Episode 8

Biggs Army Airfield, El Paso Texas

The C-5 Galaxies loomed on the ramp, brooding in the stark light of the mercury vapor lamps.  While most people considered the parked THAAD launchers to be large vehicles, they would fit easily inside the massive planes. The five C-5 aircraft on the ramp would be enough to embark the entire THAAD battery along with all the men, women and equipment needed to deploy the complex missile defense system.  First Sergeant William Briggs was normally fascinated with such sights and would gladly spend hours getting a full tour by the aircrews.  Not tonight. Tonight was all business.

He walked up to the battalion commander, Lt. Colonel Rutgers and saluted crisply.  The THAAD battalion was going to war and he wanted everything to be done the proper Army way.  “Sir! The battalion is prepared to embark. We have clearance from ground crew and the aircrews have each loadmaster ready.”

While Rutgers was a veteran of both Desert Storm and the Iraq war, he had the ill-luck as a freshly minted lieutenant to be in charge of the first Patriot missile battery to see action.  They were also the first US unit to suffer casualties when the Scud missile he was tasked with destroying hit a barracks and killed 27 service men and women while they slept.  Never again.  “Thank you, Top.  Let’s get this party started.”

The Sergeant saluted, turned crisply, withdrew a silver whistle and blew three sharp blasts.  He then pumped his fist in the universal military “hurry up” gesture.  The crews were waiting for the signal and trucks started moving.  Each to it’s assigned spot.  Rutgers could still see the barracks in Saudi Arabia going up in a massive fireball.  That image drove him and he drove his troops.  Battery A would not fail.  Not on his watch.

The Sergeant knew his boss was driven but had never discussed the details with him.  A cranky, grizzled old bastard, scuttlebutt said he had been on the Scud defender team during the Gulf War but nobody really knew the details and the Lt. Colonel didn’t talk about them.  It probably didn’t really matter.  In the end, he was a good boss and a strict taskmaster which was fine with Briggs.  “Ever been to Japan, sir?”

Rutgers smiled, aware that the Sergeant was trying to keep his officer cool.  It was somewhere in the unofficial NCO guide that they didn’t let officers read; master Sergeants shall keep senior officers on an even keel at all times.  “No Top Kick.  Did my rotation at Guam a few years back and of course we did that TDY in Korea last month.  Never Japan. Of course, Okinawa is more like Pendleton East at this point.  You know any jarheads over there?”

“You know that I don’t keep to that kind of low company, sir.  Always been an Army man.”

“Well, I hope they can cook.  We’ll be eating their chow for at least the next three months.”

Rutgers considered the mission ahead.  With THAAD batteries on Guam, Korea and now on Okinawa, the US had enough anti-ballistic capacity to counter China’s massive ballistic missile threat with a pretty fair safety margin.  Apparently, the brass was very concerned about the new Chinese ballistic missiles. Why they needed three batteries across the theater was unknown to Rutgers but one thing he did know was that there was no way in hell any US service member was going to lose their life while he was on guard over them.  Never again. While he hadn’t seen them yet, he knew that there was an entire warehouse full of missile reloads for his battery just a few miles away at Fort Bliss.  Once these C-5’s dropped him off, they would be back for the missiles. Hundreds of them.

Rutgers was unaware of the larger effort, but similar flights were currently headed to both Guam and Korea.  By the time the buildup was complete, over one thousand THAAD interceptor missiles would be in theater.  This was in addition to the massive surge currently underway at sea.