Going to War

by burmafrd

AR, very AU. No Aliens. CC. Mostly Liz/Max. All hail Jason Katims for creating it; but he also messed it up as well. This is just for Fun. This is still our Liz, just different going in a different way. No Roswell.

8. Chapter 8

"We hope to get a simulator for it about the same time the actual birds come."

It took a week to get authorization for Liz to see the assembly plant; it was at Groom Lake. Which was VERY secretive at the best of times.

"OK, people we have a visitor coming to see what we are doing. A Major Elizabeth Parker from 160th SOAR. I guess they want to look at what they are getting. Probably pissed off that we have slipped 6 months on delivery."

"Like it's our fault that factory screwed up and used the wrong drawing?"

"We be the final stop so we get the grief. Goes with the territory, man."

"So we have to make nice from some broad that got her rank from screwing someone?" Came from a young worker leaning back in his chair with his feet up.

One other worker, older, walked up to him and kicked his chair over. With a yelp he fell to the floor. The older worker stood over him.

"Say anything bad about her again and I will break your legs."

Then he walked out of the room. The kid on the floor was stunned.

"What the hell was that about?"

One other worker smirked at him.

"She blew away a Taliban that was about to shoot a RPG into the chopper his kid brother was on. That answer your question, stupid?"

Another man was following the older worker as he went outside.

"Come on, Ted, the kid was just being a kid."

"I know, but if not for her they would have been picking up pieces of my kid brother with a tweezer. He told me that was the one time in the whole tour he was scared shitless. He saw it coming; was sure he was dead; then the turkey blew into pieces when she put a 30MM HE round into him. That dink is lucky my brother wasn't here; he would already have the broken legs."

The whole situation going to Groom Lake was amusing to Liz. First a security briefing about how you do not ask questions and do not do this and do not do that. Then being flown into the base in a plane with blacked out windows. It lands and taxis to a hanger. Then you are put on a bus with blacked out windows. Finally you get out of the bus and go into a building and get another security briefing. Finally she was taken into the work area where they were assembling the new Apache's. The building is huge and filled with parts; but only a relatively small work crew is there. About 10-12 men. Liz is taken around to see various ones at different stages of assembly. As exhibits they have some structural parts alongside some parts from regular Apache's. Picking them up the difference in weight was huge. The briefer smiled at the look on Liz's face as she then looked at the Titanium part vs the steel part.

"These parts are made by a new process only recently discovered. It is a titanium alloy with parts of other materials that is classified so highly that I imagine only a few people anywhere now it. It is not just a new alloy of titanium, but the actual manufacture process is different. The highest grades of steel were in certain alloys still a good bit stronger than titanium. But this titanium surpasses all known steel alloys. 2000 lbs of weight is saved using it on the main structural members of the frame and body. It is 20% stronger than any steel; and 60% stronger than the original Apache. Yet its weight is even less than normal titanium alloys used today. And it is also more flexible which means the structure will last longer due to much less metal fatigue."

Looking at the cockpit area, he pointed to the areas where the improved Kevlar armor would better protect the pilot and copilot. Then to the wings which for the first time would be fully integrated with the flight control system; unless locked out for weapon use. Liz noticed that the wings were different as well. The briefer nodded at her question.

"New launch pods for both the 2.75 and the Hellfire have also been designed. They will be rectangular not round for the 2.75 or square for the Hellfire. And for the 2.75 will give you 21 rockets instead of 19. Now this would look like a problem as that spreads them out under the wing. The difference is that the pods will go on top of the wing while the new flatter design auxiliary tanks will go under the wing. And there will be a gap that allows airflow over and under the wings that will give you lift. The wings will be capable of a much greater range of movement; which will allow you to shoot at a 60 degree angle, up or down. That will allow shooting 2.75 rockets at a higher altitude. Or dropping down and shooting them up. More flexibility. You will be able to carry four auxiliary tanks and 4 pods at the same time. Once again made possible by the significantly stronger yet lighter alloys in the wing. But you can use the old pods as well; the fixtures will be there if needed. The rocket and hellfire pods can be attached to the top of the wing or the bottom; and if you choose you can double your weapon load and have 8 pods; 4 on top and 4 on bottom."

Then he showed her the engines; or mockups anyway.

"They are even more powerful than the current Rolls Royce engines on the Weyland Apache's. And the system allows the use of all that power. They should also last longer and be less maintenance intensive."

Then they came to the Fenestron Rotor fan for the tail.

"Once again the new alloys at work. This rotor will be lighter but stronger; and the electric motor will give you more thrust then the mechanical one now used. The tail assembly is as you see much thinner. Titanium conduit and two separate cables to power the motor makes this a much more damage resistant area."

Then to the landing gear.

"They will fully retract in flight to rest against the belly of the aircraft; lessening wind resistance. In an emergency they have come up with a CO2 powered cartridge that deploy the gear if the rest of the system is out."

"One of the great complaints over the years was the chin guns jamming due to being exposed to the elements, though various things tried have helped alleviate that problem. They have worked on and have come up with a way to enclose the gun in a fiberglass casing that will give it a greatly increased amount of protection from dust and sand and the like."

Then he showed her the avionics board for the pilot and copilot.

"This is very different than the current Apache; we had several apache pilots advising on this so as to make it simpler and easier to work with. You will have full infrared spectrum capability that can be adjusted for what you need and will work to compensate for the temperature and conditions. That should make night work much easier; you will have the feed available to you on a screen on the board or it can be fed to your helmet and you can view it on your visor."

And a few other things.

"Your ECM and ECCM is much improved; and you will have automatic chaff and flare dispensers as missile defense; that system is what is just about to be installed on the F-22 so it is the best there is; the threat computer will identify the threat and automatically dispense them as needed. Your Sidewinders will be tied into the weapon system so as to give you the same anti air capability as any current fighter has. Furthermore you can also carry the AMRAAM as well."

After all this Liz was a little limp as she made her trip back. This really would be a Super Apache; in some respects able to survive an anti aircraft envelope that up to now only fighters could. She knew that SF operations and thus the 160th SOAR would now and then be in a situation where you would have to worry about that. The weapons capability was also increased; and the capability of the wings to give lift and direction would also make a big difference.

The briefer had really been proud of the new aircraft and for all intents and purposes it would be. Actually very little of the old apache would be in this model. Liz found herself really eager to fly her.

"Well, what does it look like?"

"It is not as great, but in some respects it is like comparing a car made in the 1970's to one made now. It seems as advanced; which makes sense as the original Apache was designed in the 70's. They are putting in systems and features only just built. If it all works, this will be a huge improvement over the Apache in every way. We will be able to carry twice the weapons load; and also have auxiliary tanks and still carry a regular weapons load. No more having to mix and match and compromise for long range missions. He did say that the air refueling system will be different then what is used on the Black Hawk but he did not know what it was."

Colonel Ballard blinked at all this; Liz was certainly glowing with enthusiasm; making her look years younger than 28.

"So does that change your idea about having Little Bird pilots go to the standard Apache first?"

"Actually it emphasizes it. This will be even more complicated to learn and fly; even if they have made some improvements to the cockpit to simplify some things. So going to a Longbow Apache first I would consider an absolute requirement."

"So do you think they will make their new schedule."

"Not a chance."

Now that surprised him.

"I was told last week that they would."

"BS. They have yet to complete one yet. From what I could see, maybe in a week or two the first one will be done. It will go faster after that as they get more familiar with it; the parts are there. One of the problems is that a couple of components have been delayed for various reasons. And unfortunately they are ones that prevent them from going much farther than half way. I saw about 6 that were in that stage. I am pretty sure they got the final components only a week or so ago. They did not say anything but I have eyes."

"I was told they had several already completed."

"I really doubt it unless they have moved them out of the building which I guess is possible. But everything I saw indicated otherwise. Now I think by the end of the month they could have several nearly done. And more next month; but then it will slow down again. I am willing to bet they will not have a full company done until December at the earliest; and then they have to be test flown and checked out and that will probably take a couple of weeks for each one. I would say that they will not send us a company until March or April; maybe later."

He sighed. "Well, nothing we can do about it. So you might as well get started on that training plan."

And she did. After looking at the standard training program for SOAR pilots and copilots, she began to cobble together one that would take a Little Bird or Black Hawk pilot from their current chopper to a regular Apache then to the Super Apache. By necessity it had to be vague as regards the Super Apache as she had not flown one yet nor even sat in a finished one's cockpit. She made it a point to talk to the pilots of both aircraft and then showed them her rough drafts. They had suggestions about some of the steps as regards the Little Birds and Black Hawk. Liz talked to them about the Apache; only the Black Hawk pilots had dealt with anything that sophisticated and even then it was very different than the Apache's. Liz talked them into letting her ride in a couple Black Hawk as Copilot so she could get a feel of the cockpit; it was very advanced and very interesting. Their descriptions of various missions showed they needed every bit of it to get it done. She was rather surprised that none of them had come from Apache's; a couple had cadged rides in one but that was all. And those had flown A models, not the much more advanced Longbows.

One thing Liz saw clearly is that 160th SOAR pilots considered anything normal as boring. One of the reasons, of course, that they had gone to the 160th. That made Liz wonder how they flew on missions. She did not think they flew wild or crazy or careless, but she did wonder.

Liz looked at the current training programs and found they were really vague. After talking to the others she found that was standard. New Pilots were taken in hand by old pilots and taught the ropes personally and apparently as they saw fit. Liz did not think much of this idea and thus made certain that her training plan was a lot more specific. She realized that flexibility was the keyword for the 160th; no argument for a unit that did a lot of very bizarre and different missions. But they should come in trained on normal and standard flying, then adjust and adapt from there. They needed a base to start from. She did not doubt that anyone coming in was already experienced, but that did not mean they were doing it right. She was not surprised when Colonel Ballard appointed her as training officer for the new Apache companies. She thought back to that meeting.

"You know Apache's and how to fight them well. So we need to start there. As the only one in the unit that has flown them in combat, you need to write the parameters. I understand no one really knows what you can do with the Super Apache's, but at least you have good knowledge of what can be done with a regular one. That will be the baseline until we have experience with the new bird. This is going to be a real learning experience for all of us. Mistakes will be made but as long as we learn from them we will get to where we need to be."

Liz steadily worked through the next month on the plans; it was going to be a fairly complicated transition.

The beginning of August and Liz was saddened but not surprised to be told that the 5th Group Commander and his G4 and his chief of security would be retiring. She met Major Fresnel by chance and found that he was acting Base Security Commander; a new one would be coming in soon. Liz nodded sadly.

"Your comment about everyone needing new jobs is coming true."

"I was getting out next year anyway; so for me it's not too bad. Bottom line is that we all screwed the pooch; that should not have happened and would not have happened if we had been doing our jobs right. There were all sorts of warning signs that we ignored or missed."

That night Liz was curled up with Max after Aliya had gone to bed.

"In a couple of months almost all of the people that were in those meetings about the ASP's will be retired or on their way out. They will let the General and the Division G4 serve out the rest of the year and they will be gone as well."

"Honey, maybe they really did not make too many mistakes but in the end if you are in a situation like they were in and missed what had to be several warning signs that each of them should have seen, then it is not unfair of them to pay for it."

"True. Still it is depressing."

"I am still amazed that they have been able to keep this out of the media."

"The four of them pleaded guilty so no court martial. They are doing time at Leavenworth. No one wants it to get out about the SA-14's. I would not be surprised if they got reduced sentences by agreeing to keep quiet. The number of people that actually knew about the SA-14's was pretty small. So maybe it is not that big of a surprise."

A couple of local reporters had heard rumors about trouble at the ASP's, but when told that Major Parker was cleaning up the mess as she had done years ago and not hearing anything more, had dropped the story. It was not big news even if Major Parker usually meant big news.

By the end of August Liz had about done the training plan; and the 160th Commander had her then go over and redo all the training plans for all the different types of helicopters. Then look at all the SOP's and procedures for all aviation operations of the 160th SOAR. Liz realized that this was to keep her busy but still it was a lot. And Liz did think it needed to be done; she had talked to the Group commander on that.

"Sir, do you have a minute?"

"Certainly Major."

"Sir since you assigned me the task of reviewing all aviation procedures in the group I have gone over all of them and I need to get a decision from you."

"What is it?"

"Maybe I am over reacting somewhat; I am new to Special Ops. But I happen to think that most of them are too vague and too loose. I understand that improvisation and flexibility is vital to Special Ops; but I think more needs to go into them. I believe before you can throw the book away you need to read it first. Understand the standard ways things are done before you start working on bending them every which way."

He grinned. "Why do you think I gave this assignment to you? Just to keep you busy until after the baby comes? I have been of that mind ever since I took command last year, but I do not have the time to do it and frankly there is no one in the group that can do it well. I think you can."

Liz blinked. "Oh. Yes Sir."

He grinned again. "Really was not expecting that, were you."

"No sir. So I guess I dive right back in."

"I would like them done before you go on maternity leave."

"Yes sir."

As September began, Liz finally began to noticeably show. Then on her small figure it did not take much. Though she was as of yet the only woman pilot, there were other women in 160th SOAR. Maintenance and staff positions, though others would be opening. She was surprised that they seemed in awe of her, but as she became noticeably pregnant they seemed to finally realize that she was a woman just like them. And that broke the ice. Liz began to eat lunch with them, and talk more with them. Which was good as Liz felt the need to have women around her as her pregnancy progressed. Men were just too uncomfortable with her.

After a few weeks, Liz decided to broach the subject.

"Guys, were you really intimidated by me when I first got here? Because it seemed that way."

Janice, a crew chief for Black Hawk, laughed.

"Liz, of course we were. You seem to have a hard time realizing that you are one of the most famous women in the world."

"Oh, come on, that is a little much."

Delta, a maintenance tech, shook her head.

"Liz, you have a page on Wikipedia. There are websites about you. Just last month you got on the list of 25 most admired American women."

Liz's mouth dropped open.

"Really?"

All the women there laughed.

Janice grinned.

"Liz we all like you because you really do not believe all the press that was written about you. Or take it seriously. Which is a big difference from most celebrities; even some of our more famous SF types and the like. Frankly I consider you a true Hero. As we all do. And yes we were intimidated by you when you first came. Until we got to know you. Now you are just one of the guys to us. But we know what you have done; and think it is great you are here with us now."

October was when the Crew decided to get married; all three of them at once. To say it was a fairly big deal was an understatement. It was held in town at a large church; and Liz was Matron of Honor for all three. She was glad the dress was such that her pregnancy was not made more obvious. It was a lovely ceremony and also a lot of fun with three bouquets and three garters to throw.

The whole division had relaxed when it was disclosed that they would not deploy again for at least another 2 years. With the demands in Iraq all but gone, or at least greatly curtailed, Afghanistan was the only real hot war and it had subsided some to a more simmering nature. With the need down, it was decided that units would deploy as a division once every three years. Now demands for SF and Special Ops were about the same; they were carrying more of the fight in Afghanistan now. Regular units were more into force protection and garrison duty. Ruth was very happy that Joe had got recruiting duty and gotten in locally so they did not have to move. Susan and Becky were also much more relaxed with the extra time and reduced threat. Liz was happy that all her friends there would be around for a good while longer.

November came in as Liz was finally finishing re writing just about everything in the 160th SOAR but how to clean the toilets. At least that was how she felt. As she was beginning her 8th month, it was starting to get difficult to move around. Liz had been very careful to try and keep any hormone induced irascibility to a minimum, locking her office door when she started to feel one coming on. The Commander had put out the word that she was not to be bothered when her door was locked unless it was a critical need. He well remembered what his wife had gotten like at that stage of her pregnancy.

Max had been on the end of her temper a few times and had learned how to fade into the woodwork; for some reason Aliya had the least amount of trouble with Liz. Liz explained it to Max this way

"She just always makes me feel better when I see her."

Aliya was fascinated by the whole process and yet managed to not bother Liz too much. She was happy when Nancy took time off from work and came to stay with Liz on the 15th of December until at least a couple of weeks after the birth. Nancy and Liz and Aliya spent a lot of time just bonding and talking.

The last week before Christmas Liz was so big that she really found it hard to move around much at all. The Commander finally put his foot down and on the 21st told her to go and not come back.

So Liz began to vegetate as she put it. Unable to get up from a sofa or easy chair without help, it finally began to get to her. Aliya was home for Christmas break and Nancy was there as well. They worked hard to keep her occupied but it was not easy. Christmas day came and Liz was very happy to be able to spend it with her family; but just after noon she began to get cramps. And they persisted. Liz had had a view Braxton-Hicks contractions, but nothing like this. She began to think she was starting labor at around 6 PM. But she managed to hide it from everyone and went to bed at 9 PM. Max had dozed off quickly and she tried but was only able to nap. Luckily they had set the bed up so that she only had to roll off to get up; toilet breaks were fairly common. She was timing the contractions -she knew that is what they were- at 30 minutes apart by 3 AM. She had quietly left the bed to sit in a special chair Max had fixed up in the large master bathroom; the only one in the house that Liz did not need help to get out of.

Max woke up and looked at the clock; it said 5 AM. He noticed Liz was not in bed; he got up and went into the bath room where Liz was sitting in the chair, dozing, it looked like. Then she jerked up and groaned softly, holding her stomach. He went to her.

"Liz, are you OK?"

Liz sighed as the pain eased. "What time is it?"

"Just after 5."

Liz decided he needed to be told. "I am in labor. The pains are now 20 minutes apart. But my water has not broke."

"Liz, why didn't you tell me!"

"No point. And at least you got one last good night's sleep. That will not happen for a while."

"I am getting dressed and taking you to the hospital!"

Liz smiled at his semi panic. She had been worried but now strangely she felt calm. She just sat there as Max scrambled around; first getting dressed then waking up Nancy. Who told him to get a grip and calm down. After 15 minutes he came in and asked her what she wanted done.

"Get my bag. After my next contraction I will put something on and we will go."

Not very long after that another contraction hit and thankfully her water broke. That seemed to panic Max again so Liz sent him out and asked him to bring her mother in.

Nancy was totally unsurprised at how calm Liz was and how rattled Max was. Just seemed natural.

"Honey, how are you doing?"

"OK, mom, outside of thinking we need to bind and gag Max."

Nancy had to laugh at that.

"We need him to drive the car so there you are."

Liz thought about that for a moment and reluctantly nodded.

"I guess. Help me get something on and changed and clean this up."

At this time Aliya poked her head in.

"Momma, is the baby coming?"

"Yes it is honey. Max and I will be going to the hospital; Mom will stay with you. This is not going to happen soon; it might take the rest of the day."

And it just about did; James Alexander Evans was born at 445 in the afternoon. At 7lbs, 8 oz he was a pretty big baby.

Liz lay there, exhausted but very happy as she held her son and let him nurse for the first time. Max sat and stared in awe as his wife and child.

The next morning, the Crew and Posse showed up followed by the girls from the 160th. It was a constant stream all day. Liz and James went home that afternoon.

A new baby is exhausting as Liz and Max found out. But Nancy was able to stay for 2 weeks and that helped immensely. Maria, Tess, Isabelle came by for a few days each the week after and that helped as well. Finally it was just Max, Liz, James and Aliya. Fortunately after 3 weeks, James started sleeping more than an hour or so and had gotten up to two hours and sometimes three. So the pace slowed down to the point where Liz and Max were able to cope with the help of Aliya, who proved to be a natural at calming James down. Max had to go back to work after 4 weeks, so it became just Liz and James. Which Liz did not mind at all. Her son was a wonder to her.

After 6 weeks Liz had gotten herself back in shape after working very hard at it. The last two weeks she took James with her to work out at the gym; getting him used to other people and places. On the 12th of February Liz took James to day care and then went to work; it was a lot harder than she thought it would be.

She asked the commander about immediately scheduling her necessary training before she could start flying. And he did. The SERE came first; and that would be tough; he wanted her to have another month to get ready for that. There were some other things she could do before that. Then after the SERE would come the Officers Green Platoon which would last 3 weeks. Then came the orientation training with the Little Birds. For Liz some of the normal courses were cut out because she had already done them; such as the Night Vision training; and some of the other Aviation training. She was looking at about 16-18 weeks of training.

Liz had thought she was used to some tough times; but she was wrong; the aviation orientation not for the little bird was what she got done before SERE; that was tough.

This SERE was a lot tougher than the last one. But she gritted her teeth and made it through. But the Green Platoon for Officers was even worse; physically by far the most demanding she had ever even imagined. She dragged herself to her bunk and somehow managed to drag herself out. Day after day. She learned how to knife fight; how to disarm and disable and kill hand to hand at a level far beyond what she had learned years ago. How to survive and make weapons and eat things that would have made her throw up before this.

Then came the course in orientation for the Little Bird; this was heaven after hell for Liz. Even if it meant traveling to several different states for different terrain navigation and the like. The over water part was new; that was the hardest part but it was still flying and that meant everything.

12 weeks after starting it, on the 1st of June, Liz had completed all the training except for aircraft type. In other words the Super Apache.

The one really bad thing was how much time away from home she had been spending. Sometimes several weeks would go by before she could see Max and her family. She was just lucky that James was still too young to really notice. Even at 6 months.

More delays had come and finally the Super Apache's began to arrive late in May. Since no one had used Apache's in the 160th before, this was all new. And none of the pilots or copilots except Liz had flown one before except at Aviation school. So none had real experience.

After a week's leave to get to know her family again, Liz came back and was watching as the contractor signed over the first 8 Super Apache's. And as senior officer of the new Battalion present, she signed for them. Her Battalion Commander, Jack Del Rio, was taking care of business at the plant by raising hell about the rate of production. Jack, a pretty caustic guy and veteran 160th officer, had made it plain that she would be the one doing most of the heavy lifting as regards flight operations. Which suited Liz fine.

She looked at the other pilots and copilots; only 4 of them were officers, all 2nd Lts fresh out of flight school and OCS. All the other copilots were WO2. The other pilots were WO3. All were experienced pilots but none in attack; all were veterans of Blackhawks. Right now they had twice as many as they had birds. And the ground crews, fresh from their own orientation training in the new super Apache's, were itching to get their hands dirty. So she talked to them.

"OK, People here is the deal. We will not be getting the next 8 birds for another couple of months. So we will be all sharing these 8. I will make sure that everyone gets the same amount of flight time. Now I am the only one here with operational experience on the Longbow; though all of you have had time in training flying them. I am pulling rank and flying her first. Then we will start slow and figure out what the differences are. Ground crews will also switch off to gain experience. Company A starts things out of course; B Company will be formerly stood up as soon as the next 8 show up. So for the time being we will just have a very large company A."

Liz had chosen her copilot; she had gotten all of them together and had them get to know each other and then see if they could match up. It had seemed to work OK. Her copilot was WO2 Doug Sanders, a 27 year old who had joined up as a grunt at 18 and then at 23 had gone to WO school then aviation. He had done one tour in Iraq as a Blackhawk pilot then had come here. He had taken the downgrade to Copilot to fly the new bird. Liz was hoping to bump him up to pilot when the last company stood up in about 6-8 months. He was a quiet type, but when he spoke it meant something. He was also good. Liz had managed to work a deal with the 101st and they had let her fly their apache's and get the others some time on them while waiting for the new ones to arrive.

The Simulator program had had a lot of bugs and they had only gotten it working in the last month. So Liz took Doug and they got into the super bird.

The cockpit was a lot different than a Longbow, but better in Liz's mind. Simpler and less confusing. She cranked it up and after a few minutes of checking everything, took off. Right away she noticed the increased responsiveness and the extra power and less weight. They spent over an hour flying and trying her out; both of them. Then they landed.

Everyone gathered together to hear it from one of their own.

"It really is a hot bird; take a regular longbow and make it faster, quicker and lighter. You notice all of that as soon as you lift off."

She continued for a while then had Doug talk as well, orientating towards the copilots. Then one by one they all got a ride. Liz had scheduled the first couple of days as joy riding time so that the pilots could get a feel of the new bird.

There had been discussion about bringing one of the test pilots to teach but Liz had argued against it.

"We all learn together. That way no one has a real edge. Everyone is equal."

The training plan Liz had come up with took it slow; she did not want to push anyone hard on this. The Super Apache was a very hot ship and she did not want hot rodding.

One of the things that would be new for Liz was the capability of in-flight refueling. The Pave Lows and other larger helicopters had had that capability for a long time. But no Apache had ever had it. This one had the tube located on the belly and it would telescope out 15 feet. Which was different than usual; the other helicopters had a fixed refuel probe. Liz was firm that the crews would have a fair amount of time to get used to the craft before any refueling was attempted.

The first month they took baby steps; then slowly began to do more. They began to maneuver and start to find the limits of what they could do. Liz had everyone at the end of the day come in and talk about what they did and how it seemed to work. Then they began to night fly; and started to work at that. After two months, the beginning of August, Liz told the commander that they were now ready to try the refueling operation.

That was interesting; the AF had specialized C-130 Hercules that had been modified; very extensively modified to MC-130P and more. They were the choice for refueling Helicopters since the low speed of helicopters made any jet a bad risk since the stall speed of regular tankers was too close to the top speed of a helicopter.

The first time Liz tried it, it was a tense situation. There was some turbulence; they were at 8,000 feet at 70% throttle, going about 140 knots. They had found that the top speed of a Super Apache was right at 210 MPH; around 30 MPH faster than a regular Apache. Liz was focusing on the drogue as she maneuvered towards it; the refueling probe telescoped out and she put it right in on the first try; connected and held it for 5 minutes then disengaged and maneuvered away. All these attempts were dry runs; they would each do 10 dry runs before the real thing. This took the 16 pilots 2 days.

The second group of pilots and copilots came during the second month of training. Liz had modified the training program in some areas, finding that she had been cautious and speeded it up.

The first time Liz actually refueled was something to remember; she had run her Super Apache down to 30% and then refueled and the difference was noticeable; that extra weight had to be compensated for. Flying a suddenly much heavier ship required you to adjust in ways not before experienced. She estimated that in a few minutes the aircraft was almost 2000 lbs heavier; which was about 10% of its total weight. She wrote that down in her notes to make sure the others would be ready for it.

The second group of pilots would bring up the strength of the battalion to its TOE limit; and getting them going took more time. She was very busy; especially considering that the Battalion had so few officers compared to the Battalion she was used to. SP OP units traditionally were smaller; fewer staff weenies. But those weenies came in handy to take care of paperwork that flourished in every military unit. Outside of Jack, there was no other officer in the Battalion higher than a captain, and he ran the support company. As a matter of fact he was the only captain in the battalion. Of the 24 pilots, she was by far the most senior; the only Major, no captains, and only 6 Lts, 4 of them 2nd Lts. She had had an interesting discussion with Colonel Ballard and Jack about this.

"You know army regulations require commissioned officers above warrants for some of these duties; yet I hate to burden my pilots with so much of this crap."

Liz was letting off a little steam and both Colonel Ballard and Jack were very amused.

"I am tempted to just toss them and if someone asks I will say that the officer responsible was transferred and has not been replaced. I can probably get away with that for a couple of years at least."

At that Jack handed the Colonel a $20 bill. The Colonel grinned at Liz.

"Just won me $20, Liz. I bet you would say that before the end of the second month; he thought it would be the third."

Liz crossed her arms and glared at them.

"I am glad someone is getting some amusement out of all this."

Still grinning, Colonel Ballard spoke.

"Don't worry about it Liz. I know you try real hard to get it done; if it is not done do not let it bother you. They do not try and enforce it with Special Operations because they never get any support from higher command."

Getting a little more serious, he asked about the status.

"Another month and the first Company will be operational; two months for the second company now that all their birds are here and accepted. The third company – who knows when they get all their Choppers. Probably not until next year."

The colonel nodded. "That is good because we will have need of them by the end of the year."

That got Liz's attention. "Deployment or TDY?"

Spec Ops quite often would do a 2-3 month TDY a couple times a year without a full deployment.

"Since no one knows how things will go, almost certainly TDY the first time or two. The longer range, avionics capability, and fire power of the Super Apache is needed in Afghanistan on Special Operations. And elsewhere."

Liz understood what that last part meant. It was becoming clear that large numbers of the Taliban's leadership as well as Al Queeda were hiding in the border areas of Pakistan. The Pakistani government was weak and unable to control that area; the Army was reluctant to get involved and the ISI played both sides against the middle. It was something that Liz had heard about; the idea was growing that the SF was going to have to start playing hardball there. Which meant that longer range escort craft would be needed. And the possibility that they might have to defend themselves against Pakistani protectors of various areas. She also knew that the limitations of the Little Birds and Black Hawk combat versions were the major reasons behind the Super Apache.

"So they want to go as soon as we have two operational companies."

"Correct. They figure only one is needed at the moment so you can switch them out every few months, reducing the strain on personnel."

"So looking at deploying say in November through January or February?"

"That is what they would like."

"A Company could deploy now if they had to, B Company by October."

"They want to make the move when it gets cold in Northern Afghanistan and the Taliban hole up; they are easier to find."

Liz sat and thought. Then she looked at them.

"C Company can finish training using B Company's ships. So when do they want us to leave?"

"End of October, beginning of November. They want to be operational by mid November. I think 90 days will be about right; then B Company can replace A in January or early February. Then C Company can replace them in May. If they still want you there. This in some ways will be a test to see just how useful the Super Apache will be."

Jack nodded. "There are quite a few that think we spent too much for the difference between Longbows and the new birds. That we should have just gotten Longbows. Maybe modified with new avionics and refuelable. So this will be important."

Liz was quietly talking with Max that night. Holding James as he slept.

"It will be hard to leave; but three months is not bad. And as long as things do not heat up more we can send one Company at a time. The other Battalion will not be up and running for almost a year. And I have been pretty much told the success of the first couple of deployments might decide whether they will even build the next 24."

"3 months is a lot better than 12. And you are getting the feeling that you will not be as busy as you were before?'

"Pretty much a given. The Super Apache is their Sunday punch; not going to waste it doing stuff Little Birds are good at. Frankly a lot of the missions we did could have been done by the Kiowas. But everyone got warm fuzzies having Apache's that we got more calls then we really should have."

"Liz, face the fact that the reason everyone wanted Apache's was that you guys were that good. A Company especially but B Company from what I heard was pretty good as well. Only C Company was not but even they did fairly well."

"One thing I need to push with Jack and Colonel Ballard is that we need to get at least one more senior officer, at least a captain and hopefully a major, in the battalion. Because when B Company replaces A company, they will need someone other than a 1st Lt there."

"You thinking that they might keep you there even after A Company goes home?"

"It is a possibility."

Liz took that up with them a few days later.

"I know you do not like staff weenies and neither do I, but we need some more officers here. What happens when I leave with A Company and B company with only a 1st LT as senior officer?"

Colonel Ballard nodded.

"I know Liz, but the fact of the matter that finding aviation Captains and Majors wanting to come to SOAR is rare."

"Then pull one out of the other battalions. They do not have to be Apache drivers."

"We do not have that many, Liz, as you have noticed."

"They got more than we do. So Share the Wealth."

"Ok, OK. I will call around."

A week later a Captain from a Black Hawk battalion was transferred in. He had been injured in a training accident and it would be some time before he was certified for flight status. So he could take command of B company and free up Lt Harris to actually fight it. Will Manson was his name and he was a character that Liz liked on sight.

Liz looked up from her desk as a tall Blonde captain walked in her office.

"I am looking for Doberman."

"You found her. What's up?"

"I am Captain Will Manson and I just got shanghaied out of my nice comfortable nook and tossed into this mess of snarling vipers. All I was told was to find someone called Doberman."

Liz cocked her head. Was he for real? She doubted that anyone had not heard her call signs and did not know it was her in the 160th.

"Well, Captain, I told them I needed a slave with railroad tracks and you got the short straw. I hope you like 28 hour days and 8 day weeks. If so then you will fit right in."

Will then sat down and grinned at her.

"What can I do to get transferred out of this chicken outfit?"

"Get elected President. Nothing else will work. Your ass is mine."

"So what is the real story why I am here?"

"Actually the first response was not far off. We do not have enough officers in this battalion captain and above. You just raised the number by 33%."

"I will not be fully recovered for at least 3-4 months; probably 6. My elbow and arm need time to get back its full flexibility and time is the only thing that will work."

"You can sign your name, right?"

"Yeah."

"That is all that is required."

Will was to be a lot of fun in the weeks ahead. Openly questioning what he had done to get sentenced to this punishment detail. Liz kept it up by buying him a dog collar and chain and presenting it to him at a meeting one day. Of course he wore it. Liz then had a sign made up for his office that said 'Doberman's Bitch.'"

The countdown to deployment continued through the end of September and into October. Her company A was set; 2nd LT "Slinger" Harris was her second in command and 2nd Platoon commander; she had "Octopus" Johnson as her wingman; "Hammer" Clark , "Hannibal" Lecter as the rest of her platoon; then Slinger had "Romeo" Jones as his wingman and "Chuckee" Smith, "Rhino" Wilson rounding out the company. She had gotten a crew chief almost as good as Grunt in Sam Steed, who was a veteran 160th crewman that had been the top graduate in his class as specializing in the Super Apache. The rest of the support staff was very good, in Liz's somewhat biased view.

One difference in the way that the new Super Apache's would operate then the regular SOAR operated was that they tended to have small groups for most operations; Liz was determined to operate on any real serious mission with no less than a platoon. She worked Slinger extra hard to get him ready for command of the platoon without her around. As she had before, she shot all kinds of scenarios at the pilots and copilots, trying to make them think of how to handle the unexpected.

Liz managed to find some time off before going to get to Savanna and visit Maria and her friends there. It was a good few days. Despite their best efforts, the word had gotten out about the Super Apache's; but the media was stymied in their requests for interviews. SF and the 160th tended to ignore them and they were allowed to by the higher command. So Liz had been able to ignore all requests for interviews. That did not prevent them from speculating.

It just so happened that the second day of the three days that Liz, Max, Aliya and James spent at Maria's in Savanna they were watching the evening news. The 3rd ID had a brigade in Afghanistan so the local media had fairly extensive coverage of it. It was at the northern part, not far from Bagram where the Super Apache's would be in a month or so. This is what came on that night.

"In Channel 7's continuing coverage of the 3rd Brigades tour in Northern Afghanistan, we came upon this bit of information. It is hard to get anything out of Special Forces or Special Operations Command. But we have heard this: an alumni, one of the most famous ones, of the 3rd ID will be making her third tour to Afghanistan soon as a Major commanding a company of New what are called Super Apache's. Not much is known about them outside of the rumor that they have been seriously upgraded in all ways; hence the name Super Apache. But a lot is known about their commander, Major Elizabeth Parker. IT looks like Major Parker will be leading those Super Apache's in their inaugural combat tour; the Major transferred from the 101st Aviation Brigade to the 160th SOAR, Special Operations private air force. It can be safely said that quite a few people will be happy with the Major's return. Her Company A received the Presidential Unit Citation for having a full tour in which not one single allied soldier died while they were on the job escorting them. One hopes that Special Operations will not hog the Major's talents and allow her to continue her record protecting our troops and taking down America's enemies."

Liz sighed. "Oh, jeeze why don't they just say I can walk on water as well."

The others all laughed. Tess grinned. "That will be on your next commendation."

Isabelle agreed. "Give them time, Liz, they will think of it."

Maria just shook her head. "That is the problem with getting a reputation; you have to continue to live up to it."

It was very hard to leave Max and Aliya and James; but she was able to console herself with the realization that it was not a year, only 3 months. What was unexpected was the last minute decision to ship 8 new Super Apache's instead of taking the ones already broken in. Liz was not happy; but the company working them had put in some serious overtime to make up for the short falls and managed to convince the pentagon it was cheaper this way. The Idea was to leave that 8 there and just bring in the people; that way the unit could hit the ground running. Or so the theory went. Liz agreed with the part about leaving them there; she was just not happy to have unfumigated aircraft waiting for them.

They flew in on 15 November to Bagram. This time Liz had her own quarters; one of the improvements there. She would miss her friends but rightly figured she would not have much time for anything else anyway. And that was proven when only a week in she was asked when they could be combat ready. The second day there they had gotten their Apache's up and flying. As she had feared, some bugs were found. But they turned out to be relatively minor.

So when on 22 November she was asked to fly a mission she agreed. Turned out they wanted to start things with a real bang. They were going to hit a village right on the border up in the foot of the mountains. It was about 150 miles from Bagram. 8 Black Hawks and Liz's company would make the assault. The village was spread out so that was why the numbers. And it would be a night assault. This was not done much anymore as it had engendered lots of bad publicity. However this was thought to be a wholly Taliban village so it did not matter.

It had been found that with a full combat load and two auxiliary tanks, the Super Apache could make a strike at 150 miles and still have almost two hours of loiter time. A MC-130 tanker was on call if anyone needed more juice. The Black Hawks also had an auxiliary tank and would stay on the ground; a little distance from the village, guarded by one platoon while the other stayed over the target.

The new night vision goggles were a definite improvement, but it had been found that the gun sight tied into the sensors of the Super Apache was better by a good margin. So the pilots would be using that. The method would be for the copilot to take the stick at the target while the pilot used the gun sight for plinking of any Taliban found.

The village would be hit from all four sides at once; overwhelming it. Liz partialed out her company at two to each side. She went with the mission commander coming in from the west. They would hit it at exactly midnight.

It was the Black Hawks that they had to slow down for; wide open they took an hour to make it to the village. There was no pause they went in and hit the village as fast as they could.

Liz looked through her gun site and could see people starting to run around as the Black Hawks landed and the SF surged into the village. Liz and the others began to pot shoot the figures they could see shooting at the SF.

It was surreal; the sites were so much better than the Longbows. But in a way it was bad; you could see the bodies come apart as the 30MM HE round exploded them. Liz turned off the feeling part of her brain and became a machine; she was Nemesis. One after another. Finally the SF was too close and she quit. Then sent Slinger and the 2nd Platoon to watch over the resting black hawks.

Meanwhile they stayed at 300 feet, watching as the SF moved quickly through the village.

One difference with the 160th was that they did not send reserve black hawks; they did not load them to capacity. Though a MEDEVAC was with them.

Only 30 Minutes was needed before the word came in for extraction. Only minor wounds. And so the first mission was done.

Mission debriefs were a little different; if nothing unusual had happened or if no one had any comments it was over quickly.

There were the Direct Action Penetrators, the special version of the MH-60L, at Bagram as well. Liz met some of them and got the impression that they were not happy that Super Apache's were taking their place. Well that was their problem.

After that first mission they came thick and heavy for the next two weeks before bad weather shut things down. They were all night attacks; and all were successful to varying degrees. Liz considered it a successful mission if no one was killed. That was one record she was determined to keep. None was as big; so Liz split up the company and let Slinger take some on his own; he was developing nicely.

They were grounded for two days and Liz was grateful for the rest. Only one mission a night but they were more stressful than day missions. One big difference she had noted from the last time over 2 years ago that she had been there was that there was less action near Bagram; it was all farther away. Looking at how it was going on elsewhere it was clear the southern command had made good progress and it was under control there. Kandahar was much quieter than it had been. The Aviation unit at Bagram currently was a NG composite unit; and it did not have a very good reputation as regards the attack battalion. They were one of the last units flying AH-64A's, and it showed. Their readiness was at 50%. Their Apache's were old and worn out. The light Attack battalion was good, and had been shouldering more of the load. Since the need was not as great as it had been, nothing was being done. Liz did not need a piano falling on her head to read the tea leaves; and neither did the Special Operations commander at Bagram, who had called her in the day after the first mission.

"Major, I am willing to bet you have noticed a few things about the NG Aviation Brigade we have here."

"If you mean the fact that the Apache Battalion is lucky to have half its craft flying at any one time, I have."

"The Kiowa Warrior Battalion is quite good; and they have been able to make up the shortfall so far."

"So far being the operative word."

"There you have it in a nutshell."

"How do we do this, sir?"

"If you are out on a mission and a request comes in you do what you can; otherwise I have to authorize it. Now mind you I will unless we have a serious mission in progress."

"Understood sir."

Liz quietly let her people know about this; they were not surprised either.

Slinger was blunt: "It's not just that their Apache's are old; their maintenance people are not all that either. And I have not heard good things about their leadership at all."

The rest of them agreed. Hammer put the period on it "Major, we know why we are here. Whether it is supporting SF or someone else. Doesn't really matter."

This was a very good unit, Liz knew. Was it as good as her first Company A? She was not sure; but the difference was not that great.

A week later another situation came up. They had done a couple of small missions, nothing much. Then a big one came up; much like the first one only not quite as far away. Liz still went with two auxiliary tanks, and a full combat load. Better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it, was her Mantra.

The mission went well in the respect that there were no casualties, but that was because there were only a few people in the Village. So it was a quick mission; half an hour on the ground and they were heading back.

The call sign for the company had been Hell Dogs; clearly a play on Liz's call sign. But she did not mind.

"Hell Dog Lead, this is Control. What is your fuel status?"

"Hell Dog Lead to Control. 60% at this time."

"Hell Dog Lead, we have a situation at hand. Switch to frequency 4."

"Hell Dog Lead, Roger. Switching to Frequency 4."

Someone is in trouble. "This is Hell Dog Lead, what is your situation?"

"Hell Dog Lead, we have Delta Alpha Papa's down at coordinates for Whisky Lima Sierra, need support."

Liz checked the coordinates; about 50 miles away. "Hell Dog Lead, we are 20 Mikes out."

"OK, People, heading 235 and balls to the wall!"

Considering they were less than 50 miles from Base, Liz decided to let the Hawks go home alone. So the whole company headed for a rescue mission.

They were all honking right at 200 mph, very nearly the maximum; that used fuel up fairly quick. Liz was considering asking for a tanker run. Then they were almost there and she was calling in.

"Hell Dog Lead to Whiskey Lima Sierra, we are 5 Mikes out, what is your situation?"

"Hell Dog Lead, we have two on the ground with hostiles closing in 5 clicks from you on your present course."

"Roger that."

"Doberman to Slinger, once you spot the objective, swing around to cover the other half of the perimeter."

"Roger that, Doberman."

Liz brought her platoon in hot, and spotted the two DAP's on the ground about 100 meters apart. And she spotted moving figures heading their way.

"Doberman to first platoon, spread out. Let's make sure there are no leaks."

And they let loose with 2.75's. With no village in the immediate vicinity, anyone running around at night in this weather was up to no good. And the intimidation factor of all those good sized explosions was not to be over looked as well.

In only a few minutes, there were no moving figures. Liz checked her gauges; then called out for fuel status from everyone. She had taught them from day one to conserve fuel and the habit had taken; no one was much under her numbers. They could stay for about 90 minutes before they had to leave.

"Hell Dog Lead to Whiskey Lima Sierra, what is the ETA on assistance?"

"Hell Dog Lead, pickup help is one hour away."

Liz groaned. It would take more time than that to head back and refuel.

"Hell Dog Lead to Whiskey Lima Sierra, we have 90 Mikes before bingo status."

"Roger that, will call for juice patrol."

And so they waited. Liz did consider landing and idling half for 45 minutes; then the other half. She worked on the numbers and found that that would only buy them another half hour.

"Whiskey Lima Sierra, juice man will arrive in 40 mikes."

Relieved, Liz smiled. "Roger that."

"Doberman to Slinger, head for the barn; we will keep watch."

"Roger that, Doberman."

Liz then set up the refueling; one by one they would head up to 5000 feet and wait for contact with the tanker. It would pass back and forth over the area while it refueled them. The Apache with the least would head up first. She surveyed the area; it was doubtful anyone would bother them. But they had to keep a sharp eye out. They did not want one to get close with a RPG.

"Tanker Man to Hell Dog Lead, we are open for business."

"Hell Dog Lead to Tanker Man, we are waiting; give us course and altitude and your first customer will be there."

One by one they went up and fueled up. When Liz went up, last, she took her up to 5000 feet and accelerated to 140 Knots and spotted the tanker in the light of the half moon, even before infrared picked it up; Radar of course had him.

She moved up behind him and spotted the drogue and maneuvered toward it; it took a few minutes but she connected on her first try. It did not take long and her main tank was full. The only bad part about the system was that they could not fill up the auxiliary tanks. The pumps were only one way. However, that would still give them a full two more hours plus what was left in their auxiliaries; once informed of the tanking Liz had ordered everyone to switch to their main tank and empty it as much as possible. Liz decided in the future to have them use up their main tanks first for just this contingency.

Their mission had been scheduled for 0200; it was now getting close to 0400; about 2 hrs till dawn. The two Chinooks had arrived and they were working on slinging the Black Hawks; it would not take long.

The rest of the mission was smooth as they were out of there by 0500, and since the Chinooks had to go slow, they did not reach the Base until almost dawn.

The debrief for both was short. Liz once again got the impression that the DAP guys were jealous; and now that they had been rescued it was worse.

Liz then pulled her people together to announce a change in procedures.

"From now on we will use our primary tank until it gets to 10% and then we will switch to auxiliary. However, prior to take off we will test all auxiliary tanks to make sure that the system is working."

With all the extra paperwork and other demands on her time, Liz had very little downtime at all. Mostly to eat and sleep. The one good thing was that time seemed to fly by.

3 Days after the rescue of the DAP's, they had to do it again. Two DAP's supporting a SF S & D mission were hit by 12.7MM and crash landed. The NG Apache's, of which only 10 of 24 were flyable, were fully committed to two other missions. The Range was too far for Little Birds; and the Kiowa warrior Battalion was also fully committed elsewhere; since for once the SF was working the day shift. So Liz had to hustle and get her ready platoon off on short notice. It had been decided to have one platoon fueled and ready to go on short notice; it caused more work for the ground crew but Liz, after consultation with the SF Commander, bearing in mind the situation with the NG Apache Battalion, chose to have them ready to go. If a mission was not scheduled that day or night, one platoon was kept ready anyway. Otherwise they all were.

Liz had them started up and moving within 30 minutes of the message; a new record. The DAP's were over 125 miles away; so it took them at full throttle 40 minutes to get there. They found the Taliban closing in on both DAP's which had been able to use their side guns but had been driven out as the Taliban closed in; both DAP's had taken more hits from RPG's and were burning. Liz came in low and hot and after quickly identifying where the SF was from the purple smoke, ordered her people to hose the area with 2.75's. That took care of most of the Taliban that were close and drove the rest back. They were able to locate the 12.7MM MGs and destroy them as well. Then they began to look for any hiding place and put several 30MM rds in it. The two DAP's had landed and taken off at the same place and the Taliban had been able to move the MGs close and wait for them to come back and pick up the SF. Right behind Liz was 2 MEDEVAC's and two Black Hawks from the NG. At the moment the SF had nothing else available.

After Liz and the others had sanitized the area, the MEDEVACS and Black Hawks landed. The MEDEVACS soon took off with the wounded and the Black Hawks took the rest. Then the mission commander ordered Liz to completely destroy the DAP's, that were in pretty bad shape anyway. The SF was unable to get close enough to set demo charges due to the fires. They needed to make sure nothing classified was captured. So Liz set it up for all four to target each DAP in turn and hit it with a Hellfire. Two to concentrate on the engine area and two to concentrate on the cockpit area. 4 Hellfires can do a lot of damage and they virtually obliterated the DAP's. Then Liz had them do it again on the pieces they could see; using 30MM. After almost half an hour of blasting, there were only very small pieces left and Liz headed them home, escorting the Black Hawks.

At the debrief Liz was closely questioned about the destruction of the DAP's; the Intelligence officer was satisfied that nothing worthwhile could be left. He congratulated Liz on being thorough. Of the 4 DAP pilots, two had been seriously injured and two slightly injured. Luckily no one had been killed.

Liz was summoned to a meeting to the SF and Aviation chief that afternoon. It was just the three of them in the SF compound in the SF commanders' office.

The Aviation commander started it off.

"We only had 4 DAP's here at the moment; so with two gone and two others needing major repairs that will take at least a couple of weeks, we have none. 4 more are going to be moved here but that will take a month; we do not have that many total anyway. So, Major Parker, you will have to cover their missions. We will have to bring in more Black Hawks to compensate, but that will take a couple of weeks. So for the time being we will have to rely on what we can scrape up and what we can borrow from the NG. And their Black Hawks are not set up as ours are; so range will be a problem. We will probably have to set up refueling points, which means using some of our Chinooks or borrowing some of theirs."

Liz was curious. "What is the story with the NG Brigade? I have not heard of any this bad or even close."

The SF Aviation chief sighed. "This is not to leave this room, but the CO of that brigade was a political appointee that should never have been approved. His XO is not much better; and they populated the command with buddies and yes men. Already reports have gone up the chain about them; they have only been here about 3 months. They actually have some good pilots, but their maintenance section is also weak and their operational status is pathetic. And with old equipment, which is what they mostly have, that makes things even worse."

Liz shook her head. "This brigade needs to be relieved."

"Yes it does. But the brass is unwilling to yet make that move for political reasons."

Liz left the office thinking hard. This was a disaster waiting to happen; and it was clear that the higher command in Washington was very reluctant to move. The Brigade came from a politically powerful state. Her people were going to be put to risk because of this, and all the other people who depended on that Aviation Brigade to support them. She took a deep breath and tried to decide what to do. She could email her congressman, but the reality was that that might take time to get things moving without a bigger push. So Liz decided to take a personal risk and talk to a reporter. She just had to figure which one.

There were numerous reporters wandering around Bagram; but to pick one that would not out her was the problem. She knew if she was identified that there would be big trouble for her. If she had to she could take it, but she preferred to not be the sacrificial lamb. Then she figured out how to do it. She wrote up a quick brief of the problems and why; then made sure there was no way to identify where it came from and made copies. Then late that evening she slunk by the press room and left them laying there where they would be found in the morning.

By noon of the next day it was all over the base because several of the reporters were trying to get verification. Which was not hard to get as it was pretty obvious once you knew what to look for.

By the time the base commander was fielding questions and the various national news organizations were starting to wake up to a real juicy scandal, Liz was safely off on a fairly routine mission; Slinger taking one and Liz the other in a resupply of some SF advance bases. There was very little action. They got back in mid afternoon to hear that it had made the national news.

And then Liz got a phone call from the congressman. Liz had splurged and bought a satellite cell phone so she could talk to Max and her family when she wanted to. She got the call in her office writing up the report on the mission.

"Liz, this is your favorite Congressman."

"Good to hear from you sir."

"You might not think so after this call. We just got the word here of a media storm about a messed up NG Aviation Brigade. Is it true?"

"Yes Sir it is messed up bad."

"Unable to continue the mission?"

"Sir they have only been here 3 months and just a day ago only 10 out of 24 Apaches were operational. That is only the beginning. It is bad sir."

"OK. I just wanted to be sure. Take Care, Liz."

"You as well sir."

"I am not getting shot at."

Liz took a deep breath; there was no one around so she relaxed some.

Liz made sure to stay in her office and then her quarters for the rest of that day; luckily no missions came up.

The next morning at 0800 she was told to get to the Base Commanders office.

Liz was a little scared that someone had figured out it had been her, maybe someone had seen something.

She was shown into the main conference room and found several high ranking officers there from the Brits and others of the Multi National force. She began to relax a little at the sight of them.

Then the commanding general of the Afghan theatre in place; not CENTCOM, but the 3 star overseeing the overall campaign in Afghanistan came in along with the Base commander and others including the SF Commander and his Aviation Chief.

The 3 Star started it off.

"I am sure you have all heard about the controversy with the NG Aviation Brigade. It got leaked regarding their problems; it was fairly detailed on what was wrong there. The Media is on this like starving wolves on a big fat cow. The facts are that the NG Brigade was failing in its mission and it was only going to get worse. I had already spoken to CENTCOM about taking action; but it was delayed for various reasons. It no longer is now that it is not only National News in the US, but in most of the allied countries as well. So effective as of one hour ago the Brigade commander and his XO have been relieved for cause. All his battalion commanders have also been relieved for cause. This has never happened before. So now we have to pick up the pieces. It is clear that just relieving the commanders are not enough; this Brigade is fairly rotten and its equipment and aircraft are old and dilapidated. It should never have been sent. So another brigade will be sent to take its place but that will take time. At least two months to get one here and get it up and running. We will be diverting one that was about to deploy to Iraq. In the meantime the SF Aviation Chief will be acting commander of what is left of the brigade. We will be bringing officers in to take over the Battalions and leadership of the Brigade; and we will be making available parts and if necessary maintenance personnel to get what is here running as well as possible. One change immediately is that all the Apache's will be consolidated under the command of Major Parker as a provisional battalion. Major Parker, let me assure you that you have all necessary authority to take what actions are necessary to get more out of them. As an experienced Apache Pilot and commander, you are the best person available. I want to assure all those here as representatives of the Allied Coalition that we will do all we can to clean up this mess."

The SF Aviation chief motioned for Liz to follow him out of the meeting at that point; Liz was happy to go. They went into another conference room and he closed the door.

"I am going to be pulling one of the XO's from our Blackhawk Battalion and putting him in charge of their Black Hawks. Their Chinook people are pretty good so I am letting their XO take over for the time being. The XO of their Kiowa Battalion is good as well; that unit was doing decently and should improve with better leadership. Their Apache Battalion was the real overall weak point; that and their Brigade maintenance. I have people flying in for most of those positions. But we need to know how bad it is with the Apache's right now. So I want you to go down there and take over immediately. And take some of your maintenance people as well to see how bad it is."

Liz thought for a minute. "We have a couple of people that worked on the Longbow Apache; not sure if we have anyone that worked on the A model. But they can certainly get a good idea of the situation. I will head over and collect them and descend on the NG guys like the wrath of God if I need to."

He grinned at that. "You have experience at taking over screwed up units; so have at it. Like the general said, anyone you do not think is up to the job relieve him. You have full authority."

Liz gathered her thoughts as she drove back to the Operations area. She could not complain as she had set this all in motion.

She walked into Operations not at all surprised to see everyone there. Bad news always travels fast. She immediately pulled Sam to her office.

"Sam, does anyone on maintenance have experience with the A model of the Apache?"

He thought for a minute. "Ed Wilson might know something; he worked on them for quite a while before coming to the SOAR in 2008."

"Would anyone else know anything?"

"I can ask but I don't think so."

"Get asking and get Ed here ASAP."

Liz went back into the main area and held up her hands to forestall more questions.

"OK here it is short and sweet. Because of the media firestorm, the Brigade Commander and XO and all the Battalion commanders were relieved for cause. They will be sending a brigade supposed to go to Iraq here to take its place. But in the meantime everything has to be covered. So they are going to throw all of their apache's together with ours to make a provisional Battalion with me as Commander. They also relieved the Apache Battalion XO as well. I am about to head over there and give them the word."

Leaving them to chew on that Liz saw Sam coming with Ed in tow. She signaled them to come into the office. They came in and she closed the door.

"OK, Ed what do you know about A model Apache's?"

"I worked on them for three years before I transferred here; my unit was just getting the Longbow when I left."

"Good. You are coming with me when I take over the NG Apache's. I want you to look them over and their situation. I need to know what we need to get to increase their operational status."

Wasting no further time Liz got her vehicle and she and Ed headed over to where the NG flight line and hangers were. Arriving Liz looked around; then went into their operations building. The first couple of offices she came to were empty but the lights everywhere were on. Finally they got to the break room area where she could hear some arguments going on. She squared her shoulders and marched in. She signaled Ed and he nodded.

"ATTENTION!" yelled Ed and that shut everyone up as Liz walked in the room.

They were at least soldier enough to go to attention.

"At Ease. I am Major Elizabeth Parker and for the time being I will be your commanding officer by order of General McCafferty, Afghan Theatre Commander. I do not have to tell you why this has happened. So no bitching about that. It is done and get used to it. This battalion will be merged with my unit of the 160th SOAR until a replacement Brigade arrives and becomes operational. That is at least two months off. Now I want to see all of the Officers and Crew chiefs starting by seniority. Sgt Wilson will be checking into the maintenance end of things." She walked over to a larger office and saw that it was the Commanders office and went inside and sat at the desk. A captain followed her in. "Name and position and experience."

"Captain Ralph Vinceenes, A Company commander. 3 years, 600 hours."

Liz started making notes as they came in one by one. Overall they did not look bad and none of them were inexperienced; though to her mind the hours did not line up with the years. But it was NG. She had racked up over 600 hours in her last tour. She had almost 1900 total. The Crew Chiefs did not seem bad at all.

She walked out after the last one and found them all waiting.

"For the moment nothing operational will change. Company and platoon commanders will remain as is. But I want to make this clear: I will roll anyone I do not think is good enough." She then walked to where Ed was and motioned him into the office. She closed the door and pointed at the chair and he sat.

"OK. What do you think so far?"

"SO far I think the crew chiefs are competent. I think it was more the leadership and the absolute failure of their maintenance section. Every one of the crew chiefs told me that they had a hard time getting spare parts. I think the operational status would improve greatly just having the necessary parts."

Liz nodded. "OK let's go to the hangers and have a look."

Liz came out of the office and looked at the people gathered there.

"At this moment this unit is grounded. So I want everyone here to write a one page suggestion for how things can be improved. If you do not want to sign it that is fine. Get it done and drop it off on the desk in there."

Then Liz and Ed headed out and went to the hangers. They first went into the offices and Liz confronted the captain that was there.

"I am Major Parker and for the time being I am in command. I want to see your spare parts storage."

There was not much there. Liz looked at the Captain"Why in HELL is there not more spare parts?"

"Sir, we order but nothing has come in since I got here."

"Where is the maintenance Commanders office?"

He took them to a locked office. She turned to the Captain. "Who has the keys?"

"Colonel Jones. He always locks it when he leaves at any time."

She turned to Ed. "Kick it in." The door was not all that solid and it only took one good kick for it to pop open. They went in and started going through the office; she told the Captain to look in the filing cabinet for those order forms. She told Ed to look over the rest of the office and she started going through his desk.

The members of the battalion were working on that paper Liz had ordered when four SF sergeants came in. "We are looking for Major Parker; where is she?"

"Hanger." They trooped out.

The Captain had found the orders; they had sat in the file. Ed had found other paperwork just sitting on the table; some of it was several weeks old. Liz, digging through the desk, found letters from the National Guard Bureau requesting information on orders of non military equipment. Liz looked at them and then found a bottom drawer that was locked as well. She looked up at Ed.

"Get a crowbar."

The SF troopers came in and found Liz. "Major Parker, the Group Commander has assigned us to be your protective detail. He is of the opinion that you might have some resistance to your assumption of command."

Liz rolled her eyes and then patted the side arm she was never without in Afghanistan. "Sergeant, I am quite capable of shooting someone if I have to."

Ed came back in with the crowbar and pried the drawer open. Liz reached in and pulled out some order forms for various things. They were on government forms and they were for non military items. Just on one page there was over $5000 for things like a small utility trailer. Liz sat back; that was where all the money had been going.

At that moment a Lt Colonel came barging in.

"Who are you and what reason did you have for breaking into my office!"

Liz stood up slowly. "It is no longer your office by order of the Theatre Commander. You have been relieved for cause. I am Major Parker and you are under arrest. Sergeant, take him into custody and deliver him to security. The charges are theft and misappropriation of government funds." She then waved the forms to the suddenly pale colonel. The sergeant and one of his men moved to the Colonel. "Sir, you will come with us." And they marched him out.

Liz then looked at the captain and Ed. "Ed, call security and tell them we need an investigator here ASAP. I don't know if they have CID but if they don't whoever has that assignment. Captain, I want you and whoever you need to help you start figuring out what is needed to bring the Battalion back to full operational status." She then pulled out her cell phone.

"Sir, I just had Colonel Barnes arrested for theft and misappropriation of government funds. I found order forms for civilian items in his desk drawer; the funds came out of the maintenance budget. The amount of spare parts on hand will not last one company more than a week or so of missions. The orders were filled out and filed here in his office. He kept it locked so no one could find out."

"Yes Sir. I am betting hundreds of thousands of dollars. My question is: would he have been able to sign off on that?"

"I thought so. This might go higher even then brigade. I found letters from the NGB questioning some purchases; they were copy furnished to the state NG Commander."

"Yes sir, Security has been notified and I have asked for an investigator."

Liz shut it off and looked at the two of them. "Ed, wait here for the Security detail. Captain, get started on those requests. We will need enough to last at least 60 days and better make it 90 to be safe."

"Yes sir."

Liz then headed back to the operations building. Her escort following.

She walked in and checked the office; there was a neat stack of papers; she looked at the people. "Everyone done?" she then picked up the stack.

"I just ordered the arrest of Colonel Barnes for theft and misappropriation of government funds. Those spare parts that you should have got; the money got used for their purposes. They stole from the government, the people and from you; the support you should have gotten. Well that ends now. I will do all I can to make sure you have the parts and support you need. If you show me you are good at your jobs, I will make sure your evaluations show that. Do a job for me and I will have your back."

She then walked out and went back to her office at the Spec Ops flight line. Once again with escort.

She then went over the papers. Most of them bitched about the lack of support; some of it was about the company commanders but Liz was a little leery of what they said; she would be more likely to suspect them. Overall she did not see anything to really worry about. Well that was good. Then her office phone rang.

"Major, this is Sergeant Wilson. They do have CID here and they are investigating. What do you want me to do now?"

"Check with that Captain and see if he needs help; if not take the rest of the day off."

"ROGER that sir."

Liz smiled at that and put down the phone. Then she called the SF Maintenance chief. "Captain Dawson? Major Parker. Doing things our way, how fast can you get parts from the US? We are going to need a lot of A model Apache parts; and I would not be surprised if they also need Kiowa Warrior, Blackhawk and Chinook parts. Some of that we might have; see how much we can let them have and still maintain operations for a while. Talk to Captain Wallace at the NG maintenance section. He is working on the list now for Apache's, A model."

She then called the Aviation Commander.

"Sir, spare parts are at the critical level for the Apache. I have a bad feeling it might not be all that much better for the others. I have Captain Dawson working on that problem now and the NG captain working on what they need for the Apache. Yes Sir."

Meanwhile the SECDEF was getting a phone call from the Theatre commander.

"Sir, Major Parker has already found evidence that the CID is looking at that shows theft on a massive scale. Money for parts diverted for private use. The Spare parts issue comes from that. What makes it worse was that she found enquiries from the NGB about some of those orders on government forms using government money and they were copy furnished to the State NG Commander. Yes Sir it seems to get worse by the hour. I will keep you informed."

SECDEF sighed and picked up another Phone. "I need to see the President soon; it is serious."

Liz gathered her company.

"As of now, let's get all the Apache's armed and fueled. No telling how long it may take to get the other guys up and running. So for the time being we are it for the heavy hitters. For the time being one platoon will ready for 1 hr response."

At 1600 Liz got a call for another meeting at HQ. She still had her detail, which now insisted on driving her vehicle.

This time it was the Theatre commander, G4, SF commander, Aviation Commander, CID commander, and Liz.

The theatre commander noticed Liz's detail and asked the SF commander

"Major Parker seems to have a bigger detail than I do?"

"Sir, all things considered I thought it might not be a bad idea until things settle down."

"Probably a good idea."

He then waited until Liz sat down.

"Major Asher of CID will make his preliminary report."

"Following up on Major Parker's initial report, after a thorough check of all Maintenance records and offices, substantial evidence of continued and large scale fraud was found. The total will probably reach several million dollars. At this time it is hard to determine when it started, but it has been ongoing now for at least 2 years. It is also likely that officials of the State NG bureau were involved all the way up to and including the state NG Commander."

The general then nodded to the G4.

"At this time, we are still working on just how much is needed to bring them back into solid operational status. All the units were short on spare parts; the Apache Battalion especially."

He then gestured to the Aviation Commander.

"The leadership at the top was either incompetent or corrupt. All officers over captain with the exception of XO's of the Kiowa warrior battalion and the Chinook Battalion have been relieved. They appear competent to assume command at least temporarily. Major Parker will take over consolidating the Apache battalion with her company. I am reassigning one of my XO's to take over one Black Hawk Battalion. At this time I think consolidating the battalions of the Black Hawks is a reasonable answer."

He then looked at Liz. "Major Parker, what is your evaluation at this time of the Apache Battalion?"

"Sir, their leadership stank. From what I have seen, I think that the majority are reasonably competent. I am not going to even bother to read the evals of the relieved officers; clearly favoritism and the like were rampant. What I am going to do if there are no calls for support tomorrow is go up in one of their operational Apache's as the copilot for a check ride of each of their pilots. I should be able to get that done in one day. I will then know just how good their pilots are. The spare parts situation is critical; I have been discussing that with our SF Maintenance personnel to see what they can spare for the other units. I have the Captain from the Apache Maintenance section working on a list for parts needed to last the Battalion for 90 days; he should have that list finished sometime today. We need to get that list off and response as fast as possible."

The general looked at his G4. "As soon as that list is ready it will be considered a critical national security priority. Have maintenance send us a 90 Day supply of estimated parts needs for the helicopters of that brigade."

"Yes sir."

The general adjourned the meeting; the Aviation commander indicated he wanted to speak to the SF commander and the General. He nodded and waited for the others to leave.

"General, this might be a little much but I want to designate Major Parker as the Acting Brigade XO. She has a better grip on the situation than any of us do. And that would give her the authority to get anything fast done that needs to be done."

"That is putting a lot on her plate, Colonel."

"Yes sir but on the other hand she has experience at taking disaster areas and shaping them up quickly. She has done it twice before."

He looked at the SF commander. "Your thoughts?"

"I agree sir. It is a lot but she can handle it and probably better than anyone we can find for the foreseeable future."

"Very well. Get it done for my signature."

"Yes sir."

Liz headed back to her office; she looked around the building and considered some things. They had a lot more room in this building then they used. There had been several SF facilities built since she had been there last. She went out and saw the Maintenance Company commander.

"Captain Dawson, please come into my office."

He sat down and she closed the door.

"Would we have room if we relocated that Apache Battalion here?"

He blinked then thought about it. "Yes sir. It might get a little cramped but not too much." Liz nodded and picked up her phone.

"Sir, in the interests of efficiency and frankly to make my life a little easier I would like to relocate the NG Apache Battalion to our facility; we do have room."

"Thank you sir. OH. Yes sir." A little dazed she put down the phone.

"Major, what is it?"

"I just got made the acting XO of the NG Brigade."

"I would say congratulations but I think that that would be in error."

"yeah."

"This is a Fox News special report. Scandal in Afghanistan. The theatre Commander, Lt General Mccafferty, has relieved for cause the Commander and most of the senior officers of the NG Brigade from ….."

"This is a Fox News Special report. Scandal in Afghanistan. More information is slowly coming out of Bagram AFB where the NG Brigade from…"

"This is Fox News Tonight. It has been a very interesting day at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, to say the least. We now have information that the Senior officers of the NG brigade that were relieved this same day have been arrested for what is being called the largest theft and misappropriation of DOD funds in many years. This follows their relief due to the failure of the Brigade to fulfill its mission of supporting the American and Allied forces there. It now seems clear that the failure was due to the diversion of funds that were supposed to purchase spare parts for the Brigades helicopters. Those funds apparently went into the pockets of the Brigades senior officers or were used to purchase items such as TVs and other items for their own personal use. It is rumored that this scandal goes all the way to the office of the State NG Commander, Major General…."

With her new found authority Liz headed to the NG operations building.

She came into the office and whistled which needless to say got their attention.

"I have just been appointed acting Brigade XO. So I am giving this order right now. Pack up everything and move to the SF operations building that my Apache Company has been using. We have the room and it makes it simpler for me. Also your helicopters and maintenance section will move as well. We can tow the helicopters and it's not like there is much in the way of spare parts to move."

She saw Captain Wallace. "Captain, as of now you are Acting Battalion Maintenance commander. Is that list done?"

"Yes sir."

"Take it yourself up to the Theatre G4 at HQ. They are waiting for it. And inform them of your appointment."

"Yes sir."

She looked around. "Ok, everyone. CHOP CHOP. Let's get moving."

She then headed over to the SF operations building and saw that they were concentrating together and making room. It was not long before the NG people started to arrive. Liz assigned the company's to various rooms and the Maintenance people to others. It did get a little crowded but not much. She then went out and checked the Hanger; already Apache's were being pulled into the SF Hanger. By 2000 amazingly it was done. She looked around at everyone.

"OK, people, get something to eat and hit the sack. Tomorrow will be another busy day. I want all people here at 0700."

Just at that minute, a phone rang. One of the NG officers answered it. Then Looked at Liz. "Sir, a fire base under attack requests support."

Liz took a deep breath. Then looked at Slinger. "Your platoon was on alert today; looks like you get less sleep. OK your people do not have to report until 0900. Get to work. Everyone not with 2nd Platoon get outta here."

Liz lingered until they took off 35 Minutes later; the fire base was only 60 miles away; with luck they would be back and done before midnight. Liz then, with her detail, went and got something to eat. She took her detail with her into the senior officer's part of the Main Mess hall. Ignoring the looks of anyone who dared to glance her way. She was able to relax a little and then hit the sack with her alarm set for 0600. It was 2100.

She woke up at 0535, and instead of trying to get any more sleep she just got up and showered; it was nice having her own bathroom. She got out and headed to the mess hall for breakfast. Her detail was waiting for her. She asked them how long they were stuck with her; the Sergeant grinned.

"Major, this is an easy detail. We do not mind it at all."

They then got to Operations at 0630. To find most of them already there. She got details on Slinger's mission; they had gotten back at 2230. No problems. Her platoon was now armed and ready. She thanked Sam who shrugged and told her that it did not take long to arm them; the fuel was already in the tank. She then talked to the three captains commanding the companies; at the moment only 4-5 were operational in each. A total of 13 out of 24. 54%. Not good. She then told them that today they would be doing check rides and she would be riding in the copilot seat. She told them to get one fueled and ready, but not armed.

Then one by one she spent half an hour in the air with each pilot. They started at 0800 and finished at 2100. She did not think any of them were poor. But clearly the lack of spare parts had prevented them from flying as much as they should have been. She had forgotten how old the A Model's were; compared to hers they were like the Model T Ford. She would have to remember that they had nowhere near the capability at night hers had; but daytime they should be OK.

She was glad to spend the day in the air as things were still settling on the ground. While she waited for it to be refueled a couple of times she kept in touch with things. The word came that the parts request had been sent and was being filled as they spoke. They hoped to have it too them within 72 hours. Liz thought they might be a little optimistic due to the age of the A model. The Aviation commander had told her that they had put off a few missions in order to let things settle down; she told him she was grateful. The Maintenance people thought that the situation with the rest of the NG choppers was manageable for the short term with what they had on hand between them and the SF parts supply.

"This is Fox News tonight. The Continuing Fallout of the Scandal in Afghanistan has now reached the NG HQ of the State Brigade. The Major General in command has resigned; but information has come out that he will be charged as the officers of that brigade already have. The Governor, who appointed the General despite opposition, has claimed he had no knowledge of the purported thefts. But already there are calls for his resignation that are gaining strength at the State Capital; where our reporter…."

Liz's appointment as Acting Brigade XO had leaked out; and that garnered a fair amount of attention. The additional fact that she had consolidated the NG Apache's with her company also got out.

At Campbell there was a lot of shaking of heads. Liz had found herself another goat rope to unravel. At their get together, due to the weather inside one of the pavilions, the Crew + Husbands and the Posse + husbands talked about it.

Vicki shrugged. "They always seem to find a way to drop it in her lap."

Three good friends gathered at Maria's also shook their heads.

Tess put it best. "She might as well have a shovel in her office at all times."

The day after the check rides Liz was told that they needed to start flying again; she figured she should be grateful things had been that quiet. There were three missions for that day that required Apache support; one was fairly close and she gave that to the NG A company; they were able to put four in the air and did that one. Liz took the farthest one out that turned out to be the easiest; and Slinger took the third. All were relatively OK. No serious casualties or damage to any helicopters. While flying their check rides, Liz had talked to each pilot, impressing them on how she wanted things done. She had all the pilots working on scenarios and responses to situations. That afternoon a request for support from a UK Royal Commando Patrol Base came through and Liz took that one herself; it got a little hairy as the Taliban had managed to gather together a fairly respectable force. But they were clearly not the top of the line and were easy prey.

The following day things were pretty quiet; the only resupply operations were supported by Kiowa warriors. The SF was quiet for the moment; Little Birds escorting Blackhawks; and they had been able to replace the 2 Destroyed DAP's with 4 and the other two had been repaired so for the time being they were sufficient. The SF commander had told Liz, though, that they would have some big missions in the next couple of weeks that would need her whole company.

Liz found the paperwork of being the acting XO of a Brigade daunting; so she tried to ignore it as much as she could. She dived right into working on the NG apache battalion to try and shape them up. She got good news on that day as the word came that by virtually grabbing every single spare part from every unit that had any, it was possible to get the necessary bits and pieces that were needed to bring the Apache's up to code. They would be there the next day. So Liz decided to have all available maintenance people in the entire brigade plus SF to help out when the parts got there; they would work on every Apache. The Aviation Commander agreed and set it in motion.

Liz had the maintenance captain for the 160th plus Captain Wallace in her office and put it to them.

"We will have virtually every maintenance person available. Use the crew chiefs and crews as the primary workers and everyone else helping move the parts and hand the tools and the like. We should be able to put 4-5 people helping each of the birds. When that plane sets down, we have crews with forklifts moving to it right away and pulling the pallets of parts off. Then we will tear the pallets apart and lay them out in groups. We will put all the parts for each apache in one area and those parts will then be moved to their respective copters. Then they start working the Apache's. We work until they are too tired to do it right; then sleep and then start up until they are all done. If parts are not quite due replace them anyway; I want as close to a complete overhaul as we can get."

The C-5B landed at 0800 the next morning and they were ready; it was unloaded in one hour and in two more all the pallets had been separated into the parts for 24 Apache's. Then the spare ones were taken into the Hanger storage area. By noon they were working the Apache's. Liz was in the air as two resupply missions were scheduled for the morning and two for the afternoon. Thankfully there was very little for them to do. When she landed at 1600 that afternoon and checked on the progress, she was happy to see that the currently operational Apache's had been redone as requested; and the nonoperational Apache's were on their way. Her people were busy on their birds and some of the others had to go and work the Chinooks and Blackhawks used on the supply runs but otherwise the ground crews moved fast with the extra work; and as each Apache was done that crew began to help others. Having the extra hands to tear open and unpack boxes made a huge difference. By 2000 that night they were done and exhausted. She told everyone to hit the sack and not report until 0800 the next day.

"Fox News Special Report, the Scandal in Afghanistan. In only 5 days the scandal about the theft of money meant to keep the Helicopters running in Afghanistan has had major consequences in the US. Governor Banker has given notice he will resign; while still claiming no knowledge of the thefts. But the fact that he insisted on nominating the General clearly implicated for head of the State National guard has become too much for his party and he has been forced to hand in his resignation effective in 24 hours. Just yesterday the General was formally charged, bringing the total number of NG officers indicted to 16. Reporter…"

Liz was informed the next day that they wanted to start a campaign the day after. She had the whole Battalion flying that day; and drilled them hard. Then had them out firing all weapons until exhausted. She could see clear progress by the end of the day. The next morning at 0700 she had everyone in.

"OK people, now we get back to work. Today is the beginning of a campaign to hurt the Taliban bad. We will be flying night and day for the next several days to get things done. The A Models will be doing all the day flying and the Super Apache's will be doing the night flying. There will be 3 large missions each day and two smaller ones at night; all SF. We will do this as long as the machines hold up."

That day the NG Apache's headed out and got it done; they had a couple of hairy moments but nothing serious. They did well and had no damage; and outside of a few bullet holes in some Black Hawks there was none to any other ships. A few wounded but not badly on the ground. Liz and Slinger's missions that night were almost as routine; more shots fired by the Apache's but only minor wounds to any of the SF.

The next day was a little more hairy for the NG guys; they had a resupply mission that the Taliban tried to interrupt and it got tense for a while but they got it done. That night was also more tense for Liz as the village her group hit shot back with 12.7MM and damaged one of the SF Blackhawks; but not seriously and it was able to limp back to base. Liz personally hosed the area the shots came from and was pretty sure she had evened the score.

The next day was a bellwether for the NG; three big missions attacking larger villages that required solid support. And they got it done. After each mission Liz made sure to give them hard critiques; but to also give praise when it was due. Liz could see their confidence increasing as well as their abilities. They were good flyers; they just needed the leadership and support to get it done. That night two more missions for Liz and Slinger; virtual cake walks.

The batch of missions reached their crescendo on the 4th day when it was decided to hit even more targets. Liz, after being told that there would be no night mission, wanted to get it all done and they did 8 missions in the morning and 8 in the afternoon. One company splitting into its platoons for each mission. SF and the ground pounders got together and hit virtually every target available in the area. Some of them were quickly mounted and virtually every available Black Hawk and Chinook was used. The morning missions took off just before Dawn; and were all done by 1000; the afternoon missions took off at 1300 and got done just after dark. They did not do a mission debrief after the evening one because everyone was dropping. So Liz postponed it until the next morning.

There was a fair amount of shooting by everyone at one time or another that day. The SF fully extended itself using all its Little Birds and DAP's. At least two dozen targets overall were hit that day; an all-time record for Bagram. And amazingly no chopper was seriously damaged and only a few troopers were more than moderately wounded. This campaign convinced the remaining Taliban to virtually pack it in for the time being.

The next day Liz pulled everyone in for the last debriefing and to talk to them.

After it was over she looked at the assembled personnel; all the pilots, copilots and crews.

"People, we set an all-time record for number of targets hit in one day yesterday. The last four days were also a record. And not one chopper was seriously damaged and only a few troopers were more than moderately wounded, and we did not lost anyone. Meantime we put a serious hurt on the Taliban in this area. So pilots get your reports done and maintenance get your birds done; and as soon as you have finished those tasks, take the rest of the day off. You have fully earned it."

Liz got her own paperwork done then went to a meeting with the SF commander and Aviation commander.

The SF commander was cheerful.

"All our intelligence says the Taliban have abandoned their forward bases and have slinked back to Pakistan. This offensive really rocked them hard. They took a lot of losses, and there are indications a lot of their mid-level people got taken out. All the more reason for them to go and try and recover in what they think is their safe haven."

It did not take a piano to fall on Liz's head to know what was coming next.

"When do we start?"

"We start hitting their refuges in Pakistan tomorrow night. They will have just arrived and will not be moving much; that is their pattern. Predator and other intel tells us that these two moderately sized villages in this area of the tribal regions is where a lot of them are gathering. And we will hit them. The DAP's will hit two others, not as far away. These three near ones will be hit with Black Hawks and Little Birds. We think if we can clean out those 7 targets, this will hurt them so much they will be unable to do much of anything for several months."

The Aviation commander then took over.

"The two targets you will be a part of are the farthest into Pakistan; we will hit them right at midnight. We will have four tanker aircraft available tomorrow night for all our operations. One possible concern is that these two targets might have some fairly heavy defensive weapons. That means 23 MM and almost certainly several 12.7MM. It is also possible they might have some Russian SA-7's. Now they should pose no threat to you; your birds have those automatic systems which so far have been shown to be very effective against hand held systems."

Liz nodded, soberly. Then asked. "Is one of them supposed to be tougher than the other?"

"Yes. This one is more likely to have any heavy weaponry. I am guessing that is the one you will take."

"Of course sir. Commander's privilege and obligation."

"Another thing about this is that it will be Christmas Eve. So there is a very good chance they might think we will not hit them."

Liz blinked; she had actually forgotten.

Liz briefed her company that afternoon.

"Slinger will hit this target; 1st platoon will hit this target. Be warned; there will almost certainly be 12.7's; and probably 23MM. The good news is that it's a new moon and they will have a very hard time seeing anything. While we have our fancy toys. Now I do want to make this clear; these targets are in Pakistan, so make sure of what you shoot at. There will be a stink about this raid no matter what; but we have to do our best to make sure only those holding a weapon and shooting at us get waxed. That means while we will take a full combat load, we will primarily use our 30MM."

They took off at 1015; full combat and four auxiliary tanks; the first time they had gone at Max take off load. Liz could tell; the Apache was not happy. But she got off the ground and since they were going at the max speed of the SF Black Hawks, they burned a fair amount of fuel for the target that was 180 miles away. Since the SF birds were also at max fuel, they were a little slow that night. It took almost an hour and a half to get there. Per operating procedure, they had made sure all auxiliaries were working, and then switched over to the main. They used just over 60% getting there.

It had been decided to do it fast and mean; all 12 birds in a group, the Apache's on the outside and the Black Hawks inside. The Black Hawks swooped down and deposited their troops, and then lifted off and hovered at a slight distance; the Apache's just hovered. Resistance was light as it did appear they had gotten total surprise. Then some fighters started to appear; they got plinked. Two 12.7's opened up wildly and got toasted. Then it was virtually still; though they could see weapon flashes in the village; it appeared the SF had them on the run and they were backing off fast. Liz as she had planned then moved to the rear of the village, with Octopus at her side. A stream of people were running from the village; women and children mixed in. There were a few with arms but they were too close to the others and Liz held fire. Then the stream all but stopped; she could still see the flash of weapons fire but it was close to the end of the village. Soon a group, followed by another group was running. Liz zeroed in on the first group; several were armed; but only with pistols. Liz knew that that meant they were almost certainly Taliban. Liz fired 4 rds of 30MM HE right at their feet; they were tossed in the air, several legs flying off separate from the bodies. Then she targeted the second group that was firing into the village and blew them totally away. Right after that she could see SF troops quickly heading towards the two groups, concentrating on the group in front. She saw the flashes of camera's and then a couple of pistol shots as they made sure these Taliban would bother no one again. Right after that they got the word to withdraw. Liz pulled back and lined up her platoon.

"Doberman to everyone; be ready; if there is anything left they will fire when the hawks land."

And sure enough a 23MM opened up; Octopus saw it and hosed it; it scored no hits. And that was it. They took off when the Black Hawks did.

They were two thirds the way back when the call came.

"Lulu Baker 23 calling Hell Dog Lead."

"Hell Dog Lead, go ahead."

"Hell Dog Lead need some help at Xray Tango Golf 456"

Liz checked her fuel by habit; they had plenty. "Hell Dog Lead, roger that. ETA is 40 minutes."

The Commander of the strike team told Liz to take everyone; they were close enough. So Liz did; changing course and flooring it. The Apache's had switched over to the auxiliary one at the village; she ordered them to switch to 2. On the other side which would balance the bird again. They did better than she thought; she called in at the 30 Minute mark.

"Hell Dog Lead to Lulu Baker 23, we are 5 mikes out, what is the situation?"

"Hell dog Lead we have a downed Baker Hotel; recovery is 30 mikes out but we are at Bingo Status; contact them on frequency 3."

"Roger that." Liz then changed to that frequency, the others doing the same.

"Hell Dog Lead to Baker Hotel on the floor; how is the view?"

"Baker Hotel to Hell Dog Lead; view is fine now that you are here; nothing to see otherwise."

"Roger that, we will look around."

So Liz and the others; once they had pin pointed the downed Black Hawk, then looked over the area carefully; apparently they had been damaged but had been able to move some miles from the target and land in a fairly open area. So it was not hard to keep watch.

Nothing happened and 30 Mins later the Chinook arrived; another 30 minutes and they had the damaged black hawk in a sling and were moving towards the base. Liz escorting all the way home.

Once there she had heard that Slinger had also had to oversee a downed Black Hawk, about the same situation. But it was a mechanical fault; so they sent a repair crew and they got back not long after Liz did. Liz was glad to hear that no one had died and only that black hawk had been downed; some others were a little shot up but were ok. A lot of Taliban had been erased; and almost certainly a fair number of their mid-level leadership for that area. And this would make them retreat deeper into Pakistan, bringing them closer to the area that the Pakistani army operated and perhaps within range. Also it would make it harder for them to move back and forth across the border. Overall a good outcome.

As expected the Pakistani government protested the invasion; the US blandly said they were in hot pursuit of Taliban running from their recent defeat and the border was hard to figure out at night. Both sides knowing what it was all about.

A meeting with the SF commander later that day bore this out.

"The sensible ones in the Pakistani Government understand; but they have to say things for internal consumption. It is becoming clear our recent offensive crippled them and this last one all but finished them off."

Liz saw the Aviation commander and he was happy how things were going everywhere.

"The brass has made the decision that the NG Brigade will redeploy to Kuwait and await some new officers; then take the Brigades place that is coming here in Iraq. It is much easier duty and they will have time to get their act together. They are looking better all around. The brigade coming is from the 1st Infantry; they will be here January 24 and will be operational Feb 15. So you have about 6 weeks left. And so far the new Super Apache has been all we could ask. This should shut up the critics."

Liz was cheered up by that; depressed when she got back to her office and saw the piled up paperwork. Deciding to be like Scarlet O'Hara and putting it off for tomorrow, she went to check in with what was going on with the NG. They had on mission that morning; but two that afternoon, supply coverage. She talked to the pilots and then the maintenance people; they were all much more confident and the results were clear. Operational status was at 91%.

Liz headed back to her office and decided to take a whack at her paperwork; she was glad that the SF had withdrawn their detail; it had been embarrassing.

She finally left at 1900, having gotten through a fair amount of it, all the most important anyhow.

The weather went bad late that night, rather unexpectedly, and when she got up she looked out her window and realized no one would be flying that day. So she headed over to operations.

"OK, let's have a bull session. Talk about anything and everything."

That went on for over an hour and then Liz told them to take the rest of the day off. She then visited the hangers and talked to the crews and had them talk as well. Then she went and visited the Kiowa's, Black Hawks and Chinooks. After each she gave them the rest of the day off. So by noon everyone was free. And Liz got a feel on how the Brigade was doing. They were doing pretty well considering. She talked to the other acting Battalion commanders and they seemed ok. She then headed up to talk to the Aviation Commander.

He listened to her and agreed that the Brigade was shaping up. And congratulated her on being a large part of the reason.

He said as much to the Theatre Commander after he gave the daily evening briefing that he had wanted since the whole mess had started.

"So it really was the bad leadership and lack of support?"

"I would say so sir. This is a good brigade if well led and well supported. They have improved tremendously just in the last two weeks. Especially the Apache Battalion."

"Obviously much of that due to Major Parker."

"Most of that due to Major Parker. She had the reputation going in; and she immediately assumed command; then showed them she would lead. That getting all the maintenance people in the brigade to help rebuild the Apache's made a big impression. Then the fact that she led by example. Then stepped back and let the Company Commanders lead. Which gave them confidence. It all fed on itself in a good way. Then having a bunch of successful missions in a row like that. Today she talked to just about everyone in the Brigade, asking for input and letting them all have a gripe session. I do not think there is any doubt that anyone in that brigade would now follow her lead anywhere."

The theatre commander repeated most of that to CENTCOM in their daily conversation. Who passed it up the ladder to SECDEF.

Continuing a recent tradition, the new president elect had decided to keep his predecessors SECDEF. So he had a briefing and with only a little over three weeks to go before he took office, he wanted to know what was going on there.

"Sir, the situation in Iraq has become mostly a garrison situation; we just hope the next elections stabilize things there so we can complete our pullout. In Afghanistan our recent offensive in the north has all but crippled the Taliban there. In the south they got hurt as well and are probably done for a while until the weather warms up and they can rebuild somewhat. We will take advantage and keep the pressure on."

"That NG Brigade, how are they doing under new leadership?"

"Very well sir. Their Apache Battalion has improved tremendously."

"And if rumors are to be believed, most of that is due to Major Parker."

"Yes sir; she turned that unit around a full 180."

"She is due to take her company back soon, correct?"

"They are due back mid February. She would have gone sooner but is being held until combat operations conclude for her composite Battalion."

"A wise decision. I assume a suitable commendation will be forthcoming?"

"We are debating that now sir. She did quite a lot."

"Yes she did. Make sure that it is commensurate."

"Yes sir."

The weather cleared up but things stayed fairly quiet; she had the NG Apache's up and practicing firing and maneuvering; working the junior officers more. Outside of a few supply missions the next week was quiet.

On the 10th, she was called in for another meeting by the SF commander and Aviation commander.

The SF commander started it off.

"We have good intel that the Taliban senior leadership wants action up here; they do not care about the losses. So they are sending some more leaders here to take over and start things up again. We have a predator keeping track of them pretty well. Now normally they would have been taken out by the Predator putting a Hellfire into their vehicle. But the plan is to let them get to wherever they are going in the Tribal Area, then wait for more of them to gather before hitting them. But this also means that we will have to move fast. Probably only a few hours warning. And we will want to use your whole company. Odds are this will happen in the next 2-3 days. So you will need to have your ships ready each night. Daytime is OK, we will not move then."

Liz went right to Sam "For the next few days both Platoons will need to be armed and ready with full combat and fuel loads for a possible night mission."

Meanwhile Liz kept on pushing the NG to do better and they responded; she no longer felt she needed to go along or even push hard in the meetings; she more and more let the Captains do most if not all of it; she found it hard sometimes to take that step back but felt it was necessary. She was also informed that since things had improved so much TDY officers would not be sent and they would remain as it was. While a compliment, she would have been happy to have less work.

Clearly the SF was waiting for the moment to strike and had put off anything else. So for a while Liz really had less to do; so she went to work on the paperwork she had been ignoring. Then every so often she would tour the NG Brigade sections to see what was going on. She had taken to try and do that when she could. Being Brigade XO was a pain most of the time, but it did allow her to make quick decisions. The Aviation Commander had pretty much left the operation of the Brigade in her hands.

On the afternoon of the second day of waiting, Liz got the word that the mission was a go. She immediately started to gather the pilots; letting Sam know that they would be flying that night.

"OK, people we have a night mission. The SF have been keeping track of new Taliban arrivals. The word is that the senior Taliban types have demanded action and have sent some new leadership in to get it started. They will be across the border, of course, and a fair distance at that. So we will be going with max fuel and combat load. And one more thing this time. We will be carrying Sidewinders as well. Almost certainly we will not need them, but just in case."

At 1800 Liz got the formal briefing from the Intel weenie. The SF commander and aviation commander were the only other ones in the room.

"We have substantiated information that several of the more senior level leadership is being sent. They have been very careful; they are mindful of satellite and Predators. But we have still been able to track two of them to the site. We expect more to show up this evening. The actual meeting will probably be tomorrow during the daytime with them scattering as soon as it gets dark. They have picked a place almost 250 miles from here."

The Aviation commander then took over.

"We will be using our latest long range ships which means of course the Super Apache's and everything else. We will refuel as soon as the flights reach Afghan territory again on the way back. If necessary; we will have all four available tankers there. So we would be able to quickly refuel all aircraft."

Liz decided to broach a sensitive subject.

"I have ordered my Company to Arm with Sidewinders. How likely is their use?"

The Aviation commander considered that.

"The Pakistan Air Force does very limited night work; so frankly the chances are very slim."

Liz noticed the weenie was not comfortable. She concentrated on him.

"Captain, if there is information we should know spill it now."

BOTH of the other officers then focused on him. The SF commander spoke first

"Captain, you better not leave out anything no matter what your orders are or I guarantee you YOU will fry."

He still looked uncertain. Liz decided he needed more motivation; she was NOT going to take her people into a trap.

"Captain, let me make myself VERY clear. If something happens and I even suspect we were not told everything, I will kill you. Is that clear?"

Her voice was very quiet but there was no doubt in this room she meant it.

"Sir, this is not even official."

"Does not matter- I want the entire story."

"We have had some indications that a couple of very high ISI officers are going to meet with those Taliban. But we do not know when."

Liz looked at him hard. "If those officers want to meet with Taliban officials, now would be the time. They will not stay in one place long."

The Aviation Commander slowly nodded. "The ISI do have some highly trained operators of helicopters that we have equipped, not US made, that can fly at night."

Liz was thinking very hard. "They would not be meeting with mid level Taliban; only high level."

The SF Commander nodded. "Higher level then we have identified at this meeting."

Something was at the back of her mind. Liz thought harder; what had she heard? Then she remembered.

"If those ISI officers are some of the high level ones who have been helping out the Taliban, it would not be surprising if they were BRINGING that High Taliban official to the meeting."

The Captain looked pole axed, clearly he had not considered that possibility.

The other two were nodding slowly. The SF Commander mused.

"That makes a lot of sense; and why we have heard nothing about a high Taliban official; this area has been pounded and their forces pretty much destroyed; the remaining fighters have to have very low morale. Showing support from the ISI and a visit from a high Taliban official would do a lot to change that."

They decided to act on that assumption; the mission would move into the area and wait for the Helicopter. The Tankers would move closer, into Pakistan, to respond. Originally the attack was to be made at midnight; but now it was thought to hold it back to around 0200; but to have the forces there, nearby, within the range of the village for a quick move. The SF commander made a call to the Pentagon to have a satellite dedicated for that area; they would have good warning of the helicopter. And they would refuel at the border going in.

10 Black Hawks; 6 assault; 2 reserve and 2 MEDEVAC would be going with Liz's company. They left at 2200 and got to the border at 2300; then it took an hour to refuel everyone; they then headed to the target. They reached it on time and waited in an area 20 miles away. It was decided to land and idle to save fuel.

It was definitely nerve racking, sitting on the ground in Pakistan over 200 miles from the base. 0100 came and nothing, then at 0130 came the signal; but it was not what was expected.

"Control to Neighborhood Watch; 3 targets at bearing 155 moving on course 245 at 100 knots. ETA 15 minutes."

The SF Major in command then ordered them to move.

"Neighborhood Watch to Bodyguard; moving in 60 mikes."

"Bodyguard Roger that 60 MIKES."

No one had expected the two other helicopters; Liz was betting they were some of the Armies Huey Cobras, they had some night capability. There to escort. Liz then signaled command.

"Bodyguard to Neighborhood Watch; will take out extras after primary done."

"Neighborhood Watch, Roger That."

The minutes went by; Liz had already decided if the satellite showed them leaving she would chase them down and take them out.

They then headed out; Liz quickly got the two hovering helicopters on her screen; if they were staying the meeting would not last long. She quickly designated Slinger to take out the Escorts while she would do the transport chopper.

They were going slowly when she noted that the two escorts had stopped hovering and were now circling; she had a hunch that meant the chopper was taking off.

"Bodyguard to backstop; prepare to take your shots."

"Backstop to Bodyguard, Roger that."

Then the third helicopter took off. And the three of them started to move off and Liz had to make a decision.

"Bodyguard to Backstop; support Neighborhood Watch; we will get it done."

"Backstop to Bodyguard, Roger."

"Octopus, you take right hand escort; Hannibal take left hand; I will take center."

"Roger" came a chorus.

Liz waited another few minutes; they were still closing on the enemy; now within the envelope of the Sidewinder; now was the time.

"Everyone get lock."

She then targeted the middle helicopter and got the tone indicating lock on.

"FIRE!"

They all fired at once; it was only seconds and then the three missiles found their targets. Three fireballs. That dropped straight down and hit the ground.

"Let's get back to business people."

The SF was in the village and Slinger and company were doing some plinking, but not much. 30 minutes went by and then the world came for extraction.

It went without incident and with no MEDEVAC called in any wounds had to be minor. Liz then checked her fuel gages and figured they would have no trouble making it back. Sitting on the ground for that hour and a half had made the difference. They motored fast to the border and then slowed to cruising speed. They landed at 0530 still dark.

The Debrief consisted of Liz and her pilots and the SF mission commander and two of his officers. He told the debriefers that they had not been able to see the fireballs so none of his people knew about it. They had gotten all the Taliban in the village and Slinger had pot shooted a few escaping.

The next day the SF commander told Liz that Pakistan had reported two high ranking ISI officials dead in a helicopter crash. And two AH-1 Hueys crashed in a separate accident while training. No survivors from any of them. Liz nodded quietly. She was not proud of taking out the Hueys; they had been just ordinary Joes doing their job. Right after landing the Crew Chiefs had removed the Sidewinders; making sure very few people noticed that had been carrying and hopefully no one noticed that three had been fired.

They had only a month left; the replacement Brigade would be arriving the next week; and they would be up and running by the 15th of Feb. B Company would be in the week before. So Liz and Company A would be gone; the crew chiefs and crews as well; the rest of the maintenance people would remain.

As regards the NG Brigade, it would be going to Kuwait for two months and would receive new Senior Officers, then after giving each side to get used to the other, they would then go to Iraq. At least that was the plan. Then it changed.

Liz groaned as she went to another meeting at the head shed (HQ). She wondered what it was this time.

Theatre Commander; Deputy; G4; SF Commander; Aviation Commander. And her. Of course as Acting Brigade XO she would be nominally considered to be representing the Brigade rather than the Aviation commander who was in charge of all units.

The Theatre Commander was quick to the point.

"Due to the firestorm over the scandal, the state's congressional delegation has weighed in. They think that since the Brigade has been performing well, it should remain and complete the next 7 months of its mission. As a matter of pride. I am sure that a lot of the brigade feel differently, not to mention their families. I do not have to tell you that with the situation politically, with both sides very close to each other in both House and Senate in numbers, that that state has a lot of clout. And all members of the delegation, no matter which party, agree on this. So unless something changes, they will be staying. The brigade that was going to come here will go to Iraq as intended. Needless to say this messes them up pretty good. "

Liz sat there thinking; this probably meant she would stay as well. Which really hurt. Instead of one month away from going home now she would be 7 months away. And it would be a ground command as well; no flying. Well not until her company came back which would be just supposedly as she was going home; so now it meant 10 months. She looked up. The General had finished and was getting up to leave for another meeting. His Deputy stayed. The Aviation Commander looked at Liz.

"Contrary to what you are thinking, Major, you are not going to carry the can. Though I have no doubt the NG Apache Battalion would much rather you stayed in command a regular Apache Battalion commander from another unit will be brought in to take over. The upper echelon turnover will happen before you leave; but you will leave on the 15th as scheduled."

Liz smiled brightly and it seemed the whole room lit up.

"You are not going to get an argument from me."

"The captain you were training before you left, Captain Manson, has gotten his promotion to Major and will be coming to take your place as overall commander of the Super Apache's on base. He will stay until you return later on with A company again; if that is how it is going to happen; depending on how fast the other Battalion mans up."

Liz left the meeting feeling better in one respect; but less in another. The NG Brigade had been looking forward to getting out; however they would be going back to the states 5 months sooner than they would otherwise. The Aviation commander would call all the officers together in a meeting in the next hour to let them know. Liz decided to make herself scarce.