Chapter 72

Tim 1400 Tuesday 17 January

Newly promoted LtCol Harvey reported that at 1349 the National Communication Center reported Wolverine Field, The Wappinger Nation connected and online with Secured Data, Audio, and Video links. The JCS had issued orders for Wolverine Field, The Wappinger Nation and Command General Operation Flash Freeze to proceed immediately with Operation Frozen Assets.

Alfred then handed me a message for MGen Pierce:

1401 Z+4 17 January/coppices/ POTUS to CGOFF/OFA: this is the way real Flag

Officers communicate, welcome to the club, good hunting. EOT.

I said message for you Sir, as I reported to Robert. Will there be a reply? After reading it he replied not at this time.

1415 EST Brigadier Generals Johnston, James, Greeley, and Fox arrived each with their staffs. At 1420 Peter Von Gliese of the FDIC and Judge Olson arrived and I showed them into the conference room. Robert rose to greet them and give Peter Von Gliese the head of the table. Which he refused.

Peter Von Gliese

MGen Pierce, may I call you Robert, Robert will do fine he replied. Robert, First, I am a figurehead due to Federal Statute. I will repeat this to your subordinates, you are giving the orders. I will follow your suggestions as orders and sit to your Right. Just do not send me to jail. Let’s bring in the people doing the real work. He told his Chief of Staff, Colonel Timothy Silver Fox, One of his Employees, to let them in.

We stood and greeted all who entered. I started Ladies and Gentlemen I am a figurehead due to Federal Statute the Federal Military Troops cannot do military actions unless the State Officials request them, But Civilian Commanded Operations can use military units for security purposes on Federal Government Matters like the transfer of copious amounts of cash from the FDIC to Financial Institutions that request the funds.

According to Judge Olson we are on the right side of the law, close to the edge, but on the right side of the law. The true Commander of Operation Frozen Assets is MGen Pierce, and I will defer all decisions to him. With the help of Judge Olson none of us will go to jail. Robert your circus, I am just the One to clean up after the Elephant.

Robert

Each Striker Battalion has Forty-Two ICV (Infantry), Ten MCV (Mortar), Nine MSG (Mobil Gun), Five CV (Command), Four RV (Reconnaissance), Four MedVac (Attached), and Three FSV (Fire Support). That gives me One-Hundred-Twenty-Six ICVs, I need Two-Hundred-Eight at least if not more to run support teams.

This Command is going to in the next Sixty Hours convert the Marines into Two Striker Battalions and activate Two Battalions of the Striker ICVs that are stored in this facility. We will field Fifty-Three, Four Vehicles teams. Each team will transport Friday morning Five MPs carrying Five Million Dollars to one of Fifty-Two locations arriving no earlier than 0730 and no later 0745 and depositing the cash before the bank opens at 0800. The unit will remain on sight as extra security until released by the FDIC. At each location, the Unit commander will spill into the wind Two-Thousand-Five- Hundred dollars and let it float away. We will have One back-up team. I know you gentlemen have made tentative plans, I hope this will fit into one or more of them or we can modify your plans to fit into the battle we have been handed.

BGen James

The combined staff had concluded that they would require the Marines as delivery personnel, but we did not know what transportation we would use. You solved that part of the problem by providing the vehicles to make it possible.

I will get my mechanics and request all of the Engineers and Marine mechanics I can get my hands on to start with getting the vehicles operational. As I am getting the driver and a-drivers from the Marines, our Stryker people will start teaching them to drive a Stryker.

MGen Pierce

I will attach Sampson Frank, with the rank of LtCol, who runs the vehicle maintenance division for all ground vehicles of Wolverine Clan Industries Inc. Wolverine Field, Wappinger Nation to you and you will use our vehicle maintenance facilities and what limited personnel I have to assist you. If you see and need it, ask for it.

Tim, inform Sampson that he has been drafted and I need the ranks he will assign to his people as they also have been drafted.

BGen Johnston are you senior? Yes, he replied. Great you are now the ADC of the 1st Provisional Joint Service Division. You will work out of this space, and we will move any and all the people you need to this space. You have LtCol Harvey as HHC Commander and SgtMaj Arthur William Smith USMCR as my Division CSM, SgtMaj Yolanda Zulu USMCR HHC CSM, Art, inform her. How you consolidate or distribute your current HHC is up to you. Get it accomplished by 2400 this evening and have your people inform Col Fox of the arrangements.

Get the Marines or any other personnel on Wolverine Field, Wappinger Nation that are needed to BGen James. You may draft any employee of Wolverine Clan Industries Inc. you need but request them first from Col Fox to see if they can be available. We will not refuse any unreasonable request except K, Mrs. Ruth, and my girls with their Shadows are not available.

It is 1600, I will request you all join me for dinner at 2000 and a staff meeting here at 2200 to go over all current status of plans. BGen James will have a Staff Command List of the Delivery Units based on the Calvary Striker BCT as Command and all delivery units attached to them. You will create the Squadron-Troop-Platoon structure you need to accomplish the mission at your pleasure. Have all your unit designators and code words and phrases prepared to include a code word to designate the units that participate in a hostile situation.

The remaining Marines and Army personnel will be formed into Air Mobil Strike/Support Platoons Osprey/Huey/Blackhawk and Ground based Striker/Piranha/Bradley at BGen Johnston’s pleasure. If the deliveries or operations at the banks get hostile, those areas of operation and personnel will pass to BGen Johnston and Sir, I hope you have a verry boring day. Have all your unit designators and code words prepared to include a code word to designate the units that engage in a hostile situation and will use separate code words and phrases.

If your planners have any questions, they are to be directed to BGen Johnston to solve them. Gentlemen, this is a Joint Operation. I will not tolerate interservice disputes or petty one-up-men-ship. Is that clear! All present acknowledged they understood. Great now assure all the people under you also understand interservice conflicts will not be tolerated.

We will have no interservice incidences like at the Battle of Saipan between Marine General Holland Smith and Army Major General Ralph C. Smith. You each have your own tasks to complete, do them and if it becomes necessary to hand units over to a different commander make it seamless and without any delays. If and when a unit is shifted to a different command, I will make the decision and it will be obeyed and done without question. Again I hope BGen Johnston has a verry boring day, but we will be prepared for the worst situation.

All impasses will be directed to BGen Fox who will present them to me. I after hearing from each side, will make the decision.