by Dale Brown
CINCPAC's order. "A couple F-16s from here checking it out, maybe a P-3
subchaser diverted to Zamboanga Airport or Bangoy Airport near Davao-er,
sorry, they call it Samar International Airport now-to take some
pictures. Apparently the Chinese feel our presence is threatening.
CINCPAC agreed. No more flights within fifty miles."
"A fitting end to a perfectly lousy day, " Stone said, straightening his
uniform and heading toward the reviewing stand for the ceremony. Major
General Richard "Rat" Stone was the commander of the now disbanded
Thirteenth Air Force-the principal American air defense, air support,
and logistics support organization in the Republic of the Philippines.
General Stone-whose nickname was short for "Rat Killer" after a strafing
run in his F-4 along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Vietnam had killed dozens
of rats with 20-millimeter cannon fire-commanded the twenty different
organizations from five major operating commands at Clark Air Base.
Principal of all the organizations on his base was the Third Tactical
Fighter Wing, composed ofF- 16 fighter-bombers and F-4G "Advanced Wild
Weasel" electronic warfare and defense suppression fighters; and the
6200th Tactical Fighter Training Group, who operated the various
tactical training ranges and fighter weapons schools in the Philippines
and who ran the seven annual "Cope Thunder" combat exercises to train
American and allied pilots from all over the Pacific. The Third
Tactical Fighter Wing, whose planes had the distinctive "PN" letters on
the tail plus either the black "Peugeots" of the Third Tactical Fighter
Squadron or the "Pair-O-Dice" of the Ninetieth Tactical Fighter
Squadron, flew air-to-air and air-to-ground strike missions in support
of American interests from Australia to Japan and from India to Hawaii.
Clark Air Base had also been home to a very large Military Airlift
Command contingent of C-130 Hercules transports, C-9 Nightingale flying
hospitals, C- 12 Huron light transport shut tIes, and HH-53 Super Jolly
and HH-3 Jolly Green Giant rescue and special-operations helicopters.
The 374th Tactical Airlift Wing shuttled supplies and personnel all
across the South Pacific and would, in wartime, deliver troops and
supplies behind enemy lines. The Ninth Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron,
the Twentieth Aeromedical Airlift Squadron, and the Thirty-first
Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron all provided medical airlift
support and would fly rescue missions over land or water to recover
downed aircrews-these were the organizations that first welcomed the
American prisoners of war from Vietnam in 1972. Clark also housed the
353rd Special Operations Wing, whose MC-130E Combat Talon aircrews
trained to fly psychological warfare, covert resupply, and other "black"
missions all across the Pacific. The base also supported the other
American and Filipino military installations, including Subic Bay Naval
Station, Sangley Point Naval Station, Point San Miguel Air Force
Station, Camp O'Donnell, Camp John Hay, Wallace Air Station, Mount
Cabuyo, Mactan Airfield, and dozens of Philippine Coast Guard and
National Guard bases. In essence, Clark Air Base had been a vital link
to the Pacific and a major forward base for the United States and its
allies since it opened in 1903. Now it was all being handed back to the
Philippineshanded back to them during some of the most volatile and
dangerous times in the country's history. Stone's gaze moved from his
country's flag to the throngs of noisy protesters outside the perimeter
fence less than a kilometer away. At least ten thousand protesters
pressed against the barbed wire-topped fences, shouting anti-American
slogans and tossing garbage over the brick wall; Stone had arranged
armored personnel carriers every one hundred yards along the wall
surrounding the base to counter just such a demonstration. The
Americans inside those carriers were armed only with sidearms and
tear-gas-grenade launchers, and the Filipino troops and riot police
outside the gates had nothing more lethal than fat rubber bullets. They
were being pelted by rocks and bottles so badly that the carrier's crews
dared not poke their heads out or even open one of the thin eye-portals.
The throngs could easily overrun them all if they were stirred up.
Occasionally a shot could be heard ringing out over the din of the
crowd. Stone realized that, after weeks of these protests, he no longer
jumped when he heard the gunfire. The Thirteenth Air Force commander had
aged far beyond his fifty years in just the last few months. Of no more
than medium height, with close-cropped silver hair, piercing blue eyes,
broad shoulders narrowing quickly to a trim waist, and thin racehorse
ankles, Stone was a soft-spoken yet energetic fighter pilot who had
risen through the ranks from a "ninetyday-wonder" Officer Training
School pilot candidate during the Vietnam War to a two-star general and
commander of a major military installation defending a principal
democratic ally and guarding America's western flank. In the past year,
however, he had found himself supervising a degrading, ignoble
withdrawal from the base and the country he had learned to love so well.
It was deeply depressing. From a contingent of nearly eleven thousand
men and women only twelve months earlier, Stone had assembled the last
remaining two hundred American military personnel on the mall in front
of the reviewing stand, to march one last time in parade. Although
there were supposed to be ten persons from each of the twenty resident
and tenant organizations on the base, Stone knew that most of the two
hundred men and women who marched before him were security policemen,
who had been hand-picked to ensure the safety of General Stone and the
other Americans from Clark AB as they departed that day. Part of the
reason for the huge demonstration outside the perimeter fence was the
presence of the two Filipino men on the reviewing stand with Stone:
Philippine President Arturo Mikaso, and First Vice President Daniel
Teguina. Teguina had carried the cry for the Philippines to cut all
ties with the West and to not renew the leases on American military
bases. Unlike the refined and elderly Mikaso, Daniel Teguina liked to
be in the public eye, and he carefully polished his image to reflect the
young radical students and peasants that he believed he represented. He
dressed in more colorful, contemporary clothes, dyed his hair to hide
the gray, and liked to appear in nightclubs and at soccer matches. The
National Democratic Front, despite reputed ties to the New People's
Army, the organization that controlled the Communist-led Huk insurgents
in the outlying provinces, flourished under the Mikaso-Teguina coalition
government. Under Mikaso's strong popular leadership, the military
threat to the government from the extremist Communist forces subsided,
but the new, more radical voices in the government were harder to
ignore. It didn't take long for a national referendum to be called
after the 1994 elections, which forbade the President to extend t
he
leases for American bases any further. The referendum passed by a
narrow margin, and the United States was ordered to withdraw all
permanent military forces from the Philippines and turn control of the
installations to the Philippine government within six months. Second
Vice President General Jose Trujillo Samar, who was not present at the
ceremonies, shared the majority of Filipinos' distaste for American
hegemony, and he fought hard for removal of the bases. Leaving, Rat
Stone was out of a job. Over the slowly rising screaming and yelling
from the protesters, the American airmen marched in front of the
reviewing stand, formed into four groups of fifty, and were ordered to
parade rest by Colonel Krieg, acting as the parade adjutant general.
Surrounding the grassy mall were two sets of bleachers, where guests of
the government and a few American family members and embassy personnel
watched with long faces the lowering of the colors for the last time
over Clark Air Base. Banks of photographers, television cameras, and
reporters were clustered all around the reviewing stand to capture the
ceremonies. While several network news companies were on hand, no live
broadcast of the ceremony was permitted. General Stone had felt, and
the Air Force concurred, that a live broadcast might cause widespread
demonstrations all across the country. That was also the reason no
high-level American politicians were on hand. The official transfer had
been made in the safety of Washington, D.C., weeks ago. President Mikaso
stepped forward to the podium as a taped trumpet call was played. The
crowd began to cheer, and an appreciative ripple of applause issued from
the bleachers. When the music stopped, Mikaso spoke in flawless
English: "My friends and fellow Filipinos, we are here to mark a
historic end, and a historic beginning, in the relations between the
Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America. On this
day of freedom and independence, we also mark a significant milestone in
the future of the Philippines. "For over ninety years, we have relied on
the courage, the generosity, and the strength of the people of the
United States for our security. Such an arrangement has greatly
benefited our country and all its people. For this, we will be
eternally grateful. "But we have learned much over these long years. We
have studied the sacred values of democracy and justice, and we have
strived to become not just a dependency of our good friends in the
United States, but a strong, trusted ally. We are here today to
celebrate an important final stage of that education, as the people of
the Philippines take the reins of authority of our national security
responsibilities. We are thankful for the help from our American
friends, and we gratefully recognize the sacrifices you have made to our
security and prosperity. With your guidance and with God's help, we take
the first great step toward being a genuine world power. . Mikaso spoke
eloquently for several more minutes, and when he was done, appreciative
applause made its way from the bleachers all the way out beyond the
wall, over the crowds. The people clearly loved their President. But
Teguina listened to the speech and Mikaso's praise for the United States
with growing impatience and disgust. He loathed the Americans and had
always resented their presence. As for Mikaso, he owed him nothing.
He'd agreed to this hybrid coalition only after he'd realized he didn't
have enough votes to win the presidency himself. As taped music was
played over the PA system, Mikaso, Stone, and, reluctantly, Teguina,
positioned themselves in front of a special set of three flagpoles
behind the reviewing stands. An honor guard stepped onto the stand and
positioned themselves around the flagpoles. As Mikaso placed a hand
over his heart in tribute, the Philippine flag was lowered a few feet in
respect. Then, as "Retreat" was played, the American flag was raised to
the top of the staff, then slowly lowered. "Why is our flag lowered?"
Teguina whispered, as if to himself. When no one paid him any attention,
he raised his voice: "I ask, why is the Philippine flag lowered first? I
do not understand "Silence, Mr. Teguina, " Mikaso whispered. "Raise
the Philippine flag back to the top of the staff, , " he said, his voice
now carrying clearly over the music. "It is disrespectful for any
national flag to be lowered in such a way. "We are paying honor to the
Americans-"
"Bah!" Teguina spat. "They are foreigners returning home, nothing
more." But he fell silent as the American flag was lowered and the
honor guard began folding it into the distinctive triangle. When the
flag was folded, the honor guard passed it to General Stone, who stepped
to Arturo Mikaso, saluted, and presented it to him. "With thanks from a
grateful nation, Mr. President, " Stone said. Mikaso smiled. "It will
be kept in a place of honor in the capital, General Stone, as a symbol
of our friendship and fidelity."
"Thank you, sir." At that, the two men looked skyward as a gentle roar
of jet engines began to be heard. Flying over the base and directly down
the mall over the reviewing stand were four flights of four F-4 Phantom
fighters, followed by a flight of three B-52 bombers, all no more than
two thousand feet above ground-and everyone could clearly see the twelve
Harpoon antiship missiles hanging off the wings of each B-52. The
audience in the bleachers applauded and cheered; the crowd outside the
gate was restlessly cheering and shouting at the impressive display. But
Daniel Teguina decided he had had enough. This... this American love
feast was too much for a native Filipino. He pushed past Stone and
Mikaso and quickly low ered the Philippine flag from its pole, unclipped
it, and reattached it to the empty center pole where the American flag
had just been removed. "What in God's name are you doing, Teguina?"
Mikaso shouted over the roar of the planes. Teguina ordered one of his
bodyguards to raise the Philippine flag. He turned, glaring at Stone,
and said, "We are not going to defer to Americans any longer. This is
our land, our skies, our countryand our flag!" As the flag traveled up
the pole, Stone heard one of the most chilling sounds he'd ever
experienced-the screams of fury, anger and, ultimately, jubilation
coming from the thousands outside the gates. As the Philippine flag
reached the top of the pole, the screams reached a deafening, roaring
crescendo. Teguina and Stone stared long and hard at each other, while
President Mikaso began babbling apologies for his First Vice President's
behavior. Thus ended the American presence in the Philippines. After
the ceremonies quickly ended, Rat Stone made his way to the air terminal
to supervise the final departure-he still preferred not to call it an
evacuation-of American military personnel from Clark Air Base. He
couldn't shake the feeling deep in his gut that this cessation of mutual
defense arrangements had happened too quickly, too abruptly. The
skirmish just last week in the S
pratly Islands was still fresh in his
mind. And so was the look in Daniel Teguina's eyes... it chilled him
to the bone. No, Rat Stone decided, this would not be the last time he
would see the Philippines. ... The question was when. HIGH TECHNOLOGY
AEROSPACE WEAPONS CENTER (HAWC), NEVADA MONDAY, 13 JUNE 1994, 0715 HOURS
LOCAL "Tell me this is a joke, sir, " Lieutenant Colonel Patrick
McLanahan said to Brigadier General John Ormack, "andwith all due
respect, of course-I'll beat your face in." John Ormack, the deputy
commander of the High Technology Aerospace Weapons Center-nicknamed
HAWC, the Air Force's secret flight-test research center that was a part
of the Dreamland complex-didn't have to look at the wide grin on
McLanahan's face to know that he wasn't seriously threatening bodily
harm to anyone. He could tell by McLanahan's voice, wavering with pure
excitement, that the thirty-nine-year-old radar navigator and
flight-test project officer was genuinely thrilled. They were standing
in front of the newest, most high-tech aircraft in the world, the B-2
stealth bomber. And best of all, for the next several months, this
B-2-nicknamed the "Black Knight"belonged to him. "No joke, Patrick, "
Ormack said, putting an arm around McLanahan's broad shoulders. "Don't
ask me how he did it, but General Elliott got one of the first B-2A test
articles assigned to Dreamland. That's one nice thing about being
director of HAWC-Elliott gets to pull strings. This one has been
stripped down quite a bit, but it's a fully operational modelthis was
the bomber that launched the first SRAM-II attack missile a few months
back."
"But they just made the B-2 operational, " McLanahan pointed out. "They
don't have that many B-2s out there-just one squadron, the 393rd,
right?" Ormack nodded. "What are we doing with one?" McLanahan asked.
"Knowing Elliott, he put the squeeze on Systems Command to begin more
advanced weapons tests on the B-2, in case they begin full-scale
deployment. Air Force stopped deployment, as you know, because of
budget cutbacks-but, as we both know, General Elliott's projects aren't
under public scrutiny." Ormack went on. "He was pushing the shift from
nuclear to conventional warfighting strategy to Congress, just as Air
