United States Northern Command
Peterson Space Force Base, El Paso County, CO
The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all; and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
NATO Treaty, Article 5
“The President said what!?!?”
General Wilkes grimaced. His rapid rise to the rank of Brigadier General (0-7) was both a blessing and a curse. As the commanding officer of the 142nd fighter wing during the war, he was making life and death decisions every day. Some days, he had felt that he couldn’t go on. But he knew his job was important and he went on because he owed it to his pilots. Now his job as a head of Northern Command J5 (plans) meant that he was responsible for planning for the security of the United States. In theory, this was the most important job there was in the US military: defending the homeland. However, in practice, his job was mostly to attend meetings that his bosses couldn’t or didn’t want to join. In this case, it was the strategic budget planning summit that he had just flown back from.
“Sir, I am only the messenger here. However, we were told that for our fiscal planning requests we should assume that the USA exits NATO no later than ninety days from today.”
Wilkes’ boss, the commander of Northern Command, smacked the table again. “That is insane! Does the president not realize that the USA is the only country to actually invoke article 5? Hell, we did it twice!” The NATO treaty stated that an attack on one member was an attack against them all in article 5; this was a lynchpin of securing the western world since WWII. The USA famously invoked article 5 after 9/11 and again during the South China Sea (SCS) war five years ago.
Wilkes didn’t answer. He knew to keep silent when asked to speculate about the president’s motives. Like most officers, he attempted to stay away from domestic politics. He had taken an oath to defend the constitution, and he took that oath very seriously. Men under his command had died in defense of the nation and he knew that more men under his command could die. Self-sacrifice, duty, honor. These things were not abstract concepts to Wilkes. They formed the very core of who he was. The current president wasn’t his choice, but he was duty bound to follow the legal orders of the commander in chief, and he would do so or resign his commission.
“It also looks like the US withdrawal from the UN is going to happen as planned.”
Earhart grunted. “Unlike NATO, the UN doesn’t actually help me with my mission.”
General Earhart sat back down. “This is going to become a political exercise. What else do I need to know?”
Wilkes nodded and continued with his report. “The situation in Mexico continues to degrade. There is a general feeling at the Pentagon that current contingency plans are insufficient for the possible endgame there.”
“Finally, someone is listening to us. Thank God for that. Did we get the line item for increased air readiness?”
“No.”
“Ah, so they agree this is a problem, but they won’t do anything to fix it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Of course.” Earhart consulted some notes. “Let’s re-work our current budget. We are going to have to rob Peter to pay Paul, but we can be smart about it.”
“Yes, sir. Here are the contingency plans that we worked up with J2. We currently have a good plan for using the Immediate Response Force in Europe within 18 hours. The proposal is to retool that to deploy within the USA. They are already scheduled for a training rotation. I suggest we move that to Fort Irwin to have them red force some of the guard units already planned to go.”
“I like that. Like a US specific REFORGER.” REFORGER (Return of Forces to Germany) was the long-standing US plan to support Europe in the case of a Soviet invasion. “What about air?”
“We have weaker plans there. Most of the readiness efforts have been in the Pacific with the new units standing up at Clark and the rebuild of Andersen.” Andersen had been largely destroyed in the SCS war and Clark had only recently been reclaimed as a US air force facility after years of Filipino ownership.
“Let’s shift that to a full-on call wing plus 18, like the IRF. Who do you suggest?”
“I would love to have the F-15EX ready to go, it’s the most flexible platform we have, and it has the range advantage.”
“Hmm. Aren’t those all going to your old unit?”
“Yes, the 142nd is the only unit stood up with those.” He checked his notes again. “I think the best choice is the 944th.”
“At Luke?”
“Yes. They are a bit overcommitted in supporting the F-35 schoolhouse, but they are the logical unit. They are halfway through their F-35 transition so that gives us both F-35 and F-16 aircraft to deploy. They can cover almost any mission between those two aircraft. Also, Luke is going to have fewer weather issues than most other bases. Gives us a good contingency even if it’s winter.”
“Agreed. Make it happen.”
Wilkes made a note, unknowingly setting in motion events that would have massive implications.
“Next item. China is continuing to deploy their new class of satellites. Intelligence says that they’re not intelligence birds—not enough radio chatter. There is some concern that they have offensive capabilities.”
And so it went, endless detail and preparation for events that everyone hoped would never happen.