TOCABAGA (Revised Edition) (Book #1 of The Tocabaga Chronicles)

by Thomas H. Ward

  It wasn’t long before the main column pulled up behind the cycle. I could see five Hummers or HMMWVs, five new Grizzly APCs or armored personnel carriers, and three big trucks. A total of thirteen vehicles.

  The Hummer carries four men and a 50-cal. machine gun and also an M220 Tow missile system. They are fast and very dangerous. The Grizzly is a six-wheeled vehicle and has two 7.62 machine guns and can withstand any 50-caliber bullet. It is built for urban warfare and carries six troops. The trucks just carry men and supplies. Maybe they had a total of 120 men.

  I was thinking they were not a match for the Rangers with the three tanks. If they don’t surrender this would be a blood bath for sure.

  The lead Hummer moved up closer, past the cycle. It was coming up to the bridge and they were holding a white flag. I was thinking, not another white flag. The Hummer stopped about 100 feet from the Bradley. The man showing himself from the roof of the vehicle was speaking into a megaphone. Next to him was a 50 caliber mounted machine gun.

  “I am Captain Clinton of the Federal Police Force and we are here to enforce Presidential Executive Order 13603, which means the Government owns this property. You are hereby given notice to leave this island within 12 hours. If you do not leave we will remove you by force and you will be placed under arrest, subject to five or more years in prison.”

  Colonel Turner answered back using a loud speaker, “This is Colonel Turner of the United States Army, Special Forces 75th Ranger Regiment, 3rd Battalion, operating under Special Operations Command. This island is in control of the US Army and under our protection. Furthermore, we do not recognize Executive Order 13603 as a lawful order as it violates the US Constitution. We therefore are demanding you and your men surrender. Any man who surrenders must sign a pledge not to fight against the Military or enforce the Executive Order. They are free to go home or they can enlist in the Army.”

  Clinton blasted back, “You are not obeying the Presidential Order and you are in the military; that is treason Colonel Turner! Therefore, we must arrest you and your men. You leave me no other choice.”

  “Captain Clinton, evidently you have not heard what is going on. All the Special Forces of the Military have agreed not to follow order 13603 and we believe that the President is committing treason and we have a military arrest warrant out for him and his cabinet. The rest of the Military is standing down for the time being. Our other goal is to clean up the crime, gangs and terrorists, so citizens can resume living their lives. You and your Feds are running around confiscating property, guns, money and putting innocent people in jail. You violate the second amendment by taking their guns away while you let the scum roam and kill freely. Make no mistake; we will stop this and we will arrest the President and hold new elections.”

  There was a long pause with no reply from Captain Clinton.

  “Colonel Turner I have my orders and I must insist that you surrender this island, then you, and your men can leave; I will look the other way. We have no fight with the Army Rangers. I don't know if you are telling me the truth or not.”

  “Captain believe me I am telling you the truth. I warn you, your small force is no match for my Rangers. We clearly have your forces out-gunned; please consider that many of your men will be killed. My Abrams tank could destroy your equipment and most of your troops with just three rounds. I must also warn you that you will not be able to leave here as you are surrounded and if you fight, it means military prison for all your men. I will give you one hour to discuss this with your men and surrender or we will open fire.”

  I looked at my watch; it was 2:30 pm. That meant the deadline given by Captain Sessions was 3:30 pm.

  The fifty Rangers and Gun Smoke, the Bradley fighting vehicle, came out from under cover and were now behind the Feds. They clearly had no way out. We all waited, wondering if Captain Clinton was nuts enough to attack the Ranger force. It was also clear to us that Captain Clinton was out of touch. He did not know what was going on in Washington D.C. He was a stooge for the President’s private Army called the FPF or Federal Police Force, or as I call them, the men in black. Hitler also had his own private Army called the SS and they also wore black. They did all the dirty work for Hitler and they were the worst scum on earth, lower than whale droppings at the bottom of the ocean. If the FPF was anything like the SS then they all needed to die.

  Rumor has it the FPF took an oath to protect and defend the President and follow his orders only. There was nothing in the oath about the Constitution. My guess is these guys have been brain-washed and if they could, they would kill us all. I hate all of them with a passion.

  Time was ticking down. As I looked at my watch again I saw it was 3:15 pm; in fifteen minutes the battle would start. I had a great seat, a box seat in the shade to watch our Rangers do their job. Looking down the road I could see the Feds were lining up their vehicles across the road in two rows, five in each row. The Fed troops were in between the two rows of vehicles. All of a sudden one of their Hummers fired a missile at the Abrams. Then, all hell broke loose!

  The missile hit the protective sand bags in front of the Abrams, blowing them to smithereens but also killing some of the Rangers. With the smoke and sand flying, I could not tell how many were killed. The Abrams fired the big 120 mm cannon at the Hummer that shot the missile. It promptly blew up into a big lump of burning metal.

  KABOOM! Another round fired by the Iron Maiden hit another Hummer. The Bradleys were firing the 25 mm cannons in rapid succession. The Feds started firing the big machine guns and the 50-caliber bullets were flying all over the place. If one of these rounds missed their target it could fly a mile or more, so I hoped none of our people were standing too close behind the lines.

  I’d told everyone in our family to stay inside when they heard the shooting start.

  Sessions was on the radio to Tommy, “Take out Captain Clinton with your Cobb 50 and maybe the rest will give up before we kill them all.”

  Tommy replied, “Roger that, Captain.”

  I asked, “Tommy, can you see Clinton?”

  “Yeah, he is trying to hide behind an APC, but I’ve got a clear shot at his head.”

  Tommy was taking aim. Ron and I were watching through our scopes and without warning … KABAM! … Tommy fired. We watched Clinton’s head explode, a blood red mist went up in the air, and his body fell to the ground.

  Tommy called Sessions, “Captain the target is eliminated, Sir.”

  “Roger that,” Sessions replied.

  After about five minutes the shooting tapered down and finally stopped. The Feds raised a white flag, meaning they surrendered. The men started to throw down their guns and climb out of the Hummers and APC trucks. They raised their hands and started toward the bridge. The Bradley pulled forward with its machine guns ready and the commander told the Feds to stop and line up single file. Captain Sessions walked down to meet them with about thirty Rangers. The battle had only lasted about seven minutes.

  Sixty-five men had surrendered, with 48 killed. Four of the five Hummers were blown up and two APCs were destroyed. The Rangers proceeded to frisk each of the men and zip-tie their hands behind their backs. Captain Sessions told them they were all under arrest for attacking the US Army and they were enemy combatants. They were loaded up and taken to Ft. Desoto in their own trucks. The prisoners would be moved to another location far away from us in a day or two.

  The battle was over but six rangers were killed and much to my surprise, so was Robbie. A Ranger Medic found Robbie lying in the grass near the bridge. He had been hit by a 50 caliber BMG round and had a hole in him the size of a soft ball. He died instantly and probably never knew what hit him.

  Eddy was sitting next to Robbie when I arrived. I asked Eddy, “What happened?”

  Sobbing, Eddy said, “We were looking for you guys and the stupid Feds opened fire. I hit the dirt, but Robbie kept walking and got shot by a random bullet. I can’t talk about it now. I don’t know how his wife Maggie is going to take this; I hav
e to go tell her.”

  “I’ll go with you, Eddy.”

  We covered his body with a blanket before placing him in the truck. Robbie would be buried at sea like everyone else who had died.

  A Ranger Medic approached us and asked, “Sir would you like a body bag for your friend?”

  I said, “Yes, thank you. He was my good friend Robbie.” Ron and Eddy helped me zip Robbie into the black bag.

  I can’t write more now, maybe later I will.

  GOD BLESS AMERICA, LAND OF THE FREE AND HOME OF THE BRAVE.

  We are waiting for you to contact us by email to find out where Tocabaga is located. There is an email address hidden these chronicles. In case you missed it… tocabaga.jack@gmail.com.

  I will reply.

  Jack Gunn

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE

  TOCABAGA 1

  Amy – Daughter of Jack Gunn, a Nurse and sharp shooter

  Big Dan – Tocabaga security guard killed by the doper gang

  Carlos – Tocabaga security guard

  Chris – Handy man and Tocabaga security agent

  Colonel Turner – Commanding Officer of the Army Rangers based at Fort Desoto

  Captain Sessions – Combat officer, commands and controls combat operations in the field

  Captain Clinton - Captain of the Federal Police Force

  Captain Riley – Lady tank commander, girl friend of Captain Sessions

  Deputy Matthews – Sherriff Deputy in charge of Tocabaga

  Doc Scott – Tocabaga doctor

  Eddy – Good Friend of Jack Gunn, brews beer and grows pot and is on the security team

  General Harper – General in charge of the Rangers

  Hemmi – Wife of Jack Gunn.

  Joan - Wife of Ron Gunn, a Nurse.

  Jim Bo – Husband to Amy and Son-in- Law of Jack.

  Kendra – Granddaughter of Jack Gunn, Daughter of Tommy Gunn

  Maggie – Wife of Robbie, who is in charge of the farming

  Mark – One of Jacks’ best friends killed by the doper gang

  Robbie – Best friend of Jack Gunn, a Tocabaga security guard killed by the FPF on April 25, 2025

  Ron - Brother of Jack Gunn retired Navy Veteran.

  Rick – President of Tocabaga association, security team member

  Sammy – Tocabaga security guard wounded by the doper gang

  Steve – Jacks’ neighbor and security guard

  Sergeant Smith - Army Ranger assigned as security guard for Jack

  Shanda – Little girl, daughter of big Jim a bad guy, killed by Jack

  Tommy Gunn – Son of Jack Gunn and a retired Marine Scout Sniper.

  Tonya – Wife of Tommy Gunn

  Tony – Bar keeper and sharp shooter for Tocabaga security.

  Download the rest of

  The Tocabaga Chronicles

  By Thomas H. Ward

  TOCABAGA 2: Theoterrorism

  TOCABAGA 3: Warm Blood – Cold Steel

  TOCABAGA 4: The Talos Warriors

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  April 11, 2026

  April 17, 2025 12 Months Earlier

  April 11, 2025 6 Days Earlier

  May 13, 2024 11 Months Earlier

  April 17, 2025 Continued

  April 18, 2025

  APRIL 19, 2025

  APRIL 20, 2025

  APRIL 21, 2025

  April 22, 2025

  APRIL 23, 2025

  April 24, 2025

  APRIL 25, 2025

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE TOCABAGA 1

  Download the rest of The Tocabaga Chronicles By Thomas H. Ward