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Praetorium Honoris

Thursday, October 7, 2021

Quiet in the Streets

(Source)

Lance Corporal Antoine Hayworth had been in the Marine Corps a little over a year now, he'd put his lance corporal stripes on last month. Up until a few days ago, he had felt like he had a real future in the Corps. Now he wasn't so sure.

He was on sentry duty outside the Pentagon Metro stop and looked up as yet another Osprey flew over. Normally this place was busy at this time of day, but today was different. His platoon had been brought over from the Marine Barracks at 8th & I in full combat gear. Upon arrival they'd been issued a full ammo loadout, his platoon leader had put him out here. Which wasn't too bad but it was a cold day and they hadn't had much sleep the night before.

Things were happening, things Hayworth really didn't understand. He had asked Gunny what was going on.

"Damned if I know son. Something way above my paygrade. But I'll tell you what, being here in combat gear, with live ammo, it's the real deal. Whatever that might be. Keep your head on a swivel, I got a bad feeling about all this."


Colonel Mike Tanaka was exhausted, he hadn't slept in well over 48 hours. Adrenaline and caffeine were the only things keeping him going. That and the cigarettes, Judy would tear him a new one if he ever got home again, he'd struggled to quit smoking after his last tour in the 'Stan. Now he was puffing away like he'd never stopped.

He heard a sharp rap at the door to the office he was using, looking up, he barked "Enter!"

Sergeant First Class Joe Levine poked his head around the door, "Sir, I got the CNO¹ out here, he wants to talk with you."

"The CNO? What the Hell does he want with me? Shit, send him in Joe."

Though technically Tanaka was now the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, (officially he was guilty of mutiny in some respects), he was uncomfortable that a full admiral wanted to talk to him. Whose side was this guy on?

Admiral Harry Fairchild came into the office, his hands zip-tied in front of him. His service dress blues were torn and filthy, it also appeared that the admiral had been roughed up. Tanaka saw the zip-ties and ordered the PFC with Levine to cut them off.

"What can I do for you Admiral? As you may well imagine, I'm a little busy now."

"Colonel, I'm on your side and..."

"Whose side is that Admiral?"

"The goddamned Constitution, that side!" The Admiral barked back.

"Sorry Sir, we are on the same side then."

"Where is the Chairman?" The Admiral asked, meaning the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

"He's locked up downstairs, why? You do know that he conspired with certain elements in Congress to allow UN troops, then Chinese troops into the country. Are you comfortable with..."

The phone on Tanaka's desk rang, he noted which line it was and immediately answered, "Tanaka."

He listened for a few moments, then said, "Keep us advised." Then hung up the phone.

"Well Admiral, looks like your guys out in WESTPAC scored big. A Chinese convoy was headed for Taiwan, seems that at least two of your submarines intercepted them and attacked. What was left of the convoy turned and ran for home. They didn't make it."

A grim smile crossed the Admiral's face, "What do you need from me, Colonel? What can the United States Navy do to help clean up this clusterf**k?"


Bob Woodson could see that the Guard unit had posted its sentries in some very good locations, he also assumed that they had other men even better concealed, so when he stood up and raised his hands over his head, he did it very slowly.

PFC Mick Caswell was one of the men Woodson assumed was better concealed, and he was, when he came up out of the snow, his rifle pointed at Woodson's belly, Bob nearly jumped out of his skin.

"State your business Sir, make it quick."

Bob explained his mission, when he was done, the soldier called in a low whistle, which was answered from very nearby. Soon what had to be a sergeant and another soldier came up to Bob.

Woodson marveled at the way the men had camouflaged themselves and their vehicles, he could have walked right through here and not noticed a thing. Maybe.

"Mr. Woodson, I'm Major Maurice Morrison, call me Mo. I command this unit, I understand you have a proposition for us."

Bob Woodson nodded and said, "Yessir, yes I do. How would you like to spend the rest of the winter in comfortable quarters?"

"Where?" was all Morrison asked.

After the two men talked for a good fifteen minutes, Morrison nodded. Turning to his sergeant he said, "Craig, how would you like to go to town, do a little scouting?"

SSgt Sager smiled and said, "Whose car we taking?" Both men laughed at the line from an old movie they both enjoyed, especially as Sager had said it in his best Boston accent.

Woodson spoke up, "The Town."

For a moment Sager looked puzzled, then Woodson said, "Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner? Right?"

Sager smiled and said, "I think you and I are gonna get along real good, let me get my gear and we can be off."



¹ Chief of Naval Operations, the U.S. Navy representative on the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.

68 comments:

  1. MINNESOTA got some licks it, too? Or was it an JMSDF sub? They have no love of China, either.

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    1. Funny, by accounts my prediction that everyone down there with a hate on the ChiComs are scrambling their subs to the area seems to be true. Strongly worded press releases by Singapore and Japan and South Korea on freedom of navigation et al were issued yesterday, and the JASDF (Japanese Air Self Defense Force) has beefed up big time their aerial reconnaissance and their patrols between Japan and Taiwan.

      OAFS is writing almost real time right now.

      Which is scary.

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    2. China is asshole. (Not to repeat myself.)

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  2. Am a bit curious as to how more blue helmets are going to be emptied out. If you're doing movie-wood references then Animal House....."Road Trip!"

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  3. I'm surprised it wasn't the "I'll hold court right out on the street" quote. :)

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  4. You are capturing very well the fluidity of such situations. There would be quite a fog and conflicting information. And I can well imagine given the situation, even US troops would feel somewhat nervous by being in full combat gear.

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    1. I can't imagine an American who would feel comfortable walking the streets of America in full combat gear. Even the dimmest would know that something was seriously wrong.

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  5. A colonel is Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff? Hmmm..

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    1. Well that would be appropriate if all the traitors had been executed. Are there any higher ranking who are even remotely honorable today???

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    2. Retired cop - He's the de facto Chairman as he's the guy running the coup at the moment. We'll see how the interaction with the CNO goes. Is the admiral really on the side of the angels, or is he playing for time? We shall see.

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    3. Mark - See my comment in response to Retired cop. You are far too pessimistic as to what's going on in the military, don't believe everything you hear/read no matter from which side, remember they're selling advertising, not fact. As to some of the websites out there, especially the extreme ones, they too are trying to sell you something.

      Not all senior officers in the military are dishonorable. Milley is an exception in my experience. There are too many like him (one is too many) but they're not all bad.

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    4. O-6's are still promoted on their abilities to lead troops and get the job done. Stars are straight up political. If your views are known by those promoting, you are stuck at O-6.

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    5. Roger that. It's the reason I have a "lowly" colonel leading the coup.

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    6. The Colonel is senior on scene, much like Gen. Haig when RR got shot. Much like the chain of command in a volunteer fire dept. Senior man on scene runs the show until someone higher shows up. Old Guns.

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    7. Someone higher who can be trusted, of course.

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  6. Replies
    1. The man is impatient I see. All will be revealed in due time.

      What uniform do you think he wears? (Yes, I am being cryptic...)

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    2. Be as cryptic as you want! It's your story & a good one...

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    3. With a Funny running interference I'd say USMC, but I've been wrong before. I just thought there were tons of higher ranking and surely one was loyal...but, I've been wrong before! Marshalling my patience...

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    4. Gunny not funny. I hate autocorrect!

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    5. Retired cop #1 - Well, he's running outside security, but USMC is a damned good guess. (I like the Marines.)

      We still don't know who's loyal to the Constitution and who isn't. The situation is complicated and confused. (Not just in my head!)

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    6. Retired cop #2 - Autocorrect, ARGH!

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    7. All will be revealed.

      Eventually.

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  7. It feels like the story sped up. Things happening all over...

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    1. There are events in history which man thinks he controls, then the fit hits the shan and events move way too fast for human control.

      That's how history occurs, it's never as orderly as the books would have us believe.

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    2. That is how Lexington and Concord happened. "Oh, the colonials are getting rowdy, but they are unorganized, let's go seize their stuffs." 10 seconds later, word gets out, couriers are dispatched and people assembled ahead of the Brits. For the time, the reaction was lightning fast with troop buildups on the Colonial's side almost miraculously fast.

      Once the ball starts rolling, it only stops when it hits a big enough thing.

      And the hints our host dropped during the NatGuard bug-out episode led me to believe there was an underground communications system talking 'mutiny' since the UN troops were invited.

      And, no, I don't have patience. That's why I don't have Dr. in front of my name.

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  8. I could see a little "Wolverines!" action coming into play here at some point, seeing how the constitution allows for a well regulated militia!

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    1. We shall see, the Muse isn't really keeping me in the loop. Things happen as I write, sometimes taking me in an unexpected direction.

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    2. Why, yes, the 2A totally should allow us to have full auto weapons, and cannon (modern type or black powder.) And this is the reason why. Enemies foreign and domestic.

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    3. The 2A DOES "allow" that, it's the criminal rulings of the Supremes and the GD legislators over the years which have taken those RIGHTS away. Every single gun law in the United States is unconstitutional. (Note: the Bill of Rights spells out the things government is not allowed to do, our rights are God-given.)

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  9. Very nice. Can't wait to find out who assisted the Underwater Badger Boat in making a clean sweep. And she'd better return to port hoisting a pirate flag and a broom off her masts or ELSE!

    Re: The Pentagon. Any Stinger-armed troops on top of the building? I don't know if the Constitutionalists have access to Patriots, but Stingers on the roof would be the way to go.

    Did they get the President and the administration? Congresscritters? Heads of various bureaus like the FBI, CIA, State Department, and all the people in line for president?

    Or did this just go on the military side.

    As stated above, I have no patience.

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    1. HAHAHAHAhehehehe giggle snort...

      I think your grandson (the newest one) probably has more patience than some of your readers...but this IS a very good story...and I do want to know things...taking a deep breath...and another one...I can wait til tomorrow...I think I can...maybe...it's sorta like Christmas...I wanna know what's inside that present...

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    2. The Big Badger Boat,( SSBN 827 ), and her sister COLUMBIA, (SSBN 826 ), are the last ships on Earth we want getting involved!

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    3. WISCONSIN and COLUMBIA are not combat subs, they are End All Life On Earth subs.

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    4. (Don McCollor)...Aptly nicknamed 'Boomers"...

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    5. SSBNs have very very very good sonar and torpedo departments, and all work to do a fantastic job of disappearing into the ocean even against our own attack boats.

      They have the ability to be very good attack boats, better at long range than many fast attack boats. They're just not as fast as the fast attacks. So, well, they are combat subs, and can be used in a tactical situation, but...

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    6. Beans - The boomers hide, it's what they do. How do you figure that they are better at long range? The sonar suites in the attack boats are very, very, very good.

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  10. Very Bad intel security to let newly met Admiral know about Sub actions. That should have been kept close to the vest until the guys was vetted six ways from Sunday.

    Spin

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    1. He's under guard, who's he going to talk to?

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    2. I've done a lot or interviews and interrogations in my time. You try to never give out info or confirm information/suspicions. It taints the information you get.
      Subject change, I'd think every time blue helmets went out there would be some good old boy plinking at them and after the first few, there would be more good old boys laying back plinking the reaction teams. I mean a lot of the anti invader response would be very loosely coordinated if at all.

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    3. Remember Tanaka hasn't slept in 48 hours, he's at the center of a coup. I'm sure he's exhausted and not hitting on all four cylinders at the moment.

      As to the good old boys plinking, no doubt.

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    4. Been kinda waiting for the 'plinking to start in the real world...plenty of eligible targets skulking around the country these days.

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  11. Same with the NG unit showing the leader to the guy walking in a field. I know story needs a little incense to get characters in and out of the plot but your stories also teach the normies and should be examples of how to do it right. This is not a criticism as I love the Sarges narratives.

    Spin

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    1. Bear in mind that this is an extreme situation where a lot of times all the rules go out the window. Right now things are chaotic and confused, those Guardsmen are probably exhausted, nervous, and anxious all at the same time.

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    2. Not a good combination for the poor Guardsmen!

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    3. Don't forget, it's winter in upstate New York.

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  12. Oh, BOY! This installment and the previous one are EPIC! Well done, Sarge!

    I love how you have two (for now) plot lines running. Wonderful writing, sir!

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  13. That is Marine One at the top, isn't it? The treacherous POTUS is no longer able to move by helo, with the Marines leading the coup, and PACFLT off the leash, smiting the forces of evil.

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    1. Negative, the President is not aboard. The aircraft was commandeered by the Marines loyal to the Constitution.

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  14. Just saw a news item that the USS Connecticut had an underwater collision with something in the Indo Pacific region - wonder what the real story is on that? If not due to some sort of enemy harassment or combat, and all they ran into was a sea mount or something, what the hell is wrong with the Navy these days?
    Anyway, great story, Sarge - you're in good form!

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    1. Sumpin' damned fishy about that! Seems to me only two possible reasons for a boat with that sophisticated of tech to have a collision. Human error, or like Tom says, 'enemy harassment'. Playing chicken, and nobody blinked. Checked for updates, and still no word on what was struck.

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    2. Tom - There are still a lot of uncharted or poorly charted spots in the ocean.

      Hard to tell at this point what sort of calamity befell USS Connecticut (SSN 22) as she was plying her trade.

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    3. Patrick D - You're probably right, though which human's error it might be is open to speculation. Again, the ocean isn't completely and accurately mapped in all places.

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