“Not a problem General Summers. This was a no notice. Your ASP has a few small problems but nothing major. I notice that this company is using the box formation. Glad to see the new training doctrine being used even if it is not yet official.”
“What do you wish to see now General?”
“My people are looking around your unit now. We can just talk.”
The 1st Armored was in good shape; so Liz spent only one day looking them over before moving on to the 4th ID. Which was not in as good a shape. She spent 4 days and gigged the Commanding General on his ASP operation, his training SOPs for being out of date, and his equipment situation, which was not good either.
FORSCOM looked at her report and then at his Chief of Staff.
“I did have some concerns about the 4th ID. What do you think?’
“The general has only been in command for 4 months; so let’s give him one more chance. We will do a follow up in 30 days.”
“Reasonable.”
The 4th ID commander looked at his staff.
“OK. The good news is that we get a second chance. The bad news is that we will need to show significant improvement or I will not be the only one out. You will all carry part of the can.”
Ft Riley was next. Liz went straight there; catching them by surprise. But both divisions were in good shape; 1st ID and 2nd ID. She spent 4 days looking them over and saw only minor problems. She then went home and rested for a week then hit Ft Drum and the 10th Mountain. In two days they had some write-ups but overall was in good shape. She went right to Campbell and looked over her old division next. They were ready for her and she smiled as she came off the Jet and found the division staff waiting for her.
“General Parker, your old division welcomes you back.’
And they were in excellent shape; but then she expected if for two reasons: one, her old Deputy was a good division commander; and two, pretty much everyone was expecting her anyway.
She hit Ft Bragg and the 82nd next and they did well. Ending up with the 3rd ID at Ft Stewart, and the 1st Cavalry at Ft Hood. They had plenty of time to get ready but she felt they were in good shape anyway.
Two days after she returned the DOD announced her appointment as Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps.
She had decided to take Jim as her Chief of Staff; and the rest of her people as well. It was unorthodox but she did not care. It worked out that the XVIII CSM was due out so Sid could slip right in. As a matter of fact the whole staff was going so Liz was left with a clean slate. She began to go over personnel files in order to fill the positions. She wanted people who had been there and done that; she did not want anyone who had not deployed during the Iraq/Afghan wars. She noted that her Deputy Commander was also going out; so she was going to have to replace everyone. Then she found out that the Chief of Staff position was a general slot. So she called and found out if she could get Jim promoted.
“General Parker, it is possible but policy is that he go to command school first.”
“So?”
“It is policy sir.”
“Who changes policy?”
“Good god, just promote the man.”
“But sir, policy…?”
“Major, just in case you have not noticed, policy is not regulation.”
“Yes sir.”
Liz smiled evilly as a week before she left for the XVIII at the TRADOC going away party she called Jim up to the front of the table at the mess hall.
“Jim has been around since I grabbed him to be my XO for the 161st. Kind of got used to having him around. So since the Chief of Staff position at the XVIII Airborne Corps calls for a Brigadier General, we had to do something.”
Jim was stunned when his children appeared and pinned stars on his shoulders while his wife smiled through her tears.
Last edited by thumper1942 on Sun May 08, 2011 10:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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thumper1942
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Re: Adjusting To Peace (AU,M/L,Mature) Part 12 5 May
Liz had gotten around to asking Army Personnel about who would be her deputy commander. Upon being told that several were under consideration she asked for them to have input. They gave her four. She looked them over then one jumped out at her. He had been Chief of Staff at SOCOM. She noted he was promotable. She smiled and picked the phone up.
SOCOM looked at his Chief of Staff and grinned. Brigadier General Roy Windom got suspicious. SOCOM had a wicked sense of humor.
“OK, boss. You got that look in your eye like you just got a chance to torture someone and since I am the only one in the room just get it over with.”
“I guess it all depends on how bad you want that second star.”
Now he knew he was in trouble.
“Not so bad I will feel like knawing off a leg or arm to get away.”
“Doberman needs a new bitch.”
“Oh, shit.”
Roy Windom had graduated West Point in 2000. He had been swept up a little over a year later in the mess following 9/11. He had done well, going from a 2nd Lt in the Big Red 1 to a Major before leaving division in 2008 and hitting Staff College; then had gone to the Pentagon and had then escaped that with his birds in 2014. He had then gotten more command experience with a Brigade of the 3rd ID. Followed by more staff positions until he had gone to SOCOM in 2018 as a Brigadier. Now 5 years later he was going for his second star and was very interested in his next destination. And worried as well.
‘Doberman’ Parker was a force to be reckoned with. The trail of bodies of those that had not been up to her standards was very long indeed. It was rumored that the only command she had ever had that she had not relieved anyone was her last one at TRADOC. But that was leavened by the fact that the Division commander of the 4th ID had come within a whisker of getting the axe as his division had not performed well during a no notice inspection that she had given it. He had been able to survive when a second inspection 30 days later had shown significant improvement. But it was noted that that inspection had not been done by General Parker. So anyone that worked for her was faced with the fact that if you failed you were gone. No second chances.
Roy Windom was a confident man; he knew he was good. But being good and then facing her was another whole story. SOCOM had been a tough boss; but he had done well there in the strange world of Special Operations. Coming into it as only a straight leg had been tough but he had shown them he could get it done. But he had a feeling that that might be child’s play. Being Chief of Staff to SOCOM was not like being chief of staff elsewhere; you are expected to shoulder a lot of the load of SOCOM instead of just running the staff. In many ways he had been more of a Deputy SOCOM then a Chief of Staff. Maybe that is why she wanted him. He had a hunch that being Deputy to Her was a lot like being Deputy to SOCOM. She had gotten her old chief of staff promoted to assume the Chief of Staff of XVIII Airborne Corps. The good news from all of this was if he did show her he could get it done his next promotion would be all but assured. She was the golden child of the US Army and anyone getting her stamp of approval would move on up as well.
There was supposed to be a Deputy for Operations but Liz had decided that her deputy would take that position as well.
Roy found this out the day he reported to General Elizabeth Parker, commander XVIII Airborne Corps.
Liz thought that the ceremony where she took command was well done; not over stated but not treated lightly either. She made a note that when it was her time to move on it would be done the same way. First thing the first day was welcoming her Deputy Commander.
“General Windom, come on in and grab a chair. We need to talk.”
Roy sat down and tried to remain even and calm though he was nervous. Elizabeth Parker was 4 years younger than he was and had been a three star for two years already. Her dark hair had faint traces of grey; he was surprised she allowed it. But that was the only thing that indicated she was 40 years old. Her face looked years younger with only faint lines around her mouth and eyes. She was very tiny; the first thing he bet everyone who met her thought the first time.
Liz had noted he had looked at her hair; she had debated herself on whether to dye it but had in the end decided not to. With her dark hair, it was apparent very quickly.
“Yep, I have grey hair.”
Roy blinked and then blushed very slightly; he had thought he had not stared that long.
“Just proves I am not as young as some think I am. Well enough of the fact I do not dye my hair. Do you know why I chose you as my Deputy Commander?”
“No General.”
“Deputy to SOCOM; and while I do not know this one as well as the last one, I know how the SOCOM’s typically use their Chief of Staff. The fact that you did well and was a straight leg showed a lot. So I picked you. First things first; when it’s just us in the room it’s Liz. Roy, I will be piling a lot on you since I have decided not to have a deputy for Operations. You are going to be doing that. In addition to being deputy.”
Roy blinked at that. “Liz, why?”
“I do not believe it is necessary and just means more people who can screw things up. That is a huge problem in the US Army and the DOD as a whole; we have way too many chiefs. That dilutes the message and slows things up and causes other problems.”
He thought about that and could see her point; SOCOM was a place with a lot fewer staff officers than any other major command. Looked like this place would be the same. Well at least he was familiar with it.
“One of the first things is that the Army and DOD have decided that the 1st Cavalry will be our heavy division so we have to bring them into the Corps.”
“Heavier than the 3rd ; So we will have to figure that in any deployment situation.”
“Exactly. But I like the thought of a heavier division. There really is no difference between the 1st Cav and 1st Armored. Both have the same number of tanks.”
Roy cocked his head at that and Liz grinned.
“Surprised that I would so welcome a heavy?”
“Liz, your rep was made with Aviation and the 101st. Not the Heavies.”
“True. But I have had a soft spot in my heart ever since that Company of Abrams got me out of that convoy cluster. And I think that any time we have to commit the whole Corps we are going to need the Heavies.”
“OK, I can see your point. Do you have a hunch about that?”
One thing that had quietly gotten around about Doberman Parker was that she had hunches that had always been right. Call it woman’s intuition or second sight or whatever, the story was that it had gotten her out of a lot of scrapes over the years. Add to that the clear fact that she was lucky. Napoleon had said give me a lucky Marshal over a good one and that was as true now as back then. She was both good and lucky; a powerful combination.
“Yep. Soon as the Chief of Staff told me I knew it was a good thing.”
“OK. I guess we need to look at the difference in shipping then.”
“Not really. Baring anything out of the ordinary, the Pre Po ships will get there first and they will fight with what is in them.”
The full heavy division of Army PREPO (Pre Positioned) equipment was kept at Diego Garcia. It allowed equal time for going to all likely points. With Korea no longer a concern; with Afghanistan never likely to need tanks and Iran also no longer a threat, it had been questioned if they even needed it. So far they had been able to keep it. The other squadron of ships had been sent to base in the Atlantic and was now in Charleston. Every 60 days they were taken out for a three day run to make sure that they were ready to go.
Liz had checked on some things and had made the case to the Chief of Staff that if they needed one heavy division they would probably need two. So she had been allowed to plan in an emergency to use the 1st Armored as well. That would give her 3 light and 2 Heavy divisions. It would take with all available transport assets probably 4 to 5 days to get the troops anywhere; the ships would take as much as 10 days. The Corps operated on the idea that they could get a brigade of light troops plus their aviation brigade anywhere in 48 hours from the moment it was given; that was ready to rock not just when they actually got there. Liz right off the bat made it clear that to her what was important was when the unit sent would be ready to fight.
Jim had looked at her the first time they had a full staff meeting. He had done a good job of putting together a staff; Liz was confident that all of her people could get the job done.
“General, you seem to be saying that you want us to seriously look at adjusting the estimates so that they are different than what was previously used.”
“I am. Frankly what has been used for too long was the moment the last major unit arrived. That means nothing. We need to know how long it would take for that last major unit to be ready to FIGHT. Nothing else really matters.”
They spent the first month doing exactly that. The divisions were a little confused at the change; but Liz personally talked during a conference call about why she was changing the goal posts.
“Gentlemen, it really is simple. Previously all that was asked was when would all your units arrive; and not when they would be ready to fight. Now I just want to know the latter because frankly the former is not important.”
They did not really like that because they then had to figure that out; and they had never had to do that before. And it was harder to do than to just figure out how long it would take to get their people there.
Liz had been looking at the map of the world kept in her office and her gaze kept going to Europe; specifically Eastern Europe. The heat between Russia and Ukraine had not cooled off; intelligence believed that since right at the moment the new Russian president was not totally sure of his position he was using the tried and true method of focusing attention on a foreign enemy. Now the Ukraine and Russia had had pretty good relations since they broke off from the old USSR. But that never mattered to a politician who was looking to hang onto and hopefully increase his power base.
So far it had been talk; but lately there had also been movement by Russia to penalize Ukraine by messing with their energy supplies. The Ukraine had developed its energy resources sufficiently so that Russia no longer had much of a lever; natural gas had been developed to the point where if they had to the Ukraine could do without Russia; in oil they already were. That fact had been proven when the Ukraine president had flat out said that Russia needed their money more than they needed their Gas.
Russia’s contention that the Ukraine had been harboring Chechnyan activists had been dismissed by both the NSA and the CIA as BS. So anything further done by Russia was due to something else. At the moment there were no movements by any military assets of either country; so that was supposedly not something Liz had to worry about. And the Ukraine had not actually become part of NATO. But somehow Liz knew she needed to keep an eye on it; and had Jim get G2 to assign someone to keep on top of it.
A few weeks later just after Thanksgiving Liz decided to have a Staff exercise for the XVIII corps. That meant that the 4 divisions would bring their staffs to Ft Bragg and the Corps commander would give them a contingency and see how they did.
Liz had a meeting at least once a week with just Jim, Roy and Sid. This was her inner staff where she could let her hair down and really talk. She had deliberately not told the staffs what the contingency would be; and she would not tell hers either until they were all together. At this meeting they were going to thrash out what contingency they would use.
“OK, guys, suggestions.”
Jim shrugged. “With the new criteria you have set up, anything we choose will be new for them.”
Sid agreed. “Take a dart and throw it at the map.”
Roy was looking at Liz.
“You already have a target.”
Liz nodded. She got up and using a pointer hit a spot on the map.
They all looked and were surprised. This was not one that had been done before.
“The staff exercise will be held on 12 January.”
At 0900 on 12 January, Liz faced the staffs in the War game room; which had been built specifically with this in mind. Big enough to house her staff and 4 divisional staffs all in the same room with enough tables and everything else to let each staff spread out maps and documents and the like to do their figuring.
“Our target is Ukraine. A Russian attack has either happened or is being threatened. We will work on two scenarios. First one is a threatened attack; then we will plan for one that has happened. The XVIII staff will come up with options for the second scenario and your divisional staffs will respond. The first scenario is this: The president orders heavy forces to Ukraine. We go first of course. Our mission will be to deter an attack; and failing that hold until reinforcements arrive.”
Liz then went to her staff. “I want most of us working on scenario one; but I want some people looking at probable Russian attack locations and where we could set up holding positions that would allow the heavy forces to arrive.”
The exercise lasted 4 days and when it was over Liz and her staff looked at what they had found out. Jim summarized it.
“It all depends on if the Russians are really serious. If they go balls to the wall they can have Ukraine sealed off from the sea before our Prepo Ships get there; which would leave us with light forces and no way to get the heavy stuff through. It would take 5 days to get to Odessa from Diego Garcia. If the Russians attack from the east with the goal of cutting off the coast, they can do it in that amount of time. The defensive line we bet the Ukraine would use would go down the Dnieper River. It would be a strong defensive position except in the south. There are two areas to attack that would probably be quickly penetrated. Then another assault to Sevastopol that would allow them to station aircraft that would effectively seal off any sea borne aid.”
Liz nodded. “OK, I want plans on what we could do; for example the 82nd parachuting in and taking that airfield at Sevastopol and thus opening the sea route. Basically I want to see plans that would counter any likely Russian attack. Now maybe it cannot be done. But you need to show that.”
The CIA head finished his brief. “Timshenko has always been a hard liner. But he early on learned that he needed to appear as a moderate to get ahead quicker. Now that he is President he can act like he has had a revelation; only a hard line leader can save Russia.”
SECDEF looked at him. “Save Russia from what?”
“China. The difference between Timshenko and virtually every other Russian leader going back to the Czar’s and Peter the Great, is that he is not fixated on Europe. He believes Europe is no longer the future. It is the past. He looks East. To Siberia and it’s still mostly unexploited wealth. And he knows that China covets that wealth. China needs oil above all; and other minerals found in abundance in Siberia. That is one reason Timshenko has not cared about rebuilding the Navy; it is of no use as regards China. If you look at everything he has done in the 5 years he has been the leader it is clear. He gives lip service to the Europe first part of the intelligentsia, elite, military, etc. But he is obsessed with Siberia; exploiting it and above all keeping it for Russia. He believes that it is the key to the new Russian Empire that will be predominant on Earth.”
The president was thoughtful. “He has hidden this pretty well.”
“That is another reason he has looked at us with mostly indifference; and how we mistook that for someone not interested in remaking the Soviet empire. He also sees Europe as weak and not worth worrying about; even the Germans. And that certainly makes him the first Russian leader since Alexander to not really care about Germany. He also sees them as a very effective buffer against any plans we might have. The army and air forces of Europe have atrophied a fair amount; except for England and France. It would take years before they could become a real threat. And he looks at us as gradually once again withdrawing from world affairs, weakening and looking inward. Which is not a bad reading from someone thousands of miles away if you look at what is said and done here in Washington over the last 10 years.”
The Chairman nodded slowly. “I would really find it hard to argue otherwise. We have withdrawn from Europe except for Ramstein and the bases in England. There have been calls to bring even them home. With Korea no longer a worry we have pulled back a fair amount in the pacific. Our primary worry for over 40 years has been the Middle East; once again something I doubt he has any interest in.”
CIA nodded. “They have no need for anything the Middle East has. And he sees no reason to put any resources in there; or indeed anywhere else on Earth except Asia and only the part between Russia and China. Despite our watchful Eye on China, we do not confront them or really even bother them too much; and we still owe them a huge amount of money.”
The president asked. “I am surprised he has not quietly approached us about allying against China.”
“He is much too smart for that, sir. He knows it will not happen unless China directly threatens us. He believes that China is also looking almost solely at the Siberian resources. Which is valid as that is the only place they could get what they need. Nowhere else. And interestingly he sees the steadily weakening influence of the Communists as something that will threaten Russia; with the capitalist factions gradually gaining stronger they will be pragmatic and push to get the resources needed to feed China’s economy. While we see that same situation differently; as things getting better and less threatening. Cure China has two carriers and is building two more; but they have as far as we can tell no plans to build more. That is not enough to threaten us; maybe enough to play defense. Which also figures into his thinking as well.”
SECDEF was skeptical. “And just how do you know this for certain?”
CIA was smug. “For once someone was thinking ahead about 10 years ago and cultivated a young up and coming politician who really believed that Russia needed to be part of the world and not ruler. In the past two years he has steadily gotten to us recorded conversations of Timshenko talking to his inner core staff; the ones he trusts completely. What I am telling you now is the result of over 200 hours of recorded meetings. It is very consistent.”
The Chairman was not totally convinced. “Is there any chance that you are being fed this?”
“No sir. It would require tremendous effort and some of these meetings consist of all the conversations he had with his inner staff over a period of months. And we have gotten no hints that this is a set up. More to the point, what does he gain?”
“To play the victim; to act like there is a conspiracy against Russia.”
“And that makes him look weak; he is very concerned about that. And it makes Russia look like a victim and he cannot have that. Frankly, there is no good reason to do it. He has very solid backing; perhaps the most since Putin. He has placed his people in virtually every key position not just in the government or military but in the media; in the state run industries; in the larger commercial corporations he has cultivated strong ties there as well.”
The president sighed. “Sounds like for once the CIA really is ahead of the game; maybe the first time ever. Well I guess it had to happen sooner or later. The real question is what do we do?”
The Secretary of State shrugged. “Not much we can do diplomatically; we could try and warn the Chinese but I doubt it would do any good.”
CIA shook his head. “That could expose our source; he really believes that no one anywhere has it figured out and by all public measures he is right.”
The Chairman was pensive. “Outside of making sure all our contingency plans are up to date what can we do?”
SECDEF was thoughtful. “Offer stronger support to Ukraine. Where does his feud with them come from anyway?”
CIA was certain. “He wants his flanks secure; he knows the Ukraine is vital there. He has managed to force all the other former Soviet Republics that matter to tow his line. Ukraine has not. He thinks he has to show them who is boss.”
The Chairman was worried. “Is it possible he would use military force?”
“Russia no longer has the whip hand as regards gas or anything else economic to threaten Ukraine. And they need the wheat that Ukraine sends them. It is possible but there has been nothing hinted at in any of the recordings.”
After the meeting the Chairman met with SECDEF.
“I will have plans updated for any contingency involving Russia; with particular attention to the Ukraine.”
“Keep it quiet. We cannot afford to let anyone know we know.”
The Chairman looked at FORSCOM. “She had their staffs planning WHAT?”
“Response to Russian military attack on the Ukraine.”
“Why?”
“Have not talked to her about why. More than likely she was looking for a scenario they had not thought about and wanted to surprise them and make them think on the fly. It is what she does; one of the reasons she has been so successful.”
At a hurried meeting very soon after the Chairman told SECDEF.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I would like to think it is a total coincidence but why do I not believe it?”
“She is renowned for having hunches about bad news coming; I guess one should not be surprised. Should I have a talk with her?’
“No. We need to keep this as quiet as possible; the good news is that I bet they came up with anything that would not have occurred to your plans division. So no need to roust them and get anyone curious why. Just have them look over what she and her staffs came up with and critique it. It is a logical thing to do and would not attract attention.”
Two weeks later the chief of the Joint Staff talked to the Chairman.
“Found very little to criticize about their plans. Pretty complete. Now follow on would be needed for more divisions but that is not all that much to do. A little weak as regards more Air Force assets but then that is not what they would be looking at anyway. The naval part was confined to PREPO; they did question whether the Navy would try and bring Carriers into the Black Sea.”
“Would they?”
“Only on the direct order of the President. That is what it took to get them to go to the Arabian Gulf during Desert Storm. They would be incredibly vulnerable during the transits to the Black Sea. Though once there they would have plenty of room to maneuver; more than the Mediterranean.”
The Chairman nodded. He would speak to the CNO quietly on this; the CNO was a former carrier captain.
The CNO was pensive. “It would be very risky to transit; we would need total air cover and the problem in the Black Sea is that the Russians still have diesel electric subs; even the old ones they have were very quiet. And they could easily send missile attacks as well. It would literally be only in the case of absolute disaster if we did not. Frankly, I would rather fly the squadrons off and base them off of land airbases and leave the carriers outside.”
The Chairman had a quiet talk the Air Force Chief of Staff about airfields in that area.
“There are a number in the Crimea; most of them pretty good. If it came to it we could base a lot of aircraft there. They have 3 big ones and about a dozen others we could use if we had to. Of course we would need to bring just about everything with us to operate there.”
The Chairman had a secret group of his plans division on the Joint Staff to start looking at basing a large number of Air Force and Navy and Marine aircraft on the Crimean peninsula.
When told about all this SECDEF just quietly shook his head and told him to keep in low key as much as possible and above all to make sure it did not get out.
SOCOM looked at his Chief of Staff and grinned. Brigadier General Roy Windom got suspicious. SOCOM had a wicked sense of humor.
“OK, boss. You got that look in your eye like you just got a chance to torture someone and since I am the only one in the room just get it over with.”
“I guess it all depends on how bad you want that second star.”
Now he knew he was in trouble.
“Not so bad I will feel like knawing off a leg or arm to get away.”
“Doberman needs a new bitch.”
“Oh, shit.”
Roy Windom had graduated West Point in 2000. He had been swept up a little over a year later in the mess following 9/11. He had done well, going from a 2nd Lt in the Big Red 1 to a Major before leaving division in 2008 and hitting Staff College; then had gone to the Pentagon and had then escaped that with his birds in 2014. He had then gotten more command experience with a Brigade of the 3rd ID. Followed by more staff positions until he had gone to SOCOM in 2018 as a Brigadier. Now 5 years later he was going for his second star and was very interested in his next destination. And worried as well.
‘Doberman’ Parker was a force to be reckoned with. The trail of bodies of those that had not been up to her standards was very long indeed. It was rumored that the only command she had ever had that she had not relieved anyone was her last one at TRADOC. But that was leavened by the fact that the Division commander of the 4th ID had come within a whisker of getting the axe as his division had not performed well during a no notice inspection that she had given it. He had been able to survive when a second inspection 30 days later had shown significant improvement. But it was noted that that inspection had not been done by General Parker. So anyone that worked for her was faced with the fact that if you failed you were gone. No second chances.
Roy Windom was a confident man; he knew he was good. But being good and then facing her was another whole story. SOCOM had been a tough boss; but he had done well there in the strange world of Special Operations. Coming into it as only a straight leg had been tough but he had shown them he could get it done. But he had a feeling that that might be child’s play. Being Chief of Staff to SOCOM was not like being chief of staff elsewhere; you are expected to shoulder a lot of the load of SOCOM instead of just running the staff. In many ways he had been more of a Deputy SOCOM then a Chief of Staff. Maybe that is why she wanted him. He had a hunch that being Deputy to Her was a lot like being Deputy to SOCOM. She had gotten her old chief of staff promoted to assume the Chief of Staff of XVIII Airborne Corps. The good news from all of this was if he did show her he could get it done his next promotion would be all but assured. She was the golden child of the US Army and anyone getting her stamp of approval would move on up as well.
There was supposed to be a Deputy for Operations but Liz had decided that her deputy would take that position as well.
Roy found this out the day he reported to General Elizabeth Parker, commander XVIII Airborne Corps.
Liz thought that the ceremony where she took command was well done; not over stated but not treated lightly either. She made a note that when it was her time to move on it would be done the same way. First thing the first day was welcoming her Deputy Commander.
“General Windom, come on in and grab a chair. We need to talk.”
Roy sat down and tried to remain even and calm though he was nervous. Elizabeth Parker was 4 years younger than he was and had been a three star for two years already. Her dark hair had faint traces of grey; he was surprised she allowed it. But that was the only thing that indicated she was 40 years old. Her face looked years younger with only faint lines around her mouth and eyes. She was very tiny; the first thing he bet everyone who met her thought the first time.
Liz had noted he had looked at her hair; she had debated herself on whether to dye it but had in the end decided not to. With her dark hair, it was apparent very quickly.
“Yep, I have grey hair.”
Roy blinked and then blushed very slightly; he had thought he had not stared that long.
“Just proves I am not as young as some think I am. Well enough of the fact I do not dye my hair. Do you know why I chose you as my Deputy Commander?”
“No General.”
“Deputy to SOCOM; and while I do not know this one as well as the last one, I know how the SOCOM’s typically use their Chief of Staff. The fact that you did well and was a straight leg showed a lot. So I picked you. First things first; when it’s just us in the room it’s Liz. Roy, I will be piling a lot on you since I have decided not to have a deputy for Operations. You are going to be doing that. In addition to being deputy.”
Roy blinked at that. “Liz, why?”
“I do not believe it is necessary and just means more people who can screw things up. That is a huge problem in the US Army and the DOD as a whole; we have way too many chiefs. That dilutes the message and slows things up and causes other problems.”
He thought about that and could see her point; SOCOM was a place with a lot fewer staff officers than any other major command. Looked like this place would be the same. Well at least he was familiar with it.
“One of the first things is that the Army and DOD have decided that the 1st Cavalry will be our heavy division so we have to bring them into the Corps.”
“Heavier than the 3rd ; So we will have to figure that in any deployment situation.”
“Exactly. But I like the thought of a heavier division. There really is no difference between the 1st Cav and 1st Armored. Both have the same number of tanks.”
Roy cocked his head at that and Liz grinned.
“Surprised that I would so welcome a heavy?”
“Liz, your rep was made with Aviation and the 101st. Not the Heavies.”
“True. But I have had a soft spot in my heart ever since that Company of Abrams got me out of that convoy cluster. And I think that any time we have to commit the whole Corps we are going to need the Heavies.”
“OK, I can see your point. Do you have a hunch about that?”
One thing that had quietly gotten around about Doberman Parker was that she had hunches that had always been right. Call it woman’s intuition or second sight or whatever, the story was that it had gotten her out of a lot of scrapes over the years. Add to that the clear fact that she was lucky. Napoleon had said give me a lucky Marshal over a good one and that was as true now as back then. She was both good and lucky; a powerful combination.
“Yep. Soon as the Chief of Staff told me I knew it was a good thing.”
“OK. I guess we need to look at the difference in shipping then.”
“Not really. Baring anything out of the ordinary, the Pre Po ships will get there first and they will fight with what is in them.”
The full heavy division of Army PREPO (Pre Positioned) equipment was kept at Diego Garcia. It allowed equal time for going to all likely points. With Korea no longer a concern; with Afghanistan never likely to need tanks and Iran also no longer a threat, it had been questioned if they even needed it. So far they had been able to keep it. The other squadron of ships had been sent to base in the Atlantic and was now in Charleston. Every 60 days they were taken out for a three day run to make sure that they were ready to go.
Liz had checked on some things and had made the case to the Chief of Staff that if they needed one heavy division they would probably need two. So she had been allowed to plan in an emergency to use the 1st Armored as well. That would give her 3 light and 2 Heavy divisions. It would take with all available transport assets probably 4 to 5 days to get the troops anywhere; the ships would take as much as 10 days. The Corps operated on the idea that they could get a brigade of light troops plus their aviation brigade anywhere in 48 hours from the moment it was given; that was ready to rock not just when they actually got there. Liz right off the bat made it clear that to her what was important was when the unit sent would be ready to fight.
Jim had looked at her the first time they had a full staff meeting. He had done a good job of putting together a staff; Liz was confident that all of her people could get the job done.
“General, you seem to be saying that you want us to seriously look at adjusting the estimates so that they are different than what was previously used.”
“I am. Frankly what has been used for too long was the moment the last major unit arrived. That means nothing. We need to know how long it would take for that last major unit to be ready to FIGHT. Nothing else really matters.”
They spent the first month doing exactly that. The divisions were a little confused at the change; but Liz personally talked during a conference call about why she was changing the goal posts.
“Gentlemen, it really is simple. Previously all that was asked was when would all your units arrive; and not when they would be ready to fight. Now I just want to know the latter because frankly the former is not important.”
They did not really like that because they then had to figure that out; and they had never had to do that before. And it was harder to do than to just figure out how long it would take to get their people there.
Liz had been looking at the map of the world kept in her office and her gaze kept going to Europe; specifically Eastern Europe. The heat between Russia and Ukraine had not cooled off; intelligence believed that since right at the moment the new Russian president was not totally sure of his position he was using the tried and true method of focusing attention on a foreign enemy. Now the Ukraine and Russia had had pretty good relations since they broke off from the old USSR. But that never mattered to a politician who was looking to hang onto and hopefully increase his power base.
So far it had been talk; but lately there had also been movement by Russia to penalize Ukraine by messing with their energy supplies. The Ukraine had developed its energy resources sufficiently so that Russia no longer had much of a lever; natural gas had been developed to the point where if they had to the Ukraine could do without Russia; in oil they already were. That fact had been proven when the Ukraine president had flat out said that Russia needed their money more than they needed their Gas.
Russia’s contention that the Ukraine had been harboring Chechnyan activists had been dismissed by both the NSA and the CIA as BS. So anything further done by Russia was due to something else. At the moment there were no movements by any military assets of either country; so that was supposedly not something Liz had to worry about. And the Ukraine had not actually become part of NATO. But somehow Liz knew she needed to keep an eye on it; and had Jim get G2 to assign someone to keep on top of it.
A few weeks later just after Thanksgiving Liz decided to have a Staff exercise for the XVIII corps. That meant that the 4 divisions would bring their staffs to Ft Bragg and the Corps commander would give them a contingency and see how they did.
Liz had a meeting at least once a week with just Jim, Roy and Sid. This was her inner staff where she could let her hair down and really talk. She had deliberately not told the staffs what the contingency would be; and she would not tell hers either until they were all together. At this meeting they were going to thrash out what contingency they would use.
“OK, guys, suggestions.”
Jim shrugged. “With the new criteria you have set up, anything we choose will be new for them.”
Sid agreed. “Take a dart and throw it at the map.”
Roy was looking at Liz.
“You already have a target.”
Liz nodded. She got up and using a pointer hit a spot on the map.
They all looked and were surprised. This was not one that had been done before.
“The staff exercise will be held on 12 January.”
At 0900 on 12 January, Liz faced the staffs in the War game room; which had been built specifically with this in mind. Big enough to house her staff and 4 divisional staffs all in the same room with enough tables and everything else to let each staff spread out maps and documents and the like to do their figuring.
“Our target is Ukraine. A Russian attack has either happened or is being threatened. We will work on two scenarios. First one is a threatened attack; then we will plan for one that has happened. The XVIII staff will come up with options for the second scenario and your divisional staffs will respond. The first scenario is this: The president orders heavy forces to Ukraine. We go first of course. Our mission will be to deter an attack; and failing that hold until reinforcements arrive.”
Liz then went to her staff. “I want most of us working on scenario one; but I want some people looking at probable Russian attack locations and where we could set up holding positions that would allow the heavy forces to arrive.”
The exercise lasted 4 days and when it was over Liz and her staff looked at what they had found out. Jim summarized it.
“It all depends on if the Russians are really serious. If they go balls to the wall they can have Ukraine sealed off from the sea before our Prepo Ships get there; which would leave us with light forces and no way to get the heavy stuff through. It would take 5 days to get to Odessa from Diego Garcia. If the Russians attack from the east with the goal of cutting off the coast, they can do it in that amount of time. The defensive line we bet the Ukraine would use would go down the Dnieper River. It would be a strong defensive position except in the south. There are two areas to attack that would probably be quickly penetrated. Then another assault to Sevastopol that would allow them to station aircraft that would effectively seal off any sea borne aid.”
Liz nodded. “OK, I want plans on what we could do; for example the 82nd parachuting in and taking that airfield at Sevastopol and thus opening the sea route. Basically I want to see plans that would counter any likely Russian attack. Now maybe it cannot be done. But you need to show that.”
The CIA head finished his brief. “Timshenko has always been a hard liner. But he early on learned that he needed to appear as a moderate to get ahead quicker. Now that he is President he can act like he has had a revelation; only a hard line leader can save Russia.”
SECDEF looked at him. “Save Russia from what?”
“China. The difference between Timshenko and virtually every other Russian leader going back to the Czar’s and Peter the Great, is that he is not fixated on Europe. He believes Europe is no longer the future. It is the past. He looks East. To Siberia and it’s still mostly unexploited wealth. And he knows that China covets that wealth. China needs oil above all; and other minerals found in abundance in Siberia. That is one reason Timshenko has not cared about rebuilding the Navy; it is of no use as regards China. If you look at everything he has done in the 5 years he has been the leader it is clear. He gives lip service to the Europe first part of the intelligentsia, elite, military, etc. But he is obsessed with Siberia; exploiting it and above all keeping it for Russia. He believes that it is the key to the new Russian Empire that will be predominant on Earth.”
The president was thoughtful. “He has hidden this pretty well.”
“That is another reason he has looked at us with mostly indifference; and how we mistook that for someone not interested in remaking the Soviet empire. He also sees Europe as weak and not worth worrying about; even the Germans. And that certainly makes him the first Russian leader since Alexander to not really care about Germany. He also sees them as a very effective buffer against any plans we might have. The army and air forces of Europe have atrophied a fair amount; except for England and France. It would take years before they could become a real threat. And he looks at us as gradually once again withdrawing from world affairs, weakening and looking inward. Which is not a bad reading from someone thousands of miles away if you look at what is said and done here in Washington over the last 10 years.”
The Chairman nodded slowly. “I would really find it hard to argue otherwise. We have withdrawn from Europe except for Ramstein and the bases in England. There have been calls to bring even them home. With Korea no longer a worry we have pulled back a fair amount in the pacific. Our primary worry for over 40 years has been the Middle East; once again something I doubt he has any interest in.”
CIA nodded. “They have no need for anything the Middle East has. And he sees no reason to put any resources in there; or indeed anywhere else on Earth except Asia and only the part between Russia and China. Despite our watchful Eye on China, we do not confront them or really even bother them too much; and we still owe them a huge amount of money.”
The president asked. “I am surprised he has not quietly approached us about allying against China.”
“He is much too smart for that, sir. He knows it will not happen unless China directly threatens us. He believes that China is also looking almost solely at the Siberian resources. Which is valid as that is the only place they could get what they need. Nowhere else. And interestingly he sees the steadily weakening influence of the Communists as something that will threaten Russia; with the capitalist factions gradually gaining stronger they will be pragmatic and push to get the resources needed to feed China’s economy. While we see that same situation differently; as things getting better and less threatening. Cure China has two carriers and is building two more; but they have as far as we can tell no plans to build more. That is not enough to threaten us; maybe enough to play defense. Which also figures into his thinking as well.”
SECDEF was skeptical. “And just how do you know this for certain?”
CIA was smug. “For once someone was thinking ahead about 10 years ago and cultivated a young up and coming politician who really believed that Russia needed to be part of the world and not ruler. In the past two years he has steadily gotten to us recorded conversations of Timshenko talking to his inner core staff; the ones he trusts completely. What I am telling you now is the result of over 200 hours of recorded meetings. It is very consistent.”
The Chairman was not totally convinced. “Is there any chance that you are being fed this?”
“No sir. It would require tremendous effort and some of these meetings consist of all the conversations he had with his inner staff over a period of months. And we have gotten no hints that this is a set up. More to the point, what does he gain?”
“To play the victim; to act like there is a conspiracy against Russia.”
“And that makes him look weak; he is very concerned about that. And it makes Russia look like a victim and he cannot have that. Frankly, there is no good reason to do it. He has very solid backing; perhaps the most since Putin. He has placed his people in virtually every key position not just in the government or military but in the media; in the state run industries; in the larger commercial corporations he has cultivated strong ties there as well.”
The president sighed. “Sounds like for once the CIA really is ahead of the game; maybe the first time ever. Well I guess it had to happen sooner or later. The real question is what do we do?”
The Secretary of State shrugged. “Not much we can do diplomatically; we could try and warn the Chinese but I doubt it would do any good.”
CIA shook his head. “That could expose our source; he really believes that no one anywhere has it figured out and by all public measures he is right.”
The Chairman was pensive. “Outside of making sure all our contingency plans are up to date what can we do?”
SECDEF was thoughtful. “Offer stronger support to Ukraine. Where does his feud with them come from anyway?”
CIA was certain. “He wants his flanks secure; he knows the Ukraine is vital there. He has managed to force all the other former Soviet Republics that matter to tow his line. Ukraine has not. He thinks he has to show them who is boss.”
The Chairman was worried. “Is it possible he would use military force?”
“Russia no longer has the whip hand as regards gas or anything else economic to threaten Ukraine. And they need the wheat that Ukraine sends them. It is possible but there has been nothing hinted at in any of the recordings.”
After the meeting the Chairman met with SECDEF.
“I will have plans updated for any contingency involving Russia; with particular attention to the Ukraine.”
“Keep it quiet. We cannot afford to let anyone know we know.”
The Chairman looked at FORSCOM. “She had their staffs planning WHAT?”
“Response to Russian military attack on the Ukraine.”
“Why?”
“Have not talked to her about why. More than likely she was looking for a scenario they had not thought about and wanted to surprise them and make them think on the fly. It is what she does; one of the reasons she has been so successful.”
At a hurried meeting very soon after the Chairman told SECDEF.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I would like to think it is a total coincidence but why do I not believe it?”
“She is renowned for having hunches about bad news coming; I guess one should not be surprised. Should I have a talk with her?’
“No. We need to keep this as quiet as possible; the good news is that I bet they came up with anything that would not have occurred to your plans division. So no need to roust them and get anyone curious why. Just have them look over what she and her staffs came up with and critique it. It is a logical thing to do and would not attract attention.”
Two weeks later the chief of the Joint Staff talked to the Chairman.
“Found very little to criticize about their plans. Pretty complete. Now follow on would be needed for more divisions but that is not all that much to do. A little weak as regards more Air Force assets but then that is not what they would be looking at anyway. The naval part was confined to PREPO; they did question whether the Navy would try and bring Carriers into the Black Sea.”
“Would they?”
“Only on the direct order of the President. That is what it took to get them to go to the Arabian Gulf during Desert Storm. They would be incredibly vulnerable during the transits to the Black Sea. Though once there they would have plenty of room to maneuver; more than the Mediterranean.”
The Chairman nodded. He would speak to the CNO quietly on this; the CNO was a former carrier captain.
The CNO was pensive. “It would be very risky to transit; we would need total air cover and the problem in the Black Sea is that the Russians still have diesel electric subs; even the old ones they have were very quiet. And they could easily send missile attacks as well. It would literally be only in the case of absolute disaster if we did not. Frankly, I would rather fly the squadrons off and base them off of land airbases and leave the carriers outside.”
The Chairman had a quiet talk the Air Force Chief of Staff about airfields in that area.
“There are a number in the Crimea; most of them pretty good. If it came to it we could base a lot of aircraft there. They have 3 big ones and about a dozen others we could use if we had to. Of course we would need to bring just about everything with us to operate there.”
The Chairman had a secret group of his plans division on the Joint Staff to start looking at basing a large number of Air Force and Navy and Marine aircraft on the Crimean peninsula.
When told about all this SECDEF just quietly shook his head and told him to keep in low key as much as possible and above all to make sure it did not get out.
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thumper1942
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thumper1942
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Re: Adjusting To Peace (AU,M/L,Mature) Part 13 6 May
They are not as hopeless as many think. But there are so many factors in everything anyone does
that trying to predict something is very hard. And it never helps when a fair number of leaders
are like Saddam and Ghadaffi and the Iranian WacK Job. I mean look at how the media exagerates
and twists things; and people still tend to believe what they read and see. So quite often it looks
a lot worse than it actually is.
that trying to predict something is very hard. And it never helps when a fair number of leaders
are like Saddam and Ghadaffi and the Iranian WacK Job. I mean look at how the media exagerates
and twists things; and people still tend to believe what they read and see. So quite often it looks
a lot worse than it actually is.
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thumper1942
- Addicted Roswellian
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Re: Adjusting To Peace (AU,M/L,Mature) Part 13 6 May
As the winter eased and Spring began to come into sight, the situation in Russia began to unravel. The continuing accusations of harboring Chechnyan terrorists began to really tick off the Ukrainian people. Especially as there were no indications that it was in any way true. And the fact that other nations made no such accusations and indeed Germany was one of several that flat out said there was nothing to the Russian accusations at all began to really build up heat. There were large demonstrations in Kiev and other cities demanding that the Russians shut up. This, needless to say, did not play well in Moscow.
Another SNIE (Special National Intelligence Estimate) asked for by the President came out in Mid-March. The information from the source inside Timoshenko’s inner circle was not part of it; that source was only shared to the President and a select few in order to protect it. But it was not reassuring; and when the latest information from the source was added the picture began to get worrisome. There were indications that Timoshenko was actually considering moving against the Ukraine militarily. What good news there was came from the fact that the great majority of his inner circle were completely against it. The SNIE predicted more Russian pressure to bring Ukraine to heel.
The President, SECDEF, SECSTATE, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the head of the CIA were the only ones that knew of the source. The President held a meeting the day after the SNIE came out.
The CIA chief was very worried. “Timoshenko is truly thinking of it; of taking the Ukraine by force. His advisors are virtually united against it but he is incredibly stubborn.”
SECSTATE shook his head. “I find it hard to believe that he thinks it is necessary.”
“He considers it a challenge to him. He is very ego driven; and an attack on his authority and influence in any way strikes very deep. Now a problem here is that he still sees the Russian Empire as it was during the Communist Years. So the Ukraine is still to him Russian. That of course is completely divorced from reality; but it seems that he sees the world as he wants to; not as it is.”
SECDEF had been quiet. “The question is what do we do?”
The Chairman was direct. “No, the question is do we do anything?”
The President looked at him. “Are you saying we should do nothing?”
“Sir, I am saying that they are not part of NATO. They have turned down membership in NATO. So we have no obligation to defend them. We do not need anything they have; unlike the Persian Gulf oil. From a brutally pragmatic point of view, it is not our business.”
They all thought about that.
SECSTATE was quiet. “That may be brutal, but it is also true. The damage the Russians would do to themselves would be with them for years. The USSR’s crackdowns in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovokia in 1968, and their condoning of the Polish crackdown on Solidarity in 1981 had huge effects. As did their attack on Afghanistan in 1979. I find it hard to believe that he would think it was in any way a plus for Russia.”
The head of the CIA pulled out another folder. “I have had our psychologist’s work up a profile of Timoshenko. Their conclusion is that he is going down the same road other Paranoid ultra-nationalists have gone. He will become more and more certain that only he is right. And the continuing opposition by his advisors will just make it worse. Once this begins it becomes a vicious circle.”
The Chairman was stubborn. “Once again I ask; why should we do anything? Why should we even consider putting our people in harm’s way?”
The others had no answer.
Liz kept looking at the map of Eastern Europe; the intelligence coming out of there was not good. The Russian leader was getting tougher and tougher in his language and the people of the Ukraine were basically giving him the finger via large demonstrations. Liz wondered if he was really crazy or stupid enough to move militarily. And if he did would the US respond? The Ukraine was not part of NATO; had turned down membership. So really there was no reason the US would get involved at all. The Ukraine was not a huge exporter of oil or any other critical material. So unlike the Middle East the US would not have any dogs in this hunt. And frankly the Middle East was only a concern because so much of NATO got their oil from them. The US had not gotten a drop out of the Middle East for over 30 years. But Liz still worried.
The President had been thinking about things and had called in the SECSTATE, and old friend whom he trusted.
“The Chairman has a point in that we really have no business getting involved.”
SECSTATE sighed. “Diplomatic failure is one of the primary reasons any war starts. On the other hand megalomaniacal leaders are the Primary reasons for wars. Which is what we would have here. The old saying was that once the hungry lion digests one meal, he will get hungry again is the reason that you get out your hunting rifle and take care of business. I have been thinking; and have had my staff thinking, what would the long term and short term effects of a Russian Military takeover of the Ukraine be. Russia certainly would become a pariah; but they can veto anything the Security Council considers. Europe is so fractured anymore that I am not sure just how much they would do. Especially considering how dependent they are on Russian gas. Trade sanctions would probably be symbolic and little more. I see no one stepping up as regards military action. Long term if the Russians get away with this; I do not know. But I do not think it would be a good thing. There is no justification at all and everyone would know it. It would just be once again the bully getting what he wanted and everyone else cowering and hiding. Would this embolden China to try and seize Taiwan by force? It could.”
“This may sound callous but I will ask it anyway: in the long term would it be all that bad or just unpleasant and more of an irritant than a real problem?”
“I do not know sir. But if Timoshenko gets away with it then I do not see him hesitating the second time at all. And if the country starts to get ultra nationalistic again, then it could be very bad.”
“A lot of if’s and but’s in there.”
“Yes sir. But I also cannot see where it warrants us putting our troops on the line either.”
The President slowly nodded. “I reluctantly agree.”
But events have a way of making the unthinkable thinkable.
Europe was not blind to what was happening. While it was more conservative than it had been in a long time, it was not the type of conservative that condoned threatening countries that have done nothing wrong. And Europe had always been wary of an expansionist Russia; of an aggressive leader of Russia. And more and more Timoshenko was looking like one of them. Putin had been a real pain and a problem, but in the end had not been willing to actually use military force. Timoshenko, however, began to worry people in that he just might.
Needless to say it was the countries closest that worried the most; if keeping quiet because they were closest. The Balkan states had finally reached something that resembled as peaceable a situation as they had been in for as long as anyone could remember and they did not want it shaken up. So they began to publicly talk about Russia acting badly. This was picked up by Hungary and Romania and Bulgaria; then Poland and Finland. Belarus had been mostly cowed so they kept quiet but the former Baltic States of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia joined in the chorus. And the tempo spread West. The Liberals, somewhat butt sore at the election beatings they had endured over the last 10 years began to see this as a way to become relevant again and they began to make noise.
The problem with all this was that it was a red flag to a bull as regards Timoshenko. His paranoia and ego challenged each other as to which was insulted more. He began to snarl back and wave the gas supply not subtly at all. Since it was spring coming into summer that did not work as well as if it had been fall going into winter. The mocking that this stirred up just escalated his anger.
By mid April the noise was getting pretty loud; and he began to react with more than words. He announced that the price of natural gas would be increased by 25% the coming year to pay for more drilling and more infrastructure investment. And the new prices would start immediately. Needless to say that got a very big international Raspberry. And more protests started to pop up in other countries. Now Russia was the favorite whipping boy across the spectrum.
After the price hike the President called an inner advisor meeting.
The CIA had the latest word.
“It is getting worse. Some of his advisors are now starting to agree with him about showing how strong Russia is. Most are still against any real action but the natural tendency to resent ridicule and hostility by drawing together is having an effect.”
SECDEF shook his head. “Just amazes me that they cannot see that they have caused all this.”
CIA nodded. “The ones that do are keeping silent. Afraid of losing position and power.”
The President asked “So what will they do next?’
“They are going to cut off all trade with the Ukraine and recall their ambassador.”
“What effect will that have?”
“Not as big as it would have once had; the two are no longer so codependent as they once were. It will be equal pain on both sides realistically.”
“The Ukrainian’s will not back down?”
“Public support is very strong for President Youslev. He does not dare even if he wanted to. And since they have done nothing wrong I see nothing changing there.”
“What is next?”
SECSTATE answered. “The Left in Europe sees this as a way of getting some political power back; the right never liked Russia anyway. So I see some real economic sanctions starting; and since winter is 6 months away the natural gas factor is not that much of a worry.”
“And how will Timoshenko react?”
CIA was clear. “He will start sanctions right back. A trade war for all intents and purposes.”
And that is what began to happened as April ended and May began.
Liz was more and more certain that things would erupt sooner or later in Europe. The only question is would the US respond militarily. And no one knew the answer to that one. So she just had her staff refine and update their plans.
It was a new experience for Liz; as a Corps commander she was not directly in command of fighting units; though there were a fair amount of support units directly in her command. She did take time out and visit them; and let them know she valued what they did.
The Divisional Staffs looked at the worsening situation in Europe then what General Parker had made them plan in January and they wondered if she had been privy to secret information. Others that knew her better had a different explanation.
“One thing you get when you talk to anyone that served with her in Afghanistan was that she would get hunches that always panned out. The Nuke incident in Pakistan; she went to the one that was trouble because she sensed that was the one that was in doubt. I think you are seeing that again with Russia.”
The person who was feeding the CIA the information on Timoshenko was having to take extra precautions; Timoshenko’s paranoia caused additional security measures. That was getting beat by using something that the new security sweepers did not consider; old fashioned wire recorders. They gave off no electronic signals that the modern sweepers looked for. It was bulky but the bottom of his briefcase was just big enough to hide it. He would then play it to a special program on his computer that buried it in a phone sex conversation; the digital signals hidden inside it. Porn and the like was an accepted part of that section of the world and no one questioned it too closely, as long as children were not part of it. Thus he was still able to send out his messages; it just took a little longer.
The messages went right to the DDI, the Deputy Director of Intelligence, the effective director of the actual working part of the CIA. The CIA head had ordered that no one but the DDI and one lower supervisor who had been the man who made the initial contact more than 10 years ago be involved in this source. Less chance of it being betrayed or leaked. The lower level supervisor had been relieved of all other duties and now concentrated on this source, code named Richelieu. That had been deliberately chosen so that if that somehow leaked, no one would think it concerned Russia.
The latest one was taken directly to the CIA head; one copy was made and that never left the office; it stayed in the special safe there. Right after printing it out, the message was erased in such a way that there was no possibility of anyone ever being able to rebuild it.
“Sir, this one is hot.”
The CIA head read it and had to agree. He put it in the safe and locked it then called the president for an immediate meeting.
The inner circle was waiting. He looked at them.
“Timoshenko has ordered the Military to start to plan to take the Ukraine; effective date 1 August.”
The President was ashen. “Was there any objection?”
“Two of the soft ones did and were told to go along or be removed. They folded and agreed.”
“And by be removed…”
“If I was one of them there I would have serious worries about what removal really meant.”
Even though this had been slowly coming, they were still all shocked.
SECSTATE was the first to speak. “We have to find a way to warn the Ukrainians.”
The CIA head objected. “If we warn them now the Russians will know and Timoshenko will realize that he has a leak. We could lose a source that we cannot spare.”
“But what is the use of such information if we do not use it?”
“We will have to wait for a time, long enough for Timoshenko to look elsewhere for the leak, like his military.”
The President was firm. “How long?”
“At least a few weeks.”
“Very well.” He looked at SECDEF. “What will the first indications be?”
“Sir, the Ukraine is no pushover, if totally unable to fight the Russians on their own. I would bet that they will try for a quick move and strike for Kiev in the North and the Crimea in the south. Take the Capital and the only way any real help can arrive, by sea, and it is just about a done deal. Now the Dnieper and the lakes formed by the dams make a natural defensive barrier about a third of the way across the Ukraine. It is only the Crimea that really does not have much of a defense. I would bet the Russians would use Paratroops to seize the airfields then fly in more troops and plains to seal off the sea lanes to the Ukraine. A quick strike south towards Kiev which is only 200 miles from the Russian border, probably another to encircle Kharkov, and they would probably stop at that. They would not want to get drawn into a long war. They would cause as much damage as possible, let the Ukraine know once and for all who is the boss, and then pull out. And that would happen probably in about a month all told. Before anyone else could really respond in a way that mattered.”
SECSTATE shook his head. “And the rest of Europe left realizing the big bad Russian Bear is back and wondering who will get bit next.”
SECDEF nodded. “This would of course pretty much revive NATO in its original form. The countries of Europe would have to start spending a lot on defense again. With all the other added problems of paranoia and increased nationalism due to fear.”
SECSTATE was pensive. “The Chairman asked what business was it of ours. There is your answer. Europe would once again want American troops stationed in Europe as proof of our commitment.”
The President shook his head. “1948 all over again. A new cold war.”
SECDEF nodded. “This would of course make Timoshenko increase defense spending; and coming off a victory like that he would have huge domestic support. And another vicious circle would start of each of us making a move and the other side countering it.”
The Chairman, who had been silent, roused himself. “I really did not think he was unbalanced enough to do this. But I have to agree; if he gets away with it this time he will be more likely to do it again; and Europe will once again by the confrontation place. We will be drawn into it no matter what due to our treaty obligations. Though to be honest a united Europe should frankly be strong enough to do it on their own.”
SECDEF agreed. “Yes they are. But I do not think having large military expenditures in Europe is a healthy thing in the longrun.”
SECSTATE nodded. “In the end nothing good comes out of it. And a lot of money is spent there that should go elsewhere. And you add the increased nationalism that will stir up, and it is not a good thing.”
The President sighed. “It really is a pay now or pay later situation, isn’t it?”
No one in the room disagreed.
SECDEF asked for a word with the President.
“Sir, I think you should know about this.” And described what XVIII Airborne Corps had planned in January.
The president was dumbstruck. “You think she had a feeling back then?”
“Mr. President, her career is littered with examples of her getting a feeling or hunch and it seems to have been right every time. So I guess this is just one more.”
“And the Joint Staff found nothing to really find fault with?”
“Nothing that she would have been responsible for, like Air Force assets. Or the Navy beyond PREPO ships. The Chairman has had a quiet conversation with the Air Force Chief of Staff and the CNO. They both have been very quietly working on filling in that part of her plans. What I described as the likely moves the Russians would make came directly from what she ordered her people to prepare for and what the Joint Staff believe is the most likely Russian military moves.”
The president sat back. And mused. “Patton always believed that one day we would have to take them on. For a long time everyone thought he was right – up to 1992. Now only 30 or so years later it looks like he was right once again. He believed in Reincarnation? Think that is who she really is?”
SECDEF shook his head. “Two more different people it would be hard to imagine. But who knows, really? She has been incredibly successful; and one thing they both have in common was the ability to see what the enemy was going to do ahead of time. Patton foresaw the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor in the early 30’s; he was one who saw that the Germans would be a problem again even before Hitler took power. Early on he saw that the next great fight would be with the Soviets. Now she early on fixated on the place that the next war will almost certainly start, before anyone else really knew. The only reason we knew was our source; but she did not have it and still came up with the same conclusion at the same time. Does not matter I suppose. I hope that when it comes to all-out war she is as good as he was.”
“She is our best.” It was not a question.
“Yes sir. No real doubt of that. EUCOM is a good manager, but she is the fighter. Even though she has only been a ground commander of a Division she really shined there; and this will be a case of movement having to compensate for being outnumbered and outgunned. From that point of view she is absolutely the right choice; and the best we have.”
“Very well. I want her clued into the source. Her only; no one else and she is to make sure that no one else suspects.”
The CIA head was not happy to add another, but orders were orders and if she was going to be the one up front she deserved to have all the information on her enemies they had.
Liz looked at Jim. “No idea. I am told to head to the Pentagon tomorrow; and no reason why. To see the SECDEF.”
It had been decided that SECDEF would brief her in; and if she decided she needed to know more they would slip her into Langley and have her go over the file.
“General Parker, you are about to be briefed in on the best intelligence source the US has ever had.”
Liz was gobsmacked. For once the intelligence weanies and the CIA had done it right. Well. Maybe God does meddle now and then. Divine Inspiration was as good an explanation as any for the fact that for the first time ever they had the inside track on what was about to happen.
She told SECDEF she did not need to know any more about Timoshenko. He would not be running the war anyway. What she now needed was to know who the likely enemy commanders would be and what was known about them. He agreed to get right on it and have her briefed in when they had a good idea of who they would be.
Liz was thinking heavy thoughts on the way back to Bragg. She was almost certainly going to war again. Only this time not the little cog in the big machine; this time she would be running it, for all intents and purposes. SECDEF had made it clear that he and the Chairman and the President were going to let her be the primary commander on this. EUCOM would technically be the theatre commander but it was her who would make the tactical decisions.
XVIII Airborne Corps would be the battle command; there would be no army commander brought in. They would give her everything they could but in the end it was her war. Liz pushed other thoughts away and began to concentrate on what she would have to do. She got off the jet and motioned for Jim to follow her to her office where she pointed to the seat in front of the desk and then sat down at her desk.
Jim blinked when Liz looked at him with a blank face. He had never seen her like this before.
“Liz, what is it?”
“Jim, this goes no further than us right here until I say otherwise. Is that clear?”
Liz had never said anything like that to him before; and not in that manner.
“Clear, General.”
“We are going to war by the middle of summer.”
Jim was stunned. She just looked at him calmly.
“That was what the visit was about. They have extremely good intelligence that the Russians think they need to teach the Ukrainians, and everyone else, that they are still be big boys on the block. Mid-summer is when they think they will move. And it has been decided that if they do, we stop them.”
Jim managed to get his mind in gear.
“Why are we involved? They are not part of NATO.”
Liz sighed. “This was how it was explained to me. They figure the Russians will strike quick to take Kiev and the Crimea; that way they can seal off any resupply or help coming by see. Overwhelm the Ukrainian Air Force and control the air. Do a fair amount of damage then leave. Probably all done inside a month. Not long enough basically for anyone in Europe to do more than make speeches. They then go back home and the rest of Europe is reminded of who the boss is. Now Europe will scream and rant and rave but that is about all. Russia has the VETO and the Security Council is therefore nothing. The rest of the UN; not much more. Sanctions? Well Europe still needs Russian gas for winter. How long does righteous indignation last when you are freezing? Now long term is where it starts to get nasty. Europe will of course start to rearm. No choice. Billions spent that could be spent elsewhere. That is not good. Then you will have with that the increase in nationalism. Not a good thing either. And of course the Europeans will once again demand US soldiers stationed in Europe as tangible evidence of our commitment. Overall what the President and his advisors think is a new Cold War. They are looking at this like it is 1948 all over again. No one wants that. They look at it as pay now or pay later. If we punch them hard in the nose now, that will weaken Timoshenko. His people will blame him for all this and they should. Just maybe to the point where he is kicked out or so weakened that he cannot pull anything like this again.”
Jim slowly nodded. “I can see their point. But won’t this war kind of cause all of it again no matter what?”
“Maybe. But they have decided that it is better to act now then wait and possibly have to act later and in a much bigger way. Small war now rather than a really bigger one, with possibly nuclear weapons, later on. I think that is the real deciding factor.”
“Nukes. Had not thought of that.”
“No one has tactical nukes anymore. But they could come back. The Russians will be stunned by our moving like we did. Then if we leave as fast as we came they cannot say much about us being a continuing threat, can they. What this is, frankly, is a wake up call to them. We are going to whap them upside the head with a 2 X 4. And hope they get some sense. Maybe it will not work and we have a new Cold War. But I agree that it is better now then later. The last time Europe did not act when someone went nuts was in 1938. Or to be more to the point earlier on. When Hitler had his army march into the Rhineland, they had orders that if the French started to move to oppose them they were to turn around and march right back. But the French did nothing. They and the Brits kept doing nothing and Hitler got stronger and stronger and bolder and bolder. Maybe this time we can nip it in the bud.”
Another SNIE (Special National Intelligence Estimate) asked for by the President came out in Mid-March. The information from the source inside Timoshenko’s inner circle was not part of it; that source was only shared to the President and a select few in order to protect it. But it was not reassuring; and when the latest information from the source was added the picture began to get worrisome. There were indications that Timoshenko was actually considering moving against the Ukraine militarily. What good news there was came from the fact that the great majority of his inner circle were completely against it. The SNIE predicted more Russian pressure to bring Ukraine to heel.
The President, SECDEF, SECSTATE, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the head of the CIA were the only ones that knew of the source. The President held a meeting the day after the SNIE came out.
The CIA chief was very worried. “Timoshenko is truly thinking of it; of taking the Ukraine by force. His advisors are virtually united against it but he is incredibly stubborn.”
SECSTATE shook his head. “I find it hard to believe that he thinks it is necessary.”
“He considers it a challenge to him. He is very ego driven; and an attack on his authority and influence in any way strikes very deep. Now a problem here is that he still sees the Russian Empire as it was during the Communist Years. So the Ukraine is still to him Russian. That of course is completely divorced from reality; but it seems that he sees the world as he wants to; not as it is.”
SECDEF had been quiet. “The question is what do we do?”
The Chairman was direct. “No, the question is do we do anything?”
The President looked at him. “Are you saying we should do nothing?”
“Sir, I am saying that they are not part of NATO. They have turned down membership in NATO. So we have no obligation to defend them. We do not need anything they have; unlike the Persian Gulf oil. From a brutally pragmatic point of view, it is not our business.”
They all thought about that.
SECSTATE was quiet. “That may be brutal, but it is also true. The damage the Russians would do to themselves would be with them for years. The USSR’s crackdowns in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovokia in 1968, and their condoning of the Polish crackdown on Solidarity in 1981 had huge effects. As did their attack on Afghanistan in 1979. I find it hard to believe that he would think it was in any way a plus for Russia.”
The head of the CIA pulled out another folder. “I have had our psychologist’s work up a profile of Timoshenko. Their conclusion is that he is going down the same road other Paranoid ultra-nationalists have gone. He will become more and more certain that only he is right. And the continuing opposition by his advisors will just make it worse. Once this begins it becomes a vicious circle.”
The Chairman was stubborn. “Once again I ask; why should we do anything? Why should we even consider putting our people in harm’s way?”
The others had no answer.
Liz kept looking at the map of Eastern Europe; the intelligence coming out of there was not good. The Russian leader was getting tougher and tougher in his language and the people of the Ukraine were basically giving him the finger via large demonstrations. Liz wondered if he was really crazy or stupid enough to move militarily. And if he did would the US respond? The Ukraine was not part of NATO; had turned down membership. So really there was no reason the US would get involved at all. The Ukraine was not a huge exporter of oil or any other critical material. So unlike the Middle East the US would not have any dogs in this hunt. And frankly the Middle East was only a concern because so much of NATO got their oil from them. The US had not gotten a drop out of the Middle East for over 30 years. But Liz still worried.
The President had been thinking about things and had called in the SECSTATE, and old friend whom he trusted.
“The Chairman has a point in that we really have no business getting involved.”
SECSTATE sighed. “Diplomatic failure is one of the primary reasons any war starts. On the other hand megalomaniacal leaders are the Primary reasons for wars. Which is what we would have here. The old saying was that once the hungry lion digests one meal, he will get hungry again is the reason that you get out your hunting rifle and take care of business. I have been thinking; and have had my staff thinking, what would the long term and short term effects of a Russian Military takeover of the Ukraine be. Russia certainly would become a pariah; but they can veto anything the Security Council considers. Europe is so fractured anymore that I am not sure just how much they would do. Especially considering how dependent they are on Russian gas. Trade sanctions would probably be symbolic and little more. I see no one stepping up as regards military action. Long term if the Russians get away with this; I do not know. But I do not think it would be a good thing. There is no justification at all and everyone would know it. It would just be once again the bully getting what he wanted and everyone else cowering and hiding. Would this embolden China to try and seize Taiwan by force? It could.”
“This may sound callous but I will ask it anyway: in the long term would it be all that bad or just unpleasant and more of an irritant than a real problem?”
“I do not know sir. But if Timoshenko gets away with it then I do not see him hesitating the second time at all. And if the country starts to get ultra nationalistic again, then it could be very bad.”
“A lot of if’s and but’s in there.”
“Yes sir. But I also cannot see where it warrants us putting our troops on the line either.”
The President slowly nodded. “I reluctantly agree.”
But events have a way of making the unthinkable thinkable.
Europe was not blind to what was happening. While it was more conservative than it had been in a long time, it was not the type of conservative that condoned threatening countries that have done nothing wrong. And Europe had always been wary of an expansionist Russia; of an aggressive leader of Russia. And more and more Timoshenko was looking like one of them. Putin had been a real pain and a problem, but in the end had not been willing to actually use military force. Timoshenko, however, began to worry people in that he just might.
Needless to say it was the countries closest that worried the most; if keeping quiet because they were closest. The Balkan states had finally reached something that resembled as peaceable a situation as they had been in for as long as anyone could remember and they did not want it shaken up. So they began to publicly talk about Russia acting badly. This was picked up by Hungary and Romania and Bulgaria; then Poland and Finland. Belarus had been mostly cowed so they kept quiet but the former Baltic States of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia joined in the chorus. And the tempo spread West. The Liberals, somewhat butt sore at the election beatings they had endured over the last 10 years began to see this as a way to become relevant again and they began to make noise.
The problem with all this was that it was a red flag to a bull as regards Timoshenko. His paranoia and ego challenged each other as to which was insulted more. He began to snarl back and wave the gas supply not subtly at all. Since it was spring coming into summer that did not work as well as if it had been fall going into winter. The mocking that this stirred up just escalated his anger.
By mid April the noise was getting pretty loud; and he began to react with more than words. He announced that the price of natural gas would be increased by 25% the coming year to pay for more drilling and more infrastructure investment. And the new prices would start immediately. Needless to say that got a very big international Raspberry. And more protests started to pop up in other countries. Now Russia was the favorite whipping boy across the spectrum.
After the price hike the President called an inner advisor meeting.
The CIA had the latest word.
“It is getting worse. Some of his advisors are now starting to agree with him about showing how strong Russia is. Most are still against any real action but the natural tendency to resent ridicule and hostility by drawing together is having an effect.”
SECDEF shook his head. “Just amazes me that they cannot see that they have caused all this.”
CIA nodded. “The ones that do are keeping silent. Afraid of losing position and power.”
The President asked “So what will they do next?’
“They are going to cut off all trade with the Ukraine and recall their ambassador.”
“What effect will that have?”
“Not as big as it would have once had; the two are no longer so codependent as they once were. It will be equal pain on both sides realistically.”
“The Ukrainian’s will not back down?”
“Public support is very strong for President Youslev. He does not dare even if he wanted to. And since they have done nothing wrong I see nothing changing there.”
“What is next?”
SECSTATE answered. “The Left in Europe sees this as a way of getting some political power back; the right never liked Russia anyway. So I see some real economic sanctions starting; and since winter is 6 months away the natural gas factor is not that much of a worry.”
“And how will Timoshenko react?”
CIA was clear. “He will start sanctions right back. A trade war for all intents and purposes.”
And that is what began to happened as April ended and May began.
Liz was more and more certain that things would erupt sooner or later in Europe. The only question is would the US respond militarily. And no one knew the answer to that one. So she just had her staff refine and update their plans.
It was a new experience for Liz; as a Corps commander she was not directly in command of fighting units; though there were a fair amount of support units directly in her command. She did take time out and visit them; and let them know she valued what they did.
The Divisional Staffs looked at the worsening situation in Europe then what General Parker had made them plan in January and they wondered if she had been privy to secret information. Others that knew her better had a different explanation.
“One thing you get when you talk to anyone that served with her in Afghanistan was that she would get hunches that always panned out. The Nuke incident in Pakistan; she went to the one that was trouble because she sensed that was the one that was in doubt. I think you are seeing that again with Russia.”
The person who was feeding the CIA the information on Timoshenko was having to take extra precautions; Timoshenko’s paranoia caused additional security measures. That was getting beat by using something that the new security sweepers did not consider; old fashioned wire recorders. They gave off no electronic signals that the modern sweepers looked for. It was bulky but the bottom of his briefcase was just big enough to hide it. He would then play it to a special program on his computer that buried it in a phone sex conversation; the digital signals hidden inside it. Porn and the like was an accepted part of that section of the world and no one questioned it too closely, as long as children were not part of it. Thus he was still able to send out his messages; it just took a little longer.
The messages went right to the DDI, the Deputy Director of Intelligence, the effective director of the actual working part of the CIA. The CIA head had ordered that no one but the DDI and one lower supervisor who had been the man who made the initial contact more than 10 years ago be involved in this source. Less chance of it being betrayed or leaked. The lower level supervisor had been relieved of all other duties and now concentrated on this source, code named Richelieu. That had been deliberately chosen so that if that somehow leaked, no one would think it concerned Russia.
The latest one was taken directly to the CIA head; one copy was made and that never left the office; it stayed in the special safe there. Right after printing it out, the message was erased in such a way that there was no possibility of anyone ever being able to rebuild it.
“Sir, this one is hot.”
The CIA head read it and had to agree. He put it in the safe and locked it then called the president for an immediate meeting.
The inner circle was waiting. He looked at them.
“Timoshenko has ordered the Military to start to plan to take the Ukraine; effective date 1 August.”
The President was ashen. “Was there any objection?”
“Two of the soft ones did and were told to go along or be removed. They folded and agreed.”
“And by be removed…”
“If I was one of them there I would have serious worries about what removal really meant.”
Even though this had been slowly coming, they were still all shocked.
SECSTATE was the first to speak. “We have to find a way to warn the Ukrainians.”
The CIA head objected. “If we warn them now the Russians will know and Timoshenko will realize that he has a leak. We could lose a source that we cannot spare.”
“But what is the use of such information if we do not use it?”
“We will have to wait for a time, long enough for Timoshenko to look elsewhere for the leak, like his military.”
The President was firm. “How long?”
“At least a few weeks.”
“Very well.” He looked at SECDEF. “What will the first indications be?”
“Sir, the Ukraine is no pushover, if totally unable to fight the Russians on their own. I would bet that they will try for a quick move and strike for Kiev in the North and the Crimea in the south. Take the Capital and the only way any real help can arrive, by sea, and it is just about a done deal. Now the Dnieper and the lakes formed by the dams make a natural defensive barrier about a third of the way across the Ukraine. It is only the Crimea that really does not have much of a defense. I would bet the Russians would use Paratroops to seize the airfields then fly in more troops and plains to seal off the sea lanes to the Ukraine. A quick strike south towards Kiev which is only 200 miles from the Russian border, probably another to encircle Kharkov, and they would probably stop at that. They would not want to get drawn into a long war. They would cause as much damage as possible, let the Ukraine know once and for all who is the boss, and then pull out. And that would happen probably in about a month all told. Before anyone else could really respond in a way that mattered.”
SECSTATE shook his head. “And the rest of Europe left realizing the big bad Russian Bear is back and wondering who will get bit next.”
SECDEF nodded. “This would of course pretty much revive NATO in its original form. The countries of Europe would have to start spending a lot on defense again. With all the other added problems of paranoia and increased nationalism due to fear.”
SECSTATE was pensive. “The Chairman asked what business was it of ours. There is your answer. Europe would once again want American troops stationed in Europe as proof of our commitment.”
The President shook his head. “1948 all over again. A new cold war.”
SECDEF nodded. “This would of course make Timoshenko increase defense spending; and coming off a victory like that he would have huge domestic support. And another vicious circle would start of each of us making a move and the other side countering it.”
The Chairman, who had been silent, roused himself. “I really did not think he was unbalanced enough to do this. But I have to agree; if he gets away with it this time he will be more likely to do it again; and Europe will once again by the confrontation place. We will be drawn into it no matter what due to our treaty obligations. Though to be honest a united Europe should frankly be strong enough to do it on their own.”
SECDEF agreed. “Yes they are. But I do not think having large military expenditures in Europe is a healthy thing in the longrun.”
SECSTATE nodded. “In the end nothing good comes out of it. And a lot of money is spent there that should go elsewhere. And you add the increased nationalism that will stir up, and it is not a good thing.”
The President sighed. “It really is a pay now or pay later situation, isn’t it?”
No one in the room disagreed.
SECDEF asked for a word with the President.
“Sir, I think you should know about this.” And described what XVIII Airborne Corps had planned in January.
The president was dumbstruck. “You think she had a feeling back then?”
“Mr. President, her career is littered with examples of her getting a feeling or hunch and it seems to have been right every time. So I guess this is just one more.”
“And the Joint Staff found nothing to really find fault with?”
“Nothing that she would have been responsible for, like Air Force assets. Or the Navy beyond PREPO ships. The Chairman has had a quiet conversation with the Air Force Chief of Staff and the CNO. They both have been very quietly working on filling in that part of her plans. What I described as the likely moves the Russians would make came directly from what she ordered her people to prepare for and what the Joint Staff believe is the most likely Russian military moves.”
The president sat back. And mused. “Patton always believed that one day we would have to take them on. For a long time everyone thought he was right – up to 1992. Now only 30 or so years later it looks like he was right once again. He believed in Reincarnation? Think that is who she really is?”
SECDEF shook his head. “Two more different people it would be hard to imagine. But who knows, really? She has been incredibly successful; and one thing they both have in common was the ability to see what the enemy was going to do ahead of time. Patton foresaw the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor in the early 30’s; he was one who saw that the Germans would be a problem again even before Hitler took power. Early on he saw that the next great fight would be with the Soviets. Now she early on fixated on the place that the next war will almost certainly start, before anyone else really knew. The only reason we knew was our source; but she did not have it and still came up with the same conclusion at the same time. Does not matter I suppose. I hope that when it comes to all-out war she is as good as he was.”
“She is our best.” It was not a question.
“Yes sir. No real doubt of that. EUCOM is a good manager, but she is the fighter. Even though she has only been a ground commander of a Division she really shined there; and this will be a case of movement having to compensate for being outnumbered and outgunned. From that point of view she is absolutely the right choice; and the best we have.”
“Very well. I want her clued into the source. Her only; no one else and she is to make sure that no one else suspects.”
The CIA head was not happy to add another, but orders were orders and if she was going to be the one up front she deserved to have all the information on her enemies they had.
Liz looked at Jim. “No idea. I am told to head to the Pentagon tomorrow; and no reason why. To see the SECDEF.”
It had been decided that SECDEF would brief her in; and if she decided she needed to know more they would slip her into Langley and have her go over the file.
“General Parker, you are about to be briefed in on the best intelligence source the US has ever had.”
Liz was gobsmacked. For once the intelligence weanies and the CIA had done it right. Well. Maybe God does meddle now and then. Divine Inspiration was as good an explanation as any for the fact that for the first time ever they had the inside track on what was about to happen.
She told SECDEF she did not need to know any more about Timoshenko. He would not be running the war anyway. What she now needed was to know who the likely enemy commanders would be and what was known about them. He agreed to get right on it and have her briefed in when they had a good idea of who they would be.
Liz was thinking heavy thoughts on the way back to Bragg. She was almost certainly going to war again. Only this time not the little cog in the big machine; this time she would be running it, for all intents and purposes. SECDEF had made it clear that he and the Chairman and the President were going to let her be the primary commander on this. EUCOM would technically be the theatre commander but it was her who would make the tactical decisions.
XVIII Airborne Corps would be the battle command; there would be no army commander brought in. They would give her everything they could but in the end it was her war. Liz pushed other thoughts away and began to concentrate on what she would have to do. She got off the jet and motioned for Jim to follow her to her office where she pointed to the seat in front of the desk and then sat down at her desk.
Jim blinked when Liz looked at him with a blank face. He had never seen her like this before.
“Liz, what is it?”
“Jim, this goes no further than us right here until I say otherwise. Is that clear?”
Liz had never said anything like that to him before; and not in that manner.
“Clear, General.”
“We are going to war by the middle of summer.”
Jim was stunned. She just looked at him calmly.
“That was what the visit was about. They have extremely good intelligence that the Russians think they need to teach the Ukrainians, and everyone else, that they are still be big boys on the block. Mid-summer is when they think they will move. And it has been decided that if they do, we stop them.”
Jim managed to get his mind in gear.
“Why are we involved? They are not part of NATO.”
Liz sighed. “This was how it was explained to me. They figure the Russians will strike quick to take Kiev and the Crimea; that way they can seal off any resupply or help coming by see. Overwhelm the Ukrainian Air Force and control the air. Do a fair amount of damage then leave. Probably all done inside a month. Not long enough basically for anyone in Europe to do more than make speeches. They then go back home and the rest of Europe is reminded of who the boss is. Now Europe will scream and rant and rave but that is about all. Russia has the VETO and the Security Council is therefore nothing. The rest of the UN; not much more. Sanctions? Well Europe still needs Russian gas for winter. How long does righteous indignation last when you are freezing? Now long term is where it starts to get nasty. Europe will of course start to rearm. No choice. Billions spent that could be spent elsewhere. That is not good. Then you will have with that the increase in nationalism. Not a good thing either. And of course the Europeans will once again demand US soldiers stationed in Europe as tangible evidence of our commitment. Overall what the President and his advisors think is a new Cold War. They are looking at this like it is 1948 all over again. No one wants that. They look at it as pay now or pay later. If we punch them hard in the nose now, that will weaken Timoshenko. His people will blame him for all this and they should. Just maybe to the point where he is kicked out or so weakened that he cannot pull anything like this again.”
Jim slowly nodded. “I can see their point. But won’t this war kind of cause all of it again no matter what?”
“Maybe. But they have decided that it is better to act now then wait and possibly have to act later and in a much bigger way. Small war now rather than a really bigger one, with possibly nuclear weapons, later on. I think that is the real deciding factor.”
“Nukes. Had not thought of that.”
“No one has tactical nukes anymore. But they could come back. The Russians will be stunned by our moving like we did. Then if we leave as fast as we came they cannot say much about us being a continuing threat, can they. What this is, frankly, is a wake up call to them. We are going to whap them upside the head with a 2 X 4. And hope they get some sense. Maybe it will not work and we have a new Cold War. But I agree that it is better now then later. The last time Europe did not act when someone went nuts was in 1938. Or to be more to the point earlier on. When Hitler had his army march into the Rhineland, they had orders that if the French started to move to oppose them they were to turn around and march right back. But the French did nothing. They and the Brits kept doing nothing and Hitler got stronger and stronger and bolder and bolder. Maybe this time we can nip it in the bud.”
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thumper1942
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Re: Adjusting To Peace (AU,M/L,Mature) Part 14 6 May
Liz began to think about what to do. She had been told plain that the source had to be protected. Therefore no hint of this had to be let out. That was why she had been tough on Jim. For the time being they could do nothing. But she could on her own start thinking and planning.
SECDEF had told her that they would send everything they could to her. She would get the 1st Armored as well as the 1st Cavalry. The Marines would be sent as well. After that it would be whatever they could get to her. But that would take time. So she would need to get the job done with 3 light and 3 heavy divisions, counting the Marine MEF. They had no details yet what forces the Russians would use; and of course the Ukrainians would be fighting as well.
IF the Russians did the smart thing and take the airfields on the Crimea, the first thing she would have to do would be to take them back and then load them with all the Air Force, Navy, Marine Air Power she could get. To protect the PREPO ships bringing the heavy stuff. Her light divisions would have to hold and stay intact until the heavies could get there. One thing that she had asked SECDEF and he had told her would be a presidential decision would be whether they could strike Russia. Not just attack the forces in the Ukraine. That of course risked escalation. But giving the enemy safe haven harked back to the Vietnam war and to the Afghan war and the Taliban running into Pakistan and hiding. She knew that was going to be a tough decision. She had a hunch it would come down to how well she did. She felt that if she demanded it that it would be approved; but the risks were huge. Yet if she did not go for it, she might have much higher casualties. She would have to cold bloodedly count her dead and make a decision.
The President called another meeting to see what their next steps would be. Already the military was doing what it could without tipping anyone off. Now for the foreign side of things.
“When do we tell the Ukrainians?”
The President looked around at his inner circle.
SECDEF was first. “When we hear in the meeting a confirmation that the military has been working on it.”
CIA agreed. “That is the best way. That way if it gets out Timoshenko is suspicious of his military. Not his inner circle. That protects our source.”
The president looked at the others who nodded.
“OK. That is settled. Now the tougher question. Who do we tell among our allies and when?”
“Brits first; and fairly soon. After that, well, that really is an open question. Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia all are in Nato and all border the Ukraine.” This from SECSTATE
“We are closest to the Polls, so they should be first. After that the others.”
SECDEF stated.
The president nodded. No surprises so far. “Will any of them help the Ukraine?”
SECDEF shook his head. “Not likely. For one with the exception of the Polls none of them have the kind of military that could really help on short notice. For two, none of them really want to get into anything with Russia. They have to live with them.”
SECSTATE mused. “The Polls are a possibility. They have a long and unpleasant history with Russia. I would not be surprised to find a fair number of them not all that adverse to kicking Ivan in the Balls if they can.”
CIA was thoughtful. “That is a possibility. We can ask anyway.”
“That brings up my next question. Who do we think will come in with us?”
SECSTATE sighed. “Outside of the Brits, no one with any real muscle. The Germans probably have bad memories and frankly that would be very chancy anyway with the Russians. Or frankly with the Ukrain. They suffered a lot from the Germans in WW2.”
SECDEF nodded. “And the Bundesware is really soft anymore. It would take them a couple months of training to really be ready. Though the Luftwaffe would be good to have; they are still a quality force.”
“Anyone else worth considering?”
“France would be good but I doubt they want any part of this. They really have no beef with the Russians at all. Outside of them no one is really either in the position or have the forces to be worthwhile.”
The president sadly nodded. About what he had expected.
“What is the condition of the Russian military and the Ukrainian military?”
SECDEF took this of course.
“The Ukraine has a professional military; the quality is quite good. Not as good as the Brits or French or US, but not bad at all. Their army works on the Corps and Brigade system; no divisions. They have 17 ground brigades. 12 Infantry and 5 Armored. Around 500 total tanks and they are decent. Their Air Force is rather small but good. One positive factor is that they know their opponents very well; of course their opponents know them very well also. The Russians have a core professional officer corps and 12 month conscripts. They do have a huge reserve; but as regards a short term war that does not matter. In the area within 500 miles of the Ukraine, they have 12 divisions. 4 Armored and 8 Infantry. Basically around a 2-1 edge in all areas, and slightly more in tanks. Their air force has a 4-1 edge. That is one area where we can really make up the difference.”
The President looked at the Chairman.
“I want your honest opinion on how you think this will go.”
The Chairman took a deep breath; he had been wrestling with this for several months now.
“If the Russians do not get total surprise it will be tough for them. Frankly sir if we can get our Air Forces in position early on I think we can stop them. But then what happens next? Do they push or withdraw? If they push, then it becomes a numbers game and they have a serious edge there. Not to mention then it becomes more of a US vs Russia war and then you have to start looking at nuclear options. They will anyway. I think the Russians if they start seeing just before they attack signs that the Ukraine is not going to be caught by surprise will commit more of their military to the initial assault. They can get several more divisions there fairly rapidly. And more of their Air Force. Now what helps us here is Timoshenko’s worries about China. He cannot afford to shoot his military wad in the West in his mind. At a certain point if we can talk the Chinese into starting some maneuvers it could be very valuable.”
SECDEF sighed. “There are a lot of things we cannot predict, sir. And we also have to be very sure of our goal. Is it to keep the Russians from starting a new cold war; or just keeping them from getting what they want? Frankly sir if we were to give the Ukraine a months warning the Russians would see that and I doubt that they would attack; maybe they would but it would be much more of a gamble. IF we think that we need to weaken Timoshenko seriously or put him in the position where he could be ousted, we need him to attack and be defeated. What it comes down to sir, is how much of a threat is he?”
The President slowly nodded. “I guess that is the key. Is he worth thousands of US casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian casualties to remove?”
The CIA was very quiet when he said this. “Sir, if the goal is to remove Timoshenko there are better and more certain ways to do that.”
Everyone in the room was silent. No one really wanted to answer that.
The President realized that this was his call, and his alone. Knock off Timoshenko and it is very possible that nothing happens. That violated some laws but did that really matter? He thought of thousands of US dead and wounded and realized his duty to them was to find out. He looked at the CIA head.
“How long to set it up? It would have to happen in a way that could not be traced to us.”
The CIA head was an old Washington hand. He knew one of the reasons why the question was phrased as it had been. There were probably others.
“I will have to check on that, sir. But to be honest I do not think I could get it done that way before they start a war.”
“But if we warn the Ukraine and they deter the Russian attack?”
“Then there is a lot more time and it probably can be done.”
The President slowly nodded. He looked at the others.
“That is what we will do. We will continue to make all military and diplomatic preparations for this war but we will do our best to deter it and then have Timoshenko removed.”
Despite the fact that all had tacitly agreed on working to assassinate a foreign leader, the atmosphere in the room was better. Much preferable that one man die than thousands.
Liz knew that she had to tread carefully; not tip anyone off. So she and Jim spent a lot of time by themselves looking over plans and preparations. The conclusions drawn from the January Exercises and the Joint Staff critique were refined and polished. With enough time they knew they could have very good plans ready to go.
The president sent the SECSTATE to talk to the Brits at the end of May. He was to tell the PM and no one else.
The PM sat back in shock. There had been no real hint of this. He was going to have to have a word with his intelligence people once he could. But he did agree with the plan. Cold bloodedly it was the best way to do it. Timoshenko was clearly someone that could not be left in control of a major country with Nuclear weapons. He pledged British support if war still came.
The CIA head had found that he was looking hard every day for the sign of a message from Richelieu. They usually came every 3 to 4 days. Since the last meeting with the President they had slowed; now only every 5 or so days. So far no change; but no mention of any more military plans. He was very carefully beginning to look at setting up the operation to remove Timoshenko. After thinking about it, and the need to make sure that it was never traced back to the US, he knew it would have to be a contract job. Pay someone enough money and they will be willing to do just about anything. The problem would be to set up the middlemen to the point that it could not be traced too far back; and then to have the necessary money moved along without it being traced. He realized this would take many months if not longer. First to find someone that would be willing to do it; and then find a way to get the money to him without anyone knowing. He had considered one of the groups that opposed Russian policies; but working with Terrorists had many problems; chief amongst them was the fact that Russian intelligence could have penetrated them. He began to look at members of the old Russian mafia that had been crushed almost 7 years ago. They had a grudge against any Russian leader. And so he began to look for his middleman; the one that would start it.
He knew it could not be anyone with any ties to the CIA. So he quietly had some hacking done; he had come to the conclusion that they needed someone from the drug area to start it. Meth and Cocaine were still a big problem even if the poppy plant was all but extinct. He gave his hackers this criteria; someone with connections to the drug cartels, who needed money badly. He would be paid to start it all; and there would be no way to trace him to the US.
It took a few weeks but his hackers came up with a name. A drug dealer, with some ties to the Russian mafia, who had been caught but had been able to slide some and only spent a few years in jail; and had been able to hide some money. But not a lot. The CIA head carefully worked with his DDI and they were able to launder $5 million. A former DEA agent who had been caught and had turned evidence but was just about broke was hired by an agent who was careful to hide his identity. For $1 million he contacted the Drug dealer who was living in the Caribbean now. He handed over $2 million in cash with another $2 million promised to be delivered once the contract was completed. And the Drug Dealer was warned about just trying to pocket the money and run.
The CIA head by the beginning of July knew that the process had begun. But it was likely it would take several more months to be done.
Meanwhile the meetings were still going on in Timoshenko’s inner circle; it was not until mid-June that he mentioned it again. The attack would come on 1st August as planned. There were some maneuvers and exercises that had been known about that could be used to get the units ready and moving.
The President then authorized the SECSTATE to inform the Ukrainian president. On 1 July. He would meet with him on a tour of Eastern Europe that had been scheduled as soon as the first hints of the Russian plan had come out. With this in mind. He handed the Ukrainian President a note written in Cyrillic detailing what the US believed was going to happen; but now how they knew.
That evening the Ukrainian president carefully arranged a talk with his Defense Minister and his head of Intelligence. This had been calculated to make sure no one could overhear.
They were both stunned; then thoughtful. The Intelligence chief spoke first.
“There have been some signs, but nothing conclusive. I was looking at them but I had not reached that conclusion.”
The MOD was quiet. “I have been worried about Timoshenko. This does not really surprise me.”
“What do we do?”
The MOD was thinking. “We will call for a no notice exercise one week before they were to attack; we will do it in the center. They will see that our forces are alert. We can put one third of the active Army and the entire Air Force on it; but no movement towards the borders. The Russians will get the message. Their exercises will end and they will have to walk away.”
The President nodded. “The Americans pledged to send forces if the Russians attack anyway. Clearly they hope by warning us to prevent this.”
The Intelligence chief was very curious. “How could they know? They had never been able to penetrate the Russian high command or get anyone close to the Political leadership before?”
“IT is probably easier now to do it. And I would not be surprised if this was not started when that Russian Spy ring was discovered back in the middle 2000’s. They probably wanted to get back at the Russians.”
The other two nodded at the MOD’s observation. It made sense.
The president looked at the other two. “No word of this must get out. We must make sure the Russians are surprised at our lack of surprise. With no time to change their plan; giving them the only option of not starting anything at all.”
Liz looked at the calendar. 2 weeks to go. The last 2 months had seemed to crawl by. She had been given permission on the 1st of July to start getting her staff ready. But to not give details. The last two weeks had been very busy as they carefully looked over all the plans. The current plan was that the PREPO ships in Charleston would go out for their normal bi monthly cruise one week before the 1st of August. Normally they went out for 3 days and then came back; with minimal crews. This time the crews would be still minimal when they went out; but would be increased to full out at sea and the ships would head straight for the Mediterranean. They would be in the Med before hopefully anyone knew. The PREPO ships of the Marines and the Army at Diego Garcia would start moving 5 days before and hit the Suez canal at 3 days before. The idea was to have both groups of ships near the Bosporus straits the day of the attack. The Turkish government had been quietly informed at the same time as the Ukrainians had. They had also been shocked but had agreed to the passage. After careful consideration no US Carriers would be sent to the Straits; but 4 Carrier Air groups would join the Air Force contingent to be stationed on the Crimea.
Andrei Timoshenko looked at the calendar. Soon his plans would be done and he would once again be leader of a country the entire world feared. He had been careful with some of his plans. The first one would start this day.
The President of the Ukraine looked at the calendar. At noon this day the Defense Minister would call for the exercises; one week before the attack. He had a meeting with him and his intelligence chief; who had been able to from various sources confirm what was about to happen. But he admitted he probably would not have been able to give a warning in time; if he had not been specifically looking the signs were not that great. The Russians had been very good at hiding it. Only now were there more signs.
The President looked at the two men and nodded. The Defense minister lifted the phone.
“This is CNN Breaking news. The Ukrainian capital office building has collapsed; it is believed that the Ukrainian President and other high officials were in it. It does not appear to have been an explosion; the Building was over 70 years old. More to come.”
The president looked at his advisors in the hastily called meeting. The full cabinet had only been briefed the day before. The CIA was shaking his head.
“I should have been looking for this. Makes a lot of sense.”
“But the Ukrainian military will now be on alert.”
“True. But if it looks like a natural collapse then they will go off in a couple of days. And I bet that no one survived that knew what was going to happen. The Ukraine president indicated he was keeping it very quiet. The MOD and Intelligence head are thought to have been killed as well; and it’s a good bet he told no one else.”
The Russian president smiled at the pictures. Of course he had already sent official condolences; appearances must be kept up. He turned to his inner circle.
“The agents used for this were carefully chosen by our Security chief. Small amounts of explosive were specifically placed. It was an old building. It will take them weeks to realize what happened and by then it will be too late.”
The Deputy head of the Ukrainian intelligence looked at the notes his chief had left. Now it all made sense; and he could see it. He asked for an immediate meeting with the Prime Minister, now the acting President. It had been a full day after the explosion; they had 5 days until the Russians attacked.
The Prime Minister was a cautious man. He had already ordered the Military to stand down; go back to their barracks. He did not want to stir anything up. This had been a terrible accident but no need to cause more problems.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister was stunned at the note the American Ambassador had just given him. He demanded an immediate audience with the PM. But was told that next morning would have to do. The Intelligence chief was told the same thing.
Liz had looked at the news reports then at Jim.
“Decapitation.”
Jim nodded. “Tactically a smart move.”
At 1100 on the 28th of July the PM was confronted with the news from both his intelligence chief and his Foreign minister. In shock he slowly nodded then sent them away while he thought. He looked at the decanter on the mantel and decided he needed a drink.
The Russian intelligence chief and Security chief smiled as they saw the Ukrainian military stand down. The Ukrainian PM was a weak man and a drunk. Which is why this had been calculated.
The CIA shook his head. “Their PM is a weakling and a drunk. I bet he is getting smashed right now. Got to give credit to the Russians; this was very well done.”
The President was grim as he looked at the SECDEF. “The PREPO ships are moving?”
“Yes sir on schedule.”
“Everything else?”
“The transports are being brought in now; quietly as possible. We are moving.”
The Foreign Minister and the deputy Intelligence chief had met. Clearly the acting President was incompetent. So they began to contact others. But this took time; and the 28th passed.
The morning of the 29th found the PM passed out drunk in his office; a cabinet meeting was called and the Foreign Minister then explained the note from the Americans; and the Deputy Intelligence chief was able to show that the Russian exercise forces were carefully but definitely moving towards their border. In accordance mostly with the exercise plans that had been announced months before; but the Russian Air Force was also moving; and that was not part of the plans. Fear permeated the room. Finally at 1800 on the evening of the 29th The PM was relieved as unfit for the office. Rancorous debate then ensued at who would replace him. The Deputy PM had been killed in the building collapse as well. It was not until 0200 on the morning of the 30th that a new PM was chosen. He gave orders for the Military to mobilize.
Liz was deep into preparations; the transports had arrived and in the 5 divisions she had been given the troops were loading. She looked at her watch. It was 0800 July 30. She was deliberately moving up the date; she was willing to bet that now since the Ukrainian military was starting to go on Alert the Russians could move it up by at least a day. She was right.
Timoshenko was furious. “How could they know?”
The Security Chiefs and Intelligence Chiefs cowered.
“We do not know how the Ukrainians know but they do.”
“Launch the attack now.”
His defense chief shook his head. “We can go 24 hours early; but that is all. The units are still a day away from the border.”
“Then they will travel non stop until they do. I want the Air Force to attack on the 31st as well.”
Liz left Bragg to go to Washington; so far no one had noticed that the PREPO ships have moved; surprising but since everyone was watching the Ukraine and now that there were mentions on the media and elsewhere about Russian units approaching the Ukraine borders no one was looking anywhere else.
The President and his inner council were meeting; they were waiting for General Parker and General Wallace, EUCOM head who had been brought in from Europe for this.
Liz entered the White House for the first time since getting her second Presidential Unit Citation. She was quickly escorted to the Situation Room.
General Ed Wallace knew he was only the figurehead for this operation; while part of him resented that he was pragmatic. Parker was the one that should command, there was no debate about that. He would just hold her coat.
Liz sucked it up as she entered the Situation room and was put right next to the Chairman with General Wallace on her other side.
The President looked around the room. “We are all hear now. I want the Chairman to give us an overview.
The Chairman started the video. “Our forces are one day away from the Bosporus Straits. Our Light troops are boarding their aircraft now. The 160th and 161st had also been tasked and are moving. The Ukrainians are moving to their defensive positions to protect Kiev; and are moving to face the forces the Russians will be sending to attack Kharkov as well. The Crimea is on alert; but there are only small forces there. I believe they will get some reinforcements that if we are lucky will arrive just before the Russian Paratroops do. The Polish have agreed to give our Air Force and other units bases to use which is a big help. The 161st and the 3 Air Wings will be there tomorrow. The Navy Squadrons and 3 more Air Wings are going to be ready to hit the Crimea once we take it back. General Parker?”
Liz stood up and moved to the Map on the wall.
“The 82nd Airborne will drop a brigade on the three main airfields on the Crimean Peninsula. Once they are seized we will fly in everything we can. First will be the Air units to make sure we have control of the air. Then the 160th will come in to allow us to move and support more assaults; if necessary to take all the smaller airfields there. The Crimea will be our primary base. We need to give the PREPO ships full cover so when they land at ODESSA they can offload safely. All the troops will be flown into the Crimea at this time; once I can get contact with the Ukrainian command that might change; would love to get them closer to the equipment. Once they have married up with their equipment they will then began to move where the need is greatest; either to protect Kiev or to relieve Kharkov; which I expect to be surrounded on the first day.” Liz paused, and then looked at the president.
“My preference is to not play defense. The quicker this is ended the better for everyone. I intend to attack the Russian columns and their rear area; to destroy their support and supply system. I will have the 82nd reload as quickly as possible and will drop them again behind the Russian main columns to cut them off. I will use the 101st in the same way. The 10th Mountain will be my reserve; but I intend to commit them no later than the second day. We can move faster and better than the Russians and that is our edge. I want to cut up their columns and their forces and destroy them. I will hit them from the top and all sides at once if I can. The Marines I intend to have land at Mariupol, near the Russian Border, and go straight North. The Russians will have to wonder if we intend to invade and that will draw attention and resources.” She looked at the Commandant.
“Sir, I chose the Marines because of their organic support and ability to have everything they need right there. They will be to an extent exposed and will prove a very attractive target.”
The Commandant slowly nodded. “General, I can assure you that the Marines will attract a lot of attention. I agree with your plan.”
The Chairman nodded. “As do I.”
One by one all the service chiefs nodded as well; followed by SECDEF.
Liz took another breath. “I need to meet with the Air Force and Navy and Marine tactical commanders ASAP.”
The President nodded then looked at General Wallace.
“General Wallace will be theatre commander. It will be up to him to ensure that the fighting troops get everything we can get to them. And to make initial contacts with the Ukrainian military.”
General Wallace nodded. “I will be leaving for Europe as soon as this meeting is done; I will be flying right to Poland and from there to contact the Ukrainians.”
SECDEF looked at the Chairman. He nodded. “I have already gotten in contact with the Tactical Commanders for the other services. But I want one thing cleared up as of now. General Parker will be the Officer in Tactical Command.”
The President nodded. “It is so ordered.”
SECDEF had told her that they would send everything they could to her. She would get the 1st Armored as well as the 1st Cavalry. The Marines would be sent as well. After that it would be whatever they could get to her. But that would take time. So she would need to get the job done with 3 light and 3 heavy divisions, counting the Marine MEF. They had no details yet what forces the Russians would use; and of course the Ukrainians would be fighting as well.
IF the Russians did the smart thing and take the airfields on the Crimea, the first thing she would have to do would be to take them back and then load them with all the Air Force, Navy, Marine Air Power she could get. To protect the PREPO ships bringing the heavy stuff. Her light divisions would have to hold and stay intact until the heavies could get there. One thing that she had asked SECDEF and he had told her would be a presidential decision would be whether they could strike Russia. Not just attack the forces in the Ukraine. That of course risked escalation. But giving the enemy safe haven harked back to the Vietnam war and to the Afghan war and the Taliban running into Pakistan and hiding. She knew that was going to be a tough decision. She had a hunch it would come down to how well she did. She felt that if she demanded it that it would be approved; but the risks were huge. Yet if she did not go for it, she might have much higher casualties. She would have to cold bloodedly count her dead and make a decision.
The President called another meeting to see what their next steps would be. Already the military was doing what it could without tipping anyone off. Now for the foreign side of things.
“When do we tell the Ukrainians?”
The President looked around at his inner circle.
SECDEF was first. “When we hear in the meeting a confirmation that the military has been working on it.”
CIA agreed. “That is the best way. That way if it gets out Timoshenko is suspicious of his military. Not his inner circle. That protects our source.”
The president looked at the others who nodded.
“OK. That is settled. Now the tougher question. Who do we tell among our allies and when?”
“Brits first; and fairly soon. After that, well, that really is an open question. Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia all are in Nato and all border the Ukraine.” This from SECSTATE
“We are closest to the Polls, so they should be first. After that the others.”
SECDEF stated.
The president nodded. No surprises so far. “Will any of them help the Ukraine?”
SECDEF shook his head. “Not likely. For one with the exception of the Polls none of them have the kind of military that could really help on short notice. For two, none of them really want to get into anything with Russia. They have to live with them.”
SECSTATE mused. “The Polls are a possibility. They have a long and unpleasant history with Russia. I would not be surprised to find a fair number of them not all that adverse to kicking Ivan in the Balls if they can.”
CIA was thoughtful. “That is a possibility. We can ask anyway.”
“That brings up my next question. Who do we think will come in with us?”
SECSTATE sighed. “Outside of the Brits, no one with any real muscle. The Germans probably have bad memories and frankly that would be very chancy anyway with the Russians. Or frankly with the Ukrain. They suffered a lot from the Germans in WW2.”
SECDEF nodded. “And the Bundesware is really soft anymore. It would take them a couple months of training to really be ready. Though the Luftwaffe would be good to have; they are still a quality force.”
“Anyone else worth considering?”
“France would be good but I doubt they want any part of this. They really have no beef with the Russians at all. Outside of them no one is really either in the position or have the forces to be worthwhile.”
The president sadly nodded. About what he had expected.
“What is the condition of the Russian military and the Ukrainian military?”
SECDEF took this of course.
“The Ukraine has a professional military; the quality is quite good. Not as good as the Brits or French or US, but not bad at all. Their army works on the Corps and Brigade system; no divisions. They have 17 ground brigades. 12 Infantry and 5 Armored. Around 500 total tanks and they are decent. Their Air Force is rather small but good. One positive factor is that they know their opponents very well; of course their opponents know them very well also. The Russians have a core professional officer corps and 12 month conscripts. They do have a huge reserve; but as regards a short term war that does not matter. In the area within 500 miles of the Ukraine, they have 12 divisions. 4 Armored and 8 Infantry. Basically around a 2-1 edge in all areas, and slightly more in tanks. Their air force has a 4-1 edge. That is one area where we can really make up the difference.”
The President looked at the Chairman.
“I want your honest opinion on how you think this will go.”
The Chairman took a deep breath; he had been wrestling with this for several months now.
“If the Russians do not get total surprise it will be tough for them. Frankly sir if we can get our Air Forces in position early on I think we can stop them. But then what happens next? Do they push or withdraw? If they push, then it becomes a numbers game and they have a serious edge there. Not to mention then it becomes more of a US vs Russia war and then you have to start looking at nuclear options. They will anyway. I think the Russians if they start seeing just before they attack signs that the Ukraine is not going to be caught by surprise will commit more of their military to the initial assault. They can get several more divisions there fairly rapidly. And more of their Air Force. Now what helps us here is Timoshenko’s worries about China. He cannot afford to shoot his military wad in the West in his mind. At a certain point if we can talk the Chinese into starting some maneuvers it could be very valuable.”
SECDEF sighed. “There are a lot of things we cannot predict, sir. And we also have to be very sure of our goal. Is it to keep the Russians from starting a new cold war; or just keeping them from getting what they want? Frankly sir if we were to give the Ukraine a months warning the Russians would see that and I doubt that they would attack; maybe they would but it would be much more of a gamble. IF we think that we need to weaken Timoshenko seriously or put him in the position where he could be ousted, we need him to attack and be defeated. What it comes down to sir, is how much of a threat is he?”
The President slowly nodded. “I guess that is the key. Is he worth thousands of US casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian casualties to remove?”
The CIA was very quiet when he said this. “Sir, if the goal is to remove Timoshenko there are better and more certain ways to do that.”
Everyone in the room was silent. No one really wanted to answer that.
The President realized that this was his call, and his alone. Knock off Timoshenko and it is very possible that nothing happens. That violated some laws but did that really matter? He thought of thousands of US dead and wounded and realized his duty to them was to find out. He looked at the CIA head.
“How long to set it up? It would have to happen in a way that could not be traced to us.”
The CIA head was an old Washington hand. He knew one of the reasons why the question was phrased as it had been. There were probably others.
“I will have to check on that, sir. But to be honest I do not think I could get it done that way before they start a war.”
“But if we warn the Ukraine and they deter the Russian attack?”
“Then there is a lot more time and it probably can be done.”
The President slowly nodded. He looked at the others.
“That is what we will do. We will continue to make all military and diplomatic preparations for this war but we will do our best to deter it and then have Timoshenko removed.”
Despite the fact that all had tacitly agreed on working to assassinate a foreign leader, the atmosphere in the room was better. Much preferable that one man die than thousands.
Liz knew that she had to tread carefully; not tip anyone off. So she and Jim spent a lot of time by themselves looking over plans and preparations. The conclusions drawn from the January Exercises and the Joint Staff critique were refined and polished. With enough time they knew they could have very good plans ready to go.
The president sent the SECSTATE to talk to the Brits at the end of May. He was to tell the PM and no one else.
The PM sat back in shock. There had been no real hint of this. He was going to have to have a word with his intelligence people once he could. But he did agree with the plan. Cold bloodedly it was the best way to do it. Timoshenko was clearly someone that could not be left in control of a major country with Nuclear weapons. He pledged British support if war still came.
The CIA head had found that he was looking hard every day for the sign of a message from Richelieu. They usually came every 3 to 4 days. Since the last meeting with the President they had slowed; now only every 5 or so days. So far no change; but no mention of any more military plans. He was very carefully beginning to look at setting up the operation to remove Timoshenko. After thinking about it, and the need to make sure that it was never traced back to the US, he knew it would have to be a contract job. Pay someone enough money and they will be willing to do just about anything. The problem would be to set up the middlemen to the point that it could not be traced too far back; and then to have the necessary money moved along without it being traced. He realized this would take many months if not longer. First to find someone that would be willing to do it; and then find a way to get the money to him without anyone knowing. He had considered one of the groups that opposed Russian policies; but working with Terrorists had many problems; chief amongst them was the fact that Russian intelligence could have penetrated them. He began to look at members of the old Russian mafia that had been crushed almost 7 years ago. They had a grudge against any Russian leader. And so he began to look for his middleman; the one that would start it.
He knew it could not be anyone with any ties to the CIA. So he quietly had some hacking done; he had come to the conclusion that they needed someone from the drug area to start it. Meth and Cocaine were still a big problem even if the poppy plant was all but extinct. He gave his hackers this criteria; someone with connections to the drug cartels, who needed money badly. He would be paid to start it all; and there would be no way to trace him to the US.
It took a few weeks but his hackers came up with a name. A drug dealer, with some ties to the Russian mafia, who had been caught but had been able to slide some and only spent a few years in jail; and had been able to hide some money. But not a lot. The CIA head carefully worked with his DDI and they were able to launder $5 million. A former DEA agent who had been caught and had turned evidence but was just about broke was hired by an agent who was careful to hide his identity. For $1 million he contacted the Drug dealer who was living in the Caribbean now. He handed over $2 million in cash with another $2 million promised to be delivered once the contract was completed. And the Drug Dealer was warned about just trying to pocket the money and run.
The CIA head by the beginning of July knew that the process had begun. But it was likely it would take several more months to be done.
Meanwhile the meetings were still going on in Timoshenko’s inner circle; it was not until mid-June that he mentioned it again. The attack would come on 1st August as planned. There were some maneuvers and exercises that had been known about that could be used to get the units ready and moving.
The President then authorized the SECSTATE to inform the Ukrainian president. On 1 July. He would meet with him on a tour of Eastern Europe that had been scheduled as soon as the first hints of the Russian plan had come out. With this in mind. He handed the Ukrainian President a note written in Cyrillic detailing what the US believed was going to happen; but now how they knew.
That evening the Ukrainian president carefully arranged a talk with his Defense Minister and his head of Intelligence. This had been calculated to make sure no one could overhear.
They were both stunned; then thoughtful. The Intelligence chief spoke first.
“There have been some signs, but nothing conclusive. I was looking at them but I had not reached that conclusion.”
The MOD was quiet. “I have been worried about Timoshenko. This does not really surprise me.”
“What do we do?”
The MOD was thinking. “We will call for a no notice exercise one week before they were to attack; we will do it in the center. They will see that our forces are alert. We can put one third of the active Army and the entire Air Force on it; but no movement towards the borders. The Russians will get the message. Their exercises will end and they will have to walk away.”
The President nodded. “The Americans pledged to send forces if the Russians attack anyway. Clearly they hope by warning us to prevent this.”
The Intelligence chief was very curious. “How could they know? They had never been able to penetrate the Russian high command or get anyone close to the Political leadership before?”
“IT is probably easier now to do it. And I would not be surprised if this was not started when that Russian Spy ring was discovered back in the middle 2000’s. They probably wanted to get back at the Russians.”
The other two nodded at the MOD’s observation. It made sense.
The president looked at the other two. “No word of this must get out. We must make sure the Russians are surprised at our lack of surprise. With no time to change their plan; giving them the only option of not starting anything at all.”
Liz looked at the calendar. 2 weeks to go. The last 2 months had seemed to crawl by. She had been given permission on the 1st of July to start getting her staff ready. But to not give details. The last two weeks had been very busy as they carefully looked over all the plans. The current plan was that the PREPO ships in Charleston would go out for their normal bi monthly cruise one week before the 1st of August. Normally they went out for 3 days and then came back; with minimal crews. This time the crews would be still minimal when they went out; but would be increased to full out at sea and the ships would head straight for the Mediterranean. They would be in the Med before hopefully anyone knew. The PREPO ships of the Marines and the Army at Diego Garcia would start moving 5 days before and hit the Suez canal at 3 days before. The idea was to have both groups of ships near the Bosporus straits the day of the attack. The Turkish government had been quietly informed at the same time as the Ukrainians had. They had also been shocked but had agreed to the passage. After careful consideration no US Carriers would be sent to the Straits; but 4 Carrier Air groups would join the Air Force contingent to be stationed on the Crimea.
Andrei Timoshenko looked at the calendar. Soon his plans would be done and he would once again be leader of a country the entire world feared. He had been careful with some of his plans. The first one would start this day.
The President of the Ukraine looked at the calendar. At noon this day the Defense Minister would call for the exercises; one week before the attack. He had a meeting with him and his intelligence chief; who had been able to from various sources confirm what was about to happen. But he admitted he probably would not have been able to give a warning in time; if he had not been specifically looking the signs were not that great. The Russians had been very good at hiding it. Only now were there more signs.
The President looked at the two men and nodded. The Defense minister lifted the phone.
“This is CNN Breaking news. The Ukrainian capital office building has collapsed; it is believed that the Ukrainian President and other high officials were in it. It does not appear to have been an explosion; the Building was over 70 years old. More to come.”
The president looked at his advisors in the hastily called meeting. The full cabinet had only been briefed the day before. The CIA was shaking his head.
“I should have been looking for this. Makes a lot of sense.”
“But the Ukrainian military will now be on alert.”
“True. But if it looks like a natural collapse then they will go off in a couple of days. And I bet that no one survived that knew what was going to happen. The Ukraine president indicated he was keeping it very quiet. The MOD and Intelligence head are thought to have been killed as well; and it’s a good bet he told no one else.”
The Russian president smiled at the pictures. Of course he had already sent official condolences; appearances must be kept up. He turned to his inner circle.
“The agents used for this were carefully chosen by our Security chief. Small amounts of explosive were specifically placed. It was an old building. It will take them weeks to realize what happened and by then it will be too late.”
The Deputy head of the Ukrainian intelligence looked at the notes his chief had left. Now it all made sense; and he could see it. He asked for an immediate meeting with the Prime Minister, now the acting President. It had been a full day after the explosion; they had 5 days until the Russians attacked.
The Prime Minister was a cautious man. He had already ordered the Military to stand down; go back to their barracks. He did not want to stir anything up. This had been a terrible accident but no need to cause more problems.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister was stunned at the note the American Ambassador had just given him. He demanded an immediate audience with the PM. But was told that next morning would have to do. The Intelligence chief was told the same thing.
Liz had looked at the news reports then at Jim.
“Decapitation.”
Jim nodded. “Tactically a smart move.”
At 1100 on the 28th of July the PM was confronted with the news from both his intelligence chief and his Foreign minister. In shock he slowly nodded then sent them away while he thought. He looked at the decanter on the mantel and decided he needed a drink.
The Russian intelligence chief and Security chief smiled as they saw the Ukrainian military stand down. The Ukrainian PM was a weak man and a drunk. Which is why this had been calculated.
The CIA shook his head. “Their PM is a weakling and a drunk. I bet he is getting smashed right now. Got to give credit to the Russians; this was very well done.”
The President was grim as he looked at the SECDEF. “The PREPO ships are moving?”
“Yes sir on schedule.”
“Everything else?”
“The transports are being brought in now; quietly as possible. We are moving.”
The Foreign Minister and the deputy Intelligence chief had met. Clearly the acting President was incompetent. So they began to contact others. But this took time; and the 28th passed.
The morning of the 29th found the PM passed out drunk in his office; a cabinet meeting was called and the Foreign Minister then explained the note from the Americans; and the Deputy Intelligence chief was able to show that the Russian exercise forces were carefully but definitely moving towards their border. In accordance mostly with the exercise plans that had been announced months before; but the Russian Air Force was also moving; and that was not part of the plans. Fear permeated the room. Finally at 1800 on the evening of the 29th The PM was relieved as unfit for the office. Rancorous debate then ensued at who would replace him. The Deputy PM had been killed in the building collapse as well. It was not until 0200 on the morning of the 30th that a new PM was chosen. He gave orders for the Military to mobilize.
Liz was deep into preparations; the transports had arrived and in the 5 divisions she had been given the troops were loading. She looked at her watch. It was 0800 July 30. She was deliberately moving up the date; she was willing to bet that now since the Ukrainian military was starting to go on Alert the Russians could move it up by at least a day. She was right.
Timoshenko was furious. “How could they know?”
The Security Chiefs and Intelligence Chiefs cowered.
“We do not know how the Ukrainians know but they do.”
“Launch the attack now.”
His defense chief shook his head. “We can go 24 hours early; but that is all. The units are still a day away from the border.”
“Then they will travel non stop until they do. I want the Air Force to attack on the 31st as well.”
Liz left Bragg to go to Washington; so far no one had noticed that the PREPO ships have moved; surprising but since everyone was watching the Ukraine and now that there were mentions on the media and elsewhere about Russian units approaching the Ukraine borders no one was looking anywhere else.
The President and his inner council were meeting; they were waiting for General Parker and General Wallace, EUCOM head who had been brought in from Europe for this.
Liz entered the White House for the first time since getting her second Presidential Unit Citation. She was quickly escorted to the Situation Room.
General Ed Wallace knew he was only the figurehead for this operation; while part of him resented that he was pragmatic. Parker was the one that should command, there was no debate about that. He would just hold her coat.
Liz sucked it up as she entered the Situation room and was put right next to the Chairman with General Wallace on her other side.
The President looked around the room. “We are all hear now. I want the Chairman to give us an overview.
The Chairman started the video. “Our forces are one day away from the Bosporus Straits. Our Light troops are boarding their aircraft now. The 160th and 161st had also been tasked and are moving. The Ukrainians are moving to their defensive positions to protect Kiev; and are moving to face the forces the Russians will be sending to attack Kharkov as well. The Crimea is on alert; but there are only small forces there. I believe they will get some reinforcements that if we are lucky will arrive just before the Russian Paratroops do. The Polish have agreed to give our Air Force and other units bases to use which is a big help. The 161st and the 3 Air Wings will be there tomorrow. The Navy Squadrons and 3 more Air Wings are going to be ready to hit the Crimea once we take it back. General Parker?”
Liz stood up and moved to the Map on the wall.
“The 82nd Airborne will drop a brigade on the three main airfields on the Crimean Peninsula. Once they are seized we will fly in everything we can. First will be the Air units to make sure we have control of the air. Then the 160th will come in to allow us to move and support more assaults; if necessary to take all the smaller airfields there. The Crimea will be our primary base. We need to give the PREPO ships full cover so when they land at ODESSA they can offload safely. All the troops will be flown into the Crimea at this time; once I can get contact with the Ukrainian command that might change; would love to get them closer to the equipment. Once they have married up with their equipment they will then began to move where the need is greatest; either to protect Kiev or to relieve Kharkov; which I expect to be surrounded on the first day.” Liz paused, and then looked at the president.
“My preference is to not play defense. The quicker this is ended the better for everyone. I intend to attack the Russian columns and their rear area; to destroy their support and supply system. I will have the 82nd reload as quickly as possible and will drop them again behind the Russian main columns to cut them off. I will use the 101st in the same way. The 10th Mountain will be my reserve; but I intend to commit them no later than the second day. We can move faster and better than the Russians and that is our edge. I want to cut up their columns and their forces and destroy them. I will hit them from the top and all sides at once if I can. The Marines I intend to have land at Mariupol, near the Russian Border, and go straight North. The Russians will have to wonder if we intend to invade and that will draw attention and resources.” She looked at the Commandant.
“Sir, I chose the Marines because of their organic support and ability to have everything they need right there. They will be to an extent exposed and will prove a very attractive target.”
The Commandant slowly nodded. “General, I can assure you that the Marines will attract a lot of attention. I agree with your plan.”
The Chairman nodded. “As do I.”
One by one all the service chiefs nodded as well; followed by SECDEF.
Liz took another breath. “I need to meet with the Air Force and Navy and Marine tactical commanders ASAP.”
The President nodded then looked at General Wallace.
“General Wallace will be theatre commander. It will be up to him to ensure that the fighting troops get everything we can get to them. And to make initial contacts with the Ukrainian military.”
General Wallace nodded. “I will be leaving for Europe as soon as this meeting is done; I will be flying right to Poland and from there to contact the Ukrainians.”
SECDEF looked at the Chairman. He nodded. “I have already gotten in contact with the Tactical Commanders for the other services. But I want one thing cleared up as of now. General Parker will be the Officer in Tactical Command.”
The President nodded. “It is so ordered.”
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Re: Adjusting To Peace (AU,M/L,Mature) Part 15 7 May
The Chairman got all the commanders together at Camp Lejeune, ND. Lt General Barton Smith was the MEF Commander. Lt General Weldon Briggs was the Air Force General who would command all Fighters and Bombers; and would also command the Navy and Marine Corps Squadrons. The Deputy Commander of AMC, Lt General Joshua Dixon would be the man to take care of all supply matters. Vice Admiral Jack Johnson would be the Senior Naval Officer.
Liz deliberately delayed so that she was the last one in. She took a deep breath and centered herself. This is what she had been pointing towards ever since deciding to reach command rank. She headed towards the meeting room.
ATTENTION shouted the MEF Command Sgt Major as Liz walked in the door.
“Be seated. I want this over fast so that we can get to where we need to go. I expect the Russians to launch their assault at dawn tomorrow; they will move up their start time. They will probably have at least one full day to consolidate around the Crimea. That is what they think anyway. The 82nd hits them at dawn on the 1st. Just to clean up the command questions, I am in overall command of the combat area. General Smith will be in overall command of Ground Forces; General Briggs all Fixed wing forces and Admiral Dixon all naval forces. The helicopters will remain with their ground components. The exception there are the 160th and 161st which will be under my sole command. Our initial goal is to secure the Crimea; then get all available fighter and bomber assets there. The exceptions to those are the Units that are basing out of Poland. At this time I am reluctant to put any of our Aviation Assets on the mainland. General Briggs, what is your take on that?”
“I agree General. The distances are such that with the exception of the forces in Poland everyone is almost at point blank range for aircraft. My worry is on the mainland opposite of the Crimea. There are several airfields there. Will we be allowed to attack them?”
Liz grimaced. “Not at this time due to escalation fears. But General, the minute you believe it is critical that we do let me know and I will go straight to the president on it.”
He nodded.
“General Smith, you got my initial plan?”
“Early this morning, General, and my staff have gone over it.”
“Questions or comments?”
“We are in agreement that at this time it’s the best we can do until the situation clarifies itself as the Russians attack.”
“The landings on Mariupol?”
“Risky but I agree with the reasoning. As long as we have at least a neutral situation in the air I am not worried.”
“Admiral Johnson?”
“General, I see no naval problems as long as we can get the PREPO ships in. As regards the landings, I am worried about any Russian submarines but I am not sure what we can do beyond our standard Anti-submarine tactics.”
“Admiral, if you want something else let me know.”
“We will have half a dozen anti-submarine ships and that is all that is within range. Really nothing else we can do.”
Liz nodded. No use worrying about something you can do nothing with.
“General Dixon, your concerns?”
“General Parker, it all comes down to how long this will last. As long as we do not lose any ships, we should have enough of everything to operate without resupply for 2 weeks. After that we will need more.”
Liz nodded again. “Air Transport command will have aircraft on call for critical parts and needs. As long as you do not need too much or anything too large we should be OK. I do not plan on intensive combat continuing that long. But this is war so any plan made now can be shot to hell tomorrow.”
They all knew the truism of that comment. Liz looked at Admiral Johnson.
“What is the ETA on the two America Class ships with all the Marines Helicopters and F-35B’s?”
“They are right behind the PREPO ships and in front of the Marine MEF ships. They should all arrive tomorrow evening and be waiting for the cover of our aircraft to move in.”
Liz looked at General Briggs. “How do you see things General?’
He took a deep breath. “I believe that the Ukrainians, as long as they do not get caught on the ground, will do a good job of chewing up the Russian Air Force. Probably more than the Russians think. Our Aircraft arrive in Poland tonight. They will strike tomorrow. I think that until we get the Crimean airfields in operation it will be dicey.” At that moment a Marine officer came into the room and went directly to Liz and handed her a message. She looked at it and grinned – it was a feral grin that impressed everyone in the room. She looked up.
“The Turks have agreed to let us stage Aircraft around Ankara. General Briggs?”
“Great news. I was hoping but not expecting that. We can cover the Crimean area well from there. We have aircraft on the way and they can land at Ankara and refuel and be ready. General, with your permission?”
“GO.” He left the room almost at a run. Liz smiled. This was a more confident smile.
“So far so good. OK. Any more questions?”
There was silence. “Very well let’s get the hell out of here.”
That had taken 35 minutes all together. Liz waited until all the others left and stood and looked at the map again. Her C-20 was waiting for her and her staff was already on board. She was glad they had modified them for air refueling; so they would head to Ankara first.
At 0500 31 July the Ukrainian Central Air command was jammed suddenly. The General in charge swore and hit the alert button. All airfields were expected to be empty in 30 minutes. He went to the operators.
“Is there anything you can do?”
“We can go for short gain and get some return, but that will only be good from about 50 miles in from wherever the radar tower is.”
“Do so. Show the returns from our borders.”
Within 15 minutes they could see blips heading their way.
“How long to our border?”
“At present speed 2 minutes.”
Two minutes later the radar screens began to go blank. The General grimly nodded. The Russians had destroyed them.
“Shut down all other radars NOW.”
If they were using HARM missiles that could save some units for later use.
The Acting Ukrainian President had moved to the Civil Defense shelter. His staff believed that the military command posts would be targeted but possibly not this one; and it was about as well protected. He looked at the acting Defense Minister.
“What news?”
“Our radar installations on the border have been destroyed. Two airfields already hit; but we got all our aircraft off the ground first. It will be light in 15 minutes; already our fighters are engaging.”
“How long until the ground attack?”
“Sometime this morning, sir; not sure just how far away they are. All our border units are on full alert; with orders to fire and retreat; make contact and try and slow them down.”
“The Americans?”
“They will be moving to attack with their fighters very soon. They are bringing their AWACS aircraft in close. I have already made arrangements for our fighter controllers to coordinate with them.”
Another officer came in with a message and handed it to the Defense Minister. He grimaced.
“Sevastopol reports paratroopers attacking.”
“Can they hold?”
“No sir. There is only a little more than a battalion there with some militia; the same at each of the three main airfields. We expect the Russians to put a full brigade of paratroopers on each.”
“Is there any good news?’
“Sir, the Americans talked the Turks into letting them base there. They will be hitting the Crimea today. Details are as yet sketchy. I expect contact from their commander within the hour.”
“General Parker?”
“Yes sir. While their General Wallace is their theatre commander, it has been made clear that SHE will be the commander in fact.”
“Is she really as good as the media claim?’
“Sir she has been extremely successful at all areas of command.”
“Let us hope that continues.”
Liz’s plane landed at Ankara 9 hrs after it took off; which was 1700. The seven hours added to that made it 1100 31 July. She got off the plane and greeted the other Commanders who were all there. They quickly huddled in the Air Force General’s plane which was bigger.
Soon as they got in Liz looked at General Briggs.
“Air situation.”
“The Ukrainians did better than many thought they would; not as good as they had hoped. I believe they probably have about 40% left. They managed to keep three of their airfields in the west operating and got their fighters down there. I would estimate that for the 65 modern fighter aircraft they lost, they got at least a 2-1 kill ratio. I am willing to bet that the Russians are not happy>”
“Ours?”
“We had them wait until the last of the Ukrainians landed and the Russians sent their next wave, which was about an hour ago. So far it looks good; numbers are not yet more than an estimate.”
Liz decided to not push; really did not matter anyway. She looked at Smith.
“Ground?”
“They crossed the borders at 0900. Nothing surprising. A direct thrust south to Kiev; light resistance on the border which I bet means that they were ordered to maintain contact. Satellites show they are 20 miles in already. The Ukrainians did manage to lay some mines; that accounts for the slow movement there so far. That thrust is about 40 miles from Chernigov. I would estimate they reach that city by midafternoon if the Ukrainians do not try and fight more. At this rate they would be at Kiev by tomorrow morning or afternoon; but I believe once night falls the Russians will slow even more; and I bet that is when the Ukrainians will start to attack them. The other ground assault is an attempt to surround Kharkov; as it looks right now that will happen either late this afternoon or early this evening. No other ground assaults so far.”
“No subsidiary assault towards Kiev?”
Smith grinned. “No sir. And no indications that they will either. Sir they are very confident; they are making very little attempt to force the Ukrainians to divert forces elsewhere. Frankly it is not a very smart campaign so far.”
Liz nodded. “Napoleon said it is not polite to interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. I intend to be very polite.” She looked at the Admiral.
“Naval?”
“All ships are now in the Black Sea; standing off waiting for the all clear to go for Odessa.”
Liz took a deep breath. “I authorized the 82nd to move at once; they will be hitting the Crimean airfields in one hour. General Briggs, what cover will they have?”
“All three wings of my F-16’s will cover them; the Marine and Navy aircraft are the backstop. Sir, with a separate AWACS here to coordinate, I do not see much trouble covering them.”
Liz nodded. Now for the first hard decision. She looked at the Admiral.
“Start the ships moving to Odessa.”
He nodded. It was risky but it was the right move.
Liz looked at her communications officer, Major Tolliver. “When will I have contact with the Ukrainian high command?”
“Making contact now, Sir.”
“Very well. I want the Marine Landing force moving at the same time, Admiral.”
“Yes General.” Liz nodded and looked around. “OK, time I talked to the people we are trying to help.”
Timoshenko glared at the Air Force commander. “What do you mean the air situation is uncertain?”
“American Fighters have shown up in large numbers; we are engaging them now.”
At that moment a pale Naval officer came up to Timoshenko.
“Sir, the Americans have ships in the black sea; we have been able to identify numerous transport ships. It is their PREPO ships.”
“Why was this not seen sooner?”
“Sir you ordered to concentrate our satellites over the Ukraine and the Crimea; this was outside of their range.”
“And no one else was looking?”
“Apparently not sir.”
He looked furiously at the Air Force chief. “Attack them!”
That was easier said than done as three full wings of F-16s, staggered in sequence to keep one in the air at all times, was a very heavy CAP to penetrate.
Liz sat in the command chair aboard her aircraft and contacted the Ukrainians.
“General Parker, I am acting President Yuri Chernenko. I am my people thank you for your help. What are your intentions?”
“Sir, can you put this on speaker phone?”
“Ah, yes. It is done. My acting Defense Minister and chiefs of Army and Air Force are listening.”
“We will be landing our 82nd Airborne on the Crimea just about as we are speaking. They will retake the airfields. We will then start to move in our aircraft and other resources. Our PREPO ships are enroot to ODESSA and will be there by this afternoon. Our Marines will be landing further down the coast. I will not say more as it is just barely possible that the Russians can intercept this.”
“That is understood. We will make sure the port is ready for them. My Air Force is already cooperating with yours; but we need to talk as regards the ground combat.”
Liz nodded to herself. General Smith was the overall ground commander; but she needed to talk to them face to face as well. It was risky but had to be done.
“I and my ground commander will be in country this evening. We need to coordinate where to meet.”
“Yes; we need to make sure this is not found out about. My Army commander will work on this with yours for a meeting.”
“Agreed. Just hang on Mr. President; we will get there.”
“I pray that is so, General.”
Liz had gotten the Admiral and General Smith together. They would wait for the early reports of how the 82nd was doing. She had another thought and looked at the Admiral.
“At full speed, when will the America and the United States be within strike range of the Crimea?”
“One hour, General.”
“Can we send the 160th and 161st Super Apache’s with them? That would give us 96 Super Apache’s to support the 82nd.”
He took a deep breath. “That will be tricky; but I think it’s possible.”
She nodded. “Then do so.”
The 82nd hit the airfields even as they were talking; landing just a half a mile away; and the Navy and Marine Fighters were all over the airfields shooting up everything in sight just before they landed. There were 2 squadrons of F-18’s at each airfield; and they were very liberal at shooting.
Within one hour of landing, all three brigades were almost on top of the airfields.
1st Brigade had drawn Sevastopol and their commander was looking at the smoking main tower from less than a quarter mile away. The Russian Paratroopers had been roughly handled by the locals; and now his men were making very good progress. He just wished he had more air support that he could control. Then his deputy signaled him.
“Sir! The 160th 1st Battalion is on the horn; they are 30 minutes away and want to know what we need.”
“Tell them we need the actual tower hit; and anything to the north of that is a target if it is moving.”
Liz sat back and let out the breath she had been holding. The 1st Brigade after 3 hours of fighting had Sevastopol secured. The other two were already secured. She looked at her Support commander, General Dixon.
“Get everything moving you can to those airfields.”
She then looked at her staff. “What about the smaller ones?”
“The Russians had not moved on them yet.”
“I want the 160th to start moving people to those other airports. Get them secure and start getting them ready for our Helicopters.”
She looked at the commander of the 10th. “General Diggs, start securing those airfields.”
“Yes sir.”
The President had gone on the air at Midnight eastern and had told the American People he had sent the US Military into combat.
“Almost 90 years ago another leader of a European country started to try and take other countries. If he had been stopped early, as many as 50 million people might have lived that otherwise died. I and others have decided that it will not happen again. The United Kingdom will be sending forces; and Poland and Turkey are also supporting us. Naked aggression for no reason cannot be allowed to stand. The Ukraine has not attacked anyone; has not harbored terrorists; is a democracy. It is no threat to a peace loving country. We cannot stand by and do nothing.”
Then the SECDEF came on and listed the forces that were being used. It had been decided that the Russians would have figured out who had come to the party by now.
“American forces are under EUCOM, General Ed Wallace. The commander on the ground and the commander in tactical control is General Elizabeth Parker, commander of XVIII Airborne Corps. The 10th Mountain; 82nd Airborne; 101st Airborne; 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Armored Division and the Marines 1st MEF containing the 1st Marine Division are the ground forces involved.”
Liz’s friends and family sat and worried and prayed.
“General, this is too big of a risk.”
“General Briggs?”
“Sir, I believe the risk is relatively minimal at night. But still not negligible. If the Russians somehow get word, they do have dedicated night aircraft.”
“General we cannot afford to lose either of you and with all due respect to General Smith, especially not you. No offense General.”
“None taken. We have to speak to them face to face and to plan so our forces work together.”
Liz was thinking. Then she slowly smiled. Jim and her staff got a bad feeling from that smile. She looked at General Smith.
“Ever ridden in a Super Apache?”
“Liz this is nuts.”
“On the contrary; it is the best answer. Any passenger plane is a target; and like a fighter needs an airfield. A helicopter does not. The 160th brought 3 Spares. I can take one of them. And they can send a couple others just in case. But this way I can get to Kiev in a little over 2 hours balls to the walls and land right at their HQ.”
“Liz, still.”
“War is a risky business Jim. This actually allows me the least amount of risk. And with the digital communications of the Apache I can keep in contact all the way there and back. I intend to head back to the Sevastopol airport or one of the others. Probably will drop General Smith off on the America; he will want to talk to the Marines before they make their landing. This solves a number of problems in one go.”
Liz was determined and Jim finally acknowledged defeat. The meeting after that was hurried. It was almost dark. She looked at the briefer.
“What forces have been identified?”
“There are 4 Armored and 2 Infantry or what they call Motor Rifle Divisions attacking towards Kiev. 4 Infantry divisions have just about encircled Kharkov, with 1 Armored Division moving up to support them. There are two more Infantry divisions just across the border centrally located so as to be able to quickly move to support either attack.”
“What forces have they left to guard the rear of the movement towards Kiev?”
“They have partialed out the two infantry divisions. Not a very thick screen.”
Liz slowly nodded. Just what she had hoped for.
Liz could not help the broad smile as she looked at the Super Apache she was going to fly. It had been over six months but she knew it like the back of her hand. It was a ship that was almost new, but had about 50 hours on it and had just been serviced. It had even been taken up for a 30 minute check flight. She looked at General Smith. He was looking at her with a cocked eye.
‘Damn she looks happy. But I cannot complain; she is still probably the best in the world in one.’
“Let’s rock General.”
Liz realized that she was never quite as happy as when she was tooling a Super Apache through the air. They were taking off with maximum load; the fuel gave them the range to easily get to the Ukrainian command post south of Kiev and back to Ankara if they had to; but Liz had decided to land on the America so that was about 200 miles shorter. They took off at 1900. Liz and two others from the 160th Battalion. They had been flown back to Ankara while spare pilots flew their Apaches and they took the two spares and Liz the third. They were able to hold at just about 190 MPH due to being at sea level and maximum take off weight.
One thing this gave Liz was more time to talk to General Smith one on one; and they could discuss their plans.
General Smith found it very strange in the front seat of a Super Apache at about 20 feet above the Black Sea moving at almost 200 mph.
The AWACS flying out of ANKARA had been told of the small flight; they could barely get a reading on something; which relieved General Briggs. If the AWACS could just barely see them; and was looking right there; no one else could at all. If the Russians had a satellite they might see something but only if they were looking for it.
The Ukrainian president looked at the Map. Kharkov was surrounded. The drive for Kiev was less than 100 miles away; the Russians were still moving at night but very slowly. He had ordered that the majority of the Army prepare to defend Kiev. He looked at the Army commander.
“What is your estimate?”
General Andreyeev was calm but resigned. “Our Defensive position is quite good; but we will be outnumbered in tanks at least 2-1; and overall 3-1. Without help we will not be able to hold. The terrain around there is flat; and they can move along the flank before choosing where to attack. We will have to stretch and thin our lines. It has been dry and will not change; a dry spring means the river is low; it will not be hard for them to ford. They have brought large amounts of bridging equipment with them. We can blow the bridges but frankly I would rather not; force them to use the bridges and we know where the attacks will come.”
The President nodded, not surprised. He had served in the Russian army as a young man; he understood brute force very well.
“When will they arrive?”
“We are assuming they will come with helicopters. Since the coordinates are nearby. They will be contacting us when they are within 15 minutes.”
Liz and the general had pretty much talked themselves out after the first hour. So now she could just enjoy flying. She figured she needed to find enjoyment wherever she could for the time being. She checked her watch and then the electronic map. Time.
“Valkyrie Lead to Headquarters; we are 15 minutes out.”
“Valkyrie Lead we read you clearly. If you wish you can move from the previous point at 165 degrees and 2 clicks and you will have a short walk.”
“Roger that Headquarters; will do.”
The President and his MOD looked at each other. That had been a woman’s voice; so she was close. They moved to the elevator that took them up from the underground command post. Upon reaching the top, the security detail fanned out and checked the area once again. Just to make sure. The Russians had managed to attack the command position once; they could try again.
Liz used the gun site and could clearly see what the satellite pictures had seen; they had been pretty sure that was where the command post was even without the coordinates given. It was about 10 miles south of Kiev and to the west slightly; on the west bank of the river. She brought her Super Apache right to where a man with a flashlight was signaling. Landed and shut down. She smiled and told General Smith.
“Show Time.”
The MOD exclaimed. “Those are their Super Apache’s. Three of them. I wonder…”
The President was about to ask him what he meant when the lead helicopter opened up its hatches. From the front appeared a rather large man; in typical American uniform. But from the rear seat…
Liz took off her flight helmet and put on her Green Beret. She made it a habit; since it had been presented to her, to wear it when she felt like it. Tonight was a night for it.
In minutes they were whisked downstairs to the command room.
The President formally welcomed them.
“On behalf of the Ukrainian people, we thank America for their timely help. General Parker, General Smith, welcome to the Ukraine.”
Liz smiled. “Thank You, Mr. President. I believe with a little luck we can end this war within a week.”
The Army Commander spoke. “I would indeed like to hear your plan, General Parker.”
Liz nodded and produced a packet and spread the map over a convenient table. General Smith showed them the plan.
“The 1st Marine Division will land here at Mariupol and head straight north. They will make a speed run tonight to get through the Kerchenska gulf. I believe in two days we can be in contact with the Russian forces surrounding Kharkov. I see no reason they will not be able to relieve that city.”
Liz took over. “The PREPO ships are just about at the port now. It should take them only one day if things go well to unload. The next day they will be able to start to move north and I believe they will get to the outskirts of Kiev about the same time as the Russians will. They are the 1st Armored and 1st Cavalry.”
General Andreyeev began to see the plan. “You wish to attack their flank and drive it in?”
“Not precisely. I am going to drop the 101st and 82nd behind the main body and surround them.”
The General could not help the dropped jaw as did every other officer in the room.
Liz smiled. It was her feral smile; the smile of Nemesis.
“What I want is for the Ukrainian Army to hold just above Kiev, along the river; they will form two sides of the box. The two divisions moving up will form the third side; and the two airborne divisions will form the fourth. The Russian tanks will run out of gas very quickly. The two divisions will be dropped 50 miles from their main body. By satellite we have identified where their main fuel dumps are and they will be destroyed. The two airborne divisions will make sure they get no more. The newest Russian tank only has a 100 mile range at most on one tank of gas. Tanks without gas are nothing but an annoyance.”
General Andreyeev took a deep breath. He looked at Liz.
“You are serious?”
“Deadly serious. This way no one has to fight a protracted ground battle and suffer thousands of casualties. Your forces have delayed the Russian spearhead sufficiently so this is possible. My intention is not to hold; but to destroy the Russian advance. Capture the finest part of their army. Humiliate them. Not just defeat them.”
“General. What are your plans?”
“The Americans are at least 5 to 7 days away from getting to Kiev. By the time they are close we will have it surrounded and we can threaten to destroy it if they do not negotiate. This will not quite be the victory we had hoped but it will still be substantial. We will hold the Capital of Ukraine and its second largest City as well.”
“Very well. Do not fail me.”
Liz and General Smith spent just over two hours there and then headed back. By the time they had left the Ukrainian general staff was very much in favor of the plan.
Liz got to the America and dropped off General Smith and then moved to Saki Naval Airfield where the 160th had gone. As well as a lot of other helicopter assets from the other divisions. She quickly gathered the commanders of all the Aviation brigades. They had, including the 160th, 7. She was going to have the 161st move to near Kiev as well. So that would give them 8.
Meeting in a conference room at the Naval Base Liz looked at the Brigade commanders.
“OK. This is my plan. The 82nd will parachute in; but the 101st will have to ride in on Helicopters. Using every single one we have, some from the Ukraine and some from the Marines, we can move the 101st in one go to where I want it. The second one will be moving supplies. It will be the largest heliborne attack in history. And if necessary we will do it again and take the 10th if it is needed.”
“But general, we do not have the range for that.”
“You have the range from just south of Kiev, correct?”
“Yes sir.”
“We will fly the 101st there and refuel. The Russians will think they will be used for reinforcement of the Kiev Defenders. And then they will get another surprise.”
She then hoped in her Apache and went to Sevastopol, where the 82nd had concentrated along with the 10th. The 101st at the large airfield in the middle of the peninsula. She quickly hoped around the various camps using her borrowed apache.
SECDEF looked at the map. “The PREPO ships are unloading today?”
The Chairman nodded. “Actually they pushed the ships to their limit and a little beyond and got there several hours early; and they started to unload last night. So far so good. By the end of Today two full heavy divisions will be ready to move out tomorrow.”
“Air situation?”
“We now have control of the Air; they are basically trying to protect their units and not going anywhere else in the Ukraine. Which is fine with us for the moment.”
“General Parker’s plan is very aggressive and risky, isn’t it?”
“Yes sir but I agree it gives us the best chance to end this without there being protracted heavy battles with thousands of casualties.”
Liz had managed to get some sleep early that morning when Jim had flat out told her she was wrong. The Staff backed off; no one wanted to be around to be hit by flying pieces of General Harkness when Doberman tore him apart.
“Liz you are exhausted. Tired Generals make mistakes and you are a very tired General. You are not Super Woman.”
Liz started to growl and then stopped. “You are right. Give me 4 hours.”
After she went to the tent that had been put aside for her, Jim looked at the others.
“As long as nothing comes up, let her sleep.”
The Deputy commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps looked at Jim in admiration.
“You are the bravest sonuvabitch around. No doubt about it. But what do you want me to tell your wife after Doberman turns you inside out, rips off your head and craps down your throat?”
“Tell her I thought it sounded like a good idea at the time.”
Liz groaned and slowly rolled over on her bunk and almost fell off. She looked around; groggy. She looked for her watch and read it once; then again. Suddenly very awake she got ready to storm out and tear Jim to pieces. Then she stopped and softly laughed. She had been asleep for 9 hours. She felt a lot better. But hungry as hell. She had taken a shower at the portable ones that had been quickly set up in the huge camp that was at the moment the HQ for the XVIII Airborne Corps. She would have to remember to see to it that General Dixon got props; he had gotten things set up very fast. She quickly dressed and poked her head out of her tent. Her security detail, which consisted of a full A team, was as usual nearby and watchful. Something she had to get used to full time. The Captain and commander of the team saluted and asked.
“Something to eat, General?”
“Ya. Lets go.”
Liz spent another hour talking to her troops in the Mess tent; she right off the bat had told the support personnel to not waste any time trying to set up separate messes for the Brass; they would eat with everyone else. She ended up in a corner talking to some 82nd airborne troopers.
“OK, how tough was the first battle?”
“Not as hard as we thought it would be, General. Especially once those Apaches started to rip Ivan a new one. Those paratroops were pretty good, but the locals beat them up pretty well before we got to them, and those Navy and Marine jocks sure unloaded a lot of 20MM on them.”
“How were your casualties?”
“Not bad General. We lost some but not many.”
Liz finished and headed to the HQ tent. She walked in and looked around. There was a clump around the situation map and suddenly it parted like she was Moses before the Red Sea. She wondered if there were people shaped holes in the side of the tent since it sure emptied fast. All that was left was Jim.
Jim looked at her carefully. She did not seem mad and that was a very bad sign. The maddest he had ever seen her she had not looked mad at all.
“Jim. You let me sleep.”
“Liz you needed it.”
“Yes I did. Now get those gomers in here; we have a campaign to finish off.”
Once they were back in the tent Liz stood up.
“OK what happened while I was sawing logs?”
The G2 went to the map.
“The PREPO ships have just about finished offloading the equipment. Odessa is a big port and we were able to birth all the ships at once. The 1st Cavalry expects to send out its first column at Dusk tonight. The 1st Armored will be a few hours behind. They will night march the first night and into tomorrow afternoon. Baring problems they should be 50 miles north of Odessa before they stop.”
He then pointed towards Mariupol.
“Before you sacked out they had landed. They are about to start moving north. The Russians tried to attack early this morning but our CAP beat them off.
He then pointed at Kiev. “Leading Russian columns are now 70 miles from the city. At the current rate of advance they will be at the outskirts in 36 hours.”
Liz got up and looked at the map closely. She looked at the G2. “ETA on the 1st Armored and 1st Cavalry where we want them?”
“Best we can do is about 48 hours General. We will have to refuel all vehicles at least once and that will take time. There are good roads but best speed will be about 35 MPH. It is right at about 250 miles.”
Liz slowly nodded. “OK. We need to slow Ivan down. Suggestions?”
General Smith had just arrived and was looking at the map. “at Kozelets there are some bridges. If they could be dropped I think that would delay them for some hours.” Liz moved beside him and looked at it as well, then at General Briggs. “Is that a problem?”
“No General, not at all.”
“Then drop them and every bridge between there and Kiev.”
“Yes sir.”
Liz then looked around at the assembled officers. “You all know the plan; but the big movement will not be for 2 days. So go to your commands and make sure they are getting rest. Once we go no one will be getting rest.”
The next two days were strangely quiet. The Russian Air Force, badly mauled, just watched over the column and the area around Kharkov. The US and Ukraine flyers just played the waiting game.
Timoshenko looked at the General. “You were supposed to be at Kiev yesterday!”
“Sir, the Americans have dropped every bridge. It has slowed us down by almost 18 hours. But we are within 25 miles of Kiev.”
“And the two American Divisions are only 25 miles from Kiev as well.”
“Then we will meet them in combat.”
“Very well.” He did not ask about Kharkov. It really did not matter. Kiev really was the key to this war.
Liz looked at the map. “How far do the Marines have to go to Kharkov?”
“They are within 50 miles of the front lines.”
She nodded and turned to Briggs. “I want a serious air bombardment of their positions before the Marines attack.”
“Yes sir.”
She then looked at the map of the Kiev area. Then at the Ukraine liaison officer.
“Your ground forces are in position?”
“Yes general.” She nodded and looked at the map one more time. Then at the rest of the officers assembled. The tent was bulging despite being pretty big.
“OK. It is now 0800 on August 5th. We will launch operation Kill Switch at 1900. That will allow loading at just before dusk. The 101st will be moved 300 miles to Cherkassy by 2300. Refuel and then leave at 0400 and arrive at Chernigov at around dawn. The 82nd will load at 0400 and drop at Dawn. That will be the easy part. Then the Russians will realize the plan and go nuts.”
She looked at General Dixon. “The refueling operation for hundreds of helicopters. Describe it once again.”
“We have beacons for every battalion. They will be spread out over an area of 100 square miles. We have quietly moved by truck the refueling bladders and pumps. 10 per battalion. So it should take only 90 minutes at most to refuel every battalion.” She nodded then looked at the Deputy commander of the XVIII Airborne corps who had been tasked to plan this.
General Roy Windom knew his entire career would turn on this operation. Sink or swim. Not to mention a war depended on it. And thousands of American lives depended on it. No pressure here.
“Each Battalion will leave at 5 Minute intervals. They will stay in formation and use their running lights which will be on and blinking. They will be leaving from three separate bases. We have 10 search and rescue helicopters ready to respond. Each Battalion will have its own call sign. We will also be staggering their altitudes. From 2000 to 5000 feet. Where they are going is also figured into the plan.”
He then quickly sketched the separation factors. There were over 500 helicopters involved. The 101st like the 82nd would be going without most of its sustainment personnel. Just the sharp end of the stick. Supplies would be dropped by transport planes. 9000 men would be moving; by far the largest simultaneous Helicopter assault in history.
Liz thought about it for the fourth or fifth time since Roy had thought it up; she had found nothing wrong with it before and didn’t now. She looked around the tent.
“Anyone see any problems?”
There was only silence.
“OK. Now as regards the end points?”
“Last night Special Forces parachuted in and are already where they need to be. They have beacons and radios. They will guide not only the 101st but the 82nd exactly where they need to be. Over 80 miles from the Russian forces at Kiev. And almost as far from the Border where the other Russian forces are. There is only about one battalion of Russian infantry in that immediate area and they are pretty much spread right down the road protecting the convoys.”
Liz looked at General Briggs.
“At 0600 in the morning A-10’s with a low cover of F-16’s and a High Cover of F-22’s will go right down the highway destroying everything on it. Concentrating on fuel trucks. At the same time F-15E’s will be striking the four fuel dumps the Russians have established along the road. At that point as long as the Airborne forces can prevent any more coming, the Russian armor will be trapped. It is doubtful they can even get close to the Airborne before their fuel runs out.”
Liz nodded and looked at General Smith.
“The 1st Cavalry and 1st Armored will then move to flank the Russian forces and box them in from the side.”
Liz then moved to the map. “At that point I will free the 2 battalions of Super Apache’s and 6 Battalions of Regular Apaches to go after the Russian armor. That will be just under 200 of them hunting.”
She then looked at General Briggs again. “I expect Timoshenko to then order the Russian Air Force to do everything it can.”
He nodded. “We will be waiting, General.”
The president of the Ukraine looked at the map then at the MOD.
“Will it work?”
“Yes sir I believe it will.”
The President of the US looked at his SECDEF.
“Will it work?”
“Yes sir I believe it will.”
Liz looked at her watch and heard the helicopters begin to take off. Each one separate on takeoff by 5 minutes and by altitude. She took a deep breath and walked back into the HQ tent.
“Where are they going?”
“North.”
“I know north but where North?”
“We do not know.”
“FIND OUT!”
Hours later. “They are landing near Cherkassy, clearly meant to reinforce the Armored units they sent. That is foolish. Light units have very little use fighting tanks.”
“She is desperate. That is good.”
Liz haunted the tent until Jim once again told her she needed to sleep. Reluctantly she went to her tent and was surprised as she fell asleep.
Jim went and hit the sack as well. Liz woke up at 0500; she was surprised but she had gotten almost 6 hours of sleep. She headed for the Operations tent.
“How many did we lose?’
“8 Helicopters developed problems and had to land. None over the water. No injuries, no crashes.”
Liz let out another deep breath. “No collisions?”
“None, General.”
“Otherwise?”
“82nd left on schedule one hour ago. They will be dropping in a little over half an hour. The first helicopters will be landing at their targets in about half an hour. So far no problems. The A-10’s will be starting to make their runs in about half an hour as well.”
“0600 is going to be a very busy hour. Since I know the Marines will be attacking at the same time.”
And so it went. The A-10’s ravaged the road for over 80 miles from just below the Airborne to the very edge of where the Russian tanks had massed. Hundreds of vehicles were destroyed- not a single fuel tanker was left operational. All four of the fuel dumps were destroyed by multiple hits. 2 A-10’s were hit; one was forced to eject but was rescued in minutes by one of the returning helicopters. The other made it back to its base in Poland. None of the F-15E’s were damaged; and the Russian jets that had managed to get up early were swatted like flies by the F-22’s guided by AWACS. The F-16’s had a very boring time.
President of Russia Timoshenko looked at his Defense Minister.
“What do you mean we are defeated?”
“The Americans have destroyed not only all our fuel dumps but all the available tankers. Right now our tanks and other vehicles only have the fuel in their tanks and no more. Even if we could get more tankers through the Airborne Screen, it would be several days before they could make it. The road is strewn for 80 miles with wreckage. Our tanks are sitting targets. They have control of the air. And that is not all. Also this morning the American Marine Division began its attack preceded by a fierce air bombardment. They have already broken though; the siege of Kharkov is over.”
Timoshenko looked at the Air Force Commander. “What are you waiting for? Attack them.”
“Sir, we will lose most of the rest of our fighter and bomber strength if we do so.”
“DO it!” Then he looked at the Army Commander. “They will not retreat; they will use the rest of their fuel to attack. Attack now.”
At 0700 Liz gave the order and All the Apache’s that had moved into the area where the transport helicopters were took off; just ahead of the returning mass. They headed for the Russian tank forces.
Timoshenko stormed back into the Command room.
“Have my orders been carried out?”
The Army commander stood up. “Just half an hour ago, the Americans had all their Apache attack helicopters assault our armored forces. We have taken very heavy losses. We might have lost as much as a third of our forces.”
The Air Force commander also stood up. “I just received a call from Air Command. If we launch our attack now, we will be outnumbered badly. They have over 400 fighters up right now. We have only 300 available to attack, of that only 200 are fighters.”
“I do not care. Attack now.”
At that moment the rest of the cabinet moved into the room.
The Prime Minister led them.
“By unanimous vote, we have decided to end this war. Now.”
“I am the president. You will follow your orders!”
“Not any more. By a second unanimous vote, you are relieved of your office and placed under arrest for endangering the State.”
Liz looked at the communications officer then took the phone.
“This is General Parker.”
“I am the Prime Minister of Russia. President Timoshenko has been relieved of his office. We request an immediate cease fire.”
Liz almost could not stand; she almost collapsed. Idly she looked at her watch. It was 0845, 6 August 2023. And another war was over.
“Very well mr Prime Minister. But I will need to consult with our Ukrainian allies.”
“Of course.”
The communications officer nodded to the President.
“General Parker is on the line, sir. She says it is urgent.”
“General Parker. Things are still going well?”
“Mr. President, I just received a call from the Russian Prime Minister. He told me that President Timoshenko has been relieved of his office and he wants an immediate cease fire.”
The President suddenly had to sit down and did. Everyone in the room tensed.
“I will tell my forces immediately General. My thanks to you and your people. We shall remember you.”
He then stood up. “Timoshenko has been deposed. Their Prime Minister has requested a cease fire. Get out the word that in 10 minutes there will be no more firing unless fired upon.”
Liz then picked up the command line to the Pentagon.
“I need to talk to the President immediately.”
The President was in the situation room despite the fact that it was midnight. He turned as his aide called to him.
“General Parker on the line sir.”
“General Parker.”
“Mr. President I was just called by the Russian Prime Minister. He told me that Timoshenko has been relieved of his office and wants an immediate cease fire. I have called the Ukrainian President and he agreed.”
The President closed his eyes and then opened them. “Congratulations General. I will try the hotline and see who answers. If we find out anything different we will let you know but as of now handle it as you see fit.”
Liz slowly walked to the nearest chair and sat in it. All around her people were yelling and shouting and celebrating. Elizabeth Parker, Lieutenant General, US Army, Commander XVIII Airborne Corps, cried.
Liz deliberately delayed so that she was the last one in. She took a deep breath and centered herself. This is what she had been pointing towards ever since deciding to reach command rank. She headed towards the meeting room.
ATTENTION shouted the MEF Command Sgt Major as Liz walked in the door.
“Be seated. I want this over fast so that we can get to where we need to go. I expect the Russians to launch their assault at dawn tomorrow; they will move up their start time. They will probably have at least one full day to consolidate around the Crimea. That is what they think anyway. The 82nd hits them at dawn on the 1st. Just to clean up the command questions, I am in overall command of the combat area. General Smith will be in overall command of Ground Forces; General Briggs all Fixed wing forces and Admiral Dixon all naval forces. The helicopters will remain with their ground components. The exception there are the 160th and 161st which will be under my sole command. Our initial goal is to secure the Crimea; then get all available fighter and bomber assets there. The exceptions to those are the Units that are basing out of Poland. At this time I am reluctant to put any of our Aviation Assets on the mainland. General Briggs, what is your take on that?”
“I agree General. The distances are such that with the exception of the forces in Poland everyone is almost at point blank range for aircraft. My worry is on the mainland opposite of the Crimea. There are several airfields there. Will we be allowed to attack them?”
Liz grimaced. “Not at this time due to escalation fears. But General, the minute you believe it is critical that we do let me know and I will go straight to the president on it.”
He nodded.
“General Smith, you got my initial plan?”
“Early this morning, General, and my staff have gone over it.”
“Questions or comments?”
“We are in agreement that at this time it’s the best we can do until the situation clarifies itself as the Russians attack.”
“The landings on Mariupol?”
“Risky but I agree with the reasoning. As long as we have at least a neutral situation in the air I am not worried.”
“Admiral Johnson?”
“General, I see no naval problems as long as we can get the PREPO ships in. As regards the landings, I am worried about any Russian submarines but I am not sure what we can do beyond our standard Anti-submarine tactics.”
“Admiral, if you want something else let me know.”
“We will have half a dozen anti-submarine ships and that is all that is within range. Really nothing else we can do.”
Liz nodded. No use worrying about something you can do nothing with.
“General Dixon, your concerns?”
“General Parker, it all comes down to how long this will last. As long as we do not lose any ships, we should have enough of everything to operate without resupply for 2 weeks. After that we will need more.”
Liz nodded again. “Air Transport command will have aircraft on call for critical parts and needs. As long as you do not need too much or anything too large we should be OK. I do not plan on intensive combat continuing that long. But this is war so any plan made now can be shot to hell tomorrow.”
They all knew the truism of that comment. Liz looked at Admiral Johnson.
“What is the ETA on the two America Class ships with all the Marines Helicopters and F-35B’s?”
“They are right behind the PREPO ships and in front of the Marine MEF ships. They should all arrive tomorrow evening and be waiting for the cover of our aircraft to move in.”
Liz looked at General Briggs. “How do you see things General?’
He took a deep breath. “I believe that the Ukrainians, as long as they do not get caught on the ground, will do a good job of chewing up the Russian Air Force. Probably more than the Russians think. Our Aircraft arrive in Poland tonight. They will strike tomorrow. I think that until we get the Crimean airfields in operation it will be dicey.” At that moment a Marine officer came into the room and went directly to Liz and handed her a message. She looked at it and grinned – it was a feral grin that impressed everyone in the room. She looked up.
“The Turks have agreed to let us stage Aircraft around Ankara. General Briggs?”
“Great news. I was hoping but not expecting that. We can cover the Crimean area well from there. We have aircraft on the way and they can land at Ankara and refuel and be ready. General, with your permission?”
“GO.” He left the room almost at a run. Liz smiled. This was a more confident smile.
“So far so good. OK. Any more questions?”
There was silence. “Very well let’s get the hell out of here.”
That had taken 35 minutes all together. Liz waited until all the others left and stood and looked at the map again. Her C-20 was waiting for her and her staff was already on board. She was glad they had modified them for air refueling; so they would head to Ankara first.
At 0500 31 July the Ukrainian Central Air command was jammed suddenly. The General in charge swore and hit the alert button. All airfields were expected to be empty in 30 minutes. He went to the operators.
“Is there anything you can do?”
“We can go for short gain and get some return, but that will only be good from about 50 miles in from wherever the radar tower is.”
“Do so. Show the returns from our borders.”
Within 15 minutes they could see blips heading their way.
“How long to our border?”
“At present speed 2 minutes.”
Two minutes later the radar screens began to go blank. The General grimly nodded. The Russians had destroyed them.
“Shut down all other radars NOW.”
If they were using HARM missiles that could save some units for later use.
The Acting Ukrainian President had moved to the Civil Defense shelter. His staff believed that the military command posts would be targeted but possibly not this one; and it was about as well protected. He looked at the acting Defense Minister.
“What news?”
“Our radar installations on the border have been destroyed. Two airfields already hit; but we got all our aircraft off the ground first. It will be light in 15 minutes; already our fighters are engaging.”
“How long until the ground attack?”
“Sometime this morning, sir; not sure just how far away they are. All our border units are on full alert; with orders to fire and retreat; make contact and try and slow them down.”
“The Americans?”
“They will be moving to attack with their fighters very soon. They are bringing their AWACS aircraft in close. I have already made arrangements for our fighter controllers to coordinate with them.”
Another officer came in with a message and handed it to the Defense Minister. He grimaced.
“Sevastopol reports paratroopers attacking.”
“Can they hold?”
“No sir. There is only a little more than a battalion there with some militia; the same at each of the three main airfields. We expect the Russians to put a full brigade of paratroopers on each.”
“Is there any good news?’
“Sir, the Americans talked the Turks into letting them base there. They will be hitting the Crimea today. Details are as yet sketchy. I expect contact from their commander within the hour.”
“General Parker?”
“Yes sir. While their General Wallace is their theatre commander, it has been made clear that SHE will be the commander in fact.”
“Is she really as good as the media claim?’
“Sir she has been extremely successful at all areas of command.”
“Let us hope that continues.”
Liz’s plane landed at Ankara 9 hrs after it took off; which was 1700. The seven hours added to that made it 1100 31 July. She got off the plane and greeted the other Commanders who were all there. They quickly huddled in the Air Force General’s plane which was bigger.
Soon as they got in Liz looked at General Briggs.
“Air situation.”
“The Ukrainians did better than many thought they would; not as good as they had hoped. I believe they probably have about 40% left. They managed to keep three of their airfields in the west operating and got their fighters down there. I would estimate that for the 65 modern fighter aircraft they lost, they got at least a 2-1 kill ratio. I am willing to bet that the Russians are not happy>”
“Ours?”
“We had them wait until the last of the Ukrainians landed and the Russians sent their next wave, which was about an hour ago. So far it looks good; numbers are not yet more than an estimate.”
Liz decided to not push; really did not matter anyway. She looked at Smith.
“Ground?”
“They crossed the borders at 0900. Nothing surprising. A direct thrust south to Kiev; light resistance on the border which I bet means that they were ordered to maintain contact. Satellites show they are 20 miles in already. The Ukrainians did manage to lay some mines; that accounts for the slow movement there so far. That thrust is about 40 miles from Chernigov. I would estimate they reach that city by midafternoon if the Ukrainians do not try and fight more. At this rate they would be at Kiev by tomorrow morning or afternoon; but I believe once night falls the Russians will slow even more; and I bet that is when the Ukrainians will start to attack them. The other ground assault is an attempt to surround Kharkov; as it looks right now that will happen either late this afternoon or early this evening. No other ground assaults so far.”
“No subsidiary assault towards Kiev?”
Smith grinned. “No sir. And no indications that they will either. Sir they are very confident; they are making very little attempt to force the Ukrainians to divert forces elsewhere. Frankly it is not a very smart campaign so far.”
Liz nodded. “Napoleon said it is not polite to interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. I intend to be very polite.” She looked at the Admiral.
“Naval?”
“All ships are now in the Black Sea; standing off waiting for the all clear to go for Odessa.”
Liz took a deep breath. “I authorized the 82nd to move at once; they will be hitting the Crimean airfields in one hour. General Briggs, what cover will they have?”
“All three wings of my F-16’s will cover them; the Marine and Navy aircraft are the backstop. Sir, with a separate AWACS here to coordinate, I do not see much trouble covering them.”
Liz nodded. Now for the first hard decision. She looked at the Admiral.
“Start the ships moving to Odessa.”
He nodded. It was risky but it was the right move.
Liz looked at her communications officer, Major Tolliver. “When will I have contact with the Ukrainian high command?”
“Making contact now, Sir.”
“Very well. I want the Marine Landing force moving at the same time, Admiral.”
“Yes General.” Liz nodded and looked around. “OK, time I talked to the people we are trying to help.”
Timoshenko glared at the Air Force commander. “What do you mean the air situation is uncertain?”
“American Fighters have shown up in large numbers; we are engaging them now.”
At that moment a pale Naval officer came up to Timoshenko.
“Sir, the Americans have ships in the black sea; we have been able to identify numerous transport ships. It is their PREPO ships.”
“Why was this not seen sooner?”
“Sir you ordered to concentrate our satellites over the Ukraine and the Crimea; this was outside of their range.”
“And no one else was looking?”
“Apparently not sir.”
He looked furiously at the Air Force chief. “Attack them!”
That was easier said than done as three full wings of F-16s, staggered in sequence to keep one in the air at all times, was a very heavy CAP to penetrate.
Liz sat in the command chair aboard her aircraft and contacted the Ukrainians.
“General Parker, I am acting President Yuri Chernenko. I am my people thank you for your help. What are your intentions?”
“Sir, can you put this on speaker phone?”
“Ah, yes. It is done. My acting Defense Minister and chiefs of Army and Air Force are listening.”
“We will be landing our 82nd Airborne on the Crimea just about as we are speaking. They will retake the airfields. We will then start to move in our aircraft and other resources. Our PREPO ships are enroot to ODESSA and will be there by this afternoon. Our Marines will be landing further down the coast. I will not say more as it is just barely possible that the Russians can intercept this.”
“That is understood. We will make sure the port is ready for them. My Air Force is already cooperating with yours; but we need to talk as regards the ground combat.”
Liz nodded to herself. General Smith was the overall ground commander; but she needed to talk to them face to face as well. It was risky but had to be done.
“I and my ground commander will be in country this evening. We need to coordinate where to meet.”
“Yes; we need to make sure this is not found out about. My Army commander will work on this with yours for a meeting.”
“Agreed. Just hang on Mr. President; we will get there.”
“I pray that is so, General.”
Liz had gotten the Admiral and General Smith together. They would wait for the early reports of how the 82nd was doing. She had another thought and looked at the Admiral.
“At full speed, when will the America and the United States be within strike range of the Crimea?”
“One hour, General.”
“Can we send the 160th and 161st Super Apache’s with them? That would give us 96 Super Apache’s to support the 82nd.”
He took a deep breath. “That will be tricky; but I think it’s possible.”
She nodded. “Then do so.”
The 82nd hit the airfields even as they were talking; landing just a half a mile away; and the Navy and Marine Fighters were all over the airfields shooting up everything in sight just before they landed. There were 2 squadrons of F-18’s at each airfield; and they were very liberal at shooting.
Within one hour of landing, all three brigades were almost on top of the airfields.
1st Brigade had drawn Sevastopol and their commander was looking at the smoking main tower from less than a quarter mile away. The Russian Paratroopers had been roughly handled by the locals; and now his men were making very good progress. He just wished he had more air support that he could control. Then his deputy signaled him.
“Sir! The 160th 1st Battalion is on the horn; they are 30 minutes away and want to know what we need.”
“Tell them we need the actual tower hit; and anything to the north of that is a target if it is moving.”
Liz sat back and let out the breath she had been holding. The 1st Brigade after 3 hours of fighting had Sevastopol secured. The other two were already secured. She looked at her Support commander, General Dixon.
“Get everything moving you can to those airfields.”
She then looked at her staff. “What about the smaller ones?”
“The Russians had not moved on them yet.”
“I want the 160th to start moving people to those other airports. Get them secure and start getting them ready for our Helicopters.”
She looked at the commander of the 10th. “General Diggs, start securing those airfields.”
“Yes sir.”
The President had gone on the air at Midnight eastern and had told the American People he had sent the US Military into combat.
“Almost 90 years ago another leader of a European country started to try and take other countries. If he had been stopped early, as many as 50 million people might have lived that otherwise died. I and others have decided that it will not happen again. The United Kingdom will be sending forces; and Poland and Turkey are also supporting us. Naked aggression for no reason cannot be allowed to stand. The Ukraine has not attacked anyone; has not harbored terrorists; is a democracy. It is no threat to a peace loving country. We cannot stand by and do nothing.”
Then the SECDEF came on and listed the forces that were being used. It had been decided that the Russians would have figured out who had come to the party by now.
“American forces are under EUCOM, General Ed Wallace. The commander on the ground and the commander in tactical control is General Elizabeth Parker, commander of XVIII Airborne Corps. The 10th Mountain; 82nd Airborne; 101st Airborne; 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Armored Division and the Marines 1st MEF containing the 1st Marine Division are the ground forces involved.”
Liz’s friends and family sat and worried and prayed.
“General, this is too big of a risk.”
“General Briggs?”
“Sir, I believe the risk is relatively minimal at night. But still not negligible. If the Russians somehow get word, they do have dedicated night aircraft.”
“General we cannot afford to lose either of you and with all due respect to General Smith, especially not you. No offense General.”
“None taken. We have to speak to them face to face and to plan so our forces work together.”
Liz was thinking. Then she slowly smiled. Jim and her staff got a bad feeling from that smile. She looked at General Smith.
“Ever ridden in a Super Apache?”
“Liz this is nuts.”
“On the contrary; it is the best answer. Any passenger plane is a target; and like a fighter needs an airfield. A helicopter does not. The 160th brought 3 Spares. I can take one of them. And they can send a couple others just in case. But this way I can get to Kiev in a little over 2 hours balls to the walls and land right at their HQ.”
“Liz, still.”
“War is a risky business Jim. This actually allows me the least amount of risk. And with the digital communications of the Apache I can keep in contact all the way there and back. I intend to head back to the Sevastopol airport or one of the others. Probably will drop General Smith off on the America; he will want to talk to the Marines before they make their landing. This solves a number of problems in one go.”
Liz was determined and Jim finally acknowledged defeat. The meeting after that was hurried. It was almost dark. She looked at the briefer.
“What forces have been identified?”
“There are 4 Armored and 2 Infantry or what they call Motor Rifle Divisions attacking towards Kiev. 4 Infantry divisions have just about encircled Kharkov, with 1 Armored Division moving up to support them. There are two more Infantry divisions just across the border centrally located so as to be able to quickly move to support either attack.”
“What forces have they left to guard the rear of the movement towards Kiev?”
“They have partialed out the two infantry divisions. Not a very thick screen.”
Liz slowly nodded. Just what she had hoped for.
Liz could not help the broad smile as she looked at the Super Apache she was going to fly. It had been over six months but she knew it like the back of her hand. It was a ship that was almost new, but had about 50 hours on it and had just been serviced. It had even been taken up for a 30 minute check flight. She looked at General Smith. He was looking at her with a cocked eye.
‘Damn she looks happy. But I cannot complain; she is still probably the best in the world in one.’
“Let’s rock General.”
Liz realized that she was never quite as happy as when she was tooling a Super Apache through the air. They were taking off with maximum load; the fuel gave them the range to easily get to the Ukrainian command post south of Kiev and back to Ankara if they had to; but Liz had decided to land on the America so that was about 200 miles shorter. They took off at 1900. Liz and two others from the 160th Battalion. They had been flown back to Ankara while spare pilots flew their Apaches and they took the two spares and Liz the third. They were able to hold at just about 190 MPH due to being at sea level and maximum take off weight.
One thing this gave Liz was more time to talk to General Smith one on one; and they could discuss their plans.
General Smith found it very strange in the front seat of a Super Apache at about 20 feet above the Black Sea moving at almost 200 mph.
The AWACS flying out of ANKARA had been told of the small flight; they could barely get a reading on something; which relieved General Briggs. If the AWACS could just barely see them; and was looking right there; no one else could at all. If the Russians had a satellite they might see something but only if they were looking for it.
The Ukrainian president looked at the Map. Kharkov was surrounded. The drive for Kiev was less than 100 miles away; the Russians were still moving at night but very slowly. He had ordered that the majority of the Army prepare to defend Kiev. He looked at the Army commander.
“What is your estimate?”
General Andreyeev was calm but resigned. “Our Defensive position is quite good; but we will be outnumbered in tanks at least 2-1; and overall 3-1. Without help we will not be able to hold. The terrain around there is flat; and they can move along the flank before choosing where to attack. We will have to stretch and thin our lines. It has been dry and will not change; a dry spring means the river is low; it will not be hard for them to ford. They have brought large amounts of bridging equipment with them. We can blow the bridges but frankly I would rather not; force them to use the bridges and we know where the attacks will come.”
The President nodded, not surprised. He had served in the Russian army as a young man; he understood brute force very well.
“When will they arrive?”
“We are assuming they will come with helicopters. Since the coordinates are nearby. They will be contacting us when they are within 15 minutes.”
Liz and the general had pretty much talked themselves out after the first hour. So now she could just enjoy flying. She figured she needed to find enjoyment wherever she could for the time being. She checked her watch and then the electronic map. Time.
“Valkyrie Lead to Headquarters; we are 15 minutes out.”
“Valkyrie Lead we read you clearly. If you wish you can move from the previous point at 165 degrees and 2 clicks and you will have a short walk.”
“Roger that Headquarters; will do.”
The President and his MOD looked at each other. That had been a woman’s voice; so she was close. They moved to the elevator that took them up from the underground command post. Upon reaching the top, the security detail fanned out and checked the area once again. Just to make sure. The Russians had managed to attack the command position once; they could try again.
Liz used the gun site and could clearly see what the satellite pictures had seen; they had been pretty sure that was where the command post was even without the coordinates given. It was about 10 miles south of Kiev and to the west slightly; on the west bank of the river. She brought her Super Apache right to where a man with a flashlight was signaling. Landed and shut down. She smiled and told General Smith.
“Show Time.”
The MOD exclaimed. “Those are their Super Apache’s. Three of them. I wonder…”
The President was about to ask him what he meant when the lead helicopter opened up its hatches. From the front appeared a rather large man; in typical American uniform. But from the rear seat…
Liz took off her flight helmet and put on her Green Beret. She made it a habit; since it had been presented to her, to wear it when she felt like it. Tonight was a night for it.
In minutes they were whisked downstairs to the command room.
The President formally welcomed them.
“On behalf of the Ukrainian people, we thank America for their timely help. General Parker, General Smith, welcome to the Ukraine.”
Liz smiled. “Thank You, Mr. President. I believe with a little luck we can end this war within a week.”
The Army Commander spoke. “I would indeed like to hear your plan, General Parker.”
Liz nodded and produced a packet and spread the map over a convenient table. General Smith showed them the plan.
“The 1st Marine Division will land here at Mariupol and head straight north. They will make a speed run tonight to get through the Kerchenska gulf. I believe in two days we can be in contact with the Russian forces surrounding Kharkov. I see no reason they will not be able to relieve that city.”
Liz took over. “The PREPO ships are just about at the port now. It should take them only one day if things go well to unload. The next day they will be able to start to move north and I believe they will get to the outskirts of Kiev about the same time as the Russians will. They are the 1st Armored and 1st Cavalry.”
General Andreyeev began to see the plan. “You wish to attack their flank and drive it in?”
“Not precisely. I am going to drop the 101st and 82nd behind the main body and surround them.”
The General could not help the dropped jaw as did every other officer in the room.
Liz smiled. It was her feral smile; the smile of Nemesis.
“What I want is for the Ukrainian Army to hold just above Kiev, along the river; they will form two sides of the box. The two divisions moving up will form the third side; and the two airborne divisions will form the fourth. The Russian tanks will run out of gas very quickly. The two divisions will be dropped 50 miles from their main body. By satellite we have identified where their main fuel dumps are and they will be destroyed. The two airborne divisions will make sure they get no more. The newest Russian tank only has a 100 mile range at most on one tank of gas. Tanks without gas are nothing but an annoyance.”
General Andreyeev took a deep breath. He looked at Liz.
“You are serious?”
“Deadly serious. This way no one has to fight a protracted ground battle and suffer thousands of casualties. Your forces have delayed the Russian spearhead sufficiently so this is possible. My intention is not to hold; but to destroy the Russian advance. Capture the finest part of their army. Humiliate them. Not just defeat them.”
“General. What are your plans?”
“The Americans are at least 5 to 7 days away from getting to Kiev. By the time they are close we will have it surrounded and we can threaten to destroy it if they do not negotiate. This will not quite be the victory we had hoped but it will still be substantial. We will hold the Capital of Ukraine and its second largest City as well.”
“Very well. Do not fail me.”
Liz and General Smith spent just over two hours there and then headed back. By the time they had left the Ukrainian general staff was very much in favor of the plan.
Liz got to the America and dropped off General Smith and then moved to Saki Naval Airfield where the 160th had gone. As well as a lot of other helicopter assets from the other divisions. She quickly gathered the commanders of all the Aviation brigades. They had, including the 160th, 7. She was going to have the 161st move to near Kiev as well. So that would give them 8.
Meeting in a conference room at the Naval Base Liz looked at the Brigade commanders.
“OK. This is my plan. The 82nd will parachute in; but the 101st will have to ride in on Helicopters. Using every single one we have, some from the Ukraine and some from the Marines, we can move the 101st in one go to where I want it. The second one will be moving supplies. It will be the largest heliborne attack in history. And if necessary we will do it again and take the 10th if it is needed.”
“But general, we do not have the range for that.”
“You have the range from just south of Kiev, correct?”
“Yes sir.”
“We will fly the 101st there and refuel. The Russians will think they will be used for reinforcement of the Kiev Defenders. And then they will get another surprise.”
She then hoped in her Apache and went to Sevastopol, where the 82nd had concentrated along with the 10th. The 101st at the large airfield in the middle of the peninsula. She quickly hoped around the various camps using her borrowed apache.
SECDEF looked at the map. “The PREPO ships are unloading today?”
The Chairman nodded. “Actually they pushed the ships to their limit and a little beyond and got there several hours early; and they started to unload last night. So far so good. By the end of Today two full heavy divisions will be ready to move out tomorrow.”
“Air situation?”
“We now have control of the Air; they are basically trying to protect their units and not going anywhere else in the Ukraine. Which is fine with us for the moment.”
“General Parker’s plan is very aggressive and risky, isn’t it?”
“Yes sir but I agree it gives us the best chance to end this without there being protracted heavy battles with thousands of casualties.”
Liz had managed to get some sleep early that morning when Jim had flat out told her she was wrong. The Staff backed off; no one wanted to be around to be hit by flying pieces of General Harkness when Doberman tore him apart.
“Liz you are exhausted. Tired Generals make mistakes and you are a very tired General. You are not Super Woman.”
Liz started to growl and then stopped. “You are right. Give me 4 hours.”
After she went to the tent that had been put aside for her, Jim looked at the others.
“As long as nothing comes up, let her sleep.”
The Deputy commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps looked at Jim in admiration.
“You are the bravest sonuvabitch around. No doubt about it. But what do you want me to tell your wife after Doberman turns you inside out, rips off your head and craps down your throat?”
“Tell her I thought it sounded like a good idea at the time.”
Liz groaned and slowly rolled over on her bunk and almost fell off. She looked around; groggy. She looked for her watch and read it once; then again. Suddenly very awake she got ready to storm out and tear Jim to pieces. Then she stopped and softly laughed. She had been asleep for 9 hours. She felt a lot better. But hungry as hell. She had taken a shower at the portable ones that had been quickly set up in the huge camp that was at the moment the HQ for the XVIII Airborne Corps. She would have to remember to see to it that General Dixon got props; he had gotten things set up very fast. She quickly dressed and poked her head out of her tent. Her security detail, which consisted of a full A team, was as usual nearby and watchful. Something she had to get used to full time. The Captain and commander of the team saluted and asked.
“Something to eat, General?”
“Ya. Lets go.”
Liz spent another hour talking to her troops in the Mess tent; she right off the bat had told the support personnel to not waste any time trying to set up separate messes for the Brass; they would eat with everyone else. She ended up in a corner talking to some 82nd airborne troopers.
“OK, how tough was the first battle?”
“Not as hard as we thought it would be, General. Especially once those Apaches started to rip Ivan a new one. Those paratroops were pretty good, but the locals beat them up pretty well before we got to them, and those Navy and Marine jocks sure unloaded a lot of 20MM on them.”
“How were your casualties?”
“Not bad General. We lost some but not many.”
Liz finished and headed to the HQ tent. She walked in and looked around. There was a clump around the situation map and suddenly it parted like she was Moses before the Red Sea. She wondered if there were people shaped holes in the side of the tent since it sure emptied fast. All that was left was Jim.
Jim looked at her carefully. She did not seem mad and that was a very bad sign. The maddest he had ever seen her she had not looked mad at all.
“Jim. You let me sleep.”
“Liz you needed it.”
“Yes I did. Now get those gomers in here; we have a campaign to finish off.”
Once they were back in the tent Liz stood up.
“OK what happened while I was sawing logs?”
The G2 went to the map.
“The PREPO ships have just about finished offloading the equipment. Odessa is a big port and we were able to birth all the ships at once. The 1st Cavalry expects to send out its first column at Dusk tonight. The 1st Armored will be a few hours behind. They will night march the first night and into tomorrow afternoon. Baring problems they should be 50 miles north of Odessa before they stop.”
He then pointed towards Mariupol.
“Before you sacked out they had landed. They are about to start moving north. The Russians tried to attack early this morning but our CAP beat them off.
He then pointed at Kiev. “Leading Russian columns are now 70 miles from the city. At the current rate of advance they will be at the outskirts in 36 hours.”
Liz got up and looked at the map closely. She looked at the G2. “ETA on the 1st Armored and 1st Cavalry where we want them?”
“Best we can do is about 48 hours General. We will have to refuel all vehicles at least once and that will take time. There are good roads but best speed will be about 35 MPH. It is right at about 250 miles.”
Liz slowly nodded. “OK. We need to slow Ivan down. Suggestions?”
General Smith had just arrived and was looking at the map. “at Kozelets there are some bridges. If they could be dropped I think that would delay them for some hours.” Liz moved beside him and looked at it as well, then at General Briggs. “Is that a problem?”
“No General, not at all.”
“Then drop them and every bridge between there and Kiev.”
“Yes sir.”
Liz then looked around at the assembled officers. “You all know the plan; but the big movement will not be for 2 days. So go to your commands and make sure they are getting rest. Once we go no one will be getting rest.”
The next two days were strangely quiet. The Russian Air Force, badly mauled, just watched over the column and the area around Kharkov. The US and Ukraine flyers just played the waiting game.
Timoshenko looked at the General. “You were supposed to be at Kiev yesterday!”
“Sir, the Americans have dropped every bridge. It has slowed us down by almost 18 hours. But we are within 25 miles of Kiev.”
“And the two American Divisions are only 25 miles from Kiev as well.”
“Then we will meet them in combat.”
“Very well.” He did not ask about Kharkov. It really did not matter. Kiev really was the key to this war.
Liz looked at the map. “How far do the Marines have to go to Kharkov?”
“They are within 50 miles of the front lines.”
She nodded and turned to Briggs. “I want a serious air bombardment of their positions before the Marines attack.”
“Yes sir.”
She then looked at the map of the Kiev area. Then at the Ukraine liaison officer.
“Your ground forces are in position?”
“Yes general.” She nodded and looked at the map one more time. Then at the rest of the officers assembled. The tent was bulging despite being pretty big.
“OK. It is now 0800 on August 5th. We will launch operation Kill Switch at 1900. That will allow loading at just before dusk. The 101st will be moved 300 miles to Cherkassy by 2300. Refuel and then leave at 0400 and arrive at Chernigov at around dawn. The 82nd will load at 0400 and drop at Dawn. That will be the easy part. Then the Russians will realize the plan and go nuts.”
She looked at General Dixon. “The refueling operation for hundreds of helicopters. Describe it once again.”
“We have beacons for every battalion. They will be spread out over an area of 100 square miles. We have quietly moved by truck the refueling bladders and pumps. 10 per battalion. So it should take only 90 minutes at most to refuel every battalion.” She nodded then looked at the Deputy commander of the XVIII Airborne corps who had been tasked to plan this.
General Roy Windom knew his entire career would turn on this operation. Sink or swim. Not to mention a war depended on it. And thousands of American lives depended on it. No pressure here.
“Each Battalion will leave at 5 Minute intervals. They will stay in formation and use their running lights which will be on and blinking. They will be leaving from three separate bases. We have 10 search and rescue helicopters ready to respond. Each Battalion will have its own call sign. We will also be staggering their altitudes. From 2000 to 5000 feet. Where they are going is also figured into the plan.”
He then quickly sketched the separation factors. There were over 500 helicopters involved. The 101st like the 82nd would be going without most of its sustainment personnel. Just the sharp end of the stick. Supplies would be dropped by transport planes. 9000 men would be moving; by far the largest simultaneous Helicopter assault in history.
Liz thought about it for the fourth or fifth time since Roy had thought it up; she had found nothing wrong with it before and didn’t now. She looked around the tent.
“Anyone see any problems?”
There was only silence.
“OK. Now as regards the end points?”
“Last night Special Forces parachuted in and are already where they need to be. They have beacons and radios. They will guide not only the 101st but the 82nd exactly where they need to be. Over 80 miles from the Russian forces at Kiev. And almost as far from the Border where the other Russian forces are. There is only about one battalion of Russian infantry in that immediate area and they are pretty much spread right down the road protecting the convoys.”
Liz looked at General Briggs.
“At 0600 in the morning A-10’s with a low cover of F-16’s and a High Cover of F-22’s will go right down the highway destroying everything on it. Concentrating on fuel trucks. At the same time F-15E’s will be striking the four fuel dumps the Russians have established along the road. At that point as long as the Airborne forces can prevent any more coming, the Russian armor will be trapped. It is doubtful they can even get close to the Airborne before their fuel runs out.”
Liz nodded and looked at General Smith.
“The 1st Cavalry and 1st Armored will then move to flank the Russian forces and box them in from the side.”
Liz then moved to the map. “At that point I will free the 2 battalions of Super Apache’s and 6 Battalions of Regular Apaches to go after the Russian armor. That will be just under 200 of them hunting.”
She then looked at General Briggs again. “I expect Timoshenko to then order the Russian Air Force to do everything it can.”
He nodded. “We will be waiting, General.”
The president of the Ukraine looked at the map then at the MOD.
“Will it work?”
“Yes sir I believe it will.”
The President of the US looked at his SECDEF.
“Will it work?”
“Yes sir I believe it will.”
Liz looked at her watch and heard the helicopters begin to take off. Each one separate on takeoff by 5 minutes and by altitude. She took a deep breath and walked back into the HQ tent.
“Where are they going?”
“North.”
“I know north but where North?”
“We do not know.”
“FIND OUT!”
Hours later. “They are landing near Cherkassy, clearly meant to reinforce the Armored units they sent. That is foolish. Light units have very little use fighting tanks.”
“She is desperate. That is good.”
Liz haunted the tent until Jim once again told her she needed to sleep. Reluctantly she went to her tent and was surprised as she fell asleep.
Jim went and hit the sack as well. Liz woke up at 0500; she was surprised but she had gotten almost 6 hours of sleep. She headed for the Operations tent.
“How many did we lose?’
“8 Helicopters developed problems and had to land. None over the water. No injuries, no crashes.”
Liz let out another deep breath. “No collisions?”
“None, General.”
“Otherwise?”
“82nd left on schedule one hour ago. They will be dropping in a little over half an hour. The first helicopters will be landing at their targets in about half an hour. So far no problems. The A-10’s will be starting to make their runs in about half an hour as well.”
“0600 is going to be a very busy hour. Since I know the Marines will be attacking at the same time.”
And so it went. The A-10’s ravaged the road for over 80 miles from just below the Airborne to the very edge of where the Russian tanks had massed. Hundreds of vehicles were destroyed- not a single fuel tanker was left operational. All four of the fuel dumps were destroyed by multiple hits. 2 A-10’s were hit; one was forced to eject but was rescued in minutes by one of the returning helicopters. The other made it back to its base in Poland. None of the F-15E’s were damaged; and the Russian jets that had managed to get up early were swatted like flies by the F-22’s guided by AWACS. The F-16’s had a very boring time.
President of Russia Timoshenko looked at his Defense Minister.
“What do you mean we are defeated?”
“The Americans have destroyed not only all our fuel dumps but all the available tankers. Right now our tanks and other vehicles only have the fuel in their tanks and no more. Even if we could get more tankers through the Airborne Screen, it would be several days before they could make it. The road is strewn for 80 miles with wreckage. Our tanks are sitting targets. They have control of the air. And that is not all. Also this morning the American Marine Division began its attack preceded by a fierce air bombardment. They have already broken though; the siege of Kharkov is over.”
Timoshenko looked at the Air Force Commander. “What are you waiting for? Attack them.”
“Sir, we will lose most of the rest of our fighter and bomber strength if we do so.”
“DO it!” Then he looked at the Army Commander. “They will not retreat; they will use the rest of their fuel to attack. Attack now.”
At 0700 Liz gave the order and All the Apache’s that had moved into the area where the transport helicopters were took off; just ahead of the returning mass. They headed for the Russian tank forces.
Timoshenko stormed back into the Command room.
“Have my orders been carried out?”
The Army commander stood up. “Just half an hour ago, the Americans had all their Apache attack helicopters assault our armored forces. We have taken very heavy losses. We might have lost as much as a third of our forces.”
The Air Force commander also stood up. “I just received a call from Air Command. If we launch our attack now, we will be outnumbered badly. They have over 400 fighters up right now. We have only 300 available to attack, of that only 200 are fighters.”
“I do not care. Attack now.”
At that moment the rest of the cabinet moved into the room.
The Prime Minister led them.
“By unanimous vote, we have decided to end this war. Now.”
“I am the president. You will follow your orders!”
“Not any more. By a second unanimous vote, you are relieved of your office and placed under arrest for endangering the State.”
Liz looked at the communications officer then took the phone.
“This is General Parker.”
“I am the Prime Minister of Russia. President Timoshenko has been relieved of his office. We request an immediate cease fire.”
Liz almost could not stand; she almost collapsed. Idly she looked at her watch. It was 0845, 6 August 2023. And another war was over.
“Very well mr Prime Minister. But I will need to consult with our Ukrainian allies.”
“Of course.”
The communications officer nodded to the President.
“General Parker is on the line, sir. She says it is urgent.”
“General Parker. Things are still going well?”
“Mr. President, I just received a call from the Russian Prime Minister. He told me that President Timoshenko has been relieved of his office and he wants an immediate cease fire.”
The President suddenly had to sit down and did. Everyone in the room tensed.
“I will tell my forces immediately General. My thanks to you and your people. We shall remember you.”
He then stood up. “Timoshenko has been deposed. Their Prime Minister has requested a cease fire. Get out the word that in 10 minutes there will be no more firing unless fired upon.”
Liz then picked up the command line to the Pentagon.
“I need to talk to the President immediately.”
The President was in the situation room despite the fact that it was midnight. He turned as his aide called to him.
“General Parker on the line sir.”
“General Parker.”
“Mr. President I was just called by the Russian Prime Minister. He told me that Timoshenko has been relieved of his office and wants an immediate cease fire. I have called the Ukrainian President and he agreed.”
The President closed his eyes and then opened them. “Congratulations General. I will try the hotline and see who answers. If we find out anything different we will let you know but as of now handle it as you see fit.”
Liz slowly walked to the nearest chair and sat in it. All around her people were yelling and shouting and celebrating. Elizabeth Parker, Lieutenant General, US Army, Commander XVIII Airborne Corps, cried.
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Re: Adjusting To Peace (AU,M/L,Mature) Part 16 7 May
Liz got herself together enough to join in the celebrations; of course they were giving her way too much credit. Yes her plan had been bold and aggressive; but the Enemy had also made it pretty easy. IF they had put two more Infantry divisions watching their supply lines it could have been very hard and bloody. IF they had pushed a supporting attack straight west to meet at Kiev her plan could not have worked at all. But Liz knew she had been lucky in that her enemy had been very arrogant and overconfident and careless. Not that she was complaining.
Liz after shaking hands with just about everyone took a deep breath.
“OK, people we still have a job to do. We must make sure all units know; and that if attacked they may respond. That road is going to have to be cleared for the Russians to leave. We need to start talking to the Ukrainians about those and other considerations. We will have to set up procedures for the Russian withdrawal.” She then looked at Jim. “What were our casualties?”
Jim Harkness was trying to get his feet back on the ground; this was an incredible moment but he had to remember that he still had a job to do. He pulled out some notes.
“Aircraft totals: NO F-22’s or F-15E’s were lost. 25 F-16’s were lost and 14 damaged to varying degrees. 4 Super Apaches were lost; 8 Damaged to different degrees. 4 regular Apache’s lost, 5 damaged. No Little Birds were lost due to enemy fire or badly damaged. 6 Blackhawks were damaged but not destroyed. 2 Chinooks were damaged. Total personnel lost are 27 dead and 21 wounded with 3 missing believed captured.”
Liz contemplated that. Very low losses to anyone else still they hurt for a commander who up until that moment had lost very few. She made a personal vow to write a letter to the family of everyone killed. She looked up at Jim.
“Ground Forces.”
“The 1st Cavalry and 1st Armored saw very little action; none killed or missing and only 11 wounded to various degrees, none life threatening. 10th Mountain had NO casualties, not even to accidents; but then they mostly did guard duty. 82nd Airborne took the highest casualties, almost all in the Crimea in the first battle. 81 dead, 156 wounded. 101st Airborne took only 5 dead and 17 wounded before the cease fire was declared. 1st Marine MEF did not lose any Aircraft destroyed; only 11 damaged. Their ground forces lost no tanks destroyed, 11 damaged. Other vehicle losses total 27. 29 dead or missing and 87 wounded.” He quickly checked his figures then announced.
“Total casualties in personnel are 152 dead and 292 wounded.”
Liz knew she should be joyful at the incredibly light casualties. But she could not. She could only think of the 152 families that had lost someone. She took a deep breath and looked at Jim.
“I will need the name and address of the families of all killed. They all deserve a personal letter from me. I will also need the details of where they died and how. I want those letters to be done right.”
Jim silently nodded. This surprised him not at all. At that moment Roy stepped forward.
“General, I agree that we need to mourn those we lost. But do not dwell on those numbers. For what we accomplished it was an unbelievably light cost.”
Liz looked at him. “I know that inside my head, Roy. It is my heart that aches for the families of those that lost their lives. They will never think the cost was light.”
At that moment her G2 spoke up. “General Parker, just got a communication from General Wallace. He says a load of Reporters are on their way and he could not stop them; orders from SECDEF to let them in.”
Liz wearily nodded. “Let him know I very much appreciate that he was able to keep them from bothering me up till now. But sooner or later we have to take on this particular pestilence.”
As a matter of fact the Media had been angry indeed about being left behind. General Wallace had blandly said that the need to keep it as secret as possible had tied his hands on the matter. And the effort to transport the troops had required the requisition of 30 747’s from the Commercial Reserve on short notice, which also had to be kept top secret. The media knew this was a crock of crap, but were smart enough not to complain as their readers and viewers would have torn them a new one. The media was slowly realizing that not a whole lot of people anywhere either trusted them or liked them anymore. They had been forced to rely upon the Press conferences at the Pentagon and at EUCOM HQ in Poland.
The president had not appeared except for the initial statement. Now that victory was assured he appeared again. He waited until 0800 ET before doing so.
“My fellow Americans, as by now you have undoubtedly heard that this sad chapter in world history is over. The guns are silent once again. By dint of great effort and sacrifice the Military of the United States has triumphed again. The People of the Ukraine can once again live in peace. Their military despite great odds took the battle to their enemies and set the stage for our forces to finish the job. My congratulations go to every member of our Armed forces who were involved in this conflict. It was through their efforts that we were able to triumph in such a short time with such a relatively small cost. But once again we must remember that to a nation what is a small cost is not the same for that family. 152 Americans lost their lives in this conflict. Remember them while you celebrate this great victory.” He looked around and took a deep breath. That was the easy part.
“Questions.”
“Mr. President, it seems clear that the US was not caught completely by surprise as we have confirmed that the US Navy PREPO ships left North Carolina a full five days before the conflict began. Just how much warning did we have?”
“As in the past I will not comment on intelligence matters. I will say that national intelligence agencies did manage to figure things out in enough time that we were able to respond as we did.”
“MR. President, the UN Secretary General claims that we should have contacted him before we took action. How do you respond?”
“With all due Respect to the General Secretary, I had more important things to worry about then contacting him.”
That got a few blinks around the room; it was known that the President did not like the current Secretary General, but that had been very blunt.
“Mr. President, what are your thoughts on the statement from the Ukrainian government that former Russian President Timoshenko should be tried for War Crimes?”
“It is clear that he was the main person in the Russian Leadership that pushed for this war and wanted to continue it even after it was clear that Russia had been defeated. So I think that it is a valid question that the International War Crimes Tribunal needs to consider.”
“Mr. President, …”
And it went on for another 20 minutes before it was halted. None of the questions had been all that good; overall it was a poor performance by the Washington Press corps that even many reporters admitted.
Meanwhile at 1600, just 7 hours after the Cease Fire had been proclaimed, Liz had to give her own Press Conference. The Ukrainian government had offered her the HQ building of the Saki Naval Base for it and Liz had agreed. The General who was the official Liaison with XVIII Airborne Corps offered to ban the Reporters but Liz had smiled and said
“NO, that will just cause more troubles down the road. I need to face them and get it over with.”
Her PR people had tried to give her a stack of prepared answers but Liz had decided against it. She had always done well before relying on her own instincts and this was no time to change.
There were exactly 200 members of the international Media in the large room when Liz entered. General Smith was the one to announce “ATTENTION.” He and the rest filed in behind Liz. She took a deep breath, knowing that without doubt there were probably more than a billion watching.
“Good Afternoon. Before going to questions, I will make a statement.
“To all those in my command, thank you. You did very well indeed. To those families that have lost a loved one, my sincere and heartfelt condolences. I have prided myself on for years not losing anyone in my command or under the protection of my command. This has been both a great and terrible experience; great in that we won; terrible in that we still lost 152 brave American servicemen. We must never forget. To the Acting Ukrainian President and his people and his military, you got a lot of the work done yourselves and never let anyone tell you different. To General Wallace, who facilitated the support and did a lot of diplomatic heavy lifting, a great thank you. To General Smith, my ground commander, for getting it done so well. To General Briggs, my Air Force commander, you made the sky’s friendly for the whole time; we did not lose one member of our ground forces or any of our helicopters to air attack. To Admiral Johnson, running the Straits of Kershekva at night and at full speed will be talked about for a long time to come. To General Dixon, who kept us fed and fueled and ready to fight, a VERY WELL DONE. To my Deputy Commander of XVIII Airborne Corps, General Windon, congratulations for planning and executing the largest heliborne assault in history and a huge key to our success. To General Harkness, my Chief of Staff, for keeping it all in gear and for forcing me to get some rest. Tired Generals make mistakes and he made sure I never got that tired. To all of my staff for their efforts; you are equally responsible for our victory. I want to thank the Government and People of Poland for giving us the bases that were so important; and the Government and People of Turkey for doing the same. Those were so very important. Now for questions.” She braced herself.
“General Parker, the Pentagon said that you had come up with the plan for the entrapment of the Russian attack force on the Ukrainian Capital of Kiev. It has been said that it was one of the most audacious and risky plans ever tried. Why did you think you needed to take that risk?”
“Conventional tactics would have been to dig in and repel attacks. That battle could have lasted weeks and cost thousands of casualties. By attacking as they did, the Russian forces left themselves open to being cut off and surrounded. I chose to take that risk rather than take the casualties.”
“General Parker, when were you warned about a possible attack?”
“That is an intelligence matter and I will not comment on it. However it should be pointed out that the Rhetoric of the former Russian President had been consistent and harsh for over a year. History is replete with examples of nations ignoring such comments and paying the price. Europe well remembers, I believe, ignoring the rants of Adolph Hitler for far too long. He could have been stopped and marginalized; tens of millions of people could have been saved; if those in power at the time had had the courage and sense to take action. We were not going to make the same mistake twice in a century.”
“General are you comparing former president Timoshenko with Adolph Hitler?”
“There is very little resemblance outside of the fact that both started wars.”
“General Parker, your career has been remarkable. For anyone, but especially for a woman. To what do you owe your success?”
“To my mother first of all for raising me right. To my first sergeant as part of the 3rd ID, Sergeant Axton, for really counseling me. My First commanding officer, Captain Simmons, for a great example to learn from. I could go on. The friends I made who helped and encouraged me. My husband for being able to accept such a very different type of wife. My children, who have always been such a joy. The US military by and large did not try and keep me down but encouraged me. I have been incredibly lucky and clearly have enjoyed the favor of God. There are so many but those are just a few. Ask any successful person and if they are honest the answer will not be very different.”
“General Parker, what is next for you?”
“Packing up and going home.” And at that point she ended the press conference, leaving the reporters disappointed but not the audience.
She escaped and went back to the command tent. Sat down and took a long drink of water and just relaxed. A few minutes later Jim came in. The tent was empty except for them at the moment.
“Liz, if I have not said it before I am saying it now. Thank you for pulling me along for the ride.”
“Jim you have been a vital part of our success these last 9 years. Do not sell yourself short.”
“I would have retired at Lt Colonel and not really accomplished all that much in my life but for you. No matter what you claim.”
“Now you made me blush. I guess I better relax right now, since there still is a lot to get done. Any incidents to report?”
“So far nothing concerning us. The Ukrainians have got bulldozers heading up the road to clear it out. Their Defense Minister contacted us a little bit ago. We might have to see to it that the Russians are supplied sufficiently so that they can leave. Fuel water and food.”
“Talk to General Dixon. Whatever they need us to do we do. What about the situation around Kharkov?”
“The Russians are already moving back and will be out of the Ukraine there by tonight. And the Russian commander of the center force has informed us that they have 3 of our people as prisoners of war.”
“Good. Make sure arrangements are made to get them out ASAP.”
“The Ukraine MOD would like you to visit their HQ at your convenience.”
Liz who had been relaxing with her eyes closed opened them and looked at Jim.
“What is it about?”
“I think probably to thank you face to face.”
“OK. Set it up for tomorrow morning.”
“Oh and there is a message from the commander of the Royal Commandos. Says you could have at least let them do something.”
Liz grinned. “When you can get him on the phone. By the way, the first units out of here need to be the 160th and 161st. See to it.”
“Right.”
In the US many had been watching the Press conference. Many marveled at General Elizabeth Parker. The media made a point of going over her entire career just before the Press Conference as well.
In Savanna, Georgia three good friends had been praying all week and had taken off from work to watch. Maria had tears in her eyes once it was done.
“When I next talk to her I am going to try and convince her to finish it and leave. She does not need this anymore. I know just how bad the losses are hurting her.”
Isabelle nodded. “I agree. She needs to retire and settle down and just live.”
Tess sighed. “I hope so. We need to try and convince her that enough is enough.”
Other friends got together the next day for their bi weekly get together in Nashville Tennessee. It was a gloomy day but rain did not appear likely. They talked amongst themselves.
Ellen was pensive. “Think she would listen?”
Vicki was determined. “She has done enough. She could care less about a fourth star or making it to Chairman. And it would be a lot worse there since she no longer commanded anyone and had to sit through meeting after meeting.”
Jesse was hopeful. “I talked to Maria the other day. She and her oldest friends are also going to try and talk Liz into pulling the pin.”
Susan sighed. “Maybe if we all show a united front and enlist her mother as well we can pull it off. It is time Liz started living for Liz.”
Nancy cuddled with Ted and sighed after turning off the TV set. She had stayed home to watch; her boss had flat out told her to. She was going to retire that year anyway, she was already training the young woman that would be replacing her. “She looked tired. Maria called me last night and she and the others are determined to try and talk Liz into retiring. What do you think?”
“Hon, I think it is a good idea. God Knows she does not owe anyone and she should live the rest of her life as she chooses. But she might choose to stay in for a while if she thinks she can change things for the better.”
“I think I agree with Maria. I am going to ask her to really think about it; but I will not try and pressure her.”
Aliya cuddled with her husband and thought about her mother. Liz had become her real mother in every way; she barely remembered her first one. It had been a cold and bleak life which became a real life once a beautiful angel had swooped down and saved her.
“I want to wait until she gets back to Bragg before telling her. We will be there waiting for her. You won’t have trouble getting time off?”
“Not a chance. The boss pretty much ordered me to.”
Max sat next to James as they watched the press conference. James looked up at him after it was over.
“Mom coming home soon?
“Yeah, sport, Mom is coming home soon.” Max thought about Maria’s phone call she had made the previous night. Maria was trying to get Nancy and all of Liz’s friends to convince Liz to call it quits. He thought about that.
He did not want to pressure Liz; but he could see their point and he certainly wanted Liz home and not in danger. Able to relax and enjoy life. She was only 40 years old. She was stubborn about not dyeing her hair; that was the only way anyone would think she was that old. They had talked about it; after this she could get an advance on an autobiography that would be absolutely humungous and ensure they would never have to work again. But what would they do? He was trying to imagine Liz just sitting back and doing nothing and the image would not come. She needed to be busy. She needed something to do. Flying would be something she wanted to do; but as a job? What was there? He realized he needed to talk to the rest of them first before they descended en masse on Liz.
Elizabeth Parker’s future was also on the minds of more than a few in Washington. The Congressman had decided that enough was enough and was going to retire; Liz certainly did not need him anymore; had not for quite a while. He was quietly talking to some of his colleagues that he did not mind being with outside of the daily work. Not many of them anymore, which was another reason he wanted to call it quits.
“So, since you know her better than anyone here, what should she do next?”
“I do not KNOW her that well, Sam. I know her really only slightly. I just happen to owe her my life and think she is the finest person I know. She has less than a year as XVIII Airborne Corps Commander. Two more years of that; she will be 42. Now the pressure to give her star number 4 will be huge and I bet that comes soon; and thus they would have to move her out of the XVIII. Though they could leave her there.”
“Frankly I would say that is the best place for her as she has shown. Outside of another world war she would be the first to go and should command anyway. Make a lot of people feel more secure.”
“You will get no argument from me. She might be the finest senior tactical commander the US Army has had since Patton.”
“You know, one of the guys I know is a military historian. He flat out told me that it is eerie how alike those two are as regards the Military. Patton was a demon for training his people and having them ready for the unexpected. So does she. Patton never made a frontal assault if he could help it; same with her. He favored movement to take your enemy off balance whenever possible; so does she. Never play defense if you can help it; same with her. And he had no patience at all with politics or the like and while she is a lot more diplomatic is the same there, too.”
“She is a LOT more diplomatic. Of course with Patton that was a low bar to hop over anyway. But there are a lot of similarities. Then again you look at the best Generals in History and a lot of them had the same traits. The best do it the same way whether it is 2023 AD or 2023 BC. What she does was talked about by Sun Tzu 2500 years ago.”
“So after XVIII with 4 stars what next? Army Vice Chief of Staff?”
“Probably. Then Chief of Staff and then Chairman. If she wants it; and I am not very sure she does. It would not totally surprise me if she retired soon.”
“You are kidding? Pass up all that?”
“Pass up all what? More meetings and politics and crap like that. All of which she hates with a passion.”
The other congressman besides the two talking was a lot younger. He had been quietly listening.
“Any chance we could get her to run for office? You name it and she would win it in a walk.”
“About as much chance as a Vampire to sunbathe willingly.”
The President was talking to the Chairman and SECDEF.
“There is already pressure to promote her to full General; and some are talking down the road making her the next 5 Star.”
The Chairman widened his eyes at the 5 star comment. “That was pushed around a little bit for Powell and Schwarzkopf but it died away.”
SECDEF was thoughtful. “I was just starting out in Congress when that was going on. I do not think the talk was ever that serious. But I get the feeling that this time it just might be. But then again that would be a few years down the road and baring her pulling off something like this again I doubt it would last until then.”
The President grinned. “With her record, saying she could not top something and betting on it would have been a losing proposition for at least the last 15 years.”
The Chairman grinned as well. “No argument at all on that sir. NONE at all.”
SECDEF shook his head. “Still it is something to think about. I think the pressure to promote her is going to increase hugely. And honestly it is entirely warranted. We could still keep her at XVIII for the time being until the Vice Chief of Staff moves up in a year. Put her there for a couple of years to learn the Pentagon and the like then move her to Chief of Staff. Then to Chairman.”
The current Chairman nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
“What about more immediate recognition?”
SECDEF was prompt. “Presidential Unit Citation for XVIII Airborne Corps and all units that served with it. DSC for her. And then promote her as well. No one could say we were chintzy.”
The President nodded. “And a Parade in Washington DC. We did it for Desert Storm and it was nowhere near as easy and a lot more important overall.”
When informed by the President the Congressman sighed. Well they could give Liz a real nice sendoff anyway, he thought.
Totally unaware of the various plans made by others for her future, Liz got down to the grind of the details. Getting tankers to refuel the remaining Russian tanks so they could be sent home, as well as remaining vehicles. Ukraine gave permission for the Russians to send hundreds of trucks to pick up the troops that needed to be evacuated. Over the next week all this was done.
Liz looked at Jim. “OK, who has gone in the last four days?”
“160th, 161st, the Marines are loading now; the 1st Cav and 1st Armored are also loading. Most of their people not needed for it are gone or going now. 10th Mountain is gone. 101st is starting to leave. 82nd will be the last to go; they want to wait for as many of their wounded as they can. By this time tomorrow what is left will be most of the 82nd and our wounded. Now it is going to take a couple of weeks to remove the rest of our equipment and the like. General Dixon thinks he can get it done by the end of the month for sure.”
Liz nodded. Her meeting with the Ukrainian’s had indeed been a thank you more than anything else. She had to keep telling herself to not let all the praise go to her head.
Liz stretched and rubbed her eyes. “So how long before we can fold our tents and steal away?”
“No way we can steal away. Let alone not get noticed when we arrive.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Two days later Liz made the decision to bring the HQ of the XVIII Airborne Corps home; the last of the wounded was going to be transferred to Ramstein and then when possible home. The 82nd had just about left the previous day. Now only some support troops packing things up were left. The PREPO ships were on their way home; the equipment would have to be switched out and what was used refurbished.
On Friday, August 11, 2023 XVIII Airborne Corps HQ company boards the C-17 with all their equipment; while the Command Staff boards the C-20. Liz leaves the Crimea at 0900. They refuel over the Atlantic and arrive at Ft Bragg at exactly 0900 due to the strange way Time Zones work. Of course there is a band and color guards and the media. But most of all is their families. Liz is the last off the plane and comes down the stairs to cheers and music and the like. She marches to the Podium.
“XVIII Airborne Corps. ATTENTION. Well done. DISMISSED.” Then heads over to hug her Husband and children and mother and her other friends who are all there. She ignores the Media and they are driven off to the party going on at the Mess Hall. Liz stays and makes the rounds then goes off to the room that has been reserved for her and her party. Maria and Isabelle and Tess and Nancy and Ted and Max and Aliya and James and Les. Aliya then tells Liz she will be a grandmother in 6 months. By far the best news she had gotten in a very long time.
Max had talked to Maria and she in turn had talked to the others about their plan to try and convince Liz to retire. They all had to admit that he was right; so Maria ordered everyone to put on their thinking caps. When they talked to Liz they had to have a lot of options ready to go.
That night Liz and Max snuggle. She is very content.
Liz looked at the message the next day as she returned to her office.
“A parade?”
“A parade. Right down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capital. Where you will be welcomed by a Joint Session of Congress. I imagine some medals will be passed out as well.”
Liz groaned. “And I will have to make a speech as well.”
“Yep. This will happen in 2 weeks on the 26th of August.”
“If I remember what I saw as a kid the one they had for Desert Storm they marched in BDU’s. So we will do the same.”
The next two weeks passed by as they began to reset the table and get everyone back to where they were before they left. Liz began to quietly start to write the letters for those they had lost. She did not use a form letter, just wrote it as she felt it. She was guilty that she was glad that none of the people lost she knew, though the 101st lost some that had been there when she had been in command. The 161st had not had anyone killed and that cheered her up. Before she left that Friday for the parade, she had in two weeks gotten half of them done and mailed out. She had explained what each person had been doing when they died; and why.
Jim felt that Liz could wait on this but knew she would not. That was just the way she was.
All across the company parents and wives and relatives began to receive letters postmarked Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps, Ft Bragg, North Carolina. If the person had been unmarried, she addressed it to the parents; if married to the Wife. She was quietly glad she had none that had not had either. Though sad for those close to him.
A Wife still numb from losing her husband read the letter and cried. A father tried to hold back tears and could not. A mother could not finish it the first time; nor the second time. And so went the so called low casualty list.
Liz had a meeting that evening with SECDEF before the Parade that was at noon on Saturday. She had sent out word to the units involved that they should chose who would participate. After all they could not have the whole 150,000 that had been involved. It was decided that 1000 from each of the Divisions would come; and 100 from each of the other units, and ships. So the total for the Parade would be right at 7000 or so. They would form up at Pershing Park and Liz would lead them down Pennsylvania Avenue to The Capital. She would then march up the steps and into the Capital to give a short speech to the Joint Session of Congress. She would then leave and in front of her people would be given the DSC while XVIII Airborne Corps received the Presidential Unit Citation and the Thanks of Congress. She had then asked that there be busses to pick the troops up so that they could get in out of the August sun. She had decided on her speech.
SECDEF had been told by the President to not mention one thing that would happen. He was told to tell her that her future was laid out.
“General Parker, just wanted to let you know that we have decided on your future.”
Liz hoisted an eyebrow. “Well I am sitting down so let fly, Sir.”
“You will be posted to Vice Chief of Staff sometime, then Chief of Staff then Chairman.”
Liz sat there and thought about that. It was not a shock now. She could see all that happening. That took care of the next 10 years or so. Guess it was nice to know. Of course the question was, did she want it? She was going to have to think about this very hard.
Liz looked up at the sky. It was a fairly cloudy day but no rain. It would be about 80 and humid, but her people would not bake in the sun. Not anywhere near as bad as it could have been. So her luck was still holding. She looked around at the HQ company. They with her would lead off the Parade. Right behind the XVIII Airborne Corps Color Guard. Right behind her would be Jim and Roy. Then the rest of the staff and HQ company. Then after that the 82nd AB, The Marines, Navy, 101st, Support Troops, 10th Mountain, 1st Cav and the Air Force, the SOAR’s and then 1st Armored. Their commander had asked to be tail end Charlie. Liz asked him why.
“We get to stay in the shade longer.”
Liz had ordered that the 82nd start the rest of the parade due to the fact that they suffered the most casualties. After that she had the senior officers draw numbers for who went where.
Liz received the signal and ordered the Color Guard to uncase and march. And her right behind them.
On TV once again the commentators remarked on how tiny Elizabeth Parker was.
At a steady march it took them about 15 minutes. Liz marched up to the Podium that was empty and reviewed her people as they marched by and then formed up. It took almost an hour for them all to march in and form up. Then she ordered
“XVIII AIRBORNE CORPS. AT EASE.” Then marched into the Capital.
She waited outside the door as the Sergeant At Arms announced her.
“General Elizabeth Parker.”
She marched into a standing ovation. The Speaker announced that she and the XVIII Airborne Corps and all who fought with them had the Thanks of Congress and the American People. Liz then moved to the microphone.
“On the behalf of all those that fought with us; and those that cannot be here today; and those that we lost I thank you. There has been more than enough praise for anyone but the thanks of Congress means a lot to all of us. Now my people are standing outside in the heat and I want to set them loose. Thank You once again.” They then stood and applauded as she marched down the aisle and out the door.
She marched down the steps to the assembled troops and took her place in front as the Members of congress streamed out and gathered on the Capital Steps. Then The President came through and Liz called for “ATTENTION” as Hail to the Chief was played and the President came to the podium. Then the National Anthem was played and suddenly hundreds of helicopters and Fighter Jets flew over the city in tight formations. Liz was surprised at this; they had managed to keep that secret from everyone, including her. Still she thought it was a nice touch. Then the president gave a short speech thanking all who had fought. Then
“General Elizabeth Parker.” And she marched up to the podium. The President put the DSC around her neck as the Citation was read; then the Presidential Unit Citation was read. Then came the unexpected. While Liz stayed at attention the President Pro Tempore of the Senate came forward.
“Mr. PRESIDENT. The Senate of the United States of America, with the unanimous approval of The House of Representatives, has this day by unanimous vote approved your nomination of Lieutenant General Elizabeth Parker to the rank of FULL GENERAL of the United States Army, effective this date.” Then he and the President took off the 3 stars and put on 4 stars and Liz managed to not fall over in shock.
Then Jim Harkness yelled. And the entire group yelled as well and then threw their hats into the air. 7000 and more hats went flying. It looked very impressive on TV.
That night at the White House a formal ball was given for the XVIII Airborne Corps. Liz had to scramble to get the stars to complete her Mess Dress Class A uniform. She looked around and thought for the hundredth or so time how had she ever gotten to this point.
THE END.
Somehow I think this is the right place to end the saga of Warrior Liz. My thanks to Mary Mary for the great banner. And thanks to all of you that commented.
Liz after shaking hands with just about everyone took a deep breath.
“OK, people we still have a job to do. We must make sure all units know; and that if attacked they may respond. That road is going to have to be cleared for the Russians to leave. We need to start talking to the Ukrainians about those and other considerations. We will have to set up procedures for the Russian withdrawal.” She then looked at Jim. “What were our casualties?”
Jim Harkness was trying to get his feet back on the ground; this was an incredible moment but he had to remember that he still had a job to do. He pulled out some notes.
“Aircraft totals: NO F-22’s or F-15E’s were lost. 25 F-16’s were lost and 14 damaged to varying degrees. 4 Super Apaches were lost; 8 Damaged to different degrees. 4 regular Apache’s lost, 5 damaged. No Little Birds were lost due to enemy fire or badly damaged. 6 Blackhawks were damaged but not destroyed. 2 Chinooks were damaged. Total personnel lost are 27 dead and 21 wounded with 3 missing believed captured.”
Liz contemplated that. Very low losses to anyone else still they hurt for a commander who up until that moment had lost very few. She made a personal vow to write a letter to the family of everyone killed. She looked up at Jim.
“Ground Forces.”
“The 1st Cavalry and 1st Armored saw very little action; none killed or missing and only 11 wounded to various degrees, none life threatening. 10th Mountain had NO casualties, not even to accidents; but then they mostly did guard duty. 82nd Airborne took the highest casualties, almost all in the Crimea in the first battle. 81 dead, 156 wounded. 101st Airborne took only 5 dead and 17 wounded before the cease fire was declared. 1st Marine MEF did not lose any Aircraft destroyed; only 11 damaged. Their ground forces lost no tanks destroyed, 11 damaged. Other vehicle losses total 27. 29 dead or missing and 87 wounded.” He quickly checked his figures then announced.
“Total casualties in personnel are 152 dead and 292 wounded.”
Liz knew she should be joyful at the incredibly light casualties. But she could not. She could only think of the 152 families that had lost someone. She took a deep breath and looked at Jim.
“I will need the name and address of the families of all killed. They all deserve a personal letter from me. I will also need the details of where they died and how. I want those letters to be done right.”
Jim silently nodded. This surprised him not at all. At that moment Roy stepped forward.
“General, I agree that we need to mourn those we lost. But do not dwell on those numbers. For what we accomplished it was an unbelievably light cost.”
Liz looked at him. “I know that inside my head, Roy. It is my heart that aches for the families of those that lost their lives. They will never think the cost was light.”
At that moment her G2 spoke up. “General Parker, just got a communication from General Wallace. He says a load of Reporters are on their way and he could not stop them; orders from SECDEF to let them in.”
Liz wearily nodded. “Let him know I very much appreciate that he was able to keep them from bothering me up till now. But sooner or later we have to take on this particular pestilence.”
As a matter of fact the Media had been angry indeed about being left behind. General Wallace had blandly said that the need to keep it as secret as possible had tied his hands on the matter. And the effort to transport the troops had required the requisition of 30 747’s from the Commercial Reserve on short notice, which also had to be kept top secret. The media knew this was a crock of crap, but were smart enough not to complain as their readers and viewers would have torn them a new one. The media was slowly realizing that not a whole lot of people anywhere either trusted them or liked them anymore. They had been forced to rely upon the Press conferences at the Pentagon and at EUCOM HQ in Poland.
The president had not appeared except for the initial statement. Now that victory was assured he appeared again. He waited until 0800 ET before doing so.
“My fellow Americans, as by now you have undoubtedly heard that this sad chapter in world history is over. The guns are silent once again. By dint of great effort and sacrifice the Military of the United States has triumphed again. The People of the Ukraine can once again live in peace. Their military despite great odds took the battle to their enemies and set the stage for our forces to finish the job. My congratulations go to every member of our Armed forces who were involved in this conflict. It was through their efforts that we were able to triumph in such a short time with such a relatively small cost. But once again we must remember that to a nation what is a small cost is not the same for that family. 152 Americans lost their lives in this conflict. Remember them while you celebrate this great victory.” He looked around and took a deep breath. That was the easy part.
“Questions.”
“Mr. President, it seems clear that the US was not caught completely by surprise as we have confirmed that the US Navy PREPO ships left North Carolina a full five days before the conflict began. Just how much warning did we have?”
“As in the past I will not comment on intelligence matters. I will say that national intelligence agencies did manage to figure things out in enough time that we were able to respond as we did.”
“MR. President, the UN Secretary General claims that we should have contacted him before we took action. How do you respond?”
“With all due Respect to the General Secretary, I had more important things to worry about then contacting him.”
That got a few blinks around the room; it was known that the President did not like the current Secretary General, but that had been very blunt.
“Mr. President, what are your thoughts on the statement from the Ukrainian government that former Russian President Timoshenko should be tried for War Crimes?”
“It is clear that he was the main person in the Russian Leadership that pushed for this war and wanted to continue it even after it was clear that Russia had been defeated. So I think that it is a valid question that the International War Crimes Tribunal needs to consider.”
“Mr. President, …”
And it went on for another 20 minutes before it was halted. None of the questions had been all that good; overall it was a poor performance by the Washington Press corps that even many reporters admitted.
Meanwhile at 1600, just 7 hours after the Cease Fire had been proclaimed, Liz had to give her own Press Conference. The Ukrainian government had offered her the HQ building of the Saki Naval Base for it and Liz had agreed. The General who was the official Liaison with XVIII Airborne Corps offered to ban the Reporters but Liz had smiled and said
“NO, that will just cause more troubles down the road. I need to face them and get it over with.”
Her PR people had tried to give her a stack of prepared answers but Liz had decided against it. She had always done well before relying on her own instincts and this was no time to change.
There were exactly 200 members of the international Media in the large room when Liz entered. General Smith was the one to announce “ATTENTION.” He and the rest filed in behind Liz. She took a deep breath, knowing that without doubt there were probably more than a billion watching.
“Good Afternoon. Before going to questions, I will make a statement.
“To all those in my command, thank you. You did very well indeed. To those families that have lost a loved one, my sincere and heartfelt condolences. I have prided myself on for years not losing anyone in my command or under the protection of my command. This has been both a great and terrible experience; great in that we won; terrible in that we still lost 152 brave American servicemen. We must never forget. To the Acting Ukrainian President and his people and his military, you got a lot of the work done yourselves and never let anyone tell you different. To General Wallace, who facilitated the support and did a lot of diplomatic heavy lifting, a great thank you. To General Smith, my ground commander, for getting it done so well. To General Briggs, my Air Force commander, you made the sky’s friendly for the whole time; we did not lose one member of our ground forces or any of our helicopters to air attack. To Admiral Johnson, running the Straits of Kershekva at night and at full speed will be talked about for a long time to come. To General Dixon, who kept us fed and fueled and ready to fight, a VERY WELL DONE. To my Deputy Commander of XVIII Airborne Corps, General Windon, congratulations for planning and executing the largest heliborne assault in history and a huge key to our success. To General Harkness, my Chief of Staff, for keeping it all in gear and for forcing me to get some rest. Tired Generals make mistakes and he made sure I never got that tired. To all of my staff for their efforts; you are equally responsible for our victory. I want to thank the Government and People of Poland for giving us the bases that were so important; and the Government and People of Turkey for doing the same. Those were so very important. Now for questions.” She braced herself.
“General Parker, the Pentagon said that you had come up with the plan for the entrapment of the Russian attack force on the Ukrainian Capital of Kiev. It has been said that it was one of the most audacious and risky plans ever tried. Why did you think you needed to take that risk?”
“Conventional tactics would have been to dig in and repel attacks. That battle could have lasted weeks and cost thousands of casualties. By attacking as they did, the Russian forces left themselves open to being cut off and surrounded. I chose to take that risk rather than take the casualties.”
“General Parker, when were you warned about a possible attack?”
“That is an intelligence matter and I will not comment on it. However it should be pointed out that the Rhetoric of the former Russian President had been consistent and harsh for over a year. History is replete with examples of nations ignoring such comments and paying the price. Europe well remembers, I believe, ignoring the rants of Adolph Hitler for far too long. He could have been stopped and marginalized; tens of millions of people could have been saved; if those in power at the time had had the courage and sense to take action. We were not going to make the same mistake twice in a century.”
“General are you comparing former president Timoshenko with Adolph Hitler?”
“There is very little resemblance outside of the fact that both started wars.”
“General Parker, your career has been remarkable. For anyone, but especially for a woman. To what do you owe your success?”
“To my mother first of all for raising me right. To my first sergeant as part of the 3rd ID, Sergeant Axton, for really counseling me. My First commanding officer, Captain Simmons, for a great example to learn from. I could go on. The friends I made who helped and encouraged me. My husband for being able to accept such a very different type of wife. My children, who have always been such a joy. The US military by and large did not try and keep me down but encouraged me. I have been incredibly lucky and clearly have enjoyed the favor of God. There are so many but those are just a few. Ask any successful person and if they are honest the answer will not be very different.”
“General Parker, what is next for you?”
“Packing up and going home.” And at that point she ended the press conference, leaving the reporters disappointed but not the audience.
She escaped and went back to the command tent. Sat down and took a long drink of water and just relaxed. A few minutes later Jim came in. The tent was empty except for them at the moment.
“Liz, if I have not said it before I am saying it now. Thank you for pulling me along for the ride.”
“Jim you have been a vital part of our success these last 9 years. Do not sell yourself short.”
“I would have retired at Lt Colonel and not really accomplished all that much in my life but for you. No matter what you claim.”
“Now you made me blush. I guess I better relax right now, since there still is a lot to get done. Any incidents to report?”
“So far nothing concerning us. The Ukrainians have got bulldozers heading up the road to clear it out. Their Defense Minister contacted us a little bit ago. We might have to see to it that the Russians are supplied sufficiently so that they can leave. Fuel water and food.”
“Talk to General Dixon. Whatever they need us to do we do. What about the situation around Kharkov?”
“The Russians are already moving back and will be out of the Ukraine there by tonight. And the Russian commander of the center force has informed us that they have 3 of our people as prisoners of war.”
“Good. Make sure arrangements are made to get them out ASAP.”
“The Ukraine MOD would like you to visit their HQ at your convenience.”
Liz who had been relaxing with her eyes closed opened them and looked at Jim.
“What is it about?”
“I think probably to thank you face to face.”
“OK. Set it up for tomorrow morning.”
“Oh and there is a message from the commander of the Royal Commandos. Says you could have at least let them do something.”
Liz grinned. “When you can get him on the phone. By the way, the first units out of here need to be the 160th and 161st. See to it.”
“Right.”
In the US many had been watching the Press conference. Many marveled at General Elizabeth Parker. The media made a point of going over her entire career just before the Press Conference as well.
In Savanna, Georgia three good friends had been praying all week and had taken off from work to watch. Maria had tears in her eyes once it was done.
“When I next talk to her I am going to try and convince her to finish it and leave. She does not need this anymore. I know just how bad the losses are hurting her.”
Isabelle nodded. “I agree. She needs to retire and settle down and just live.”
Tess sighed. “I hope so. We need to try and convince her that enough is enough.”
Other friends got together the next day for their bi weekly get together in Nashville Tennessee. It was a gloomy day but rain did not appear likely. They talked amongst themselves.
Ellen was pensive. “Think she would listen?”
Vicki was determined. “She has done enough. She could care less about a fourth star or making it to Chairman. And it would be a lot worse there since she no longer commanded anyone and had to sit through meeting after meeting.”
Jesse was hopeful. “I talked to Maria the other day. She and her oldest friends are also going to try and talk Liz into pulling the pin.”
Susan sighed. “Maybe if we all show a united front and enlist her mother as well we can pull it off. It is time Liz started living for Liz.”
Nancy cuddled with Ted and sighed after turning off the TV set. She had stayed home to watch; her boss had flat out told her to. She was going to retire that year anyway, she was already training the young woman that would be replacing her. “She looked tired. Maria called me last night and she and the others are determined to try and talk Liz into retiring. What do you think?”
“Hon, I think it is a good idea. God Knows she does not owe anyone and she should live the rest of her life as she chooses. But she might choose to stay in for a while if she thinks she can change things for the better.”
“I think I agree with Maria. I am going to ask her to really think about it; but I will not try and pressure her.”
Aliya cuddled with her husband and thought about her mother. Liz had become her real mother in every way; she barely remembered her first one. It had been a cold and bleak life which became a real life once a beautiful angel had swooped down and saved her.
“I want to wait until she gets back to Bragg before telling her. We will be there waiting for her. You won’t have trouble getting time off?”
“Not a chance. The boss pretty much ordered me to.”
Max sat next to James as they watched the press conference. James looked up at him after it was over.
“Mom coming home soon?
“Yeah, sport, Mom is coming home soon.” Max thought about Maria’s phone call she had made the previous night. Maria was trying to get Nancy and all of Liz’s friends to convince Liz to call it quits. He thought about that.
He did not want to pressure Liz; but he could see their point and he certainly wanted Liz home and not in danger. Able to relax and enjoy life. She was only 40 years old. She was stubborn about not dyeing her hair; that was the only way anyone would think she was that old. They had talked about it; after this she could get an advance on an autobiography that would be absolutely humungous and ensure they would never have to work again. But what would they do? He was trying to imagine Liz just sitting back and doing nothing and the image would not come. She needed to be busy. She needed something to do. Flying would be something she wanted to do; but as a job? What was there? He realized he needed to talk to the rest of them first before they descended en masse on Liz.
Elizabeth Parker’s future was also on the minds of more than a few in Washington. The Congressman had decided that enough was enough and was going to retire; Liz certainly did not need him anymore; had not for quite a while. He was quietly talking to some of his colleagues that he did not mind being with outside of the daily work. Not many of them anymore, which was another reason he wanted to call it quits.
“So, since you know her better than anyone here, what should she do next?”
“I do not KNOW her that well, Sam. I know her really only slightly. I just happen to owe her my life and think she is the finest person I know. She has less than a year as XVIII Airborne Corps Commander. Two more years of that; she will be 42. Now the pressure to give her star number 4 will be huge and I bet that comes soon; and thus they would have to move her out of the XVIII. Though they could leave her there.”
“Frankly I would say that is the best place for her as she has shown. Outside of another world war she would be the first to go and should command anyway. Make a lot of people feel more secure.”
“You will get no argument from me. She might be the finest senior tactical commander the US Army has had since Patton.”
“You know, one of the guys I know is a military historian. He flat out told me that it is eerie how alike those two are as regards the Military. Patton was a demon for training his people and having them ready for the unexpected. So does she. Patton never made a frontal assault if he could help it; same with her. He favored movement to take your enemy off balance whenever possible; so does she. Never play defense if you can help it; same with her. And he had no patience at all with politics or the like and while she is a lot more diplomatic is the same there, too.”
“She is a LOT more diplomatic. Of course with Patton that was a low bar to hop over anyway. But there are a lot of similarities. Then again you look at the best Generals in History and a lot of them had the same traits. The best do it the same way whether it is 2023 AD or 2023 BC. What she does was talked about by Sun Tzu 2500 years ago.”
“So after XVIII with 4 stars what next? Army Vice Chief of Staff?”
“Probably. Then Chief of Staff and then Chairman. If she wants it; and I am not very sure she does. It would not totally surprise me if she retired soon.”
“You are kidding? Pass up all that?”
“Pass up all what? More meetings and politics and crap like that. All of which she hates with a passion.”
The other congressman besides the two talking was a lot younger. He had been quietly listening.
“Any chance we could get her to run for office? You name it and she would win it in a walk.”
“About as much chance as a Vampire to sunbathe willingly.”
The President was talking to the Chairman and SECDEF.
“There is already pressure to promote her to full General; and some are talking down the road making her the next 5 Star.”
The Chairman widened his eyes at the 5 star comment. “That was pushed around a little bit for Powell and Schwarzkopf but it died away.”
SECDEF was thoughtful. “I was just starting out in Congress when that was going on. I do not think the talk was ever that serious. But I get the feeling that this time it just might be. But then again that would be a few years down the road and baring her pulling off something like this again I doubt it would last until then.”
The President grinned. “With her record, saying she could not top something and betting on it would have been a losing proposition for at least the last 15 years.”
The Chairman grinned as well. “No argument at all on that sir. NONE at all.”
SECDEF shook his head. “Still it is something to think about. I think the pressure to promote her is going to increase hugely. And honestly it is entirely warranted. We could still keep her at XVIII for the time being until the Vice Chief of Staff moves up in a year. Put her there for a couple of years to learn the Pentagon and the like then move her to Chief of Staff. Then to Chairman.”
The current Chairman nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
“What about more immediate recognition?”
SECDEF was prompt. “Presidential Unit Citation for XVIII Airborne Corps and all units that served with it. DSC for her. And then promote her as well. No one could say we were chintzy.”
The President nodded. “And a Parade in Washington DC. We did it for Desert Storm and it was nowhere near as easy and a lot more important overall.”
When informed by the President the Congressman sighed. Well they could give Liz a real nice sendoff anyway, he thought.
Totally unaware of the various plans made by others for her future, Liz got down to the grind of the details. Getting tankers to refuel the remaining Russian tanks so they could be sent home, as well as remaining vehicles. Ukraine gave permission for the Russians to send hundreds of trucks to pick up the troops that needed to be evacuated. Over the next week all this was done.
Liz looked at Jim. “OK, who has gone in the last four days?”
“160th, 161st, the Marines are loading now; the 1st Cav and 1st Armored are also loading. Most of their people not needed for it are gone or going now. 10th Mountain is gone. 101st is starting to leave. 82nd will be the last to go; they want to wait for as many of their wounded as they can. By this time tomorrow what is left will be most of the 82nd and our wounded. Now it is going to take a couple of weeks to remove the rest of our equipment and the like. General Dixon thinks he can get it done by the end of the month for sure.”
Liz nodded. Her meeting with the Ukrainian’s had indeed been a thank you more than anything else. She had to keep telling herself to not let all the praise go to her head.
Liz stretched and rubbed her eyes. “So how long before we can fold our tents and steal away?”
“No way we can steal away. Let alone not get noticed when we arrive.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Two days later Liz made the decision to bring the HQ of the XVIII Airborne Corps home; the last of the wounded was going to be transferred to Ramstein and then when possible home. The 82nd had just about left the previous day. Now only some support troops packing things up were left. The PREPO ships were on their way home; the equipment would have to be switched out and what was used refurbished.
On Friday, August 11, 2023 XVIII Airborne Corps HQ company boards the C-17 with all their equipment; while the Command Staff boards the C-20. Liz leaves the Crimea at 0900. They refuel over the Atlantic and arrive at Ft Bragg at exactly 0900 due to the strange way Time Zones work. Of course there is a band and color guards and the media. But most of all is their families. Liz is the last off the plane and comes down the stairs to cheers and music and the like. She marches to the Podium.
“XVIII Airborne Corps. ATTENTION. Well done. DISMISSED.” Then heads over to hug her Husband and children and mother and her other friends who are all there. She ignores the Media and they are driven off to the party going on at the Mess Hall. Liz stays and makes the rounds then goes off to the room that has been reserved for her and her party. Maria and Isabelle and Tess and Nancy and Ted and Max and Aliya and James and Les. Aliya then tells Liz she will be a grandmother in 6 months. By far the best news she had gotten in a very long time.
Max had talked to Maria and she in turn had talked to the others about their plan to try and convince Liz to retire. They all had to admit that he was right; so Maria ordered everyone to put on their thinking caps. When they talked to Liz they had to have a lot of options ready to go.
That night Liz and Max snuggle. She is very content.
Liz looked at the message the next day as she returned to her office.
“A parade?”
“A parade. Right down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capital. Where you will be welcomed by a Joint Session of Congress. I imagine some medals will be passed out as well.”
Liz groaned. “And I will have to make a speech as well.”
“Yep. This will happen in 2 weeks on the 26th of August.”
“If I remember what I saw as a kid the one they had for Desert Storm they marched in BDU’s. So we will do the same.”
The next two weeks passed by as they began to reset the table and get everyone back to where they were before they left. Liz began to quietly start to write the letters for those they had lost. She did not use a form letter, just wrote it as she felt it. She was guilty that she was glad that none of the people lost she knew, though the 101st lost some that had been there when she had been in command. The 161st had not had anyone killed and that cheered her up. Before she left that Friday for the parade, she had in two weeks gotten half of them done and mailed out. She had explained what each person had been doing when they died; and why.
Jim felt that Liz could wait on this but knew she would not. That was just the way she was.
All across the company parents and wives and relatives began to receive letters postmarked Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps, Ft Bragg, North Carolina. If the person had been unmarried, she addressed it to the parents; if married to the Wife. She was quietly glad she had none that had not had either. Though sad for those close to him.
A Wife still numb from losing her husband read the letter and cried. A father tried to hold back tears and could not. A mother could not finish it the first time; nor the second time. And so went the so called low casualty list.
Liz had a meeting that evening with SECDEF before the Parade that was at noon on Saturday. She had sent out word to the units involved that they should chose who would participate. After all they could not have the whole 150,000 that had been involved. It was decided that 1000 from each of the Divisions would come; and 100 from each of the other units, and ships. So the total for the Parade would be right at 7000 or so. They would form up at Pershing Park and Liz would lead them down Pennsylvania Avenue to The Capital. She would then march up the steps and into the Capital to give a short speech to the Joint Session of Congress. She would then leave and in front of her people would be given the DSC while XVIII Airborne Corps received the Presidential Unit Citation and the Thanks of Congress. She had then asked that there be busses to pick the troops up so that they could get in out of the August sun. She had decided on her speech.
SECDEF had been told by the President to not mention one thing that would happen. He was told to tell her that her future was laid out.
“General Parker, just wanted to let you know that we have decided on your future.”
Liz hoisted an eyebrow. “Well I am sitting down so let fly, Sir.”
“You will be posted to Vice Chief of Staff sometime, then Chief of Staff then Chairman.”
Liz sat there and thought about that. It was not a shock now. She could see all that happening. That took care of the next 10 years or so. Guess it was nice to know. Of course the question was, did she want it? She was going to have to think about this very hard.
Liz looked up at the sky. It was a fairly cloudy day but no rain. It would be about 80 and humid, but her people would not bake in the sun. Not anywhere near as bad as it could have been. So her luck was still holding. She looked around at the HQ company. They with her would lead off the Parade. Right behind the XVIII Airborne Corps Color Guard. Right behind her would be Jim and Roy. Then the rest of the staff and HQ company. Then after that the 82nd AB, The Marines, Navy, 101st, Support Troops, 10th Mountain, 1st Cav and the Air Force, the SOAR’s and then 1st Armored. Their commander had asked to be tail end Charlie. Liz asked him why.
“We get to stay in the shade longer.”
Liz had ordered that the 82nd start the rest of the parade due to the fact that they suffered the most casualties. After that she had the senior officers draw numbers for who went where.
Liz received the signal and ordered the Color Guard to uncase and march. And her right behind them.
On TV once again the commentators remarked on how tiny Elizabeth Parker was.
At a steady march it took them about 15 minutes. Liz marched up to the Podium that was empty and reviewed her people as they marched by and then formed up. It took almost an hour for them all to march in and form up. Then she ordered
“XVIII AIRBORNE CORPS. AT EASE.” Then marched into the Capital.
She waited outside the door as the Sergeant At Arms announced her.
“General Elizabeth Parker.”
She marched into a standing ovation. The Speaker announced that she and the XVIII Airborne Corps and all who fought with them had the Thanks of Congress and the American People. Liz then moved to the microphone.
“On the behalf of all those that fought with us; and those that cannot be here today; and those that we lost I thank you. There has been more than enough praise for anyone but the thanks of Congress means a lot to all of us. Now my people are standing outside in the heat and I want to set them loose. Thank You once again.” They then stood and applauded as she marched down the aisle and out the door.
She marched down the steps to the assembled troops and took her place in front as the Members of congress streamed out and gathered on the Capital Steps. Then The President came through and Liz called for “ATTENTION” as Hail to the Chief was played and the President came to the podium. Then the National Anthem was played and suddenly hundreds of helicopters and Fighter Jets flew over the city in tight formations. Liz was surprised at this; they had managed to keep that secret from everyone, including her. Still she thought it was a nice touch. Then the president gave a short speech thanking all who had fought. Then
“General Elizabeth Parker.” And she marched up to the podium. The President put the DSC around her neck as the Citation was read; then the Presidential Unit Citation was read. Then came the unexpected. While Liz stayed at attention the President Pro Tempore of the Senate came forward.
“Mr. PRESIDENT. The Senate of the United States of America, with the unanimous approval of The House of Representatives, has this day by unanimous vote approved your nomination of Lieutenant General Elizabeth Parker to the rank of FULL GENERAL of the United States Army, effective this date.” Then he and the President took off the 3 stars and put on 4 stars and Liz managed to not fall over in shock.
Then Jim Harkness yelled. And the entire group yelled as well and then threw their hats into the air. 7000 and more hats went flying. It looked very impressive on TV.
That night at the White House a formal ball was given for the XVIII Airborne Corps. Liz had to scramble to get the stars to complete her Mess Dress Class A uniform. She looked around and thought for the hundredth or so time how had she ever gotten to this point.
THE END.
Somehow I think this is the right place to end the saga of Warrior Liz. My thanks to Mary Mary for the great banner. And thanks to all of you that commented.