Executive orders - Tom Clancy [605]
Pretty good picture here, sir, his S-2 intelligence officer said.
Send it out. And with that, every fighting vehicle in the Blackhorse had the same digital picture of the enemy that he had. Then Hamm lifted his radio.
WOLFPACK-SIX, this is BLACKHORSE-SIX.
This is WOLFPACK-SIX-ACTUAL. Thanks for the data feed, Colonel, Eddington replied over the digital radio. Both units also knew where all the friendlies were. I'd say initial contact in about an hour.
Ready to rock, Nick? Hamm asked.
Al, it's all I can do to hold my boys back. We are locked and cocked, the Guard commander assured him. We have visual on their advance screen now.
You know the drill, Nick. Good luck.
BLACKHORSE, Eddington said in parting.
Hamm changed settings on his radio, calling BUFORD-SIX.
I have the picture, Al, Marion Diggs assured him, a hundred miles back and not liking that fact one bit. He was sending men into battle by remote control, and that came hard to a new general officer.
Okay, sir, we are fully in place. All they have to do is walk in the door.
Roger, BLACKHORSE. Standing by here. Out.
The most important work was now being done by the Predators. The UAV operators, sited with Hamm's intelligence section, circled their mini-aircraft higher to minimize the chance they might be spotted or heard. Cameras pointed down, counting and checking locations. The Immortals were on the enemy left, and the former Iraqi Guards Division on the right, west of the road. They were moving along steadily, battalions on line and tightly packed for maximum power and shock effect if they encountered opposition, ten miles behind their own reconnaissance screen. Behind the lead brigade was the divisional artillery. This force was divided in two, and as they watched in the intel track, one half halted, spread out, and set up to provide covering fire, while the other half took up and moved forward. Again, that was right out of the book. They would be in place for about ninety minutes. The Predators flew over the line of guns, marking their position from GPS signals. That data went down to the MLRS batteries. Two more Predators were sent along. These were dedicated to getting exact locations on enemy command vehicles.
WELL, I'M NOT sure when this will go out, Donner told the camera. I'm here inside Bravo-Three-Two, number-two scout track in 3rd Platoon of B-Troop. We just got information on where the enemy is. He's about twenty miles west of us right now. There are at least two divisions moving south on the road from King Khalid Military City. I know now that a brigade of the North Carolina National Guard is in a blocking position. They deployed with the 11th Cavalry Regiment because they were at the National Training Center for routine training.
The mood here-well, how can I explain this? The troopers of the Blackhorse Regiment, they're almost like doctors, strange as that may sound. These men are angry at what's happened to their country, and I've talked to them about it, but right now, like doctors waiting for the ambulance to come into the emergency room. It's quiet in the track. We just heard that we'll be moving west in a few minutes to the jump-off point.
I want to add a personal note. Not long ago, as you all know, I violated a rule of my profession. I did something wrong. I was misled, but the fault was mine. I learned earlier today that the President himself requested that I should come here-maybe to get me killed? Donner ad-libbed in an obvious joke. No, not that. This is the sort of situation that people in the news business live for. I am here where history may soon take place, surrounded by other Americans who have an important job to do, and however this turns out, this is where a reporter belongs. President Ryan, thank you for the chance.
This is Tom Donner, southeast of KKMC, with B-Troop, 1st Squadron