by Td Barnes
“Sir, you answered part of your own question. You acknowledge that there will still be survivors when this passes. You are the expert on EMP and nuclear winter events. Remind yourself of what you expect we will find when we can leave the mountain. Ask yourself what will the world be like and what it will expect of the survivors?”
Both spoke of the future while watching the children play with the menagerie of animals.
“I believe, Colonel, that you and I have our work cut out for us. Our people are not getting the actual survival and combat experience that others are probably getting on the outside to survive. I doubt if we are the only survivors and I wonder what other leaders are doing to protect and provide for their people. I suggest we set aside the fact that we are members of the United States Army, serving to protect our nation and concentrate on our being leaders of an army serving to protect our mountain territory at Jackass Flats.”
“The Jackass Flats Territory,” she said thoughtfully. She chuckled. “I like the sound of that. I suggest you run the idea up the pole with our advisory staff.”
Bradley returned to the Command Center where he called a meeting for later that day. Meanwhile, Bradley summoned the XO, Captain Callahan, and the sergeant major to model a combined BTOE and OTOE.
Setting aside concerns for the siege, they concentrated on combining a Basic and Objective Table of Organization and Equipment along the lines used by the Army they knew, but for the unique needs of the Mountain Command based on current doctrine and available equipment. It showed the basics of the command structure and wartime requirements for both personnel and equipment.
Together they selected from the current officers to assign them to head up the staff departments. They next discussed promotions and the need for producing a professional military to protect the Jackass Flats Territory now and later when they emerged from the mountain to start new lives and repopulate.
At the appointed time, the officers and senior noncommissioned officers entered the Command Center expecting news concerning the enemy outside. The Command Center lacked adequate seating, so the officers and noncoms took position along the rock wall the alcove. The XO and he stood up behind the conference table while Weston joined the NCOs. Captain Callahan and his platoon leaders segregated from the others to form their own group.
“Major Calhoun, what do we know about the forces outside our door?” Bradley asked the S-2 responsible for security under normal circumstances.
“Sir?” Major Calhoun responded in surprise.
“I am jerking your chain, Major,” Bradley said with a mischievous grin while preparing a stack of papers to be distributed. Most found it difficult to identify humor by the sound of his voice because of Bradley’s old throat injury. “We expected our S-2 to know what is occurring on the back side of the hill,” he said jokingly.
“Chief Yokes,” he said while holding out the stack of papers. This he said with his usual stone face and demanding tone of voice.
“Sir,” personnel officer CWO Harold Yokes said while stepping forward to retrieve the papers.
“Please distribute these.”
“Gentlemen, this is the TO&E for the Mountain Command. We are organizing the Jackass Flats Territory, which the Mountain Command will protect since we no longer know if there even exists a US Army. We will leave this mountain a professional and very badass military unit. That includes everyone on the mountain. We will intensify our military training to make it realistic to what we may expect. We must prepare for battle in a Wild West wagon train scenario, World War II trenches, or modern day urban fighting using special ops units. An OCS and NCO academy will start in two days. At this point, there is obviously no need for a paymaster. Major Hayes, Lieutenants Gerald Anderson, and Gorge Pruitt, front, and center.”
The three officers stiffly stepped forward and came to the position of attention in front of Bradley at the conference table. “Congratulations, Maj. Jack Hayes, you are at this moment promoted to lieutenant colonel and are number three in command behind the XO and me. Lieutenants, I promote both of you to the pay grade of captain. You will see your staff assignments on the papers being distributed.”
“Thank you, sir,” they said in unison while exchanging a salute with the colonel. They pivoted and returned to their former position along the wall.
Bradley performed the same promotion ritual with second lieutenants Carl Blackburn and Jim Harmon, promoting them to first lieutenant. He turned to Captain Callahan and said. “Captain Callahan, you are indispensable in your current position, so what you are getting today is kudos and a pay raise to one chicken less than what a major draws." Everyone laughed.
Bradley turned to address the noncommissioned officers. “I needed to organize my staff today and am not slighting our noncommissioned officers. Promotions in the enlisted ranks will occur when we complete the TO&E. Our Air Force personnel will retain their pay grade while converting to the army of the Mountain Command.”
He held up a copy of the distributed paper. “You will note significant changes in your duties or MOS from the Army and Air Force we knew. Our enemy is different with the motives of pirates and scavengers. Most of us have seen this type of enemy before, but not in our home country. Our enemy is homegrown at present. It will not always be that way, so we must prepare to combat both savages and an unknown army possessing modern warfare capability. The environment outside will also be an enemy — war will be different. First, we will not have Geneva Convention rules in play because not having the resources to play by such rules, so we will not take prisoners. Any questions?” When no one said anything, he said, “Dismissed.”
The document contained:
TO&E
MOUNTAIN COMMAND
Col. Thomas J. Bradley - Brigade Commander
Lt. Col. Jane Barlow - Brigade Executive Officer
Maj. Raymond Calhoun - S-1 - Adjutant: Personnel or administration liaison.
Maj. Raymond Schwartz - S-2 - Intelligence / security / information operations.
Lt. Col. Jack Hayes - S-3 Operations, plans, and training.
Capt. Gerald Anderson - S-4 Logistics
Capt. Barry Sanchez - S-5 - Plans & Strategy:
Capt. George Pruitt - S-6 - Communications
SGM Jack Weston Liaison with civilians
Capt Callahan, Company Commander -
Platoon Officers - selected from the OCS graduates.
Outside the mountain, a herd of burros warily advanced out of the smoky haze to the guzzler a quarter of a mile south of the north portal of the mountain. The leader of the group, a large jack, stood watch over the herd while they drank their fill from the guzzler, a BLM wildlife water collector. He took his turn at filling his stomach with the precious water when they finished. The herd slowly moved on after they quenched their thirst.
A coyote waited until the burros left and slowly wandered down the arroyo before slinking up to the guzzler to quench his thirst starting his nightly hunt for food.
A two-year-old bobcat stalked a large covey of Spanish quail clustered beneath the various desert vegetation three-quarters of a mile west of the water supply. The bobcat captured one of the quail with a sudden leap, scattering the rest. The hungry feline quickly devoured the bird and resumed her hunt while thinking briefly about her three-week-old kittens hidden in an arroyo nearby. The bobcat did not know about the quail drinking from the deadly water collection basin less than two hours ago.
Unknown to the herd of burros, the coyote, and the bobcat, none of them would see the next sunrise. While each of them drank, alpha, beta, and gamma ray particles steadily bombarded their bodies. From their stomachs, the emission of the radiation from the ingested water continued bombardment of their internal organs. The same happened to the bobcat, except, in her case, the source of radiation in her body came from the quail that drank from the guzzler.
Each of the animals experienced the destruction of their bone marrow, delirium, and convulsions due to damage to their brains over a pe
riod of four hours. The bobcat managed to return to her kittens before becoming too weak and disoriented. The kittens were nursing her when she drew her last breath. The kittens fell to sleep full of milk beside the body of their mother with radiation from their mother’s milk, and her body is bombarding their tiny bodies while they slept. The kittens did not awake.
The carnage on the bodies of the burros attracted a couple of coyotes early the next morning. The coyotes joined a group of vultures, two golden eagles, and three ravens in the feast. The coyotes and birds slowly left the area to sleep after satisfying their hunger. None of them would ever hunt again for they now became part of nature's food chain for other scavengers.
Each of those birds and animals carried radioisotope atoms with an 87-year half-life rate of decay.
The two soldiers carried their weapons slung over their shoulders while they explored the perimeter of the mountain. One of them noticed the dim reflection off the top of the guzzler and pointed it out. They drifted over to the guzzler out of curiosity. The existence of clear, fresh water excited both.
They considered this find as a bonanza for the rest of the Army now commanded by MSGT Hathcock after having drunk nothing better than old swimming pool water since joining Taylor’s army.
They saw the tracks where various animals had drunk the water, which assured them the safety of the water.
One of the soldiers stayed to guard the guzzler while the other rushed back to the trailers at the mountain to obtain water jugs and recruit help carrying the water back to the mountain.
Drawn to the venting feedlot smell of the animals at the south portal, MSGT Hathcock felt while standing beside the air vent above the portal that this vent might solve his problem of entry to the mountain. His army could drop a few canisters of chlorine gas down the vent and then seal the vent to stop the discharge of air from the mountain. They merely needed to wait for the gas to circulate through the mountain, killing everything inside. He considered it merely a matter of finding a way inside and the mountain would be his after his succeeding at this. He studied the vent system to see if someone might gain entrance through the vents.
He headed back to where he could traverse down the side of the mountain. He stopped when he spotted his men carrying the water back to the trailers.
He rushed down the mountain from his vantage point as fast as the terrain is allowed. He arrived at the trailers, saw the fresh, clear water, and listened to the story of how his men located it.
He congratulated the two soldiers while they bottled up his private supply of water. MSGT Hathcock drank the water as the others, relishing every drop.
Within an hour, Hathcock’s army experienced nausea and vomiting like the animals. The army became delirious and started convulsing four hours later. MSGT Hathcock died first. The last of his army ceased to exist at 0421 hours the following morning.
****
Chapter 6 - A New Beginning
It amazed Bradley how sound traveled at different speeds in the tunnel. Sounds from something contacting the air ducts or any piping carried much faster than did the vocal sound of a human or animal.
The density of the tunnel walls or metal pipes made the difference. He concentrated on ways to devise an emergency signaling protocol using the piping should the intercom fail.
Thinking about the safety of his people, he walked for an hour, ending back at the north portal with Sarge at his side. Two of the K-9 dogs followed, hoping to play with Sarge, who appeared to be more interested in finding a Guinea hen or cat to chase than playing with the larger dogs.
Bradley carried a load of worries on his mind, but he did not let it show when his people greeted him and tried to engage him in the conversation along the way. Even the loud, annoying noise of the Guinea hens fussing at the dogs failed to distract him.
The traffic on the paging speakers appeared normal and busy. It comforted him to see the morale being high despite the siege. It demonstrated their fate in him as their leader. It also showed the fortitude of the survivors. This bolstered his confidence in the likely success of what he formulated in his mind while he walked.
Bradley worked late into the night on his MacBook Air detailing the needs of the future for his command. Tomorrow, he planned for everyone at the mountain becoming a member of his command.
Unlike the old TO&E of the US Army that he served while a junior officer, the Mountain Command required a much different and more complex Table of Organization and Equipment. Where the old Army TO&E applied to a combat unit, he embraced a combination of combat defense and civic rebuilding. The new command included everything from farmers to snipers.
In many ways, what he proposed amounted to an official constitution. At today’s scheduled meeting, he intended to address the military members with the civilians listening.
Two hours later, the sergeant major stuck his head in the doorway of the Command Center. “Sir, everyone is assembled.”
“Thank you, Sergeant Major.” He waited a respectful time before stepping out of the Command Center.
“Attenchut,” the sergeant major yelled. The military personnel rapidly stood and stiffened to the position of attention.
“As you were,” Bradley nodded recognition to the civilians while walking to the podium and said. “Listen up troops. The organizers selected members of the Nevada National Guard and the Department of Homeland Security for deployment here because of Nevada being the home of many of the nation’s specialties in two critical areas — first defenders for terrorist activities and for nation rebuilding. The Nevada National Guard focused on these fields and became extremely proficient through repeated deployments to our nation’s war zones. We must remember that our nation considered areas at Nellis and Creech Air Force Bases, Yucca Flats, and Area 51, all here in Nevada, being in the theaters of war. Thus they selected the people deployed to this mountain because of these unique experiences.”
Many of the civilians in the audience turned to stare at the military personnel while seeing them in a new light. No one had ever explained how the organizers selected them for duty at the mountain.
He continued. “Standing before me are members of military services that for all practical purposes no longer exist. We have no chain of command outside the mountain, no paymaster, and probably no commander-in-chief. That said — we have a duty to the civilians here at Jackass Flats to protect them and ensure them and their descendants a secure recovery and future. Each of you has participated in rebuilding governments and infrastructure. However, we must expand our scope of duty, even more than that when we face the many obstacles in our future. I am requesting each of you to continue your military service in the name of the Mountain Command under the ground rules and protocols in which we are accustomed, and that has worked ever since the Continental Army that fought in the Revolutionary War in 1775.”
Everyone appeared to accept Bradley’s proposal about military service. He turned to the civilians and said, “For all practical purposes, you civilians are under martial law effective back to when we entered the mountain. This means the military governs you civilians with you having little say about anything. I propose to structure the Mountain Command where civilians are part of the command serving in nonmilitary roles. You will serve in our military reserve. For example, you, Mayor Robinson will serve in command with the same responsibilities that you now possess. The difference is your being a reserve officer in the chain of command and those serving under you likewise being reservists subject to our rules and regulations. We will handle infractions by our version of the UCMJ, United Code of Military Justice instead of having a civilian judge. Our youth will become junior cadets in the military learning the basics at the age 14 and will receive active military training in their education curriculum at the age of 16. They will serve in a unit at 18 years of age while continuing their studies. After that, they will serve in a reserve capacity unless called to active duty out of necessity for our security.”
Dr. Jerry Hubbard asked
, “Colonel, what about the former agency personnel — what is our role?”
“Good question, Jerry. By the way, you certainly did a good job on the slim-down program. The agencies apparently no longer exist. However, the need for the talent they contained exists more today than ever. The organizational structure for these people is a work in process for a while until we know our needs and priorities. Everyone is in reserve, which means everyone will have an assigned responsibility. Simply said, a farmer will, for example, also be a designated machine gunner or a radio operator. Most of you are already fulfilling educational and technical needs. We will make your roles and projects official and organized to meet our future needs. Remember folks, it is our responsibility to pass on to the younger members the knowledge to replace each one of us. Our kids must achieve doctorate level education in their chosen vocation and proficiency in military strategy. I am serious about this education agenda. You will reach to educate yourself to a doctorate level in your field. This applies to every occupation. If you are a carpenter, farmer, cook, or medical doctor, it does not matter — you will strive to be the best in that field. You leaders confer with your departments and submit your plans and proposals to my committee and me for consideration and implementation. We will meet in a week. Meanwhile, my military staff is always open to any of you needing to confer on anything.”
The XO saw Stacey come to the entrance to the Command Center but stopping when she saw the meeting in the process. She slipped out of her seat and joined Stacey outside. She and Stacey reentered grinning a moment later. “Sergeant Riley’s wife has given birth to a healthy boy.” Stacey smiled at Bradley. “His first name is Tom,” she announced.
****
T plus six months.
The mountain remained on combat status for two weeks after the attack while expecting another attack at any time. Since the loss of their cameras on the outside denied them knowledge of when the siege ended and deprived them of knowing of the weather conditions outside the mountain.