The Arizona State Guard Trilogy

by Jeffrey M. Fortney

  "Do you have a solution?" asked LTC Marcus Roman.

  "Yessir! We do!" replied Major Dillon. For the next several minutes, Dillon laid out the logistics, chain of command, and overall strategy for the operation. Dillon handed the floor to Hebert who laid out the movement of personnel via air and ground transportation into the combat zone and gave tactical orders to each unit. The lower ranking officers stepped up one at a time to outline their implementation of their tactical orders in general terms, each followed by a senior NCO explaining how they would implement the orders given to the troops.

  Their plan involved introduction of the attack force into the battle area via helicopters, deployment of personnel to establish a security perimeter, deployment of scouts. From time to time, Roman or Templeton would supply enemy actions or movements in response to the attacking forces operations. Hebert, Dillon, and their personnel responded to each enemy attack, modifying their strategy and tactics as necessary. Over the next few hours, the battle scenario moved back and forth until, ultimately, it ended with the Headhunters and Marshals capturing the enemy force.

  "Very nicely done, ladies and gentlemen! Very nicely done!" said Marcus as he and Templeton clapped. Marcus looked towards the senior NCO who had whispered to Hebert and Dillon. "Master Sergeant Kimble, may I ask what you whispered to the captain and the major?"

  MSG Jack Kimble, a tall, powerfully built black man snapped to attention, "Sir, I merely said 'Battle of Ia Drang'."

  Marcus' smile spread wider. "How did you recognize the deployment of forces, Master Sergeant?"

  "Sir, when I when attended the Senior Leader Course, Sergeant Major Basil L. Plumley came to speak to the class. He gave an outstanding presentation with slides showing the North Vietnam Army troop deployments during that battle," replied Kimble. "He walked us through the engagement, explained Colonel Hal Moore's strategic and tactical decisions, then explained what worked and what didn't."

  Marcus nodded his thanks and said, "At ease, Master Sergeant...and good job!"

  Placed at ease, Kimble smiled, then said "Thank you, sir!"

  LTC Roman turned to the group and continued, "In every engagement, the smallest detail or piece of information can make the difference. The Battle of Ia Drang is one of the most discussed and dissected engagements in U.S. Army history. The layout of this canyon mimics the terrain Colonel Moore and his unit fought in. That knowledge should be shared up and down the chain of command where it can be integrated into the decision making process."

  Pausing to let this sink in, Lieutenant Colonel Roman took a drink of water from the bottle Templeton passed to him. Nodding his thanks to Templeton, Marcus resumed his critique of the exercise. "Sergeant First Class Williams, I noticed that you suggested additional air support. How did you come to that conclusion?"

  SFC Francine Williams drew herself to her full height of 5 feet 5 inches tall. "Sir, I remembered from reading Colonel Moore's book that they received fresh ammo, supplies, and medivac from their Air Cav helos. I thought if the resupply started earlier and included additional troops, we could shift the advantage in our favor earlier in the engagement."

  "Exactly!" Marcus responded enthusiastically. "Get in there 'firstest with the mostest', overwhelm the enemy, and keep the pressure on them. Well done, Sergeant First Class! Major Dillon, Captain Hebert...during this exercise you sought out the advice of your noncommissioned officers, used their knowledge and expertise to your advantage, and executed a successful engagement. The two of you worked as a team to direct your personnel in support of each other and operated well outside your comfort zones, showing appropriate levels of aggression and safety. Well done! Well done..."

  Marcus looked like he was about to continue when a sergeant entered the tent. "Begging your pardon, colonel. Major Greene in the Communications vehicle sent me to get you. ASGuard HQ on the comm, sir!"

  "Thank you, Sergeant Remmer. Tell the major I'm on my way." The sergeant raced off and Marcus turned once more to the troops in the tent. "As I was saying...well done, everyone! Dillon, Hebert...let's get everyone fed. Sergeant Major Templeton, let's go!" Marcus and his senior NCO left the tent and made their way to one of the Arizona State Guard's new Stryker Combat Vehicles. This one was set up as the unit's primary communications vehicle, capable of staying in touch with their headquarters in Phoenix from any point within the State of Arizona.

  Marcus climbed into the vehicle through the rear hatch. "Evening, Jeb! Whatcha got?"

  Major Jeb Greene waved his commanding officer to a chair and console. "HQ called about three minutes ago. The general wants to speak with you, sir!"

  Marcus drew a card from his pocket and inserted it into the communications unit, then typed in his password using the keyboard. The small screen on the front of the system began to flash the words "Stand by." A moment later the words disappeared to be replaced by the image of the commanding general of the Arizona State Guard, General Titus Augustus Roman.

  "Good to see you, son!" said the general. "How are the field exercises going?"

  Marcus responded, "Better now, sir. I think they're starting to get the idea."

  General Roman smiled and nodded, "Good, good. Look, we've got some hot new intel coming in. I want you, your executive officer, and your top sergeant back at HQ ASAP! Have your unit return at best ground speed."

  "Copy that, sir," Marcus said. "We're on our way! Centurion, out!" The general's image nodded and cut the link from his end. Marcus logged off at his end, pulled his card from the comm system panel, and placed it in his pocket. "Let's go, Temp! Jeb, contact Captain Hills and have him fire up the chopper."

  Greene nodded and used his personal comm unit to call the unit's senior helicopter pilot. Marcus and Templeton left the communications vehicle and Marcus commed for Dillon, Hebert, and Major Tommi Thompson to meet him at the nearby chopper pad. Thompson was Marcus' new executive officer and doubled as the intel officer on the battalion staff.

  As Marcus and Templeton reached the chopper pad, they were met by Captains Fred Hills and Luella Mingus, who were completing their preflight inspection of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The captains stopped to salute, which Marcus and Templeton return promptly.

  "How's our bird looking, Frodo...Lu?" Marcus asked using the captains' call signs.

  Captain Hills paused to answer, "She's good to go, sir. Lu and I were just about to hop in and crank 'er up!"

  Seeing Dillon and Hebert running up, Marcus said, "Go ahead, we'll be right with you." He and his top sergeant stepped away from the helicopter to speak with Dillon and Hebert.

  "We're being recalled to HQ. Temp, Tommi, and I will fly back in the chopper. Matt...Alex, you two round up the troops, break camp, and hit the road for Phoenix, best time," Marcus told the two officers. At that point, Major Thompson showed up and Templeton filled her in quickly.

  Behind them, the blades of the UH-60 began to turn. Very quickly, they reached speed. Marcus waved Thompson and Templeton to the chopper then gave a couple of last minute orders to Dillon and Hebert. With that completed, Marcus turned and followed the others to the helicopter. He climbed inside the aircraft and slid the door closed. He clicked his seat belt together and donned a headset. "Frodo, we're all set back here!"

  "Roger that, Colonel! Lifting off!" responded Hills. The helicopter leaped into the air, circled the camp, then turned south to head towards Phoenix.

  Chapter 2

  June 3rd

  Arizona State Guard HQ

  Phoenix, AZ

  The UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter settled softly to the helipad. LTC Roman thanked Captains Hills and Mingus for a safe flight, then hung up his headset before exiting the helicopter. MAJ Thompson and SGM Templeton followed their commanding officer as he crossed the helipad to the vehicle waiting for them.

  "Welcome back, Colonel...Major, Sergeant Major," said Sergeant Lorelei Kempner as she opened the door for Marcus and his teammates. Once everyone was seated in the vehicle, Kempner put it in gear and accelerated towar
d the massive structure that served as Arizona State Guard Headquarters. The base had been an old armory surrounded by fields that were quickly converted for use by the ASGuard. Over the past couple of years, new structures had risen at a staggering pace, to include the new HQ Building.

  SGT Kempner brought the vehicle to a sudden halt by the front doors. Before she could get out to open Marcus' door, he thanked her for the ride and opened the door himself. The three members of ASGuard 1st Tactical Battalion, code named Roman's Legion, bounded up the steps to enter the building.

  Marcus, Thompson, and Templeton showed their IDs to the guards on duty and were told to meet General Roman in Briefing Room #1 on the second floor. Moments later, they entered the briefing room. Seated at the head of the main table was Marcus' father, the commanding general of the Arizona State Guard, General Titus Augustus Roman. Titus Roman was a graduate of West Point and a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer.

  Seated to the general's right was Kenneth Halsted, Colonel, U.S. Army Special Forces (retired). Halsted had been in Titus' unit years before when the two men were much younger. Years later, he had served as Marcus' commanding officer in Afghanistan. Now, Halsted served as a Senior Agent in Charge (SAIC) in the new Combined Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation (the CBII), successor to the old Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. With the consolidation of the two government agencies under the new United States Government in Denver, Colorado, Halsted served as the CBII liaison to the State of Arizona.

  Seated next to Halsted was one of his agents, Phillip Caldwell. A shaky truce existed between Marcus Roman and Phillip Caldwell that dated back to their days at West Point. Caldwell often expressed that Marcus received favoritism because of his father and grandfather. In fact, Marcus not only didn't receive favoritism but had to work that much harder to prove his own worth instead of coasting in the shadow of his ancestors. Caldwell had tried, and failed, to interfere with Marcus' career on several occasions but always avoided being caught. Now, the two men nodded to one another, but otherwise kept their distance.

  Standing behind General Roman was Major Bennett Garry, the general's aide. Garry nodded and smiled at Marcus, Thompson, and Templeton. The general welcomed Marcus and his personnel and introduced Caldwell and Thompson before getting down to business.

  "I hate to pull you and your unit out of the field, but Ken has some hot intelligence to share with us. Since your unit is going to spearhead our operations in this upcoming campaign, I wanted you, Tommi, and Temp in on this meeting," said the general. "Ken, the floor is yours!"

  Halsted pressed a button on the console in front of him and the room filled with a quiet hum, a side effect of a subsonic field being generated around the room to prevent anyone from intercepting their discussion. He pressed another button and the lights dimmed in the room and a holographic projection of a map of the North American continent appeared at the opposite end of the table. Halsted picked up a small control unit and prepared to use its built-in laser pointer to highlight key points on the projection.

  Halsted cleared his throat then began his briefing. "The People's Socialist States of America continue to close their borders to further immigration from their territory to the United States. Their economy is in a state of collapse and President-for-Life Carrington is pulling out all stops to increase their population and tax base. The number of people immigrating from the USA to the PSSA has declined to virtually nil. Apparently, the booming success of the U.S. economy and increases in levels of personal freedoms has changed more than a few minds." Halsted moved the laser pointer's dot along the borders between the USA and PSSA states.

  "The number of skirmishes along the borders has increased as PSSA units have attacked our security posts. Thus far U.S. forces have remained in defensive mode and repulsed the attacks with minor casualties on both sides." He shifted the pointer to a series of figures in each of the PSSA states. "Intel shows that the PSSA has opened their borders to immigrants from Russia, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and parts of Central and South America. They're not being particular about who they invite in either. Since they started this massive immigration program, they've experienced increases in criminal activity of all types and infectious diseases in each of their states."

  "And to add to our troubles, the Grand Caliph of the Islamic Global Caliphate has issued another fatwa calling for all of his loyal subjects worldwide to take their jihad to all Western nations. Especially to the Great Satan...us! He includes the PSSA in that, by the way."

  The intel officer pressed another button and black dots began to appear across the map, in both the USA and PSSA. "And here is the major problem for us and the PSSA. Before the breakup of the old United States, it was known that foreign terrorist organizations had begun to infiltrate the country and set up training camps across the country. Since the breakup, these terrorists have consolidated their efforts and moved closer to the next phase of their operations, whatever those might be. In the past two weeks, there have been terror attacks on places of public assembly across the continent, mostly in the PSSA. Two malls have been the targets of large groups of gunman performing hit and run attacks with over 350 people killed and close to 1,000 injured. Bomb attacks have occurred in schools and libraries resulting in another 300 killed and more than 1,500 injured. The number and variety of attacks is growing daily. It's only time before they move on to something big!" Halsted signaled to Caldwell then returned to his seat.

  Caldwell pressed some buttons on the console before him then rose to address those in the room. The projected map zoomed in to focus on the State of Arizona. "The CBII has been working to infiltrate a Radical Islamist group in southeastern Arizona...with very limited success. We have identified three possible camps in Gila, Cochise, and Graham counties. They are located somewhere in the Pinal Mountains southeast of Phoenix, the Chiracahua Mountains northeast of Douglas, and the Pinaleno Mountains southwest of Safford. With the increase in terror activity, the CBII believes it's time to move on the camps to attempt to apprehend any terror cell members present and see what they know. That's where the Arizona State Guard comes into play." Caldwell took his seat, nodding to Halsted and General Roman and pointedly ignoring Marcus.

  Halsted picked up the briefing. "The CBII is requesting a joint operation with the ASGuard to strike all three camps simultaneous. The goal is to apprehend and interrogate potential jihadist training at the camps. However, there is likelihood that the terror camp personnel will fight to the death to avoid capture, which places us at a disadvantage. We want prisoners and will avoid killing to get them. They are more than willing to die, if it will take any of us with them!"

  General Roman stood up. "And that's why I asked for you to be at this meeting, Colonel. We need to work up an operational plan for the strikes on those camps. Folks, let's get to it."

  ***

  June 3rd

  Northwestern, AZ

  At that moment, approximately 140 miles northwest of Phoenix and 25 miles southeast of Kingman, two SUVs, a converted school bus, and several large trucks pulled off of U.S. Route 93 onto a dirt road. The dirt road led eastward from the paved highway into the mountains beyond. It wound up and around hills and across dry desert washes. The vehicles took over an hour to travel the dusty 25-mile road to their destination. The vehicles finally jarred to a stop at a gated security fence that surrounded a large mining facility. A relatively new sign attached to the gate read "Omega Mining Corporation - Omega Mine #1".

  Armed guards patrolled the perimeter of the fence and a guard stepped from a small structure near the gate. He approached the lead SUV and spoke in Arabic to the man in the passenger seat. Suddenly, the guard stepped back and signaled his comrade in the gate shack to open the gate.

  The gate opened and the SUV drove into the compound, followed closely by the bus, the large trucks and the trailing SUV. The SUVs pulled over and stopped next to an office building made up of three mobile buildings connected together
. The bus and the large trucks drove over to park near a large warehouse set close to the mine entrance.

  Personnel came out of the office building. They were led by a tall man with thick, gray hair and a Middle Eastern complexion. This was Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Zahrani, a multi-billionaire from Saudi Arabia and he was in Arizona on a mission. Al Zahrani stepped forward to greet his chief lieutenant, Mustafa Muhammad Al-Fakeeh. The younger man bowed before his leader, his forehead touching the elder's hand.

  "Rise, my faithful lieutenant, you have done well bringing more equipment, supplies, and personnel for our mission. Come, join me for refreshments as we discuss what we shall do next," said Al Zahrani waving Al-Fakeeh and the others into the office building.

  Out in the compound, the bus' door opened and a number of men, young and old, disembarked. One of those men was Rafiq Aswad, the 19 year old son of a wealthy Saudi businessman. On his wrist, he wore the gold watch his father had given to him the day he had left to join the jihad against the Great Satan. His father had shown him the inscription he'd had engraved on the back of the watch: Wear this watch, my son, when you strike at the hearts of the infidels and I will share in your victory! Allahu Akbar!

  A foreman had the men drop their bags next to the bus and go over to help unload the large trucks. Rafiq was helping to carry a large box when he snagged the watch's gold metal band on one edge of the box, damaging a link on the band.

  In the office building across the compound, Al-Fakeeh was briefing his commander, Al Zahrani. "The agricultural airplanes we had to purchase through several false companies, as you told us to, Amir! Getting enough of our brothers who are already trained to pilot those planes was simple enough. The planes should begin arriving soon."