by Geoff Wolak
Wilco:
Lone Wolf
Book 3
Copyright © Geoff Wolak
Started January, 2014
This book attempts to be historically accurate, technically correct for the most part, yet it is fiction. The author makes no claim that events depicted are based on real events, and points out that everyday soldiering is very boring – at least it was in 1985, when this story starts.
In 1985 there were no wars, and the Gulf Wars were a long way off, British soldiers spending their time training for conflicts that were more than a decade away.
Several MORONS have emailed me to ask why there is no mention of the Gulf Wars. Please read carefully, the story starts in 1985.
In order to make this more interesting, and to flow better, some of the command and control structures have been altered, standard operating procedures ignored or replaced. Real military life is quite dull, and a book about real life soldiering would be quite dull for the most part, so the story is fantasy, an escape, as all stories should be.
www.geoffwolak-writing.com
The Monday after returning from Mauritania – and with the sand now washed out, I cornered the Major and led him in to see the Colonel. ‘Need to chat,’ I said, and we grabbed chairs. ‘Been thinking about Bob Staines and his empire building.’
‘Us too,’ the Colonel quipped. ‘And at high levels.’
‘How about this, sir. We create a detachment here, call it ... Echo Detachment or something. It has me, Swifty and Tomo, part timers like Rocko and Slider, but it has an office with a troop captain, an Intel captain assigned. Future recruits like Tomo work out of it, regular training – and that’s what Bob wants, he wants full-time part-timers in “E” Squadron with good attitude and fit and ... not in the local drunk ward.
‘We train together, we keep busy, we show him a troop that is available, well trained, keen and ready, and full of talent. Rizzo and Stretch and others would train with us sometimes whilst staying where they are.
‘What you want ... is better oversight and a tight control, what Bob wants is his own private army – which on paper he would have, or at least think that he has.’
The Colonel said, ‘It’s not a million miles away from what we’ve discussed, but in the past we’ve kept “E” Squadron at a distance because they tended to get caught and killed, lots of bad publicity. But what we don’t want is a unit competing with us. If such a unit existed we’d have a lot less to do in peacetime.’
I nodded. ‘If I select and train people like Tomo, then I have a tight control on bad attitude, and some influence on jobs – and the inherent dangers. There should be less bad publicity.’
‘Agreed,’ the Major said. ‘Go sell Bob on the idea.’
‘How about we just do it,’ I suggested. ‘He can like it or lump it.’
‘Once it’s in place,’ the Colonel began, a glance at the Major, ‘he’d have to argue its disbandment, and with you and the rest in it ... he would never get permission to disband such a successful group. Look at the recent successes the team has had.’
‘Still,’ the Major cautioned. ‘Do we want to fight with him? And Wilco, this base is set to close, the new base up the road a bit smaller, so Bob could use that – if he’s not already got the timing in mind.’
‘When is the move scheduled?’ I asked.
‘Been delayed, but in a year or two,’ the Colonel answered.
‘And -’ the Major began, a glance at the Colonel. ‘- you may not like it, it’ll be just a bunch of modern brick buildings with tin roofs. The artists impression made it look like a cross between the local council offices and a modern dentists.’
‘Why a smaller base?’ I puzzled.
‘Men are never here,’ the Major stated. ‘Only one squadron at a time, rest on rotation, half on courses, a few sick or injured, could be ten men here some days – more Signals and Intel, more admin staff.’
‘Hence the MOD wanting to make some money from the land closer to the town centre,’ the Colonel noted. ‘We’re empty most of the time. From one old RAF base to another, a few miles to move.’
‘And ranges and facilities?’ I pressed.
‘Not much,’ the Major stated. ‘You’d drive out to them.’
I nodded. ‘So Bob could nudge us somewhere.’ I sighed then stood. ‘I’ll chat to him ... right now. If he wants a separate unit, I’m not going to be in it, and the lads will follow me.’
Outside, I used my mobile to call Bob.
‘Wilco?
‘Yes, Boss. Got a minute?’
‘Sure, fire away.’
‘I’ve been thinking about what you said, base in Dorset, increased budget, and what you also said – in that you want results, that you don’t care how you get them.
‘So, how about this: we create a detachment here in Hereford under my Major, an office and some admin staff, troop captain, filing cabinet. In that detachment would be me, Swifty, Tomo, and then Rocko and Slider on loan and training with us till Slider comes over, and I pick SAS lads for training. We train together and stay sharp, none of this sat-at-home part-time bollocks.
‘I then go through the existing “E” Squadron men with you, and we sort out who to keep and who to get rid of, and I recruit more men like Tomo, and we select from the others services through my three-day scenario.
‘We could get that detachment to say twenty men in a year, more than enough for any job we’re likely to do, and each man is available to you when you need them, the key being that they’re kept sharp by me, not sat at home waiting for the phone to ring.’
‘Sounds like a great idea. What about your Colonel?’
‘I’ll sound him out later. Bob, do me a favour ... and write up a proposal today of what I just said, put your name on it, send it in to my Colonel, head of the Army, your boss. When it happens, and we get more successes racked up, it looks like your plan, your idea, your unit.’
‘Why ... help me like that?’
‘Down the road I may want a favour or two, Bob. If you do well, I can ask.’
He laughed.
‘Write up that proposal, like today.’
‘I will do. You’ll sell it your end?’
‘I will, since we both know this is what I want as well. Get to it, Bob.’
Back in with the Colonel, I said, ‘Bob is putting together a proposal, his idea of what he wants, and he’ll send it in soon, like today. He’ll also send it up the line.’
‘And it will detail ... what?’
‘Echo Detachment, sir. It will detail ... what I suggested. Try and appear surprised, sir, discuss, it, then concede.’
He smiled widely. ‘Where did you learn to be such a sneaky shit?’
‘Not by observing you, sir, you’re too nice.’
He sighed loudly. ‘Yes, a fault.’
The next day, and Bob’s proposal had reached many desks, causing many loud phone calls back and forth between the various opposing groups. The Colonel called Bob direct, asking for clarification, and said that he did not want ex-Regiment old boys back on the base, Bob assuring him that that would not be the case. The Colonel tried to object to a few things, but allowed himself to be talked around. A meeting was planned.
We took the Regimental helicopter up to London the next day, all in civilian clothes - myself, the Major and the Colonel - plotting and scheming as we went. In the MOD building we met with Bob and the Deputy Director, the brigadier from the UKSF Directorate, and the civil servants most responsible for the Joint Intel Committee, and two men from the cabinet office with clout – and they greeted me warmly, asking questions of the rescues.
Bob began, ‘Thank you all for attending today, the subject being ... a topic that has been with
us since the Second World War. Then it was SOE, and it has taken various guises since then. After the Harold Wilson government we, SIS, made greater use of the SAS, SBS and agencies like 14 Intel.
‘What we desire ... are men that can operate overseas, well trained men with good attitudes I might stress, for close protection work, counter-terrorism work, as well as those jobs that are necessary for our national interest, yet ... best left out of the newspapers shall we say.
‘We’ve made use of “E” Squadron in the past, yet none of us have ever been fully happy with the arrangement of a full-time unit made up of part-time men, men who were a little long in the tooth, standards of training and fitness being of great variance. We used such men for plausible deniability, and may do so again in the future.
‘But ... there are also those jobs that are not quite SAS material, not quite suitable for “E” Squadron, such as Somalia. That rescue brought talent from the SAS, “E” Squadron, Marines and Paras, yet was technically off the books - until it was a great success.’
We laughed.
‘Wilco has a team of very highly trained and highly talented individuals, and we’ve made great use of that team, some notable successes filling the newspapers – good all round. So what we all desire ... is a pool of talent to call upon when we know the nature of the job to hand, and that pool of talent needs to be kept ... well, talented.
‘Wilco created his three day scenario, which is working out far better than expected, and it has thrown up some really talented individuals. He also created training scenarios in Morocco, another great benefit.
‘What I desire ... is a talent pool to choose from, and I will admit that ex-SAS men working part-time is ... less than ideal. As such, I suggest that the talent pool is well nurtured, well funded, and – most importantly – kept training day to day. To that end I’ve suggested a small unit based within the existing SAS structures, the document you all have. Colonel, do you ... have any comments?’
The Colonel took a moment. ‘We all live by reputation, and success breeds success, and good newspaper inches keep the politicians happy, as well as the voters. The talent pool that has come about is a benefit to us – and our reputation – as much anyone else. We all want the same thing - operations that go off well, not bodies in the sand and men in jail.’
‘Damn right,’ came from the mandarins.
He Colonel continued, ‘As such, we’re more than happy to try and nurture such a talent pool, and support it any way we can, and Wilco has had an effect that the Major here described early on, in that people want to compete with him, be like him, and that has raised standards. This talent pool will, no doubt, piss off the rank and file – because they’re not in it, but would like to be in it. If they compete to get into it ... then great.
‘We do have reservations about ex-members, but Bob’s aim is a fresh start with fresh faces, and we can agree with that, and we’re happy to offer facilities and support staff. Although, Bob, with your increased budget, a little something should come our way.’
Bob smiled. ‘The new unit will not be a financial burden to you, Colonel, rest assured. Any ... objections to content in the proposal?’
‘We would have done in the past, but ... well, we’ve seen what the talent pool can do, so attitudes have changed. If we were looking at a list of screw-ups then this new unit would be seen in a very different light.’
‘Of course,’ Bob agreed. ‘And we’re now open to new ideas, new approaches.’ He faced the Cabinet Office guys. ‘Any comments on what we’ve discussed so far..?’
‘Well, after chatting to the PM, we ... don’t give a fuck how you do it, just keep doing it. We want more good headlines in the press, more praise from our weapons-buying partners. If SIS and the SAS are happy, we’re happy. And, in simple terms, we’d be glad to see the back of “E” Squadron in its current format – half of them are languishing in prison overseas, a few caught raping and killing the local school girls.’
‘We aim to move away from such people,’ Bob firmly stated. He focused on the Joint Intel Committee staff. ‘Gentlemen?’
The chief mandarin began, ‘If this new unit is firmly entrenched with the SAS then we have no issues to raise, and we have an extra resource in our arsenals to call upon. And may I say ... that we are always glad to see ... a lack of bickering between units.’
I said, ‘Good job 14 Intel are not in the room then,’ causing a few laughs, the mandarin raising an eyebrow.
He said, ‘They still make accusations against you. Tell me, were there any rebels in those woods in Bosnia?’
I glanced at the Major, and he nodded.
‘No, sir, just me.’
The mandarin added, ‘And in Somalia, you wiped out the whole town..?’
‘We set fire to the ammo dump without realising what was in it, sir. Their fault ... for storing so much so close to a populated area.’
He nodded. ‘And tell me,’ he began with a sigh, ‘because I have always read about your exploits with a pinch of salt. RAF crews ... dropping bags of cement?’
I could not help but smile. ‘Who’s claiming that, sir?’
‘The Hercules pilots, they claim confirmed kills. They have also painted those kills onto their aircraft.’ He waited.
‘On the training scenario in Morocco I wanted to simulate a fixed-wing attack decoy, so the Hercules pilots dropped a bag of cement powder to simulate a bomb. When the live job came up I asked for the same, thinking just the one bag of cement, sir.’
‘And they dropped..?’ he nudged.
‘Twenty five, sir. They demolished the house holding the fighters and killed half of them.’
‘Well, I can honestly say that ... in the annals of this great nation’s fighting history ... that I’m very fucking embarrassed by that.’
‘It got a result,’ a cabinet office guy suggested with a smile. ‘Cheaper than bombs as well, cement is.’
Smiling, I said, ‘We had less to do, and suffered no casualties because of it, sir. It was good all round.’
He focused on me. ‘Please, deny it should you be asked.’
‘I have done, sir, we claimed that there were cement bags on the roof for building work, and that we placed charges next to them, and that’s what killed the fighters.’
‘Stick to that, please.’
We muddled through the small detail of how Echo Detachment might operate and all sides agreed on the proposal, the meeting ending on a high note, Bob pleased, our side pleased. All we had to now ... was to avoid the fuck-ups.
On the way back, the Major said through his headset, ‘Who would be troop captain?’
‘At the moment, sir, there is only one captain good enough,’ I replied, glancing down at the traffic below
‘Moran,’ he noted. ‘A bit inexperienced at the paperwork.’
‘But respected, which is rare,’ I pointed out. ‘I’d like Captain Harris added to it, sir, desk in the corner.’
‘Go ask him,’ the Major told me. ‘And see if Moran wants the job, it may not be what he had in mind – career wise.’
‘Yes, sir.’
The Colonel faced the Major. ‘Can Rizzo and Stretch be replaced in the troop?’
‘Why, sir?’ the Major asked.
‘I want this new unit nailed down soon, like next week, before anyone changes their mind.’
‘We have new lads coming up, sir, could replace them.’
‘They’re available should you need them,’ the Colonel pointed out. ‘They’re just next door. They’re moving on paper.’
The Major faced me. ‘Go see them tonight, sell them on the idea.’
I nodded. ‘Will do, sir.’
‘Troop sergeant?’ the Colonel asked.
‘Well, sir, they all look to me for direction,’ I pointed out. ‘A new troop sergeant would get in the way.’
‘Rizzo?’ the Colonel asked.
‘He now asks me what to do, sir.’
‘You just made Troop Sergeant, learn fast, get
on with it,’ the Colonel told me.
Wide-eyed, I nodded. ‘And Smurf, sir?’
‘He’s not that good,’ the Major pointed out. ‘And his arm is as bit fucked.’
‘I can trust him with my life, sir, and he does well enough in the field when the pressure is on.’
‘Fine,’ the Colonel said. ‘So long as the MO signs him off.’
‘Different rules with the MO on this unit, sir. Bob has final call, remember.’
The Colonel made a face as he considered that. ‘I guess we can’t dictate policy too much. But so long as Bob’s not off creating a new unit I don’t care.’
That evening I called Rizzo, told him something was up and to meet me at the curry house, calls put in to Swifty, Stretch and Captain Moran. They met me at 8pm, beers ordered.
‘So what’s up?’ Rizzo finally asked as we sat.
‘There was a big meeting today in the MOD, JIC there, cabinet office, the works. As of tomorrow we’re creating a new detachment in the base, called Echo Detachment for now, I’ll be troop sergeant.’
‘They promoted you?’ Swifty asked.
‘I’m doing the job now of leading, so ... same old routine,’ I replied. ‘Captain Harris will be in it for Intel, it’ll have an office, but we’ll be separate, and it’ll get jobs from London, all the best jobs. Swifty, you’re in it as of tomorrow, Slider when he moves across.’
‘What about “E” Squadron?’ Swifty asked.
‘Will be kept for certain things, but probably phased out. Echo Detachment will be the cutting edge, the best talent, my team, doing all the jobs like Somalia – but available for regular Regiment work as well.’
I faced Captain Moran. ‘I had you in mind for Troop Captain, because there’s no other officer good enough, but what do you want to do?’
‘Well, I applied to the SAS, not “E” Squadron.’
‘This will be no different, you’re on the base, beret and name, just that you’d be at the cutting edge. This unit will get all the good jobs - this’ll be where the medals are won. Do you ... want to stay with the team?’
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