“Okay, listen up. Callahan, you’ve got the desk. The rest of you men will take your normal stations. We’re at Def Con One, which means positive ID on everyone that enters this base including passengers in vehicles. If they are not Air Force, they don’t get on base. There is now a weapons-free policy in effect at all secured sites on base. This means the guys guarding all of our nukes on base will shoot anyone seen in their secured areas that aren’t supposed to be there. That includes you men. Do not enter any nuclear location until further notice. We should know within an hour or so what the president is going to do.
“If we do launch, that means we are at all-out war. I don’t give us a plug nickel’s worth of a chance of surviving more than three hours after we launch if that long. You will not call home. You will not call off base. No one is to know what is going on here at Warren. That is part of the war protocol before release of weapons. Once weapons are airborne, you are free to call home, but remember: you will only upset your loved ones more by telling them we have launched. Use your time well, and try to be brave with your family. Chances are they will need comforting and they won’t even know that we are weapons away. Use your heads, gentlemen.”
“Sergeant, I live on base with my wife. Permission to go home if this happens?”
“Permission granted to all married men with family on base. You single guys will have to make do with phone calls. Callahan, when notified, activate long distance on all gate phones so that they can call home. Police Four, you are on general patrol. All other units disperse to the three base gates and maintain a blockade of the gates. This base is now closed!”
With that, everyone hit the patrol cars as fast as they could. I joined the current desk sergeant on duty and made a fresh pot of coffee. I might as well go out with a caffeine buzz, I thought. After about ten minutes, I looked up at the window at the desk and found Todd staring back at me through the glass. His arm was in a sling, and he looked kinda pale.
“Todd! What are you doing out of bed?” I asked as I rushed down and around to let him into the desk area.
“I listened to the president’s address and knew you couldn’t get away from here. So I came to you.”
“Well, if there are two of you here, I’m heading to my base house to be with my wife and kids. Tell Gray where I’m at,” the desk sergeant said.
“Don’t do that,” Todd said. “They could technically get you for abandoning your post in a time of war. That’s a shooting offense. Call Gray on the radio and let him know what you’re doing by requesting permission to go.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I guess I’m not thinking clearly at the moment.”
He checked with Sergeant Gray and received permission to go. Gray also said he was en route back to the desk. As soon as the other desk sergeant left, Todd reached up and kissed me deep and hard. I tried not to put any pressure on his shoulder and hugged him back more on the side than directly around his chest.
“I’m glad you could come. I was worried sick about you and not being able to get to you if the end was coming.”
I bent forward and kissed him again. When I broke the kiss, I found Sergeant Gray staring at us through the glass. My face drained of color.
“Buzz me in.”
I reached down and hit the button that buzzed the lock on the door to the open position so he could get into the secured area. Since the remodeling, the door and entire front of the desk area had been reinforced to make it much harder to breach if there was another attack. The window to the outside had also been taken out and the space bricked up to match the rest of the building.
“Ah, Sergeant Gray. Sir, don’t read too much into what you just saw….”
“Be quiet, Callahan. Do you really think I give a shit if you’re queer and Todd here is your boyfriend? The entire world is getting ready to fucking explode. I didn’t care before this and I sure as hell don’t care now if one of my men is gay.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I said meekly.
“Claymore, what are you doing out of the hospital and do they know you’re gone?”
“I couldn’t just lay in bed while the world blew up, Sergeant Gray; I had to be here in the action. My wound is mostly closed up and healing, so I’m okay. As for the hospital, they have all gone nuts over there and no one knows anything at the moment. Everyone is running around preparing for war without realizing that there will be nothing left that will need medical assistance.”
“In other words, you had to be with your boyfriend, right?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. I love Bryce and if the world is going to end, I want to be with him when it does.”
“I don’t blame you. Okay, call the hospital and let them know you are here. Now that he is here, Callahan, can I count on you staying put through the end, if there is one?”
“Totally, Sergeant.”
“I’d tell you to carry on, but I’m afraid of what you two might carry on with. Remember, you’re on duty, Callahan. Claymore, you might as well act as assisting desk sergeant since you’re here. I’m going back out on the road.”
“Yes, Sergeant Gray.”
Upon notifying base hospital that Todd was here and assisting the desk sergeant, they noted it and hung up. They didn’t seem to care much that Todd was gone, which frankly didn’t surprise either one of us.
The phone rang, interrupting the reunion.
“Desk sergeant.”
“Colonel Drake here, Wing Command Post. The president has formally put us on a war footing. The Soviets have forty hours left to comply with the Congressional demand that they retake their base from the rebels. If they fail to do so, we have orders to launch all missiles should they respond to the one we launch to take out Pinsk South missile base. We’ll get the call from NORAD in the event we detect launches from the Soviet Union. Implement all of your standard operating procedures for a state of war.”
When I acknowledged the order, the call was disconnected. By the look on my face, Todd could tell that something was wrong.
“Have we launched? Is that the call?”
“No, we launch only if the Soviets respond to us taking out the rebel base.”
I pulled down the Def Con One SOP book and went through the checklist. Most of the procedures had already been implemented. All security policemen had been recalled to base at the beginning of ground hostilities. Todd took care of one or two things while I radioed for Sergeant Gray to call in. Next, I picked up the phone and called the commanding officer of the security police squadron and notified him of the Wing Command Post’s order. The commanding general would have had a call first from the Command Post prior to me getting the call.
Once I briefed the sergeant, I was caught up on my duties for the moment. I brought Todd coffee and we were able to talk at length for once without any interruptions. Everyone was deep in their own thoughts as to the possible ending of their lives and the lives of their families. Everyone was proud to serve the nation as a member of the Air Force, but ultimately, our position in the Air Force was exactly what would guarantee our quick deaths in the event of war.
As the hour began to approach dawn, Todd decided he wanted us to be able to sleep together today since we didn’t know how many more days there would be.
“When you can leave, let’s hit the hospital, let them check my bandages, give me a shot and a couple of pills, and then we can go back to the barracks. With everything in a state of tension and worry, I doubt if they will put up much of a fuss.”
“Are you sure that’s wise? I mean, we shouldn’t take any risks with your health.”
“Would you listen to yourself? You’re worried about my shoulder when we might have Soviet ICBMs raining down on our heads in a little over—what—thirty-eight hours from now?”
“Okay. Point well taken.”
The major entered the building and went directly to his office after asking me for an update. He didn’t even ask why Todd was out of the hospital. The day shift followed shortly after the ma
jor, and I was relieved from my post.
We hitched a ride from day shift and were able to see a doctor pretty quickly at the base hospital. They looked Todd over and found no reason why he couldn’t have leave to go to the barracks as long as he came back for another check in twelve hours. They didn’t give him a shot, though; pills were dispensed to control the pain, and they gave him more antibiotics for infection prevention. While we were at the hospital, we took advantage of the cafeteria there and ate breakfast. Once that was done, we headed to the barracks and got into bed.
“Todd, I’m scared. What will it be like if we get hit by a nuke?”
“That’s the thing, Bryce. We won’t really have any time to think about it once they hit. Everything around here will be vaporized if we are ground zero for the warheads. A good chunk of Cheyenne will be gone also. The population that doesn’t die immediately will begin to die of radiation poisoning unless they get away from air currents transporting the radioactive dust particles. We won’t feel any pain because they told us in previous briefings that it will happen so quickly, our brains won’t register much of anything.”
“All of this is so incredible. How did we get to this point as the human race? Why can’t we ever seem to settle our differences without massive loss of life? We are both young, like many men in the Soviet military, and yet we all are going to die way before we should because the idiots that run our governments won’t settle this quickly.”
“Well, we have a little less than two days for sure, so let’s just hold tight to each other and cherish what we’ve found in this place. I really never expected to find a guy I would fall in love with. As I often mentioned to you, most guys just wanted me for my equipment, but not for who I am as a person. You’re different in that respect, and it’s like fate is making us pay for falling in love. The only other option we have is to desert and that isn’t even thinkable. So we are left with the sole option of praying that war will be avoided and staying as close to each other as we can.”
I snuggled in closer to my man while trying not to hurt his shoulder. I was tired, and so was Todd after having taken his pills. We finally drifted off to sleep with thoughts of mushroom clouds over Cheyenne.
We were woken up at just after 1400 hours by the barracks sergeant, who told us to report to the base hangar in dress blues. We had no idea what we were to do, but the order included Todd. As we got dressed, we wondered if we were forming up to receive a VIP who was landing and we were acting as honor guard. The only thing that didn’t make sense was that Todd’s arm was still in a sling and was supposed to be for at least another day.
When we left our room and headed down into the entranceway to the barracks, we found the other members of our team that had landed at the missile site and engaged the commandos. It started to dawn on everyone that since we were in dress blues, it was probably a medal ceremony. I personally thought that with the world about to end, medals were the last thing I cared about. But the Air Force thought differently. Outside were two blue Air Force sedans waiting to take us to the hanger, which was a good distance from our barracks. The driver was tight-lipped about our purpose for going there and we finally gave up trying to pump him for information.
After pulling up and getting out of the car, we found a hangar full of people waiting on us. As we entered, the major came up to us and returned our salutes.
“Gentlemen, this is an awards ceremony. The morning after the firefight, the general put you all in for medals as a result of your successful defense of Bravo-David Four. Take up your positions between the national colors and the Air Force flag and rest at ease.”
We did as we were told. After a couple of moments, the general and his immediate staff along with the base commander entered the hangar and the area was called to attention. The general took the podium and began to speak.
“It is my distinct pleasure today to award various medals to the security policemen who engaged enemy commandos in defense of missile silo Bravo-David Four. After landing from the air in response to an alarm, they were met with fierce resistance from seven Russian commandos on the ground. As a direct result of engagement of the enemy, five of the six security policemen were wounded or injured in some fashion. The one airman not injured was requested to remove a device found on top of the silo, which was meant to crack the shell and release radiation into the atmosphere. The airman in question has received no training whatsoever in the handling of explosives as this is not a part of general security police training. He successfully removed the explosive device from the silo and carried it far enough away to protect both the missile and his fellow airmen. He had a total of about four minutes to accomplish this before the device was set to explode. We have since determined that the device was made with blocks of Semtex, a plastic explosive. There was more than a sufficient quantity to have destroyed the casing around the missile. For these acts on this date, the following medals are hereby awarded:
“All six airmen are hereby awarded the Air Force Combat Action Medal, which is awarded for engaging in combat in the air or on the ground as part of their official duty.
“All six airmen are hereby awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for sustained acts of heroism while in contact with the enemy in combat.
“Five of the six airmen are hereby awarded the Purple Heart for injury or wounds sustained while engaged in combat with the enemy.
“All six airmen are hereby awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for action in combat.
“Airman Bryce Callahan is hereby awarded the Bronze Star for bravery in a combat situation in not only engaging the enemy in a firefight, but by knowingly risking his life by removing an unknown explosive device set to go off on top of a missile.
“Finally, after heavy combat and without any backup, Airman Bryce Callahan defended his post from attack by three Soviet commandos at the base police desk. In defending his post, Airman Callahan killed in action all attacking forces and is hereby awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous bravery in the face of the enemy.”
The general, with an aide carrying a flat wooden box, left the podium and stood in front of each airman one at a time. After taking each medal from the box, he pinned the medals on the outside of each airman’s Class A uniform jacket. We each in turn saluted the general after he finished awarding our particular medals.
The ceremony was abbreviated and the passing of the troops in front of the general and the medal honorees was done away with so that all could return quickly to their duties. The major gave each of us the ribbons for our uniforms that represented the medals awarded so that they could be added to our dress uniforms. I hoped we had an opportunity to wear them again.
The total time taken for the ceremony was thirty-five minutes. We were back in our barracks by 1500 hours, and had to decide whether or not to go back to bed, or stay up and just go to work. Todd decided to go over to the hospital early to have a checkup, which also gave him the opportunity to stay in dress blues and show off his new medals. I went back to bed with the promise that Todd would be back in plenty of time to wake me up to return to duty.
By the time I had once again taken up my position as desk sergeant for the base police squadron, we had twenty-six hours left before the launch deadline. I had never seen the guys so on edge before, not even when we were expecting the commando attack. A couple of the married guys called off sick and were ordered to report to sick call at the base hospital at once. We all knew they weren’t sick, but understood why they wanted to be with their families. The order to sick call was to cover the sergeant’s ass should the major make a big deal about it.
The base remained locked down with no movement either on or off base. All personnel on base were confined to base for the duration. Anyone not already on base was AWOL and would be dealt with after the crisis passed. The movie theater and bowling alley were closed. Basically, unless you were on duty, you remained in your respective housing. Warren Air Force Base was like a ghost town with the exception of the security and pol
ice patrols and the men manning the gates to the base.
We had been notified that the body of the last commando had been found by search parties. Apparently the dumb bastard stepped on an adult rattlesnake in the dark, and was struck. Ivan remembered everything to bring to a hot party with the exception of a snake-bite kit. I thought back to my own encounter with a snake and was glad it had a distinctly different outcome.
Todd was once again keeping me company on the desk with the permission of Sergeant Gray and the hospital. He took care of the coffee for everyone while I took care of the nightly report. The stillness began to get to everyone and nerves were frayed. The highway that passes by the main gate was eerily silent as even the civilians were staying close to home or had fled the area, realizing our potential to be hit. The sky was clear in a sort of mocking way with a nearly full moon and a light breeze. Was the moon trying to tell us that we would actually see the incoming missiles due to the clarity of the night sky?
The rest of the shift was met with total silence. There were no calls for police service, no alarms, and no attempts to enter the base legally or illegally. The only thing maintaining our attention was the minute sweep hand on our watches and clocks.
Just after 0400 hours, Sergeant Gray came in off patrol and brought us two box lunches. It was better than nothing. He got a cup of coffee and sat down in the only other empty chair at the desk.
“Well, tell me guys. How long have you two been a couple?”
“A few weeks after I arrived at Warren. Todd was assigned to me as my training and security partner and things just went on from there.”
“Claymore, you been with anyone else here before Callahan?”
“No, Sergeant Gray, I haven’t been. I’m not even sure if there are other gay men here at Warren.”
Gray laughed and replied, “Oh, one thing you can be assured of is that you two aren’t the only lilies in the flower field. I do believe, however, that you are the only couple I know of or have heard of around here. Times are changing with the newer guys. They are more accepting of gays; but the old-timers? Not in a million years. They will always be against you guys and there’s no changing their minds either.”
John Simpson Page 13
