by Steven Linde
For the people…
Steven Linde
For the people (rev.18), Solider Up Book 4
Copyright © 2016 by Steven Linde
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Steven Linde
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Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter One
Sergeant Major Greg Valliant was the senior NCO for 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, and nicknamed ‘Geronimo’. He had been a paratrooper his entire career, which started when he was seventeen years old. He’d been stationed all over the world and was a combat veteran of Panama, Grenada, the first Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq (the second war). He was nearing mandatory retirement soon and had no idea what he was going to do next. The Army was all he knew, he had no family to speak of, and he was divorced with three grown kids, none of whom talked to him anymore. It’s not that he was a bad husband or father, he was an absentee father, and he was never home. He was either in the field or overseas some place generally in a CBA (combat area). In his mind, he was a good husband by providing everything for his family, except for the one thing they truly desired, him. His children didn’t hate him, they didn’t know him and he was gone so much he was ‘dad’ only in name. They never had the chance to bond with him and get to know him, when he was around, he was this bigger than life persona they had heard so much about.
The Sergeant Major was forty-eight years old, very fit, five-feet-nine-inches tall, steely blue eyes, blonde hair cut tight to the scalp. He was gung-ho through and through he loved the paratroopers, next year was his last year, he would be at mandatory retirement, thirty years in the Army and he had no idea what he was going to do next. “Good Morning Sergeant Major!” yelled Specialist Hardy as he walked by, “Did I ask you a question Specialist?” said the Sergeant Major.
Specialist Hardy stopped like a deer caught in the headlights, “No Sergeant Major you didn’t I was trying to be polite.”
“Well I didn’t ask you to be polite to me now did I?” barked Greg.
Specialist Hardy came to the position of Parade Rest, “No Sergeant Major you didn’t I’m sorry.”
“Never apologize Specialist it’s a sign of weakness. Now get out of here before I find a detail to put you on.”
“Yes Sergeant Major, thank you Sergeant Major.”
Specialist Hardy came to attention, turned and hustled out of the Sergeant Majors AO while wondering what the heck just happened. Sergeant Major Valliant was amused; he walked away with a smile on his face heading back to his office.
Sergeant Major Valliant had a full schedule today, first up was a meeting with his commander Colonel David Oven, followed by the Battalions NCO selection board, which was followed by a lunch with the Soldier of the Quarter, then off to watch a friends son graduate from the snake eaters course on smoke bomb hill. Busy days were good the days flew by, his ex-wife had been calling him for some reason, he had no idea why, they didn’t talk much anymore and when they did it usually wasn’t good. He had been ducking her calls for over a week now he didn’t have time for the games anymore. He hadn’t dated anyone since the divorce almost three years ago; sure he’d met a few women here and there he liked. His schedule didn’t permit it, he was gone often and like his former spouse, they wanted a man that was around a lot more than he was.
Arriving back at his office there was an unpleasant surprise waiting for him, Cindy, his former spouse. He thought about ducking back out but it was too late, she spotted him and was walking towards him. “I’ve been calling you day and night, why won’t you return my calls?” inquired Cindy.
“You’ve been calling?” said Greg. “I must have missed them.”
“Quit the BS Greg it doesn’t work on me.” stated Cindy flatly.
“Alright, let’s not discuss any of this here, let’s go to my office.”
Greg and Cindy walked back to his office with Cindy trailing a few steps behind. This was the first time since the separation and subsequent divorce that Cindy had been in his office, heck since she’s been on post. He couldn’t help and wonder what was so important that she had to make a personal appearance. Once back inside the office he closed the door behind them and offered her a seat on the couch, she sat, and he took one of the large chairs that faced her.
“What brings you to my neck of the woods?” asked Greg.
“Your neck of the woods? I still live in Fayetteville and haven’t moved or left the planet.”
“What do you want Cindy? You pretty much got everything in the divorce to include half my pension when I retire.”
“Have you talked to any of the kids lately?” she asked.
Now she had his attention, “Is this what this is all about, one of the kids?” said Greg.
“Partly, Rebecca is getting married next month and she wants you to walk her down the aisle. She told me she’s been calling you and you haven’t returned her calls either.” replied Cindy.
Greg was a bit perplexed, “Look I admit to not taking and returning your calls, but I’ve never gotten anything from Rebecca I swear.”
Cindy looked at Greg for a few moments, she was thinking to herself that Greg was a lot of things but a liar he wasn’t. He had always been honest with her, he could never lie to her, why Rebecca would lie to her about calling her father she wondered.
“Really?” said Cindy. “I wonder why she lied.”
Greg shrugged, “Let’s call her and find out.”
&
nbsp; Cindy couldn’t argue with that it was the quickest way to the truth; Cindy pulled out her cell phone and dialed her daughter’s number as well as placing it on speaker so Greg could hear.
“Hey mom.” said Rebecca.” Hi sweetheart, so you know I’m sitting here with your father. He swears he never got any calls from you and to be honest I believe him. What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry.” said Rebecca. “I haven’t talked to dad in over six months and now I want him to walk me down the aisle for my wedding, to a guy that I only met three months ago and he’s never met. I was afraid to tell him.”
Greg’s eyes widened in astonishment and then he sighed, “Rebecca why were you afraid to tell me, whatever gave you that impression that I would be angry?”
“Mom.” said Rebecca.
Cindy’s face turned beet red, “What did I do?”
“Mom, you said that dad would have a coronary when he finds out and it won’t be pretty.” stated Rebecca.
Greg quickly looked at Cindy thinking more divorce games, “Rebecca I want you to understand that I’m not angry about anything. If that’s what you want I support your decisions, I love you.”
“Thank you dad I love you too.” Rebecca said, he could tell she was crying, hopefully tears of joy.
“When do I get to meet the lucky young man?” asked Greg.
“Well dad that’s the other thing, he’s in the Army and in the field right now.”
Now Greg knew what the issue was, the news he was in the Army couldn’t have made her mom happy at all. “What outfit is he with? Greg asked.
“82nd dad. He’s a first lieutenant in your Battalion, Charley Company.”
Greg thought he knew the officer he was the company XO, “He’s the XO?” asked the Sergeant Major.
“Yes dad he is, is that a problem?” asked Rebecca.
“No, not with me.” said Greg. “I’ve met him several times; he comes across as a good Soldier and a good man as far as I know. Does he know you’re my daughter?” Now it was making sense the Lieutenant had been exceedingly nice to him over the past couple of months. He’d gone out of his way to say hi a few times, asked to eat lunch with him when he happened to run into each other at the PX. The Lieutenant knew and he was trying to make his way into the Sergeant Majors good graces. He also knew exactly where in the field he was, he was going to have a bit of fun with him before letting him know he knew. Teach him a lesson about not keeping secrets from the Sergeant Major.
“Yes dad he knows and he’s scared to death of you just like every Soldier on post. Please, please be nice to him, please dad.” Rebecca was begging him.
“Don’t worry I’ll take care of it, I won’t hurt him.” the Sergeant Major laughed, Cindy was staring at him this entire time, she knew he was up to something.
“Thanks dad, I love you!” said Rebecca and hung up.
Cindy was still staring at him, “What are you going to do?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” replied Greg.
“You’re up to something I know you.”
“You can’t be happy he’s in the Army.”
“I wasn’t at first I knew what could happen, however she grew up around the Army and with a father that was always gone. I decided not to interfere, she was well aware what could happen, it’s her life and she has to make her own mistakes.” said Cindy.
“You automatically assume the marriage is a mistake. We both know couples that have survived that Army and stayed married, she could end up like them. Just because you decided to leave doesn’t mean she will or their marriage will be anything like that. Have you even asked him if he was going to make it a career?” said Greg.
Cindy was fuming, “That’s not fair and you know it, I’m not going to rehash the divorce with you and no I never asked him if he was making it a career. I admit I may have jumped the gun some on that.”
Greg looked at her and shook his head, he got up and walked over to his desk, Cindy followed him with her eyes. “What are you going to do?” asked Cindy.
“Have a little fun with the Lieutenant.” smiled the Sergeant Major.
Chapter Two
The President of the United States, Jackson M. Washington, was six-foot three-inch’s tall, athletic build, salt and pepper graying hair; he was fifty-three years old. He had served in the Marines after College for four years and ended up getting out as a Captain after his first hitch. From there he started his political career by volunteering for certain candidates for Congress and the Senate that had a message that resonated with him. Back then he switched party affiliations often, like changing a pair of pants. He thought the message of the candidate more important than any party affiliation.
Jack was the first third party candidate to ever win a presidential election, he ran as an independent leaving the GOP and Democrats out in the cold. People had just got tired of the two parties and were seriously seeking change. Jack was in the right place at the right time, he had worked his way up through the ranks, and his launching pad for the presidency was as a Senator from Texas. As a Senator, he listened to his constituents and worked hard on their behalf. When he was on his breaks from Washington he returned to Texas and went door to door listening to what the people wanted. He had several offices located in his district and with each office, he had an open door policy.
After seven years in office, he was finally convinced by his colleagues on both sides of the isle to run for President even though they knew he was an independent. Once he announced his run it didn’t stop either side from recruiting him, but he stood his ground and stayed true to his values. He won in huge landslide the other guys never had a chance.
He was in his second year of this presidency and like his predecessors, he was still dealing with the wars in the Middle East and elsewhere. He was also dealing with the Russians; they were encroaching once again on all of their neighbors and attempting to reclaim their old satellite states. Unfortunately his predecessor, a Democrat, wasn’t tough enough on them and allowed the Russians free rein. The GOP predecessor before the Democrat wasn’t much better he allowed them to do whatever they wanted. Jack was now stuck with a policy that literally gave the Russians free reign. The only thing that stopped them was NATO and its push into the former Warsaw states, this was led by the Europeans, not the Brit’s, but the French, even though they weren’t NATO members. France had convinced NATO to help them; the U.S. abstained from the vote.
It turned out to be a huge cluster, the European nations militaries weren’t much without U.S. or British support. Both those countries thought it high time that the continental Europeans took control over their own destinies. The problem was for the past several decades, they had the protection of the United States and didn’t invest much in their own militaries, except for the Germans. The Germans had the money and were encouraged by the U.S. to grow their military. The issue was that the other Europeans as well as many countries around the world were very concerned about the growing German Military resurgence. After all, they had started two world wars and even after seventy plus years the world remembered. However, without a strong Germany there would be no other country to challenge them. Certainly not the French, they had surrendered both times during both World Wars and didn’t have much of a military budget these days. There special operations branch was the exception to the rule, they were doing very well in the regional conflicts around the world.
Jack moved from one world crisis to the next, then there were the problems here at home, his policies had shifted the economy from lackluster to booming. All of those people that had disappeared from the work force were now back and working. Congress was actually working together, since he was an independent there was no infighting between the two major parties, one trying to gain the upper hand, at least when it came to working with the President. Each side still claimed what victories they could, Jack was able to reunite the country and bring most everyone back together to move forward. His popularity in the polls was well into the eighties the
most popular president in history within his first term. He was also very popular with the military, he was their champion, they saw him as one of their own, once a Marine always a Marine. He went to bat for getting them better healthcare, pay raises, took a hard look at their current weapons system projects to determine how viable they were. The senior Pentagon brass along with their defense contractors needed to defend their projects to him. There were some he ordered closed, they seemed a waste of time and money, where that money could go to the troops and bettering their lives.
Jack was a busy man, July 4th had come and gone, the White House was well into the dog days of summer. He was looking to get away soon to see a ball game, he had the secret service make plans for an evening game so he could watch the Nationals play the Dodgers. He had three sons, ages twelve to twenty and they were all going, and mom had opted out. The game was set for two weeks from today on a Saturday night and the secret service had told him they were ready.
Chapter Three
Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story (JEBLC-FS), is a Joint Base of the United States military that is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia which is made up of Fort Story and Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek. It is also home to several SEAL Teams they are SEAL Teams 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 with a detachment from SEAL Delivery team one. About five miles away, whether anyone wanted to admit it or not, was Dam Neck which is part of NAS Oceana, home of SEAL Team 6.
