Counterfire sts-16

by Keith Douglass

  Jaybird continued to shovel in the wet sand. A wave lapped up near the grave, then receded. Jaybird worked faster then, and soon had the trench filled. Only Rusty’s head now showed above the sand.

  The next wave lapped at the edge of the now-filled trench. Jaybird dug more sand, heaping it up on the length of the grave; then he took one last look at Rusty Ingles. Ingles had stopped sobbing. His eyes were half shut, and saliva drooled out of his mouth and dripped on the sand.

  The runner from a breaker hit the sand twenty feet away and rushed up toward Ingles’s head. It barely lapped at his neck, then soaked into the sand, and the rest rolled back toward the Pacific.

  “See that, Ingles, you bastard? Those waves are getting closer and closer. Pretty soon they will be washing into your face, and then over your head. Might be a good time to practice holding your breath. Tide will be in full in another hour. By then this spot will be under three feet of water. Just wanted you to know and to think about it, and to think about all those little boys you traumatized with your damn messing around. Just wanted you to know.”

  Rusty screamed. His voice came in a roaring blast of fury and anger and fright. The sound careened off the cliff and shattered in both directions up and down the coast. He screamed a dozen times until his voice turned scratchy.

  “Jaybird! Jaybird! That’s enough. I’m cured. I’ll never touch anything young again. A promise. Dig me out of here fast, Jaybird. Please. Come on. I never hurt you.”

  Jaybird squatted in front of Rusty Ingles and spat in his face, then turned away and walked straight up the beach to the base of the cliff. He sat down and watched the waves roll in.

  Rusty still screamed. The volume had dropped off and the raspiness had increased until now the sound came out more as a whimper than a scream.

  Jaybird watched a night gull sweeping the surf line looking for chum. It passed the head sticking out of the sand, circled around, came back, and lit on Rusty’s head. A sudden movement sideways by Rusty and the bird fluttered away.

  The next breaker rolled in a foot deep when it hit Rusty; it broke over his head and quickly rushed back to sea.

  A half hour later, Jaybird could see no sign of Rusty Ingles. He watched the tide surge in higher and higher. Just after midnight it peaked and headed back the other way. Jaybird didn’t need to watch anymore. He took the shovel, folded it, and walked north along Black’s Beach toward the Torrey Pines Beach parking lot.

  Someone might have seen his Chevy parked there while he was gone. It wouldn’t matter. Why would anyone remember it or remember his license-plate number? He knew what would happen in the surf. The outgoing tide would pull at the sand. The loose sand in the trench over Rusty would gradually wash away. By the time the last of the waves had left him, the trench would have been emptied, Rusty’s totally dead body rolled out and into the surf. The trench would be filled again with sand from the waves. Rusty would be washed back and forth by the waves, and perhaps pulled out to sea. In three days he would float and begin his journey down the coast, south with the current. He probably would be found one morning where he had floated up on the beach in National City.

  Jaybird drove home slowly. Several drivers honked horns at him on the Five freeway getting down to the Coronado Bay Bridge. He was thinking about Rusty Ingles. He had killed many men and some women in his life as a SEAL. This was the first time without his uniform on. The cause was as just. The world and the Coronado Little League would be much better off without Rusty Ingles around.

  He parked in front of his apartment and sat there. Something had changed. The act of killing would never be quite the same again, even in a tough firefight with the SEALs. No, he wouldn’t see the screaming face of Rusty Ingles as the last breaker rushed over his head and drowned out his screams. But he would remember the man, and the reason he had eliminated him from the face of the earth and interaction with mankind.

  How would Jaybird change? He would be a notch less raucous, a touch less of a loudmouth, maybe a bit more patient with his fellow SEALs and with civilians who fucked up. Yes, but just a touch. He was still Jaybird. He would report to Little League practice tomorrow and be the best damn coach in the world. He would never touch one of the boys, and he would be ultimately patient with them. He was their coach, their friend, their advisor and mentor. That was a lot to live up to.

  Hell, tonight had made him into a better coach, and a better SEAL, and a better man. He went up the steps into his apartment. He’d get eight hours sleep, then do a twenty-mile conditioning run, and be at the Little League field early for practice.

  Damn, he could hardly wait to get there and back to coaching baseball.

  SEAL TALK

  MILITARY GLOSSARY

  Aalvin: Small U.S. two-man submarine.

  Admin: Short for administration.

  Aegis: Advanced Naval air defense radar system.

  AH-1W Super Cobra: Has M179 undernose turret with 20mm Gatling gun.

  AK-47: 7.63-round Russian Kalashnikov automatic rifle. Most widely used assault rifle in the world.

  AK-74: New, improved version of the Kalashnikov. Fires the 5 .45mm round. Has 30-round magazine. Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute. Many slight variations made for many different nations.

  AN/PRC-117D: Radio, also called SATCOM. Works with Milstar satellite in 22,300-mile equatorial orbit for instant worldwide radio, voice, or video communications. Size: 15 inches high, 3 inches wide, 3 inches deep. Weighs 15 pounds. Microphone and voice output. Has encrypter, capable of burst transmissions of less than a second.

  AN/PUS-7: Night-vision goggles. Weighs 1.5 pounds.

  ANVIS-6: Night-vision goggles on air crewmen’s helmets.

  APC: Armored Personnel Carrier.

  ASROC: Nuclear-tipped antisubmarine rocket torpedoes launched by Navy ships.

  Assault Vest: Combat vest with full loadouts of ammo, gear.

  ASW: Anti-Submarine Warfare.

  Attack Board: Molded plastic with two handgrips with bubble compass on it. Also depth gauge and Cyalume chemical lights with twist knob to regulate amount of light. Used for underwater guidance on long swim.

  Aurora: Air Force recon plane. Can circle at 90,000 feet. Can’t be seen or heard from ground. Used for thermal imaging.

  AWACS: Airborne Warning And Control System. Radar units in high-flying aircraft to scan for planes at any altitude out 200 miles. Controls air-to-air engagements with enemy forces. Planes have a mass of communication and electronic equipment.

  Balaclavas: Headgear worn by some SEALs.

  Bent Spear: Less serious nuclear violation of safety.

  BKA, Bundeskriminant: Germany’s federal investigation unit.

  Black Talon: Lethal hollow-point ammunition made by Winchester. Outlawed some places.

  Blivet: A collapsible fuel container. SEALs sometimes use it.

  BLU-43B: Antipersonnel mine used by SEALs.

  BLU-96: A fuel-air explosive bomb. It disperses a fuel oil into the air, then explodes the cloud. Many times more powerful than conventional bombs because it doesn’t carry its own chemical oxidizers.

  BMP-1: Soviet armored fighting vehicle (AFV), low, boxy, crew of 3 and 8 combat troops. Has tracks and a 73mm cannon. Also an AT-3 Sagger antitank missile and coaxial machine gun.

  Body Armor: Far too heavy for SEAL use in the water.

  Bogey: Pilots’ word for an unidentified aircraft.

  Boghammar Boat: Long, narrow, low dagger boat; high-speed patrol craft. Swedish make. Iran had 40 of them in 1993.

  Boomer: A nuclear-powered missile submarine.

  Bought It: A man has been killed. Also “bought the farm.”

  Bow Cat: The bow catapult on a carrier to launch jets.

  Broken Arrow: Any accident with nuclear weapons, or any incident of nuclear material lost, shot down, crashed, stolen, hijacked.

  Browning 9mm High Power: A Belgium 9mm pistol, 13 rounds in magazine. First made 1935.

  Buddy Line: 6 feet long, ties 2 SEALs together i
n the water for control and help if needed.

  BUD/S: Coronado, California, nickname for SEAL training facility for six months’ course.

  Bull Pup. Still in testing; new soldier’s rifle. SEALs have a dozen of them for regular use. Army gets them in 2005. Has a 5.56 kinetic round, 30-shot clip. Also 20mm high-explosive round and 5-shot magazine. Twenties can be fused for proximity airbursts with use of video camera, laser range finder, and laser targeting. Fuses by number of turns the round needs to reach laser spot. Max range: 1200 yards. Twenty round can also detonate on contact, and has delay fuse. Weapon weighs 14 pounds. SEALs love it. Can in effect “shoot around corners” with the airburst feature.

  BUPERS: BUreau of PERSonnel.

  C-2A Greyhound: 2-engine turboprop cargo plane that lands on carriers. Also called COD, Carrier Onboard Delivery. Two pilots and engineer. Rear fuselage loading ramp. Cruise speed 300 mph, range 1,000 miles. Will hold 39 combat troops. Lands on CVN carriers at sea.

  C-4: Plastic explosive. A claylike explosive that can be molded and shaped. It will burn. Fairly stable.

  C-6 Plastique: Plastic explosive. Developed from C-4 and C-5. Is often used in bombs with radio detonator or digital timer.

  C-9 Nightingale: Douglas DC-9 fitted as a medical-evacuation transport plane.

  C-130 Hercules: Air Force transporter for long haul. 4 engines.

  C-141 Starlifter: Airlift transport for cargo, paratroops, evac for long distances. Top speed 566 mph. Range with payload 2,935 miles. Ceiling 41,600 feet.

  Caltrops: Small four-pointed spikes used to flatten tires. Used in the Crusades to disable horses.

  Camel Back: Used with drinking tube for 70 ounces of water attached to vest.

  Cammies: Working camouflaged wear for SEALs. Two different patterns and colors. Jungle and desert.

  Cannon Fodder: Old term for soldiers in line of fire destined to die in the grand scheme of warfare.

  Capped: Killed, shot, or otherwise snuffed.

  CAR-15: The Colt M-4Al. Sliding-stock carbine with grenade launcher under barrel. Knight sound-suppressor. Can have AN/PAQ-4 laser aiming light under the carrying handle. .223 round. 20- or 30-round magazine. Rate of fire: 700 to 1,000 rounds per minute.

  Cascade Radiation: U-235 triggers secondary radiation in other dense materials.

  Cast Off: Leave a dock, port, land. Get lost. Navy: long, then short signal of horn, whistle, or light.

  Castle Keep: The main tower in any castle.

  Caving Ladder: Roll-up ladder that can be let down to climb.

  CH-46E: Sea Knight chopper. Twin rotors, transport. Can carry 25 combat troops. Has a crew of 3. Cruise speed 154 mph. Range 420 miles.

  CH-53D Sea Stallion: Big Chopper. Not used much anymore.

  Chaff: A small cloud of thin pieces of metal, such as tinsel, that can be picked up by enemy radar and that can attract a radar-guided missile away from the plane to hit the chaff.

  Charlie-Mike: Code words for continue the mission.

  Chief to Chief: Bad conduct by EM handled by chiefs so no record shows or is passed up the chain of command.

  Chocolate Mountains: Land training center for SEALs near these mountains in the California desert.

  Christians In Action: SEAL talk for not-always-friendly CIA.

  CIA: Central Intelligence Agency.

  CIC: Combat Information Center. The place on a ship where communications and control areas are situated to open and control combat fire.

  CINC: Commander IN Chief.

  CINCLANT: Navy Commander IN Chief, atLANTtic.

  CINCPAC: Commander-IN-Chief, PACific.

  Class of 1978: Not a single man finished BUD/S training in this class. All-time record.

  Claymore: An antipersonnel mine carried by SEALs on many of their missions.

  Cluster Bombs: A canister bomb that explodes and spreads small bomblets over a great area. Used against parked aircraft, massed troops, and unarmored vehicles.

  CNO: Chief of Naval Operations.

  CO-2 Poisoning: During deep dives. Abort dive at once and surface.

  COD: Carrier Onboard Delivery plane.

  Cold Pack Rations: Food carried by SEALs to use if needed.

  Combat Harness: American Body Armor nylon-mesh special-operations vest. 6 2-magazine pouches for drum-fed belts, other pouches for other weapons, waterproof pouch for Motorola.

  CONUS: The Continental United States.

  Corfams: Dress shoes for SEALs.

  Covert Action Staff: A CIA group that handles all covert action by the SEALs.

  CQB: Close Quarters Battle house. Training facility near Nyland in the desert training area. Also called the Kill House.

  CQB: Close Quarters Battle. A fight that’s up close, hand-to-hand, whites-of-his-eyes, blood all over you.

  CRRC Bundle: Roll it off plane, sub, boat. The assault boat for 8 SEALs. Also the IBS, Inflatable Boat Small.

  Cutting Charge: Lead-sheathed explosive. Triangular strip of high-velocity explosive sheathed in metal. Point of the triangle focuses a shaped-charge effect. Cuts a pencil-line-wide hole to slice a steel girder in half.

  CVN: A U.S. aircraft carrier with nuclear power. Largest that we have in fleet.

  CYA: Cover Your Ass, protect yourself from friendlies or officers above you and JAG people.

  Damfino: Damned if I know. SEAL talk.

  DDS: Dry Dock Shelter. A clamshell unit on subs to deliver SEALs and SDVs to a mission.

  DEFCON: DEFense CONdition. How serious is the threat?

  Delta Forces: Army special forces, much like SEALs.

  Desert Cammies: Three-color, desert tan and pale green with streaks of pink. For use on land.

  DIA: Defense Intelligence Agency.

  Dilos Class Patrol Boat: Greek, 29 feet long, 75 tons displacement.

  Dirty Shirt Mess: Officers can eat there in flying suits on board a carrier.

  DNS: Doppler Navigation System.

  Draegr LAR V: Rebreather that SEALs use. No bubbles.

  DREC: Digitally Reconnoiterable Electronic Component. Top-secret computer chip from NSA that lets it decipher any U.S. military electronic code.

  E-2C Hawkeye: Navy, carrier-based, Airborne Early Warning craft for long-range early warning and threat-assessment and fighter-direction. Has a 24-foot saucer-like rotodome over the wing. Crew 5, max speed 326 knots, ceiling 30,800 feet, radius 175 nautical miles with 4 hours on station.

  E-3A Skywarrior: Old electronic intelligence craft. Replaced by the newer ES-3A.

  E-4B NEACP: Called Kneecap. National Emergency Airborne Command Post. A greatly modified Boeing 747 used as a communications base for the President of the United States and other high-ranking officials in an emergency and in wartime.

  E & E: SEAL talk for escape and evasion.

  EA-6B Prowler: Navy plane with electronic countermeasures. Crew of 4, max speed 566 knots, ceiling 41,200 feet, range with max load 955 nautical miles.

  EAR: Enhanced Acoustic Rifle. Fires not bullets, but a high-impact blast of sound that puts the target down and unconscious for up to six hours. Leaves him with almost no aftereffects. Used as a non-lethal weapon. The sound blast will bounce around inside a building, vehicle, or ship and knock out anyone who is within range. Ten shots before the weapon must be electrically charged. Range: about 200 yards.

  Easy: The only easy day was yesterday. SEAL talk.

  Ejection seat: The seat is powered by a CAD, a shotgun like shell that is activated when the pilot triggers the ejection. The shell is fired into a solid rocket, sets it off and propels the whole ejection seat and pilot into the air. No electronics are involved.

  ELINT: ELectronic INTelligence. Often from satellite in orbit, picture-taker, or other electronic communications.

  EMP: ElectroMagnetic Pulse: The result of an E-bomb detonation. One type E-bomb is the Flux Compression Generator or FCG. Can be built for $400 and is relatively simple to make. Emits a rampaging electromagnetic pulse that destroys anything electronic in a 100 mile diam
eter circle. Blows out and fries all computers, telephone systems, TV broadcasts, radio, street lights, and sends the area back into the stone age with no communications whatsoever. Stops all cars with electronic ignitions, drops jet planes out of the air including airliners, fighters and bombers, and stalls ships with electronic guidance and steering systems. When such a bomb is detonated the explosion is small but sounds like a giant lightning strike.

  EOD: Navy experts in nuclear material and radioactivity who do Explosive Ordnance Disposal.

  Equatorial Satellite Pointing Guide: To aim antenna for radio to pick up satellite signals.

  ES-3A: Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) intercept craft. The platform for the battle group Passive Horizon Extension System. Stays up for long patrol periods, has comprehensive set of sensors, lands and takes off from a carrier. Has 63 antennas.

  ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival.

  Executive Order 12333: By President Reagan authorizing Special Warfare units such as the SEALs.

  Exfil: Exfiltrate, to get out of an area.

  F/A-18 Hornet: Carrier-based interceptor that can change from air-to-air to air-to-ground attack mode while in flight.

  Fitrep: Fitness Report.

  Flashbang Grenade: Non-lethal grenade that gives off a series of piercing explosive sounds and a series of brilliant strobe-type lights to disable an enemy.

  Flotation Bag: To hold equipment, ammo, gear on a wet operation.

  Fort Fumble: SEALs’ name for the Pentagon.

  Forty-mm Rifle Grenade: The M576 multipurpose round, contains 20 large lead balls. SEALs use on Colt M-4A1.

  Four-Striper: A Navy captain.

  Fox Three: In air warfare, a code phrase showing that a Navy F-14 has launched a Phoenix air-to-air missile.

  FUBAR: SEAL talk. Fucked Up Beyond All Repair.

  Full Helmet Masks: For high-altitude jumps. Oxygen in mask.

  G-3: German-made assault rifle.

  Gloves: SEALs wear sage-green, fire-resistant Nomex flight gloves.

  GMT: Greenwich Mean Time. Where it’s all measured from.

  GPS: Global Positioning System. A program with satellites around Earth to pinpoint precisely aircraft, ships, vehicles, and ground troops. Position information is to a plus or minus ten feet. Also can give speed of a plane or ship to one quarter of a mile per hour.