Going Home (Soldier Up Book 3)

by Steven Linde

  Joe and his boys had money, or at least what passed for money these days, and they also had enough goods to trade, which they were going to need for advertising. In this case, advertising meant good ol’fashion meet and greets, and getting out shaking hands. They could also create posters and flyers to be posted throughout the camps and villages of Portland. Then it occurred to the brain trust that they would have to get out of Portland to get the word out. It occurred to them that, to be Governor, it would be a statewide vote, and all camps, villages and cities (what were left of them) would get the chance to vote. This was going to be a lot bigger then they all thought. They were still up to the challenge. Now if they could only get out of the jail cells and not have to serve the 5-10 years each one of them just earned inside the Oregon State Penitentiary.

  Over the last three months, the military had started to appoint judges. Then working with the judges, they appointed a Supreme Court for each state to ensure the laws were being implemented correctly. Also, when requested they would have to make decisions when the lower courts couldn’t decide. Federal issues were still being handled by the military, and there was some discussion about appointing federal judges. They agreed, but they felt the states took priority.

  Local newspapers were reporting that the military was in fact setting up election commissions so state elections could take place. Big Joe and his cohorts weren’t too far off.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Admiral Meyer decided that twenty of the Blackhawks, assuming they all worked, would stay up in Washington. He wanted 1st Special Forces Group to get the lion shares of them, and I Corps for now would get two primarily for command purposes. The rest would be loaded onto the Hornet when she came into port. It would be easy to fly them aboard, but not all of them would be going. Camp Parks would get fifteen, primarily for 19th SF, which has been handling the lion’s share of missions so far, and one of the Blackhawks would be assigned to Colonel Clayton’s Staff. Camp Pendleton would get twenty, with most of them going to Force Recon and two going to the Commandant. North Island would get twenty, Fort Huachuca and Davis Monthan would get ten a piece, Travis would get ten, and what was left over would remain at McChord. This was all under the assumption that all of the aircraft worked, and the ones that didn’t the mechanics would tear down to determine why and repair them. They had plenty of spare parts, with all of the others sitting out on flight lines with the electronics fried.

  The training helicopters were finally checked out and found to work fine, after all they were all engine. Word spread quickly through the services that flyable Blackhawks were coming, and Blackhawk pilots were coming out of the woodwork wanting to be one of the few selected. Many of the birds would be going to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) which was partly at Lewis-McChord. Camp Parks and Camp Pendleton made requests for some of the pilots to be transferred to their posts for the time being. The Marines wanted them because they were the best at what they did, and they wanted them to train up the Marine pilots. The Army would get them back eventually. After the SEALs found out that the Marines were getting the 160th pilots, they requested them too, which caused some heartache with the Navy pilots. The SEALs didn’t care, it was all about their ability to carry off missions and live through them. Admiral Meyer agreed with the SEALs: once the 160th pilots arrived, they could evaluate the Navy pilots and determine if they were good enough or needed additional training.

  In and around the camps at Fort Lewis and McChord AFB, people started to pull out their old flags and fly them. Most of them were happy to see the Army take a leading role, and were very happy to see regular Army patrols in the camps and towns. Some of the 7th ID Stryker vehicles were found to be working. The Strykers were built with EMP protection, which General Cummings didn’t know about, but General Horvath did. He wasn’t about to tell General Cummings about it prior to the intervention by Admiral Meyer, for fear that he would have taken them and given them to the civilians.

  The vehicles were going to give them the ability to show the colors much further away from post in Seattle and other towns. The Blackhawks flying around the base and over Tacoma and Seattle surprised all of the civilians in those areas. Leaflets were dropped over areas where the crews could see civilians congregating. Gangs were the biggest problem in the cities, and were now aware the Army was coming. However, they were unsure how they could stand-up against the Army. They had small-arms and the Army had, at minimum, helicopters, and that scared them. What they didn’t know was that the Army had a lot more than that, which the leaflets eluded too. Some of the gangs were very large, maybe up to twenty-five hundred men and women. They were armed with AR-15’s, AK-47’s, hunting rifles and pistols, but didn’t have all of the ammunition in the world to fight the Army. The mission to secure the towns and cities was passed onto 7th ID’s Stryker Brigades, General Horvath, although I Corps new XO still retained command of 7th ID. He was looking forward to getting his men and women out into the communities and take them back from the bad guys.

  The Ranger Battalion and 1st SF Group was assigned to the oil refineries along Puget Sound and Cherry Point refinery, near the Canadian border. This is where the majority of the Blackhawks would be used to insert the Soldiers and to take on anyone holding the refineries. In addition, 1st SF was assigned port security, and it was now there job to determine what was going on within the ports within all of Washington State. They had to gather information and work with the Navy to come up with a plan to take them back, if that was the case.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  The 2nd Battalion Stryker Brigade (2-2) had been assigned Tacoma and the 3rd Battalion Stryker Brigade (3-2) was assigned Seattle. The first mission for each battalion was reconnaissance, and only they were to send in small teams to collect intelligence. This was not an offensive operation, and the Soldiers’ rules of engagement were defensive in nature. If they got into a situation where they needed backup, they were to hunker down in place and call for reinforcements. Two Stryker vehicles were used. The intelligence they gathered from interviewing people in the camps was that the population of both cities had dropped dramatically.

  Tacoma had a population of about two-hundred-eleven-thousand prior to the event. A year after the event, no one really had any solid idea what it was, but when asked it was suggested it was between thirty to fifty-thousand people. Seattle’s population prior to the event was roughly 3,610,000 people after the event and, like Tacoma; no one really had a solid idea what it was. It was suggested that loss of life was huge and the population had dropped to two-hundred thousand, if that.

  The event happened during the summer and people weren’t prepared for the oncoming winter, and found they had no way to heat themselves. For months after the event, people held out hope that the government was coming to help. Even if the military could have gotten it together, there was very little they could have done. In addition, people had no way to defend themselves from bad guys that had guns. The State was one of many that had strong gun control laws because they believed the police would be able to defend them. The event happened and the police had no way to get any place to help anyone, not to mention in Seattle it seemed all three million people needed police help, and it wasn’t going to happen all at once.

  It’s just over fifteen miles from Fort Lewis to Tacoma, and around forty-seven from Fort Lewis to Seattle. The commander of 3-2 Colonel Luis Dane felt that the forty-seven miles was too far from Fort Lewis, and in the event there was trouble. He decided to move the battalion closer to Seattle near Renton because they were going to have to eventually go into Seattle anyway. The 2-2 would move to secure the I-5 all the way through Tacoma, which would allow the 3-2 to pass through with no problems. It was all great in theory, but the 3-2 wasn’t moving until 2-2 cleared and that hadn’t started yet and might not be done for a week.

  Up first, four reconnaissance teams moved into Tacoma using four different avenues, leaving from McChord Field and moved up Interstate 5. The four tea
ms traveled north together. The first team exited off the I-5 at S 72nd Street and headed toward Tacoma Mall. They were to recon the area around the mall and determine how badly the mall had been looted. This meant that the Soldiers in the M1126 would have to dismount and enter the mall, and the Soldiers joked that they were getting to go shopping. The next team would take the 16 north and exit at S Union Avenue, and the last two teams would continue up the I-5, and then the third team would exit at the 705 and follow it until the end. The last team would also head up the 705 and take the 509 and follow it the Port of Tacoma Road.

  Each team only had so much time in town before they needed to refuel, and they had manual pumps with them and had trained on how to get the fuel from gas stations. If that wasn’t going to be possible the 2-2 had set up a refueling point a bit north of Lakewood. The teams were told that if possible, get fuel in Tacoma first and continue until night fall, and then return to McChord. If things went south for a team, pull back until safe and call it in. A standby team that was much larger would be sent in to deal with the problem.

  The first team exited the I-5 at S 72nd Street made a left and headed to the mall. It was quiet and they didn’t see a soul around. They moved through the streets at a moderate pace, and the two vehicles were flying the Stars and Stripes. The hope was that people would associate that with the United States Military and be more trusting. So far it didn’t matter because they haven’t seen anyone as they drove through the streets around the mall. They turned into the mall and circled it, and still not one person was sighted. They could see that the mall had been broken into, as the glass doors had been smashed open. But that could have happened at any time over the last year.

  The Soldiers dismounted from the M1126 and quickly for cover at the nearest wall until all of them were out and ready to move. They moved in stack formation, with weapons up and ready, and entered the mall. Most, if not all, of the Soldiers had been to the mall many times before the event, so they knew it some better than others. They could see that the mall had been looted, but not all of the stores had been. There were stores that had security gates that hadn’t been breached, and that was good news. They would note it in their reports back to command. They continued to move through the complex and still hadn’t seen anyone. They found their way into the back corridors of the mall, where workers and security moved. Still, no one was around.

  For the next hour and a half they explored the mall and didn’t find any people. They exited the mall and got back into the M1126 and continued on. They continued to move out of the mall, and so far it had been uneventful, so they moved on down the road. It was eerily quiet, with no cars or people on the streets. It was easy to get around as there weren’t many vehicles stalled on the roads because the event happened in the middle of the night.

  The second team exited the I-5 onto the 16 and got off at S Union. This was a heavy populated area with residences, parks and a golf course. Much of this area prior to the event had been run by the Hilltop Crips. The Soldiers were able to stand out of the vehicles and man the machine guns. They moved slowly and cautiously through the neighborhoods, as they had sighted several barricades that had been set up with cars to block the streets. There was a Target and Walmart near, and they were supposed to check them out. Up to this point they hadn’t seen anyone. There were signs, though, that there had been activity in the area after the event. It was hard to tell right now if anyone was still around. All of a sudden, there was the sound, followed by gunfire. The men quickly turned their machine guns on several young men advancing, firing at them with pistols. Each vehicle let loose several rounds from the machine guns directed at the young men, and then they quickly scattered and ducked behind a couple of cars.

  The Soldiers called for them to come out, telling them that if they didn’t fire on them they won’t return fire. The men raised their heads and peered through the glass in the doors. They could see the Soldiers in the lead vehicle were covering them, while the Soldiers in the second vehicle were looking for other threats. The four young men that were black stood. They were talking between each other, and then they moved around the car slowly heading toward the Stryker vehicles. They got about seventy-five feet from the M1126 before they were told to halt and to drop their weapons. The Soldiers noticed that all four men wore blue t-shirts, Levis, with blue bandanas hanging out of their back pockets. The men complied and dropped their pistols.

  “What you want?” asked the youngest. He looked about fourteen years old.

  The Soldiers looked down at the men wondering if they were crazy. “We’re reconnoitering the area.”

  “What’s dat mean?” asked the oldest. He who looked nineteen or twenty years old.

  “It means,” said SSG Leon, “that we’re searching for people such as yourself.”

  “What’s that mean?” the oldest, his language clearing up real quick.

  “It means were looking for survivors such as yourself.” replied SSG Leon.

  “This is our hood, you’re not welcome!” yelled the youngest.

  “No this is Tacoma Washington, United States of America and we’re the United States Army,” said SSG Leon. Signaling to the oldest one that’s been doing most of the talking. “What’s your name?”

  “Gary. Who are you?”

  “Well I’m Staff Sergeant Leon of the 2nd Battalion Stryker Brigade from Fort Lewis.”

  “What do you want here?” asked Gary.

  “I told you,” said SSG Leon.

  “Yeah you did, but why you looking?”

  SSG Leon thought about how to answer him, then decided there’s nothing better than the truth. “We’re here to take back the city, and we’re forward element looking for people. Now as we sit here my men inside are radioing back to our main force of thousands of Soldiers from Fort Lewis telling them exactly what we’re doing right now.”

  “Bullshit!” yelled the youngest.

  Four F4F Wildcats flew low over their position startling the four young men. The youngest eyes grew so big at seeing the airplanes they looked like they were going to explode out of his head. Gary looked up at SSG Leon and saw that he was speaking into the microphone attached to his helmet. Then a few neighborhoods over heavy gunfire could be heard, and they were firing at the Wildcats. The aircraft banked and came back; they were angling on the gunfire, then cut loose with their own guns, peppering the area. Bodies were strewn down the street and the firing stopped.

  “Apparently some of your homies decided to shoot on our planes, so they’re dead,” said SSG Leon.

  The four young men had no doubt now that the Soldiers were telling the truth. “Are y’all going to kill us too?” said Gary.

  “I’m thinking about it,” stated SSG Leon. “I want you to understand something we don’t have to send in Soldiers to clear the neighborhoods, we have bombers that can fly over and bomb the hell out of you, level the hood, leave nothing living behind.”

  The youngest was scared, and it could be clearly seen on his face. “Why are you telling us this?” asked Gary.

  “To save your lives. I’m going to let you go and I want you to take that message back. We’re coming and coming soon. If you shoot at us ever we will kill all of you men, women, everyone! Do you understand that?”

  Gary and the other three men nodded. “Now get the hell out of here!” said SSG Leon. The men kneeled down to pick up their pistols. SSG Leon let fly several rounds over their heads. “I never told you to pick up those weapons. Touch them and I’ll cut you in half. I strongly suggest you get the hell out of here now.”

  The four men stepped back from their weapons while eyeing SSG Leon. The youngest was the first to turn and run quickly followed by the other three. SSG Leon watched the men run off chuckling to himself. ‘Yeah I figured’ thought SSG Leon.

  The third team rumbled down the 705 and onto Schuster Pkwy, where they stopped and took in the surrounding area. This area was a bit north of Crip territory, according to their briefing. But that was a year ago, so
no one knew how far north they might have gone after the event. Odds are the gang, like everyone else, suffered losses and shrank their numbers as members died off for various reasons. The parkway ran along Commencement Bay, and it was a beautiful view as the Soldiers traveled down the road. The Parkway ran into Ruston Way, which was lined with restaurants and hotels. The Soldiers stopped and checked out several of the hotels to check for people and looting. Most of the hotels looked to have been occupied at one time, but there was no one in them now. They hadn’t been looted and there were plenty of bedding and furniture. The Army’s plan was to gather up everything and place most of it in storage. The Army didn’t need it, but they were sure civilians would. The Army would centrally locate equipment, clothes, and other items and hand it out as needed.

  The point behind this recon was to make it to Point Defiance Park where there was a zoo and aquarium. The Army wanted to know what happened to the animals. There were dangerous animals that could easily prey on people. Did the animals escape their enclosures or die in them, and if they escaped where did they go? If they did escape, odds were good they stayed in the seven hundred acre park where they could hunt for food. It was possible that they moved south into the residential areas, but before they went down that road and this turned into a safari, how cool would it be to shoot a tiger. The movement north along the parkway and then onto Ruston was uneventful as they moved into Point Defiance. There were no more than five-hundred yards into the park when they were charged by a huge grizzly bear. The Soldiers were startled, and fired on the bear with their M249’s, cutting the bear down.