The Werewolf of Marines Trilogy
Page 60
“Kashmala, this is something for us to discuss, not for the men. Please, come with me,” she said, is a voice sweeter than he’d thought possible.
Then, locking elbows like junior high school friends, they walked off together, chatting happily.
“What was that all about?” Keenan asked, walking up.
“I don’t know. I think I’ve been propositioned,” Aiden said, watching in wonder as the two tilted back their heads and laughed.
“And Claire let her live?”
“Looks like it. You think . . . ?”
“I doubt it. But you never know,” Keenan answered.
Aiden glanced down at Keenan’s leg, or his prosthetic leg, to be more accurate. He rarely thought of it, but after seeing Keenan again as a varg, his missing leg whole, he wondered if Keenan ever thought about just staying varg. To him, Keenan’s prosthetic leg was part of the man, but he wasn’t in the colonel’s position. Maybe he’d feel differently if it was his leg that had been amputated.
“I saw Hozan baled when Kashmala came up,” Keenan said.
“Coward.”
“Or a smart man. He’s going to make a good Prime Alpha,” Keenan said.
“And I’m going to miss him, too,” he added after a moment.
An airman started loading the Leewekhelians in the flightline bus. Kashmala loaded last, but not before she and Claire hugged, kissing each other on the cheek.
Aiden didn’t know what to think of it. Two women? Was it possible? Did he even want it? Part of him was very afraid, but there was more than a bit of curiosity.
Kashmala got on the bus, and Claire stood there, waving as the bus left the hangar. She sauntered back with a smile on her face.
“I don’t know whether to envy or pity you,” Keenan said.
Aiden wanted to ask her what they two had talked about, but he didn’t know how to broach the subject. And Claire was maddeningly chatting about everything else under the sun.
A few minutes later, another airman came up and told them their car was waiting. They’d skip the terminal and go directly to the chartered 747 sitting on the tarmac.
Hozan came over for a last goodbye. Claire gave him a hug and a sloppy kiss, which seemed to embarrass him, goofy smile notwithstanding. Hozan and Keenan pounded each other’s backs.
“Grow into yourself, Aiden Kaas,” Hozan said when the two of them shook hands. “And remember, I am only a phone call away.”
Aiden got into the car, but he watched Hozan until the car was out of sight.
The 747 looked good to him. It said home, and despite leaving Hozan, he wanted to get back so bad he could taste it. The rest of the passengers would be getting on shortly, but the three of them were getting the VIP treatment. The car pulled up, and Keenan got out first, stretching before stepping to the airstairs. Claire started to get out, but Aiden couldn’t take it any longer.
He grabbed Claire’s hand and said, “You and Kashmala seemed pretty happy together, talking and laughing.”
“Well, she’s a sweet girl. And she likes us,” Claire said, a slight smile on her face.
“And?”
“And what?” she asked innocently.
“And not on your life, wolf-boy. I can’t blame her, but you’re mine, for better or worse. No sharing.”
She got out of the car, turned around and reached out a hand to Aiden to help him out.
“Come on, Aiden. Let’s go home. We’ve still got a wedding to finish planning, and I just might want to push the date up.”
With what he realized was relief, Aiden accepted her hand and got out of the car.
He gave her a kiss, then still holding her hand, turned to the big plane, and said, “OK, home it is.”
Thank you for reading The Werewolf of Marines Trilogy. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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Other Books by Jonathan Brazee
The Return of the Marines Trilogy
The Few
The Proud
The Marines
The Al Anbar Chronicles: First Marine Expeditionary Force--Iraq
Prisoner of Fallujah
Combat Corpsman
Sniper
The United Federation Marine Corps
Recruit
Sergeant
Lieutenant
Captain
Major
Lieutenant Colonel
Colonel
Commandant
Rebel
(Set in the UFMC universe)
Women of the United Federation Marines
Gladiator
Sniper (coming soon)
Werewolf of Marines
Werewolf of Marines: Semper Lycanus
Werewolf of Marines: Patria Lycanus
Werewolf of Marines: Pax Lycanus
To The Shores of Tripoli
Wererat
Darwin’s Quest: The Search for the Ultimate Survivor
Venus: A Paleolithic Short Story
Non-Fiction
Exercise for a Longer Life
Author Website
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[1] ILBE: Improved Load Bearing Equipment. This is the Marine replacement for the “deuce gear,” the individual load carriage and hydration system
[2] MOLLE: Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. This the current generation of load-bearing equipment and rucksacks.
[3] Second Fire Team: A Marine squad is broken down into three fire teams. Each team has four Marines.
[4] C-4: A common variety of the plastic explosive known as Composition C.
[5] M16: The standard rifle of the US and other national military. It is a semi-automatic rifle firing a 5.56mm round.
[6] Camp Pendleton: A large Marine Base located just north of Oceanside, California
[7] 29 Palms: Also known as “the Stumps,” this is a Marine Corps training base in the Mohave Desert in California.
[8] HM3: Hospital Corpsman Third Class. This is the rank of a Navy Corpsman, an E4. The comparable rank in the Marines would be a corporal.
[9] SWA: Southwest Asia huts. These are 116 X 32 tent frame buildings that make heavy use of plywood to give them more permanence.
[10] Balad: An Air Force Base in Iraq where the seriously wounded or ill are transported for further treatment out-of-country.
[11] WIA: Wounded in Action.
[12] SAW: Squad Automatic Weapon. The M249 is a light machine gun that fires the same 5.56 NATO round as the M16.
[13] DFAC: Dining Facility
[14] Peshmerga: A term used to describe armed Kurdish fighters. The term first came into usage during the 1920’s.
[15] Al Anfal Campaign: Meaning “Spoils of War,” and also known at the “Kurdish Genocide, it was ordered by Saddam Hussein in an attempt to exterminate all Kurds in Iraq. Over 100,000 Kurds were estimated to have been killed.
[16] Makorov: The standard Soviet military and police sidearm from 1951-1991.
[17] PT: Physical Training
[18] IED: Improvised Explosive Device. These were put together with whatever was on hand, and could be automatically or command detonated.
[19] AK47: The standard rifle for the Soviet Union and the most popular military rifle ever made.
[20] Os: Officers
[21] Silver Star: The third highest military award for valor.
[22] MEF: Marine Expeditionary Force. The higher headquarters for all Marine forces in Iraq.
[23] Navy Achievement Medal: A low-level award for meritorious service.
[24] Second Battalion, Fourth Marines. 1/6 would be First Battalion, Sixth Marines, and so on.
[25] Navy Cross: The second highest military award for valor.
[26] Casevac: Evacuated out of the area due t
o medical reasons.
[27] Green Zone: A secured area in Baghdad around the US embassy where most of the top civilian and military lived and worked.
[28] Firstie: A senior at the US Military Academy at West Point.
[29] Fort Benning: A large Army base in Georgia.
[30] Landstuhl: An Army hospital in Germany.
[31] AFN: Armed Forces Network.
[32] RPG: Rocket Propelled Grenade.
[33] S2: The branch of the battalion or regimental staff that deals with intelligence. The officer in charge is often referred to as “the Two.”
[34] CO: Commanding Officer.
[35] CG: Commanding General.
[36] XO: Executive Officer.
[37] Gunny: Usually a gunnery sergeant, the company gunny is the second highest enlisted Marine in a company and is in charge of ensuring that the Marines can complete the missions assigned them.
[38] Police Sergeant: A member of the company staff who handles supplies and company area upkeep.
[39] .50 cal: A large caliber machine gun usually mounted on a vehicle.
[40] NVD: Night Vision Device.
[41] MP: Military Police.
[42] PTSD: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
[43] Route Michigan: Code name given to the major north-south thoroughfare in Ramadi.
[44] AO: Area of Operations.
[45] PFT: Physical Fitness Test. This is done semi-annually by all Marines unless operational commitments or injuries preclude it.
[46] Big A: Slang for the Army, primarily the Army bureaucracy.
[47] VCP: Vehicle Checkpoint.
[48] RCT: Regimental Combat Team.
[49] COP: Combat Outpost.
[50] MRE: Meal Ready to Eat. The standard field ration for the military, mostly consisting of freeze-dried meals that were lightweight and easily carried.
[51] PK: A 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently used around the world.
[52] MBITR PRC 148: The “prick 148” is a small personal radio that can be carried by each Marine for inter-unit communications.
[53] SOP: Standard Operating Procedure.
[54] IP: Iraqi Polic
[55] Terry: slang for Taliban, as in “Terry Taliban”
[56] ILBE: Improved Load Bearing Equipment, the Marine Corps version of the Army’s MOLLE, the backpack and load-bearing harnesses that carry everything a Marine needs to live and fight.
[57] JTAC: Joint Terminal Attack Controller. This is a trained officer or enlisted man who can control close air support.
[58] CG: Commanding General
[59] FOB: Forward Operating Base
[60] Muj: slang for mujahideen.
[61] GMV: Ground Mobility Vehicle. Modified Humvee’s that give better performance and carry a greater variety of weapons.
[62] AO: Area of Operations
[63] PKM: A Soviet-designed 7.62 caliber machine gun capable of firing 650 rounds per minute.
[64] Barrett: The M82 or M207 Barrett is a .50 cal recoil-operated, semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle developed by the American Barrett Firearms Manufacturing company.
[65] SR-25: a smaller sniper rifle based on the M16 family of weapons but firing a 7.62 round.
[66] A-10: the A-10 Thunderbolt II, known as the Warthog. A ground support plane that provides immense firepower against ground targets.
[67] Lancer: the B-1 bomber.
[68] SAW: M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. A one-man machine gun firing the 5.56 round.
[69] Frog: the flame-retardant blouse worn by the military during the later stages of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The sleeves are digital cammies, and the torso is a one-color tan.
[70] JDAM: Joint Direct Attack Munitions, a guidance kit that uses GPS to convert unguided bombs to all-weather “smart munitions.”
[71] Asker: soldier
[72] Parangay: foreigner
[73] Teryaak: opium
[74] CG: Commanding General
[75] ROE: Rules of Engagement
[76] MRE: Meal, Ready to Eat. This is a prepackaged meal that could be carried into the field.
[77] WIA: Wounded In Action
[78] Terp: slang for interpreter
[79] CH-47: A large, Army twin-rotor helicopter
[80] Op-order: Operations order. This is the plan for any operations and covers the situation, mission, the enemy situation, admin and logistics, and communication.
[81] Operators: Slang for various special forces personnel form all branches of the service.
[82] NVD: Night Vision Device
[83] Polypros: polypropylene trousers and turtleneck designed to be worn under the digital cammies. These are also known as “silkweights.”
[84] Kreuzeung: a werewolf who has been turned as opposed to a “blood,” or one born into the tribe.
[85] PUC: Person Under Control—a term adopted to take the place of POW. If they were POWs they would have to be accorded certain treatment standards as required by the Geneva Convention.
[86] Pathan: A term used by foreigners to identify Pashtun people. It is usually considered derogatory.
[87] ANA: Afghan National Army
[88] Green-on-Blue: Slang for attacks made by the ANA on Coalition personnel.
[89] ANP: Afghan National Police
[90] HESCO: an easily deployed barrier system that is filled with earth.
[91] FLIR: Forward Looking Infrared, a cameras system that uses the infrared spectrum to see a target.
[92] HVT: High Value Target
[93] Nine-line: slang for a call for supporting air. There are nine lines of information which are given to enable a successful strike.
[94] Charlie Six: “Six” refers to the commander. Charlie Six would be the Charlie Company commander.
[95] Trunk Monkey: slang for the turret gunner on a vehicle.
[96] O: slang for officer.
[97] Pesh-kabz: a traditional knife developed in Iran and Afghanistan originally designed to penetrate armor.
[98] Meanong: Pashto for son or daughter of a dog
[99] Landstuhl: the US Army medical facility in Landstuhl, Germany.
[100] Jagraan: Major
[101] Bagram: the largest Coalition military facility in Afghanistan. It is located about 25 miles north of Kabul.
[102] TAD: Temporary Additional Duty
[103] Tavor TAR-21: an Israeli-made bullpup rifle that was developed to replace the M-16 in the Israeli armed forces. It fires a 5.56 round.
[104] MOUT: Military Operations in an Urban Terrain
[105] MARSOC: Marine Corps Special Operations Command
[106] O6: a colonel, as the sixth officer rank.
[107] Frocked: putting on the rank insignia after getting selected for promotion but before officially being promoted.
[108] BRAC: Base Realignment and Closure, a process by a US commission to close and realign bases as part of cost-cutting measures.
[109] USUHS: The Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, a school located on the grounds of Bethesda Naval Hospital that trains doctors for the armed forces.
[110] T4: Training day four in a school or course. T5 would be the fifth day of training.
[111] OCS: Officer Candidate School
[112] UCMJ: The Uniformed Code of Military Justice, the rules and regulations that govern actions by military personnel.
[113] “Had his six.” A reference to fighter pilots who knew their wingmen covered their six o’clock where they had no visibility. It grew to mean “had his back” throughout all branches of the service.
[114] MRE: Meal Ready to Eat. A complete meal given to servicemen to carry into a field environment.
[115] Hurricane seat: the back right hand seat in a Black Hawk, which due to the direction of spin of the rotors, is blasted with the most rotorwash when the windows are taken out.
[116] TAD: Temporary Additional Orders.
[117] UA: Unauthorized absence.
[118] Oneni ski:
“Mother fucker” in Uzbek
[119] ANP: Afghan National Police
[120] MCRD: Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Marine boot camp.
[121] MARSOC: Marine Corps Special Operations Command