The Red Line

“So, George,” Denny Doyle said, “you’re telling us in the middle of a war you can completely rebuild in a day and a half the Defense Information System it took decades to complete?”

“Not the whole thing, Denny, just the small part west of the Rhine. I figured there was no point of even looking at anything in Germany east of there. By the time we’d get the system in place on that side of the river, it’ll likely be in Russian hands.”

The skeptical expressions on the three faces hadn’t changed.

“I thought George was crazy, too, when he first told me about this idea,” Carson said. “But the more my engineers looked at it, and the more we talked about bringing over additional FEMA vans, the more it began to make sense.”

“With Donnersberg as our central location,” O’Neill said, “and the large site we have at Pirmasens as our secondary hub, we can completely restore our command and control west of the river. In fact, there’s nothing but our own ingenuity to limit us. We can even keep some vans in reserve to add locations to the system wherever the generals tell us they want a new one. And if our engineering calculations are correct and we can get a functioning microwave system directly from Hillingdon to Donnersberg, we’ll not only be able to tie western Germany together but also connect it directly with England and the States. That will overcome the limits of the smaller-capacity satellites Randy’s team was able to install last night. We’ll have a fully integrated network. Once we get the system in place, as long as we can keep the Russians from blowing up most of the sites, there’s going to be no problem letting the generals maintain precise control of every element of our defense. If this works like we think it will, we’ll almost be to the point where, should he choose to do so, the President could talk to any second lieutenant on the battlefield.”

“Are you sure you can make this work, Sergeant O’Neill?” Colonel Hoerner asked.

“Yes, sir. With Randy’s engineers and the FEMA vans, if we can get our hands on them, this will work. His crew already gave us back a fully functioning AWACS system and a couple of very welcome satellite terminals this morning; why not give them a chance to do significantly more? I’m not sure EUCOM’s even interested at this point, but if we decide to make a final stand at the Rhine, this will give us a far greater chance of succeeding.”

“All right, Sergeant O’Neill,” the obviously reluctant Colonel Hoerner said. “I’ll make the call to EUCOM and see if we can arrange a meeting.”

• • •

At Upper Heyford, shortly after noon, Staff Sergeant George O’Neill stood in a spacious conference room with Randy Carson at his side. Twelve colonels, a couple of admirals, and four generals sat at a lengthy table. Other officers, from each of the services, sat along the crowded walls. With the way the war was going, each wore a haggard face.

It was quite clear to everyone, from the lowest private to the highest levels of command, that unless something dramatic happened in the next few days, the Russians were going to swiftly conquer Germany and prevail in the egregious struggle.

Even a week earlier, O’Neill could never have imagined his country in such a desperate situation.

He understood the war wasn’t going well, and he was generally aware of the major events as they occurred. Still, even in the position he held, his conceptual understanding of the overall American plan was, naturally, quite limited.

He’d no idea if any of those present would be even vaguely interested in his concept or exactly how it would fit into the big picture, if it fit at all. But he’d come this far, and there would be no turning back.

O’Neill taped the map of the existing European Defense Information System on the wall and began going over the critical elements of where the system presently stood and where it had the potential to be if DISA was given the go-ahead to install the new network.

For twenty minutes he spoke without a single question being raised, an event exceedingly rare with so many senior officers present. From the moment he’d begun talking, each could see there was a great deal of potential in what was being presented. And each one’s frustration with his inability to control the frightful conflict made him a more-than-willing listener.

Like nearly everyone in the twenty-first century, the ability to communicate with anyone they wished, whenever they wished, was something they’d all long ago taken for granted. That is until they’d lost the ability to actually do so.

Twenty minutes was ample time for O’Neill to go over the major elements of the plan. Finally, Colonel Morrison, now EUCOM’s acting head of operations after General Oliver’s death during the Russian raid on Patch Barracks, asked a question. It would be the first of many from those at the table. O’Neill understood that the continual stream of questions, one right after another, was a good sign. Clearly, those present were extremely curious about what they were being told.

“What you’ve just explained is certainly interesting. Do you really think you can pull this off, Sergeant O’Neill?” Morrison said.

“Well, sir, nothing this complex is ever one hundred percent certain. There’s always the possibility of something completely unexpected happening, and there are bound to be some glitches along the way. But if you decide to do this, Mr. Carson and I are confident that what we have just gone over with you will succeed.”

“So, if we ask the President to commit to this plan, what should we tell him is our greatest concern?”

“That the Russians destroy Donnersberg, sir. I would recommend before we even consider implementing this approach we make sure we can defend the site from both air and ground attacks. It sure would be nice to put at least a company of infantry and a significant number of Stingers on the mountaintop to defend it. And if by some chance you happen to have a Patriot Missile System lying around that you aren’t using, that would make things even better.”

O’Neill had included the final comment more to break the tension than anything else. He was quite surprised by the answer he received.

“Actually, Sergeant, it’s funny you mentioned that. Right before you came in, we were talking about what to do with the Patriot Missile System at Rhein-Main we hadn’t been able to use because nearly all of its soldiers had been killed during the Russian airborne attack a couple of days ago. We’ve been gathering surviving soldiers from the Patriots that have been destroyed and were planning on sending them to Rhein-Main to retrieve the system. We just hadn’t figured out where we needed it most. Donnersberg sounds like a perfect place to send it.”

It was now one of the generals’ turn to inquire. “You’re going to need qualified soldiers to operate the new communication sites you’re proposing. Where do you plan to get them?”

“In the same way you’re going to man the Patriot system, sir,” O’Neill said. “We’ll be cutting it close, but we’re going to take people from the existing Air Force and Army sites, especially those presently east of the Rhine. We’ll send those we free up to handle the new locations.”

The general asked a second question. “You sai

d protecting Donnersberg is the most critical part of your plan. What do you consider second most important?”

“Without a doubt it’s timing, sir,” O’Neill said. “We need to get the sites in place and the command and control system ready for your use at the exact moment you need to use it. If we’re even a few hours late, and we can’t support our forces defending the Rhine in the manner we’ve promised, it could cost thousands of lives and ultimately lead to our failure.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to get the system in place in time, Sergeant?”

“Again, sir, there are lots of variables. We’ll need a day and a half once we’re told to begin the project. So the sooner we get the go-ahead and can lay our hands on the FEMA vans, the better. And the sooner all the major units identify their command and control needs in defending everything west of the river, the more efficiently all this will go. Our circuit engineers in Virginia will use that time to design each individual circuit to meet the exact demands of every user.”

It was now an Air Force general’s turn to ask the question he’d been dying to ask.

“Sergeant, you said you can place elements of the system wherever we need them, even where nothing presently exists. Am I hearing you correctly? Thirty-six hours from now, we could have fully functioning communication centers for an entire air base should we elect to reopen any of those we closed during our phasedown in Europe?”

“Absolutely, sir.”

“At Sembach?”

“Yes.”

“At Hahn, Zweibrucken, and Bitburg?”

“Yes, sir. We can do all that. We have the potential to support as many fighter air bases as you’d like to create. Just be aware that the faster we know what you’re exact needs are, the easier this will be. After we have the central network in place at Donnersberg and Pirmasens, we can begin connecting the smaller vans at the outlying locations. You just tell us where you need them, what you need, and when you need it, and we’ll take it from there.”