War would end if the dead could return.
Stanley Baldwin
"Complacency is enemy number two. Number three is public opinion. I hardly need to tell you what number one is."
It was a speech the General Arnolds had given before and would probably give again. He looked at the other officers assembled for the staff meeting. "First things first. Colonel Curtis, general report?"
"Morale is pretty good. We've settled pretty well into the rotational system. We've got the general security forces alternating clean-up, disposal, and security. It's still an awful lot to have to deal with the bodies every third day, but it is still better than before . We've got our psy corps doing good work to compensate though. Building security forces have been exempt from the rotation, as per the directives to build rapport with the civvies. No major problems with their morale, most of them are thankful to have the cushy job. I'm not completely sure exactly how our armor complement is contributing troops, but I haven't gotten any complaints. Captain?"
Captain Lawson, who commanded the enhanced armor company, spoke. "Well, I've got one crew per day per platoon. Basically, it's a five day rotation once you take into account the Shredders. I'm still a bit concerned whenever the Shredders aren't manned, so I've started cross training my Abrams crews with them."
Lt. Colonel Curtis started talking again, "The last of the French troops leaving has really helped morale considerably. With the French no longer demanding the slightly more tolerable security jobs, the rotational task system works a fair bit better. Plus, the fact of the matter is that our troops tend to get along with the British force better than the Frenchies, so it's perfectly fine that they've ran back to Paris."
There were several muttered comments pertaining to bloody Frenchies. Despite the fact that the Americans didn't like it, the French forces were perfectly justified in leaving. Every last mayor in the world desperately wanted a company of soldiers. A recent UN report had rated the security of major cities against an outbreak of Rage. It had spooked most of the world. The United States Army tended to discount the risk. Gun control advocates had lost an awful lot of steam when countless people had saved themselves with personal firearms. In many cases, the shooter had died in the process, but many of them had left a pile of bullet filled Infected as their gravestone. Outbreaks didn't last long if everyone was heavily armed. New York and DC had been hit hard, but regular military (and secret service) had come down quickly upon the infected areas. Most other minor outbreaks had been handled by genre savvy police and irregular forces. Everyone was still up in arms and the desire for regular army forces was understandable. In any case, the rest of the world took more damage before properly armed forces cleared the cities. Without a large number of civilians to be protected, it wasn't perceived as necessary for there to be that big of a force in the United Kingdom.
General Arnolds directed a question to the British Commander, Colonel Mandrake, "Any problems with the British troops?"
The British army had taken pretty horrible casualties in the invasion. Many of the survivors were deemed unsuitable to further combat. The fact of the matter was that extended combat with former citizens and comrades tends to unbalance even well-trained and determined troops. All in all, the US-UK force was quite small. There were 2,000 American and 1,000 British troops in London, with an additional 500 soldier force stationed at the Chunnel (along with one of the enhanced armor platoons), and several company size groups driving through the Islands searching for remaining survivors. Unfortunately, the Infected plague hadn't stopped the wars in Afghanistan (Iraq had been almost completely vacated by the Coalition in short order). Extremists everywhere were calling the Plague a sign that Allah (or God, or Lenin, or whomever they were fanatical towards) was beginning the end of the Great Satan (or Capitalist Empire, etcetera). The 10,000 troops originally tasked to rebuild and secure Britain hadn't helped anything in the Middle East by their absence. With no living Infected anywhere in the United Kingdom, the troops had quickly been reassigned, with the 4,000 odd troops all that remained. General "Blackjack" Arnolds wavered between being annoyed at his lack of men and annoyance at not being in an actual combat area.
In any case, there were few problems with British morale. Colonel Mandrake admitted that depression over the fate of their country was widespread, but that most were confident that the United Kingdom would rise from the ashes. "Sad but determined, to sum it up, Sir."
The next topic of discussion was the normal report from the medical section. Major Ross, who was in charge, reported that health was improving as everyone became used to the clouds of burning flesh and assorted pathogens from the rotting city. They could hardly afford to have much of their troop strength sick at any one time, so they had not skimped on medical supplies. Major Ross also added, "Other than that, we've got another group of settlers coming in today, including the first two children back on the Isles. I believe that they're a Tammy and Andy Harris. They're the children of Don Harris, who is in charge of in-building infrastructure for the base. They'll be quartered with him in Building 3-B. The rest of the group will be in 3-A."
((Author's Note: Gah. I do dislike interrupting the flow with notes like this, but I'd greatly appreciate any comments about my writing. This piece is mostly for practice, you see. I'd be happy to answer any questions about the actions in rebuilding London.))