XO: Executive Officer. The second in command beneath the Commanding Officer (CO).
Zodiac: Combat Rubber Raiding/Reconnaissance Craft (CRRC). Pronounced ‘crick.’ RHIB is the manufacturer of inflatable boats used by civilians, naval forces and other military units. The name ‘Zodiac’ has become synonymous with the CRRC in popular culture.
Acknowledgements
This is the area where I extol the virtues of the people that have helped make this book a reality. There are many people who have gone above and beyond the call and those people include, Chip Denton who designed alternate cover images and provided his time and insight as a test reader.
S.P. Durnin, author of The Crowbar Chronicles. I’ve known S.P. for a while now and he never ceases to make me laugh with his input about my work. Many thanks my friend. Tony Monchinski, author of the Eden series and many other fictional and non-fictional works. Tony is an author I met through another site, did a review of his work and then started talking to him online. Tony is a great guy and his work is phenomenal. That brings us to the site and its owner that I post reviews. Stuart Conover of Buyzombie.com. Thanks to Stu I’ve been exposed to author of the likes of Jessica Meigs, Craig DiLouie and many, many others.
I want to especially thank John O’Brien, author of The New World series. Without John’s help and guidance with aircraft and especially the technical aspects of a C-130, those sequences would be total crap. Another author who had helped me along the way is Stephen Knight. Stephen is the author The Rising Dead, Gathering Horde series of books and he was kind enough to read through one of the first iterations of my book and offer his notes and suggestions to make it better.
I’d like to thank my sources of military information because without them, this series would not have been possible. The JAG office at JBLM for taking time to help me understand the Posse Comitatus Act and how it affects the use of Military Units within the borders of CONUS. The PAO office at Joint Base Lewis/McChord, WA for answering several hundred questions and remaining polite throughout the ordeal. Thanks to the 17th Coast Guard District Public Relations office who took my repeated calls and answered my questions about Coast Guard operations with professionalism even when I’m sure it was frustrating for them. Thanks to the Marine Security Detachment at Bangor, WA for allowing me entry into their ‘inner sanctum’, answering my questions and allowing me a ‘hands-on’ of some the equipment and weapons they use. A big thank you goes out to the ‘Gold’ crew of one of the boomers stationed in the Bangor area for allowing an inside peek at their boat and describing how the subsurface fleet lives and operates.
Thank you goes out to Lieutenant Colonel Emory Lehman (RET), Master Sergeant Ernest Appleby (RET), Staff Sergeant Joseph Carter (RET), Staff Sergeant Michael Liebel (RET), and Sergeant Richard Webber of the 3/161 INF (M) based out of Kent, WA for their help in describing National Guard operations and methods. Their introduction to a particular retired master sergeant helped form one character within the story. I want to thank the service members and civilian staff of Camp Murray, WA who allowed me relative free rein of their facility. Thanks goes out to the staff of Bldg 1, the 10th MSD/WMD, 111th ASOC, TSGT Mike Lilla of the Washington Air National Guard, the staff of the Washington State Emergency Management office located at Camp Murray, WA and the offices of the Adjutant General of both the Washington National Guard and the Washington Air National Guard for extending every courtesy to me during my visit there. Special thanks to SGTs Sigafoos and Balding for their enlightened input.
A big thanks goes out to the men, and women, of the 1st Special Forces Group(A) also stationed at JBLM for granting me access to their personnel.
This series would not be complete without the help and guidance of Rich Restucci, Sara Gray, Evin Ager, Alan Brooks, Doctor Andrew Dill, MD. (Thanks Doc), and many, many others who provided insight, answers to medical technical issues and provided extremely detailed reviews of each book, pointing out errors and other problems.
Finally, I want to thank you, the reader for encouraging me to continue the series when I was at a point that I felt it should have ended.
Of course, there are many others who I missed and I want to thank them for all their contributions to this project. If you were missed in this book, don’t worry, I’ll get to you in another one.
J.R. Jackson is a former US Navy Chief Petty Officer. During his tenure in the Navy he has traveled to exotic locations, trained with foreign military units, been part of fielding teams for new equipment, and been assigned to Military Training Teams as a tactical instructor.
Since leaving the Navy, he has worked as a private military contractor (not that kind of contractor).
Currently he is an author, a disaster mitigation consultant, and a wilderness survival instructor. He lives in a very rural area of the Pacific Northwest with his wife and daughter.
Up From the Depths Page 29