Avalon- The Construction

by L. Michael Rusin

  300, 500, & 600: 3 stationary and 2 movers

  700: 3 stationary and 2 stop and go movers

  800: 3 stationary and 2 bobbers

  900 &1000: 5 stationaries

  Out of 35 rounds, 28 rounds must be in the black to qualify on the range.

  After the range, students head back to the schoolhouse and clean weapons. After this important task they immediately do a field sketch and observation exercises. Often a Kim’s Game is conducted as well.

  “In Kim, the game is called both the Play of the Jewels and the Jewel Game. Kim, a teenager being trained in secret as a spy, spends a month in Shimla, British India at the home of Mr. Lurgan, who ostensibly runs a jewel shop but in truth is engaged in espionage for the British against the Russians. Lurgan brings out a copper tray and tosses a handful of jewels onto it; his boy servant explains to Kim:

  “They play the game many times, sometimes with jewels, sometimes with odd objects, and sometimes with photographs of people. It is considered a vital part of training in observation. In other words, you look at the tray, then it’s removed, and you have to remember what was there or what you saw.”

  Lurgan says:

  “[Do] it many times over till it is done perfectly - for it is worth doing.”

  •During an observation, students must use their M49 Spotting Scope and binoculars to find ten hidden items in a specifically defined area. These observations can be done at short distances utilizing miniature items, or at long distances with full-sized items. Observations are an essential skill that the sniper must learn to be effective. Furthermore, for the purposes of the course it is important to learn observation skills, particularly how to “Burn Through” bushes for the stalking phase. Learning this skill is imperative to being able to find the observation post from behind cover during stalking and is often the difference between a student passing or failing. An overall average of 70% must be obtained on observations to pass the course.

  During a field sketch, students are given an hour and a specific area or building to sketch. The target must be drawn with as many details as possible. It must include information about its surroundings and target reference points on the sketch. Sketches are graded for neatness, correctness, details, and usable information. An overall average of 70% must be obtained on field sketches to pass the course.

  ◆◆◆

  Phase 2: Unknown Distance and Stalking

  The UKD (Unknown Distance) and Stalking portion kicks off as soon as Phase 1 is completed. During this phase students will become experts at engaging targets at unknown distances by way of range estimation and range cards.

  During the unknown distance phase students will run 100-pound steel targets out to ranges between 300 and 800 yards. There are ten targets in each course of fire, and after each course of fire, the targets are rearranged.

  A student has two attempts to hit each target, a first round impact is worth ten points and a second is worth eight. An overall average of 80% must be obtained during the three weeks of UKD to pass the course.

  Furthermore, the portion of the course with the highest attrition rate begins stalking.

  Stalking involves moving from a distance between 1200 and 800 yards to within 200 yards of an observation post undetected. After doing this, the student must set up a Final Firing Position (FFP) and fire two shots without being found by the OP within a time period of three-four hours.

  After the first shot is fired, a walker (a neutral instructor who does not help students or the instructors in the OP) will get close to the sniper’s position to make sure he can positively ID the OP. Positive ID is established by the observers holding up cards with two or three letters on them above their binoculars. The sniper must then correctly tell the walker what is written on them. After positive ID has been confirmed, the walker will move within ten yards of the shooter and inform the OP that he is within ten. The OP will then attempt to walk the walker onto the sniper’s position by way of movement commands. The OP must get the walker within one foot of the shooter. If the shooter cannot be found, the walker will tell the shooter to fire a second shot on his command. After the second shot has been fired, the OP will look for blast from the rifle or movement from the shooter. If the OP cannot find the shooter, then the walker will indicate the shooter’s position to the OP and check to make sure the shooter had the correct windage and elevation settings, along with correct position and stable shooting platform.

  Grading is as follows for stalking:

  0: Being out of bounds on the stalk lane, not freezing on the command freeze (when the OP believes they know the position of a student, they call freeze and all students on the stalk lane have to immediately freeze in whatever position they are in), poor FFP.

  40: Caught out of range or fired out of range (not within 200 yards).

  50: Caught within range.

  60: 1 shot fired but, no positive ID, incorrect windage or elevation, unstable shooting platform.

  70: 1 shot fired and positive ID, correct windage, elevation, shooting platform but OP walked onto shooter after first shot.

  80: 2 shots fired and positive ID, correct windage, elevation, shooting platform but OP saw blast from shooter’s position after second shot.

  100: 2 shots fired and positive ID, correct windage, elevation, shooting platform and shooter was never found.

  Students must obtain an overall average of 70% out of ten stalks, with a minimum of two one hundred and no more than a single zero in order to pass stalking.

  ◆◆◆

  Phase 3: Advanced Field Skills and Mission Employment. This would entail more specialized schools.

  The climbing techniques that made up the training exercise were interesting enough, but they were simply a means of getting snipers and spotters where they needed to be. Once there, they had to take into consideration the distance, wind, bullet drop data, temperature, and humidity, before they took the shot. If a sniper missed that first shot, they may never have the opportunity for a second shot. That’s why Eric was among the top ten snipers in all the military.

  He simply never missed his target!

  The chances were pretty good that, as each year passed, he would be considered among the top two or three in the world. Perhaps, even, number one.

  Tomorrow was the day Eric and his spotter were to be graded and shipped back to Twenty-Nine Palms.

  The training was over, and everyone was relaxing and enjoying themselves without having to worry about tomorrow and another training session. They were done. They could afford to relax, have a few beers, and enjoy each other’s company as they talked about some of the frustrating moments of the course.

  The only exception was talk about the news of the two terrorist attacks in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. The family of one of the Army Rangers lived in Northern Virginia and he requested to drop the course at the end of the second week to get back home and take care of them. No one questioned his decision and he headed east.

  On the evening of the attacks, everyone had been given Admin Time to call and check on their family members. The only family Eric had left was his brother Chris, but he was out to sea on patrol. So instead, he listened to the news that evening, and he could still hear the radio interruption in his head,

  “You evil Americans have felt the wrath of Allah, the magnificent, and it is not done. We will kill all of you infidels…”

  The thought of it pissed him off, but tonight he could ignore that issue with another beer.

  As usual, there was small talk about the way a couple of the instructors handled some of the students.

  But mostly it was sheer relief, knowing the course was behind them and the confidence each possessed now that the training was finished. Eric wasn’t the least bit worried about whether he passed or not, little comments he heard from observers pretty much assured him that he was as good as people said he was. He just assumed he was good enough and always excelled.

  He was going for another beer when a soldier burst into t
he club with a piece of paper in his hand. He was the company clerk, the same soldier who had taken his orders when he first arrived at the camp.

  The young soldier hurried to the front of the club,

  “Listen up,”

  He said in a loud voice, everyone stopped what they were doing, all talk stopped, and the TVs were turned off. He looked stressed and his hands shook as he read from the paper, he held in his in hands,

  “As most of you know, two nuclear devices were detonated on the East Coast a couple of weeks ago. The United States of America officially declared war a few minutes ago. China has aligned itself with Russia and has nuked both the West and East Coast of the United States and they are invading us from Canada and Mexico as I speak.”

  People started to murmur to each other as he continued,

  “Listen up…Listen up…! All leave, and special liberty requests are canceled. We are at a state of world war, troopers, and the death toll is climbing quickly! Further word about the situation will be relayed to you by the Commanding Officer of this post as he gets it.

  “No letters, no telephone, no radio messages will be coming into or going out from this post by order of the Commanding Officer, Major Gregory Fields U.S. Army. That is all for now!”

  He abruptly left the club.

  Eric was stunned, as was everyone else in the club. Some of them held their heads low, some took a seat if they were standing, and some stood who had been seated. Many of the soldiers began shouting questions at the first sergeant, who was sitting at the bar.

  “Right now,”

  He held up his hand as he spoke.

  “I don’t know anything more than you do. I promise I will let you know when I’m told… that is, as soon as I have information that I can pass on to all of you, I’ll do it.”

  He paused, knowing they expected something more for him.

  “Look, we all have families and loved ones beyond the gates of this post, and I know exactly how you feel right now about this news, I’ve also got family about an hour north of here on Highway 410 in Greenwater, Washington. The Army will be getting everything ready in order to protect the civilian population here and throughout the rest of the country.”

  “It is our job to protect the United States of America from attacks,”

  His voice got a bit stronger as his words started to take effect.

  “This attack was premeditated and carried out without any warning whatsoever. This, boys, is our Pearl Harbor! I can assure you that those of us who are career military will get our revenge fairly quickly. As I said before, I don’t know any more than you do right now, but I promise you this… I will keep you informed of the latest news as soon as I get it.”

  And with that, the first sergeant briskly walked toward the door and made his exit. The next day he was gone without a trace.

  ◆◆◆

  Two weeks went by and more than half the camp personnel went absent without leave. AWOL was a serious transgression, especially in a time of war. But few gave it a second thought, just as the first sergeant hadn’t that first night before he disappeared.

  Camp David Driscoll was rapidly becoming a semi-ghost town.

  No one received any pertinent information from anyone for ten days. Everyone assumed that perhaps an EMP, electric magnetic pulse, was the culprit. All it would take is a nuclear device to be detonated around ten-thousand feet above the ground, it would destroy most electrical apparatus.

  The radiomen were certain their equipment was in working order, but there were no forthcoming messages. Men began sneaking off in the night, taking their weapons and equipment with them.

  Most of the soldiers posted at the camp on a permanent basis had family about sixty miles north in mostly rented apartments and houses.

  The powerful feelings of fear for their families’ safety overtook them, and one by one they eventually deserted the base and the military to find their loved ones; and nobody really seemed to care. A number of men who still remained at the camp were transient and far removed from where they lived and their permanent duty stations.

  A group of seventy-five soldiers would leave the camp and head west toward Seattle, Washington to assess the damage. They were not deserters; they were soldiers in search of answers.

  It was a sanctioned military operation; each group led by an officer or a senior sergeant.

  Chapter 3

  Rescued

  “Let’s gather up our things, we’re going to head east, and get some distance between them and us.”

  Randy had come from observing the bikers over the hill and he looked at his compass as he talked. He turned to the kids,

  “I forgot my pocket knife over where we were camped, please go and get it and bring it to me. I set it down back by the campfire. We’ll wait for you here.”

  It wasn’t like Randy to make a mistake like that, but he was tired. They all were. At least they were still close, and he actually remembered where he left the knife. The path was well worn, very visible, so he wasn’t concerned about them getting lost.

  ◆◆◆

  The boy and girl turned and headed back to the old campsite as Randy started briefing Shirley about what he had decided they were going to do next.

  Bone Breaker, the chieftain of the bikers, was itching for the opening battle. They were more than four-hundred-forty strong; warriors who could fight. That wasn’t including the two-hundred women.

  He had been waiting four months to strike back at the farmer hicks. This time around he was going to enjoy himself thoroughly. There was going to be lots of blood spilled and lots of new women to ravish.

  Those farmers had wiped them out during the last battle, but this time was going to be different. He had faced them twice before and now he was ready. Three strikes and you’re out was how he saw it, and he was determined to hit a home run this time.

  Having no illusions about their capabilities, he was determined this time he was going to win. He was also going to make an example of these people so that any other resistance that was met would scare them to their very souls. Perhaps the word would get out how useless it was to resist him.

  He remembered reading about Genghis Khan and what he did to a city. He would approach with his thousands of men, surround it, and give the inhabitants a choice. Surrender, and he wouldn’t harm them, resist, and he would kill every single thing in the city and leave it in ruins. The choice was simple enough. Most towns simply gave up.

  He had to admit though, those hicks were good. They must’ve had some military types with them because they did a surgical job on his people. He wouldn’t have thought it possible if he hadn’t seen it happen with his own eyes. They went through his men effortlessly and hadn’t lost anyone on their side that he was aware of. His people had been decimated; literally wiped out. He barely escaped with his own life. Luckily, he escaped unscathed. It wasn’t going to be that way this time. He would see to it. The tank had been the clincher last time. Who would have believed they would have a tank? That was a surprise, and it was devastating.

  Bone Breaker knew in his heart that he was superior to most men; not only with his size and his strength, but from all of the fights in which he had been victorious. If he could just meet the leader of those farmers one-on-one, he would take the guy out, and then own this territory. What was that saying, “Cut off the head and the body will die?” He thought that was correct. He graduated from high school, but the rest of his learning was from the streets. He would settle the score the way he always did—with brute strength and superior intellect. He liked that movie saying, “I’m bad…” Yes indeed, he was bad!

  He knew he was smart, that’s why he was the leader of these cutthroats. He didn’t go to college, but he was still damn smart. They looked up to him as if he were a king. He supposed he was a king in a way, and he was entitled to whatever he wanted. No one had stood in his way since he was sixteen years old.

  Yes sir, if he could just get their leader face-to-face in a fight, he wo
uld prevail. He remembered the first time he killed a man. It was an accident, but it made him feel he was God. He could spare a life and he sure as hell could take one. Those who saw him do it that day backed away and never spoke of it again. They were afraid of him and knew if they uttered a word, they would be next. He simply picked the man up and threw him against a wall. The guy bounced off and was impaled on a picket fence in the alley that paralleled the building. It wasn’t as if he had done it on purpose. It just happened.

  “It just wasn’t that guy’s lucky day is all. Tough shit!”

  The thought caused him to smile. You win some and you lose some. But Bone Breaker didn’t like to lose—ever! That was the name of the game. He was only sixteen the day he killed that guy. It changed him. It made him feel as if there was nothing he couldn’t do. He was fearless of the consequences of his actions. It was all a part of the river that made up the life that he lived, and he flowed with. He was destined for greatness; he just had to wait for it to come, but it would. He knew that.