by Cliff Deane
The three went into the TOC, and finding folding chairs sat down at a field desk to consider their options and concerns.
Levi looked at the SGM and asked, “Well, Bradley, what do you think?”
“Yes sir, well, I think we should order Colonel Pickett to hold in place until we get there. “
Levi nodded and said, “All right; Gus, your thoughts?”
Gus thought for a few seconds before responding to Levi then said, “Sir, the way I see it is that we are not going to eliminate every Muslim community in North America. I think that we have to use the Fort Apache approach of leaving troops to clean up their areas; pretty much like we have been doing, but I just don’t know if a forty-man platoon is going to be enough.
As far as Dearborn goes, yeah, well, we’ll get to them in time, but it’s going to be an urban slugfest, and we still cannot possibly get them all. I think we are going to need more and bigger mortars. It’s a damned shame we don’t have some self-propelled Long Tom 205 mm howitzers, but that is just not feasible; too much fuel, too much training, and the ammo is just way too heavy. So, we’re stuck with mortars, and we’ll have to work with what we have.
Levi, this is one hell of a big deal; I just hope we haven’t bitten off more than we can chew.”
“Gus, I can’t argue against any of your points, so we just have to come to the realization that our mission is to kill the Caliphate, and every single one of the leaders.
When we get to Windber, we will demand that those persons you declared as safe in your letter be sent out for their safety. I believe the Caliphate Force will try to use them as shields, but that will be a mistake; once the attack begins everyone is an enemy combatant. I would like two prisoners for questioning; preferably the Head Kahuna. Then we raze any Caliphate buildings and keep on truckin’.”
“Excuse me, sir,” said the Sgt. Major, but what if you are wrong, and they do send out the, so called safe folks. I mean, what do we do with them?”
“Oh, crap, I guess we’ll first have to see how many there are, and if the number is manageable we can fly them to Lejeune and begin to develop a way to reprogram them. Look, I don’t mean to reprogram them as Christians, if it’s right for them then they’ll come to that conclusion, just as we did. By reprogramming, I meant to undo the damage of the Quran.
Dang it, Bradley, you always gotta’ throw shit in the game, don’t you?”
Bradley smiled and said, “Yes sir, I know, it’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.”
Everyone broke out laughing, and Levi said, “Okay, okay, let’s see how many we have and cross that bridge when we come to it.”
At 1700 the scout was awakened, and fed. The four grenadiers left for Windber two hours earlier.
*
26 June 2100
Four miles to Windber
The two Caliphate soldiers had allowed the jeep with the four ROA soldiers to pass as it may have been too tough a target; no, they wanted the Scout that had passed earlier.
“Ahmed, I think I hear the rider, Allahu Akbar; you take down the horse and only wound the rider if he is unhurt, Allahu Akbar.”
“Yes, Mohammad, Allahu Akbar, I will try to make the horse drop, so the rider falls to the road head first, Allahu Akbar.”
The Scout rounded the slight curve and only heard the shot when he felt the horse shudder as the round pierced the left shoulder blade, causing the horse to stumble forward. The Scout was thrown forward onto the macadam and died instantly from a broken neck and severe brain trauma.
The horse lay in the road horribly disfigured and in terrible pain.
The two soldiers ran to the Scout and were disappointed to find him dead.
“Ahmed, quickly let us place the cross of the infidels upright before we remove his head and crucify his body.”
“Yes, of course, Allahu Akbar, and what of the horse?” The two men walked over to the horse and laughed as they listened to its pitiful cries for help.
“Leave it here, when the infidels arrive, the cries will instill a terrible fear in their hearts, Allahu Akbar.”
They spent the next forty minutes setting the cross into the hole they had dug earlier, removing the head, and crucifying the body.
The morning brought a light mist that promised to clear off with the morning sun. Visibility was very good, things went well, with another 26 miles under their belt, and no sniper fire.
The morning of 27 June brought bright sunshine through a light, hazy, smoke filled sky high in the atmosphere, a few Mare’s-tail clouds, and a pleasant five mph breeze. The convoy progressed to within four miles of Colonel Pickett’s reported position.
Colonel Pickett sent a rider to tell Levi of his location. The rider quickly came upon the crucified body of the scout and knew that he had been ambushed by Caliphate forces, beheaded, and his body crucified along the road for everyone to see. The horse, still crying and barely alive looked up at the Scout with huge, pleading eyes of brown. The Scout drew his Colt Peacemaker and fired one shot into the brain of the horse to end its suffering; he then returned to tell Leon what had he had found.
Gus and Levi were both concerned that Colonel Leon Pickett had not come the four miles to brief them on the situation; they tasked Captain Neal Page to send out five riders to investigate.
About one hour later the convoy began moving again, and the Scouts came under almost immediate flanking fire. One Scout and his mount were killed in the initial volley of fire.
The Outriders quickly outflanked the shooters, but were unable to take any prisoners as all seven of the hostiles were in a meeting with Allah.
The pace of advance slowed as more troops were utilized to protect the VTR and the flanks of the convoy. After three miles, Levi learned why there had been no contact from Leon. He ordered that every member of the Task Force see the crucified remains of the ROA scout. A halt was then ordered, the body was buried, and Gus directed the 1AB to develop a defensive perimeter while Levi took three LAVs and moved forward to the Windber perimeter.
Levi ordered the constant use of the WASP Drones to help find snipers and ambushers before the Task Force came under fire, again.
A total of eight Caliphate fighters were spotted by the WASP. The mounted Cavalry Troopers ran them down and took a terrible revenge.
Levi was met by 1st Sgt Torre and Lt. Colonel Leon Pickett; both wanted to know why he hadn’t sent a rider to let them know the convoy was on the way.
Levi explained about the scout and then moved right onto the business at hand by asking for a sitrep.
“Yes, sir,” said Lt. Colonel Pickett, “right now we have encircled a barricade consisting of four vehicles, and manned by approximately twenty men. Four are at the barricade and eight are behind hastily prepared firing positions. Those behind the vehicles are keeping their heads down, and the outliers have ineffective cover. Our sharpshooters can easily take them out, upon your command.”
Levi looked at Pickett and said, “Upon my command, huh? Colonel, do I detect a touch of irritation?”
Leon Pickett was, if nothing else, a cowboy unafraid to speak his mind. He answered, “Well, sir, perhaps just a bit. Your order to hold fire until you arrived didn’t actually go down all that well.”
“And why is that? Maybe I am delusional, but I was under the impression that I am in overall command of this fustercluck. Okay, enough of the bullshit, Leon; what’s really grinding your gears?”
“All right, sir, we have been taking fire, okay, I admit it has been ineffectual, but as commander of this fustercluck, as you put it, I should be able to order counter fire. That, sir, is what is grinding this cowboy’s gears.”
Levi turned to Torre and said, “Top, find every available officer to join us immediately. Now, Top.”
“Yes, sir,” said the 1st Sgt. as he quickly left to get the officers. Once they were all assembled, the Commanding General of the Army of the Republic of America addressed them by saying, “Gentlemen, I have called you here to make sure that e
very man-jack of you hears what I am about to say.
If; in the course of events you find yourself under fire, you may always return that fire to suppress it. The order I just gave you supersedes any order up, or down the chain of command. Are there any questions concerning this directive?” There were none.
“Good, now you may return to your duties.” Levi then turned back to Pickett and said, “Leon, I offer my most sincere apologies for not having made this standing order more clear. You will always have the right of self-defense.
Now, as for the fustercluck comment, though I did not mean your scouts, but rather the entire command to include three convoys over a mile in length. Still, the comment was out of line; I hope you will accept my apologies.
Lastly, the grinding of your gears thing; let me be clear that I meant every word of it,” and the tension was broken as everyone broke out laughing. Levi offered his hand, and as Leon took it, Levi slapped him on the back; gear grinding, over.
Gus smiled and said, “Well, now that we are all friends again, tell me, Leon, how do you plan to deal with this little bump in the road?”
“Yes, sir, I intend to use our sharpshooters to deal with the outliers; eliminating all but one, who will be wounded, and twelve rounds from the auto launchers onto the barricade.
I have also sent out recon teams, and it appears that there is a sizeable Caliphate community here. They are pretty much trying to organize their own Fort Apache. We estimate there are roughly fifty combat effectives, and perhaps another one-hundred and twenty non-combatants, all women and young children; gathering at the Islamic Community Center.
Following the destruction of the barricade, I plan to move into Windber proper, following the drones. We will take out enemy hardpoints as we come to them.
General, what say we off-load the tanks and let them rumble through this Burg? It will be a good training exercise for them. They will have the direct video from the drone identifying targets. It may actually prove to save a lot of needless destruction.”
Both Levi and Gus loved the idea of giving the tankers a bit of experience, and approved of Colonel Pickett’s plan, with only one real question.
“Leon,” asked Gus, “why do you want to use the Grenadiers, rather than just bringing up one of the LAVs? They would certainly make quick work of that pitiful excuse for a barricade.”
Leon smiled and said, “Sir, the answer is simple; the Grenadiers can use the training to hone their skills. They will be sorely tested when we get to Cleveland.”
That answer convinced both Levi and Gus of the plan, and Levi gave his approval.
Just prior to the kickoff, Gus changed one little thing; he wanted two prisoners, instead of one. While waiting for the interrogation to begin, it just might be a good idea to let Ali Sayed listen in on their conversation, should they decide to speak in Arabic or Urdu.
The snipers took their positions, and the grenadiers took aim at the auto barricade. Leon’s idea of practice paid off as the first couple of rounds failed to impact the roadblock, but by the third shot, each man did his part in dismantling the barricade, and those hostiles manning the obstruction. After the Grenadiers had ceased fire, a Corporal said, “Yep, this just proves that most of the world’s problems can be resolved by the prodigious use of high explosives.”
The snipers had a field day and took out all of the outliers within a few seconds. The two snipers assigned to wound, rather than kill, used the Ruger .22 caliber firing supersonic long rifle ammunition. This action left two wounded but alive, both men taking the small caliber rounds in the right shoulder. Once again, using training, discipline, planning, and execution, the skirmish resulted in no injuries to ROA Forces.
The troopers, especially the friends of their decapitated and crucified comrade, wanted to do the same to the captives. Fortunately, Leon nipped that action in the bud. The prisoners would eventually be hung.
Using the captured bullhorn, Leon called out to the wounded men and ordered them to toss out their weapons. Earlier, Leon had intended to use Ali Sayed to communicate with the prisoners, but Levi had vetoed that to keep it a secret that the Task Force had a native speaker of both Arabic and Urdu.
The Islamic Center was located in the Johnstown section at 809 Main St, in Windber.
***
Chapter 7
The Cobras Arrive
24 June 0800
Windber Barricade
Pickett’s scouting force departed at 0800 for the Caliphate Center with three Abrams tanks. They were preceded by a host of WASP drones which; by using Thermal Imaging were able to identify anyone inside the buildings along their path.
When warm bodies were discovered in a building, the tanks would stop and through a loudspeaker identify themselves as the Republic of America; order the inhabitants to come out with their hands above their heads.
There were a few non-Muslims who came out of hiding and were escorted to the rear.
When, after two minutes, anyone who remained in hiding died when the buildings collapsed onto them, under 120 mm tank main gun fire. This process continued until the tanks reached the Caliphate HQ. At that point, a copy of Levi’s letter was read, and the Caliphate Force was ordered to surrender.
While Levi’s letter was being read the Cavalry surrounded the building. As those inside the Center attempted to escape through the back door; the Cavalry opened fire and sent everyone attempting to escape, to meet Allah.
The tanks opened fire and collapsed the building.
*
1 July
Pittsburgh
In the morning brief, Levi said that he thought the road to Pittsburgh, then to Cleveland, and Dearborn was going to become cluttered with destroyed mosques.
Gus said that they would never equal the number of Churches that were burned or the crucified Clergy in front of the ashes.
The first car bomb attack came in the northern section of Pittsburgh. The explosion occurred on the left side of the lead tank, violently rocking the seventy-two-ton behemoth, burning and bubbling the paint; that crew was pissed, once their ears stopped ringing, and their heartbeat returned to somewhere near normal.
This one incident changed the mood, and the tactics of the entire Task Force; now what?
The TF brain trust met to consider options for dealing with IEDs. The result of their deliberations was to alter the configuration of the patrols; until the Cobras came online, only the tanks would now make the assault. Since the Abrams could survive a blast to the side from the IEDs, made by the Caliphate, no LAV’s or Mounted Cavalry would be used.
At this point, Gus figured that the only way to place a bomb beneath the tank, at least in the cities, was to place it under a storm sewer access plate. The WASP drones would also provide identification of warm bodies anywhere near the manhole covers. There would be no warning to anyone within visual range, capable of remotely detonating an IED. The tanks would then lay waste to their hidey holes.
The drones would also be used to provide close-up views of any manhole covers. In this way, they could, hopefully, see if the bolts holding them in place had recently been turned. Unfortunately, many of the covers had no bolts in them. Since the grid was fried, there was now only one way to remotely detonate an IED, and that was with wires.
The tankers weren’t terribly thrilled, with what they called, being the canary in the coal mine. Still, their chance of surviving was far greater than anything else the ROA had; until, that is, the arrival of the helicopter gunships.
According to Major Mike Guyardo, back at Lejeune, the air support would arrive on 2 July, and the process of cleaning out the Caliphate Forces would go much faster.
Mortar rounds would be walked on-site by the Cobra Pilot, and the Cobra would eliminate anyone trying to flee. The Pilots would also have input from the drones and fire upon those attempting to hide.
Since the air arm was arriving tomorrow, Levi decided to make 1 July a day to clean and repair equipment, then get some much-needed rest.
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*
2 July 0900
Helipad
ROA Bivouac, Pittsburgh
At 0900 hours of 2 July, five Super Cobras landed at the airport where they were met by security and ground crews who had arrived the night before, as had the Security Force to prepare a perimeter.
Levi, Gus, and Kate, who, having proved herself the top pilot in her class, now went by the name of Katherine Levins. Newly promoted 2Lt. Kevin Simms was also nearby to witness the event. Both he and Tim Carter had been promoted to become Platoon Leaders in the Infantry Company.
Levi and Gus watched as the pilots disembarked their warbirds. The Pilots and Gunners gathered, then walked to their General and saluted. Levi returned their salutes and shook hands with each new pilot. None of the ten crewmen received any special welcome.
Gus informed the pilots that he would debrief them in one hour. In the meantime, they were to get settled into the “Glamour Boy tents. SSgt Jones led the male crews to their tent while Susan and Kate followed Levi to their own Glamour Girl quarters. It is believed that the term Glamour Boys comes from Guadalcanal during WW II. The pilots were the Glamour Boys of the “Cactus Air Force.”
Once they were inside, and away from prying eyes, Levi hugged both of them together and expressed his joy at seeing them again.
He then took Kate in his arms and told her how proud of her, he was. He stepped back and looked at her saying, “Kate, you look so grown up; are you really just fourteen?”
She smiled and again hugging his neck said, “Dad, I haven’t been fourteen since I was eight. Like I said before, I was slated to graduate High School when I was twelve, but the lights went out. If the lights had stayed on, I would be a fourteen-year-old College Junior.
