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Praetorium Honoris

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Who's Running the Show?

(Source)

After being handed the written report, the President placed it on his desk then said two words, "Everybody out."

The Secret Service detail escorted everyone from the room, the senior agent hesitated at the door a moment before looking at the President, who said, "You too."

As the door closed, the President turned his chair to look out the window. It was dark outside, the newly fallen snow on the trees outside the office would have cheered him up in normal times, these were far from normal times. He sighed, turned back to his desk and picked up the report.

Apparently a "rogue unit" from the New York Army National Guard had attacked a UN Peacekeeper compound and killed the entire garrison. The President shook his head at the term "rogue unit." "Who wrote this shit?" he muttered aloud.


After an hour away from the building, SFC Joe Levine decided to look in on Colonel Tanaka, the man was exhausted and badly needed sleep. Levine shook his head, tired leaders get people killed. As he cracked the door open, there was the colonel head down, fast asleep. Levine hesitated, the man should at the very least stretch out on the sofa in the office, sleeping like that wasn't good for you. But hey, it was better than no sleep at all he figured. There was no way he was going to wake him up at this point.

Stepping out into the outer office, where in normal times the administrative assistant would sit, he gestured to the woman on duty, he noted that she was a sailor. He hadn't noticed that before when he had gone in. Everybody's cammies looked alike these days, one thing DoD had finally gotten right.

"Has it been quiet, sailor?" he asked her.

"Yes, it has been, soldier." she answered.

Levine cocked an eyebrow, the sailor said, "Look Sarge, I know Navy ranks and ratings are a little confusing for you Army types. I do know that you are a Sergeant First Class, paygrade of E-7. I am a Master-At-Arms Senior Chief Petty Officer, or MACS if you like. Master-at-arms is my rating, Senior Chief Petty Officer is my rank, my paygrade is E-8. Questions?"

"Sorry Senior Chief, it's been a long f**king day."

"I get you, I'm not usually this crabby. But they pulled me out of a sweet billet over at the Boat School to come here and play with you rebels, so I'm kinda all at sea for the moment."

"The Boat School?" Levine felt a headache coming on.

"The Naval Academy, up the road in Annapolis?"

Levine grinned, then said, "Heh, Boat School, nice. Anyway, the Colonel finally put his head down, please don't let anyone bother him for a couple of hours. Okay?"

MACS Janet Sorge sighed and shook her head, "Sorry Sarge, this just came in over the encrypted line. From the White House." She handed Levine a message form.

One glance and Levine said, "Holy shit. You're right, the boss needs to see this, now."


Colonel Jeff Tanaka read the message, then looked at MACS Sorge, "You got this from the White House?"

"Roger that Sir. See that code at the bottom, that's the man himself, the President."

Turning to SFC Levine he asked, "Joe, did any of the people from the Guard Bureau join us?"

"Not a one Sir."

Tanaka ran a hand over his face, "We need to find out what's going on in upstate New York. Sergeant Levine, any ideas? Senior Chief Sorge?"

"Admiral Fairchild still in the building?" Sorge asked.

"Yeah, he's downstairs, why?"

"He's a nuke, went through school up in Ballston Spa¹. He still has contacts up there. Maybe...?"

"Come on Senior Chief, let's go see the Admiral."


The phone on the President's desk rang, it surprised him, he was used to his secretary taking all calls, then buzzing his phone if it was something he needed to deal with personally. This was unusual, then he realized, these were unusual times. Not to mention which, the White House communication system had been down for a few days now.

"This is the President. To whom am I speaking?"

"Uh, sorry sir, this is Bill Waterston, I'm a comms tech here in the White House. We're trying to get the circuits back up. My computer is showing a message from your office going out an hour ago, do you know anything about that?"

The President had no idea what this Waterston character was talking about, but he answered anyway, "Nope, wasn't me, this is the first time my phone has worked since Tuesday. What's going on here anyway?"

The line went dead.


"He actually answered the phone." Bill Waterston said to his colleague, Dean McBride.

"No shit?"

"Yeah, I get the feeling that the President is in over his head. What time did the Chief of Staff leave?"

McBride checked his watch, "About two hours ago."

"So the so-called leader of the Free World has just been sitting in his office for two hours, all by himself. Real man of action that one is." Waterston scoffed. "I suppose if you elect a figurehead, you get just that."

McBride nodded, "Chief of Staff is actually running the show, isn't he?"

"Sure looks like it."

"Damn."


"Okay, this guy is a retired admiral, two star. I met him at nuke school. Good guy, I'm pretty sure he's friends with the New York State Adjutant General, black guy named Jones. A real straight shooter, left active duty after the debacle in Afghanistan..." Admiral Fairchild explained.²

"Which one?" Tanaka asked.

"Yeah, pick one, this was the one in '21. Anyway he's pissed, resigns his commission. Later on decides to go the Guard route. He knows politicians on both sides of the aisle. Call this guy, name's Ted Bertram, he can put you in touch with this guy."

"Can't we just call the Guard office in Albany?" Major Alan Pike asked.

"They're not with us, Alan." Colonel Tanaka said

"Damn."




¹ The Navy has a Nuclear Power Training Unit at Ballston Spa, New York, not far from Saratoga Springs.
² Though in an earlier episode Admiral Fairchild demoted himself, something he actually can't do legally, Colonel Tanaka insisted he stay on as an Admiral, but only in an advisory capacity. No one at the Pentagon is trusting anyone wearing stars at this point. Yes, I'm leaving lots of details out in order to push the main story forward. Gomen nasai.

38 comments:

  1. A one word description comes immediately to mind. Clusterfuck. Huh, actually had to add that one to my spell check dictionary. Not a local, and not just a nation wide, but more like a world wide one. You've taken an awful big bite this time, Sarge. Gonna taking some chewing...
    It'll be interesting to see what kind of parallels develop, considering the ones that already exist.

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    1. This is a complex story...

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    2. Patrick - Like most stories, you may never get the full details. Sometimes art mimics real life and not the other war around.

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    3. "not the other war around"? Old Guns

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    4. Come on man, it was a typo in a comment.

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    1. I'll develop that which is necessary to the main story. There are only so many hours in the day. Sadly.

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  3. Also realistic Sarge - as things fall apart, lots of these little movements would spring up independent of each other and in some cases working against each other.

    Who makes the policies is a great deal more important than who signs the paper declaring them.

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    1. So are you willing to admit who actually MAKES those policies? Or are you still in that river in Egypt - De Nile???

      Look at Soros and Bloomberg and Zuckerberg and MANY more.

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    2. TB - Revolutions are complicated as Hell.

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    3. The influence of big money has always been an issue, since governments were first formed.

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  4. Looking forward to more of this Sarge. If you have an ant problem doesn't do much good to kill individual ants, gotta find the nest.

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  5. While your story focus is on the .mil type units (so far), there would likely be supporting roles played by other individuals and groups - witness the purported pilots' action at SW Airlines, which is denied by both the airline and the pilots' union. And then there is the current situation at the seaports where cargo is backing up and ships are waiting a long time to get to the docks.
    I do hope life doesn't imitate art in this case...

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    1. Story seems to be that truckers are starting to pick and choose to which state they go based on vaccine mandates. The port of Houston may be getting busier than ever.

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    2. Let's hope this is America rescinding her consent to be governed by the clever weaklings and evil monsters currently purporting to "represent" us and our best interests. Frankly, it's long overdue.

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    3. It is also going on on both sides of the aviation business. Pilots, so far only Southwest Airlines supposedly, are openly resisting the jab mandate. And rumors of ATC towers running on empty. All due to 'bad weather.'

      Right. Bad weather. Like what has been the cause of many major revolutions worldwide? Bad weather. It's what led to France's Revolution, played a part in the Russian revolution, helped ferment the Indian revolution...

      There's a storm a'coming alright.

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    4. Tom - There are always supporting roles. Folks who really make it work but get little credit in the history books.

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    5. STxAR - I do believe the people, the real people not those in the media, are starting to express themselves. I number the truckers among them.

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    6. lol no - I believe that's exactly what is going on, the idiots on the left have overreached themselves.

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    7. Beans - I do believe it's raining.

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    8. (Don McCollor)...For some mood music, play CCR "Bad Moon Rising"...

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    9. That and "Run Through the Jungle"...

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  6. This story reminds me of a grade school joke. What's green and read and goes a 100 mph in a circle? A frog in a blender.

    I may have to find a chalkboard and start laying out the players and their arcs!!

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    Replies
    1. When I can longer keep track, things will slow down. I'm kinda getting there.

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  7. Sounds like your version of El Presidente is about as cognizant of things as the current El Residente.

    And, not nationwide but in penny-packets? What's next, the various forces wearing colored arm-bands to differentiate who is on which side supporting what cause?

    And what was on the message? Someone getting uppity with the launch codes? Stand-downs? Requests for info for our future Chinese Overlords?

    Way to leave us hanging, boss.

    And 'Bill Waterson?' What, he works with a Calvin and a guy named Hobbes, right?

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    1. Patience.

      It's Waterston, distant cousin of Sam.

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  8. Complicated, complex, and wicked. Why the best made plans do so poorly out in the wild world, where the rules are not man's but Nature's.

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  9. You give us the details you think we need... just keep pushing that story forward. I'm definitely along for the ride, and the long haul.
    Side detail, When I went through the Nuke pipeline the prototype training took place in three places- New York, Connecticut, and Idaho. (I went through S5G in Idaho) But I'd heard they were all decommed. now and everyone now goes through some tied to the pier subs in South Carolina? Since you have a more recent Nuke in the family (who I think you said may be in NRRO as it was called in my day) would that 2 star have been able to go through Balston Spa? (since I don't have a date when they shut her down)
    Keep up the good work, this one's a "page turner".

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    1. Ballston Spa is still going strong. By "NRRO" do you mean Naval Reactors Representative's Office in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard? The Nuke works at Naval Reactors (aka the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program) at the Washington Navy Yard.

      NR has only had seven admirals as Director of Naval Reactors, my daughter has worked for two of them. Of course, Admiral Rickover was in charge there for 33 years!

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    2. Thanks for the info. Yeah, whenever we dealt with Naval Reactors, they always had NRRO stickers on their hardhats (in Bremerton drydock). They were a pain... but then they were supposed to be, they made us better, and that's why the USN has such an unsurpassed safety record with reactors.
      Rickover was out of the Navy a couple years before my time, but his legend lived on. There were Rickover stories all over the place.

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    3. Oh, Happy Birthday USN !

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    4. DV #1 - They probably got the hardhats from the NRRO guys, those things are a pain to pack (DAMHIK).

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    5. DV #2 - Indeed, Happy Birthday to the USN.

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  10. Technically, the Knolls Kesselring Site is in West Milton, but that is on the outskirts of Ballston Spa. And, my understanding is it is still an active training site for Navy Nuclear Sub folks. I have had patients who were active military, who were working there...this was about 4 months ago or so...

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    1. Yes, it's still going strong. Everyone says "Ballston Spa" when they speak of where the facility is, so I went with that.

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