Nuclear Winter

by Td Barnes

  “Yes, sir.”

  At 0506 hours, Bradley carried his personal coffee mug into the dining area where he joined the new shift drifting in for breakfast. He poured himself a cup of coffee and returned to the entrance where he grabbed a tray before stepping behind others in the serving line.

  He selected for his meal an MRE labeled BLT, zapping it in the microwave for a minute before joining a couple staff sergeants eating breakfast versions of military MRE. They exchanged greetings and made small talk while the sergeants quickly finished their meal and took their leave. He completed his meal and refilled his personalized coffee mug to carry back to the Command Center.

  Gathering up his coffee cups to return them to the mess hall became at first a routine of the mess hall personnel until a thoughtful mess hall worker personalized a mug with Bradley’s name and rank on it. Bradley took the hint and settled for the one coffee cup that one of the kitchen staff usually seized from him when he entered and washed it before refilling it for him. This exchange went unspoken, but often brought an exchange of knowing smiles or grins. They considered him “their Colonel” and they “his mess staff,” an unspoken bond.

  “As you were,” he said while entering the Command Center, carrying his coffee mug in one hand and the morning briefing report with his attached notes in the other.

  The XO, Lt. Col. Jane Barlow, SMG Jack Weston, the staff officers, Harry Cardosa, Dr. Jack Kipper, Mayor Robinson, Stacey Bradley, and the company CO, Captain Callahan sat assembled at the conference table with Dr. Hubbard and his son Ben sitting to the side of the table.

  Bradley thanked them for attending on such short notice and turned to Ben Hubbard. “Mr. Hubbard, please approach,” he ordered softly.

  Ben defiantly stood up, took four steps forward, and stopped with an insubordinate glare that further demonstrated his rebellious defiance of Bradley’s authority.

  “Son,” Bradley addressed him. “I understand you are bullying some of the younger kids,” Bradley noted both Ben and his father being grossly overweight.

  “I am not your son,” Ben said hotly, looking to his side when Dr. Hubbard stood up and took a stance beside him.

  “Colonel, my son, is not a member of your military,” he said in a mild tone of defiance. “I am his father, and if anyone disciplines my son, I should do it. Besides, he is entitled to an attorney and I do not see any lawyers here in this room or anywhere else at the mountain.” Ben grinned proudly while listening to his father defending him from the Army colonel.

  Bradley glared briefly at the wall while thinking about the father now confirming his decision on the only way to preserve the unity of his people. Ignoring the father and addressing Ben, he said. “Effective immediately I am suspending the civil law, civil rights, habeas corpus, and applying, the application or extension of military law or military justice to the civilians here. I have not formally declared martial law, but I am doing so now. Any civilians defying martial law will face a military tribunal, a court-martial under the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”

  He scanned his eyes over everyone in the alcove to emphasize his addressing everyone and not just the Hubbards. He focused back on the young man.

  “I have reviewed the charge against you and have heard the complaint of the young man that you accosted over a video game. Your defiance and that of your father convince me of your disdain for authority or the rights of others. I at this moment sentence you to two eight-hour shifts of health care duty. One shift at the animal park cleaning up after our domestic animals and one shift with waste recycling. Do you have any questions?”

  Ben could hardly believe what he heard. He turned to this father, expecting a strong reaction. His father said nothing.

  Bradley realized while speaking to the son that in dealing with civilians, he could not force them to respect military rule or protocol. He believed one earned respect.

  “Dr. Hubbard,” Bradley continued in a more respectful tone. “You, your son, and many others here are overweight and severely impaired physically. I would appreciate it if you would work with a committee that I plan to form to address the physical issues we face here under these very trying circumstances. It will at the same time help alleviate waste and conserve our supply of food. We are only a few days into a subterranean life of which we have no idea the duration. We have no choice but impose drastic changes that will in some instances adversely affect the lifestyles we have known.”

  To the amazement of the others in attendance, Dr. Hubbard thought about it for a moment and endorsed the idea. His obesity did not bother him, but seeing his pudgy son in a similar condition concerned him greatly.

  “Sir,” he respectfully addressed Bradley. “I confess that I participated in peaceful protests while in college against Army recruiters being on campus. I also realize that my family's survival depends on the very people for whom I once felt disdain. I do not intend for my son to follow my example in this regard. I will gladly serve on your committee. With your permission, I will ensure that my son apologizes to the young man and does not engage in such grievous behavior again.” He turned to his son. “Come with me, young man,” he respectfully ordered. “You have some fences to mend and chores to perform.”

  Bradley went back to the briefing report, and his notes after the father and son left. He glanced at them a moment in silence before laying them down in front of him.

  “I have a story to tell you,” he said. He proceeded to tell the Stanford prison experiment story he told Sammie a bit earlier, not mentioning his previous misgivings about controlling the lives of everyone at the mountain. “We will not allow anything like this to occur here or else we should hang it up now. I will not allow a caste system under my watch. We will make this a society of protocol, honor, and discipline. It will also be a high-tech and highly motivated community that eventually emerges from this mountain.” He passed around to each one at the table a copy of his notes taken from the morning report. “This is our occupancy situation,” he explained.

  Military:

  Army:

  0-6 - Colonel - - 1 - Commanding Officer

  0-5 - Lt. Colonel - - 1 - Executive Officer

  0-4 - Major - 2 - S-2 (Intel) - 1 - S-4 (Quartermaster) - 1

  0-3 - Captain - - 2 - Maint/Engr - 1 - Weather - 1

  02 - 1st Lt - - 2 - Platoon Ldr -

  01 - 2d Lt - - 2 - Training - 1 - Personnel - 1

  E-9 - Sergeant Major - 1

  E-8 - First Sergeant - 1

  E-7 - Sergeant First Class - 2

  E-6 - Staff Sergeant - 3

  E-5 - Sergeant - - 5

  E-4 - Specialist - - 7 - Corporal - 3

  E-3 - Private First Class - 4

  Air Force:

  E-5 - Staff Sergeant - 5

  D-6 - Technical Sergeant - 5

  TOTAL MILITARY - 45

  Civilians:

  CIA - - 2

  University of Nevada, Las Vegas - (Scientific and Mech Engineers) - 3

  Department of Energy - 18 - (Includes 3 nuclear scientists)

  Department of Homeland Security - 23

  Department of Defense - 12

  Starquest Aerospace - 4

  Wackenhut Security - 7

  Desert Research Institute - 12

  Doctors - 4 - 1 Psychiatrist, 2 General Practice, 1 Optometrist

  Veterinarian - - 1

  Dentists - - 1

  Nurses - - 6

  Pharmacists - - 2

  Chaplains - - 3

  Teachers - - 4

  Electricians - - 4

  Carpenters - - 2

  Farmers from Beatty and Amargosa Valley 14 (counting spouses)

  Ranchers from Beatty - 16 (counting spouses)

  Miscellaneous from Beatty and Amargosa Valley - 140 (12 children under age 12)

  Military dependent spouses - 26 (all female)

  Children ages 14 - 18 years - 42 - (20 male, 22 female)

  Children to age 13 - 25 - (13 male, 12 female)

>   Pregnant women - 7

  TOTAL CIVILIANS: - 361

  Domestic pets - - 9 - (18 cats, 9 dogs 6 pets, 3 K9)

  Hamsters - - 2 (pets)

  Goats - - 2 kids, 8 nannies, 2 billies

  Hogs - - 3 sows, 1 boar

  Chickens - - 218 hens, 5 roosters

  Cattle - - 12 cows, 2 bulls

  Horses - - 4 mares, 6 fillies, 2 stallions, 12 geldings

  Burros - - 9 Jennies, 2 jacks

  Bradley provided everyone sufficient time to scan the list of occupants of the mountain before introducing his thoughts and intentions for the residents of the mountain.

  Addressing Robinson, he said. “Mayor Robinson, I do not feel it should be a military role to micromanage the civilian population in their personal lives. That is your domain. You will take care of their welfare and handle minor infractions. However, they may well come under the jurisdiction of the military on the job. We will exclude domestic jobs except where they might affect the security of the community. In that event, you will refer it to the military for disposition.”

  He glanced towards Stacey. “I am appointing Stacey to be your liaison with the military. She will submit your concerns, needs, and recommendations to a review committee who will determine if it meets the level of military intervention. The case of the Hubbard boy could well have been your jurisdiction for one or two offenses, and if continued, your call to upgrade the matter to the attention of my staff. Rather than go strictly by the book, we will use common sense on issues like this.”

  Bradley paused for a moment in thought. “Captain Callahan, I am leaving you out of the discipline chain for civilians. You will, of course, administer Article 15s and such to the military as needed. Serious matters with your troops will elevate to the same judicial jurisdiction of serious civilian crimes.”

  Continuing with addressing the group, he said. “We witnessed the disrespectful attitude of Ben Hubbard a moment ago.” “Disagreement is acceptable and to be expected. However, we cannot allow disrespect to fester at the mountain at any level. We cannot force respect — we must earn it.”

  His tone softened. “This is open to debate, but with this in mind, I suggest we require our young people to show the respect and courtesy of their peers and the older generation much like our youth did and like I did in OCS. We must create a sense of loyalty to our mission of survival and democratic future.”

  He again shifted to a more forceful tone of this voice. “That said — we will not tolerate rebellion, and we must establish the consequences now to knock any such notions in the bud now and before some radical among us decides to go that route. In dealing with people issues, we must somehow walk the gray line of not giving in to coercion and accepting strategic compromise if it will rehabilitate. We must remember that what is the floor to some is the ceiling for others. Each one must respect the other.”

  Bradley could tell he's hitting on a note of concern shared by his committee, military, and civilian alike.

  “Let me make it entirely clear to everyone. How we govern here on the mountain will certainly not be the democracy that we have known. Be assured that our way of governing today is not what we will hope for in the future. We will operate under martial law until then. On the protocol and respect issue, I propose for starters that we invoke the words, sir, madam, one’s rank, or title being standard protocol to show respect when officially addressing one another. This protocol does not apply to private relationships and conversations.”

  “How will we enforce this?” Robinson asked.

  “I don’t believe we should force this at first. What I propose carries the potential for many challenging issues, in particular among the adults of our people.”

  He looked at Robinson when he asked, “How do we deal with an adult who refuses to accept what I am proposing?”

  He apparently did not expect an answer when he continued, his raspy voice sounding forceful and confident. “We must somehow make the adults want to set examples, become mentors for our youth by showing diplomacy and respect for others and especially for our young men and women upon whom we will focus. Concerning the juveniles, I do not believe superiors issuing demerits would fly with them. I suggest we structure protocol requirements where the youth will want to police and enforce it themselves. I am obdurate that we establish an honor code to enforce a code of conduct. I am talking plain old manners and politeness, a discipline that compels respectful behavior. Manners are of more importance than laws. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize, or refine what we want to be. We will not tolerate gangs and such that are most likely now controlling our cities. Our people will lead lives of unimpeachable rectitude and integrity. We always need volunteers for the dirty jobs at the mountain, so one thought is our having the youth under the age of 18 select a disciplinary board of their peers to conduct meetings and draft volunteers by assigning penalties to protocol infractions based on the number of violations or the degree of intent or disrespect. The level of offense would dictate how they would assign violators to jobs requiring volunteers ranging from help in the kitchen, medical modules, to cleaning up after the animals. In no case, would we want this deemed punishment? Lack of inherence to protocol invokes penalties — not punishment that might fester into resentment or rebellion. We need to keep it good-natured where the offenders receive some teasing, but no one will hold the offense against the offender.”

  Robinson laughed in amusement. “If they must shovel enough animal poop, they may get the message and clean up their act.”

  Bradley chuckled. “If the offense rises to the level of insubordination, it then becomes a punishable offense to be dealt with by you or at the military level.”

  The group weighed and debated each item of concern for the next four hours to promulgate the doctrine or law and code of conduct of the mountain. All agreed that maintaining morale rated the top concern, followed by rationing of food and supplies, healthcare, security, education, training, and the law of the mountain.

  “The committee must recognize boredom being our worst enemy for maintaining morale,” Weston suggested. “Everyone 14 years of age or older should rotate through a cross-training course that includes not only military but every other job at the mountain also. This will occupy the teacher and the students plus prepare the residents for the day we venture out of the mountain.”

  “Captain Callahan,” Bradley said, addressing the company commander. “The sergeant major is correct. You will have the responsibility of taking the lead in training everyone at the mountain in defense. Train your enlisted personnel to become instructors for the civilians. Throw away your TMs on urban warfare and remember that our people must fight to save the mountain and eventually their crops and farm animals. They will not be riding around in a Humvee.”

  He focused on everyone as a group when he said, “Set your minds to thinking travel by foot or on horseback, which means they will need the same level of training that the horse soldiers used in the 1800s. They must defend against other small armies eventually, saying they need to know the trench warfare tactics we used in World War II and Korea for that. Vietnam does not count because they fought in jungles. What is more important, someday, many generations from now, our descendants must use the equipment and firepower we have stored here at the mountain. Our people must realize that war is a time-tested primal exercise and not a venue for intellectuals, polite politics, or poseurs. Combat should be the definitive zero-sum enterprise where the competent life and the inept die. With skill and luck, the righteous might prevail; however, there are no guarantees. There are no draws, and you cannot spin a loss, the kind of thinking that placed us here in the first place. We need to beat the enemy and a toxic ideology first, and then we deploy the diplomatic, social workers and nation builders. Fortunately, that is the makeup of our military here at the mountain. Our people today must receive this training and pass it on. Future generations will, of course, have access to our video and document archiv
es, but I believe we can serve them better if this knowledge is something passed on to them from the day they are born. That is why I am such a badass when it comes to the kids spending so much time with video games that they become an obsession.”

  Turning to Lt. Col. Jack Hayes - S-3 Operations, plans, and training, he said. “Colonel, it is your job to establish an overall training program where everyone in this mountain cross-trains. They need to be able to drop calculating the amount of fertilizer to apply to their crop and pick up a stinger missile and knock a helicopter out of the sky. The sergeant major, Mayor Robinson, you, and the others must ensure occupational training, so the knowledge of every specialist in this mountain carries on into the future. We will need new generations of doctors, dentists, etc., so your job is to make this happen.”

  The committee agreed to lots of debate mainly targeting the young to expose them to everything from combat tactics to cooking, teaching, care for the young and the old. Responsibility and confidence building remained a prime concern with competition built into every activity. They addressed the dependency on video games and video movies, deciding that made video games an earned privilege.

  “Here are some questions that I have listed to give you a guideline of what I believe we need to consider," Bradley said while he distributed a handwritten list composed earlier.

  1. Type of government, e.g., military, committee, elected, appointed, etc.

  2. Constitution.

  3. The method of dispensing justice against policy offenders.

  4. Care for terminally ill, mentally deficient, other incapacitating handicaps.

  5. Religion.

  6. Training and cross-training.

  7. Objectives.

  Population reproduction policies, e.g., Marriage, Control of overpopulation, control of under population, etc.

  News of the leaders of the mountain being in a group meeting quickly spread throughout the mountain, prompting nearby residents to drift to the vicinity of the Command Center and wait for word about the meeting. The meeting breakup and seeing the leaders walk out as a group created an awe-inspiring and reassuring sight to those close enough to witness it, especially when the participants walked through the gathered crowd showing an upbeat attitude, but without comment. Rumors about the purpose of the meeting inevitably circulated throughout the mountain.