Story Market Day
- Thread starter ComCamGuy
- Start date
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Silas and Amber’s House
Silas got a bit of a jolt as he drove up to the house. The old battered silver Honda reminding him of a forgotten appointment. Sure enough, the tarp was off the truck beside the driveway and a small figure was climbing around on its roof.
“I’m sorry, Petra. I had to go check on some of our people in the hospital. I’ll change and be right out.” He said as he got out of the car.
The figure scrambling along the roof of the truck looked at him with a big grin as she replied.
“It’s ok, Amber told me. I got all the lifting points and the bridle set. You’re here just in time to get the frame up.”
Silas shook his head as he went inside the house. Petra was a force of nature. Correction. Petra was a 22 year old Marine, with all the energy it implies, just crammed into a tiny package.
He met her when they inprocessed the base together, Him to the Spec Ops detachment and her to the main base motor pool as one of the auto mechanics. When he first saw her, he thought it was some sort of joke. He had seen small Marines in his time, but she looked absolutely miniscule.
She caught him staring and must have known his question before he even asked. Hell she probably got it a lot. Her reply to the unasked question was polite, courteous and full of energy and passion.
“Four Foot nine inches, ninety-three pounds and twenty-two next month, Sgt Maj.” And she turned back to the paperwork in front of her, a grin on her face, probably at the thought of flabbergasting another NCO with her appearance.
Silas couldn’t help but smile. Her stark blond hair was shorter than his in a pixie cut, and looked even blonder with her perfect tan complexion. Her sky-blue eyes were framed in her very young looking face. She looked like the poster child for a USMC Junior High School ROTC Program.
During another break between boring, cookie-cutter inprocessing briefings, Silas was killing time looking through one of the RV and Auto classified sheets searching for his next project. He figured maybe a camping trailer or an RV. When he got it done, he and Amber could take it camping in the beautiful forests around here.
His thoughts were broken by Petra commenting on the most recent one he circled.
“I’d steer clear of those. The engines are too unreliable. This is a much better choice mechanically.” She pointed to a different one he had circled. This led to several conversations on the topic over the next three days of inprocessing.
This led to them becoming friends. They weren’t worried about rank since they belonged to two separate commands and Petra seemed to know where the Sgt Maj and the Silas line was drawn. She was helping and guiding him in his new project for this base; a camper built on a Japanese truck frame.
Silas found one with a great camper back but a worn out and abused drivetrain too weak when new even to work well. Silas was going to show her how to do the wood work and cabinet building in the inside and she was going to keep him from blowing up a new engine and how to properly put it on a newer, more capable truck frame.
Today was the day they were supposed to finally pull the camper off of the truck and move it into the garage for its restoration. Petra was here on time and hard at work while he was hours away talking to Sabine and crew. He hoped Petra really understood. He didn’t want to disappoint her. It would be like kicking a puppy.
Amber was at the table when he made it to the kitchen.
“Everything OK with Paige’s group?” She asked as he came in.
“Yeah, she’s doing better. They are looking at letting her up from the coma. How long as Petra been out there working?”
Amber smiled at his question.
“That little spider monkey has been out there three or four hours, had two breakfasts and a pot of coffee with me. It would have been nice to remind me she was coming by this morning.” Amber said with a mock sharp tone.
“I would have if I remembered. I better get out there before she lifts the whole thing off and carries it into the house herself.” Silas said as he headed towards the door.
“I’ll have lunch ready for you guys in about an hour.” Amber said to him as he went out into the garage.
Silas got a bit of a jolt as he drove up to the house. The old battered silver Honda reminding him of a forgotten appointment. Sure enough, the tarp was off the truck beside the driveway and a small figure was climbing around on its roof.
“I’m sorry, Petra. I had to go check on some of our people in the hospital. I’ll change and be right out.” He said as he got out of the car.
The figure scrambling along the roof of the truck looked at him with a big grin as she replied.
“It’s ok, Amber told me. I got all the lifting points and the bridle set. You’re here just in time to get the frame up.”
Silas shook his head as he went inside the house. Petra was a force of nature. Correction. Petra was a 22 year old Marine, with all the energy it implies, just crammed into a tiny package.
He met her when they inprocessed the base together, Him to the Spec Ops detachment and her to the main base motor pool as one of the auto mechanics. When he first saw her, he thought it was some sort of joke. He had seen small Marines in his time, but she looked absolutely miniscule.
She caught him staring and must have known his question before he even asked. Hell she probably got it a lot. Her reply to the unasked question was polite, courteous and full of energy and passion.
“Four Foot nine inches, ninety-three pounds and twenty-two next month, Sgt Maj.” And she turned back to the paperwork in front of her, a grin on her face, probably at the thought of flabbergasting another NCO with her appearance.
Silas couldn’t help but smile. Her stark blond hair was shorter than his in a pixie cut, and looked even blonder with her perfect tan complexion. Her sky-blue eyes were framed in her very young looking face. She looked like the poster child for a USMC Junior High School ROTC Program.
During another break between boring, cookie-cutter inprocessing briefings, Silas was killing time looking through one of the RV and Auto classified sheets searching for his next project. He figured maybe a camping trailer or an RV. When he got it done, he and Amber could take it camping in the beautiful forests around here.
His thoughts were broken by Petra commenting on the most recent one he circled.
“I’d steer clear of those. The engines are too unreliable. This is a much better choice mechanically.” She pointed to a different one he had circled. This led to several conversations on the topic over the next three days of inprocessing.
This led to them becoming friends. They weren’t worried about rank since they belonged to two separate commands and Petra seemed to know where the Sgt Maj and the Silas line was drawn. She was helping and guiding him in his new project for this base; a camper built on a Japanese truck frame.
Silas found one with a great camper back but a worn out and abused drivetrain too weak when new even to work well. Silas was going to show her how to do the wood work and cabinet building in the inside and she was going to keep him from blowing up a new engine and how to properly put it on a newer, more capable truck frame.
Today was the day they were supposed to finally pull the camper off of the truck and move it into the garage for its restoration. Petra was here on time and hard at work while he was hours away talking to Sabine and crew. He hoped Petra really understood. He didn’t want to disappoint her. It would be like kicking a puppy.
Amber was at the table when he made it to the kitchen.
“Everything OK with Paige’s group?” She asked as he came in.
“Yeah, she’s doing better. They are looking at letting her up from the coma. How long as Petra been out there working?”
Amber smiled at his question.
“That little spider monkey has been out there three or four hours, had two breakfasts and a pot of coffee with me. It would have been nice to remind me she was coming by this morning.” Amber said with a mock sharp tone.
“I would have if I remembered. I better get out there before she lifts the whole thing off and carries it into the house herself.” Silas said as he headed towards the door.
“I’ll have lunch ready for you guys in about an hour.” Amber said to him as he went out into the garage.
Last edited:
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
The only thing missing is the tach; lots of spark though.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Ivar’s Office, a Week Later
Ivar and Silas sat on the couch in Ivar’s office, looking at the giant whiteboard propped up against the bookcase. They were reviewing the lists on it, the crossed off one, the still to-do ones and worrying about the ones still to go onto the board.
Line by line, they reviewed things before heading home for the weekend, both hoping nothing too serious would crop up and bring them back into the shop. Both knowing it would probably happen anyway.
“Fuel resuppy?” Ivar asked, the next item on the list.
“Well, I keep screaming for more and Kingfisher has ops contained in the local training areas so they aren’t using a lot. Short answer? We are building up a small buffer to work with and it should get bigger until someone notices and cuts the tap off. Fortunately, they are local contract and they are still delivering.” Silas added.
“How about food?” Ivar moved to the next line on the board.
“We have the stuff in the warehouses for the upcoming major evolutions that aren’t happening now, but I’ll keep looking. I’d rather us have food and fuel than not.”
“Yeah, we played enough of that shit downrange.”
Ivar sat back and raised the drink in his hand as they sat and stared, looking for more problems and evaluating what was already in motion. The high grade root beer was smooth and the shot of Jager gave it just the right depth. They allowed themselves one, at the end of the day, during the now standard cleanup of the day’s lists. The list and the corresponding conversations took about an hour and that made sure they were well out of their system before they drove home.
“Oh, I have Paige coming in to meet with you and me, officially so we can sign off her convalescent leave, but also to clue her in on her new duties.”
“Sounds good. I’m so glad she seems to be recovering so fast. I was worried it was going to be like Jerry. Hell, five years on and he is just now getting the hang of using a spoon again.”
They both sat quiet, remembering their friend and teammate and the catastrophic brain injury that almost killed him and scrambled his motor neurons so much he couldn’t hardly move or speak, even all these years later.
“Well, at least with Paige back, we can do more consolidation of those assets. I know you and Kingfisher have things clamped down, but with everybody having a chance to breath, you and I both know it’s time for the bean counters to show up and I don’t want anybody to take advantage of the chaos to make things disappear.”
“Except us, right boss?” Silas raised his root beer in salute.
“Exactly. I want all the inventories to be listed as initial, so we can hang the blame on the people who lost it, not have it fall on us. I’m not going to be the one holding the bag this time. While you are at it, scour the regs and see what we can legally drop off the inventories.”
“I’ll get a crew of elves working on it first thing next week. I’ll tell Kingfisher the concept and he can look at what he needs for the classes he’s holding.”
“While you’re at it, tell him to keep the classes low key and close hold. If the higher ups find out we are able to hold class during this ops stand down, they will come back here and take everything including the kitchen sink, because we obviously didn’t give up as much as we could to the recovery teams.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Silas got up from the couch and began making notes and updating the board for Monday while Ivar returned to his desk to close his computer. By their own guidance and direction, all leadership wasn’t supposed to stay past 1900 unless there was a localized emergency. Ivar knew his people needed rest and their families needed them around for them to weather this storm. To issue such an order also meant he should follow it and provide the example.
Twenty minutes later, the Duty NCO logged the Sgt Maj and the Colonel out at 1850 hrs.
Ivar and Silas sat on the couch in Ivar’s office, looking at the giant whiteboard propped up against the bookcase. They were reviewing the lists on it, the crossed off one, the still to-do ones and worrying about the ones still to go onto the board.
Line by line, they reviewed things before heading home for the weekend, both hoping nothing too serious would crop up and bring them back into the shop. Both knowing it would probably happen anyway.
“Fuel resuppy?” Ivar asked, the next item on the list.
“Well, I keep screaming for more and Kingfisher has ops contained in the local training areas so they aren’t using a lot. Short answer? We are building up a small buffer to work with and it should get bigger until someone notices and cuts the tap off. Fortunately, they are local contract and they are still delivering.” Silas added.
“How about food?” Ivar moved to the next line on the board.
“We have the stuff in the warehouses for the upcoming major evolutions that aren’t happening now, but I’ll keep looking. I’d rather us have food and fuel than not.”
“Yeah, we played enough of that shit downrange.”
Ivar sat back and raised the drink in his hand as they sat and stared, looking for more problems and evaluating what was already in motion. The high grade root beer was smooth and the shot of Jager gave it just the right depth. They allowed themselves one, at the end of the day, during the now standard cleanup of the day’s lists. The list and the corresponding conversations took about an hour and that made sure they were well out of their system before they drove home.
“Oh, I have Paige coming in to meet with you and me, officially so we can sign off her convalescent leave, but also to clue her in on her new duties.”
“Sounds good. I’m so glad she seems to be recovering so fast. I was worried it was going to be like Jerry. Hell, five years on and he is just now getting the hang of using a spoon again.”
They both sat quiet, remembering their friend and teammate and the catastrophic brain injury that almost killed him and scrambled his motor neurons so much he couldn’t hardly move or speak, even all these years later.
“Well, at least with Paige back, we can do more consolidation of those assets. I know you and Kingfisher have things clamped down, but with everybody having a chance to breath, you and I both know it’s time for the bean counters to show up and I don’t want anybody to take advantage of the chaos to make things disappear.”
“Except us, right boss?” Silas raised his root beer in salute.
“Exactly. I want all the inventories to be listed as initial, so we can hang the blame on the people who lost it, not have it fall on us. I’m not going to be the one holding the bag this time. While you are at it, scour the regs and see what we can legally drop off the inventories.”
“I’ll get a crew of elves working on it first thing next week. I’ll tell Kingfisher the concept and he can look at what he needs for the classes he’s holding.”
“While you’re at it, tell him to keep the classes low key and close hold. If the higher ups find out we are able to hold class during this ops stand down, they will come back here and take everything including the kitchen sink, because we obviously didn’t give up as much as we could to the recovery teams.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
Silas got up from the couch and began making notes and updating the board for Monday while Ivar returned to his desk to close his computer. By their own guidance and direction, all leadership wasn’t supposed to stay past 1900 unless there was a localized emergency. Ivar knew his people needed rest and their families needed them around for them to weather this storm. To issue such an order also meant he should follow it and provide the example.
Twenty minutes later, the Duty NCO logged the Sgt Maj and the Colonel out at 1850 hrs.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Ivar and Sofia’s House, the Weekend
Ivar and Sofia sat at the dining room table. This was the new norm, with Ivar’s nee responsibilities keeping him a little later at work. They finished dinner but were not in a hurry to get up.
“Oh, Paige should be going home sometime this weekend.” Ivar remembered to tell Sofia.
“Well, that’s great! For them to release her this soon, she must be making a great recovery!”
“According to Silas, they are talking back to work in a week or two.”
“That sounds awful quick. From what you said, I thought it might be watering can time, like poor Jerry.”
Sofia’s tone was suddenly sad. She liked him and his wife. She couldn’t help but worry about ending up the same as poor Peggy, having to take care of Jerry the rest of his life, not even knowing how much, if any of the Jerry she knew and loved was still in there, unable to be heard or talk.
Ivar saw the look on Sofia’s face, heard the shift in tone. He knew what she was thinking, knew her worries. They had talked about it many times. It was an ever present worry through all the years of deployments. That’s why he had the agreement with Silas to make sure it didn’t happen, just as he promised Silas the same.
“Well, another good thing about Paige being released, the girls are talking about driving down from Salt Lake to visit.” Ivar hoped this would cheer her up.
“Those little shits better show their faces here if they know what’s good for them!” Sofia was spooled up now, the sadness forgotten.
“You know they will. I know they will be going over to Paige’s for a visit but they will be here for a couple of days.” Ivar had to laugh.
“OK…Well, as soon as you know when, so I can figure out what to cook, especially with Violet coming over. I can get with Amber and deconflict, or maybe the six of us can get together.”
“As soon as I know, I’ll tell you.”
Ivar and Sofia sat at the dining room table. This was the new norm, with Ivar’s nee responsibilities keeping him a little later at work. They finished dinner but were not in a hurry to get up.
“Oh, Paige should be going home sometime this weekend.” Ivar remembered to tell Sofia.
“Well, that’s great! For them to release her this soon, she must be making a great recovery!”
“According to Silas, they are talking back to work in a week or two.”
“That sounds awful quick. From what you said, I thought it might be watering can time, like poor Jerry.”
Sofia’s tone was suddenly sad. She liked him and his wife. She couldn’t help but worry about ending up the same as poor Peggy, having to take care of Jerry the rest of his life, not even knowing how much, if any of the Jerry she knew and loved was still in there, unable to be heard or talk.
Ivar saw the look on Sofia’s face, heard the shift in tone. He knew what she was thinking, knew her worries. They had talked about it many times. It was an ever present worry through all the years of deployments. That’s why he had the agreement with Silas to make sure it didn’t happen, just as he promised Silas the same.
“Well, another good thing about Paige being released, the girls are talking about driving down from Salt Lake to visit.” Ivar hoped this would cheer her up.
“Those little shits better show their faces here if they know what’s good for them!” Sofia was spooled up now, the sadness forgotten.
“You know they will. I know they will be going over to Paige’s for a visit but they will be here for a couple of days.” Ivar had to laugh.
“OK…Well, as soon as you know when, so I can figure out what to cook, especially with Violet coming over. I can get with Amber and deconflict, or maybe the six of us can get together.”
“As soon as I know, I’ll tell you.”
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
The Office, Monday
Silas stuck his head into Ivar’s office.
“Hey, Boss, Paige is here.”
“Good, Show her in.”
Paige and Sabine came in. Paige looked pale and weak on her feet, but Ivar figured that was to be expected.
“Come in, have a seat.” Ivar waived to the seats across from his desk.
“Something to drink? Fresh coffee, or there’s some sodas in the fridge over there.” Silas pointed over next to the couch.
“No thanks, sir. I’m good.”
Paige’s voice was a bit weak and shaky, but that was to be expected, Ivar thought.
Ivar tried to get the conversation started in a friendlier tone since Paige seemed a bit stiff. Maybe it was having both himself and Silas in here with her. Shoot, maybe it was because the last time she was in here was right before she got the hell beat out of her. They exchanged a few pleasantries about the weather, how she was feeling and how it was going at home.
Sergeant Major and the Commander felt guilty for the entire incident and letting her getting hurt. They felt it was a serious failing as leaders. They would still try to make things right, or at least as right as they could.
The Commander finally decided it was time to get down to why she was there.
“First off, we will do everything we can to speed your recovery, I feel personally responsible for not securing Frickel’s ass when I dressed him down that day. There is no excuse for such an error in judgement.”
He paused a moment hoping for some kind of reaction from Paige but she remained stoic. It was either her training in keeping her military bearing or the meds. He hoped it was the meds. He didn’t like making her this uncomfortable, especially when he was hoping to be positive and reassuring. Normally he was better than this at setting people at ease. Maybe he should just hit the highlights and try a more friendly approach when she is back to work.
“I understand the Sergeant Major has stayed on top of your situation. Now that you are home, I plan to take a more active role. I need you to focus on getting healthy and soon. We need you back. However, I will not let you back until you are healthy and Doc over there clears you.”
Sabine nodded in agreement. Good, He was sure she would be a stickler at making sure she was good before she cleared her to return. Hopefully she will continue her remarkable recovery. He really needed her for the next steps to work. Time to lay out her new mission.
“I have lots of work for you. With only a skeleton crew here at the base, I am consolidating the arms rooms to maintain a firm control of the assets. Some of the people we shipped out of here were in a positions which could have compromised those assets. I anticipate the schools here and the entire base will be basically mothballed for the foreseeable future as the entire DoD tries to get a handle on the damage.
“When you are cleared for light duty, you will be the primary armorer for the entire facility. I will need inventories cross referenced so we know what we have vs what we should. Any under the table spares I want secured separate. I don’t care if we have too much, as long as we have everything we should. I’m having all the sections doing the same thing. We are in the ‘spend your time on all the rainy-day projects’ mode. By mid-winter, everything should be repaired, refitted, reset and ready for the next class, whenever that might be.”
Paige looked stunned by the enormity of the task she was being handed. It showed when she blurted out, the first non-formal reply he got out of her.
“Sir, I don’t have enough rank for such a job. I definitely don’t have the manpower. It will be quite some time I’m told, before I can do that kind of lifting and moving this will require. Are you sure you have the right person for such a job?”
Ivar could get a glimpse of Paige, the real Paige beyond the drugs and the intimidation. He liked what he saw. She wasn’t worried about the level of work other than her concern about failing to accomplish what he wanted. It was in this moment he saw Paige, not the theoretical, but the actual.
“Your concerns are noted. I know I have the right person. You were willing to stand up for what was right, even though it might have cost you your position here or even your career and it nearly ended your life. As for your concerns about lifting and moving, I have at my disposal plenty of strong backs to follow your commands. I need your brains and knowledge; they can lift and tote for you.”
Ivar’s voice was more animated now. He could help her concerns. Lifting? Hell, he had plenty of people who would be twiddling their thumbs and trying to find work to do. He could assign her a full dozen worker bees to do her every whim as long as she was able to straighten out the rat’s nest of conflicting and interlaced weapons inventory accounts. With his fears of a closing or realigning base, he knew a lot could be written off, but one of the things they would pay attention to is weapons accountability to a fair thee well. As for her worry about rank, he always liked giving good news.
“Your concerns about rank is understandable since you are not up on current events. One of the points I jabbed Frickel with was it would be blatant where my belief lay and who’s side I believed when you walk in with your new stripe. You were supposed to get it that next Monday. So Marine, when you come back to work, I expect you to be wearing it.”
The expression was written all over her face. Paige was floored. The grin engulfing her face was beautiful to behold.
“Sir, I will do everything in my power to live up to your trust in me. I will start thinking and planning everything I’ll need to do.”
Ivar was worried she was about to rush right over to the Arms Room and begin right now.
“Slow down, your first job is your recovery. Get healthy, then get to work.” He nodded at Silas who motioned to Sabine. Time to go.
Paige got up with the help of Sabine and the Sergeant Major, stood at attention the best she could and saluted.
“Yes Sir, Count on it!” She practically floated from the room as she left.
Silas stuck his head into Ivar’s office.
“Hey, Boss, Paige is here.”
“Good, Show her in.”
Paige and Sabine came in. Paige looked pale and weak on her feet, but Ivar figured that was to be expected.
“Come in, have a seat.” Ivar waived to the seats across from his desk.
“Something to drink? Fresh coffee, or there’s some sodas in the fridge over there.” Silas pointed over next to the couch.
“No thanks, sir. I’m good.”
Paige’s voice was a bit weak and shaky, but that was to be expected, Ivar thought.
Ivar tried to get the conversation started in a friendlier tone since Paige seemed a bit stiff. Maybe it was having both himself and Silas in here with her. Shoot, maybe it was because the last time she was in here was right before she got the hell beat out of her. They exchanged a few pleasantries about the weather, how she was feeling and how it was going at home.
Sergeant Major and the Commander felt guilty for the entire incident and letting her getting hurt. They felt it was a serious failing as leaders. They would still try to make things right, or at least as right as they could.
The Commander finally decided it was time to get down to why she was there.
“First off, we will do everything we can to speed your recovery, I feel personally responsible for not securing Frickel’s ass when I dressed him down that day. There is no excuse for such an error in judgement.”
He paused a moment hoping for some kind of reaction from Paige but she remained stoic. It was either her training in keeping her military bearing or the meds. He hoped it was the meds. He didn’t like making her this uncomfortable, especially when he was hoping to be positive and reassuring. Normally he was better than this at setting people at ease. Maybe he should just hit the highlights and try a more friendly approach when she is back to work.
“I understand the Sergeant Major has stayed on top of your situation. Now that you are home, I plan to take a more active role. I need you to focus on getting healthy and soon. We need you back. However, I will not let you back until you are healthy and Doc over there clears you.”
Sabine nodded in agreement. Good, He was sure she would be a stickler at making sure she was good before she cleared her to return. Hopefully she will continue her remarkable recovery. He really needed her for the next steps to work. Time to lay out her new mission.
“I have lots of work for you. With only a skeleton crew here at the base, I am consolidating the arms rooms to maintain a firm control of the assets. Some of the people we shipped out of here were in a positions which could have compromised those assets. I anticipate the schools here and the entire base will be basically mothballed for the foreseeable future as the entire DoD tries to get a handle on the damage.
“When you are cleared for light duty, you will be the primary armorer for the entire facility. I will need inventories cross referenced so we know what we have vs what we should. Any under the table spares I want secured separate. I don’t care if we have too much, as long as we have everything we should. I’m having all the sections doing the same thing. We are in the ‘spend your time on all the rainy-day projects’ mode. By mid-winter, everything should be repaired, refitted, reset and ready for the next class, whenever that might be.”
Paige looked stunned by the enormity of the task she was being handed. It showed when she blurted out, the first non-formal reply he got out of her.
“Sir, I don’t have enough rank for such a job. I definitely don’t have the manpower. It will be quite some time I’m told, before I can do that kind of lifting and moving this will require. Are you sure you have the right person for such a job?”
Ivar could get a glimpse of Paige, the real Paige beyond the drugs and the intimidation. He liked what he saw. She wasn’t worried about the level of work other than her concern about failing to accomplish what he wanted. It was in this moment he saw Paige, not the theoretical, but the actual.
“Your concerns are noted. I know I have the right person. You were willing to stand up for what was right, even though it might have cost you your position here or even your career and it nearly ended your life. As for your concerns about lifting and moving, I have at my disposal plenty of strong backs to follow your commands. I need your brains and knowledge; they can lift and tote for you.”
Ivar’s voice was more animated now. He could help her concerns. Lifting? Hell, he had plenty of people who would be twiddling their thumbs and trying to find work to do. He could assign her a full dozen worker bees to do her every whim as long as she was able to straighten out the rat’s nest of conflicting and interlaced weapons inventory accounts. With his fears of a closing or realigning base, he knew a lot could be written off, but one of the things they would pay attention to is weapons accountability to a fair thee well. As for her worry about rank, he always liked giving good news.
“Your concerns about rank is understandable since you are not up on current events. One of the points I jabbed Frickel with was it would be blatant where my belief lay and who’s side I believed when you walk in with your new stripe. You were supposed to get it that next Monday. So Marine, when you come back to work, I expect you to be wearing it.”
The expression was written all over her face. Paige was floored. The grin engulfing her face was beautiful to behold.
“Sir, I will do everything in my power to live up to your trust in me. I will start thinking and planning everything I’ll need to do.”
Ivar was worried she was about to rush right over to the Arms Room and begin right now.
“Slow down, your first job is your recovery. Get healthy, then get to work.” He nodded at Silas who motioned to Sabine. Time to go.
Paige got up with the help of Sabine and the Sergeant Major, stood at attention the best she could and saluted.
“Yes Sir, Count on it!” She practically floated from the room as she left.
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accountant
Contributing Member
Bean counters are the best when they are your allies.
But, they can be frag grenades, tearing your plans to shreds, when they're not.
I've been both, or maybe that's just the Scorpio in me.
A.
But, they can be frag grenades, tearing your plans to shreds, when they're not.
I've been both, or maybe that's just the Scorpio in me.
A.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Silas’ Office
Silas led Sabine and Paige over to his office so he could fill in some blanks left by the talk with Ivar.
He motioned them to the chairs around the small bistro table he had in the corner. This is where he tried to have informal talks. Putting a desk between people made it a barrier to communication and he didn’t want that right now.
He wanted Paige to feel her suffering had some value, some sort of positive to help her feel her pain and anguish wasn’t for nothing. He needed her to know, even though they failed her, they would do what they could. He also knew some of this was for Sabine. He needed Sabine to know they weren’t throwing Paige to the wolves or the scrap heap. That brought another thought to the forefront. At some point, he will probably have to tell Sabine what he knows, but that is a conversation for another day. Today is about Paige.
“Where do I start? There is a whole host of unofficial crap the commander didn’t go into. Your report helped us identify and remove more than just one problem. We were able to select the ‘help’ we needed to send the second wave the base sent to the coast for clean-up. This let us make sure we did not run into any political roadblocks as we were cleaning house. You should not run into any of Frickel’s friends or those with like attitude. They are gone or know to keep their opinions and body parts to themselves. A gentle reminder has been issued.”
He wasn’t sure how much Paige was absorbing. He shouldn’t shovel too much at her today, but he knew he needed to tell her some of what to expect. Sabine can help fill in blanks if Paige doesn’t catch it all on the first pass.
“You guys want some coffee?” Silas reached for his own mug and the pot brewing on the back edge of the table, pouring a cup for himself.
“No thank you.” Paige said. Sabine just shook her head no.
Silas continued laying out some of what he and Ivar had discussed telling them.
“The balancing act the Commander and I are working with is what do we really own and what do we just own right now. You and Sabine we own outright. This means we have more power and flexibility with what we do with you two. The rest of the base? We are doing as much as we think we can get away from. In all honesty, we are probably going to be working hard resetting everything, just to ship it all off as we close the base. That’s what the Commander and I think will happen in the long run. Have either of you been at a closing base?”
Both shook their heads.
“Well, lots of inventorying, packing and resetting and repacking and re-inventorying. We don’t know the base will closed, but I would be very surprised if we don’t. This also means take a hard look at where you might want to go to for your next duty assignment. I’ll try and help you guys as much as I can in that regards, but I got a feeling some of us, like me and the Commander, will get hit with a reduction in force since we are retirement eligible.”
In spite of himself, a touch of sadness creeped into his voice as he spoke of retirement. Best to not dwell on it right now he told himself as he continued.
“I’ll swing by in a day or two with some new uniforms for you since you are down two uniforms. I’ll make sure they have those new stripes on them.”
He saw Paige involuntarily perk up at the mention of the new stripes. He had to remember to get them over to Sofia to put on the new uniforms. Better make a note as soon as these guys leave.
“We can talk more when we are away from the shop. There’s more we should talk about, but not right now. Sabine,” he looked over at her. “I think you; Henrik and Andrea should have a movie night and explain things to Paige.”
Sabine nodded. Paige looked confused as Sabine helped her to her feet.
Soon, Silas was by himself. He was staring at the stack of paperwork on his desk without seeing it. There were so many things he was afraid were coming down the road and he didn’t know if they could get enough done to survive the future. By the time he got a firm handle on his mind, he found his coffee was cold.
Silas led Sabine and Paige over to his office so he could fill in some blanks left by the talk with Ivar.
He motioned them to the chairs around the small bistro table he had in the corner. This is where he tried to have informal talks. Putting a desk between people made it a barrier to communication and he didn’t want that right now.
He wanted Paige to feel her suffering had some value, some sort of positive to help her feel her pain and anguish wasn’t for nothing. He needed her to know, even though they failed her, they would do what they could. He also knew some of this was for Sabine. He needed Sabine to know they weren’t throwing Paige to the wolves or the scrap heap. That brought another thought to the forefront. At some point, he will probably have to tell Sabine what he knows, but that is a conversation for another day. Today is about Paige.
“Where do I start? There is a whole host of unofficial crap the commander didn’t go into. Your report helped us identify and remove more than just one problem. We were able to select the ‘help’ we needed to send the second wave the base sent to the coast for clean-up. This let us make sure we did not run into any political roadblocks as we were cleaning house. You should not run into any of Frickel’s friends or those with like attitude. They are gone or know to keep their opinions and body parts to themselves. A gentle reminder has been issued.”
He wasn’t sure how much Paige was absorbing. He shouldn’t shovel too much at her today, but he knew he needed to tell her some of what to expect. Sabine can help fill in blanks if Paige doesn’t catch it all on the first pass.
“You guys want some coffee?” Silas reached for his own mug and the pot brewing on the back edge of the table, pouring a cup for himself.
“No thank you.” Paige said. Sabine just shook her head no.
Silas continued laying out some of what he and Ivar had discussed telling them.
“The balancing act the Commander and I are working with is what do we really own and what do we just own right now. You and Sabine we own outright. This means we have more power and flexibility with what we do with you two. The rest of the base? We are doing as much as we think we can get away from. In all honesty, we are probably going to be working hard resetting everything, just to ship it all off as we close the base. That’s what the Commander and I think will happen in the long run. Have either of you been at a closing base?”
Both shook their heads.
“Well, lots of inventorying, packing and resetting and repacking and re-inventorying. We don’t know the base will closed, but I would be very surprised if we don’t. This also means take a hard look at where you might want to go to for your next duty assignment. I’ll try and help you guys as much as I can in that regards, but I got a feeling some of us, like me and the Commander, will get hit with a reduction in force since we are retirement eligible.”
In spite of himself, a touch of sadness creeped into his voice as he spoke of retirement. Best to not dwell on it right now he told himself as he continued.
“I’ll swing by in a day or two with some new uniforms for you since you are down two uniforms. I’ll make sure they have those new stripes on them.”
He saw Paige involuntarily perk up at the mention of the new stripes. He had to remember to get them over to Sofia to put on the new uniforms. Better make a note as soon as these guys leave.
“We can talk more when we are away from the shop. There’s more we should talk about, but not right now. Sabine,” he looked over at her. “I think you; Henrik and Andrea should have a movie night and explain things to Paige.”
Sabine nodded. Paige looked confused as Sabine helped her to her feet.
Soon, Silas was by himself. He was staring at the stack of paperwork on his desk without seeing it. There were so many things he was afraid were coming down the road and he didn’t know if they could get enough done to survive the future. By the time he got a firm handle on his mind, he found his coffee was cold.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
The Main Conference Room
Maj Kingfisher and MSgt Walka were staring at the large whiteboard, trying to see where they could make some headway with the new missions. Step one was a shuffling of the assets and structure, something that has been in flux ever since Maj Kingfisher took over. He was still trying to get things in operational shape. Unfortunately, the mission seems to keep mutating daily and sometimes hourly. This was nothing new to Maj Kingfisher, coming from his Special Operations background, but it was still hard on him. He knew if it was hard on him, it was insane on his troops.
Now Maj Kingfisher and MSgt Walka were moving theoretical pieces around, trying several different reorganizational layouts, looking for the best fit for…something. That was the problem. The troops needed stability to be able to perform the mission but right now, the mission was in limbo, the personnel were in limbo, and nobody had answers.
“I know you wanted to keep some of the classes running, sir, but I think most of them are a wash. Most don’t have much of a student load, the students that are here are mostly still here because they don’t have anywhere else to go back to or don’t have a way to get back to their units. I honestly think we might be better off calling it and shift our main focus over to the reset and regenerate process, that way we can do it right and be ready when they get things straightened out and they start classes again.” MSgt Walka’s tone had an air of resignation to it.
Maj Kingfisher knew MSgt Walka was probably right. He also knew if Ivar and Silas’ read on the situation was accurate, once all classes were shut down here for the reset, they would probably never start up here again. Part of him wanted to squeak the last bits of info from here into any students he had on hand, but half-assing it wasn’t the right way and he knew it. Decision time.
“OK. The students who have a home to go back to, let’s start working on getting them home. The ones who need new assignments to go to because their base is flattened, well, they just became manpower pool and understudies. I want the Staff to keep trying to push knowledge into them so they can take some of it to their new units. We have to spread this knowledge and capability around, otherwise it will be lost. We will have one day a week we set aside for nothing but training these guys so they can be like our little dispersed war readiness kits. Have people start burning disks of all the teaching materials, handouts, videos, guidelines, everything. Tell the sections to start looking at things as if they were moving the school to Maine and restarting it in two years and to make sure they had what the needed to do it. Each of the specialty courses need to do this and now. We have the subject matter experts here and they may not be around when they want to restart this, either here or elsewhere.”
MSgt Walka was taken back by this major shift. He knew he was some of the catalyst with what he said, but he was thinking six months to a year. The way the Major was talking, it was like they were mothballing the school like a ship, closing it and sealing it for years, maybe even decades!
“You sure you aren’t over reacting, Sir?”
“Maybe, but I remember when we brought in Viet Nam veterans from the battle of Hue City to teach us how to do the things we forgot as an institution. I don’t want what we have learned and what we can teach to just vanish. Lessons lost like that take blood to relearn.”
Both men were silent for a moment before Maj Kingfisher spoke again.
“Go tell the sections the new plan. After lunch, once they have a moment or two to look at this, we will get together and rehash the unit organizational chart for what they really need to make it happen.”
“Yes Sir.”
Maj Kingfisher and MSgt Walka were staring at the large whiteboard, trying to see where they could make some headway with the new missions. Step one was a shuffling of the assets and structure, something that has been in flux ever since Maj Kingfisher took over. He was still trying to get things in operational shape. Unfortunately, the mission seems to keep mutating daily and sometimes hourly. This was nothing new to Maj Kingfisher, coming from his Special Operations background, but it was still hard on him. He knew if it was hard on him, it was insane on his troops.
Now Maj Kingfisher and MSgt Walka were moving theoretical pieces around, trying several different reorganizational layouts, looking for the best fit for…something. That was the problem. The troops needed stability to be able to perform the mission but right now, the mission was in limbo, the personnel were in limbo, and nobody had answers.
“I know you wanted to keep some of the classes running, sir, but I think most of them are a wash. Most don’t have much of a student load, the students that are here are mostly still here because they don’t have anywhere else to go back to or don’t have a way to get back to their units. I honestly think we might be better off calling it and shift our main focus over to the reset and regenerate process, that way we can do it right and be ready when they get things straightened out and they start classes again.” MSgt Walka’s tone had an air of resignation to it.
Maj Kingfisher knew MSgt Walka was probably right. He also knew if Ivar and Silas’ read on the situation was accurate, once all classes were shut down here for the reset, they would probably never start up here again. Part of him wanted to squeak the last bits of info from here into any students he had on hand, but half-assing it wasn’t the right way and he knew it. Decision time.
“OK. The students who have a home to go back to, let’s start working on getting them home. The ones who need new assignments to go to because their base is flattened, well, they just became manpower pool and understudies. I want the Staff to keep trying to push knowledge into them so they can take some of it to their new units. We have to spread this knowledge and capability around, otherwise it will be lost. We will have one day a week we set aside for nothing but training these guys so they can be like our little dispersed war readiness kits. Have people start burning disks of all the teaching materials, handouts, videos, guidelines, everything. Tell the sections to start looking at things as if they were moving the school to Maine and restarting it in two years and to make sure they had what the needed to do it. Each of the specialty courses need to do this and now. We have the subject matter experts here and they may not be around when they want to restart this, either here or elsewhere.”
MSgt Walka was taken back by this major shift. He knew he was some of the catalyst with what he said, but he was thinking six months to a year. The way the Major was talking, it was like they were mothballing the school like a ship, closing it and sealing it for years, maybe even decades!
“You sure you aren’t over reacting, Sir?”
“Maybe, but I remember when we brought in Viet Nam veterans from the battle of Hue City to teach us how to do the things we forgot as an institution. I don’t want what we have learned and what we can teach to just vanish. Lessons lost like that take blood to relearn.”
Both men were silent for a moment before Maj Kingfisher spoke again.
“Go tell the sections the new plan. After lunch, once they have a moment or two to look at this, we will get together and rehash the unit organizational chart for what they really need to make it happen.”
“Yes Sir.”
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Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
If you consider that outside the context of the scene described, there's possibilities . .....
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Amber and Silas’ Home, a Few Days Later
Amber was in the kitchen dishing dinner when Silas came in from the den.
“So, how’s your sister?”
“They are doing fine. It took them a week to find out about the earthquake and shit, then another week to even thing some of us might be worried they were in Washington when it happened.” Silas said as he picked up his plate.
“Is Bill’s parents place that far back in the sticks?”
“Kinda, but you know Beth. After all the years of stressing herself sick watching the news whenever Bill or the rest of us were deployed, the doc finally convinced her to stop watching before she had a stroke. She has taken that as a mantra and only lets Bill watch local weather and then only when they are driving one place to another.” Silas knew his sister was always high strung, even as a little kid.
“Well, after Bill’s last two years in, can you blame her? Bill looked absolutely skeletal in his retirement photos. The pair of them were always high strung, but at the end, I’ve seen meth addicts look healthier. At least they both looked better in their latest Christmas card. Retirement was what both of them needed.”
“Yeah, it was. They are still up at Bill’s parent’s place in the Tetons. They’re going to stay the winter there. Bill’s parents have a barn big enough for the RV to winter in and they will venture back out this spring. That gives them all winter to do all those updates and chores for his parents.”
“What about their house in Washington?” Amber said as she sat down with her plate.
“Hell, that place was just somewhere for them to be while they got their RV ready. I think that fifth wheel has more square footage than their house did. Those two would have sold next year I think. I don’t know what the market will be for houses up there come this spring. They might make a killing on it.”
“At least it was far enough inland they didn’t have to worry about the waves.”
“Yeah, besides, they have a neighbor checking up on it and she would have called them if there was a problem.”
“Don’t forget, the kids should be here tomorrow.”
“Oh, I won’t forget. I’m going out to Paige’s Saturday. Are you sure you don’t want to come?”
“Nope. I know you. It’s going to be a lot of doom, gloom and shop talk. If I wanted that, I would just invite the gang back over and Sofia and I would just get drunk while you three went on and on, reshaping the world.” Amber smiled to take the sting out of the long referenced comment before continuing. “Besides, with you and the kids out there, and no patients, Saturday is a relax day for me. The seven of us and the girls will be over at Ivar and Sofia’s Sunday and one gaggle a weekend is enough.”
“OK, just thought I would offer again.”
Silas was glad the topic shifted. He didn’t want to keep things from Amber, but his conversation with Bill about Sabine wasn’t something he had permission to go into. He promised Bill and he knew Bill was very serious about keeping Sabine’s real identity a secret and off anyone’s radar. Bill was so serious, he didn’t tell Beth any of the goings on, and still hadn’t. He hadn’t told Silas much, but the parts he did tell him, chilled him to the bone. When he updated Bill on what just went down, all he could say was it didn’t surprise him in the least how cool and focused she was.
Amber was in the kitchen dishing dinner when Silas came in from the den.
“So, how’s your sister?”
“They are doing fine. It took them a week to find out about the earthquake and shit, then another week to even thing some of us might be worried they were in Washington when it happened.” Silas said as he picked up his plate.
“Is Bill’s parents place that far back in the sticks?”
“Kinda, but you know Beth. After all the years of stressing herself sick watching the news whenever Bill or the rest of us were deployed, the doc finally convinced her to stop watching before she had a stroke. She has taken that as a mantra and only lets Bill watch local weather and then only when they are driving one place to another.” Silas knew his sister was always high strung, even as a little kid.
“Well, after Bill’s last two years in, can you blame her? Bill looked absolutely skeletal in his retirement photos. The pair of them were always high strung, but at the end, I’ve seen meth addicts look healthier. At least they both looked better in their latest Christmas card. Retirement was what both of them needed.”
“Yeah, it was. They are still up at Bill’s parent’s place in the Tetons. They’re going to stay the winter there. Bill’s parents have a barn big enough for the RV to winter in and they will venture back out this spring. That gives them all winter to do all those updates and chores for his parents.”
“What about their house in Washington?” Amber said as she sat down with her plate.
“Hell, that place was just somewhere for them to be while they got their RV ready. I think that fifth wheel has more square footage than their house did. Those two would have sold next year I think. I don’t know what the market will be for houses up there come this spring. They might make a killing on it.”
“At least it was far enough inland they didn’t have to worry about the waves.”
“Yeah, besides, they have a neighbor checking up on it and she would have called them if there was a problem.”
“Don’t forget, the kids should be here tomorrow.”
“Oh, I won’t forget. I’m going out to Paige’s Saturday. Are you sure you don’t want to come?”
“Nope. I know you. It’s going to be a lot of doom, gloom and shop talk. If I wanted that, I would just invite the gang back over and Sofia and I would just get drunk while you three went on and on, reshaping the world.” Amber smiled to take the sting out of the long referenced comment before continuing. “Besides, with you and the kids out there, and no patients, Saturday is a relax day for me. The seven of us and the girls will be over at Ivar and Sofia’s Sunday and one gaggle a weekend is enough.”
“OK, just thought I would offer again.”
Silas was glad the topic shifted. He didn’t want to keep things from Amber, but his conversation with Bill about Sabine wasn’t something he had permission to go into. He promised Bill and he knew Bill was very serious about keeping Sabine’s real identity a secret and off anyone’s radar. Bill was so serious, he didn’t tell Beth any of the goings on, and still hadn’t. He hadn’t told Silas much, but the parts he did tell him, chilled him to the bone. When he updated Bill on what just went down, all he could say was it didn’t surprise him in the least how cool and focused she was.
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Should this be Amber?
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
At Ivar and Sofia’s
Sofia was cooking dinner when she heard the door open and a familiar voice all out.
“Hi Mom, I’m home. What’s for dinner?”
It’s about damn time! She hadn’t seen her daughter in what felt like forever! It drove her nuts to know she was here, on base a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t stop by! Well, dang it! She was here now.
“In here! Get your butt back here!”
Sofia was stirring the last ingredients into dinner when her baby girl came around the corner. Baby girl, Ha! Six foot whatever and full of her father’s surliness is what she was. She looked a little better than she did the last time they were together but she was still lanky and needed to fill out a little more. She had a good tan going so she must be getting out from behind the desk enough.
Veronica dropped her gym bag and gave her mother a hug.
“What’s for dinner?”
“Here ten seconds and already thinking of food! And where’s your sidekick?” Sofia said, looking behind Veronica.
She made enough for Violet as well. Most of the time the trouble twins traveled together. She wanted to see Violet as well. Violet was like the second daughter she didn’t have to birth. She and Amber always joked with anyone and everyone that they needed to do dual custody paperwork since they seemed to each be raising two daughters.
“I dropped her off at Amber and Silas’s house. I’ll swing by and snare her in the morning. Where’s Poppa?” Veronica said as she leaned over and tried to see what was in the pot.
“He will be home soon. He just left the office. With all the crap he has on his plate now, it takes longer for him to swim to the top of the paperwork pile.” Sofia saw Veronica looking over her shoulder at the pot. “Chicken and Dumplings. Now, go wash up. Spare rooms are on the left down the hall.” Sofia pointed with her spoon.
“Sure thing, Mom. Be right back.”
Veronica picked up her bag and walked down the hall.
Sofia went back to her cooking. Tomorrow she would start stuff for Sunday’s get together. It’s been a long time since all of them were together. She hoped Kingfisher could come. It’s been forever since he’s seen the girls.
Sofia was cooking dinner when she heard the door open and a familiar voice all out.
“Hi Mom, I’m home. What’s for dinner?”
It’s about damn time! She hadn’t seen her daughter in what felt like forever! It drove her nuts to know she was here, on base a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t stop by! Well, dang it! She was here now.
“In here! Get your butt back here!”
Sofia was stirring the last ingredients into dinner when her baby girl came around the corner. Baby girl, Ha! Six foot whatever and full of her father’s surliness is what she was. She looked a little better than she did the last time they were together but she was still lanky and needed to fill out a little more. She had a good tan going so she must be getting out from behind the desk enough.
Veronica dropped her gym bag and gave her mother a hug.
“What’s for dinner?”
“Here ten seconds and already thinking of food! And where’s your sidekick?” Sofia said, looking behind Veronica.
She made enough for Violet as well. Most of the time the trouble twins traveled together. She wanted to see Violet as well. Violet was like the second daughter she didn’t have to birth. She and Amber always joked with anyone and everyone that they needed to do dual custody paperwork since they seemed to each be raising two daughters.
“I dropped her off at Amber and Silas’s house. I’ll swing by and snare her in the morning. Where’s Poppa?” Veronica said as she leaned over and tried to see what was in the pot.
“He will be home soon. He just left the office. With all the crap he has on his plate now, it takes longer for him to swim to the top of the paperwork pile.” Sofia saw Veronica looking over her shoulder at the pot. “Chicken and Dumplings. Now, go wash up. Spare rooms are on the left down the hall.” Sofia pointed with her spoon.
“Sure thing, Mom. Be right back.”
Veronica picked up her bag and walked down the hall.
Sofia went back to her cooking. Tomorrow she would start stuff for Sunday’s get together. It’s been a long time since all of them were together. She hoped Kingfisher could come. It’s been forever since he’s seen the girls.
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Y'all know this current round of crack filling/detail-rounding-out means there's:
1. Impending action
2. A cliff (maybe a couple of small ones) and some serious twisting roads
Not necessarily in that order and not immediately but, they're coming.
All y'all know the drill - seat back tables up, belts on, loose gear in the over head, barf bags in the seat back pouch in front of you.
Stand by. ....
1. Impending action
2. A cliff (maybe a couple of small ones) and some serious twisting roads
Not necessarily in that order and not immediately but, they're coming.
All y'all know the drill - seat back tables up, belts on, loose gear in the over head, barf bags in the seat back pouch in front of you.
Stand by. ....
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Amber and Silas’ House
Silas was on a stool in the garage inventing new swear words as he was disassembling RV appliance parts next to the camper project. He saw a huge SUV pull up to the curb. Curious, he paused in his fight with the tiny water heater. The passenger door opened and Violet stepped out! He started setting stuff down, hoping he would remember later which part went where.
Violet was walking up the driveway as the SUV drove away, a small bag over one shoulder.
“Hey Dad!”
“There’s my little Violet!” Silas said as he put down the last of his tools and walked out to greet her.
A big hug later, Silas held her out at arm’s length.
“Damn, girl! You almost squeezed me in half! You been in the gym some recently, I guess. The strawberry blonde looks good on you, too. It’s almost as light as your hair was when you came back from your last deployment.”
Part of him was sizing her up, looking for damage or any residual effects from the horrible position he put her in with Frickel. He didn’t see any but it didn’t stop him from worrying and fretting.
“Well, I’ve been working out a bit more since Randel and I broke up.”
“What happened there, anyway? I never heard.” Silas said as he led her into the garage.
“Well, we got along well enough but not enough for a long-distance relationship. He got orders to Rota. We didn’t have any major fights or anything. We are still friends, but as much as we were great friends, we decided it wasn’t the right kind of love.”
Silas thought he could tell she wasn’t that broken up and was being honest about it. It’s too bad. He liked Randel. He knew the military lifestyle was hard on relationships and doubly so to marriages. He and Amber and Sofia and Ivar were anomalies. Being happily married for so long was so rare in Special Operations, it was almost a superpower or like finding a pair of unicorns in your backyard with lottery tickets on their horns.
“So, what’s the project for this base?” Violet asked as they went into the garage.
Silas usually had one or two projects he would work at each base they were stationed at. It gave him something to do with his hands and focus his mind on other than work. He used each change of station to learn something new to work on or restore.
At one base, he restored a small sail boat and taught himself the basics of sailing. At another base, he learned as much as he could about antique furniture and how to repair and restore different types. He even had a few of those restored pieces still in the house several moves later.
“What the hell is this thing?” Violet asked.
“It’s a Chinook camper I’m working on.” Silas said, running a hand down the side where he was still sanding the filler.
“So, you still need the trailer parts to put under it?”
“Nah, this goes on the back of a truck. I haven’t found the right one to put it together with yet.”
“What do you know about campers, dad?” Violet said, fixing him with a skeptical look.
“About as much as I know about rebuilding cars.” Silas grinned at her, his smile widening as her cringe deepened. She was the poor victim and learned a lot of her swear words holding a flashlight for his automotive repair ventures
“I hope you have someone to backstop you on the vehicle stuff.”
“Yeah, I have one of the motorpool troops who is willing to backcheck the stuff.”
“Going rate still a case of beer?”
“Not this one. She wants a bottle of Patron.”
“She?”
“Yeah, they got this girl, can’t be more than five feet and eighty pounds soaking wet. We in-processed together. She’s scouring the area for the truck we are putting under it.”
“You ought to get one of those big old trucks like the green one Poppa Ivar used to have”
“Hmmm” Silas started thinking about her suggestion. Ivar had an old mid-sixties Power Wagon crew cab he bought at a DRMO Auction many many years ago. It might work. He would have to pitch it to Petra next week. She was talking a smaller bump in capability with just a more modern Toyota under it. They could go whole 4x4 overbuild and approach it from the vintage angle? Mid-seventies 4x4 full size would be more than enough. Research project for a little later.
“So, where’s Momma? Violet shifted topics.
“She had a late appointment. She should be home any moment with pizza from this joint we found. You will love it.”
“What’s so special about the pizza?”
“The guy who owns this place used to live in Bosnia and makes a great wood fired pizza that tastes just like the ones over there. High heat, four minutes cook time.”
“Sounds great!”
Silas led the way into the house and showed Violet around as they waited for her mother to come home. It felt good to have her here. He always worried when she was out of arms reach. He knew she was smart and capable of taking care of herself, but damn it, she was his daughter and he would always worry.
Silas was on a stool in the garage inventing new swear words as he was disassembling RV appliance parts next to the camper project. He saw a huge SUV pull up to the curb. Curious, he paused in his fight with the tiny water heater. The passenger door opened and Violet stepped out! He started setting stuff down, hoping he would remember later which part went where.
Violet was walking up the driveway as the SUV drove away, a small bag over one shoulder.
“Hey Dad!”
“There’s my little Violet!” Silas said as he put down the last of his tools and walked out to greet her.
A big hug later, Silas held her out at arm’s length.
“Damn, girl! You almost squeezed me in half! You been in the gym some recently, I guess. The strawberry blonde looks good on you, too. It’s almost as light as your hair was when you came back from your last deployment.”
Part of him was sizing her up, looking for damage or any residual effects from the horrible position he put her in with Frickel. He didn’t see any but it didn’t stop him from worrying and fretting.
“Well, I’ve been working out a bit more since Randel and I broke up.”
“What happened there, anyway? I never heard.” Silas said as he led her into the garage.
“Well, we got along well enough but not enough for a long-distance relationship. He got orders to Rota. We didn’t have any major fights or anything. We are still friends, but as much as we were great friends, we decided it wasn’t the right kind of love.”
Silas thought he could tell she wasn’t that broken up and was being honest about it. It’s too bad. He liked Randel. He knew the military lifestyle was hard on relationships and doubly so to marriages. He and Amber and Sofia and Ivar were anomalies. Being happily married for so long was so rare in Special Operations, it was almost a superpower or like finding a pair of unicorns in your backyard with lottery tickets on their horns.
“So, what’s the project for this base?” Violet asked as they went into the garage.
Silas usually had one or two projects he would work at each base they were stationed at. It gave him something to do with his hands and focus his mind on other than work. He used each change of station to learn something new to work on or restore.
At one base, he restored a small sail boat and taught himself the basics of sailing. At another base, he learned as much as he could about antique furniture and how to repair and restore different types. He even had a few of those restored pieces still in the house several moves later.
“What the hell is this thing?” Violet asked.
“It’s a Chinook camper I’m working on.” Silas said, running a hand down the side where he was still sanding the filler.
“So, you still need the trailer parts to put under it?”
“Nah, this goes on the back of a truck. I haven’t found the right one to put it together with yet.”
“What do you know about campers, dad?” Violet said, fixing him with a skeptical look.
“About as much as I know about rebuilding cars.” Silas grinned at her, his smile widening as her cringe deepened. She was the poor victim and learned a lot of her swear words holding a flashlight for his automotive repair ventures
“I hope you have someone to backstop you on the vehicle stuff.”
“Yeah, I have one of the motorpool troops who is willing to backcheck the stuff.”
“Going rate still a case of beer?”
“Not this one. She wants a bottle of Patron.”
“She?”
“Yeah, they got this girl, can’t be more than five feet and eighty pounds soaking wet. We in-processed together. She’s scouring the area for the truck we are putting under it.”
“You ought to get one of those big old trucks like the green one Poppa Ivar used to have”
“Hmmm” Silas started thinking about her suggestion. Ivar had an old mid-sixties Power Wagon crew cab he bought at a DRMO Auction many many years ago. It might work. He would have to pitch it to Petra next week. She was talking a smaller bump in capability with just a more modern Toyota under it. They could go whole 4x4 overbuild and approach it from the vintage angle? Mid-seventies 4x4 full size would be more than enough. Research project for a little later.
“So, where’s Momma? Violet shifted topics.
“She had a late appointment. She should be home any moment with pizza from this joint we found. You will love it.”
“What’s so special about the pizza?”
“The guy who owns this place used to live in Bosnia and makes a great wood fired pizza that tastes just like the ones over there. High heat, four minutes cook time.”
“Sounds great!”
Silas led the way into the house and showed Violet around as they waited for her mother to come home. It felt good to have her here. He always worried when she was out of arms reach. He knew she was smart and capable of taking care of herself, but damn it, she was his daughter and he would always worry.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
On the Way to Paige’s
Everyone was happy and cheerful to have their kids back for the weekend. The only damper to it was the core of what Silas was conveying to the crew out at Paige’s place. In spite of repeated prodding and suggesting, it was only Silas and the kids going today. Everyone else was catching up on work and chores to free up Sunday for the family gathering.
Veronica came by Amber and Silas’ house early to pick up Violet and Silas, then make a beer and ice run on the way to Paige’s. They would swap drivers before heading to Paige’s from there. Violet had been there before and would recognize the nondescript turn off into their road and then their house since she had been there before.
The conversation in the SUV was still fairly light. Silas didn’t want to get into things too far and just have to cover it again when they got to Paige’s.
“I know you guys are here through Sunday. You guys headed back Monday or Tuesday?” Silas asked from the passenger seat.
“Probably Tuesday morning. That way we can get together and hang out some. It’s not like they need me at the office anyway.”
“I take it too many bodies and not enough workload?”
Silas knew the issue. He was facing it at the base himself. He and Ivar were trying to keep everyone gainfully engaged with anything and everything he could think of and using as much manpower as they could shoehorn onto the issues. If this place as mothballing, they wanted as much done early towards that goal to avoid overworking the last holdouts with a ton of crap.
“Yeah, after the bulk of the deployments slowed down and we got most our bodies back home, we are twiddling our fingers some.” Veronica said, the implied boredom evident.
“Well, some of what I have to tell these guys will apply to you two as well. We have a bunch of changes potentially coming down the pike.” Shit! Silas hoped the stuff he was going to talk about was as far as it was going to go. If it went as bad as Kingfisher thought it might…Well, they would worry the next steps after taking care of the ones in front of them.
“You want to give us the sneak preview?” Violet asked.
Just like Violet, always wanting to find things out as soon as she could. Maybe she should have been the cop? Silas thought.
“Not this time. I want to dish this out in one fell swoop.” Silas said in his work tone.
Everyone was happy and cheerful to have their kids back for the weekend. The only damper to it was the core of what Silas was conveying to the crew out at Paige’s place. In spite of repeated prodding and suggesting, it was only Silas and the kids going today. Everyone else was catching up on work and chores to free up Sunday for the family gathering.
Veronica came by Amber and Silas’ house early to pick up Violet and Silas, then make a beer and ice run on the way to Paige’s. They would swap drivers before heading to Paige’s from there. Violet had been there before and would recognize the nondescript turn off into their road and then their house since she had been there before.
The conversation in the SUV was still fairly light. Silas didn’t want to get into things too far and just have to cover it again when they got to Paige’s.
“I know you guys are here through Sunday. You guys headed back Monday or Tuesday?” Silas asked from the passenger seat.
“Probably Tuesday morning. That way we can get together and hang out some. It’s not like they need me at the office anyway.”
“I take it too many bodies and not enough workload?”
Silas knew the issue. He was facing it at the base himself. He and Ivar were trying to keep everyone gainfully engaged with anything and everything he could think of and using as much manpower as they could shoehorn onto the issues. If this place as mothballing, they wanted as much done early towards that goal to avoid overworking the last holdouts with a ton of crap.
“Yeah, after the bulk of the deployments slowed down and we got most our bodies back home, we are twiddling our fingers some.” Veronica said, the implied boredom evident.
“Well, some of what I have to tell these guys will apply to you two as well. We have a bunch of changes potentially coming down the pike.” Shit! Silas hoped the stuff he was going to talk about was as far as it was going to go. If it went as bad as Kingfisher thought it might…Well, they would worry the next steps after taking care of the ones in front of them.
“You want to give us the sneak preview?” Violet asked.
Just like Violet, always wanting to find things out as soon as she could. Maybe she should have been the cop? Silas thought.
“Not this time. I want to dish this out in one fell swoop.” Silas said in his work tone.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
At Paige’s
Silas was impressed at how secluded Paige’s house was. The small almost unmarked turn out didn’t attract much attention. For an HOA subdivision, it didn’t look like one. The only clues were some old stone columns with weathered bronze placards alongside the entrance road, well back from the main road. Silas kept looking around for the other houses but could only catch glimpses. Shit! Why couldn’t they have found somewhere isolated like this when they were looking? Silas thought.
When Violet turned into the driveway, Silas got a good look at the house for the first time. A simple little split level thing from probably the eighties, it looked cozy. The thing didn’t match the barn next to it. The barn was an old wood thing you could have easily fit the house inside of. It was obviously from the twenties or earlier, much older than the house.
In front of the barn seemed to be the parking lot for the house. Silas recognized Paige’s Cherokee and Sabine’s Land Cruiser and assumed the little blue VW and the Jeep must be Andrea and Henrik’s.
Once Violet parked, everyone got out and gathered the cook-out stuff they were taking in. Silas knew people talked better when they were eating and drinking, that’s why when he talked to Violet and Veronica about their upcoming visit, he told them there would be a cook-out on Saturday with Paige and their group.
Veronica told him she would bring the meat and evidently had some luck hunting, just for this trip. Between the meat and the drinks in the cooler and the grocery bags with the rest of the stuff, the girl’s hands were full as they followed Silas to the front door.
Just before Silas could knock, the door swung open. It was Andrea with a big grin and a squeal upon seeing Violet and Veronica behind him. Silas started talking while he was standing there on the porch.
“Sorry to spoil your guys Saturday. I figured if I was going to screw it up, I better make up for it. The girls drove down last night and brought some stuff for the grill and we brought everything else for the meal but fire.” Silas was going to continue but Violet spoke up behind him as she pushed him and Veronica aside with the cooler.
“Great! Fine! Wonderful, Dad, you want to get out of my way so I can put this cooler down? It’s getting heavy!” Violet bullied her way past Silas, Veronica and Andrea to set the cooler down just outside the kitchen.
Veronica took this as the invitation and followed Violet in, setting the bags down in the kitchen leaving Silas and Andrea at the entrance.
“Come on in Sergeant Major.” Andrea motioned ahead of her as she closed the door behind her.
Silas looked around as he came inside, following the noise and clatter left in the wake of his daughter. He knew she could be quiet and stealthy when she wanted to be, but she was also like a bear with their head stuck in a bucket when she didn’t care. Right now seemed to be one of those times.
The house was a simple multi-level affair. The small living room just inside the front door led to a small dining room and kitchen. Stairs off to the left led up and down. Looking down and to the left from the dining room showed a big den or lounge area complete with a fireplace and several large sectional pieces. Silas assumed the stairs up lead to the bedrooms.
“This is a great place.” Veronica was talking to Andrea and Sabine in the kitchen.
Silas caught Sabine’s eye and motioned for her to come over to him. This was the twitchy part. He decided last night he had to come clean with Sabine after talking to Bill. He knew she was not one to be lied to, deceived or god forbid, manipulated. Bill stressed that heavily.
“I have another bag of stuff in the car if you could give me a hand, I’d appreciate it”
Sabine followed Silas out to the big SUV. When they got to the back of the vehicle, he opened the hatch. In there was a gym bag with a shoulder strap on it. He knew the jig was up. She would know he didn’t need her to help with one little gym bag. Better talk quick, he thought.
Sabine’s looked up at him. He was standing there smiling, hopefully in a charming, disarming way.
“Your Master Chief sends his regards, and since he is now retired, his love. Jeanne.”
All the color in Sabine’s face fled and the world seemed to swim around her.
Silas could see the shock and panic on her face. This was not what he wanted, but he knew it might happen. He was afraid he might have to catch her as she stumbled back a step or two.
“How….what….” Sabine stammered.
Better to reinforce his source and how he was involved and reassure her secret was safe. Stick to the plan, Silas, he told himself.
“When everything went down with you, your Master Chief set you up with your advanced classes and your billet here, right?”
“Yeah?” she replied tentatively, still obviously unsure what was going on.
Sils saw she was starting to recover, at least enough for him to explain.
“Well I was the one in charge of the school slots and I was PCSing to the Mountain school here. I told him I could work the training slot, but you would have to perform well enough to bring you here. If you did well enough getting trained, I could justify you to the boss as someone we could keep since you would not be eligible for the combat teams like all the other ones who come here and are stolen back every 9 to 12 months.”
“But how….” Sabine was still trying to understand.
“You earned the job here. I just provided the opportunity. I’m the only one on base who knows anything. Not even the Commander knows. I told him it was something I handled when I selected you over two other applicants. I could show where you out performed them and had a broader range of experience. I also sold him on the ability to keep you around, just like we chose Paige because she wants to do her job, not be a commando.”
The part he wasn’t going to explain, or at least not right now, was she was the whole start of the idea he pitched to Ivar that got Paige her job as a test run and laying the groundwork to get Sabine here a couple years later. He didn’t even want to think about the panic he felt worrying about what to do if Paige was a flop here or if Sabine was a shitty medic or too stressed to perform at the school and washed out. He had no idea what he could have done for the one Bill begged him to take care of and protect.
“How much do you know?” Sabine still had a queasy feeling in her stomach.
“He told me a lot. He laid out you went through hell, what type he didn’t elaborate much on, what you had to do to stop it, and the vicious persecution you received, followed by the cold-blooded brass ball courage you showed standing up to them. He said it almost killed him watching what they tried to do to you on the stand. He said you standing there clinically describing in horridly graphic detail what was done to you with no emotion, like you were narrating stereo instructions was the bravest thing he has ever seen, bar none. He didn’t provide details of what those things were, just that they were horrific. He did everything he could to protect you going forward.”
Silas saw tears start to form in Sabine’s eyes at even the mention of those events. He figured it was better to press on.
“He set everything up for your new identity himself. He didn’t trust the system that screwed you over to do it right. It was a friend of mine who fixed it in the computer for your name change in conjunction with your assignment to the advanced training school. I had an empty slot at the training and when you graduated, your packet was measured against the others and I legitimately chose you as the best choice.”
Sabine’s voice was a little weak and shaky when she spoke.
“Not trying to sound ungrateful, but why did he call you?”
Why me? He knew she would ask and he debated how much to tell her. Shet, in for a penny, in for a pound.
“He and I hiked over a lot of bad terrain at the start of this war until he couldn’t pass the physical any more. He trusts me and I owe him for a few holes he patched up over the years. He figured I could help him help someone who deserved it. I promised him and I promise you to keep your secrets and I will. Besides, if I don’t, my sister will kick my ass!”
Sabine was thoroughly confused now and it showed on her face.
“Your Master Chief is married to my sister. All is good. You’re in safe hands. Let’s get this bag and get inside.” He picked up the bag and the two of them went inside.
Silas was impressed at how secluded Paige’s house was. The small almost unmarked turn out didn’t attract much attention. For an HOA subdivision, it didn’t look like one. The only clues were some old stone columns with weathered bronze placards alongside the entrance road, well back from the main road. Silas kept looking around for the other houses but could only catch glimpses. Shit! Why couldn’t they have found somewhere isolated like this when they were looking? Silas thought.
When Violet turned into the driveway, Silas got a good look at the house for the first time. A simple little split level thing from probably the eighties, it looked cozy. The thing didn’t match the barn next to it. The barn was an old wood thing you could have easily fit the house inside of. It was obviously from the twenties or earlier, much older than the house.
In front of the barn seemed to be the parking lot for the house. Silas recognized Paige’s Cherokee and Sabine’s Land Cruiser and assumed the little blue VW and the Jeep must be Andrea and Henrik’s.
Once Violet parked, everyone got out and gathered the cook-out stuff they were taking in. Silas knew people talked better when they were eating and drinking, that’s why when he talked to Violet and Veronica about their upcoming visit, he told them there would be a cook-out on Saturday with Paige and their group.
Veronica told him she would bring the meat and evidently had some luck hunting, just for this trip. Between the meat and the drinks in the cooler and the grocery bags with the rest of the stuff, the girl’s hands were full as they followed Silas to the front door.
Just before Silas could knock, the door swung open. It was Andrea with a big grin and a squeal upon seeing Violet and Veronica behind him. Silas started talking while he was standing there on the porch.
“Sorry to spoil your guys Saturday. I figured if I was going to screw it up, I better make up for it. The girls drove down last night and brought some stuff for the grill and we brought everything else for the meal but fire.” Silas was going to continue but Violet spoke up behind him as she pushed him and Veronica aside with the cooler.
“Great! Fine! Wonderful, Dad, you want to get out of my way so I can put this cooler down? It’s getting heavy!” Violet bullied her way past Silas, Veronica and Andrea to set the cooler down just outside the kitchen.
Veronica took this as the invitation and followed Violet in, setting the bags down in the kitchen leaving Silas and Andrea at the entrance.
“Come on in Sergeant Major.” Andrea motioned ahead of her as she closed the door behind her.
Silas looked around as he came inside, following the noise and clatter left in the wake of his daughter. He knew she could be quiet and stealthy when she wanted to be, but she was also like a bear with their head stuck in a bucket when she didn’t care. Right now seemed to be one of those times.
The house was a simple multi-level affair. The small living room just inside the front door led to a small dining room and kitchen. Stairs off to the left led up and down. Looking down and to the left from the dining room showed a big den or lounge area complete with a fireplace and several large sectional pieces. Silas assumed the stairs up lead to the bedrooms.
“This is a great place.” Veronica was talking to Andrea and Sabine in the kitchen.
Silas caught Sabine’s eye and motioned for her to come over to him. This was the twitchy part. He decided last night he had to come clean with Sabine after talking to Bill. He knew she was not one to be lied to, deceived or god forbid, manipulated. Bill stressed that heavily.
“I have another bag of stuff in the car if you could give me a hand, I’d appreciate it”
Sabine followed Silas out to the big SUV. When they got to the back of the vehicle, he opened the hatch. In there was a gym bag with a shoulder strap on it. He knew the jig was up. She would know he didn’t need her to help with one little gym bag. Better talk quick, he thought.
Sabine’s looked up at him. He was standing there smiling, hopefully in a charming, disarming way.
“Your Master Chief sends his regards, and since he is now retired, his love. Jeanne.”
All the color in Sabine’s face fled and the world seemed to swim around her.
Silas could see the shock and panic on her face. This was not what he wanted, but he knew it might happen. He was afraid he might have to catch her as she stumbled back a step or two.
“How….what….” Sabine stammered.
Better to reinforce his source and how he was involved and reassure her secret was safe. Stick to the plan, Silas, he told himself.
“When everything went down with you, your Master Chief set you up with your advanced classes and your billet here, right?”
“Yeah?” she replied tentatively, still obviously unsure what was going on.
Sils saw she was starting to recover, at least enough for him to explain.
“Well I was the one in charge of the school slots and I was PCSing to the Mountain school here. I told him I could work the training slot, but you would have to perform well enough to bring you here. If you did well enough getting trained, I could justify you to the boss as someone we could keep since you would not be eligible for the combat teams like all the other ones who come here and are stolen back every 9 to 12 months.”
“But how….” Sabine was still trying to understand.
“You earned the job here. I just provided the opportunity. I’m the only one on base who knows anything. Not even the Commander knows. I told him it was something I handled when I selected you over two other applicants. I could show where you out performed them and had a broader range of experience. I also sold him on the ability to keep you around, just like we chose Paige because she wants to do her job, not be a commando.”
The part he wasn’t going to explain, or at least not right now, was she was the whole start of the idea he pitched to Ivar that got Paige her job as a test run and laying the groundwork to get Sabine here a couple years later. He didn’t even want to think about the panic he felt worrying about what to do if Paige was a flop here or if Sabine was a shitty medic or too stressed to perform at the school and washed out. He had no idea what he could have done for the one Bill begged him to take care of and protect.
“How much do you know?” Sabine still had a queasy feeling in her stomach.
“He told me a lot. He laid out you went through hell, what type he didn’t elaborate much on, what you had to do to stop it, and the vicious persecution you received, followed by the cold-blooded brass ball courage you showed standing up to them. He said it almost killed him watching what they tried to do to you on the stand. He said you standing there clinically describing in horridly graphic detail what was done to you with no emotion, like you were narrating stereo instructions was the bravest thing he has ever seen, bar none. He didn’t provide details of what those things were, just that they were horrific. He did everything he could to protect you going forward.”
Silas saw tears start to form in Sabine’s eyes at even the mention of those events. He figured it was better to press on.
“He set everything up for your new identity himself. He didn’t trust the system that screwed you over to do it right. It was a friend of mine who fixed it in the computer for your name change in conjunction with your assignment to the advanced training school. I had an empty slot at the training and when you graduated, your packet was measured against the others and I legitimately chose you as the best choice.”
Sabine’s voice was a little weak and shaky when she spoke.
“Not trying to sound ungrateful, but why did he call you?”
Why me? He knew she would ask and he debated how much to tell her. Shet, in for a penny, in for a pound.
“He and I hiked over a lot of bad terrain at the start of this war until he couldn’t pass the physical any more. He trusts me and I owe him for a few holes he patched up over the years. He figured I could help him help someone who deserved it. I promised him and I promise you to keep your secrets and I will. Besides, if I don’t, my sister will kick my ass!”
Sabine was thoroughly confused now and it showed on her face.
“Your Master Chief is married to my sister. All is good. You’re in safe hands. Let’s get this bag and get inside.” He picked up the bag and the two of them went inside.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Out at the Grill
When Silas returned to the kitchen, everyone was grabbing supplies and tools and headed out the back door, which was good. The kitchen was far too tiny for as many people as they had in there. Besides, the cooking would be outside on the grill.
With Henrik, Andrea and Paige pointing things out and where to put things, in no time at all, the outdoor grilling kitchen was in use. Henrik started some charcoal, Andrea started prepping vegies, Veronica had the steaks out and seasoned and Paige was working on getting some chairs.
Soon, drinks were pulled from the cooler and small talk began. About the time the drinks came out, so did Sabine.
Silas saw her walk up. Now they had everyone, he could start. He caught her attention and pointed at the cooler with his drink. Sabine flipped open the lid. Inside were a bunch of drinks; beer, wine, wine coolers, and sodas. Sabine grabbed a wine cooler and joined the group.
Silas was the center of the talking now that Sabine had joined them.
“OK, Now Sabine is here I can start hitting the meat of what I wanted to talk to you guys about, including you two, Fric and Frac.” He pointed at Veronica and Violet with his bottle.
He made notecards to make sure he covered everything today, but he wasn’t using them right now. He would go back in a little while to back check and fill in any blanks in a little bit but the very act of writing the cards solidified a bunch of the items in his memory. He looked around the group and began.
“What I’m telling you, it isn’t official yet. All of it might not come to bear, it might all happen and more. We don’t know. What I am telling you is from a couple guys I know either in or around Congress or at the Pentagon. The West Coast events are going to fundamentally change the military. Congress is scrambling for money wherever it can to pour into the West Coast disaster. Many in Congress see the military budget as the biggest place to steal it from.”
Silas shook his head at the thought of Congress ‘fixing’ things. Like most people in the military, he didn’t trust most politicians to have anyone’s best interests in mind other than their own. The best description of politics in general in his mind was its very foundation was based on the premise you could pick a turd up by the clean end. He continued.
“With Congress pillaging the military budget, the military is going to do as much as it can to refocus the funds it does have. It will probably not rebuild Pendleton and the other San Diego bases, or at least not to the level they once were. The Marine equipment and resources being recovered are being relocated to Twenty-Nine Palms since it is out of the destruction zone. All the functions possible are being moved. I don’t see them ever being moved back. Pendleton will probably become mostly a range and operating area.”
Silas could see some were already thinking hard on what this meant, some were just shocked and stunned. He saw Violet and Veronica move over to the grill. Well, he knew they would still listen, but so far they must be thinking this is only really impacting the rest of us. He hoped they were right, but he didn’t think so. As he explained more, they might understand, he told himself as he kept talking.
“The main functions of the naval bases are being moved to Pearl. The same thing with Bremerton, Kitsap, and Whidbey Island. They were all trashed, and the big question is whether to pour money back into these locations to get back to the status quo, or if we spend half as much, can we increase the same capabilities in a base that is still functioning. Pearl used to handle the level of operations it would have if you pulled what the west coast did a month ago. The Marine amphibious elements will end up on Guam, I figure.”
Silas knew there was already a big push to move Marines to Guam from Japan, and when they are already building assets, infrastructure and capabilities there, he figured they would just plus up there and bulk up Pearl rather than San Diego and the rest of the West Coast.
Silas looked around at the faces. Everyone just stood there, trying to absorb what they were just told. He handed out another round of drinks. He figured to pause a moment for everything he already said to have a chance to be absorbed before he went to the next part he wanted to cover. This next part would be the big impact on them he knew, now they had the background info to make sense of it in the scheme of things.
He looked over at Violet and Veronica as the drinks were handed out. Veronica was raking the charcoal around to spread out the heat for the meat Violet was seasoning. He didn’t realize it but Silas looked worried.
When Silas returned to the kitchen, everyone was grabbing supplies and tools and headed out the back door, which was good. The kitchen was far too tiny for as many people as they had in there. Besides, the cooking would be outside on the grill.
With Henrik, Andrea and Paige pointing things out and where to put things, in no time at all, the outdoor grilling kitchen was in use. Henrik started some charcoal, Andrea started prepping vegies, Veronica had the steaks out and seasoned and Paige was working on getting some chairs.
Soon, drinks were pulled from the cooler and small talk began. About the time the drinks came out, so did Sabine.
Silas saw her walk up. Now they had everyone, he could start. He caught her attention and pointed at the cooler with his drink. Sabine flipped open the lid. Inside were a bunch of drinks; beer, wine, wine coolers, and sodas. Sabine grabbed a wine cooler and joined the group.
Silas was the center of the talking now that Sabine had joined them.
“OK, Now Sabine is here I can start hitting the meat of what I wanted to talk to you guys about, including you two, Fric and Frac.” He pointed at Veronica and Violet with his bottle.
He made notecards to make sure he covered everything today, but he wasn’t using them right now. He would go back in a little while to back check and fill in any blanks in a little bit but the very act of writing the cards solidified a bunch of the items in his memory. He looked around the group and began.
“What I’m telling you, it isn’t official yet. All of it might not come to bear, it might all happen and more. We don’t know. What I am telling you is from a couple guys I know either in or around Congress or at the Pentagon. The West Coast events are going to fundamentally change the military. Congress is scrambling for money wherever it can to pour into the West Coast disaster. Many in Congress see the military budget as the biggest place to steal it from.”
Silas shook his head at the thought of Congress ‘fixing’ things. Like most people in the military, he didn’t trust most politicians to have anyone’s best interests in mind other than their own. The best description of politics in general in his mind was its very foundation was based on the premise you could pick a turd up by the clean end. He continued.
“With Congress pillaging the military budget, the military is going to do as much as it can to refocus the funds it does have. It will probably not rebuild Pendleton and the other San Diego bases, or at least not to the level they once were. The Marine equipment and resources being recovered are being relocated to Twenty-Nine Palms since it is out of the destruction zone. All the functions possible are being moved. I don’t see them ever being moved back. Pendleton will probably become mostly a range and operating area.”
Silas could see some were already thinking hard on what this meant, some were just shocked and stunned. He saw Violet and Veronica move over to the grill. Well, he knew they would still listen, but so far they must be thinking this is only really impacting the rest of us. He hoped they were right, but he didn’t think so. As he explained more, they might understand, he told himself as he kept talking.
“The main functions of the naval bases are being moved to Pearl. The same thing with Bremerton, Kitsap, and Whidbey Island. They were all trashed, and the big question is whether to pour money back into these locations to get back to the status quo, or if we spend half as much, can we increase the same capabilities in a base that is still functioning. Pearl used to handle the level of operations it would have if you pulled what the west coast did a month ago. The Marine amphibious elements will end up on Guam, I figure.”
Silas knew there was already a big push to move Marines to Guam from Japan, and when they are already building assets, infrastructure and capabilities there, he figured they would just plus up there and bulk up Pearl rather than San Diego and the rest of the West Coast.
Silas looked around at the faces. Everyone just stood there, trying to absorb what they were just told. He handed out another round of drinks. He figured to pause a moment for everything he already said to have a chance to be absorbed before he went to the next part he wanted to cover. This next part would be the big impact on them he knew, now they had the background info to make sense of it in the scheme of things.
He looked over at Violet and Veronica as the drinks were handed out. Veronica was raking the charcoal around to spread out the heat for the meat Violet was seasoning. He didn’t realize it but Silas looked worried.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Once everyone was set, Silas started part two of his talk.
“So, as I was saying, the military is trying every trick in the book to make the most of the money they have left. With the talk of eliminating bases on the West Coast by not rebuilding them, there is going to be a drawdown of units and personnel. Some of it is going to be sneaky, too, and not make sense until you look at it like an accountant.”
“First, a history lesson. Many years back, the federal government and the military changed the dates people got paid on from the 15th and the last day of the month, to the first and fifteenth. It looks like only one day, but it provided a onetime budgetary windfall. What it did was move one whole two week pay period of salary from one fiscal year to another, freeing up the funds for other uses. Well, they are trying to do some other sneaky things.”
“One of the things they are looking to do is a 15 year retirement. On the face, it doesn’t look like it will save much money, but it moves the payroll over to another category and since the retirement pay is based on the top three years, and fewer will make higher rank, it will end up costing them less. It will also cull overall number of bodies. Not that it will be mandatory, yet, nor are they going to change high year of tenure, yet. Think about most of your coworkers and such. You offer them at the 15 year mark a 50% paycheck and never come back, there will be a lot of takers. They think the civilian world has a lot more to offer. Some are right, others soon find out how good they had it in the military.”
He knew the possibility of a fifteen year retirement was a game changer for most in this group. He honestly didn’t know if it would entice Violet or not, or for that matter Veronica. Well, wake up buttercups, shits getting real.
“There is another couple sneakier things in the works as well. One of the biggest things gobbling up resources and money is moving troops around unit to unit, base to base. Well, the rest of the services will be moving to the Air Force model of a minimum of four years’ time on station before you are eligible to PCS to your next station instead of the two to three years we are used to. Fewer moves mean fewer moves to pay for, and units have fewer periods of time with less than their required bodies. Between PCS in, in processing and out processing to leave, you lose about six months of functionality to the unit.”
Four year minimum was a hard pill for some to swallow he knew, but he knew the next part would make it either a choking point or a celebration point. If you’re in a bad unit, you knew you would leave soon and could get a better one. Now, that’s taken away. If you are at a bad unit or a bad situation, you’re stuck in it for years and years. Time for the other shoe Silas thought.
“That’s the first half, the other half they are talking about, they are going to reset everyone’s time on station clocks to zero regardless of how long they have already been there.” He paused for a moment to let that sink in. “That means, unless you are fresh from MOS school or retiring, where you are at, that’s where you will be for the next four years at least. All of you are over ten years in, so unless you choose to push higher and longer, you are at your retirement base right now.”
Silas’ words seem to echo in the silence of the backyard now as everyone thought about the bombshell he just dropped on them.
“So, those of you here, this place will at least draw down to a much smaller base and capability, or close all together. The U.S. will be focusing inward for some time. The days of the military running all over the globe doing diplomacy by presence are done for the foreseeable future. The various schools set up for the expeditionary military operations will wither and maybe go away. It will take years for the base to close down completely, probably, but it will probably happen. If you are over 15 years, they may or may not allow you to re-enlist if they have to move you. That gives you around four or five years to figure out what you want as your next career.”
Everyone was quiet as they thought about the massive paradigm shift they just got dumped on them.
Silas steered the conversations to a lighter topic for a bit like the food and the house. He didn’t want to keep unloading on them at once. He knew each thing needed its own amount of time and focus.
“So, as I was saying, the military is trying every trick in the book to make the most of the money they have left. With the talk of eliminating bases on the West Coast by not rebuilding them, there is going to be a drawdown of units and personnel. Some of it is going to be sneaky, too, and not make sense until you look at it like an accountant.”
“First, a history lesson. Many years back, the federal government and the military changed the dates people got paid on from the 15th and the last day of the month, to the first and fifteenth. It looks like only one day, but it provided a onetime budgetary windfall. What it did was move one whole two week pay period of salary from one fiscal year to another, freeing up the funds for other uses. Well, they are trying to do some other sneaky things.”
“One of the things they are looking to do is a 15 year retirement. On the face, it doesn’t look like it will save much money, but it moves the payroll over to another category and since the retirement pay is based on the top three years, and fewer will make higher rank, it will end up costing them less. It will also cull overall number of bodies. Not that it will be mandatory, yet, nor are they going to change high year of tenure, yet. Think about most of your coworkers and such. You offer them at the 15 year mark a 50% paycheck and never come back, there will be a lot of takers. They think the civilian world has a lot more to offer. Some are right, others soon find out how good they had it in the military.”
He knew the possibility of a fifteen year retirement was a game changer for most in this group. He honestly didn’t know if it would entice Violet or not, or for that matter Veronica. Well, wake up buttercups, shits getting real.
“There is another couple sneakier things in the works as well. One of the biggest things gobbling up resources and money is moving troops around unit to unit, base to base. Well, the rest of the services will be moving to the Air Force model of a minimum of four years’ time on station before you are eligible to PCS to your next station instead of the two to three years we are used to. Fewer moves mean fewer moves to pay for, and units have fewer periods of time with less than their required bodies. Between PCS in, in processing and out processing to leave, you lose about six months of functionality to the unit.”
Four year minimum was a hard pill for some to swallow he knew, but he knew the next part would make it either a choking point or a celebration point. If you’re in a bad unit, you knew you would leave soon and could get a better one. Now, that’s taken away. If you are at a bad unit or a bad situation, you’re stuck in it for years and years. Time for the other shoe Silas thought.
“That’s the first half, the other half they are talking about, they are going to reset everyone’s time on station clocks to zero regardless of how long they have already been there.” He paused for a moment to let that sink in. “That means, unless you are fresh from MOS school or retiring, where you are at, that’s where you will be for the next four years at least. All of you are over ten years in, so unless you choose to push higher and longer, you are at your retirement base right now.”
Silas’ words seem to echo in the silence of the backyard now as everyone thought about the bombshell he just dropped on them.
“So, those of you here, this place will at least draw down to a much smaller base and capability, or close all together. The U.S. will be focusing inward for some time. The days of the military running all over the globe doing diplomacy by presence are done for the foreseeable future. The various schools set up for the expeditionary military operations will wither and maybe go away. It will take years for the base to close down completely, probably, but it will probably happen. If you are over 15 years, they may or may not allow you to re-enlist if they have to move you. That gives you around four or five years to figure out what you want as your next career.”
Everyone was quiet as they thought about the massive paradigm shift they just got dumped on them.
Silas steered the conversations to a lighter topic for a bit like the food and the house. He didn’t want to keep unloading on them at once. He knew each thing needed its own amount of time and focus.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Later that Afternoon
The food was great. Simple salad with homemade dressing, baked potato right on the coals, and a marvelous Elk porterhouse steak for everyone. The conversations started up again about mid-way through the meal when everyone slowed down some.
Silas started things off. “Paige, the gym bag over there,” he pointed to the one he carried in from the SUV, “has four new uniforms, plus the one Violet borrowed. They are complete with your new rank so you will be squared away when you return to work Monday.”
Sabine spoke up right away. “Sergeant Major, I don’t know if she should be cleared back to duty that soon!”
Silas knew Sabine would object but he also knew as long as he could come up with worker bees for the physical parts, Paige would do better with something to focus on, or at least that’s what he told himself. He really needed her back to take control of all the scattered weapons around the base and get a handle on that furry pain in his ass.
“Light duty. She has been doing things around the house just as strenuous as she will at work. She isn’t lifting or moving things. I’ll give her some lift and tote manpower, but I need her to start gathering all the pieces I’ve got sealed in the various arms rooms across the facility. She needs it all in one place under her control, and therefore, under me and the Commanders control. I think there’s been some shady stuff going on and I want to capture the results in our favor rather than be caught shorthanded. Oh, and since I’m not here and I brought the beer and such, off base, I’m Silas.”
He knew this could be the tricky part. Over the years, he and Ivar have skated this line with a few of the junior troops, but it was always a crap shoot. There were always some who thought this carried over into some sort of familiarity at work and couldn’t draw those hard defined lines. He thought he should be good with these guys though.
“I think I’ll skip Silas and keep ‘Dad’” was Violet’s answer.
Veronica concurred. “Yeah, Dad still for me too.”
God bless Veronica and Violet to break the ice in this matter, the little shits, he thought. Veronica called him dad, just like Violet did and had since the second grade. There were stretches of time, months even, when he and Amber were the fill in parents for Veronica during a ill-timed change of station for Ivar. Ivar and Sofia have done the same for them with violet as well. In some ways, it’s like one family with two moms and two dads. It was a close pair of families, with the six of them, (both fathers, mothers and daughters) closer than many individual families were within themselves.
“And you,” Silas pointed at Violet with the beer bottle in his hand, “may as well get comfy at Veronica’s place for the foreseeable future. Not only are you there until depositions about the transport incident happen which can’t take place until he comes out of his coma so he can participate with his defense council, another problem has arose. All military movement, either to or from TDY locations are frozen, unless directly supporting recovery efforts. Other movement is by exception and requires the sign off of the USTRANSCOM Ops cell and I don’t see them doing that for an instructor at an advanced school, when the advanced school is not holding class for the foreseeable future.”
“Looks like an extended sleepover!” was Veronica’s immediate reply. This was followed by Violet’s.
“Oh, God! I don’t know if my liver can take it!” but there was a big smile on her face.
The fact Violet was in Salt Lake with Veronica made him and Amber happy. This meant their daughter was a lot closer than the far side of the country with this shit show going down. If she was with Veronica, she was with someone they trusted.
Silas had some more things to address. “Oh, you guys need to start looking at squirreling stuff away personally. Food is going to get expensive for quite some time. The other thing I forgot to tell you, Grizelda and her three sisters are closing in on the gulf coast and eastern seaboard. Grizelda is expected to make CAT 3 or 4 by the time it reaches landfall. The spaghetti maps cannot make up their mind where and how fast she is going, but the worst case is similar to Harvey, slow and shallow. Harvey was a CAT 1 that dumped well over fifty inches of rain on Houston and the surrounding areas. Grizelda will be at least CAT 3.”
Silas never remembered or liked they changed naming hurricanes after only women to men and women. He always thought of them as she, even after NOAA made the switch.
“Her sisters will probably slam Florida if we are lucky. If we are unlucky, they will drive up the coast like Sandy. Any one of them would tax the resources for recovery in a normal year. This year, there are no more resources left. Everything is already committed to the West Coast and already headed there. The Florida bases are evacuating deep into the middle of the country. The airlift to do that is being robbed from the west coast operations. Crap sandwich is getting a second helping.”
"All of this is in the big pile of maybe and things to think about going forward, but for now, lets eat a little more, drink a little more and enjoy the rest of today.” Silas said, seeming to put a lid on the doom and gloom part of their get together, or at least try to.
Soon the bad news faded into the night sky and the fire. For the moment they all felt the warmth of the love of good friends. Ones they could count on when things went bad.
The food was great. Simple salad with homemade dressing, baked potato right on the coals, and a marvelous Elk porterhouse steak for everyone. The conversations started up again about mid-way through the meal when everyone slowed down some.
Silas started things off. “Paige, the gym bag over there,” he pointed to the one he carried in from the SUV, “has four new uniforms, plus the one Violet borrowed. They are complete with your new rank so you will be squared away when you return to work Monday.”
Sabine spoke up right away. “Sergeant Major, I don’t know if she should be cleared back to duty that soon!”
Silas knew Sabine would object but he also knew as long as he could come up with worker bees for the physical parts, Paige would do better with something to focus on, or at least that’s what he told himself. He really needed her back to take control of all the scattered weapons around the base and get a handle on that furry pain in his ass.
“Light duty. She has been doing things around the house just as strenuous as she will at work. She isn’t lifting or moving things. I’ll give her some lift and tote manpower, but I need her to start gathering all the pieces I’ve got sealed in the various arms rooms across the facility. She needs it all in one place under her control, and therefore, under me and the Commanders control. I think there’s been some shady stuff going on and I want to capture the results in our favor rather than be caught shorthanded. Oh, and since I’m not here and I brought the beer and such, off base, I’m Silas.”
He knew this could be the tricky part. Over the years, he and Ivar have skated this line with a few of the junior troops, but it was always a crap shoot. There were always some who thought this carried over into some sort of familiarity at work and couldn’t draw those hard defined lines. He thought he should be good with these guys though.
“I think I’ll skip Silas and keep ‘Dad’” was Violet’s answer.
Veronica concurred. “Yeah, Dad still for me too.”
God bless Veronica and Violet to break the ice in this matter, the little shits, he thought. Veronica called him dad, just like Violet did and had since the second grade. There were stretches of time, months even, when he and Amber were the fill in parents for Veronica during a ill-timed change of station for Ivar. Ivar and Sofia have done the same for them with violet as well. In some ways, it’s like one family with two moms and two dads. It was a close pair of families, with the six of them, (both fathers, mothers and daughters) closer than many individual families were within themselves.
“And you,” Silas pointed at Violet with the beer bottle in his hand, “may as well get comfy at Veronica’s place for the foreseeable future. Not only are you there until depositions about the transport incident happen which can’t take place until he comes out of his coma so he can participate with his defense council, another problem has arose. All military movement, either to or from TDY locations are frozen, unless directly supporting recovery efforts. Other movement is by exception and requires the sign off of the USTRANSCOM Ops cell and I don’t see them doing that for an instructor at an advanced school, when the advanced school is not holding class for the foreseeable future.”
“Looks like an extended sleepover!” was Veronica’s immediate reply. This was followed by Violet’s.
“Oh, God! I don’t know if my liver can take it!” but there was a big smile on her face.
The fact Violet was in Salt Lake with Veronica made him and Amber happy. This meant their daughter was a lot closer than the far side of the country with this shit show going down. If she was with Veronica, she was with someone they trusted.
Silas had some more things to address. “Oh, you guys need to start looking at squirreling stuff away personally. Food is going to get expensive for quite some time. The other thing I forgot to tell you, Grizelda and her three sisters are closing in on the gulf coast and eastern seaboard. Grizelda is expected to make CAT 3 or 4 by the time it reaches landfall. The spaghetti maps cannot make up their mind where and how fast she is going, but the worst case is similar to Harvey, slow and shallow. Harvey was a CAT 1 that dumped well over fifty inches of rain on Houston and the surrounding areas. Grizelda will be at least CAT 3.”
Silas never remembered or liked they changed naming hurricanes after only women to men and women. He always thought of them as she, even after NOAA made the switch.
“Her sisters will probably slam Florida if we are lucky. If we are unlucky, they will drive up the coast like Sandy. Any one of them would tax the resources for recovery in a normal year. This year, there are no more resources left. Everything is already committed to the West Coast and already headed there. The Florida bases are evacuating deep into the middle of the country. The airlift to do that is being robbed from the west coast operations. Crap sandwich is getting a second helping.”
"All of this is in the big pile of maybe and things to think about going forward, but for now, lets eat a little more, drink a little more and enjoy the rest of today.” Silas said, seeming to put a lid on the doom and gloom part of their get together, or at least try to.
Soon the bad news faded into the night sky and the fire. For the moment they all felt the warmth of the love of good friends. Ones they could count on when things went bad.
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RememberGoliad
Veteran Member
I thought it came with them, and Paige was sleeping in its front seat in Henrik's huge tarp/coat/tent on the rest of the move.
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
When Paige, Henrik et al headed out I think there was 2 vehicles w/ trailers so a pair of operators per rig. They left two vehicles behind as they wanted two in each vehicle.
I think.
If I'm wrong, someone's going to check me up.....
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
In four, it was two vehicles, two people each. Paige and Henrik in Paige's Cherokee and Sabine and Andrea in Sabine's Land Cruiser. Andrea's R32 and Henrik's Jeep were left at the house for others to bring
P86
Post #3423
RememberGoliad
Veteran Member
So she was sleeping on her own front seat in Henrik's coat? Or have I just totally made up that recollection out of whole cloth? LOL
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Yes, she was sleeping in her Cherokee, wrapped up in Henrik's coat after they buried them and from that point forward until they got to Karl's
Remember old school Cherokee, with the huge bench seat.
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Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
I don't think your brain fabricated this as I remember that for at least part of the way but, I'll check. Of course the author has a more comprehensive set of time line way points then I do so. he'll likely beat me to the punch.
ETA:
Just like he did above
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ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Sofia and Ivar’s House
It was a joyous Sunday gathering. It had been years since the seven of them were together like this. Between everyone’s different assignments, deployments and where they all were spread across the globe, it just hasn’t been possible. There was always one or two missing. Not today.
Silas, Ivar and Kingfisher were at the table talking while Veronica and Violet were helping carry stuff from the kitchen for Amber and Sofia.
“I’m telling you, the shipments to here are already slim and going to get slimmer.” Kingfisher poured some more ice tea as he spoke.
“Well that was to be expected. Shit, I don’t know where or what will be getting here anytime soon since we always got everything from the west coast ports.” Ivar said as he held out his glass for Kingfisher to top off.
“We may have to be more aggressive or creative to keep us in operation here.” Silas mused.
“Well, for good or bad, we won’t have as many to worry about at the rate people are looking at their own exit strategy. I got at least a half a dozen retirement packets on my desk for your final approval already. That trickle is going to become an avalanche if they approve the fifteen year retirement concept. Three quarters of the base will be eligible and those that don’t retire right away won’t get picked up for orders for another four years and won’t have enough time left to get orders. It’s going to come down to flee early or flee late.” Kingfisher sat back after his latest proclamation.
“They are tasking me to send some of the tracks down to Barstow to get distributed to some of the recovery sectors. I think Michael pitched the idea so he can look good and strip things we can use from us in the process. I want to turn the tables back on him and use it to our advantage.” Ivar was obviously not happy about the whole thing, but it sparked his creativity to make it work for them in the end.
“What do you have in mind, boss?” Silas loved it when Ivar was getting sneaky.
“We are supposed to load up half a dozen trucks with as many as we can fit along with the spare stuff to keep them running. I don’t expect them to let us have the trucks back, so they will have to let us have something else for our people to come back in. They are going to nickle and dime us until they have all the tracks so this first trip is going to be the reconnaissance trip to find all the stuff we want to bring back from the depot yards. They won’t let us get away with much new or spiffy so the idea is to shop the older stuff we can easily sell as just taking some of the older unused stuff to get back to base. First trip will be conservative and line things up for the next time so I need you to send some people who know how to be sneaky and some who knows what works and what can be made to work.”
“You know the other problem, right?” Kingfisher was getting into the spirit of things.
“Yup, they will try to bully or hijack anybody we send down there so they need someone riding herd and interference for them while they are there.” Ivar’s grin was infectious around the table.
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring them back, along with a shopping list of all the other things we might want from there to help the people here at our little outpost.” Kingfisher proclaimed as the door to the kitchen swung open, Sofia carrying a platter filled with roast.
“OK, kids. No more shop talk. Dinners ready and we still have a lot to catch up on.” Sofia said, setting the platter on the table as Amber, Violet and Veronica brought more dishes into the dining room.
It was a joyous Sunday gathering. It had been years since the seven of them were together like this. Between everyone’s different assignments, deployments and where they all were spread across the globe, it just hasn’t been possible. There was always one or two missing. Not today.
Silas, Ivar and Kingfisher were at the table talking while Veronica and Violet were helping carry stuff from the kitchen for Amber and Sofia.
“I’m telling you, the shipments to here are already slim and going to get slimmer.” Kingfisher poured some more ice tea as he spoke.
“Well that was to be expected. Shit, I don’t know where or what will be getting here anytime soon since we always got everything from the west coast ports.” Ivar said as he held out his glass for Kingfisher to top off.
“We may have to be more aggressive or creative to keep us in operation here.” Silas mused.
“Well, for good or bad, we won’t have as many to worry about at the rate people are looking at their own exit strategy. I got at least a half a dozen retirement packets on my desk for your final approval already. That trickle is going to become an avalanche if they approve the fifteen year retirement concept. Three quarters of the base will be eligible and those that don’t retire right away won’t get picked up for orders for another four years and won’t have enough time left to get orders. It’s going to come down to flee early or flee late.” Kingfisher sat back after his latest proclamation.
“They are tasking me to send some of the tracks down to Barstow to get distributed to some of the recovery sectors. I think Michael pitched the idea so he can look good and strip things we can use from us in the process. I want to turn the tables back on him and use it to our advantage.” Ivar was obviously not happy about the whole thing, but it sparked his creativity to make it work for them in the end.
“What do you have in mind, boss?” Silas loved it when Ivar was getting sneaky.
“We are supposed to load up half a dozen trucks with as many as we can fit along with the spare stuff to keep them running. I don’t expect them to let us have the trucks back, so they will have to let us have something else for our people to come back in. They are going to nickle and dime us until they have all the tracks so this first trip is going to be the reconnaissance trip to find all the stuff we want to bring back from the depot yards. They won’t let us get away with much new or spiffy so the idea is to shop the older stuff we can easily sell as just taking some of the older unused stuff to get back to base. First trip will be conservative and line things up for the next time so I need you to send some people who know how to be sneaky and some who knows what works and what can be made to work.”
“You know the other problem, right?” Kingfisher was getting into the spirit of things.
“Yup, they will try to bully or hijack anybody we send down there so they need someone riding herd and interference for them while they are there.” Ivar’s grin was infectious around the table.
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring them back, along with a shopping list of all the other things we might want from there to help the people here at our little outpost.” Kingfisher proclaimed as the door to the kitchen swung open, Sofia carrying a platter filled with roast.
“OK, kids. No more shop talk. Dinners ready and we still have a lot to catch up on.” Sofia said, setting the platter on the table as Amber, Violet and Veronica brought more dishes into the dining room.
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ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
The Special Ops Compound
Monday morning came early. Paige and Sabine along with Henrik and Andrea were standing in Ivar’s office along with the Sergeant Major. Ivar welcomed Paige back, congratulated her on her promotion and expressed his concerns. He went into a snapshot of what he was expecting from her. Once he was done, the group moved over to Silas’ office, leaving Ivar to tackle the next hundred things on his plate.
Once in Silas’ office, he shut the door and got right to the meat of their plan.
“Alright guys, he told you the pie in the sky view of what’s next. I have the nuts and bolts for each of you.”
Silas looked at Paige. “OK, currently all the arms rooms are on lockdown. You are going to end up with all of the inventory in your possession except for the standard duty weapons of the base cops.”
“Everything else, whole weapons, parts, supplies, nuts, bolts, pamphlets, posters, anything weapon related is to be pulled here, inventoried and segregated. The secure storage here is now yours to deal with the volume of stuff. I want the bare minimum to fulfill the written inventories segregated into their groups. If there is broken stuff we can turn in to clear stuff off of the books, strip it down to the smallest possible part needed to clear the line item.” He paused before he went on.
“You’re also getting the other sensitive items. You get the NVGs and all the other stuff dealing with combat arms. Same rules apply. ”
He knew it would be more complicated than that, but Kingfisher was putting out the word to his people this morning and if anybody balks, it will be a race to see who drops the hammer first. He knew Paige would step up. Now the interesting part. He had never worked with Andrea. She seemed a competent NCO but this will be the test, along with Henrik, his other new recruit.
He looked over at Andrea. “You are going to go over all the radios and communications equipment here at our compound. I need you to review the list your old boss is supposed to be building. I intend for you to find out what he’s sandbagging on. You know what extras they have, and I will request them.”
“I want this compound to have all the extras that are off the books. It’s like the old days when you were E-4s. You have your orders and I don’t care how you get it done, just get it done. Just don’t land any of us in jail. When the powers that be decide things need to be turned in or shipped out, I don’t intend to lose capability. We will keep ordering and requesting like we should, but I refuse to be caught unable to do the mission.”
He turned to Sabine. He wasn’t worried about her taking charge of what he is going to give her. He just had to show or convince her what he wanted her to do was right, whether it was legal or not. If any of the ideas he, Ivar and Kingfisher were planning actually went forward, he might want to get Amber’s read on these guys. Since they had control of these four now, he probably ought to keep things compartmentalized with them and not mix them with the other pieces as much as he could.
“Sabine, I need you to do a deep review of all the stockpiled medical connexes and medical capabilities. Start with the guys at the Mountain Medicine School. They seem pretty squared away and probably just need an extra hand or two. Take the two TDY medics you have kicking around bored in your office with you to help.”
“Next, the Base Clinic’s inventory is unkempt and a mess. It has been their responsibility for so long someone needs to answer for it. I need a no shit appraisal, not block filling on the checklist. If any of it needs replaced, it will be on the top of the list. I refuse to skimp on keeping our people healthy. You are the Commanders medical advisor, not the doc at the clinic. Any of the guys at the clinic give you shit, remind them you are working directly for the Commander on this. Let’s make sure what we have is right.”
Now the next new person to work with.
“Henrik, your old boss is doing a great job getting a handle on things the way we want. Right now I need you to lead a detail to help Paige and Sabine in their endeavors. You and Sgt. Jenson will be the two primary leaders of these groups. Basically I’m forming a Brute squad, and you guys will be the ringleaders for me. You will meet Sgt. Jenson in about an hour. He is rounding up some warm bodies to help.”
He turned to look at the entire group.
“You guys are my core group of agents, my four musketeers. Let’s get things done.”
Monday morning came early. Paige and Sabine along with Henrik and Andrea were standing in Ivar’s office along with the Sergeant Major. Ivar welcomed Paige back, congratulated her on her promotion and expressed his concerns. He went into a snapshot of what he was expecting from her. Once he was done, the group moved over to Silas’ office, leaving Ivar to tackle the next hundred things on his plate.
Once in Silas’ office, he shut the door and got right to the meat of their plan.
“Alright guys, he told you the pie in the sky view of what’s next. I have the nuts and bolts for each of you.”
Silas looked at Paige. “OK, currently all the arms rooms are on lockdown. You are going to end up with all of the inventory in your possession except for the standard duty weapons of the base cops.”
“Everything else, whole weapons, parts, supplies, nuts, bolts, pamphlets, posters, anything weapon related is to be pulled here, inventoried and segregated. The secure storage here is now yours to deal with the volume of stuff. I want the bare minimum to fulfill the written inventories segregated into their groups. If there is broken stuff we can turn in to clear stuff off of the books, strip it down to the smallest possible part needed to clear the line item.” He paused before he went on.
“You’re also getting the other sensitive items. You get the NVGs and all the other stuff dealing with combat arms. Same rules apply. ”
He knew it would be more complicated than that, but Kingfisher was putting out the word to his people this morning and if anybody balks, it will be a race to see who drops the hammer first. He knew Paige would step up. Now the interesting part. He had never worked with Andrea. She seemed a competent NCO but this will be the test, along with Henrik, his other new recruit.
He looked over at Andrea. “You are going to go over all the radios and communications equipment here at our compound. I need you to review the list your old boss is supposed to be building. I intend for you to find out what he’s sandbagging on. You know what extras they have, and I will request them.”
“I want this compound to have all the extras that are off the books. It’s like the old days when you were E-4s. You have your orders and I don’t care how you get it done, just get it done. Just don’t land any of us in jail. When the powers that be decide things need to be turned in or shipped out, I don’t intend to lose capability. We will keep ordering and requesting like we should, but I refuse to be caught unable to do the mission.”
He turned to Sabine. He wasn’t worried about her taking charge of what he is going to give her. He just had to show or convince her what he wanted her to do was right, whether it was legal or not. If any of the ideas he, Ivar and Kingfisher were planning actually went forward, he might want to get Amber’s read on these guys. Since they had control of these four now, he probably ought to keep things compartmentalized with them and not mix them with the other pieces as much as he could.
“Sabine, I need you to do a deep review of all the stockpiled medical connexes and medical capabilities. Start with the guys at the Mountain Medicine School. They seem pretty squared away and probably just need an extra hand or two. Take the two TDY medics you have kicking around bored in your office with you to help.”
“Next, the Base Clinic’s inventory is unkempt and a mess. It has been their responsibility for so long someone needs to answer for it. I need a no shit appraisal, not block filling on the checklist. If any of it needs replaced, it will be on the top of the list. I refuse to skimp on keeping our people healthy. You are the Commanders medical advisor, not the doc at the clinic. Any of the guys at the clinic give you shit, remind them you are working directly for the Commander on this. Let’s make sure what we have is right.”
Now the next new person to work with.
“Henrik, your old boss is doing a great job getting a handle on things the way we want. Right now I need you to lead a detail to help Paige and Sabine in their endeavors. You and Sgt. Jenson will be the two primary leaders of these groups. Basically I’m forming a Brute squad, and you guys will be the ringleaders for me. You will meet Sgt. Jenson in about an hour. He is rounding up some warm bodies to help.”
He turned to look at the entire group.
“You guys are my core group of agents, my four musketeers. Let’s get things done.”
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
The next two weeks were a blur of spreadsheets, connexes, cases, and serial numbers for everyone on base. For those in charge, it was all of this plus a heaping pile of fights with upper headquarters types trying to pull, manipulate and meddle.
Ivar was fighting the good fight deflecting the uppers while Silas was squishing anyone messing with his four musketeers and their on base minions as they gather and inventory the base assets.
Meanwhile, Kingfisher was busy on his secret squirrel mission to the main depot gathering point at Barstow. He was able to identify stuff in some of the back corners they might be able to snare on his next couple of trips. He considered it a good trade to give up the tracked vehicles from the school for the other stuff he was able to secure and bring back. He considered it even better to have found a few old friends working on the recovery inventory teams processing in all the stuff streaming in from the Pendleton and San Diego bases.
Ivar was fighting the good fight deflecting the uppers while Silas was squishing anyone messing with his four musketeers and their on base minions as they gather and inventory the base assets.
Meanwhile, Kingfisher was busy on his secret squirrel mission to the main depot gathering point at Barstow. He was able to identify stuff in some of the back corners they might be able to snare on his next couple of trips. He considered it a good trade to give up the tracked vehicles from the school for the other stuff he was able to secure and bring back. He considered it even better to have found a few old friends working on the recovery inventory teams processing in all the stuff streaming in from the Pendleton and San Diego bases.
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Friends in 'low places' or in 'the right places' - I'll take either but when they're the same people, everything is all good....
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Things Shift and Accelerate
After several weeks of stressful uncertainty, Ivar got some official and unofficial confirmation that things were headed downhill in the direction they all feared but expected.
Over the weekend The Special Operations students still here were recalled to their units. This was no big surprise. The manor of them leaving was. The little airstrip in town wasn’t rated for an aircraft that size and officially the length of runway needed was below published minimums, but someone did the math and decided it was worth it. A C-17 swooped in and hauled off the last of the students on hand in his former corner of responsibility.
Ivar spent more time over the weekend to get enough confirmation to brief his people. It all was happening, just as their sources said it would. Fifteen year retirements were in play, bases were being selected to close, PCSs were frozen, and there were more rumors of other big changes coming down the chain.
Monday morning saw Ivar and Silas traveling to each of the units and sections to brief them on what they knew, what they expected, and how they guessed it would affect everyone.
Ivar was honest with everyone. He told them he had no official piece of paper or email traffic to show them but from his sources he knew the base was on the closure list. What he didn’t know and therefore couldn’t tell them was how soon or how fast it would happen.
All of this ate up most of their morning. When they got back to the office, Silas had a message Paige needed to see him. This made Silas seriously curious. He hadn’t seen much of Paige around the shop over the last couple of weeks between all the gathering and sorting he had her doing and all the running around he was doing himself. Now he needed to see him?
He caught up with her at the Arms Room.
“OK, what’s up? You needed to see me?”
“Yup, Sgt. Maj. I have a few elements to show you and get your guidance on out at one of the secure storage containers” Paige said without preamble as she grabbed the keys for the UTV.
Now Silas was intrigued. He followed her outside and hopped into the UTV for the ride to one of the secure storage ‘bunkers’ out along the Spec Ops compound fence line. Paige didn’t seem top want to talk about any of it until they got there either.
Paige parked and opened the walk in door and stepped inside. Once Silas was inside, she turned on the light and shut the door.
Once inside, Silas could see the walls lined with boxes and cases. In the middle of the floor was some weapons crates Paige was leading him to.
“OK, Paige, what’s up?”
“The guys who left yesterday? They left me a present.” Paige leaned over and opened one of the cases.
Inside was several of the integrally suppressed M4s he knew Paige was working with the students with.
“All three boxes the same?”
The third box is half full of weapons, the rest is all the spare parts and support gear for them, the binders, diagrams and all the other stuff that came with them from the vendor.”
Silas could tell Paige was really worried about having them here.
“Did they forget them?”
“No.” Paige handed him the note, along with the DD 1149 shipping document.
Silas looked at the handwritten note.
‘Take care of yourself. Trouble is coming. Share as you see fit. If you need us, you have our email. If we can help, we will.’
Then he looked at the Shipping document. Three cases, all the equipment, it’s all on there and lo and behold, according to the paperwork, they were shipped back to the company three days before the quake.
An idea burst in his head, full-formed from this. He would have to talk it over with Ivar, but they might be able to do it. He knew he could do it for some, but it would be a manor of scale. He dare not utter his plan right now. He would need Paige on board for it to work, but not yet. What to tell her was the big question. How to start her thinking towards his new end goal?
“First, thanks for letting me know as soon as you did. These will stay our little secret for now until I can figure a few things out, OK?”
Paige just nodded, a look of relief on her face.
Right now, well, you heard the Commander’s briefing, things are coming apart. Well, unlike some people, I think it’s going to happen faster than anyone estimates right now. What I do know is we have a bunch of people either already submitted their retirement papers or a ton are looking at it now He announced the fifteen year retirement is in play. A bunch of people are looking to get while the getting is good.”
While he was talking, more things fell into place in Silas’ head. In for a penny, in for a pound.
“I honestly don’t know how fast and how far this is going to go. We just lost a third of our manpower in the last two weeks. I don’t see us staying open for long. By this time next year, I expect the gates to be locked. I need you to do three things. One, ID everything that is off the books. Two, move as much stuff off the books as you can. Start looking for what you want to do next. From what I hear, they will not be moving any of us. Over ten years, you get retirement early. Under ten, you get an early separation bonus and a pat on the head. Pass this on to your housemates. Once you get your list of what is left as far as arms and ammo, let me know when we take another drive out here. This is not to be discussed in the office or really, on base if we need to discuss a lot.”
He could tell Paige needed more time to absorb everything he just dumped on her. So did he. He had to talk to Ivar about his new idea. He needed more details to know how well it would work.
“OK, Paige, unless they left more, let’s get back to the office so I can scream at the phone and shuffle more papers.”
The drive back to the shop was a quiet one.
After several weeks of stressful uncertainty, Ivar got some official and unofficial confirmation that things were headed downhill in the direction they all feared but expected.
Over the weekend The Special Operations students still here were recalled to their units. This was no big surprise. The manor of them leaving was. The little airstrip in town wasn’t rated for an aircraft that size and officially the length of runway needed was below published minimums, but someone did the math and decided it was worth it. A C-17 swooped in and hauled off the last of the students on hand in his former corner of responsibility.
Ivar spent more time over the weekend to get enough confirmation to brief his people. It all was happening, just as their sources said it would. Fifteen year retirements were in play, bases were being selected to close, PCSs were frozen, and there were more rumors of other big changes coming down the chain.
Monday morning saw Ivar and Silas traveling to each of the units and sections to brief them on what they knew, what they expected, and how they guessed it would affect everyone.
Ivar was honest with everyone. He told them he had no official piece of paper or email traffic to show them but from his sources he knew the base was on the closure list. What he didn’t know and therefore couldn’t tell them was how soon or how fast it would happen.
All of this ate up most of their morning. When they got back to the office, Silas had a message Paige needed to see him. This made Silas seriously curious. He hadn’t seen much of Paige around the shop over the last couple of weeks between all the gathering and sorting he had her doing and all the running around he was doing himself. Now he needed to see him?
He caught up with her at the Arms Room.
“OK, what’s up? You needed to see me?”
“Yup, Sgt. Maj. I have a few elements to show you and get your guidance on out at one of the secure storage containers” Paige said without preamble as she grabbed the keys for the UTV.
Now Silas was intrigued. He followed her outside and hopped into the UTV for the ride to one of the secure storage ‘bunkers’ out along the Spec Ops compound fence line. Paige didn’t seem top want to talk about any of it until they got there either.
Paige parked and opened the walk in door and stepped inside. Once Silas was inside, she turned on the light and shut the door.
Once inside, Silas could see the walls lined with boxes and cases. In the middle of the floor was some weapons crates Paige was leading him to.
“OK, Paige, what’s up?”
“The guys who left yesterday? They left me a present.” Paige leaned over and opened one of the cases.
Inside was several of the integrally suppressed M4s he knew Paige was working with the students with.
“All three boxes the same?”
The third box is half full of weapons, the rest is all the spare parts and support gear for them, the binders, diagrams and all the other stuff that came with them from the vendor.”
Silas could tell Paige was really worried about having them here.
“Did they forget them?”
“No.” Paige handed him the note, along with the DD 1149 shipping document.
Silas looked at the handwritten note.
‘Take care of yourself. Trouble is coming. Share as you see fit. If you need us, you have our email. If we can help, we will.’
Then he looked at the Shipping document. Three cases, all the equipment, it’s all on there and lo and behold, according to the paperwork, they were shipped back to the company three days before the quake.
An idea burst in his head, full-formed from this. He would have to talk it over with Ivar, but they might be able to do it. He knew he could do it for some, but it would be a manor of scale. He dare not utter his plan right now. He would need Paige on board for it to work, but not yet. What to tell her was the big question. How to start her thinking towards his new end goal?
“First, thanks for letting me know as soon as you did. These will stay our little secret for now until I can figure a few things out, OK?”
Paige just nodded, a look of relief on her face.
Right now, well, you heard the Commander’s briefing, things are coming apart. Well, unlike some people, I think it’s going to happen faster than anyone estimates right now. What I do know is we have a bunch of people either already submitted their retirement papers or a ton are looking at it now He announced the fifteen year retirement is in play. A bunch of people are looking to get while the getting is good.”
While he was talking, more things fell into place in Silas’ head. In for a penny, in for a pound.
“I honestly don’t know how fast and how far this is going to go. We just lost a third of our manpower in the last two weeks. I don’t see us staying open for long. By this time next year, I expect the gates to be locked. I need you to do three things. One, ID everything that is off the books. Two, move as much stuff off the books as you can. Start looking for what you want to do next. From what I hear, they will not be moving any of us. Over ten years, you get retirement early. Under ten, you get an early separation bonus and a pat on the head. Pass this on to your housemates. Once you get your list of what is left as far as arms and ammo, let me know when we take another drive out here. This is not to be discussed in the office or really, on base if we need to discuss a lot.”
He could tell Paige needed more time to absorb everything he just dumped on her. So did he. He had to talk to Ivar about his new idea. He needed more details to know how well it would work.
“OK, Paige, unless they left more, let’s get back to the office so I can scream at the phone and shuffle more papers.”
The drive back to the shop was a quiet one.