STRIKE FORCE 11
BOOK 1 OF THE GATE JUMPER SERIES
FOREST E GETTER
ISBN: 9781695596467
Copyright 2019 Forest Getter
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
I.Dedication
II.Notes from the Author
III.Prologue
1.Tennessee
2.TEAM 11
3.Master Chief
4.Work-up
5.Deployment
6.Mosquito Base One
7.Homestead AFB
8.Engagement
9.Elves, Trolls, and Orcs
10.White Tree
11.The Plan
12.The Assault
13.Data Processing
14.Debrief
15.The Enemy of My Enemy
16.The Invasion
17.The Old Guard
18.Seminole Nation
19.The Update
20.Orc in a Kilt
21.Interrogations
22.Ukraine
23.The Demon Portal
24.Russian Hospitality
25.Recovery
26.Delta Platoon
27.Jail Break
28.Clean-up
29.Visitors
30.New Technology
31.Beach Party
32.Routine
33.Wedding Planning
34.Investigation
35.Fire Fight
36.Formal Friendship
37.Unexpected Ally
38.Papa Smurf
39.Force Recon
40.Go-go’s Raiders
41.The Tribe
42.Borrowed Time
43.Ambush
44.Tanks for the Help
45.Another Fine Mess
46.Admin
47.Major Terror
48.Gnome on a Rocket
49.The Raccoons
50.Fight Club
51.Wedding Day
52.Family
53.Clearing Florida
54.Training
55.Swaziland
Epilogue
I dedicate this book first to my wife Melissa who’s support, and encouragement keeps me writing. Second, to my oldest son Linc, our late-night chat sessions, brainstorming, and just being my soundboard for new ideas helped me to move the story along. Without the two of them, I would have never been able to complete this book. And finally, to my youngest son Collin (Who just turned 6) whose eyes lit up in wonder when I told him I was writing another book. “Can I read it when you're done with it?” He asked me, and it filled me with pride.
Notes from the Author
While writing this book, I found myself in need of names and often used the names of people I know or knew during my days in the military. Sometimes parts of the personality of these people would show through in the characters, while most of the time they were just names. It is often more comfortable for me to remember names of people I know when writing than some random name I made up, although I did just that for many of the characters. If you find your name or some variant of it in this book remember that you made enough impression on my life that I remembered, you. Thank you for being a part of my life and carry on smartly. If you don’t see your name in this book it doesn’t mean that I don’t remember you (while that is entirely possible my memory isn’t what it once was) it may say I am saving you for book two.
While I do talk lightly about some of the characters receiving more than one Medal of Honor, I do not take the Medal lightly. Here is some historical information about it you may not know. The Medal of Honor has been awarded to 3,496 different people. Of the 19 men who have been awarded the Medal of Honor twice, 14 received two separate medals for two separate actions, while five received both the Navy and Army Medals of Honor for the same action. As of June 2011, since the beginning of World War II, 851 Medals of Honor have been awarded, 523 (61.45%) posthumously. The first Army Medals of Honor were awarded by and presented to six "Andrews Raiders" on 25 March 1863, by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, in his office in the War Department. Private Jacob Parrott, a Union Army volunteer from Ohio, became the first recipient of the medal, awarded for his volunteering for and participation in a raid on a Confederate train in Big Shanty, Georgia on 12 April 1862 during the American Civil War. The six decorated raiders met privately afterward with President Lincoln in his office, in the White House. The first Navy Medal of Honor was awarded by Secretary of War Stanton to 41 Sailors on April 4, 1863. 17 for action during the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip. The first Marine awarded the Medal of Honor (Navy) was John F. Mackie on July 10, 186 for his rifle action aboard the USS Galena on May 15, 1868, The only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor (Navy, posthumous) was Signalman First Class Douglas Munro on May 27, 1943 for evacuating 500 Marines under fire on September 27, 1942 during the Battle of Guadalcanal. SM1 Munro was a Canadian-born, naturalized US citizen. The only woman awarded the Medal of Honor (Army) was Mary Edwards Walker who was a civilian Union Army surgeon during the American Civil War. She received the award in 1865 for the First Battle of Bull Run, 21 July 1861 and a series of battles to the Battle of Atlanta in September 1864 ... "for usual medal of honor meritorious services." The 1917 Medal of Honor Board deleted 911 awards, but only 910 names from the Army Medal of Honor Roll, including awards to Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody and the first of two awards issued 10 February 1887, to George W. Midil, who retained his award issued 25 October 1893. None of the 910 "deleted" recipients were ordered to return their medals, although, on the question of whether the recipients could continue to wear their medals, the Judge Advocate General advised that the Medal of Honor Board the Army was not obligated to police the matter. Walker continued to wear her medal until her death. President Jimmy Carter formally restored her medal posthumously in 1977. As noted above the medals of Buffalo Bill and four other scouts were restored in 1989, and even when revoked the award remained in his family's possession. Foreign unknown recipients include the Belgian Unknown Soldier, the British Unknown Warrior, the French Unknown Soldier, the Italian Unknown Soldier, and the Romanian Unknown Soldier. US unknown recipients include the Unknowns of World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The Vietnam Unknown was later identified as Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie using DNA identification. 1Lt. Blassie's family asked for his Medal of Honor, but the Department of Defense denied the request in 1998. According to Undersecretary of Defense Rudy de Leon, the medal was awarded symbolically to all Vietnam unknowns, not to 1Lt. Blassie specifically.
Prologue
In the year 2024, after eight years of the worst presidency in the history of the United States of America. Our country underwent a comprehensive reform of our entire political and governmental systems. The economy was on the verge of complete collapse, and the president had declared a state of national emergency in an attempt to remain in power despite the results of the election. The president’s actions resulted in what came to be known as the second revolutionary war. The War only lasted about six months, which was how long it took the military to round all the politicians, lobbyist, and political appointees in the country, and execute all that resisted the reforms or had committed crimes while in office and institute a new government.
Under the new system, citizenship was not a right granted by birth; instead, it could be earned through military or pubic service. Public or military service did not automatically give you citizenship, but it did qualify you to take the test for citizenship, and your length of service granted you extra points towage your score. Only citizens are given the right to vote, own a firearm, and collect other government benefits.
All politicians were limited to a maximum of eight years in any one position and a maximum lifetime limit of twenty y
ears total. To run for political office, you were required to have a four-year degree in political science and have a minimum of four years of military or public service. When elected to an office all of your assets are frozen, and your payment is equal to what you were paid at the highest rank achieved during your time of military service, if you did not serve in the military then your pay was equal to the salary of an E-1. All political campaigns are wholly funded by the government with all candidates receiving the same funding based on the office they were seeking. All government jobs became classified as public service jobs and were awarded based on qualifications and experience. The military became the 4th branch of the government with the responsibility of policing the politicians and all government employees. The president was no longer the Commander in Chief of the military, that position was currently held by a five-star admiral, Fleet Admiral Darrell Washington. The Commander in Chief was elected into office by a vote by all active military officers of the rank of O-7 and above. All officers that are of the rank of O-10 may choose to run for the position of Commander in Chief if they have not held the position within the past for more than eight years. Elections are held every 4 years. The new constitution held our leaders responsible for acting in the best interest of the people and country or they could face military tribunals with punishments that ranged from fines, imprisonment, or even execution. The new laws had agreed to a law which used the tax system to rebalance the wealth in the country.
I was sixteen when this all took place, and at the age of seventeen, I followed in my father’s footsteps, who was a member of SEAL Team 6. He was a Lieutenant when his team captured Osama Bin Laden. His helicopter was shot down by the Taliban over Afghanistan. He was killed in the crash when I was only 12. I joined the Navy with only one desire, and that was to become a SEAL like my father. I enlisted as a corpsman. After I graduated from corpsman training, I volunteered for the SEALs.
When the military became its own branch of the government, the caliber and difficulty of the training increased. The military deemed that a 10% death rate in basic training was expected, while special forces training saw a death rate of 25% to 35%, with SEAL training being the most dangerous of all special forces training having the highest death rate. SEAL training was twenty-four weeks of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL school, five weeks of jump school, twelve weeks of sniper school, and then twenty-eight weeks of SEAL qualification training program. Out of a starting class of one hundred and forty-six, there were five of us that completed, and of the five of us I beat out Hicks for Honorman by just ten points (I was the better of us in hand to hand combat). We were both selected to be part of the first group of SEALs to be assigned to Team 11, and we were sent off for another year of training that made typical SEAL team training feel like a walk in the park. During the advanced training we learned about the gate jumpers and were trained on every weapon system in the military, this even included basic flight training. It was enough training so that in the case of an emergency, we would be able to take over as any member of the flight crew and even land the aircraft if needed. All the members of the first group of personnel assigned to TEAM 11 made up the first class of the Advanced Elite SEAL Training (AEST). Our team was led by Captain Jens Bates and Master Chief Michael Memoli.
I remember that first day of AEST at Team 11 headquarters. It was the day they told us about aliens and informed us that it would be our duty to hunt them down and kill them. We were told that they were highly trained, often as well trained as any average member of a special forces team, and often better armed than us. This was the reason for the additional year of advanced training for all members of Team 11. I was promoted to Petty Officer Second Class at the end of advanced training, which was almost unheard of for someone to make an E-5 ranking so quickly, but finishing number one in the class out of advanced training and scoring a 99.5% on the rank advancement exam the first time, I qualified to take it thus assuring my promotion. We spent our last two weeks learning to use the Prototype M-46 Man-portable railgun assault rifle. Then we received our duty assignments. I was assigned as a medic for Alpha platoon.
“Petty Officer Getter, I served with your father. He was a good man. The boys and I back on Team 6 used to call him Go-go. Looking at your record, it seems that nickname would apply to you also. Don’t prove me wrong, Go-go,” Captain Bates said.
I saluted him and replied, “You can count on me, sir.”
1.
Tennessee
Life has never been a comfortable journey for me. I often find myself traveling along the road less traveled. If you ask someone if they are a hero and their response is “I just did what needed to be done at the time, I am no hero” then be assured that they are a hero. They are the person you meet in the center of the mall food court surrounded by ten dead terrorists holding a bloody ink pen in their hand. If that person is you, then the next thing that happens is that people want to give you medals and awards and put you on TV and make you a beacon of hope for others, but all you want to do is find a quiet cabin in the mountains and escape from everyone. You don’t feel like you did anything special you just exercised the skills your time in the service have given you. It has been six months since I left active duty after fifteen years as a member of Navy SEAL Team 11. I lost my right eye and part of my brain in a combat mission. As a result, I am one of the first to receive a complete cybernetic implant to replace part of my brain and my eye. The replacement required several months of recovery, and with six months of leave time and temporary assignment to a local naval reserve unit, I found myself staying at a mountain cabin in Northern Tennessee.
I arrived back at my cabin after a long day of interviews with the local police and the FBI to find a plain white SUV with government plates sitting next to an almost twin in black with dark tinted windows sitting in the drive. I knew who they belonged to as soon as I saw the SUVs. The white one belonged to the woman who had installed my eye and implanted a chip in my brain to process the data from the eye. The black SUV belonged to one Captain J.T. Hicks, the commanding officer of Seal Team 11 and my oldest friend. If the two of them had come to see me, it meant that someone in the Pentagon had already been briefed on my encounter at the Mall today. I wanted to turn around and find somewhere else to spend the rest of my day, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that Hicks had re-tasked a satellite and had a drone in the air to keep an eye on me just in case I decided to take a detour. Besides, the bastard knew my weak spot and had timed his visit at the same time the Doc had come. We had a dinner date, and I was a sucker for her beautiful green eyes. Well, maybe I could get rid of the Skipper quickly and still have that dinner date, “ha fat chance.” I thought.
When I pulled up Chief Profit was standing next to the SUV smoking, he had a look on his face that told me this was no casual visit. He tilted his hat in respect, “Good to hear you haven’t gone soft on us Senior Chief,” he said.
“Hooyah,” I replied.
Even though he was a CPO now, he still had that baby face that made him look like he was fresh out of boot camp. By looking at him, you would never guess he was course honor man of his BUDS class. He could go one on one with a grizzly bear unarmed and not even break a sweat. That’s why he served as Skipper’s personal bodyguard.
I walked in the cabin to find Dr. Melissa Ledger and the Skipper sitting at the table drinking coffee, there was a steaming mug sitting at the spot next to Melissa. “I poured you a cup,” She said.
I sat down and slowly began to drink my coffee, waiting for The Skipper to start to talk. “How is it that even in the middle of nowhere Tennessee, while on convulsant leave, when you should be sitting on a boat in the middle of this huge lake outside, you find a way to kill ten terrorists in the middle of a mall and create a media shit storm?” He asked.
“Well, I woke up this morning and realized that my neighbors would not be happy if I started fishing with military-grade explosives so unless I wanted the local sheriff coming to visit, I might need to go
into town and pick up some fishing gear. Realizing the sporting goods store was next to the Mall, and I knew my coffee order was in, I stopped there to pick it up. I was sitting there in the food court drinking a fresh cup of joe when a group of ten guys carrying Ak’s come charging in shooting people, one slammed into my table knocking my coffee all over the floor. 3.2 minutes later, they were all dead, and I was having to order another coffee.” I replied.
“After six hours of debriefing with the FBI, I decided that I really wasn’t interested in fishing and skipped the sporting goods store and came back here. I figured you would be waiting.” I continued.
“So, 3.2 minutes to take down ten terrorists? Getting old, are we senior?” He responded.
“How are you feeling? Any headaches, blurred vision, or dizziness?” Melissa asked.
“To tell the truth, I feel great, it is nice to know that the surgery has only improved my reflexes. The implant worked just like it is supposed to. I would have had a lot harder time taking the terrorist out if it were not for the extra data fed to me by the implant. Those guys were real pros, I am sure that they had some sort of special forces background. All their gear was top of the line. I am sure if I had not been there, this would have been a blood bath,” I replied.
“Yea so far, those ten men are ghosts. We have every agency working on discovering who they are with no luck. Neither the Brits nor the Israelis have a clue. We think this could be the beginning of something big. The bodies are being transferred to Langley. SECNAV wants us in Washington ASAP. So, we fly out at 0800 tomorrow morning.” The Skipper said. “I will meet you at the airport at 0730 and thanks for the coffee.” He continued. The Skipper stood up, shook my hand, and headed out the door.
“Sounds like they really need you back to work, are you ready?” Melissa asked me.
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