Founders. Part 16

The brigade had just one company of Stryker IFVs. All the rest of the vehicles were German Boxer wheeled APCs. Outwardly, they looked similar to the Stryker, but they differed substantially, mechanically. Built by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann & Rheinmetall, the thirty-three-ton eight-wheeled German APCs had a mix of 40mm grenade launchers and .50 caliber machineguns for their primary armament.

The Boxers dwarfed the eighteen-ton Strykers. But since the brigade's Strykers all had slat armor appliques, they looked nearly as big as the Boxers.

The brigade had a "fluid" Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) and a polyglot of troops: roughly one third American, one third German, and an odd mix of Dutch, Belgians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Bulgarians, and Britons. A few of them wore beards. Most carried either M4s or AK-74s, although a few had FN P90 bullpup carbines. There was an a.s.sortment of handguns carried in hip or shoulder holsters, mostly Beretta M9s, Glocks, HKs, and SIGs. But there were also a few ostensibly "civilian" pistols like FN FiveSevens, FN FNPs, Springfield Armory XDs, HK USP Compacts, and a Taurus 24/7. Andy was dismayed to see that there was no standardization of uniforms or web gear, either. The net effect was that they looked like a band of mercenaries rather than a professional army. And, as Andy later described the scene to Kaylee, that is exactly what they were: mercenaries.

Andy's first walk-around in the motor pool meeting the troops and seeing the mix of vehicles and equipment was enlightening. Andy was led by the brigade's Belgian Adjudant-the equivalent of a U.S. Army first sergeant (E-8). The Adjudant was also called a Stabsfeldwebel by the brigade's German troops, since that was the equivalent rank in the Bundeswehr.

The vehicles were in a mix of paint schemes: Woodland CARC, desert tan, flat olive drab, and the Bundeswehr's desert camouflage. Andy was surprised to see the interiors of the IFVs were crowded by a large number of locking Hardigg boxes. They looked similar to the cases used for storing M4 carbines that Andy had seen at remote outposts in Afghanistan. But each of these was stenciled with the name and service number of an NCO or officer. And each of these cases was chained to the floor down the center aisle of each Boxer and Stryker vehicle, and secured with an a.s.sortment of padlocks. These boxes were each slightly larger than a standard footlocker. When he asked the Adjudant about the Hardigg boxes, Andy was told, "The ProvGov got those when they first went in to try to pacify Ma.s.sachusetts. That's in the depopulated region on the East Coast-where they got hit worst with the flu and the arson riots. They cleaned out the abandoned Hardigg factory in Deerfield, Ma.s.sachusetts, and came back with truckloads of those cases. The Hardigg box is one of the perks for everyone that's pay grade E-6 and higher, for personal property." He added with a wink, "We are promised that they are never subject to inspection." Laine concluded that seventeenth-century-style piracy had been revived in the New Army.

Seeing the AK-74s as well as a few Russian GAZ-3308 trucks in the motor pool, Andy asked if there were any Russian troops in the North American UN peacekeeping force. He was told that there were only a handful of Russian technical advisors. These were mainly "he comes with the equipment" types that accompanied specialized vehicles and electronics. Later, in reading some strategy papers, Andy learned that there were no Russian troop units because their army was badly bogged down in fighting rebels in Ukraine and the Stans. But there was a substantial quant.i.ty of Russian and former Soviet Bloc equipment brought in from Europe via Roll-on, Roll-off (RORO) ships. Most of these were older-generation second-line vehicles, including a large number of Russian and Ukrainian BTR-70 APCs, as well as the German equivalent-the SPW 70 (Schutzenpanzerwagen).

Andy was caught up in a blur of activity as he settled into his new job. The major whom he was relieving was anxious to start her maternity leave, so she was briefing Andy nearly nonstop. He furiously took notes on a yellow legal pad. Late in the afternoon of the first day, Ed Olds rapped his West Point ring on Andy's open office door and said, "For most of my PT sessions, I run out to Heard Park and back, four days a week. Meet me in your sweats in front of my quarters tomorrow morning at 0600."

"Will do, sir," Andy answered.

The next morning, Andy walked up General Olds's driveway just as Olds was coming down the steps. Both men were dressed in well-worn Army PT sweats, with black bottoms and gray tops.

"Good to see you, Andrew. You're prompt, as always."

After wordlessly doing some stretching exercises, Andy and the general started out at a lope, running side by side. They soon settled into a steady, familiar "Jody" running pace. There was no vehicle traffic.

Ahead of them, a platoon of soldiers ran in formation singing a familiar "Jody" tune-but with some lyrics in German and Dutch. The platoon crossed the intersection in front of them, heading toward Agony Hill. Seeing them reminded Andy of when he was posted at Fort Hood five years before. The only difference was that they had dispensed with the road guards in optic orange vests, and instead they now had four soldiers with loaded M4s-two ahead and two behind the formation-as ATEs-Anti-Terrorist Escorts.

After the sound of the platoon had faded into the distance, Olds said in a casual voice, "It's good to be able to talk freely without a lot of European backstabbers listening."

Laine nodded, and Olds continued, "Let me fill you in. The New Army is essentially a sham. It is a cover for a foreign occupation force. Don't have any illusions: The UN is calling the shots. Anyone that steps out of line gets shown the door-that is, if they're lucky-or they conveniently disappear-with that blamed on resistance kidnappers-or they have a sudden 'heart attack,' or they 'commit suicide.'"

Andy groaned and said, "That's not too surprising."

"You've probably heard that the ProvGov is expanding in all directions, and now controls about half of the land area in CONUS, and 70 percent of the population. The motivation is loot. Everyone right down to the infantry privates gets some loot. The Tooth-to-Tail Ratio has been stretching more and more toward bureaucracy and do-nothing general staffs, as everyone and his uncle want to share a piece of the action."

Olds shook his head from side to side, saying, "Someday this inst.i.tutional sickness has to end."

They continued on, at a comfortable and familiar pace. Andy was glad that they were running early in the morning, before the temperature rose. Fort Knox was famous for its hot, humid summer weather. General Olds seemed deep in thought. They jogged on in silence for several minutes.

Finally, Olds commented, "All this looting . . . They don't need any encouragement from the higher echelons. You see, once they occupy a region, they start to strip it of any valuables that are compact and portable, mostly gold and gemstones and guns-especially handguns. But they're even after jewelry, elephant ivory, high-end electronics and ebook readers, things of that nature. Silver is just too heavy to carry, so if they get any, they very quickly try to swap it twenty for one or even thirty for one for gold or platinum. They want compact but valuable loot that they can take with them when they go back home, O-CONUS."

"I see."

"In the Plains states, it was essentially a race between the unit commanders to see who got to loot each city first."

"In-credible."

"The modus operandi is hideously simple," Olds continued. "They roll into a town and declare it 'pacified.' Then they start interrogating and find out where all the jewelers, coin dealers, and gun dealers live. Those that don't agree to be 'taxed' to the tune of 40 percent of their inventory get either shot or arrested for being 'terrorist sympathizers.'"

Olds snorted to himself. "At first, I was hoping that all this would soon stop, but it hasn't. It's actually become inst.i.tutionalized. We have independent infantry brigades out there that have practically gone rogue, that have been out of contact with us for months at a time, hopping from town to town. When they do cycle back to Knox, they come home packing heavy."

"That's unconscionable."

"But that's not all, Andy. There are also the rapes and the child molestations. There are some very sick puppies in the UN forces, and within the civilian rank and file of the ProvGov. It seems to attract the sickos. Some of the worst of them gravitate to the frontier, where they can get away with more. We call it the 'leading edge' or the 'bleeding edge.'"

By the tone of the general's voice, it was apparent to Andy that he was fully sympathetic to the Resistance. Olds seemed to have drawn the same conclusion about Andy Laine. They ran on for several more minutes, in silence. Then Olds asked, "What's your view of the strategic situation?"

"The Army seems to be getting stretched thin," Andy answered. "There's almost 3.8 million square miles in the United States. As the Army spreads out, it has to leave garrisons in each region. The troops are getting spread thinner and thinner. It's like the board game Risk, but for real."

Olds nodded in agreement. "Speaking of risks, just before I rotated in from Germany, an infantry colonel and two MI majors here at Knox tried to plan a coup, but they were detected and shot, very early on. I don't know whether it was bad OPSEC, or bad COMSEC, or just a talkative wife, but the whole operation got blown. They drove those three officers out to the North Range maneuver area, and shot them in the back of the head. They tucked them into a ditch with a backhoe. The ProvGov didn't even try to make a secret of it. I think they wanted it to be known: 'This is what happens to any Valkyrie wannabes.' Things have been very quiet since then."

"So now?"

"Now we watch, wait, and coordinate some plans, very quietly," Olds replied.

23.

Up Close and Personal.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."

-James Neil Hollingworth (aka Ambrose Redmoon), manager of the band Quicksilver Messenger Service.

Five Miles West of Leitchfield, Kentucky.

December, the Second Year.

Ben Fielding had no previous military experience and just a bit of field experience with the Matchmakers. And of course there was the incident behind the Full Moon Saloon, long before the Crunch. But that occasion he considered just instinctive self-defense and G.o.d's protection. Despite his lack of formal training, Ben soon excelled at patrolling. He had keen senses and better-than-average night vision. He learned how to move almost silently. He originally carried his big Galil .308 rifle, but he later began carrying a suppressed MP5-SD slung with a single-point sling instead. He sent the Galil home for the safekeeping of his family in Muddy Pond, via a courier. He enclosed a note that read simply: "All is well. Keep the faith. B."

Ben habitually wore a sniper's camouflage face veil/scarf that had been "liberated" from a dead Austrian sentry. He liked the versatility of the scarf. In cold weather it could be worn as a m.u.f.fler. And he found that he could quickly don it as a face veil when he was approaching UNPROFOR positions. This obviated the need to put on face paint.

While most of the members of the reconnaissance team wore Woodland or MultiCam pattern BDUs or OCPs, Ben wore all civilian clothes. His clothes were typically green denim jeans and a brown shirt. In cold weather he added a brown Australian's oilskin drover's jacket with a corduroy collar that had been given to him by Adrian. Because he didn't like the way they blocked his peripheral vision, Ben never wore hats with brims. Sometimes, when the weather got unusually cold, he would wear a green knit cap, but never over his ears. To Ben, all his senses were crucial. For wet work, situational awareness often could make a split-second difference between life and death.

By wearing civilian clothes, Ben hoped he could ditch his MP5 and web gear and then quickly blend in with the general population when necessary. But he also realized that by not wearing a uniform he could be shot on sight as a spy or terrorist. On the other hand, given the UNPROFOR's tendency to ignore the Geneva Convention and other laws of land warfare, wearing a uniform wouldn't provide any guarantees of good treatment if he were taken prisoner. He often said resignedly, "They'd just shoot us, anyway."

Even Ben's boots were civilian-a pair of W. C. Russell hiking boots that had been a college graduation present from his father. In his nearly three years with the Resistance, he had the boots resoled twice.

Ben's favorite close quarters weapons were the short-handled light blacksmithing hammer that Adrian had given him years before the Crunch, and a large Cold Steel Magnum Tanto XII fighting knife that some would call a short sword. The knife was taken from the web gear of an UNPROFOR Armored Cavalry scout who hadn't been as quick or alert as Ben. Since he was more focused on function over form, Ben kept the knife very sharp, but spray-painted its blade and sheath green after each sharpening. His backup knife was a big CRKT Hissatsu folder. That had come from the pocket of a German officer who, as Ben explained, had no further use for it.

The hammer turned out to be very effective for eliminating ProvGov soldiers who were manning LP/OPs. Ben always aimed his swings at the neck and head. The sentries rarely made any noise before they went down, usually after just the first blow.

Although he owned the HK pistol, he didn't carry it after his first week of patrolling and probing lines. For stealth and speed, he found that he liked to carry only minimal gear. All that he carried was a CamelBak hydration pack, a MOLLE vest (without hard ballistic plates), three spare MP5 magazines, a night vision monocular pouch, an oversize belt pouch for his hammer, and his sheathed Cold Steel knife.

In two years with the Recon Team, Ben fired fewer than 100 rounds through his Galil and his MP5. In all, he had killed thirty-two UNPROFOR soldiers, but twenty-six of those were dispatched with either his hammer or his big tanto knife. He often said that killing was the surest "at bad breath distance." Ben killed so many sentries in messy hand-to-hand work that he got into the habit of carrying a spare clean shirt in a plastic bag, stowed inside his CamelBak bag. Some of the resistance fighters gave him the nickname "b.l.o.o.d.y Ben," out of respect for his accomplishments. But he disliked this sobriquet, so it wasn't used in his presence.

Near Leitchfield, Kentucky.

September, the Third Year.

The newest recruit in the Mulholland Company was young, scared, and uncertain of himself. He clutched an old H&R 12-gauge single-shot shotgun and eyed everything going on around him in the camp warily. Ben had taken him under his wing at the small camp where they were temporarily co-located with the Mulholland Company. They bivouacked there just one night as they prepared to raid a small UNPROFOR garrison in Leitchfield, Kentucky.

As they often did, some of the other men at the resistance camp were reminiscing about the things they missed-like coffee, tropical fruit, and iPod downloads. Ben had told the recruit to hang tight while he got him a more capable weapon.

He came back three hours later with an M4 carbine and a MOLLE body armor vest with a ceramic armor plate that was "shingled" with a half dozen magazine pouches. As he handed the vest to the recruit, he said, "Sorry about the blood. It'll wash out."

The next morning, the recipient of the carbine and field gear came to Ben's tent to again thank him. "It's an honor to have this rifle," he said. "I promise you that I'll use it fighting the good fight. And I'd appreciate your prayers. I just wish I could be as fearless as you."

Ben shook his head. "I'm not fearless. I'm just determined. There's a difference between the two. I'm nothing special."

After motioning for the young man to sit down next to the tent, Ben continued, "You know, I read a lot of books about the Holocaust and the people who survived the death camps to go on and fight for the independence of Israel. They had to fight the British first, and then the Arabs. Those men and women could be very fierce and determined, because most of them had nothing left to lose."

The recruit nodded, and Ben went on. "When I heard that the ProvGov was setting up concentration camps, just like the n.a.z.is, I very quickly decided that I'd never get dragged into one of them. I'd rather die on my feet with a rifle in my hands-"

The recruit interrupted, "-than on your knees."

"Yes, precisely. My att.i.tude, as a Christian, is that I know that this mortal life is short, and that I already have life eternal in heaven. So it is all a matter of keeping perspective. I have confidence that you'll fight the good fight. Never forget this conversation."

Depending on the tactical situation, the five-man Recon Team was often loaned out to work with Hammond's h.e.l.lhounds, the Mulholland Company, the Fawcett Company, Gunners Against Illegal Mayors (GAIM), the Gillian Group, the Morris Maquis, the Lexington-Versailles Company, or the Alvin York Brigade. All these were independent militias that operated in western Tennessee and western Kentucky. They numbered between nine and twenty-eight members, mostly men.

The Recon Team's specialty was locating enemy positions and lines-and crossing them, if need be. They would then guide militia companies to vulnerable points to attack. The Old Man handpicked all of his fighters from other units. He recruited Ben Fielding shortly after his team's point man had been killed by an exploding land mine. The Old Man selected men who were exceptionally well tempered, physically fit, experienced in the field, and who had perfect uncorrected vision. Ben and Brent were the only members of the reconnaissance team that didn't have prior military service. Most of the others had been Army Rangers or Army Cavalry scouts, one had been a Force Recon Marine, and another was a former Navy SEAL.

When Ben asked the Old Man his name, he answered dryly, "You don't have a need to know, son. Besides, it's safer for both of us if you don't know it."

The Recon Team was famous for never taking more than a one-week break from operations in two years of the resistance war, and most of those were after actions when several team members were wounded. The Old Man was the only member who made it all the way through the war. All of the others were replacements for those who had been killed or wounded. Like Ben, all of them were sworn to secrecy. Further, all were under orders to never mention their surnames to each other. At one point, there were two members on the team named Jim. They were called "Old Jim" and "Young Jim" to avoid confusion.

Brent joined the Recon Team much later in the war than Ben, just nine months before the UNPROFOR collapsed. He replaced a medic who had been killed in an ATACMS missile strike.

From the vantage point of his leaky pup tent, Brent sized up the Mulholland Company. They were a ragtag bunch, with few recognizable leaders. With twenty-nine members, it was one of the larger resistance militias. Recent experience had shown that larger units were easier for the UNPROFOR to detect and engage. In fact, the trend was to split resistance units into groups no larger than fifteen. The Mulholland Company had not yet done so, but a split was already under discussion. The members of the company had a wide a.s.sortment of weapons, uniforms, and equipment. A good portion of their gear was captured.

Like many other resistance units, there was a preponderance of young men-many still in their teens and as young as sixteen-and men in their late fifties and early sixties. Most of the married men in the ages in between had feared for their families' safety and therefore didn't feel free to join the fight. Both in their forties, Ben Fielding and Brent Danley were in the minority. Like many men their age in the Resistance, Brent and Ben had both lost family to the ProvGov's actions, so their motivation could be attributed partly to revenge.

And, like many others their age, Brent and Ben had a deep-seated hatred of the ProvGov, and this made them some of the most motivated and tireless fighters. One of Brent's most common sayings was "I'll only relax when Hutchings is six feet under, and we have a Const.i.tutional government again."

The militias that tried using armored vehicles found it made them targets for airstrikes or laser-guided artillery rounds. So after taking heavy casualties in the first few months of the resistance war the goal became to destroy UNPROFOR vehicles, rather than capture and use them.

The most effective use of vehicles by the Resistance was to drive abandoned or stolen civilian cars and SUVs for high-speed covert movement of troops, to ma.s.s for short-duration raids. Often their weapons would be hidden in the vehicles in case they had to pa.s.s checkpoints.

Most resistance units preferred 7.62mm NATO battle rifles, such as M1As, AR-10s, FN/FALs, and HK91 clones. These gave them better range than the M4s, M16s, and AK-74s used by the UNPROFOR army, yet they were still light enough to carry on long patrols. Light belt-fed weapons such as the M249, MG4 (the German equivalent of an M249), and the M240B were also highly prized. The other weapons that they did their best to procure were Claymore mines, LAW rockets, AT-4s, and the various generations of Russian RPGs. These were used to great effect in anti-vehicular ambushes.

A few resistance units in urban areas found that they could carry M4 carbines broken down into two halves concealed beneath heavy coats and jackets. a.s.sembling the guns took just a few moments. This modus operandi often resulted in gaining the element of surprise when ambushing UNPROFOR troops who were off duty or otherwise in a low state of readiness.

24.

Mole Tunnels.

"The qualities of a good intelligence officer:.

* Be perceptive about people.

* Be able to work well with others under difficult conditions * Be able to distinguish between fact and fiction * Be able to distinguish between essentials and non-essentials * Possess inquisitiveness.

* Have a large amount of ingenuity * Pay appropriate attention to detail * Be able to express ideas clearly, briefly and very important, interestingly * Learn when to keep your mouth shut.

* Understanding for other points of view, other ways of thinking and behaving, even if they are quite foreign to his own * Rigidity and close-mindedness are qualities that do not spell a good future in Intelligence * Must not be over ambitious or anxious for personal reward, and the most important quality: What motivates a man to devote himself to the craft of intelligence?"

-Allen Dulles, The Craft of Intelligence, 1963.

Fort Knox, Kentucky.

December, the Second Year.

With a quiet word from the Resistance, Kaylee soon got a job working the front counter and cash register at a bagel and pastry bakery on Knox Avenue in Radcliff. The owner was sympathetic to the Cause. His bakery was in the building that had been occupied by the Better on a Bagel bakery before the Crunch. It was located near the junction of Knox Avenue and North Wilson Road. When it reopened, the bakery was called Bullion Bakery, and had a metallic gold painted sign in the shape of a gold ingot.

Because Kaylee would be in contact with so many people each day, it was the perfect place for her to be able to surrept.i.tiously pa.s.s notes, memory sticks, or even small parcels to couriers. In the event that she had to deliver a note or memory stick to a courier after-hours, she had two dead drop locations: one inside a carved-out copy of the book Soil Survey of Hamblen County, Tennessee in the dusty stacks at the Radcliff Public Library, and one in a Ziploc bag beneath the cigarette b.u.t.ts in the top of a steel fence post in the parking lot of Cho's Snack Corner on North Wilson Road.

Andy was often up late in the night, preparing intelligence reports on Kaylee's aging Pentium laptop. His greatest fear was that someday he'd be identified by a ProvGov mole within the Resistance. He spent many hours reading books on espionage tradecraft, and implementing the concepts he had learned. As a mole himself, he went with the a.s.sumption that there would be one or more ProvGov moles in the Resistance who would see his reports. For this reason, he was careful to just summarize the contents of ProvGov and UNPROFOR doc.u.ments, rather than duplicate them.