"Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and the Romans, and must be that of every free state." – Thomas Jefferson
FLASHBACK CHAPTER 4: CITIZEN SOLDIERS
August 21, 2016 15:43 EDT
SEAL Team 4 & Philadelphia Wolverines, a.k.a. "Green Jackets"
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
"Alright," Lt. Feliciano said to the rag-tag guerilla unit. "Gather round, people. We got tasking to provide coordinates for an airstrike on a battery of long-range missile launchers."
"What kind of missiles?" Fesperman asked.
"BM-30, long-range heavy MLRS. It has a maximum effective range of 90km and because of this could cause serious trouble for advancing blue forces." He laid out a map on the card table to lay out the 'plan of the day'.
An air drop the day after the SEALs arrived delivered them replacement radios with headsets and throat mics, along with C4 charges. They had also scrounged up a handful of straggler police officers, Guardsmen and other armed civilians to add to their ranks. They had also found several civilians who had been trapped behind the lines and had formed a kind of underground commune in a somewhat dilapidated condominium complex with a crashed Mi-24 Hind along the fence line.
They stayed off the radar, so to speak, by keeping to basements and abandoned bomb/fallout shelters and practicing noise discipline during the day. At night they gathered what water they could from a busted water main down the block. A few of the occupants had supplies of freeze dried and non-perishable food and even some small vegetable gardens. But, even then they had to ration their food. Their only weakness was that they were defenseless.
In fact, most of the occupants were not ready to participate in urban combat. Only Towley, the Guardsmen, Shinji, Jenkins and the two other Cavaliers fought alongside the SEALs. The others guarded the refugees. The combat team took up 'residence' in the basement of the main admin building on the other end of the complex from the commune.
At first, the SEALs were reluctant to bring Shinji and the other Wolverines along. But, when it was pointed out that, with the GPS system down, the SEALs would need guides to help them get around the city. So they compromised.
For the most part, their job would be to act as scouts for the Special Warfare operators. But, Shinji and Jenkins especially, quickly proved to be reliable combatants. Shinji and the other Wolverines had taken on the name "Green Coats" after the mostly green colored jackets they wore and as homage to the Continental Marines who were first recruited in Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War and wore green jackets. Only this time, they were fighting against a very different kind of red coat than the Continental Marines. So, as the SEALs went about their missions one or two of the 'Green Coats' would go with to provide directions while the rest stayed back and taught others in the group how to fight.
It was crash-course style training but it would be better than nothing. Luckily, a few of the others were former military. One was even a retired Green Beret who hunted Scud missiles back in Desert Storm and later Serb war criminals. Many of the civilians, however, could not fight. Elderly and injured for the most part, but there were a few kids younger than Shinji there as well.
The kids, all under the age of eleven, looked up to Shinji and Jenkins as superheroes. So, when Shinji and Jenkins left with Chief Jones, Ski, Doc and Newman as the sun set a couple kids came out to the crashed Hind to, quietly of course, wish them luck. One had a disposable Kodak camera that had survived the EMP. Jenkins led the way out through the Hind, using it instead of the main entrance to the complex. He was followed by Chief, and Doc.
Once their group was across the street with no sign of Ruskies in the area, Shinji's group got ready to go. "Smile," a soft voice got Shinji and Newman to look over and a soft, non-flash, snap from the camera in the hands of a little girl. "Good luck out there." Shinji and Newman smiled and gave her each a thumbs up. She took another non-flash picture of the two as they climbed into the wrecked Hind.
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August 21, 2016 19:06 EDT
SEAL Team 4 & Philadelphia Wolverines, a.k.a. "Green Jackets"
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
"This was going to be a mall," Jenkins said as he led the team into a half-built structure. He zipped up his Eagles hoodie to fight off the biting cold. "Budget problems and scandal involving the contractor killed it."
"What kind of scandal?" Chief Jones asked out of curiosity.
"Short version," Shinji answered, "sex, drugs and rock'n'roll." Ski chuckled at the response. The group continued through the mall towards the last reported position of the rocket launchers.
As they neared the opposite end of the mall a shot rang out, "Sniper!" Chief called out as a squad of Russians appeared on the ground floor. "Cover!" The firefight began quickly and ended after less than five minutes. But it, like all other firefights, seemed a lot longer to Shinji. His first move was to dive behind a set of spiral stairs, using them as cover from the Russian's small arms fire. Leaning around the stairs in a 'Spetsnaz prone' position, he dropped a Russian who was sprinting across the hall.
Another shot rang out. "The sniper's on the upper level! Clothing store!" Doc called out. Ski popped over a Ford Taurus display vehicle and fired his EBR into the store Doc pointed out.
"Shinji! Newman!" Chief shouted. "Get up there and nail that SOB."
"On me!" Newman shouted as he raced up the stairs. Shinji laid down cover fire with his AK until Newman got up. When he got to the top, the guardsman knelt down behind a concrete trash bin and provided cover as Shinji followed him up, reloading his rifle as he went. They then made their way to the clothing store.
Another shot rang out as they neared the front. This time, it was accompanied by a wet thump sound. "Jenkins' hit!" Shinji heard Doc called out.
"Will you two quit playing around and kill that bastard!?" Chief shouted over the radio.
"Eyes open, Shinji," Newman said as they moved inside. "This fucker can be anywhere." As he said that Shinji stopped in his tracks.
"Wait," he said. "Something's not right."
"What is it?" Shinji scanned the store looking for an area where a sniper might hide. And that's when it hit him.
"That last shot."
"What about it?"
"He took it just as we were arriving at the store. If he was in here…"
"We would've seen him bolt! Fuck!" Newman and Shinji then headed back towards the front. "Where do you think he could be?"
"I'd say next door," Shinji said as he looked to the guardsman's backpack as another shot rang out. "But he'll see us coming if we come in the front."
"Damnit, you two! Report!" Chief shouted. "That bastard has us pinned! Doc can't get to Jenkins and he's bleeding out!"
"Stand-by, Chief," Newman said as he and Shinji got out a pack of C4. "Dead-eye was not in the clothing store. He has to be in the one next to us."
"The Tech-Shak?"
"Roger. We're going to do a dynamic entry through the wall and hit him from behind!" The two ducked behind a heavy, ceiling length counter, detonator in Newman's hand. "Entry in…3, 2, 1!"
On the other side of the wall the sniper's spotter was blown across the store from the explosion, chunks of plaster, drywall and shards of steel rebar tearing into his flank, neck and face. Newman was the first one through and swept left, engaging a pair of soldiers at the back of the store. Shinji entered behind him and swept right. He came face to face with the sniper who charged Shinji and grabbed his rifle. Shinji responded by driving his knee into the sniper's groin and followed up with an outward heel stomp to the Ruskie's left knee, dislocating it.
"Ah!" The Russian cried out in pain but held onto the rifle. Shinji removed his right hand, twisted his torso throwing the enemy sniper to the ground and pulled out his CZ-75. The Russian barely had time to comprehend what the object in Shinji's hand was before a pair of 9mm hollow points ended the Russian sharpshooter's life.
"Clear left!" Newman called out, his pair of targets, down for the count. "Two KIA."
"Clear right!" Shinji said scanning his sector once he had positive control of his rifle again. "One KIA. Chief," Shinji got on the radio. "We got the sniper," he said bending down and picking up the SVD rifle. "How's Jenkins?"
"I'm sorry, Shinji," Doc's voice answered. "We lost him."
"Damn."
"We'll mourn him later," Chief said. "We've still got some rocket launchers to vaporize. Rally on me, people." Shinji slung the sniper rifle over his back and followed Newman out of the store.
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August 21, 2016 20:22 EDT
SEAL Team 4 & Philadelphia Wolverines, a.k.a. "Green Jackets"
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
They took up position in a bomb scarred two-story Nancy's ¾-mile from the MLRS batteries. The launchers themselves were parked under an interstate interchange to prevent them from being spotted by recon flights. Satellites weren't a worry but the US Air Force was keeping Global Hawk UAVs over the battlefield on an almost 24-hour basis.
As the SEALs set up the designator and got in touch with Overlord Shinji and Newman set up a hide overlooking an adjacent street. About four hundred yards away was a checkpoint with several squads of Russian troops. "Chief," Newman reported to the senior NCO. "We've got a small Ruskie QRF over here."
"I count at least forty foot mobiles," Shinji said as he looked through the Dragunov's scope. "Usual assortment of small arms and RPGs but I also spy two heavy MGs; one on ground level and the other on top of an overturned semi-trailer. No vehicles, but…" He spotted a Russian moving among the troops who were behaving curiously towards him. "It looks like there's a high ranking honcho with them."
"I copy," Jones replied. "We're all set up over here. A B-1 is en route to take out the launchers."
"Newman?"
"What's up, buddy?" The guardsman asked.
"I'm gonna try and snipe the honcho once the bomb hits."
"Go for it," Newman chuckled. "I mean, if you're sure you can do it."
"I shot a running dear with a .270 from three hundred yards," Shinji shrugged. "I can do this." Newman got the nod from Chief. "Alright, Shinji," he came back and looked through a pair of binoculars at the checkpoint. "Bomber's in bound, TOT 20 seconds."
"Got it," Shinji focused the scope. "Jefe is still there. I'm on target…"
"Bomb's away…Ten seconds…" Shinji began applying pressure to the trigger. "Any second…"
The trigger broke just as the GBU-24 Paveway III blew apart the freeway and the launchers. The honcho Russian dropped dead with a hole blown right through his chest just below the neck and right above his armor plate. "Primary target destroyed," Chief announced. "Exfil, now!"
"Oh, shit!" Shinji swore as he saw the Russians point towards them. "I think they're-!" He was cut off as the heavy machineguns opened fire. "Yeah! They're onto us!" Shinji drew a bead on the gunner on top of the trailer as Newman fired an AT-4 into the other. Shinji dropped the gunner as the Russians began to pour out of their checkpoint.
"Chief! I think we stirred up a hornet's nest!" Newman cried out as more Russians appeared on the flanking streets. "Holy shit! What is this place? A soldier factory?"
"Get out of there now!" Chief ordered over the radio. "Rendezvous at point Charlie!" At that moment a T-90 tank showed up at the checkpoint.
"Aw, fuck! Let's go!" Newman shouted as Shinji shot down the machine-gunner on top of the tank. Newman he picked Shinji up and they jumped down to street level at the back of the store just as a 125mm shell blew apart their hide, rubble and burning insulation raining down on them. "Move! Before they get here and find out we're not dead!"
They darted across the street and into storm drain that lead underneath a parking lot. They waded through the muck to the other side as Russian voices began to echo through the drains. "They're canvasing the area," Newman said.
"They don't know we're here," Shinji nodded. They came to an area where part of the parking lot had been blown away. Not enough to leave a crater, but enough to let in to low amount of moon light.
"Hold," Newman held up his fist as the ground began to tremble. He then motioned to the side and they moved back into a side pipe. They were then able to get a look through a drainage cut to see that the T-90 had taken up a holding position within stone's throw. "That tank's gonna be a problem."
"Maybe," Shinji whispered.
"Shinji, Newman," Chief called on the radio. "Where are you two?"
"We're in a bit of a bind, Chief," Newman replied. "There's a tank almost sitting on top of us and Ivan's covering the area like ants."
"Newman," Shinji tapped the Guardsman's shoulder, "Look where it stopped…" Right over the weak spot in the lot. "We still have some C-4 left…"
"And explosions make good distractions," Newman smiled. "Chief, we've got a plan. We'll rendezvous at Point Hotel."
"Make it quick." They quietly moved back to the cracked area and deposited the rest of their C-4 right underneath the tank. They then moved to the end of the drain system on the opposite end of the lot. Outside, there was a pair of Russians just casually standing around. "We'll have to time this right," Newman said as he drew out his knife. Shinji drew his pistol, its round would be quieter than his rifle, especially if there were any secondary explosions. Shinji raised the detonator in his left hand and, with a nod from Newman, started the fireworks.
The explosion rang their ears as it ripped through the drain system. But it shocked the Russians the most. Newman led the charge outside as he tackled his target and drove his knife into the Russian's throat. Shinji dropped his target with a single shot as he spun around, the bullet entering the throat just under the chin, then deflecting and exiting out the base of the skull; the Russian was dead before he hit the ground.
A quick check of their periphery showed no more Russians, so they hoofed it into an apartment complex and evaded their pursuers. The Russians wouldn't notice their dead for another ten minutes; they were more concerned about the tank rounds exploding inside one of their vehicles. But, by then the guerillas had disappeared into the city.
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August 22, 2016 0:47 EDT
51st Guards Airborne Regiment, 106th Guards Airborne Division
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
"You are certain there were only two?" Colonel Vorobiev asked the sergeant.
"Yes, sir," the sergeant replied. "A sniper and his spotter, no doubt. Special operations, for certain. Maybe Marine Scout-Sniper."
"We have no reports of any American Marine units this far north," the Colonel retorted. "Unless they are indeed SOCOM." He turned to the other officer in the room. "What are your thoughts, Captain?"
"Suggesting the unit affiliation would be premature," Captain Sergei Tokarev, of the Russian Spetsnaz, replied. "And though I agree American Special Ops are now within the city I disagree with the assumption that it was just the two shooters."
"Why?"
"The destruction of your missile launchers, with precision ordnance, could only have been possible with a designation device. Couple their destruction with the death of your executive officer," he noted the pained look on the Colonel's face, "it is unlikely that it was just the two of them." He pointed out on the drawing of the building. "The designator would have to have been in this area of the building, on the upper floor, and too far removed from the area where the snipers took their shot. In fact, it's only luck that some of your men at the check point were looking in that direction to spot the muzzle flash. No," he shook his head, "I would venture that it is a full team in our AO; anywhere from a half-dozen to twenty, at most, counting indigenous forces."
"Two BM-30 launchers destroyed, along with one of my tanks…" the Colonel shook his head. "We have too few working combat vehicles, even with our modified civilian gun trucks."
"I have already begun sending out hunter-killer teams to locate and eliminate this special operations team, comrade," Tokarev reassured the Colonel. "They will also deal with any of these 'Wolverines' they happen to find."
"I know your reputation, Captain," Vorobiev looked into the soldier's eyes. "I heard about what happened in Baltimore."
"This is a punitive operation, is it not, Colonel?"
"Be that as it may, we are still soldiers. We don't butcher civilians."
"And what of the American soldier who butchered hundreds of our civilians?"
"That does not justify us to behave like monsters. Take care of the American special forces and any other armed combatants you encounter," the colonel said.
"Understood, Comrade Colonel," the Spetsnaz captain replied sourly.
"Be sure to get it done quickly. Things are not looking good at the front and we must be ready for the Yankee's counter-attack."