by Unknown
“I’m sorry Sir I don’t understand.”
“If he really was a Special Forces Sergeant he wouldn’t have fully trusted you he would have found a place to watch you for a bit to see what you might do. I suspect the he saw you leave, followed you to the mosque and watched you go in and come out with your security friends.”
“I hadn’t thought of that I’m sorry.”
“Its water under the bridge now, it would explain why the police and the other security forces couldn’t find him. He would have felt that he had been compromised and made his way out of the city.”
“Yes if that’s what happened that would make sense.”
“Thank you for coming, go now.” the General said abruptly.
Layth was startled by being dismissed as he was. He looked at the General for a moment that was ignoring him so he turned and left the office. General Harb was thinking how many of these idiots there were in the security forces Layth had no idea what he had just done and the type of man, the Special Force Sergeant if that’s what he was, he was dealing with. General Harb was very familiar with US Special Operations from his time in Iraq he knew not to underestimate them. Odds are the Sergeant did exactly that, once he left Layth’s house he waited nearby to watch to see what he did next and he was rewarded by seeing the idiot leave and go to the mosque.
He needed to speak with the Sultan as soon as possible and brief him, in his own opinion that the Sergeant was in fact a Special Forces NCO sent to find out about the ISA. He also suspected that the men on the plane out of Ford Airport were also US military, possibly even the Sergeants team. The General wasn’t surprised by this; he was surprised it took this long for them to send people in.
The General hurried over to the Sultans residence normally he would need an appointment to see the Sultan but he had always been told by his Excellency that if it was important he would never need an appointment, if this wasn’t an emergency he didn’t know what was.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The A-Team flew into Grayling and surprised the hell out of everyone at the airfield. There was a tower and if a plane was a few miles out they had radio contact with them. Yet the radio in the Cessna didn’t work they were taking a chance flying in blind and it was possible could be shot down.
Luck was still with them they weren’t shot down but when the plane landed it was quickly surrounded by Soldiers ready to shot first and ask questions later. The Special Forces Soldiers poured out of the plane and identified themselves which was a great relief to the Soldiers who had surrounded the plane. The SF Soldiers moved to the hanger where they were originally in isolation when they got there. Captain Wantabee immediately left to go to General Gregory’s HQ to let him and Colonel Flak they were back and ready to be debriefed. Once he reported in Colonel Flak asked if he knew the status of the other A-Team, Captain Wantabee answered negative he didn’t know their status.
Colonel Flak ordered Captain Wantabee back to the hanger and for his men to get cleaned up, clean their weapons and get some hot chow. They would be debriefed tomorrow morning by some intel people who would speak to each of the men separately. The Captain acknowledged his orders snapped to attention, turned and returned to the hanger.
The Soldiers in the hanger were happy to be back they had a difficult time seeing what was happening in their own country and feeling there wasn’t anything they could do about it, they felt that they had abandoned their countrymen. Captain Wantabee returned told them what Colonel Flak had ordered he the cleaned his weapon, got something to eat and then grabbed some rack time.
The following morning the intel Soldiers were there setting up in the offices in the hanger where they would conduct the individual interview of the SF Soldiers. The purpose of that was to make sure the team wasn’t compromised while in the field, in addition each Soldier had a different perspective of what they saw and happened. Lots of time this would unveil additional intel that they didn’t even know they knew. The interviews went on for most of the day and the men felt they had just given birth to an intel Soldiers when they were done. They were told they would not be going back to Camp Parks anytime soon that there may be follow on missions.
At about 0246 a truck came rolling up to the main gate at Camp Grayling, it was the other A-Team it had taken them almost a day and a half to cover a hundred-seventy miles, it was slow and painful. They continued to double back to make sure they weren’t followed, they also stopped to observe what was going on at a couple of farms where they saw several people executed for what they had no idea. They were made to kneel in the field while a man was standing behind them and fired a pistol to the back of their head. After the executions the field hands went straight back to work while the bodies laid there.
Once they arrived at Camp Grayling they were escorted by the MP’s back to the airfield and into a separate hanger from where the other A-Team was located. Captain Truhill reported to General Gregory at his headquarters once there he briefly met with the General and Colonel Flak. Captain Truhill was told the same thing as Captain Wantabee, go back to the hanger get the men squared away, weapons cleaned, cleaned up, hot chow and some rack time. The intelligence analysts would be along the following morning when everyone was rested. Captain Truhill came to attention and saluted, did an about face and exited the office and headed back to the hanger. Once back at the hanger he quickly gave everyone on the team the run down.
Bright and early the next morning the intelligence analysts arrived to debrief the SF Soldiers, just like the other A-Team they separated the men and debriefed them individually it took all day to do it and the SF Soldiers like the other were exhausted at the end of the day. They were also notified by Colonel Flak that they wouldn’t be returning to Camp Parks and to plan for follow operations but they were allowed to return to the first hanger where the other A-Team was, it was a good reunion and they were all happy to see no one was hurt.
The intelligent analysts told Colonel Flak they would be ready to brief the Command Staff in forty-eight hours. General Watkins was notified by shortwave and Colonel March responded that the General would be there along with Colonel Clayton, Colonel March as well as several other Officers from the Air Force. From the Air Force Colonel Maitland from Travis, Colonel Datak and Colonel James from Davis-Monthan and lastly from Oakland AFB Lieutenant Colonel Baroon (recently promoted) would all attend. The bulk of the senior Officers to be present would be Air Force, General Watkins needed to know for planning purposes what they were capable of right now, if they had the capability this was going to be a huge Air Force operation, everything from bombing to moving troops.
All of the Officers began to arrive two days later, there was a lot of activity on post and security had been raised although already high. General Utero and Colonel Harkin also came in from Fort Huachuca this was almost the entire Senior Command Staff of the United States Military outside of the Navy and Marines who had an operation of their own currently underway.
That morning everyone met at the HQ’s building conference room the two A-Teams were also present to answer any question after the analysts gave their briefing which was the first item on that day’s agenda. Everyone was present and sitting down General Watkins gave the go ahead for the MI Analysts to begin their briefing. Sergeant First Class Louise Watchman was the speaker and for the next three hours she covered ISA origins, how large it was covering several states and how they were able to cover and claim so much area, she covered food, water and other politics within the Caliphate itself especially the recent assassination of the Supreme Commander Steven Tuma and the man who took over General Harb. The MI personnel knew who General Harb was as well as his professional background from Iraq and then to the US.
They then got into the mass murders of the civilians who refused to convert to Islam as well as the men, women and children they were holding as slaves. They had no problem executing or working them to death. This information being passed to the Command Staff was startling to say the least they had no i
dea how bad it was for the average citizen within the Caliphate. It was horrendous to have to go through the aftermath of the event then have to deal with the Islamic fanatics. It was unbelievable and as expected the men and women in the room were ready to go after them right now. General Watkins called the room to order and told SFC Watchman to continue with the briefing.
She went on to talk about the Army of Allah and its infrastructure, the weapons, vehicles and weapons systems. She told them they still had no idea of the number of Soldiers they had but that their training was minimum at best, however she did expect that to change under General Harb who was a professional Soldier and knew his business. Yet it would take him months to get a fighting force well enough trained to take them on.
SFC Watchman wrapped up her briefing and asked if there were any questions, she also pointed to the A-Team members that were here and they could answer any questions at all. No one raised their hands everyone was quiet lost in thought over what they just heard and not happy at all. They had no reason not to believe what they were just told, what they were interested in was what were they going to do about it.
With no questions being asked General Watkins dismissed the A-Teams but ordered them to remain on-call in the event someone needed additional information. Then Colonel Clayton spoke up, “Do we know the location of their Garrisons? I know we don’t know troop strength but do we know where the troops are even at?”
SFC Watchman answered, “Sir we know the location of Garrisons in and around Dearborn that’s about it. We also know that they have Soldiers currently probing our forward areas. As far as where everyone else is I’m afraid we don’t know.”
“Thank you Sergeant Watchman.” said Colonel Clayton.
General Watkins asked for any more questions, there were none and with that MI Soldiers and A-Teams left the conference room. General Watkins asked for a briefing from the Air Force and what was its status at this time. The Air Force Officers had discussed earlier who would lead off the briefing and they agreed it would be Colonel Maitland from Travis.
Colonel Maitland discussed the number of aircraft primarily long range bombers they had which was thanks to the folks over at 309th AMRG at Davis-Monthan. He also went onto say that they had plenty of armament to present at Travis to level half of the cities in the United States, not that he was calling for that, but to demonstrate how much was on hand. He also stated the B-29’s and B-52’s could drop huge payloads but it would be carpet bombing. The aircraft could easily reach any area in the Midwest and drop their payloads then return to Travis.
He also briefed that they had devised a way to install fuel bladders into the C-47’s, B-24’s, B-29’s and B-52’s that would give them additional range or to transfer fuel to other locations so other aircraft could be refueled. He had the pilots they needed for all aircraft; he just needed the go order to get everything moving forward, he ended his briefing and handed off to Colonel James.
Colonel James touched a lot of the same bases that Colonel Maitland did stating that his fighter wing at Davis-Monthan was ready to go, he had about fifty P-51 and P-52 Mustangs, as well as C-47’s and C-24’s. The B-52’s and B-29’s had been moved to Travis, he too said his pilots were trained and ready to go.
Colonel Baroon was up next and she gave her update on Oakland Air Force Base, most of the aircraft there was from the museums and surrounding airfields. They had fighters and several bomber of their own however many of the aircraft went to support the ongoing Naval operations she stated she didn’t believe that they could support any action in the Midwest at this time if they had to support the Navy and guard the West Coast. General Watkins agreed with her and told her at this time he wasn’t considering involving Oakland in any new operations that he was well aware that her plate was full. General Watkins thanked her for her update.
The next issue up was that the Air Force needed a Commander and this was put forth by the Air Forces Officers in the room. Not only did they need a Commander they also needed a new home base they had all talked it over and it was decided that Colonel Datak was the Senior Air Force Officer, however General Watkin told them as nice as that was he didn’t care who was more senior it was about who could get the job done, they all agreed, regardless their decision took that into account, there decision was still that Colonel Datak was still the best Officer. General Watkins agreed and congratulated the Colonel and told him he was also promoted to Brigadier General, something they had all agreed on.
General Watkins was unaware of the next agenda item; Colonel Clayton stood and called the entire room to order. General Watkins was confused and still sitting, “What’s the meaning of this Colonel?”
“Sir will you please rise and stand at attention?” asked Colonel Clayton.
General Watkins thought for a moment, then thought what the hell and stood. Colonel Clayton went on, “Attention to Orders, Major General Theodore Watkins you are promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as overall Commander of all United States Forces.”
Colonel March and General Utero moved to either side of General Watkins and removed the two stars from his lapel and pinned on the three stars of a Lieutenant General. “You know you really don’t have the authority to promote me.” said General Watkins.
“Maybe so.” said Colonel Clayton. “The entire Senior Command for all of the Services discussed it and unanimously voted to give you the promotion. Frankly Sir we have several Major Generals and we needed someone with more rank. Also, the Navy and Marines are asking for their own Commanders.”
“Thank you all for your vote of Confidence.” said General Watkins. “I will do my best to ensure we are moving forward the best we can to protect the country. As far as the Navy and Marines go we need to complete their current operation to see where that stands.”
“Yes Sir.” the room answered in unison.
“Are you done?” General Watkins asked Colonel Clayton.
“Yes Sir that was it.”
“Alright then we need to get down to business and plan out this operation. We’re going to get our country back from these fanatics and rid the world of them. I want it known that I have no problem with moderate Islam I have always applauded them and their willingness to integrate with our country. However, I will not tolerate Islamic fundamentalism to take root on our land in our country. So let’s get busy and get rid of these vermin.”
The operation was going to be huge far larger than what it took to take back the bay area. This was going to take back a large area of land covering several states. First they needed to get more A-Teams into the field and get more intel over the next couple of weeks this was Colonel Claytons job as he was the Special Operations Commander. Next he wanted the infantry units on Camp Grayling in the field he wanted solid lines pushing out to the south and to make sure they cover the flanks. Once those units were in place they would begin limited offensive operations which would also include the Armor units.
He wanted 1st Battalion, 24th Marines to cover the rear end of Camp Grayling it was all up to them to make sure they weren’t attacked from behind. As for the Air Force he wanted one of the fighter wings moved to Grayling airfield to support the infantry, Army and Marine Corps units. If they needed the B-29’s and 52’s to bring in armament for them then do it and get it done yesterday. They spent the next two days planning out a full assault on the ISA of course taking breaks for food and a bit of rest. The plans wouldn’t be absolute until they had further intel which the A-Teams would gather.
At the end of the second day they broke up they had a lot on their plate right now and it was time to get the ball rolling. Everyone left; Colonel Clayton went to the Communications Center and issued his orders back to Camp Parks. The rest of the Commanders followed suit and sent out movement orders back to their respective commands prior to leaving Camp Grayling.
Colonel Clayton then went to the hanger where two of his A-Teams were located. He met with both teams as a whole and congratulated them on their successful mission. He tol
d them there are follow on missions and there are five other A-Teams that are on their way and he expected them here with the next twenty-four hours. They wouldn’t be here to meet them though they were going back out into the field. The Colonel then pulled out several maps of Michigan and some of the other areas Captain Wantabee’s team was going to be dropped into or near Lansing they wanted to know what troops there, strength and weapons.
The other team was going in or near Chicago one of the primary objectives is that they needed to gain control over the oil refineries around the Great Lakes and that was going to start with Chicago. Like the other mission it was about finding what the hell is going on around the area and if the ISA is there, troop strength and weapons. They also wanted to know who was holding the several of the refineries in that area. The bad news the Colonel shared with the team was that they had a week in the area and then needed to get back to Grayling ASAP.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
General Harb and the Sultan gathered together their most senior Commanders to discuss the possibility that United States Forces had invaded the Caliphate. They had all heard the rumors of United States Forces in northern Michigan but hadn’t considered them a threat because all of the US forces they had engaged in so far had run away. General Harb assured the Commanders that this wouldn’t always be the case he pointed out that the Marines and the Army unit they chased north had stood and fought. By doing so they killed the Supreme Commander and were never caught, escaping further north. This caused the men to quiet down General Harb always found men in the Islamic movement to be great braggarts, largely with nothing to back up the claims.
They all decided it was time to do something about the US forces in the north and rid the Caliphate of their stench. General Harb stated they needed to begin to move all of their forces north toward Camp Grayling it’s near where they were engaging some of the US Soldiers. He had ordered the Garrison in Lansing to move immediately north to join the smaller units already near in the field; they were expected to link up with the units in the north within forty-eight hours.
