Note: This is Part 2 of my little military fiction. It's not everyone's cup of tea so if it's not just move on. If it is then hang tight. Mattis is getting angry and you won't like Chaos 6 when he's angry!
Charlie Company can't make the pain stop...
Johansen reached his personal shatter-point moment. He could have made the call to "cut and run" but that wasn't part of Marine Corps character. It wasn't part of the hallmark of being a Marine.
But then again neither was leaving a Company Landing Team dangling on the wrong end of a short branch over 1000 miles away while his support was off playing reindeer games either.
For better or worse he made the call.
He would save what's left of his command...his troops...his brothers. Damn the second guessers that would inevitably show up to pick apart the engagement. Fuck his FitRep. Fuck his chance of promotion.
He just wanted to see another sunrise.
It was past time to go. He yelled out to 1stSgt Cooper to gather their Marines. They were going to make a hasty withdrawal. There was a small hill feature about 2km to the south. They'd either grab what UTVs that were still functional and get outta dodge or they'd do it the old fashioned way and beat feet.
Either way they had to move. The barrage was slowing. The Chinese gun bunnies were getting into the rhythm of things. Thankfully this commander was arrogant. He wanted to bloody the US Marines without having to take any punches in return. That might give them the window to get out and hopefully for help to arrive.
99th Tactical Recon Wing...with an orbit above Charlie Company...
Oh my fucking God! Williams couldn't believe what he was seeing. From his view screen he could see approx 40 Chinese 8x8s. 20 APC models, 10 Mobile Gun Systems along with 10 artillery pieces halted about 10 miles from Charlie Company. They were in what he knew to be a standard Chinese defense pattern and he could see their artillery raining down death and destruction on the Marines.
From Primma Donna's to brothers needing help in the time it takes a Predator UAV to fly to Ethiopia and this became a mission of urgency.
This shit goes live from this second on. There will be no "Custer's last stand" on his watch. He reached for the phone. Time to bring the Wing Commander and the Action Officer at the Pentagon online now. Minutes counted a formality was something he couldn't afford.
Time to get those F-15E's spun up.
They had work to do.
Colonel McNeil aboard the USS Wasp still off the coast of Somalia...
Fuck Fuck Fuck! Those bastards made a run at his boys? He could feel it in his bones. McNeil cursed himself for not taking one of his MV-22s and making the trip to Djubiouti so that he could be at the center of this storm...that would be rectified as soon as 45 minutes from now though...he ordered every airplane with a USMC decal (US Navy too) back to the ship. The ESG commander was already turning the fleet to make recovery of the aircraft quicker by sailing toward them. The deck was fully manned and all defensive system spun up. They'd be sailing close to Yemen and didn't need to take a hit from the Houthis while they had bigger fish to fry.
The feed was heartbreaking though.
The pink mist was flying.
Men were crying and he wanted to lead his boys out of that meatgrinder.
The biggest enemy wasn't the Chinese though. The real enemy was time and distance. If they could somehow get something there they could easily blunt this attack and even take major league scalps while doing so.
But unfortunately the point had been made. The Chinese got an easy win because the military...worse, because the USMC believed the propaganda instead of sticking to warrior ways. Well no more. These motherfuckers would pay. Before this day was done Chinese mothers would be wailing over the loss of their boys in God damn Africa.
The Pentagon...Chaos 6 is about to erupt.
Mattis back in the day when he wore a uniform went by the moniker, CHAOS 6. It fit to a tee. Many would say that he brought friction with him because of his demands for constant action, being constantly on the attack and never pausing to give the enemy or his troops time to recover.
That's the inside the Marine Corps views of those bold enough to state them...but only around trusted colleagues.
The public persona was that of a take charge leader. Saint Mattis, patron saint of the Marine Corps...sort of a real life action star Chuck Norris type character is how many in the beltway saw him.
Today he would live up to that public image.
Hey Jim (Mattis and Dunford are of course on a first name basis) what the fuck happened in Africa. We can all see the monitor and those damn Chinese are kicking the shit out of us. Do we even have comms with our boys?
Mr Secretary (although on a first name basis, Dunford always showed respect due to the position that his old friend held), we ran into problems. No we don't have comms the Chinese are jamming us... CENTCOM bit off more than it could chew (again), the Company Landing Team concept leaves us vulnerable to shit like this and we got no indication that there was even a whiff of aggressiveness coming from our Chinese neighbors in Africa.
Is our base threatened?
Not that we can tell. They've gone to full alert, the Chinese did the same in response to our actions. We have to consider the possibility that this is a rogue commander.
Well how far away is the MEU? About 1000 miles. It'll take them 3 days of hard steaming to get there. We can launch our helos but our attack birds are short legged, the F-35s can reach after topping off but fuel will be a concern if we load them up. For the time being we're stuck depending on Air Force F-15E's to hit and hit hard...hopefully.
Can SOCOM move any forces? They can but you know as well as I do that SOCOM is a call for fire outfit...big city SWAT in the desert. This ain't a raid so they ain't gonna be much help.
What we need is armor. Barring that then we need air cover till we can extract our boys. The problem is even worse though. He's taken at least 50% casualties to a small unit. They're already combat ineffective and on the verge of being wiped out.
Any news coverage? No. The media runs with what we tell them. They won't get a whiff until we start notifying next of kin. The problem will be the Chinese. If this is a rogue commander and they back his play because it looks successful then this could spiral. I've already put in a flash message to PACCOM telling them to increase their status without LOOKING like they're incresing their alert status, but to your issue, the Chinese could tell the world about this before we do which would make this look even more like a stunning victory in the desert.
We just can't be sure whether this is sanctioned or not. If its a diversion for a move against Taiwan, Korea or some other target we can't imagine.
Ok. I've heard enough. Has the Air Force launched yet? If not then fire the Wing Commander and get me someone with balls. Oh and tell the MEU CO that he's on a short leash. He has full authority to protect his boys but that the 10,000 mile screwdriver is real. We'll be watching and if he ain't aggressive enough, fast enough his ass is through in my Corps. Meanwhile get the 173rd in Europe spun up. The Army is bragging about their Airborne Tank? It might be time to put it to the test.
This is a full fucking regional activation. Every dick and ovary in Europe, the Middle East and Africa just got a new mission. They're gonna help our boys in the fucking desert. I will not have a defeat of this magnitude on my watch.
We either turn this shit around with a quickness or we all resign in failure. Our nation deserves nothing less. Now fucking execute Jim. Make this shit happen.
23rd Tactical Fighter Wing Forward Deployed Djibouti...(Briefing Room)
Colonel Maxwell looked at his young killers and felt nothing but pride. All the hard training and now they're were about to be put to the test.
Only thing left to do is to give the prep talk after the Wing Intel Officer gave them the down and dirty and then its mount their steeds and do God's work.
As he stood at the podium he paused. Let the silence fill the room. He wanted the tone perfect. His intent clear. Time to kick the tires and light his boys fires....
Listen up men.
You know the situation. Once again, we have a group of Marines that have bitten off more than they can chew. Of course we're not surprised. Whether it's Marines, Paratroopers, Rangers, SEALs, Special Forces...whatever dumbass with a big knife and too much testosterone that thinks hitting the gym is a sign of real manhood gets into trouble its the USAF they call. And of course the USAF calls the big dawgs of the pack, the F-15E drivers.
So once again we're gonna save some ground pounder lives, they'll write books and be lauded for their bravery under fire but we all know who the real heroes are. It's the men and women that can strap on these birds and will fly thru hellfire to pull their bacon out of it. The men and women that will do the hard thing over and over till the deed is done. The men and women in this room.
Our job is simple.
We kill Chinese. We turn the sand red with Chinese blood. We hit their troops their equipment their weapons and we keep pounding them till they're micro fragmented. We hit them so hard that their relatives back in China can feel the effects of our laser guided bombs impacting. We hit them so hard that their mothers scream out in pain knowing that something terrible happened to their little boy.
We hit them so hard that they cry out for someone to make the big mean USAF stop.
And once they've reached that point we hit them again.
Do I make my self clear?
The entire room jumped to its feet and shouted YES SIR!
The F-15E squadron was primed and about to join the big show...
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