A NATION DIVIDED - THE SECOND CIVIL WAR (The Second Civil War - BOOK I 1)

by Marshall Huffman

  “Easy Chief. I am sure that when the American Revolution and the Civil War started the same things were said over and over. There comes a time when you have to stand up for what you hold sacred in your heart. This is where I draw the line. I will not allow the Constitution of the United States to be defied.”

  “Admiral you can talk all you want but in the end it will make no difference,” the Chief said.

  “Don’t be so sure. Let me read you something that the courts upheld,” he said and opened a law book that was on his desk.

  I quote, “The justification for acts done pursuant to orders does not exist if the order was of such a nature that a man of ordinary sense and understanding would know it to be illegal.”

  “Gentlemen I certainly consider myself to be of ordinary sense. That order was illegal. It seems rather simple to me,” the Admiral said.

  “But you won’t make the final call,” the Chief replied.

  “Perhaps not. Now gentlemen, I insist that you be our guests for a while. I’m sure this will all be worked out at some point,” he said as he stood and walked to the door.

  He opened it and said a few words to the guards. They entered the room.

  “Now if you wouldn’t mind going along with these men I would greatly appreciate it,” he said and smiled.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  “Mac. They just came to arrest me,” the Admiral said.

  “Yeah I know. I got four of them here as well. Almost had to shoot one of them. He went for his sidearm but the guard was able to stop him in time. What the hell was he thinking?”

  “Hey, you know. They are just following orders,” the Admiral said and chuckled.

  “Have you heard from Amblin yet?”

  “Not yet. I don’t know what his intentions really are. I know he didn’t obey the order but will he say no to the arrest? That I don’t know.”

  “He is a hardheaded old warrior. I can’t see him going down without a fight. Not Amblin,” MacMillan said.

  “Well if you are right, that makes three bases that have refused to cave in to the violation of the Constitution.”

  “Any rumors about other bases or units?”

  “Just that the National Guard is pretty thin. With units overseas and now this. They can’t be much help. The last I heard a lot of people were refusing to report,” the Admiral said.

  “I hope that continues. I heard that some militia group raided a bunch of weapons deposits. Got off with some pretty potent weapons and equipment.”

  “Yes. Someplace out there is a pretty organized army that is ready to fight for what they think is best for the country. It almost sounds like the Revolutionary War again.”

  “Except that was between the Americans and the English. This is more of a Civil War,” MacMillan replied.

  “One thing for certain. No matter who wins, we will all lose. This country will never be the same again,”

  “Lord, ain’t that the truth.”

  ***

  “Sir, we have to do something,” Roland Clarke said.

  “Now there’s a thought. We need to do something.”

  “You know what I mean Mr. President.”

  “We all know what you mean Roland. The problem is how to handle this so it doesn’t escalate.”

  “We have six bases with commanders who refused to obey your orders. Evidently the people on the base were given a choice of leaving or staying. They don’t seem to be doing anything that we can see and we parked satellites over all six bases. Everything seems to be normal,” General Winfield said.

  “Normal? You call not taking a phone call from the General of the Army and the Commander-in-Chief normal?”

  “Sorry sir. I meant aggressive. They seem to be operating routinely.”

  “Well that’s just dandy. They haven’t invited the Russians or Chinese to visit the bases yet.”

  The General didn’t respond. There was nothing he could say that would satisfy the President.

  “General, what would it take to get control of Eglin Air Force Base back in our hands?”

  “I would need to give that some thought. I mean I could throw out an answer but it wouldn’t be a good one.”

  “Fine. I accept that. I want you to get with whomever you need and find a way to regain control of our largest Air Force Base.”

  “Yes sir. It will probably have to be a joint operation.”

  “I don’t care. Just find a way.”

  “Yes sir,” he said and hesitated.

  “General, is something else on your mind?”

  “I just want clarification. You are talking about a military operation that could lead to fighting.”

  “If that’s what it takes.”

  “Yes sir. I just wanted to be sure before I put a plan together.”

  “Then there you have it. Please proceed.”

  “Yes sir.”

  ***

  “Has he lost his ever lovin’ mind?” Lieutenant General Erickson said.

  “That may well be true but those are our orders,” General Winfield told him.

  “A plan to take Eglin Air Force base by force if necessary, that’s insane. We will be assaulting our own men and women.”

  “You’re not telling me anything that I don’t already know,” Winfield replied.

  “We need Admiral Swanson from Pensacola. She has control of the Naval base there,” General Erickson said.

  “I agree. They are the closest staging facility and we can use their planes if necessary.”

  “Do you think it will come to that?”

  “The President made it clear that he wants Eglin back in our hands. I told him that it could lead to fighting and he just said ‘so be it’.

  “He would actually bomb one of our own bases?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “This isn’t right. There has to be another way.”

  “I understand where you’re coming from but unless you can think of something else, this is what we are facing.”

  “I never in this lifetime thought it would come to this. Fighting our own men.”

  “I don’t think anyone could have foreseen this,” Winfield said.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Eglin Air Force Base covers over 460,000 acres and has over eight thousand military personnel. It is the home of the 96th Air Base Wing. The 46th Test Wing is stationed at Eglin as well.

  Eglin has some of the most lethal armament in America. The planes run from the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning to F-15C and F16s. They also house a vast number of tankers and other necessary Air Force support equipment.

  The base Commander, Colonel James G. Fox, refused to send military personnel to take part in Operation Clean Sweep. He allowed the Officers and all enlisted to either stay or to leave. No one was directed to either participate or not participate. It was simply a matter of choice.

  Of the 8,000 men and women stationed at the base, 6,125 elected to stay with the base. The others were given 30 days leave.

  When the MPs showed up to arrest Colonel Fox, he simply refused to allow them to come on base. When the Secretary of Defense called, Colonel Fox informed him that he considered the order illegal and would not comply. He also refused to surrender to the authorities.

  “How many planes can we get in the air from the 33 Fighter Wing?” he asked his second in command, Lieutenant Colonel Zephyr.

  “Right now we can scramble twenty-nine F-15C if necessary.”

  “F-16s?”

  “Thirty-five are operational,” Zephyr said.

  “What is the status of the new F-35 Lightings?”

  “All are ready. They have been checked out and are FR,” he told the Colonel.

  “That’s excellent. Having them Fight Ready is certainly an edge.”

  “Sir, do you really think they will try to take the base by force?”

  “Zeph, I certainly hope not but we need to be ready. I want at least one AWAX in the sky at all times. Everyone needs to be at DEFCON 4 at all
times. I want to be able to scramble at any time we detect a threat.”

  “What a frickin’ mess,” Zephyr said.

  “Amen to that.”

  “Have you called Admiral Greenfield yet?”

  “No. I was just getting ready to do that. You might as well stay while I get him on the horn,” Colonel Fox replied.

  “Yes sir.”

  Fox dialed the number and waited until Greenfield came on the line.

  “Admiral, It’s Colonel Fox.”

  “Hello Jimmy. I was just about to call you.”

  “Hell of a thing Leon. At least I won’t go down alone. I understand Mac and Joel Amblin are in the same boat.”

  “Along with your buddy Jamison,” Greenfield said.

  “Anyone else?”

  “Admiral Heathcoat.”

  “He commands the Naval Base at New London doesn’t he?” Fox asked.

  “That’s the one. Ten Los Angles Class subs and four Virginia Class subs are based there.”

  “Now that’s some deterrent.”

  “You might say that.”

  “So it seems we should find a way of talking. I know you are on a scrambler phone now as am I but I guess with all that is going on I still don’t trust the phones much,” Fox said.

  “Let me work on that and I’ll get back to you. Don’t use e-mail under any circumstances,”

  “Okay Leon. I’ll just sit tight for now. I’ll let you know if the situation changes,” Fox replied.

  “Hang in there. We are doing the right thing.”

  “I know but what a mess.”

  “You are right about that,” Greenfield said as he hung up.

  “Looks like there are six of you,” Zephyr said when the Colonel hung up.

  “Yes, I wonder if there were others riding the fence.”

  “No doubt. I’m sure a lot of them spent many hours wrestling with this decision.”

  “I’m somewhat worried about Heathcoat at New London. He has one of the most lethal forces in the world under his command but not much in the way of fire or air support. I want you to work on a way to get some help up there to him.”

  “Can’t he just send the subs to sea?”

  “I’m sure he could if he had enough warning but he doesn’t have much for a blocking action if the time comes.”

  “Alright Colonel, I’ll go over to 6th Ranger Battalion and get with them first. After that I’ll talk to the leaders of the 58th and 60th Fighter Squadrons. I’ll see what we can all come up with.”

  “Thanks Zeph. I appreciate you hanging in there with me on this. You didn’t have to.”

  “Yes I did. It is wrong on every level. I have no qualms about my decision.”

  “Alright Zeph, see what you can come up with.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Hurricane Simon slammed into the Dauphine Islands, just off the coast of Alabama. With sustained wind speeds of over one hundred and sixty-five miles per hour it was considered an F-5 classification storm.

  The hurricane veered east, sliding along Bon Secour Bay and Little Lagoon before ripping into Foley, Lillian, Bellview, and Pensacola, Florida. The massive storm devastated everything in its path. Virtually everything from where it came ashore all the way to Valparaiso, Florida was damaged or washed away. Two thousand and fifty-one people lost their lives to Simon and the subsequent flooding. The estimated cost associated with the storm was one hundred and twenty billion dollars.

  The newly reorganized FEMA agency was overwhelmed as badly or worse in many cases as during Hurricane Katrina. Heavy rains and flooding occurred across the northern part of Florida. It became a tropical storm that slowly moved across Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina until it finally moved out into the Atlantic Ocean.

  ***

  “This could work to our advantage,” Cole said.

  “How? We don’t need something else going wrong.”

  “First, the stories about Clean Sweep will take a back seat. Every agency will be focused on Florida and Hurricane Simon. You can use this as a photo opportunity. Fly down to Florida and let the people see you stand alongside the survivors. Promise fast government aid and make sure we deliver it. It might be good to fire Bailer after you make your tour. Show the people you mean business.”

  “Bailer has only been a head of FEMA for less than a year. He isn’t responsible for the problems,” the President said.

  “It doesn’t matter. It will look like you are taking every step to help those people. If we can pull this off, people will see that you are firmly in control.”

  “What about asking other nations to help? We always send our people to help. It might show our willingness to work with other nations in times of emergencies.”

  “I don’t know about that. It could be seen as weakness. We can’t even take care of our own people,” Cole replied.

  “I think she is right,” Defense Secretary Clarke agreed.

  “Well if we screw this up it will only add to the problems we have now. We have to do something that looks like we are on top of the situation,” Chief of Staff Slone said.

  “She is right. We have to respond in such a way that it is convincing,” President Quasim replied.

  “How about if we just air lift as many military troops and National Guard as we can round up to the area,” Secretary of Labor Alice Dell said.

  “Alice, manpower is not the only issue. Food, water, and shelter are equally important. We have to take care of the basic needs. Doctors and clothing are as important as feet on the ground,” the President told her.

  “So we take everything we need in a massive air lift. We get the word out today that you are personally directing the relief effort. Let them see you at the Air Bases, Medical facilities, and anyplace else we can think of. We get water and even those ‘whatchumacallits’ for people to eat. We overload the press with what we are doing every hour,” Dell suggested.

  “The ‘whatchumacallits’ are called MRE. Meals Ready to Eat,” Roland said, rolling his eyes.

  “Whatever,” Dell said.

  “Now that’s a workable idea. We can put out a press release immediately. Start the ball rolling even before it hits the media,” the President said enthusiastically.

  “I’ll pull Winfield, Ascot, and Erickson off the other project and get them going on this. I’ll make sure I light a fire under their tails,” Clarke said.

  “We need Kendra in here to start on a press release. The rest of you know what you have to do. I want to hit this hard and let the people know we mean business.”

  ***

  Kendra looked at the President askance.

  “Sir, you are painting yourself into a corner if you do this,” she said.

  “Kendra, we don’t have any other options. We have to get people’s minds off Operation Clean Sweep. This is the chance to do just that.”

  “I understand sir but it is such an enormous risk. Another tropical depression is forming in the Atlantic and it appears to be as big or bigger than Simon. What happens if it develops into a full blown Hurricane?”

  “It’s a risk we are going to have to take. Kendra, I appreciate your concern but this is what has to be done. If I could find another way, believe me, I would. I don’t like getting my back up against the wall either. Sometimes you just have to take a chance. This is one of those times.”

  “I’ll go to work on it immediately. As soon as I have a rough draft I’ll bring it by. You have a list of some of the things we are going to be doing don’t you sir?”

  “Yes. I had Larson, Clarke, and Dell work on it. If you think of anything that we might add to makes it better, feel free to add it in.”

  “I’ll get started. Anything else Mr. President?”

  “No. That’s it for now.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  “I got a call from General Adams last night. He has been meeting in small groups with militia all around the country. He has a plane that he has been using which makes it a little easier. Still, it
’s a lot of travel,” Bob Tonner said.

  “What about the weapons they raided?” Craig Hawkins asked.

  “The way I understand it, Colonel Ashford is responsible for getting them to the right place.”

  “What about the smaller militias?”

  “Right now we are just giving them the most basic information. We have no way of knowing how many have government moles inside those organizations. They know nothing about our raids on the military bases and we want to keep it that way for now.”

  “They are going to resent not being in the loop.”

  “I realize that but that’s the way General Adams wants it right now and I concur. We aren’t organized enough at this point to take any big risks.”

  “What if the government strikes first?”

  “Well, first they would have to find us. Second, they aren’t sure how many of us they would be taking on. Third, they don’t know what the general population would do. They have their hands full with the aftermath of Hurricane Simon. They won’t be sticking their nose in our business for a while at least.”

  “Do you think Abrams can pull us all together? I mean, I like the guy but is he young enough to go the distance? This would be hard on a young man, all the traveling and planning. Can he hack it?” Craig asked.

  “Hell, I can’t answer that. I know that the men and women I have talked to are fired up about having someone of his experience lead the ARM.”

  “The American Revolutionary Militia, I can’t believe we even have such a thing now. It has always been sort of hodgepodge. Units scattered all over hell’s half acre. Half of them weren’t anything but a bunch of wannabe military men.”

  “All I can say is that it is starting to turn into a real fighting force. Even if nothing else happens it has been a good way to organize a proper militia,” Bob said.

  “Here is something I picked up but it hasn’t been in the press or media. The White House is trying to keep a lid on it but six military base commanders did not follow the President's orders. They just ignored it.”

  “Holy cow. Are you sure about this?” Bob said excitedly.