Executive orders - Tom Clancy [51]
As an intelligence specialist, he will be unusually well informed of foreign affairs. In fact, his knowledge of such things may be the best America has had in recent years, but at the cost of near-ignorance of domestic issues, the briefing officer went on. This tidbit had come from the New York Times.
Ah. And with that bit of information, the planning started. At this point it was merely a mental exercise, but that would soon change.
SO HOW ARE things in your army? Diggs asked. The two generals stood alone atop the principal terrain feature, watching the battle play out below them with low-light viewing gear. As predicted, the 32nd-Bondarenko had to think of them that way-had overwhelmed the Blue Force reconnaissance screen, maneuvered to the left, and was now rolling up the enemy brigade. With the lack of real casualties, it was a lovely thing to watch as the blinking yellow dead lights lit up one by one. Then he had to answer the question.
Dreadful. We face the task of rebuilding everything from the ground up.
Diggs turned. Well, sir, that's where I came in at. At least you don't have to deal with drugs, the American thought. He could remember being a new second lieutenant, and afraid to enter barracks without sidearms. If the Russians had made their move in the early 1970s You really want to use our model?
Perhaps. The only thing the Americans got wrong-and right-was that the Red Force allowed tactical initiative for its sub-unit commanders, something the Soviet Army would never have done. But, combined with doctrine developed by the Voroshilov Academy, the results were plain to see. That was something to remember, and Bondarenko had broken rules in his own tactical encounters, which was one reason why he was a living three-star instead of a dead colonel. He was also the newly appointed chief of operations for the Russian Army. The problem is money, of course.
I've heard that song before, General. Diggs allowed himself a rueful chuckle.
Bondarenko had a plan for that. He wanted to cut the size of his army by fifty percent, and the money saved would go directly into training the remaining half. The results of such a plan he could see before him. Traditionally, the Soviet Army had depended on mass, but the Americans had proven both here and in Iraq that training was master of the battlefield. As good as their equipment was-he'd get his materiel briefing tomorrow-he envied Diggs his personnel more than anything. Proof of that arrived the moment he formed the thought.
General? The new arrival saluted. BLACKHORSE! We stripped their knickers right off.
This is Colonel Al Hamm. He's CO of the 11th. His second tour here. He used to be OpFor operations officer. Don't play cards with him, Diggs warned.
The general is too kind. Welcome to the desert, General Bondarenko. Hamm extended a large hand.
Your attack was well executed, Colonel. The Russian examined him.
Thank you, sir. I have some great kids working for me. Blue Force was overly tentative. We caught them between two chairs, Hamm explained. He looked like a Russian, Bondarenko thought, tall and meaty with a pale, florid complexion surrounding twinkling blue eyes. For this occasion, Hamm was dressed in his old Russian-style uniform, complete with a red star on the tanker's beret, and his pistol belt outside the over-long blouse. It didn't quite make the Russian feel at home, but he appreciated the respect the Americans showed him.
Diggs, you were right. Blue should have done everything to get here first. But you made them start too far back to make that option seem attractive.
That's the problem with battlefields, Hamm answered for his boss. Too much of the time they choose you instead of the other way around. That's lesson number one for the boys of the 5th Mech. If you let anybody else define the terms of the battle, well, it isn't much fun.
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5 - ARRANGEMENTS
IT TURNED OUT THAT both Sato and his co-pilot had donated blood for purposes of helping casualties in the abortive war with America, and the blessedly