Nuclear summer, p.11
Nuclear Summer, page 11
Captain Bronson turned to Griffin. “Ready to get your feet wet, Sergeant?”
Since the first caveman clan learned planned warfare against an enemy, warriors’ adrenaline surged as he or she conditioned their mind for the task, had treated the moment before combat as competition between combatants. Sergeant Griffin was no different; his adrenaline level surged as he prepared to make his first kill in the Brotherhood War.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a big grin as he stepped up to the controls with her taking a position beside him. “Let’s give Allah’s virgins something to do.”
The jet sounds seemed to fade as the planes banked to make their attacking run. A faint trail of smoke behind each one marked their location and direction of travel.
“Wait until just before they level out on their run,” Sammie instructed. “Otherwise, the fuselage or something internal may block the rays.”
Griffin watched the approaching jets screaming toward them, seeing the pilots’ faces while making their approach.
“Now.”
He triggered the grizzly to beam its deadly waves into the cockpit as the planes approached and screamed by only seconds later. Griffin and the Bronsons turned to watch as the planes never recovered from their descending run and slide onto the runway where, with their landing gear still up, they skidded with a massive spray of sparks until leaving the runway where they tumbled into the desert rock to implode into two massive plumes of black smoke.
“Great job, Sergeant Griffin,” Major Kellahan shouted after the two jets plunged into the runway and burst into twin infernos, shrapnel and debris flying through the air, massive flames consuming everything while huge plumes of smoke ascended into the sky. He rushed toward the Bronsons and Sergeant Griffin, who were already securing the grizzly back in the maintenance hangar.
Kellahan ignored the sergeant’s salute shook his hand enthusiastically instead. He turned to Sammie who was looking back toward the runway’s north end at the three plumes of black smoke. He seemed to read her thoughts. “I wonder Captain if we just won a war or did we start afresh.”
“I wish we knew, sir,” she replied. “In any case, I doubt we will see any more action today.”
“I agree, but just in case, I have an urgent request from the colonel to dispense of.” He looked back at Sergeant Griffin but jokingly spoke past him to Sammie as though the sergeant was an object.
“If your sergeant is through for the day, I want to borrow him.” He winked at Griffin to let him know that he was joking. Turning serious, he said. “The Colonel suggested we try to access the dam for a bit of Intel work. He thinks we might pick up some clues on why all the attention on the dam.”
This time he spoke directly to Griffin. “Since you accompanied the detail that took out the entrances, I want you to lead a squad back to search the place for clues to the Brotherhood’s intentions.”
“Sergeant,” Sammie said teasingly. “My, are you ever indispensable today. First a double kill of the Brotherhood and now you own recon detail.”
Griffin grinned. “If you and Ray will care for stowing the grizzly, I will gather my crew and leave immediately.” He shouldered his weapon and headed toward a hangar where he knew his men and a Humvee would be.
Sammie looked up the runway at the plumes of smoke. She did not say anything before climbing onto her vehicle to get a better look. “Major, no one will be landing on this runway unless in a helicopter or a STOVL, short take-off and vertical landing aircraft.”
Major Kellahan climbed beside her and surveyed the runway damage as well. “They certainly know we are here now.” He looked toward the control tower and the damaged control room. “Captain, we have no idea what we are up against. They obviously have access to our military planes, trucks, and weapons, but do they have the personnel and training to use them?” His question was more of observance or statement than a question.
Sammie climbed down and hopped back onto the tarmac. “We have something they want. I say we follow the colonel’s instincts and see what the earlier ones left in the dam. The earlier ones drove here, and twice now, they have flown in. We need some Intel in the worst way on them and their intentions.”
“We may soon know.” Both followed the progress of Sergeant Griffin and his detail heading for the back gate to connect with Nellis Boulevard.
Forty-five minutes later, Sergeant Griffin and his two-man detail stopped on the switchback overlooking the dam. The driver remained in the vehicle while the other two scanned the dam with their binoculars. Seeing no activity, they continued onto the dam where they cautiously approached the entrances.
On the way, Griffin had told the other two about the battle and the use of the grizzly, and how, following the battle, a demolition team and he had set C-4 charges in the stairways to prevent the Brotherhood members outside the dam from re-entering and any inside from escaping. Griffin said, “Those caught outside could not enter the dam and most likely never survived the winter storm. I do not have a clue what to expect inside.”
Griffin looked into the stairwell shaft and along the dam and saw no change from the day of the battle. What remained of the stairs and railing dangled from the fastenings to the concrete, leaving on the surface what appeared to be an elevator shaft opening. Looking into the opening, he and the others saw the twisted railing dangling precariously about 20 feet below the surface with enough clearance to allow lowering a man into the dam using a winch mounted on the Humvee.
They backed the Humvee to the north stairwell shaft and equipped the winch to lower two of them into the mine’s interior. An hour later, they stood on solid concrete and looked down a long corridor deep inside the dam. They cautiously explored the interior, entering rooms full of gauges and controls, but finding no life signs. They did locate a place where some individuals had camped, leaving behind empty containers of American military kosher and halal MREs brought with them from Arizona. In an engineering room, they found what the colonel hoped to see in the dam — the reason for the Muslim Brotherhood’s interest in the dam, US Bureau of Reclamation documents with Arabic scribbling and drawings on them that showed their intent.
“We will come back for these,” Griffin said. “I know we sealed some people inside the dam, but where are they?”
The two continued their tour of the dam’s interior. They worked their way down near 700 feet from foundation rock to the roadway on the crest of the dam to the turbine generators. They ended up on a deck between the spillways, each discharging 200,000 cubic feet of water, totaling twice the amount of water passing over Niagara Falls.
The two could not talk over the roar of the 120 mph discharge water flow screaming into the Colorado River. They watched the wonder for a moment before returning inside.
“It appears our Brotherhood neighbors took a swim,” Griffin said with an ornery grin. Turning serious, he said, “They probably washed up at the Mojave Dam. Grab our shit and let’s get out of here.” They gathered up the documents and worked their way up the interior to the winch waiting at the staircase staff.
Both Kellahan and Sammie saw Sergeant Griffin’s detail when it drove onto the tarmac. Both dropped what they were doing to intercept the detail, each hoping the detail had found something that might influence a decision of what to do next. They followed the Humvee into the hangar and waited anxiously while Sergeant Griffin spread the retrieved documents on a workbench surface. To their chagrin, the diagrams, markings, and notations on the US Department of Reclamation maps and papers were all Arabic; however, they readily deciphered their meaning.
Kellahan studied a map to locate the Gila Bend mentioned in the documents. “Captain, from what I see here, this is a major operation to turn this area in Arizona into a Muslim state. They have to have control of Hoover dam to accomplish it.” The tone of his voice turned grave. “This is big. They will fight for this.”
Sammie concurred with Kellahan’s analysis. “Now we know how the Indian leaders must have felt when the first white men appeared. I fear we are in the same situation as they were. If we let this herd of radicals in, they will keep coming in greater numbers until they overwhelm us. Unlike what happened to the American Indians, we will resist placement on reservations.”
Sammie wanted to vent more but refrained from doing so to Kellahan, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“That is a great analogy,” Kellahan said. “These people believe that reading any book other than the Koran is sinful and a sign of paganism. They seek and generate strife along ethnic and religious lines. Rather than place us on a reservation, they will impose Sharia law over their territory, and behead those who do not convert to their radical beliefs. Do you think they will drive here as before or bring in a military force by air?”
Kellahan raised his binoculars and surveyed the damage to the Nellis AFB runway. “Who knows? The one thing for certain is there will be no transport planes landing on this runway.” He stowed his binoculars and retrieved an area map from his Humvee. Together, they perused the map seeking alternatives for landing troop transport planes to secure the dam.
Sammie traced her finger along the Highway 95 stretch lying between Boulder City and the small mining town of Searchlight. “Sir, the only landing options they have are the Boulder City and Henderson airports. However, they can land at will along this stretch of highway or even on this dry lakebed. They do not need an airport.” She shifted her focus from the map and looked in the direction of the dam. “In any case, they will not have ground transportation to the dam. They will have to bring their vehicles with them or walk.”
Kellahan studied the map area indicated and completed her line of reasoning. He followed her gaze. “If they arrive by convoy, they have to come down this same route if they take the Kingman route that takes them through Laughlin and Searchlight. Most likely, they will come directly from Kingman to the dam. In any case, we are facing Jihadist troops on the ground. I doubt if they will have armor or artillery at this point.”
He folded the map and placed it back in his vehicle. Turning to Sammie, he said. “Well, Capt'm. Ready the grizzly. You deployed to the dam before, so how do you want to set this up?”
Sammie knew the terrain and did not hesitate to express a plan. “Sir, they have three options for entering the area. They can come in on the old highway, which is a series of switchbacks where it enters the canyon and descends to the dam. We can blow the mountain at any of the switchbacks and take out the highway. If they come in over the Tillman Bridge, we have the bridge blocked with stranded vehicles from the EMP. They most likely will not have the equipment to remove the vehicles, so again this will strand them afoot in mountain terrain and make them easy picking for us. The only other way in is through Boulder City and down switchbacks into the canyon. We can blow the mountain there to take out the highway if necessary. I would not recommend that unless necessary because it also blocks our planned route to the dam.”
While she spoke, Kellahan noted the tone of determination and confidence in her voice. Except for his whispery voice, she sounded exactly like her father. “How do you recommend we deploy our defenses?”
Sammie retrieved the map from the vehicle and spread it on the hood. She used her finger to point out where she wanted to set up their defenses. “I will set the grizzly up on the Tillman Bridge as before. That gives me a clear line of fire any way they chose to come in. If they come via the bridge, we will need ground troops overlooking the bridge. The stranded vehicles will shield the bad guys from the grizzly, so our people will have to engage them. Otherwise, I suggest we simply use the grizzly and hold our troops in reserve in case something unexpected happens. No one knows about the grizzly, so they will not expect our using it.”
Kellahan removed his Kevlar helmet and scratched his head in thought. “Nor do we know if those bastards splattered all over our runway was merely the brass arriving to welcome their Jihadist troops traveling by land.”
Sammie nodded to acknowledge his unspoken meaning. “I will deploy the grizzly. Do you want me to coordinate dispersing the troops?” She thought of Thomas, Jr. and appreciated the decision to leave him with his grandfather at the mountain until they settled in at Nellis.
“Affirmative. Take lieutenants Riley, Leavitt, and Hornfield to deploy with the enlisted personnel. I will deploy lieutenants Zvenno and Riester to the two airports with some stingers.”
“Sir, I propose we deploy missiles to the dry lake bed as well.”
“Agreed. Get it done, Captain.” He glanced around them. “This air base is now a target. I am going to vacate it and deploy security at the hospital to protect the civilians. We have enough reservists for that.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kellahan realized that his officers had limited combat experience, none other than the previously limited engagements with the Jihadist squads and Captain Bronson’s previous deployment of the grizzly at the dam. He looked at his watch and said, “Bronson, prepare to deploy on a prolonged engagement and assemble the officers and noncoms in the Thunderbird Hangar at 1300 hours for a mission briefing. You know as well as I what to prepare for. Have Rad-Safe check the accrued radiation readings of everyone and leave behind with me those getting close to their allowed dosage.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Our computer specialists are moving everything from the control tower and reestablishing contact at base camp with the outpost. I will be at base camp if you need me.”
The combat readiness of those under Kellahan and Bronson’s command became evident by the speed in which they organized for war. Kellahan had more on his mind than communicating with the outpost. He left the base and continued to the hospital building to prepare his rear echelon personnel in the event the combat elements sustained casualties. He notified the medical staff to prepare for battle casualties and appointed two medics to accompany Captain Bronson’s unit.
At the same time, Sergeant Griffin drove the grizzly vehicle to the huge, white with red trim hangar identified by large letters on its side reading, Home of the Thunderbirds. Outside the building, an F-18 plane bearing the Thunderbird logo and colors sat on a pylon. Sammie hopped out of the passenger side with a weapon in hand. She slung the weapon over her shoulder as she purposefully walked along the line of Humvees loaded for deployment. Sergeant Griffin likewise shouldered his gun and joined her.
Raymond climbed out of the vehicle and followed the other soldiers heading into the hangar for the briefing. This mission did not include him because of leadership and him feeling that he and Sammie needed to split in a combat situation in case of someone taking out the grizzly along with its crew. Keeping one of them in reserve retained the technical knowledge should such an event occur.
Satisfied that the vehicles contained food, first aid kits, and spare ammo, Sammie and Griffin headed into the hangar. “The medics have joined the detail,” Griffin informed Sammie as they joined the others attending the briefing.
Sammie recalled having toured the Thunderbird museum during an Aviation Nation Open House air show. The United States Air Force Thunderbirds, America’s Ambassadors in Blue air demonstration squadron, had performed aerobatics in eight different formations: The Diamond, Delta, Stinger, Arrowhead, Line Abreast, Trail, Echelon, and the Five Card with formation loops and rolls or transitions before a crowd of over 200,000. In the massive hangar area, a gigantic American flag hung on the wall, and a huge Thunderbird logo lay centered in the middle of a once spotless floor. The building also hosted a museum lined with photos depicting every Thunderbird pilot since 1953. In a conference room, murals of the Thunderbird planes overlooked a long conference table depicting each pilot number with the number five pilot’s number depicted upside down.
The soldiers milled around the empty hangar portion while awaiting the briefing. NCOs wandered among them checking dosimeters, weapons, and others items required for personal deployment.
“Did everyone get to tell their families bye,” First Sergeant Curtis yelled.
“Affirmative, First Sergeant,” a soldier yelled. “Got me a quickie too.”
“Affirmative on the quickie, First Sergeant,” a female soldier yelled to the amusement of the others.
“Does everyone have their dosimeters?” Sergeant Griffin yelled.
“Affirmative, Sergeant.”
Sammie and the other officers stood grouped aside awaiting the arrival of Major Kellahan, watching their noncommissioned officers prepare the troops. 1SG Curtis took position near the entrance to announce the arrival of Major Kellahan.
Kellahan stepped through the door where the first sergeant yelled, “Company — atten-shun” to which the soldiers snapped to attention.
“Stand at ease. I am sure that Top asked you about dosimeters. We do not know the condition of the ozone layer. Be sure to wear your sunshades as well. Don't forget to have a Geiger counter in each vehicle with full batteries? Do not let this summer weather fool you. Be safe, everyone — check for radiation before entering strange places.” He expected someone to make a condom comment to add to his be safe and check before entry warning, but no one did.
“Yes, sir.”
“Any pregnant female soldiers fall out to join the defense force remaining at base camp.”
“Yo, Major. How about pregnant male soldiers?”
“Right, Specialist Adams. I forgot about you. You may fall out,” said Kellahan, dryly. He resumed when the ensuing laughter and joking ceased.
“I just want to caution you not to take any chances. Listen to your officers and NCOs, and you will return safe and sound.” He turned to the first sergeant and looked at the officers. “Officers and NCOs, please join me in the conference room.”
The first sergeant called the soldiers to attention again and waited until the officers departed the hangar area before dismissing them.
While the officers and NCOs took seats at the conference table, Kellahan and Sammie tacked a drawing on a chalkboard. The drawing depicted the area around the dam where Sammie intended to deploy the troops.
