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.

9. Chapter 9

Liz made sure she got back to her office some time after the announcement. As expected the reactions were mixed. Some were put out but others recognized they would go home as originally scheduled and would not have the stigma of failing a deployment. So she thought things were going to be OK. Not too long later the three captains of the companies asked to see her and she brought them into her office.

"It is your nickel, guys."

Captain Vinceenes started.

"Some of the guys think otherwise, sir, but I for one would be glad to finish my deployment and get home in 7 months instead of 12. Afghanistan is hotter than Iraq, no question, but frankly for us the risks are minimal. Now the Black Hawk guys will probably see it differently." The other two nodded.

"Glad you feel that way. And I think it is the right way to look at it. When the General gave us the news, I at first thought I would not only have to stay through your deployment, but possibly another if my company came back again in 6 months. I was looking at another 10 months here. So frankly I am glad to go home."

Captain Vinceenes nodded. "Sir, I think I can speak for all of us in that we would much rather you stayed as our commanding officer. You have taught us a lot and you gave us a chance to prove ourselves. A lot of others would not have. You backed off in the last few weeks letting us fully command; showing you respected us. That means a great deal to me personally, sir."

Captain Adams agreed. "I was very close to calling it quits, Sir. But now I will not. And that is because of you. I wish you were staying but you earned going back having to put up with all of that mess to get us back to being a real Unit instead of a bunch of failures in uniform."

Captain Lawson echoed that. "Sir, I learned more in the last 2 months from you about flying then I learned in the last 3 years. I am a much better pilot and officer due to your teaching and example. I was ashamed to be a member of this unit even before the scandal; now I am not."

Liz blushed slightly but smiled brightly.

"Thank you all very much. I can assure you that if you keep up your present performance, you will continue to do very well. On a side not, I can also assure you and the other pilots that my evaluations of you will be good to very good. Not one pilot will receive a bad grade, as long as they do not screw up the last month I am in command."

Captain Vinceenes smiled broadly.

"If I may tell the rest of them that, it will ease a lot of them as regards staying. Of course the new commander will also give us evaluations at the end of the deployment, but it is yours that will carry more weight in the end. No one is going to take anyone else's word on how good a pilot one is over yours."

Liz blushed harder. "Sometimes my reputation does come in handy."

Liz was glad to see that the Apache Battalion was ok with things. Then she visited the others and they were not as happy, but she saw signs that they would be ok. They all agreed that losing her was the worst part of the deal.

The Taliban that was left in the area kept a very low profile; but farther south the situation in Northern Helmand Province and Northern Kandahar Province had heated up. A sustained campaign at the border had pushed a number of surviving Taliban up north. Kandahar City had improved but it was still a problem. The SF had kept up a continuing fight with them for over two years; they had made things better but it was a tough process. Which necessitated another meeting.

Liz came in the Aviation commander and the SF commander to find the Theatre Commander, His Deputy, and the UK senior officer in the country.

The Theatre Commander got right to the point.

"For the foreseeable future, this area is secured. The Taliban have been shattered. So we need to move the forces where they are needed. That means Kandahar, and Helmand Province. We want to move all the Apache's and most of the Black Hawks to Bastion. We will leave the Kiowas and two companies of the Black Hawks. That and the SF aircraft will be sufficient. We move in two days. There is an opportunity here to use available air power to take it to the Taliban."

The Aviation commander then took over.

"I am also delaying the redeployment of your company, Major Parker. The 160th SOAR has agreed to deploy your Company B with its aircraft; since the final company of your Battalion has become operational in the last week, it will stay and see to the standup of Company A of the 2nd Battalion. Two Companies will be kept operational in theatre. But the delay will only be an extra month. When you Leave C Company will take your place. That way there will be one veteran company in place while a new company comes in."

Liz left the meeting somewhat put out; she made it a point to call the 160th SOAR commander. She had been told none of this and she WAS the Battalion Commander.

He explained to her that the decision caught him by surprise as well. He had been told the day before. He thought that it happened because of C Company becoming operational earlier than expected. The choppers for A company, 6th Battalion, as it was technically known, had finished arriving this week. B company would be arriving with its choppers by air in several C-17's, next week. B Company had been training both C and A companies in their choppers; then in theirs and C companies. So they were ready. Sam would not arrive until just before Liz left so as to not step on her toes. B Company would go straight to Bastion. B would do 4 months; as they all would. With 6 companies they could keep 2 on and 4 off; deploy for 4 months out of 12.

Liz did not like the decisions forced on them from above, but bowed to the inevitable and headed to tell her people. She went to operations and found most of them waiting; word had spread something was up.

"OK, people change 3. We will move to FOB Bastion in 2 days. I got extended one month and they are bringing in my second company as well. They will be there in 2 days as well, straight from the states. So that makes 5 Companies of Apache's. Most of the Black Hawks are coming with us. The idea is to take it to the Taliban there like we did here. So Start PACKING NOW."

It was hectic but they did get there in two days; luckily Bastion had built some real hangers and so they were able to keep the Apache's in their bubbles, which they brought with them. The Brits came and looked at them as did the Dutch, and began to do the same.

Captain "Donut" Anderson had just gotten his promotion and was commander of Company B. He was a somewhat happy go lucky type and got along with Liz just fine; B Company seemed to be ready to rock; but Liz had them in and put them through the mill to be sure. Their answers were pretty good; and Liz had been sending mission reports back to the 160th SOAR and they had been reading them. Two days after the move they had a meeting with the British Commander of Bastion, with the RAF commander, SAS commander and the ground pounder comanders. They were of course different than the ones that had been there when Liz had been; but were cut of the same cloth. The two main ground units were 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland; and 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment; and also the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment. To Liz, it was simplified to the 5th Scots, 1st Irish, and the 2nd Para's. The 4th Regiment, Army Air Corp, Apache's were also present; supposedly 16 of them. If everyone was operational that would make a total of 56 Apache's. Which was where the real purpose of the meeting was.

The British Commander was straightforward.

"The Taliban have been battered to impotence in the East; and just about everywhere else in the country is on the run or hiding. This area is the last one where they are still fighting. If we can stamp on them NOW, that will be a huge blow they might never recover from; and even if they do it buys the Coalition time to strengthen the Afghan government and security forces. We have an unprecedented amount of aviation firepower at the ground support level; we need to take advantage of that. Since it is a mixed force, the RAF commander will exercise overall command of all forces. The main idea it to hit them is as many places as possible in as short a time as possible. To break them here."

He went on to sketch out the overall mission. The US Marines and their forces would be taking care of the area to the west; the UK forces would take care of everything North and South; east was mostly pacified. In an area about 200 miles north to south and 50 miles east to west, was concentrated the areas of contention. Targets were shown on a large map; there were over 50. Each represented a village or small town that had a significant Taliban presence. The Goal was to hit all of them in one month; more than once if necessary. They would all be air assaults so as to give the Taliban as little warning as possible. The reinforced Black Hawk and Apache forces would be used to the utmost.

He finished with this:

"It is not likely we will have an opportunity like this again. When the forces and situation are all concentrated in a relatively small area. The aviation situation will be clarified in the meeting following this. The Ground and Para commanders will be meeting to decide the priority of targets. Then the two groups will meet to finalize the campaign plan."

So they split off into two groups with the Commander leaving.

Liz , the RAF commander and the 4th Regiment commander in one and the SAS and the ground units in the other.

The RAF Commander spoke first.

"Major Parker, since you were designated the Brigade XO and operational commander, the overall US helicopter command coordination is up to you. Your Apache's and Black Hawks will form the majority of the helicopter assets. I realize that it is a lot for one person, even one with your record. I would recommend that the Major in command of the Black Hawks get together with our Major Alexander who commands our transport assets and they see if they can work things out together."

Liz nodded. "I have no problem with that; I will be busy enough as it is. Major Harkness is a good man and he should be able to get along with your Major Alexander. If he doesn't, I will kick him out and let Major Alexander take control."

The RAF Commander blinked at that. "Well, that is certainly quite fair."

He then moved on.

"I mean no slight to Major Wilkinson here, but I believe that overall command and coordination of the Apache's should be yours."

Clearly this had been discussed before as the Major quickly assented.

"This is my first tour in Afghanistan as a commander. Major Parker's record is very impressive. And hers will be the majority of the Apache's here. Command of them clearly belongs in one person, the most qualified person here."

"Thank you, Major Wilkinson. I will only be here for 2 months, before I leave. At that time I will recommend that you take over coordination as long as the Apache's are concentrated here. We need continuity if this is to work."

The RAF Commander was very satisfied with this arrangement and quickly ended the meeting to see if the ground pounders had managed to figure anything out.

Needless to say no real agreement had come; the sides had basically been the Para's and SAS vs the Ground Regiments. They took time out and Liz got ahold of Major Harkness and had him show up while the RAF Commander had gotten his Major Alexander to come as well. Liz took a moment to talk alone to the RAF Commander.

"Has the tension between the RAF and the SAS gotten any better?"

Ruefully he shook his head. "Not much; they are still like dogs who do not like each other. It is a pain."

Liz thought for a moment; then looked at him.

"As much as possible let's put them in our Black Hawks. They are used to SF and the like so they probably will get along with them better without the history those two have with each other."

"Agreed."

Majors Harkness and Alexander arrived and were informed of the arrangement and seemed to be willing to get along. Liz looked at the two groups still not agreeing and sighed. She looked at the RAF Commander.

"I can see why the Base Commander made himself scarce."

"Quite."

Deciding to see if she could break the deadlock she walked up to the 4 commanders.

"Gentlemen, let us leave who gets what up to chance. We have the targets; let us put the names of all 50 in a hat and have each draw; one after the other; until all the targets are drawn."

They looked startled, then thoughtful, and then one by one agreed.

Liz went to the board where very conveniently all targets were identified with a four digit character and number and took them off; the RAF Commander had his hat ready and she put them in the hat. She then looked at the four.

"Draw in order of who has been here the longest at Bastion."

In only 10 minutes it was done. Liz looked at the commander. "Are there any really high priority targets or are they all pretty much similar?"

"Intelligence has not really ranked them in any way that matters; and how important they are could shift over time."

"OK. So each commander looks at his list and decides the priority on his own. Then we look at each one and decide how much force will be needed. And schedule it accordingly; doing as many each day as we can. And this way there will be no pattern that the Taliban or anyone else will be able to figure out. Of course if new intel comes in making one or another target suddenly important we can adjust."

The RAF Commander looked at the four. "Any objections?" There were none.

"Very well; then I would say the four of you need to get with your staffs and figure out what you want done and when. Then once you do we will have a big meeting with all concerned parties and plan the campaign in detail."

Liz decided she wanted to talk to Major Wilkinson more about his two squadrons, and they went off to eat lunch at the Main Mess hall.

"So how long have you been in command?"

"One month before they deployed, their commander was in an automobile accident; he will be laid up for several more months. I was just about to take over the same command in 3 Regiment; so they pulled me here."

"And the unit has been here how long?"

"2 months."

"How are they doing?"

"656 Squadron is quite good; 664 not quite as good."

"What is the problem?"

"Not sure; just possibly some substandard pilots. Their Squadron Commander, Major Williston, believes that do to their green situation, they will get better. But so far I have not seen it."

"656 is very good, you said?"

"Yes. Their commander, Major Hyde-White, has them working very well. In the cases of the two squadrons here, neither commander is flying. Too much administrative detail."

"I can sympathize; it is a constant battle to wade through it; though I am lucky in one respect that I am not formally in command so a lot of the paperwork tends to get lost somewhere."

He grinned. "Your waste can must fill rapidly."

"ya. Two or three times a day."

"One thing everyone who has flown an Apache has wondered is just how much of a difference between the Super Apache and the Longbow."

"Wow. Where to begin? First the airframe is all titanium; so that took a huge amount of weight off. The engines are new; 15% more power than the old ones; which makes them about 10% more powerful than even yours. There are other things that have been done to cut weight, so that allows us to carry a lot more. The new wings; well you have seen them. We can carry four auxiliary tanks that are more aerodynamic while still having a full combat load with the new weapons pods. They are fully articulated with the stick; and can be adjusted to give us advantageous firing angles. The Avionics are like something out of Star Wars; they are that advanced. The Fenestron tail really helps cut down on that weight and air drag. Its electric so it does not bleed off power from the engines. We can air refuel; I could go on but you get the point."

He looked dazed. "Good lord. We had all heard things but no one really knew; until you actually deployed no one had an idea at all about the new one. It was a very well-kept secret."

"It was a Black Project; like the initial stealth bomber; like the SR 71 before it. And since it still is technically an AH-64 Apache they were able to bury it as just a Special Ops version of the Apache; like the Pave Low and some others have been. So yeah it did come as a shock when they arrived at Campbell. But once again most just thought it was a special ops version with some changes like a different tail and different avionics. Only those that get a close up look at one realizes just how advanced it is. And till you actually fly it you would not realize what it can do."

"I think every current and former Apache pilot in the world wants to."

The media had been slow to realize that the new Apache was so advanced; and really had few details. But they had been able to get some good pictures of them at Kandahar, and by digging and sniffing around had been able to get an idea.

Finally, a CNN reporter decided he had enough to talk about it on air.

"Tonight's report from Afghanistan focuses on the new so called Super Apache flown by the 160th SOAR, the Army's special operations aviation Regiment. The first operational company, A company of the 5th Battalion, started operations in Kandahar in November. This squadron, commanded by the famous Major Elizabeth Parker, has as expected distinguished itself. The Army refuses to comment on Special Operations, so they only admit that it is an advanced special Operations version of the AH-64, though experts after having viewed the best photographs available, say it is more than that. The cost is rumored to be twice that of an AH-64D Longbow, the current version fielded by the US Army regular units. The experts are unanimous in saying that it is more than an improved version; several flat out state it is virtually a brand new helicopter. Just how much better is in question. But at the very least they believe it flies faster farther and higher with more weapons than the previous version. Other than that, no one knows as of yet. Many will be interested to see just how good they are."

Liz called a meeting of the NG Apache's and both Companies of her battalion. They did it in the hanger as it was about the biggest building they could find that they could secure. All pilots, copilots and crew chiefs, which came to 120 personnel.

"OK. We will start missions tomorrow. At this time it will probably be strictly day operations. However depending on how things look, I might have one of the platoons from A or B company stay ready for night response; we will see. But I can tell you this; it is a virtual certainty that we will be doing multiple missions a day. Might even try and do three a day. We are going to launch a campaign to take the Taliban down hard here; the last place in Afghanistan where they are still openly fighting. Instead of a debrief after every mission, we might only do one a day after all the missions are over. We will have to be flexible people."

The 4 ground units had been furiously working to get their proposals ready; and by 1600 that afternoon were ready. So another big meeting was held.

Liz brought the three majors with her to this meeting. It had been pretty well established that she would speak for the Aviation side of things at this meeting.

It was decided that the first day they would just do 4 missions; all in the morning; and then that afternoon assess the situation. Then the following day go for more. Liz had looked at the locations and none were more than 125 miles from Bastion; so she would not have to use too many auxiliary fuel tanks. Probably just two. She was looking at using her Apache's for the longest range missions or the ones that looked the hardest. After some more talk with Major Willkinson, she was of the mind to have the NG Apache's work mostly with the Scots and Irish; while she and her people took the SAS; and let Major Willkinson and his Apache's deal with the Para's. Her people would also tackle night missions that the SAS might be thinking about; and any night responses. After a quick conversation with him that indicated he was OK with it; she put forth that when the mission allotment of Apache's were brought up.

"The two largest units are the Irish and Scots; so I think the NG Apache's should work with them. Major Wilkinson indicates he can handle what the Para's want to do; So the 160th Apache's will work with the SAS; and we will also take any night missions or responses that come up; we do have the best equipment to work at night. Are there any objections to that?" No one seemed to have a problem with the decision, so they moved on. The first 4 missions would go out; Liz decided that her company would go with the SAS and B company would be that night's response force. They would switch off each night for that duty. It was also understood that Major Wilkinson's Apache's would probably be the one group that would have more assets then needed; while the NG might be stretched; so if that was the case then unless it was a night mission he would take over for which ever mission the 160th might do if they were fully engaged and the relieved platoon would reinforce the NG. As regards transport; it was agreed that the NG Black Hawks would support the Scots and Irish; and the SAS. The rest of the rather thin British transport force would take care of the Para's; and any resupply needed.

The first missions of both the Irish and the Scots were not far off but fairly large operations; the three captains for the NG Apache's agreed to split their forces down the middle and give half to each; with one captain playing second fiddle. So that would send 12 Apache's with each force. The Para's operation would also be bigger than the SAS operation so one squadron would go with them and the other would handle any responses that day; leaving B company to take care of any night responses. Liz was looking to try and give each company or squadron at least one light day every three or four days if possible; it would give the crew rest and allow the maintenance people to catch up.

Liz's company was the first to go since the SAS wanted to make a dawn assault. They hit their target just before first light and the SAS were into the village like locusts. Liz had not seen any shooting until they got halfway in; total surprise. It turned into an easy mission with no SAS casualties. They did take a prisoner; they apparently got a mid-level Taliban leader. When Liz got back the other missions were just taking off; all were due to hit about 1000. So she brought her people in for a quick debrief.

The first set of missions went off with no serious casualties and no damage to any choppers. So far so good. The SAS wanted to do another mission that afternoon and Liz agreed; B company wanted to go so they went out at 1400 to do a quick one at one of the smaller villages; it turned out to be a bust as it was deserted except for a few civilians who just huddled down. Liz then agreed to make A company that nights response force. As it turned out they got a good nights sleep. The next morning it was decided to go for a maximum effort and both morning and afternoon missions were scheduled; and since none of that days missions were all that big, they split the Apache's virtually down the middle so that no one had to fly two missions that day.

B Company took the mornings SAS mission; A company the afternoons and B company would be the response force. The morning missions went well; but the afternoon missions were tougher. The SAS found a hornets nest and Liz found herself right down there with them.

It was a more isolated village than the others; and was thought to possibly be an arms center. And it thus turned out to be. Liz had pushed to let her Apache's come in as diversions and to draw fire and soften them up, and it was agreed. And there was a fair amount to do.

She brought the whole company down low and right to the village while the SAS hit them from the rear; the Taliban had some 12.7's set up and they got taken out; a couple of real brave (or stupid ones) stood up to try their luck with RPG's and got blasted to bits. Liz kept them at about 500 feet which would make any shots from a RPG unlikely to have the power to reach them. She could hear a few plinks as AK bullets hit; they were meaningless. Behind her Slinger was following with 2nd platoon; cleaning up any they missed. The SAS was moving quickly through the village, having the Taliban between two jaws of a vise, ensured that the battle did not last long. 20 minutes after it began, it was over.

No apparent serious wounds for the SAS made it a good mission, Liz thought on the way back.

The days tally was no one killed, no helicopters of any kind with any serious damage, and all 8 targets hit. A very good day, Liz thought. They had enough time to do a good debrief from all commanders and it was agreed that tomorrow they would keep up the pace. Once again it was a quiet night and the SAS wanted another dawn raid the next morning so Liz made sure her A company people hit their tents early.

The next SAS mission was a long range one, or somewhat, being just about 130 miles away. They took off at 0500 and hit it at just after 0600; just like before Liz brought hers in low and got the Taliban looking one way while the SAS took them from the rear. They did not have anything other than a few RPG's which while they did get a couple off, were totally unable to reach the Apaches hovering at 500 feet and at least 1000 feet from them. None of them lived long enough to fire a second one. And they had none to fire at the SAS as they swept through the village in only 15 minutes. No casualties at all. They made it back to the Base by 0800. Liz got a chance to speak to the NG captains – this time only two of the companies would be going while the third rested. Things seemed to be going well there; they seemed to have a good rapport with the Scots and the Irish.

Intel had theorized that the Taliban, once it became clear a full campaign was ongoing, would try and strike back at some of the patrol camps. So Major Wilkinson had one of his squadrons hold back that day while the other took the mission; one stayed and one went morning and afternoon.

IT was on the fourth day that the Taliban began to try and respond; and Major Wilkinson had the 664 sent out to respond to calls for support. Four separate bases reported attacks; so flights of 2 went to each. B company had gone out that morning; A company staying. Liz listened in the operations building as it was clear the Taliban was trying but not doing very well. 664 seemed to be up to the job.

That afternoon the SAS were a little frustrated as they hit an empty target again. When they got back Liz found Major Wilkinson waiting for her. He took her into his office and closed the door.

"The Irish have a Patrol base about 40 miles out that was attacked this morning; a flight from 664 responded and reported there was very little for them to do. But the commander of the Irish just talked to me; a report from the Patrol Base painted a very different picture; they stood off and threw a few 30MM rds and did very little else. The pilots claimed there were civilians there and the Patrol Base says otherwise. I had a meeting with the 664 Commander and he backs up his people. But the problem is that he was not there and the Patrol Base report is very specific."

"What do you want me to do?"

"At the moment there is nothing you can do; but I wanted to warn you that this will probably escalate. Frankly, my hunch is that we have some duds in that squadron; the flight that went today has had a couple of times where it was alleged they used the civilians as an excuse to do nothing. I think you should quietly warn your pilots to keep their eyes and ears open. I need more than I have right now to push this."

Liz sighed; this could get really ugly. "OK, I will let them know. Frankly if it continues and there is nothing you can really do, we can probably switch them out with some of my people or the NG guys. Have 664 do more of the mission support where since it is done by the Squadron or Company, a couple of duds do not make much difference."

"That has occurred to me; and if any more of this happens I will go along with making sure that 664 does not do any close response missions."

Liz decided to just bring in the pilots only on this; she held a meeting that evening at the hanger.

"OK, people I want this to be very clear. What I say here goes no farther than the people right here. You do NOT tell your copilots or anyone else. I think probably everyone has heard stories about 664 squadron; that some of them are not exactly motivated. Well I want to know about anything you see or hear. But you tell me and no one else. Are we understood?"

This very serious and very hard Liz was a rare one; but they all knew better than to question her. So they just nodded.

The next day they hit the halfway point on their missions and just over; in 5 days they had hit 28 of the targets. That night the weather got bad and the word came out there would be no flying for the next day; but that it would be clear the day after. So on the 6th day everyone rested and caught up on paperwork. Liz met with each company one at a time for a review and a gripe session if necessary.

B Company had hit the ground running and Liz was glad to see they were doing well. These missions were not very difficult, really, and thus they were being eased into things.

The NG companies were doing very well; they had improved tremendously over the last two months. The A models had some limitations that nothing could be done about, and they were old, but since the maintenance people had gotten the parts they needed, operational status was still over 90%. Very good. They also seemed to get along very well with the Scots and Irish, and that was good, too.

She would have been embarrassed to have heard some of the things discussed, though; when the units had mixed at some times that they had been off duty.

Captain Vinceenes had been talking with a company commander and his LTs after getting back from a mission.

"All we heard is what the reporters said; what really happened?"

"Every single one of our Battalion commanders and all but two of the XO's were relieved; and the Brigade commander and his XO as well. They have not yet figured out just which ones were in on the thefts; I think only a few actually; the Brigade CO and XO, the Brigade Maintenance Chief and his XO for certain and maybe a couple of others. The rest were buddies and drop cases that were brought in to provide them with cover. Now as regards at home, there were more. The State Commander, his XO, and a good part of his staff. The lack of spare parts hurt us real bad; and the lousy Battalion commanders were another huge factor; and the games they played with buddies and favorites. That sure ended fast when Major Parker took over. Technically she was supposedly just the acting brigade XO, but for all intents and purposes she rebuilt and ran the brigade. She sure fixed things with the Apache's. Of course this wasn't the first time she has had to fix busted units. She sure is good at it. As a pilot I have not seen any better; and as an officer the same. She will back you if you are in the right; and she backs down from nobody. Her call sign of Doberman is dead on. Screw with her and she will tear your throat out."

The next day the pace picked up again. 6 targets were hit; the Irish and Scots hit two targets each and the SAS and Para's one. And once again no one badly wounded and minor damage to any choppers at best. The next day Liz had another dawn mission with the SAS and they hit a somewhat bigger target; and wanted to hit it as quietly as possible so for once they wanted her to hold back; then appear once they were engaged. Liz found it hard hanging back; but she managed to do as requested. She brought the Apache's in from the two sides that the SAS had not come in from and in that respect surprised the Taliban some. The typically aggressive SAS tactics had the Taliban quickly retreating; and moving targets are easy to find. So the Apache's were doing some serious plinking. The SAS got out with only two moderately wounded men and two slightly wounded men; they did deign to call in the MEDEVAC. No choppers were damaged.

They got back at 0900 and found the others about to leave. Liz had a quick conversation with Major Wilkinson; he was because of a couple of maintenance issues having to use 656 for the escort duties with the Para's that day; 664, down to 4 serviceable ships due to some bad spare parts, would need most of the morning to get back up to full strength. Liz told him she would have her crew chiefs rearm immediately. Liz went to her office and started on some paperwork; and got a lot of it done before eating lunch at noon. She went by the Brits and they were still working on the 4 Apache's. Probably would not get them done until late in the day. A company had night duty that day anyway. They had been very lucky; only once had they gone out at night and that had been B company; and it had not been a hard mission.

At 1400 she heard some commotion and went out of her office; she could see some of the men of 664 scrambling. Something about that just looked off, she was not sure what it was, maybe that they looked disorganized. She watched at their 4 serviceable Apache's took off to support two Patrol Bases that were under attack. She went to control and found Wilkinson looking worried. She went up to him.

"How bad?"

"Looks like the Taliban are serious; I think this is something they think they have to do; we have really been tearing them apart the last week."

Liz nodded slowly. "What if I take up my company just in case?"

He looked relieved and she headed off to get her people in gear. It took half an hour to get them all and another 15 minutes to get into the air. She sent Slinger off to one and she took the other; they were both about 50 miles out. All the other missions had arrived back not long before. As they headed out Liz began to get a bad feeling; she let the rest of them know.

"Doberman to 1st platoon; Guys I am getting a bad feeling; let's move; balls to the wall!"

"Roger that" came the chorus. They by now knew to take her hunches very seriously.

Moving at full speed, they were at the area in 15 minutes.

Liz changed her frequency to the one the British Apache's used.

"664, this is Hell Dog Lead. What is your situation?"

"664 to Hell Dog Lead, situation is confused; not able to understand the ground."

Liz cursed quietly. There had been some problems with the radios some of the units had. One other advanced feature of the Super Apache was a very good radio that could be fine-tuned to a chosen frequency. Liz had had the one used by the local ground units programed into her ship; she now turned it to that frequency. It was the Scots on the ground she called.

"Hell Dog Lead to Patrol base Jonas; what is your situation?"

"Patrol Base Jonas to Hell Dog; we need assistance; 664 is not responding. We have a critical Whiskey India Alpha. Need cover and MEDEVAC."

"ROGER THAT, Patrol Base Jonas."

Liz immediately called the base; the bad news was that it would be at least 15 minutes for a MEDEVAC to take off and that meant about 40-50 minutes for them to get there.

Liz just knew that was too long. "Patrol Base Jonas, where are you now?"

"Patrol Base Jonas, one klick bearing 325 from base in a small farm; we are surrounded."

"Roger, We are on our way."

Liz took them to the point and recognized the farm; Taliban were all around it for certain.

"Doberman to Hannibal; take the east while we take the west. Lay down some serious fire."

"Roger That."

Liz took Octopus and they began to let go of 2.75 rockets and saturated the area about 100 meters from the farm house. After they fired Liz contacted them.

"Hell Dog Lead to Patrol Base Jonas, what is your situation?"

"Patrol Base Jonas to Hell Dog Lead; that took care of most of them. What about MEDEVAC?"

"40 MIKES Patrol Base Jonas."

"Hell Dog Lead, he does not have that much time."

Liz thought furiously. This was crazy but…

"Doug, would you like to spend a little time on the ground watching how they do it?"

"Liz you are nuts. But I am game."

"When I land get in there and tell them I can take the man and a medic if they are squished in the front seat."

"Doberman to everyone; I am going to land and drop off Doug; then pick up the wounded man and a medic and take him in. Hannibal you stick around and keep an eye on things."

"Roger that, Doberman"

Liz took her Apache right to the house, only about 50 feet away and landed fast and hard. Doug was out of the bird in a flash running to the house.

Two heavily armed figures met him at the door.

"My pilot can take a medic and the wounded in her front seat while I say behind. Will this work?"

"Christ!" and they ran into the house with Doug on their heels. He was glad to see that the wounded man was not very big and neither was the wounded man. They had him resting on a door they had taken off the hinges.

"This crazy yank wants to take you and Jones in the front seat of the Apache!"

"He will never live if we have to wait for the MEDEVAC. Let's go!"

Doug picked up one end of the door and one of the other men tossed his rifle to another and picked up the other and they headed out.

The other three Apaches were slowly circling the farmhouse at about 200 feet up; making lots of noise.

It took less than a minute to get the wounded man in the front seat; the Medic scrunched in beside him, holding up a plasma bag. They could not be strapped in so Doug just closed the hatch and signaled Liz.

Liz took off and oriented her Apache for maximum lift and speed; Doug had put his helmet on the medic so he could talk to Liz.

"My name is Alex Harris; Jones here is hit in the stomach; he is bleeding badly. How long to the base?"

"Call me Liz, hang on because I am going to floor it! Probably 15 minutes."

"That might be fast enough."

Liz was redlining the Apache, she had her wide open.

"I am going to patch you through to the hospital; give me a minute."

"Hell Dog Lead to Base; have a wounded Scot and his medic; need to talk to the hospital ASAP"

"Base to Hell Dog Lead; 5 MIKES."

And indeed 5 minutes later

"This is Doctor Smythe; come in Hell Dog Lead."

"OK, Alex, go ahead."

"Dr Smythe, I have a 21 year old man; hit in the left lower quadrant; giving plasma; estimate loss at 30%. It is a through and through. Last BP was 76 over 55 10 minutes ago, pulse 86, respiration 15 and shallow, cyanotic."

"Got that. Keep squeezing he plasma bag. What is your time to get here?"

"Dr Smythe, this is the pilot. We will be at your front door in 10 minutes; but stay inside I am coming in very hot and there will be a lot of dust flying."

"We will be waiting."

True to her word Liz got there in 10 minutes; she came in at a high angle; dumping speed and blowing dust like nobody's business as she sat the Apache down not 50 feet from the door. Not exactly where MEDEVACS were supposed to land but time was critical and every second counted.

The dust had barely cleared as Liz set her down. She was out in a flash, she just cut the engines, and she had the hatch open before they got out the door. But by the time she had helped the medic get out, holding the plasma bag, there were there. They had him out in 2 seconds and on the gurney going in.

Modern high tech Helicopter engines do not like sudden shut downs; Liz knew this so she was very careful starting them back up. It took her almost 10 minutes then she was back in the air and shooting back to pick up her copilot.

Liz did not push as hard going back so it took almost 25 minutes to get there; she found the rest of her platoon still circling.

"Doberman to Hannibal, what is the situation?"

"Hannibal to Doberman; very quiet. We have checked the perimeter."

"Roger that."

"Hell Dog Lead to Patrol Base Jonas. How are things there?"

"Patrol Base Jonas to Hell Dog Lead, you can have him back. We don't want him."

"I guess I have to take him then; will be down in 5 mikes."

And then she picked her Copilot back up.

He gave her the situation.

"This was a 20 man patrol the Taliban tried to take out. They were real lucky to have only one man wounded. They are moving back towards their base; will take about half an hour if we give them cover."

"We can do that."

"Hell Dog Lead to Patrol Base Jonas; head for home we will cover you all the way."

"Patrol Base Jonas to Hell Dog Lead, we are grateful and heading out now."

As they got out of the farm and to the road, Liz and the rest of her Platoon slowly circled them; diving down to any place that looked suspicious and pulling up; another covering. They darted and moved unexpectedly. Liz had gone over this with all of them on how to keep anyone watching hiding and too scared to do anything.

The Lt leading the patrol watched as the Apache's dove and swirled and made threatening moves all around them. He turned to his sergeant.

"Those yanks do know how to put on a show."

"Yes Sir. Don't think anyone will be bothering with us."

And 45 minutes later Liz saw them pull into their base; a small village abandoned by its people.

"Hell Dog Lead to Patrol base Jonas, have a nice day."

"Patrol Base Jonas to Hell Dog Lead, just leave. You make too much noise. We want to get some sleep."

"Roger that, Hell Dog Lead out."

Liz on the way back asked Hannibal if they had seen any trace of the 664, and was told not a bit. Liz stewed on that all the way back. Doug was definite.

"They think that 664 bunch are not worth much. They do not buy into the crap about not being able to read them."

"I agree. But the fact is that the ground has had radio problems; and the Brit Apache's do not have this shiny radio that can do so many tricks. But they certainly came in clear."

"And they could hear you clear as well. Five by Five."

They got back to the base just before dark. Major Wilkinson was waiting for her as was the RAF Commander. They pulled her into the Major's office. The RAF commander was blunt.

"You had no trouble reading the ground radio."

"No sir but then this radio is top of the line."

"I am getting one of their models and we are going to check out the radio on that Apache. If it comes in clear that Pilot is getting relieved now."

Liz nodded and watched them stride off. She sighed and went to the operations room. The rest of her company was there.

"No word yet from the hospital."

Liz nodded. "Slinger, how was your end?"

"They needed some help but were working pretty good. Those two seem to be fine."

Liz nodded. "The two on my end – if that radio checks out then it is very bad."

Liz decided to head over to the hospital. She got in and found the medic in the waiting room.

"Any word?"

"Nothing so far, Major."

Liz nodded and sat down beside him. She took a deep breath and looking around, seeing nothing

"The RAF commander is checking out that Apache's radio right now, they claim they could not read you."

The medic was quiet for a moment. "My sweet ass they couldn't. They didn't want to. This is not the first time that pair has pulled this. Most of that squadron are good cobbers; but there are a few that are right cowards."

He looked at Liz. "We heard you loud and clear. And you heard us the same."

"Well, they have a pretty fancy radio on my model. And you guys have had radio problems."

"At a distance, not close up."

At that point the door opened and a tired looking doctor came out; Liz and Alex stood up and went to him.

"It was very close; another 10, maybe 15 minutes and we would have lost him. He is still in very serious condition but the bleeding has been stopped and his blood pressure is steady. All vital signs are slowly rising. He should make it."

Liz sat down slowly and relaxed. Just relaxed for a while. The medic sat down and also just relaxed. Finally Liz got up.

"Going to head over to operations and give that Patrol Base the good news."

The medic nodded. "I need to find a bunk; then arrange transport back tomorrow."

"We will get you back tomorrow, don't worry about it. As far as a bunk is concerned that should be no problem either. Come on."

Liz walked into the radio room and told the controller to contact Patrol Base Jonas and tell them their wounded soldier would make it. Then she took the medic to their tent area and told one of the ground crew to take care of the medic; then headed to her office. On the way there she ran into Major Wilkinson. He looked grim.

"That trooper will make it" Liz said to him. That seemed to cheer him up some.

"Well that is the first bit of good news I have had today. We checked out that radio on the Apache and the ground radio reached it no problem. We got in a vehicle and went almost a klick and no problem; then to the base boundary which is almost 2 and no problem. The RAF Commander is right now talking to the Squadron Commander. He is going to order their relief."

Liz sighed. "No matter what this will get ugly."

"Yes it will. But you saved that young soldier; and that is what matters."

When she got back to their area, the other pilots had gathered. Clearly the word had spread. Liz was quick to stamp on the speculation.

"We do not talk about this. Not to anyone. Nothing good can come of it."

The RAF Commander was in a tense meeting with the Base Commander. He was not happy.

"You do realize that a RAF officer demanding the relief for cause of an Army Aviation crew is not going to be well received upstairs?"

"Sir, there is no choice. Leaving aside the other charges, the fact that he clearly lied about being able to receive the transmissions of the Patrol Base demands that he be severely disciplined. And the fact that the Ground Forces are going to be making considerable noise about this incident as well makes it mandatory that this be quickly dealt with."

The Base Commander sat back and grimaced. He was of course correct about the lying charge; and almost certainly at least mostly correct about the rest. And the impact of not relieving that crew was not to be thought of; as well as the other crew that had done nothing at all. He had heard comments about part of the 664; and he had discussed the problem with the RAF commander and the 664's commander, who had fully supported his crews. That was another part of the problem; 664's commander had seemed very unwilling to take any action at all. The sad part was that the other half of 664 seemed to be quite good.

"I cannot disagree about action being needed immediately; therefore I am agreeing to their suspension from duty pending a full investigation. Another worry is how is this going to affect the rest of 664? Can we really continue to ask other units to rely on any of them? And then there is the question of the 664's commander and his unwillingness to do anything, which has certainly contributed to the problem."

"Sir, there really is no choice; the whole Squadron must be stood down. Fortunately, most of the targets have been hit with very good results; we can take care of the rest of them easily with the forces on hand."

"Sadly I agree; the 664 is grounded until further notice."

After the RAF commander left, the Base Commander sighed and made arrangements to speak directly to the MOD. This was going to have far reaching consequences no matter what.

The next day the assault continued; no one talked about the 664 or their absence. The SAS as usual had a dawn assault and as usual Liz took her company with them; the Scots and Irish did theirs, each with a company of the NG; and 656 went with the Para's. They were all straightforward affairs; once again the Village the SAS hit was virtually empty; as was the one the Para's hit. When the Scots and Irish both reported less than usual resistance there was a meeting held at 1400.

Once again the Base commander, RAF commander, Liz and Major Wilkinson along with the commanders of the SAS, Para's, Scots and Irish. The intelligence weenie gave his summation.

"The Taliban have all but abandoned the area over the last few days; they have gone south to Pakistan to hide out. With over 40 targets hit in a week, they have admitted defeat and pulled virtually all their remaining strength out."

Liz managed NOT to say "duh."

The consensus was to wait for developments; the base commander would contact the theatre commander and ask for heavy intelligence analysis and assets to determine if there was indeed no reason for more attacks.

So Liz went back and told her people that with the exception of B company that would be on night alert for one more night; it was time to kick back and rest for a bit.

For Liz that meant tackling the paperwork that was never ending. She went into her office and got out the shovel and went to work.

Meanwhile the repercussions were starting; the RAF and Army senior members began to go at one another at the MOD. There was always friction between the three services for one reason or another; from budget fights to doctrinal differences on warfare, to conflicts about who should command where. A RAF commander demanding the relief for cause of Army aviators definitely lit things up. The additional fight between the groups demanding full control of all aviation assets also factored in. The siege guns were brought up and memo's began to fly.

The Defense Secretary felt he had more than enough on his plate keeping the funding for the services under the current austerity situation; what with the Euro crisis and the remnants of the banking failures still lingering. Anything that put any of the services in a bad light did not help. So far they had been able to keep the media from finding out but it was just a matter of time. The worst outcome would be for the opposition to bring it up at the Prime Ministers question time. That was always heavily publicized. Which meant that he had to warn the PM so that he was not caught unawares. Especially as that weekly event was tomorrow.

The PM sighed as the Defense Secretary outlined the situation. Normally the relief of a few pilots in an army helicopter squadron would not be a matter of concern for the PM. But with the parties very close to being balanced in Parliament, and the opposition continuing to build to any involvement in Afghanistan now that the situation was under control, even what should be considered minor matters could have significant impact.

"They are trying to keep it to the charge that the pilots were lying about being able to contact the patrol base. The much worse charges of rank cowardice would make very meaty fodder for the media. I believe that the idea now is to try and force the pilots and copilots to resign or accept non flying transfers, under the condition they do not speak about it. If they do then court martials would convene. Given that there had been prior complaints about those pilots previously for not being aggressive enough, it would be a true feeding frenzy for the media. The situation with the Squadron Commander is also touchy; it is felt, and frankly rightly so, that he ignored the previous complaints. I would in one respect rather he remains; but all things considered he needs to go as well."

"It is certain that they deliberately did not act?"

"I cannot see anything else explaining that. While it is true that there has been trouble with the radios, that is at a distance of 5 Kilometers or more in rough terrain. The distance there was less and the helicopters being at an altitude would have been able to hear them. Both radios of the helicopters were inspected and found to be working correctly. While the American Apache did have an improved radio, the fact that they were heard very clearly the whole time leaves very little doubt."

"It seems to me that Major Parker has been of signal service to Her Majesties military on more than one occasion. I think it might well be time for us to recognize that."

"I quite agree, Sir. Especially once this gets out to the media."

There was very little debate about things at Camp Bastion. The Scots, whose man had been saved by Liz, had had bad dealings before with 664. As had the Irish. So as far as they were concerned it was overdue. And to fighting soldiers, cowardice invoked a very visceral emotion. There really was nothing more despised than a coward, unless that person was a traitor. So all in all it was a good thing that the 4 officers were whisked out of Bastion rather quickly.

Meanwhile the commander of the Scots regiment had quietly taken it up the ladder that a commendation was due Major Parker. As the SAS had already pushed that up the ladder, it was the second recommendation for her. The SAS had also in her previous tour mentioned her in dispatches. This was brought to the attention of the DCDS who was also overall in charge of the awards of valor and commendations. He looked over the file and noted the previous recommendations. This came the day after the Question Period.

"Mr Prime Minister, it has come to our attention that a serious situation occurred in Afghanistan where members of her majesties Army Aviation Corps were relieved for cause. We would like details on this."

"The investigation is ongoing. An incident occurred that required response and the response was deemed inadequate. Therefore the reliefs for cause ensued. At this time I feel it is not one for further comment."

The PM was rather surprised it was not pushed. He did not have a good feeling about that.

He was right. The next day the story hit the papers that were most in sympathy with the Opposition. The Broadcast Media, somewhat put out that they had not found out about it, pounced.

That day the Defense Secretary met with his DCDS and received the recommendations for an award recognizing the acts by Major Parker. The recommendations were agreed with and forwarded to the PM.

The PM was getting pressure from his own party to make more statements about what was brewing. The impact of the situation was all out of proportion to the actual incident, but that was nothing new in politics. The Best Defense is often offense; or in this case a counter attack. He informed the Defense Secretary that he would appear and respond to further demands for details. Meanwhile he would take the recommendations to Her Majesty. Since this was a foreign officer, she had to be consulted. He brought with him the Chief of the Defense Staff.

The Queen read the recommendation; then asked to see the file and the CDS gave it to her.

"So this is to make up for not recognizing her previous services to our Military?"

"Your majesty, that is substantially correct. She should have been commended before; why it did not reach me I have yet to determine."

The Queen contemplated the situation.

"The single recent act was more than sufficient for this award, is that correct?"

The CDS answered this one.

"Yes your majesty, it was."

"More must be done. But this award should be given now. I wish for further recommendations in the immediate future."

"Yes, your Majesty."

The Defense Secretary appeared before parliament to answer questions. It had been debated and agreed that the commendation would also be announced at that time. He had also had a quiet conversation with the American SECDEF.

"This is a fairly regular occurrence for Major Parker. She will be walking lopsided before long."

"Quite. I was astonished at the file you sent me; her record is extraordinary."

"I have asked if this is true, and I have been told that it is, that she is the single most highly decorated officer of our military since 9/11. Now there are aviators that have a large number of Air Medals who have a few more, but none of them come close to her in the higher ranked area of commendations."

"Well, then, it is high time Her Majesties government did their share. She has been very helpful and influential in ensuring the situation in Afghanistan has reached the point it has."

"It is remarkable that an officer at that level has had so much influence."

The SECDEF found he was no longer surprised at what Major Parker got up to; and he had been contemplating a commendation for her actions regarding the ASP situation. But anything there might stir things up best hidden. Still he made a note that she deserved some honor for getting things fixed there.

The Defense Secretary was able to get through the questions without anything bad happening. The opposition recognized that harping on it would not bring them any real advantage; especially as the government had already taken action. His announcement that Major Elizabeth Parker, US Army, would receive the DFC did indeed make news and successfully sidetracked the situation to the satisfaction of the government.

Liz, blissfully unaware of the events percolating far above, was wading through more paperwork. The evaluations of the NG officers were going to be due as soon as she left so she worked on them. And her position as Brigade XO left her in the position of reviewing all the officer evaluations of the Brigade. Which was a load. Luckily the lull continued with only resupply missions ongoing. There was beginning to be a feeling that maybe this time the Taliban was really on the ropes.

Meanwhile word spread quickly and the RAF Commander felt Liz should receive knowledge of her honor more properly then the mess hall. So he simply called her.

"Major Parker, I am glad to inform you that Her Majesties government has decided to award you the Distinguished Flying Cross for your actions in saving Corporal Jones."

"Wow. I am honored. Speaking of which, when will that happen?"

"Very soon I believe; the Head of the RAF will be visiting Afghanistan next week so there is a chance it will be done then."

"Will I need my Class A uniform or will this one due?"

"It is a war zone so your BDU is fine."

"Good."

The PM spoke to the Defense Secretary.

"Sir Alex Holmes, Chief of the Royal Air Force, will award several medals including Major Parkers. But I was also contacted by a member of the Queens staff with an interesting question. I believe it is pertinent especially for the Defense Ministry. The question is that since women are now fighting in combat, is it appropriate to honor one with the term Dame? Is it not for those who now stand side by side with men called Knights out of date."

"It is an interesting question, sir. But one that will grow in importance. I despise the gender neutral term person. It reeks of political correctness. Yet for instance, and I am thinking this question comes because of the idea that has been floated for Major Parker to become a honorary member of the British Empire, calling her a dame seems inappropriate."

"It is a question we need to research. I am sure this has been discussed at various levels. Women will be reaching higher positions in the armed services."

"I recall some of the comments when Margaret Thatcher was being honored after leaving office that things needed to be updated. But very little was done."

"I have been asked to form a committee on that; make sure someone from the MOD is on it."

"I heard a term used once. Knightress. Perhaps that would work."

"Interesting. Make sure that the representative is very competent."

The soldier was unconscious for 3 days, and then woke up. Liz asked to be kept informed and stopped by the day after he woke up.

"Corporal, you have a visitor."

Liz stuck her head in the door.

"You sure look better than you did. How do you feel corporal?"

"Major, I can feel. And that beats dead anytime. Just wish I could remember what it felt like in that Super Apache. Everyone has been wondering what it would be like in it."

"Well, if I am still around when they let you out I will take you up for a ride. Deal?"

"Deal, Maam."

Liz checked the calendar and was startled to see that it was February 5. They had only three weeks left. With the settling down of things, their rotation had been moved up a bit. C Company would be in two weeks to take over the Apache's of A company. In a way Liz would once again regret leaving, but would be overjoyed to see Max, Aliya and James. And be able to truly relax and rest. And if things kept going like they looked like, she might not be coming back. Iraq was fairly stable and quiet, and if Afghanistan became the same, then there would not be much for her to do. She realized that it would not be long before she got her promotion to Lt Colonel, and her days of flying might be just about over.

She figured she had a shot of staying in the saddle a little longer in the 160th, but the bottom line was that her active flying days were getting short. She would have to think on that when she got home.

The next day was the award ceremony. It was strange being the only American in the formation but it was fairly low key and that suited her.

With the virtual cessation of hostilities more than just a few minor incidents, it was decided to send the NG Apache's back to Kandahar. After talking to the SF at Kandahar, it was decided to move the Super Apache's to Bagram. There was still some work there with the SF and the tribal regions in that area. Major Wilkinson told her that 664 was being quietly pulled out and would be replaced by another Squadron if the need was seen. He doubted they would if the situation did not deteriorate badly.

So the next week they all left Bastion. Liz was given a very particular goodbye party by the Scots where they made her an honorary member. She was sad to leave but glad to be one step closer to home.

Bagram had not changed much and Liz was actually fairly comfortable. There was only one week until C Company showed up; but she checked in with the SF to see what was going on.

The office there was the same even if the Commander was different. He remarked on that.

"You got to know this place pretty well."

"Yep. So any business for us?"

"Does not look like it. In addition to getting the crap kicked out of them, the weather has been worse than usual. So they have pretty much disappeared into Pakistan. Those two senior officers the ISI lost has made a difference; the Pakistan Government promoted a couple of officers known for not liking the Taliban. That will help as well. We are trying to find a target worth going in there for and so far we have come up empty."

"Well that does not exactly break my heart."

So the last thing Liz did was do evaluations on all the NG Apache pilots; then Company A and Company B. Company B had shaped up very well; she had no doubt they would see to it that Company C was taught right. Her last acts as Acting Brigade XO were to take care of all the paper work. The New Brigade officers had arrived and were even now working with them. She felt a great deal of satisfaction at seeing how far they had come. She flew down to Kandahar to oversee the command hand over. It amused her a little to see the new officers start to get put to the test by the vets. The ceremony was pretty good. She made a brief speech after the Aviation Commander formally called for her to perform the official change in command.

"There were jokes going around about the brigade. But they soon stopped. Now this brigade can look any other one in the US Military right in the eye and not blink. WELL DONE!"

And the brigade gave a big cheer.

Liz then turned and saluted the new commanding officer.

"Sir, I give you the Brigade. I stand relieved."

That evening the senior officers of the Brigade made sure Liz knew full well how much she meant to them. Captain Vinceenes got the job.

"I remember when this pint sized Major came into the building and proceeded to jack us right up. Then throw a colonel in the brig not an hour later. Frankly, she scared the shit out of us. No one doubted why she was called Doberman. Then she proceeded to pick us right up out of the gutter and made us into a military unit again. One that got its job done. When we finish this tour, we will do it with heads high. And most of that credit is to Major Parker. God Speed, Major, and may you keep right on getting it done."

The last day before she handed over her Apache, Liz flew down to Bastion one last time to keep a promise and take Corporal Jones up in a Super Apache. He was almost speechless. His account was on the BBC a few days later.

"One has to remember that Major Parker is really a small woman. You never think that way because she stands real tall all the time. The way she tools that Apache around has to be seen to be believed. That is a great machine; but not as good as the pilot that showed me what it was like to dance in the air."

Liz got off the Plane at Campbell and formed up Company A. It was not a big group but then this was Special Operations. The crowd waiting was not that big either, but they made up for it with volume. Then she was totally shocked when the SOCOM commander awarded her the Distinguished Service Medal. Then she was able to get herself together in time to form the Company, and then dismiss it.

Then she was in Max's arms and her family was all around her and nothing else mattered.

The PM informed the Defense Secretary that they needed to contact the DOD. As was usual when an American Military Officer was honored with the OBE.

"And you can inform him that there has been a change in how things are done, as the request of Her Majesty."

That May, two months after getting home, Liz was called into the 160th SOAR HQ to speak to the commander.

"Major, the SECDEF just called. You will need to be in London on the 10th of June for a Ceremony at Buckingham Palace. You will also need a mess dress Class A uniform."

Liz was really puzzled. "What is this about?"

"The Brits are honoring you with the award of the Order of the British Empire. Normally a woman getting that honor would be called a Dame. But the Queen apparently felt that soldiers should get something different. So you will be the First Knightress of the Order of the British Empire. From now on any female officer will be called a Knightress. But you will always be the first."

Elizabeth Parker was left without a word to say. For someone just past their 30th Birthday, it had been a very full life.

The End.