Modern Warfare

US Navy, Third Fleet

Naval Base Point Loma, San Diego, CA

“And where is the Liaoning now?”

“Approximately 1,000 miles northwest of Hawaii.  Current heading is due east.”  The commander giving the daily briefing didn’t like the look in Admiral Lensten’s eyes.

The Liaoning, one of three PLAN (Chinese Navy) aircraft carriers, had performed deployments in the past including around   the Japanese island of Yonaguni which is just east of Taiwan.  However, this time, after passing north of Taiwan, the carrier and her escorts had turned east into the pacific.  While the US Navy regularly operated all around the world in international waters, the PLAN had previously only done this in limited fashion.  This is the farthest away from the Chinese coast that the Liaoning had ever ventured.  This development coupled with what was going on in Mexico set alarms off all over the US military.  The Third Fleet, with operational responsibility for the eastern half of the Pacific was about to have a PLAN Carrier Strike Group (CSG) enter their area of responsibility for the first time.  According to the Chinese government, the carrier would be in support of the UN peacekeeper mission in Mexico.

“Status of the P-8s?”

“VP-4 is forward deployed to Hickam.  We have a bird overhead 24/7.”

“And Rosevelt’s strike group?”  The USS Theodore Rosevelt (CVN-71), based in San Diego was the flagship of one of three CSG’s based there.  Recent budget cuts meant that the Rosevelt was the only carrier on this side of the earth at the moment.

“Still in the Gulf.  They have not been released by the Fifth Fleet yet.”

“Goddammit.  Get on the horn to J3, we need that CSG.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What is the status of CVW-17?”

“Sir?”

Carrier Air Wing 17, based in Lemoore, California was normally assigned to a carrier at sea or “embarked” on a carrier as the Navy terminology went.  However, the lack of carriers in the Pacific should mean that an air wing was ready to deploy but didn’t have a ship.  “Wasn’t CVW-17 scheduled to embark on Lincoln before her sortie was cancelled?”

“Let me check.”  The commander consulted his computer briefly.  “Yes, that’s correct.”

“OK, let’s get them staged out to Hickam.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And let’s get some tanker support.  How many KC-130s do the Marines have down at Miramar?”

More checking.  “We show fourteen birds in operational status.”

“OK, let’s push six of them over to support CVW-17.  They’ll need the gas to get to Hawaii, and they can stay at Hickam to support any sorties we need to make from there.”

“Yes, sir.”

Admiral Lensten studied the map on the wall.   Was he being paranoid?  Or not paranoid enough?  What would the Admiral do?  Only one way to find out.

“Call J3 at Pearl.  Ask them to set up a situation room for SacPac to use.”

“SacPac?  You’re joking!”

“No commander, I’m not.”

“Jesus Christ.  Who gets to call him?”

“I do.”

Grinning, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.  The Admiral didn’t like to admit it, but he did have a cell.  Only a few officers in the Navy knew his number.  Lensten had been stunned when The Admiral had given him the number and told him to call any time.  He dialed the number.

“Admiral?  This is Bill Lensten.  I need a favor, sir.”

United States Northern Command

Peterson Space Force Base, El Paso County, CO

“Sir, the President of Mexico called POTUS this morning.  They are protesting the incursion into their airspace.”

Wilkes just nodded.  “I wouldn’t be happy either.  Any change in our mission orders?”

“No, sir.”

“Right, what is our current assessment?”

The intelligence specialist consulted his notes.  “It looks like the remainder of the Spetsnaz units have retreated to areas around Mexico City, but we are unable to confirm with our current flight restrictions.  Satellites have been able to confirm troop movements, but we don’t have enough detail to distinguish regular Army units from the Spetsnaz units.”

“OK, we need more assets down further south.  Call up Beale and get the Global Hawks on it.”

“Yes, sir.”

The door to Wilkes’ office banged open and a sergeant rushed in, red faced.  “Sir!  The President of Mexico has been assassinated.  There is a live press conference going on now.”  Wilkes just stood for a moment, stunned.  What else can go wrong?

As Wilkes walked into the larger outer office, he could see several officers and enlisted all gathered around a TV set which was tuned to CNN.  A man wearing a Mexican Army uniform was speaking.

 “Who’s that?”

A captain turned to answer, “General Trujillo, he’s their secretary of defense.”

“Right.”

The general continued to speak in Spanish.  CNN switched to a live English translation.  “… as I stated in my opening remarks, these continued provocations by the United States fundamentally threaten the security of Mexico.  These provocations will no longer be tolerated, and Mexico will seek to secure our borders by any means necessary.  As such, we have agreed to cooperate with our friends in China to help secure our borders against intrusion from the north.”

“What the hell is going on, where is their vice president?”

“Actually, I think it’s the secretary of the interior who is the named successor.”

“And after that?”

“I don’t think they have one.”

“Find out.  Right now.”

The captain left the room at a jog.  Wilkes turned back to the TV.  “Get J2 on the horn.  We need to find out what is going on with the secretary of the interior.”

General Trujillo had continued speaking.  “Considering the grave security threat to our nation, Secretary Mora has requested congress to confirm me as interim president until the crisis is resolved.”

“Oh, shit.”

It took ten minutes to get a video call going with all the department heads.  J2’s lead Mexican specialist opened the meeting.  “As requested, you will find in your briefing deck a quick summary of the succession plan for Mexico.  The short version is that it falls to the interior minister, but Congress can appoint an interim president since we are only a year into the current term.”

“And is General Trujillo eligible to be president?”

“Technically, no.  He is a serving member of the military.  However, congress is likely to confirm him anyway.  The supreme court needs six out of nine justices to override congress, and we don’t think they have the votes.”

“So, we should fully expect him to become president?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And how long will he be president?”

“Congress is required to hold an election no later than 18 months after naming the interim president.”

Wilkes’ boss, General Earhart, the commander of Northern Command, pointed directly at Wilkes.  “I want contingency plans updated assuming that Mexico becomes a military dictatorship with close ties to China.”

“Yes, sir.”

A master sergeant walked into the conference room and handed General Earhart a message form.  His face went blank, then he grimaced.  “Well, that tears it.  Panama has introduced a resolution for the UN Security council calling for peacekeepers in Northern Mexico.  The Chinese have agreed to send a force supporting the UN resolution.”  He turned back to Wilkes again.  “Remember what I said about our withdrawal from the UN?  Yeah, forget about that.”  While most members of the US military had great distain for the UN, the USA had regularly used the UN to it’s advantage even using UN resolutions to justify military action in Korea and Kuwait. 

Wilkes’ mind started moving.  As the man responsible for writing contingency plans for the US homeland, the recent radical changes by the president were making his job VERY hard.  “Sir, without the USA filling its seat, that resolution may pass.”

Earhart nodded grimly.  “I think you’re right, Barry.  So, let’s assume we have Chinese peacekeepers in the mix in northern Mexico.”

“I can’t even begin to imagine that outcome.  How many?”

“Let’s worse case this, say 100,000.”

“That’s insane.  The UN has never done anything that big.”

“Hell son, the entire Gulf War was based on a UN Security council resolution, remember?”

“Six Seventy-Eight.  They teach it at war college.”

“Exactly.”