Battleline (2007) (3 page)

"Edgar said it was a quick transmission," Arlene answered. "Evidently Aladdin is in a particularly dangerous area. At any rate, he informed us that a compact group of Iranians and Arabs are occupying a fortified area in the far west of the Gharawdara Highlands. When the time is right, they'll make their move. Their objective, of course, is to gain control of that mountainous area in western Afghanistan."

"A 'compact' group, hey?" the President remarked. "They evidently don't want to make a big fuss. That's good. We don't want to either."

"Mr. President," Arlene said, "you gave me authorization to put your special executive order into effect. I did so at a little past five this morning."

"All right," he said. "It's amazing when one considers the fact that this sensitive international crisis is going to be settled by dozens rather than thousands of troops."

"Without a doubt it's a most unique situation."

"And now our own so-called compact group will answer the challenge," the President said. "A small, deadly operation within a larger one, with global implications."

"Operation Battleline folded into Operation Persian Empire," Arlene said.

The President sighed. "The worst part of this job is having to put the lives of our finest young people at risk." He stood and walked to the window, gazing out pensively. "I cannot describe how much it distresses me."

Arlene got to her feet and went over to him, standing close to the chief executive. "Would it make you feel better if I reminded you they were all volunteers?"

"Not really."

CHAPTER 1

SHELOR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

7 JUNE

THE procedure is called "isolation," and the name can be taken literally.

This is a routine of segregating a detachment as it begins preparation for a highly classified mission. Its members are either moved to a secure area, or their present quarters are sealed off. Segregated from the outside by security personnel, the people concerned are first briefed with what is actually a very complicated WARNO. This involves a detailed presentation, usually given by an operations and/or intelligence officer that spells out the what, where, and when of an upcoming operation.

This is called the
briefing.

The people receiving the information then write up an OPLAN based on everything they've learned during the briefing. When the commander of the mission is satisfied with it, the OPLAN is presented orally to the briefing team.

That phase is called the
briefback.

This can lead to more discussion until everything is hashed over and given a final approval. At that point it becomes an OPORD, and the situation shifts into high gear for implementation and application.

The SEAL operations officer, Commander Thomas Carey, and his cohort, Lieutenant Commander Ernest Berringer, an intelligence officer, worked off the USS
Combs,
a DDG that served as a surreptitious SFOB floating around in the Persian Gulf. The commander was a grumpy U. S. Army Special Forces brigadier general named Leroux. He likened his assignment to being encased in a steel box that rolled and pitched 24/7 without ceasing. From all appearances, the vessel was just part of a CVBG carrying on normal duties rather than acting as a direction center for SPECOPS within that operational area.

Both Carey and Berringer had arrived at Shelor Field only hours before. Their appearances were always unexpected and heralded the beginning of exciting times, but this latest presence raised moods of the deepest suspicion and apprehension among Brannigan's Brigands. The pair of visiting officers had someone with them, and this person gave strong evidence that something very special was about to go down. Carl Joplin, PhD, an Undersecretary of State, was already well known by the SEALs, and his usual bailiwick was in the State Department Building in Washington, D. C.

Immediately after their arrival, Carey and Berringer placed the recently reinforced SEAL detachment Brannigan's Brigands in isolation. The SEALs were taken into their special hangar, cut off from the rest of the air base, meaning they no longer ate in the mess hall, no longer visited the theater or service club, and had to curtail their favorite pastime of making out with female Air Force personnel behind the beer garden. Security was provided by Shelor's APs to make sure the Brigands were kept out of circulation.

They and all their belongings were now in total confinement.

.

SEAL HANGAR

0700 HOURS

SCPO Buford Dawkins checked the names on his clipboard with the faces seated in the four rows of folding chairs. Brannigan's Brigands had gone from its customary strength of some twenty-one individuals to a total of forty-one. Since Dawkins didn't know all twenty of the new men prior to their arrival, he used this method to familiarize himself with the newcomers. After taking the silent roll call, he was satisfied nobody was lost or wandering around. He turned to his commanding officer, Lieutenant Wild Bill Brannigan. "Ever' swinging dick is present and accounted for, sir."

"Right, Senior Chief," Brannigan responded from his chair. He nodded to Carey and Berringer, who stood at the front of the group with Dr. Joplin. "We're ready to rock and roll, sir."

"Alright!" Carey said. "Consider this an official welcome to Operation Battleline. We discussed this before, but now the day is here. First thing we'll do is review the overall situation. Your preliminary enemy in Operation Rolling Thunder has been defeated. The Arab and Iranian bad guys are out of that operational area. The Pashtun rebel group who occupied the Gharawdara Highlands gave it up, and now live under the gentle care of Dr. Bouchier's UNREO team in a pacified area farther east."

CPO Matt Gunnarson frowned. "It seems to me them Pashtuns is getting off pretty light."

"This particular group of people are being tolerated because of their very strong anti-Taliban attitudes," Carey replied. "And their leader went to the Afghanistan government and declared what is called
nanwatai.
This is a code in which a loser begs for mercy and humbles himself. Custom demands he be granted mercy. We Americans, therefore, cannot insist on more severe punishment. Thus the Pashtun chief and his people are being well treated."

Bruno Puglisi, sitting comfortably with his arms folded across his muscular chest, grinned. "In that case, it don't sound like there's much more to do around here, sir."

"Unfortunately, that's not the case, Petty Officer Puglisi," Carey said. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. You are all aware of Operation Persian Empire. That is an all-encompassing situation that has been boiled down to a small but very complicated matter with delicate political and diplomatic criteria. I'll let Dr. Joplin explain that further."

The African-American, looking dignified even in the BDUs he wore for the occasion, stepped forward. This intellectually gifted expert in the complicated environment of international diplomacy gave his audience a warm smile. "It's really nice to see you fellows again. It's been a long time since South America. I promise we'll have some beer together before I leave. And, by the way, I'm buying."

A spontaneous cheer broke out from the group, with whoops and shouts of gratitude. Joplin's smile spread into a grin. "I knew somehow you would be pleased."

Senior Chief Dawkins announced, "Dr. Joplin has already put in an order for a good number of cases from the BX. But you guys ain't drinking a drop 'til the operation is over and done with."

"Now with that settled, let me review the Iranian situation for you," Joplin said. "You're already acquainted with what's going on, but things have slipped into a sort of different perspective." He paused to organize his thoughts. "As you all are well aware, the government of Iran has become rather belligerent lately. They began their latest mischief with their nuclear program and support of the renegade Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. Now they have now begun using their intelligence operatives to bring Shiite insurgencies throughout the Middle East under their control. The objective is to take over the whole of that part of the world with its people and oil, and establish the first steps of a modern Persian Empire. If they succeed, this will spill over to all parts of the globe. The economic effect on the Western world would be catastrophic."

Lieutenant Jim Cruiser, sitting on the front row with Brannigan and Ensign Orlando Taylor, showed a serious expression. "What you're describing seems to be a situation that could lead to a world war."

"We're already in a world war, Jim,"

Joplin replied. "And your main duty in this upcoming operation is to keep a lid on this volatile situation. A small force of Iranians and Arabs is now in the Gharawdara Highlands in the border country. They are called the Zaheya, which is a Farsi acronym for Strike Force Vengeance. This includes Arabs you've fought before when they were an armored car company. And, as I'm sure you remember, they are led by a deserter from the British Army. I must warn you that he has whipped them into an elite unit of infantry. So you may anticipate that they will be much harder to deal with in the future."

Mike Assad interjected, "We'll deal with 'em, alright, Dr. Joplin. Don't worry about that."

"There is no doubt in my mind you can handle it, Mike," Joplin said, keeping his apprehension to himself. "They are joined by some hard-core Iranian Army Special Forces who have completed a most demanding program of training and preparation. These men are totally dedicated to their national aims. So your work is cut out for you."

"How many of them are there?" Joe Miskoski asked.

"A few more than you," Joplin said.

Brannigan frowned. "I thought you were talking about a world war. But we're not dealing with forces of thousands or even hundreds of troops here. This is literally a clash of dozens. I don't understand."

"I'll try to explain this complicated and confusing issue to you," Joplin said patiently. "Neither we nor the Iranians want a big to-do to settle this thing. The bigger it is, the more dangerous it becomes for everybody concerned. And believe me, it would fuel the fire of this world war we're now involved in. The Iranians want a foothold in Afghanistan to renew the Pashtun revolt. They plan to accomplish this illegal goal unobtrusively."

"Well, hell!" Connie Concord said. "Why not just bomb 'em to ashes?"

"We could certainly do that," Joplin said. "But that would cause a backlash in the Middle East. Therefore we must follow Iran's example and also be as low-key as possible."

CPO Matt Gunnarson raised his hand. "What is so important about Afghanistan to the Iranians?"

"They can accomplish two things in that country," Joplin replied. "First they have an immediate expansion of their territory; and second, by ruling Afghanistan it would be only a matter of time before they took over Pakistan. If that happened, the international implications are bound to be catastrophic. It would be exactly like the situation that brought about the start of World War One. Before that conflict erupted, the leaders of the affected European nations--the kings, emperors, czars, and what have you--were more afraid of what would be thought of them if they
didn't
go to war, rather than if they did."

"Excuse me, Dr. Joplin," Puglisi said, "but what the fuck are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about egotistical assholes within the Islam world not wanting to be considered candy-asses," Joplin said, choosing words the SEAL could relate to as a fighting man. "Their only consideration would be whose side to be on in the inevitable war to come."

"Alright!" Puglisi said. "I can dig it."

"So if the thing is settled in a small, unobtrusive manner, then the government in Tehran can back off without losing face if they are defeated here in Operation Battleline," Joplin said. "The problem goes away."

"That's fine if the Iranians lose," Gutsy Olson remarked. "But what if
we
lose?"

Joplin took a deep breath. "My dear friends, you
cannot
lose! The country couldn't afford it. You see, we don't have the luxury the Iranians have. If you're kicked off that mountain, then Israel will move in big time to squelch Iran's master plan. As you know, they will employ considerable force that would entail the use of one of their own WMDs. Such a destructive attack would change the present global situation for the worse. Muslims in all parts of the world would rise up, including those in Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Turkey, Nigeria, and even China. All in all, we're talking about one point two billion people who would respond in a most violent way."

"Then nuke
all
the motherfuckers," Monty Sturgis, one of the new guys, suggested with a smile.

"That wouldn't be very good for this planet we're living on," Joplin replied. "It would be a thousand times worse than what Israel would do."