PROJECT BlueBolt - BOOK II - THE GULAG JOURNAL: BOOK II - The Gulag Journal

by Marshall Huffman

  My first job was learning how to mix the mud used by the drills. Mud is the term for the mixture used to cool the drill bit as it bores into the ground. It acts like a coolant to keep the bit from getting too hot and burning up. Evidently the bits are extremely expensive.

  Mud is pumped into the system by use of mud pumps. Fortunately, I wasn’t told how to change the settings or make adjustments. One of the workers for the company would tell us when the mud was the right consistency. We were using something called Bentonite to make the substance. I have no clue what that is.

  What I can tell you is that we worked ourselves into exhaustion by lunch time. Instead of going to eat, a small van was brought out and we were given box lunches. We had thirty minutes to eat and then it was back to work.

  I don’t know how long we worked but my best guess is close to twelve hours. It was difficult to tell what time it was because I never saw the sun and it seemed to stay about the same brightness all day and well into the night. Even when we went to sleep it was still light out.

  The showers were relatively warm and we were all covered in dirt and slime so everyone took a shower. I felt better when I finally climbed into to bed. Every muscle in my body was protesting.

  ***

  Day 58 Journal Entry

  The sky looked the exact same as when we went to bed. We had to be in Alaska I decided. I finally asked one of the company people and he told me we were on the North Slope about ten miles from Prudhoe Bay. I had no idea where this was except other than it was obviously in northern Alaska. When I asked him exactly where that was he said we were pretty near the Arctic Ocean.

  The work day was brutal and very physical. I soon found that mixer wasn’t just about the one job. When we weren’t actually making the mud we were expected to help with everything else on the rig from moving pipe to jumping in and helping wherever we were directed. There was never time to sit down and rest.

  I also learned that lunch was something to look forward to, not only for the food, but because you could give your back a rest. I know this is going to sound exaggerated but by the time supper rolled around it was all we could do to get the food to our mouths. Even lifting a fork seemed to hurt. This was certainly a lot more backbreaking than what we had been doing in New Mexico and I don’t honestly see how anyone could come here unless they were physically fit. I suppose that is why they chose the men who looked the healthiest to send here. Older men wouldn’t have lasted the first day.

  ***

  Day 59 Journal Entry

  One of our men fell and was killed. He was climbing up the drilling rig to help with some problem. He lost his footing and fell close to a hundred feet before striking the railing. It was gross. He hit on his back and was totally doubled over. It looked like someone bending over only backwards. This place is dangerous enough for those that know what they are doing. Throw in a bunch of older men that have no idea what they’re are doing and you have a disaster waiting to happen.

  Everyone seemed to be pushing us to go faster. When I asked what the big rush was they told me we only had a few more warm days. The weather report showed a huge front moving our way. The temperature would drop down to -20 degrees or lower. He told me if I thought it was dangerous now, just wait until the weather hit.

  Obviously, that means we would continue to work. I can’t imagine trying to climb the rig in sub-freezing temperatures with wind blowing.

  ***

  Day 60 Journal Entry

  The sky looked menacing when we headed out to work. One man said he just couldn’t work. We all expected him to be shot but he wasn’t. He was told instead that ‘no work, no food’ was the policy. I guess that did the trick because he finally managed to get out of bed.

  You have to understand, not only is the work physically demanding, but it is dirty and dangerous. There dozens of things that could break an arm or a leg or even kill you. You have to keep vigilant every second. One man got his hand crushed and was taken to the medical shed. One of the foremen knows first aid and he did what he could for the guy but there really wasn’t much to work with.

  Half way through the afternoon something happened to the traveling block on the derrick. One of the cables somehow got tangled or bound up. Whatever happened, it brought everything to a screeching halt. Six of us spent the rest of the day hanging on for dear life trying to untangle the thing. Finally they decided we were just incapable and had us come down and three of the company men went up and within an hour had the rig back on line. The rest of the day was fairly normal if you consider lifting pipe and trying not to get yourself killed, a normal day.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The President looked at her watched pointedly when General Douglas came into the room and took his seat.

  “Traffic,” was all he said and sat down.

  “Perhaps you should leave a little earlier,” she snipped.

  He ignored the comment and went about getting items out of his briefcase.

  “I called you all here because we are starting to hear rumors about a large Militia group operating out of Idaho or Utah. Where, we haven’t pinned down yet. I want to know three things. One, if the rumors are true. Two, where they are located and three, how do we eliminate them.”

  No one said anything for several seconds.

  “Well?” she finally said.

  “From my point of view it isn’t much of a problem. We have people and bases all over this nation and we haven’t picked up a word about any large Militia groups. Yes, there are a few but they are poorly organized and the leadership is almost non-existent. They are certainly nothing for the administration to be concerned with,” the general said.

  “So this is all just a minor annoyance. Is that what you are saying?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “The how did they manage to kill sixty ISS men and wound another twenty, not to mention those they captured?” she said.

  “That’s pretty simple to answer. You sent the ISS. They are not in the same league with real military fighting men and women.”

  “I resent that,” Taylor said.

  “Resent all you want but it’s a fact. When you went in there, you flew into the civilian airport. You took all those fancy SUVs of yours. Did you hold any troops in reserve in case you needed to shore up one area or the other? Did you do any real assessment of what you were getting into? How much intel did you gather before you committed your people?” the general said evenly.

  “There were just the two men as far as we knew.”

  “And that is the answer right there. As far as you knew. The military doesn’t work like that. You rushed in and got your clocks cleaned. It’s as simple as that.”

  “Madam President, that is simply not the case.”

  “Taylor, listen to what the general is saying. He has valid points. There are some things the ISS is suited for but I believe the general is right. Perhaps we have been going about this all wrong. Maybe the ISS should be used in routine situations but we need military expertise as well. Yes, you have men and guns, but think what the military can bring. They have helicopters, gunships, and all those other deadly toys. General Douglas has hit the nail on the head.”

  “Madam President, you need a strong ISS to keep people in line. If we start overlapping authority it will weaken both organizations and then the blame game will start,” Taylor said, clearly upset with the way the conversation was going.

  “I appreciate your concern, Taylor, but in this case, the general is absolutely correct. Operations like going after the rogue officers and Militia should fall in their area of expertise.”

  The general was carefully watching the exchange. He had no respect for Taylor Spears and his little band of civilian police. Everything should have been put under military control as far as he was concerned. He knew the raid by the ISS was going to be a disaster and instead of warning them he let them make a fool of themselves. This inched him one step closer to what his ultimate goal was. He wanted the ISS and the mil
itary under his control.

  Once he had accomplished that, he would have no further use for the President. He would be the one to declare Martial Law when the time came.

  ***

  General Douglas went back to the Pentagon and immediately called a meeting of all his top officers. He was about to embark on a dangerous game of trying to pull off a coup without anyone finding out until it was too late. It would be difficult because planning is a huge part of a successful operation, but with planning came risk, the risk of someone talking when they shouldn’t or doing something that would alert the administration and the American people.

  “I have just come from the White House and I have to tell you, I am concerned. I was told that the President is considering putting the military under the control of the ISS. In short, we would be a branch of Taylor Spears’ ISS bunch of morons. I’m sure you can already understand what that would mean to us. We would be relegated to a position of nothing more than their whipping boys. They would say jump and we would be expected to ask how high. I for one am not thrilled with that prospect,” he told them.

  It was a blatant lie but he needed them to buy into his reasoning. He wanted them to be incensed that they would be under the ISS. He knew most of them already considered the ISS nothing more than a bunch of armatures playing as soldiers.

  “Obviously I didn’t express any opinion when the President brought it up but Spears is sure pushing for it. I wanted to discuss this with you before I responded. After all, it concerns you as well as me. Not just mine but your careers depend on how we handle this.”

  “General Douglas, did the President make the suggestion or did Spears?”

  “Well Spears brought it up first and sort of opened the can of worms. The President picked up on it and said something to the effect that it was worth considering. It would give the ISS the necessary strength to carry out Martial Law if it was necessary,” he told General Lamb.

  “She actually said Martial Law?”

  “That’s what she said. Evidently they want to tackle the Militia forces and gather up the officers who refused to sign the loyalty oath. She considers it a direct refusal to follow the orders of the Commander-in-Chief. She is right in that aspect. She is the boss, and we have all had many Presidents that we didn’t care for but they were still the Commander-in-Chief. It is our duty to follow their orders. She wants these officers and the various Militias disbanded. She seems to think by putting us under the ISS’ authority, we will be more effective. When she asked me what I thought about it, I stalled and told her I needed to think it over and to talk to my men. Obviously I am uncomfortable answering to a civilian, especially one like Taylor Spears who has no military experience. They tried to pull off one small raid and got their butts kicked. Now he wants to tell us how to do our job?”

  “So what are you going to tell her?” Lamb asked.

  “That’s what I want us to discuss. How it would be best to answer her and still protect you men. I’m thinking of your careers as much as anything,” he told them.

  ***

  “I just got some rather disturbing information,” Thomas told the men sitting at the table.

  “Go on.”

  “I told you I had a trusted friend on the inside of the military. All I’ll say is that he is way up on the food chain and doesn’t like what is going on any more than we do. He is as much at risk as any of us. The point is, I trust what he is telling me. He said that when General Douglas came back from a high level meeting at the White House he was quoted as saying that he had placed himself in a position to take over the military aspects of ISS. His duties will include coming after us and finding out how strong the Militias really are. Idaho and Utah were two he is going to focus on first.”

  “Whoa. That can change things. I was hoping we had more time before they went that far,”

  “Apparently he has found a way to undermine the ISS. That means we are going to have to step up the pace on locating the other officers still out there and to get as many other militia groups as possible brought into the fold. They have a hell of a lot more fire power than we have,” Thomas told them.

  “But they can’t just start bombing and bringing in tanks,” Don Casey of the 2nd Idaho Militia said.

  “You’re wrong about that. General Douglas has bigger plans than just taking us down. I can guarantee he intends to be the head honcho over everything one day. He will, when the time is right, take over the office of the President.”

  “Good Lord. A military coup is what you are really talking about,” AJ Watson said.

  “Exactly,” Thomas replied.

  “Then we need to come up with a plan and implement it immediately. That means every one of us is going to have a lot of work to do and some of it is going to be dangerous,” AJ told them.

  “I doubt anyone here is going to object. We all know what’s on the line and the risks. We knew that the minute we refused to sign that oath,” Lincoln told him.

  “I know. Sorry, I was just talking. I guess this whole thing has me rattled a bit. We know there are other Militias out there. I was hoping to get in contact with them before it all hit the fan.”

  “We can still do it but we need to get on it starting today,” Thomas said.

  “Then let’s get a plan together and get with it,” AJ replied.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Day 61 Journal Entry

  They told us we really had to push today. They are expecting the weather to deteriorate. By this time tomorrow we could be facing wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour and temperatures around -30 with the wind chill. Also, because we are only a few miles from the Artic Sea, we will get sleet and snow.

  And here I was griping about New Mexico. When we got to the rig to start our shift, you could already feel the change in temperature. The metal grating was so cold our shoes would stick to it. We had to change the mud mixture to account for the extra viscosity caused by the cooler temperatures.

  It was the most treacherous day we have had on the job as far as I was concerned. One poor guy got hit in the face with a sling chain. It knocked out four of his teeth and split his cheek open. I can’t even imagine how badly that must have hurt. Everything seems to hurt more when you are cold.

  Even though the temperature kept dropping throughout the day, the foreman kept pushing us to go faster. It was the longest and hardest day so far.

  I wondered two things when I went to bed. Would we be expected to work if it was a lot worse than today? If we were, how many of us would actually survive? I’m not sure I really want to know the answer to either one.

  ***

  Day 62 Journal Entry

  Yes, we were sent out to work. The first thing I noticed, besides the frigid temperature, was the incredible wind. It came in waves. It would drop down for a few minutes and then gusts, each just a little more intense than the last, would roll in. At times it was hard to stay standing. Add that to the slick steel deck that was becoming covered with ice, and the conditions were incredibly dangerous.

  Ice started to accumulate on everything but it was the actual derrick that was the biggest problem. When a big wind came up, some of the ice that had accumulated would suddenly break off and come crashing down. We had to keep one eye on what we were working on and one on the derrick. Sometimes we would get a warning, like a gun shot, other times just a slight ‘pop’ when it broke loose.

  It made for a very tense day. The wind was so strong at times we had to hang on to something because the steel deck was an inch thick in ice. The wind would scoot me along sideways until I grabbed something,

  We all tried to work with our faces covered as much as possible. The wind carried ice crystals that would pelt your face leaving you feel like you had been stung by a bee. By the end of the shift, the foreman said it was -40 with the wind chill. He told us that until it reached -60 we would still work. To me it was just crazy to work in that kind of treacherous environment.

  Our productivity was next to nothing which
made it all the more senseless to take this kind of risk but then no one asked me what I thought. At least, miraculously, no one died today.

  ***

  Day 63 Journal Entry

  I certainly learned a lesson today. I thought yesterday was the worst weather conditions I had ever been in. Today was even worse. The temperature wasn’t as much an enemy as the blowing, freezing, snow. Snow isn’t exactly the right word. It’s blowing ice. The Derrick was covered in ice when we got there.

  The first thing they wanted half of us to do was start chipping off the heaviest accumulations of ice. That meant going to the very top or the crown block as they call it. Climbing up the ladder was a huge risk even with a safety line attached. We were given a three foot long ice pick and told to knock off as much of the ice as we could.

  As I was expecting, one guy didn’t get his safety line secure and fell eighty feet before bouncing off one of the railings. No way was he going to survive. Two guys pulled him over the railing and laid him aside and we all continued to work like nothing had happened.

  One of the mud pumps quit working just as I had come back down off the derrick. The foreman decided I should help him so he had me give him a hand in removing the broken pump and installing a back-up one. That doesn’t sound too bad until you realize you have to take your gloves off to get the nuts and bolts off of the connection line and again to put them back in when you install the new pump.

  The other thing about working in this environment is the ‘ice cream headache’. The temperature is so cold that you literally get a brain freeze like when you drink a slushy too fast. It causes you to lose concentration and this is one place that is dangerous enough when you are thinking right. In the late afternoon the wind died down somewhat and the ice wasn’t forming as quickly as before. Instead we were getting a strange kind of snow. It wasn’t exactly flakes but more like pellets. I’ll give Alaska one thing, the snow is like nothing I have ever seen before. I would imagine it is like this because we are so far north and the Artic Sea adds its own nuances.