221st Cavalry Regiment (Nevada National Guard)
Las Vegas National Guard HQ, Las Vegas, NV
Lieutenant Colonel Aliston was sitting in his office, behind his desk, reading readiness reports from various groups within his command and the supporting elements of the Nevada Army National Guard. It was, unfortunately, a common task for him as commander of the 221st. A graduate of West Point, Aliston had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, only transitioning to the reserves when his wife informed him firmly that she was going to move only once more in her life and he got to choose where that would be. He chose Mount Charleston, Nevada—a small mountain community just 45 minutes from Las Vegas. They were happy there and he had been able to transfer to the Nevada National Guard where he had served for almost ten years since leaving active duty.
Command Sergeant Major Ziffren knocked on the door frame and let himself in. “Any word from G4, sir?”
G4 referred to the logistics section of their battalion. This group was generally responsible for things like moving units around, managing vehicles, spares and all the millions of logistical details needed to keep a regiment moving and fighting. Aliston put down the report he was reading. “Not yet. Just the ready signal and standby for deployment orders.”
Ziffren seated himself in one of the wooden chairs in front of Aliston’s desk. “Word is that rotations to the NTC will be halved again in the next fiscal budget.”
Aliston shook his head. “We are already below minimums. Only half our armor platoons have qualified this year, and we are below minimums across the board.”
Ziffren grunted. “Don’t I know it, sir.”
The phone rang. Aliston answered. He listened for a bit and then answered. “Yes sir, we will have the regiment ready for travel by 08:00 tomorrow. Thank you, sir.”
Ziffren clapped his hands. “All right!”
Aliston hung up the phone and smiled at Ziffren. “Let’s make this one count. This may be the last one for a while.”
“A firmative , sir!”