by Cliff Deane
Jonesy made a hurt face as he said, “Sergeant Major Cobb, do I really have to be asked such a thing? You know I did, and if my count was correct, there might even one for me.”
This caused everyone to laugh, which significantly improved the morale of the top brass.
Following Sergeant Jones’ departure, Levi said, “Okay, okay, back to business; Gus, please hand me one of those muffins and some coffee.
More chuckling…
“All right, let’s get back to work; if the Mercs travel at, oh say, ten miles, no make that fifteen miles per day, as an estimate, and that would put them well into Texas by now.
Our current daily movement is, give or take, thirty miles per day by following in their tracks. At that rate, we should catch them in thirty to forty days in the desert of West Texas or New Mexico.
My friends, I don’t think we could ask for a better scenario. If we can catch them in the open, with no place to hide, our Air Arm will decimate them in short order. The facts, or I should say, evidence that tells us they have no anti-aircraft missiles is very encouraging.
I just hope that they are unable to make better time on I-10 across that stretch of barren desert. If they can, we might not catch up to them until we get to Phoenix, and if they manage to beat us to Prescott, or Flagstaff, the fighting will require many more boots on the ground and many more casualties.
Colonel Levins, please notify our new Forward Air Operations Officer, Lieutenant Costello of all your Mosque sightings. Let’s start giving him training on calling in Air Suppression missions. He’ll have to place himself in proper position near the mosques to accurately call in the Air Strikes. Hit him hard with training several times each and every day, as opportunities present themselves. I want him on top of his game when we catch the Mercs. Roger, Colonel.”
“Roger that, sir,” replied Colonel Susan Levins.
The meeting continued for another hour, even after the Convoy began the dash to catch Colonel Steiner and his band of rogue Mercenaries.
***
Chapter 8
Grand Bay
17 October 1000
Grand Bay
The Road
Staff Sergeant Pete Woolery’s patrol arrived in the village of Grand Bay about an hour ahead of the Convoy. They found it to be utterly bereft of life. There were a few emaciated bodies that appeared to have been there for at least two months, though after the animals had finished with them, it was pretty hard to tell. Still, experience with emaciated remains, gained over the last nineteen months indicated these people had been murdered around two months ago.
The patrol also found evidence of machine gun fire from the road, in the form of numerous shell casings and machine gun ammunition links.
The doors to many homes, pharmacies, and grocery stores had been kicked in, and the interiors looted. Sergeant. Woolery quickly realized that this was the work of many heavily armed men; men with no regard for anyone or anything beyond their own needs. His gut reaction to this wanton death and destruction only drove the desire of the ROA to destroy these murderers; these, so-called, Soldiers of Fortune.
Following the arrival of the Convoy, Staff Sergeant Woolery met with and briefed, the Command Staff on the results of his patrol.
General Levins complimented Staff Sergeant Woolery on both the patrol’s conduct and mission accomplishments.
Before releasing Sergeant Woolery and his patrol, Levi directed them to take Mr. Jay White, with sufficient rabbits and sample equipment to create a thriving trade in rabbit meat. The residents of La Batre would build their own cages and various other pieces of equipment, to mimic those brought as samples.
Jay would instruct the Mayor and his people on the care feeding, and final processing of the Silver Fox Rabbit. The detail would return when Mr. White was satisfied that their newfound friends in La Batre could successfully handle the job.
Pete wasn’t overly pleased to receive this mission, but he had been the one to suggest it; still, he and his troopers, were anxious to return to their mounts.
Following Woolery’s departure, Levi told Gus that it might be a good idea to spread this rabbit goodwill wherever a struggling village might profit from Rabbit Ranching.
Gus nodded and said, “My friend, that is an excellent idea. I mean, it’s not like we’ll run out of rabbits, since they breed like, well, like rabbits.” Both men laughed at Gus’ comment, and the spread of proper rabbit rearing and processing technology began to slowly filter its way across the land. Thanks to the Silver Fox Rabbit, the health of everyone was improved.
Though the ROA would never know it, one village renamed itself to The Rabbit Ranch.
Such a seemingly small gesture of friendship would over the course of decades help mankind dig its way out of what was a near Extinction Level Event.
Great things often do come in very small packages…
Patrols sent to Pascagoula found no trace of any biker gang; according to the survivors, the gang left as soon as they heard that the ROA was coming. Levi ordered that the survivors be armed to protect themselves if the gang returned after the passage of the ROA.
Fort Polk
19 October 0800
Fort Polk
Looking for trouble
Any Veteran of the Viet Nam War would have looked at this little convoy and said, “That ain’t no LRRP,” and in the classic sense he would have been correct, but by definition, this grouping of men and equipment did fit the description of a specialized Long Range Recon Patrol.
Lt Costello’s Commo was placed in the center of the LRRP, followed by Maintenance. The front and rear were up-gunned Humvees. Sergeant Penn rode in the lead Humvee and decided to place the Point and Tail Gunner in up-gunned jeeps. These two vehicles would separate themselves from the convoy by approximately one-half of a mile. Convoy communications would be maintained by the new radios discovered at the Fort Polk Supply Depot.
Staff Sergeant Penn ordered a two-man recon mission accompanied by the FAC (Forward Air Controller) to reconnoiter the Mosque in Fort Polk. The ROA Brain Trust had considered using the modern term of JTAC, which was ostensibly the same thing as a Forward Air Controller, and since there was no Joint Tactical Force, and only one military, Levi decided on the old school term of FAC.
The recon patrol maintained position 50’ ahead of Lt Costello as they stealthily made their way to the targeted mosque. At one hundred yards from the mosque, and in wooded cover, the air suddenly came alive with the sound of Prayer Call. All three men of the patrol nearly crapped themselves from the loud unexpected megaphone placed at the top of the structure. Private First Class J D Thorne crept forward until he could clearly see the mosque.
What he saw froze him in his tracks; a large number of heavily armed men were entering the mosque. The mission expectation was to provide Costello with a practice mission with no one in residence.
Once all the men had entered for prayer, PFC Thorne scurried back to the patrol and provided a sitrep. Cpl Sanders turned to Lt Costello and said, “Sir, it appears we have gone from a training mission to real life shit. Are you ready to call in an Air Strike inside of twenty minutes, because if you are not, we need to boot scoot out of here.”
Cpl Sanders added, “Sir, this is too good an opportunity to miss. Please get it right.”
Lt Costello looked fired up as he said, “Don’t worry, Corp, I got this,” and the three men began moving to the best position.
Private Thorne shared his concerns that they now had less than fifteen minutes to complete the mission before prayer was over. He said, “Corp, maybe we should let this one go, and be more prepared at the next Call to Prayer.”
Lt Costello was excited to be ready to call in a real Air Strike on a large force of enemy soldiers located near the junction of Louisiana Avenue and University Parkway. He had been practicing with Lt Levins for two days now on just the radio and map requirements. Piece of cake thought Costello.
Cpl Sanders looked at the L T and asked, “Sir,
Thorne has a point, can you get it done in the time we have left?
“Oh, Hell yes!” said Costello, “If you’ll just stop yapping at me; let’s do this now, while we have the chance.”
“Cauldron 6: Jenny 1-6: FAC on the ground: Over.”
“Jenny 1-6: Cauldron 6, hear you five by five: Over.”
“Cauldron: Need Close Air, large hostile force in structure: Over.”
“Roger J 1-6, switch to frequency 4. Contact Jim Bob 6: Now; your call. Copy? Over.”
“Roger C 6, Copy all, switching now to f 4: Out.”
“Jim Bob 6: Jenny 1-6: Over.”
“Jenny 1-6: Jim Bob 6: We’re here to help. State your mission: Hear you five by five: Over.”
“Roger Jim Bob 6, Hostiles in building, map reference 8634 4455 at 2633 9922, Structure 250’ north of junction Louisiana Avenue and University Parkway, on right of University. Copy? Over.”
“Roger Jenny 1-6, Copy all, Hostiles in structure map grid 8634 4455 at 2633 9922. Structure two-hundred and fifty feet north of junction Louisiana Avenue and University Parkway, on right of University. Pop Smoke now, your location: Over.”
“Roger JB-6, Popping white smoke now. Line up target from East to West. You are weapons clear. Copy? Over.”
“Roger 1-6, Copy all. Attack from East to West. Get your head down boys, here we come with Hellfire. Over.”
“Roger 6, Light ‘em up, and thanks: Out.”
The flight of two Super Cobra’s attacked from the East launching two Hellfire Missiles, each into the mosque. The target was destroyed three seconds after launch.
“Jim Bob 6, Jenny 1-6, Target destroyed, great job: Over.”
“Roger Jenny 1-6, well done. Who knows, next time there may really be hostiles in the building?”
“Jim Bob 6: Jenny 1-6, The building did hold many hostiles. This was actual mission: Out.”
Once the smoke had cleared, the three men looked in awe at the devastation before them. From the destruction, it was apparent that one Hellfire would have done the trick; four left little evidence of what the building had ever been.
PFC Thorne took the overwatch position while Costello and Sanders moved forward to check for survivors; there were none.
After surveying the damage, the two men turned to make their way back to the wooded area when a shot rang out that hit Lt Costello in the neck, rupturing the artery. The arterial flow shot blood nearly two feet into the air. He bled out before any aid could be given.
Sanders dropped to the ground as a second rifle shot was heard. PFC Thorne rushed forward to the, now downed hostile and fired one additional shot, before running to assist with Lt Costello. Unfortunately, Lt Costello had quickly died as the blood flow became a trickle, then ceased.
“Cauldron 6: Jenny 2-6: Over”
“Jenny 2-6: Cauldron 6, hear you five by five: Over.”
“Cauldron: Need Dust Off, FAC down from sniper fire: Over.”
“Understand FAC down, need Dust Off: Over.”
“Roger, Out.”
The Dust Off arrived mere seconds after the call. A pallor fell over the survivors as what had been a perfect mission had ended in tragedy.
Back at the LRRP Convoy, Cpl Sanders and PFC Thorne made their report to General Levins via the new radios.
Lt Costello was later, laid to rest in the Military Cemetery at Fort Polk.
Paranoia?
20 October 0800
M-TOC
The Road
Levi slept fitfully, so much so, that he awakened Susan as he tossed and turned. She asked what was so bothering him, and all he could say was that there was something out of place in the Costello incident. He told her that he couldn’t, as yet, put his finger on what was so tickling the back of his mind, but he knew that eventually, his concern would make its way to the front. Finally, at 0545 the reason for his troubled mind came to him as an epiphany.
Levi called Gus, Bradley, Colonel Mike Guyardo, Colonel Susan Levins, and Major Page together for a conference on the incident at the Fort Polk mosque. They met in the M-TOC; Levi also directed the Sergeant Major to place a guard, ten feet in front of the door. He did not want the purpose of this meeting to spread through the brigade.
Gus suspicioned that he might know the reason for the increased security and privacy for this meeting, but other than Susan, the remaining members were in the dark.
In an effort to lighten the mood Levi had just created, he said, “First off, I want to apologize for my faux pas; I forget to tell Jonesy that we would need muffins, so we only have coffee.”
This did lighten the mood as everyone chuckled politely at Levi’s weak attempt at humor.
Once everyone was again quiet, Levi said, “Okay, you are the Brain Trust, and I want to open a discussion on the death of Lt Costello by a sniper, following the successful FAC mission on a mosque.
I will lay out the details, and my concerns, then I want you to help me figure out if I’m just becoming senile in my old age, or if there may be more here than was reported.”
The group all seemed to sit a little straighter in their chairs as they realized this meeting was more than a typical morning meeting, and far from the occasional coffee klatch.
“All right, here goes; on the morning of 19 October, a training exercise was scheduled for Lt Costello and a two-man recon patrol.
Their mission was for Lt Costello to call in an air strike on a mosque.
The expectation was that the mosque would be empty; however, upon their arrival, the mosque was found to contain many armed hostiles.
PFC Thorne wanted to delay the mission to the next Call to Prayer due to time constraints.
Lt Costello declined the recommendation to postpone and continued with the mission.
The mission went off without a hitch as Costello completed a picture-perfect call for Close Air Support.
Mission accomplished.
PFC Thorne assumed the overwatch position.
Lt Costello was hit in the throat from very close range, by Sniper fire.
PFC Thorne then killed the Sniper.
Lt Costello died at the scene.
“This is the basic outline of events reported by the two survivors. Do any of you have anything to add to this outline?”
Gus spoke up and said, “Sir, if I may play Devil’s Advocate, it appears that some details are either missing, or slightly fuzzy.”
Levi interrupted, saying, “Colonel, what details do you find are particularly missing or fuzzy?”
“Yes sir,” replied Gus, who never liked being interrupted, “as I was saying, by doctrine, fifteen minutes is plenty of time to complete a call for close air support, especially when that support is dedicated to the mission.”
Colonel Guyardo said, “Sir, I am also curious about the Sniper; was he already in position during the entire mission. If so, why would he fail to act earlier in an attempt to save his people?
If he arrived after the mission, how did the Sniper come unseen, with PFC Thorne in overwatch to prevent just such an occurrence.”
“Gentlemen, these are all valid concerns; I have only a few more questions for you. First, why Costello? The patrol was not wearing any badge of rank. Costello was armed with only a holstered sidearm.”
Upon extended discussion of this question, the Brain Trust could only come up with one reasonable answer; Costello was targeted because he was the FAC.
Levi continued, “Secondly, did anyone, either patrol or the Dust-Off Crew actually see the body of the Sniper?” I’ll answer that for you, “No, they did not. Also, why wasn’t his equipment, i.e., sniper rifle picked up and brought back here?”
“Sir,” said the Sergeant Major, “I suggest we send a Huey to the site to get a confirmation of a Sniper, and his rifle; if one exists.”
Levi responded by saying, “Since both Sanders and Thorne are under the command of Colonel Guyardo, Mike, both men need to be quickly isolated and secured until this investigation is complete.
Colonel
Levins, send a flight of two Snakes, and a Huey, with a squad of Grunts to secure the immediate area, and I pray you find the Sniper’s body.”
Colonel Guyardo said, “General, PFC Thorne has been in the command for about six weeks, but Corporal Sanders has been with me for nearly a year.”
“Thank you, Mike; still, let’s secure both of them, at least for now. I suspect that we will find that Sanders may return to duty, after vetting.”
“Roger sir,” said Colonel Mike Guyardo.
Levi hated to override Mike’s suggestion that Sanders was not likely to be guilty of treason, but the potential for this incident to turn into a disaster was immense. Mike Guyardo, had been with Levi since day one, and he did not want Mike to think that he did not have Levi’s complete confidence. He decided to speak with Mike privately following the meeting.
Sniper?
20 October 0940
Louisiana Ave and University Parkway
Fort Polk
The mosque ruins looked no different from the day before. No one had been digging through the rubble and ashes.
Both Snakes maintained security from the air, while the Huey landed and discharged the ground security.
Sergeant Lew Kramer and one other man searched the area described by PFC Thorne and found nothing. The entire security force was then called to expand the search area by twenty meters. The result was the same, no body, no blood stains, and no bloody trails. The team did, however, discover one 7.62 NATO shell casing lying on the ground and upon finding the disturbed earth where the bullet entered the ground, Sergeant Kramer dug out the round, also a 7.62 mm. The casing and shell were returned to the Convoy to validate the firing pin strike position, and then compare it with PFC Thorne’s rifle.
