Soldier Up Read online

  Mister Brock answered, “Sir I don’t see a problem except for food. When would they arrive?

  “We would bring all the food we need we have that would include fuel and everything else. We will get more as we identify it I have been assured we will get it. They would start to arrive tomorrow morning if that’s ok with all of you.”

  All of the men were nodding Mister Brock looked around the room, “Sounds good to us Sir. Is the plan for flight operations?”

  “Yes Mister Brock the plan is for flight operations, we have ten Navy pilots who are rated on carriers. I was assured that we will find more and train them we have planes from Hiller and Oakland as well.”

  “Well Sir it looks like we need to get to work then.” said Mister Klang.

  For the next couple of hours they talked about what needed to be done, by the time they left for the day Commander Elliot had a laundry of list of things that needed to be done and items that would need to be moved from Storage at Camp Parks to the USS Hornet.

  Commander Elliot reported back to Colonel Clayton with what had happened, Colonel Clayton asked him if he wanted the command of the ship. Commander Elliot told him it would be an honor to serve as the Hornets Commander, Colonel Claytons response was, “Great she’s all yours!” With that the two men got down to business. They had a staff meeting with Colonel Claytons senior staff and Commander Elliot’s staff to outline what they were going to get, when they could get it and where to pick it all up. All of the vehicles were available to them now and could be stenciled US Navy as soon as he signed for them.

  The ball was rolling to get the Navy back into it, it was all smiles on the Navy’s part, as for General Watkins and Colonel Clayton they knew the obstacles they had to overcome it was the Navy’s turn now.

  “Sir what about the Marines?” asked Commander Elliot.

  “What about them?” said Colonel Clayton.

  “Will they remain under Army control or revert to the Navy?”

  Colonel Clayton wondered where he was going with this, “Commander I will allocate a platoon of Marines for a detachment aboard the ship for now. I think you have a lot on your plate and let’s see how that goes. Right now the Marines are needed for ground operations and for the foreseeable future. As you get closer to deployment we’ll revisit it again. I’m sure you’ll get a much larger commitment but the Marines will have a say and odds are they will have an Officer of equal rank to you aboard ship.”

  The meeting broke up and everyone went to work, they worked through the night to get it altogether and loaded into the trucks. The Sailors (except the Seabees) were told they were leaving Camp Parks for the Hornet and to take with them everything that wasn’t nailed down. The Sailors looked happy to be doing something positive. By the time the sun rose over the Camp the Navy was loaded up in convoy that was almost a mile long, they would be escorted by the Marine detachment that would also be staying with the ship.

  When the convoy arrived at the ship the gangway was out and the men were out in the parking lot milling around. It was an exciting day for everyone involved, “That’s a lot of trucks.” said Mister Klang to Commander Elliot.

  “Well most of them will be going back to Camp Parks we only get to keep about a quarter of them.” said Commander Elliot.

  The old veterans were excited to see the young Sailors unloading all of the trucks and dropping everything in the hanger deck then another trip down the gangway, get another load and then backup.

  “How did they load the ship in the past?” asked Commander Elliot.

  “That crane over there.” said Mister Brock.

  “Oh, does it work?” asked the Commander.

  “Don’t know, no one knows how to operate it and there hasn’t been a reason till now to try. Everything we needed was already on board.”

  Commander Elliot put it on his list of things to do, maybe the Seabees knew how to operate it they were sure to need it sooner or later. There were a lot of aircraft they probably weren’t going to be able to keep on board. It took the rest of the morning for the Sailors to unload the trucks and lug it all up to hanger deck.

  The huge convoy didn’t go unnoticed by the civilian population in the area, although the Marines had never found anyone they never ventured far away from the ship. However, the convoy was loud and never ending so it seemed. People came out and many followed it or followed it the best they could. The Marine detachment found themselves busy maintaining a security perimeter, the civilians were now showing up in droves and easily outnumbered the Marines. The Marines were heavily armed and looked intimidating many of the civilians had been attacked at one time or another by the gangs or militia so they were scared, but not so much that it stopped them from wanting to see what was going on.

  As people crowded around the Marines they wanted to know if they were really Marines and if they were where have they been and why were they here now. The Marines told them yes they were real US Marines and there here because they were ordered by their CO, if they wanted more information they would need to get it from him, they did as they were ordered. The civilians were torn between being angry with them for not being here sooner or being happy to see them now. They also asked about the gangs and militias if they knew what had happened to them no one had seen them in weeks.

  The Marines told them that there had been ongoing operations over the past few weeks by the Marines and Army eliminating them and for the most part they shouldn’t be a problem. They asked so there wasn’t going to be any more attacks? The Marines told them they couldn’t agree to that but they shouldn’t have any problems from the local gangs or militias if they did please come tell them and they would deal with them.

  With the trucks unloaded they all headed back to Camp Parks the Navy wouldn’t keep there’s near the Hornet until they were able to secure them. Part of the long term plan was to build a vehicle park to secure all of their vehicles. That was one of the first things planned and they would start next week. Several vehicles would return daily to the Hornet from Camp Parks to shuttle people back and forth, also to drop off any other items requested.

  On the ship the Sailors were being shown to the Crews Berthing there was a lot of room considering an aircraft carrier generally carried a crew of thousands not hundreds. All NCOs were shown the CPO quarters generally reserved for Senior NCOs but the decision because there was so much room that all NCOs would bunk in the same area and the Officers where shown their staterooms. One of the other decisions made was that even though there were separate dining areas for the ranks, Commander Elliot stated everyone would eat together; they didn’t have enough people to run them all.

  Once everyone was settled they were required to meet back on the hanger deck at 1500 they would be broken down into groups then the old veterans gave them extensive tour of the ship. Once that was done everyone was released until 0600 the following morning, there would be a PT formation and everyone was required to participate. The old veterans who had been living on the ship since the event where thrilled to have everyone here it was nice to have the young people around.

  Over the next several weeks the Sailors fell into a routine, PT, chow, work, chow work, sleep. There wasn’t much else to do but work, there was free time but there was so much to do most decided to do work instead of lying around their bunk or watching DVDs. The side of the ship where the entrance was they had been dumping everything that wasn’t needed in the parking lot it was starting to look like a swap meet. The Seabees had built a secure area for a vehicle park and a dozen trucks and other vehicles were now parked there.

  The gangway was out sixteen hours a day and guarded by a heavily armed Marine detail. After sixteen hours it was pulled in for a few hours then pushed back out. Civilians had started to set up camps in and around the Hornet they felt they would be safe there but after a while sanitary conditions were getting pretty bad. The Seabees were called back and several large holes were dug and heads built over them. The civilians in the camps were ordered to clean
it up or move on, they were also ordered to tear everything down and put it up a certain way, and all tents were to be dress right dress. This wasn’t so much to make it look nicer it was for sanitary reasons where small trenches could be dug to allow water flow through the camp.

  All of the unwanted items that were no longer needed, basically everything that made it a museum was discarded and moved down to the parking lot, except the tourist flight simulators for now those they would keep. The ship could easily power them and it would give the crew something else to do with their down time, not to mention they could use them for training. One of the items on the crew’s wish list was a modern gym fortunately they had passed two 24 hour fitness gyms they were pretty sure the equipment would still be in them, who would loot a gym?

  Several blocks away armed Sailors with trucks arrived at one of those 24 hour finesses to see if there was anything they could use. Commander Elliot told them to go town, meaning take everything if you can. As they entered the building it was semi-dark and they were right, no one had entered the building thinking there was nothing in there but workout machines, in fact there was all sorts of stuff. Workout clothes, supplements, energy bars, drinks everything they would take with them, they loaded up one of the trucks with all of it.

  They brought in tools to unfasten the machines from the floor which they went right to work doing, there were lots of free weights others started to load up with the benches. It took them all day to get everything out that they wanted. Once back at the ship they looked up from the parking lot to the gangway and into the ship, they would have to carry all of this stuff uphill and there was a lot of it. Lucky for them much of the crew was waiting to help, they were also looking forward to working out with the new gear.

  The civilians looked on with amazement thinking life must be so good on the ship that there getting work out equipment when they were living like animals. The looks on the faces of the civilians wasn’t lost on Commander Elliot. The next day he would send out several of the vehicles with armed escorts to scavenge for items for the civilians. He knew there were some sporting goods stores that had been boarded up and looked at least from the outside to have not been looted.

  They found the boarded up stores merchandise to be largely intact some people had been able to get in but didn’t really take much. Most of the camping equipment was still there, the Sailors had seen this time and again. The people of San Francisco even at the events worst which was probably the first month or so believed that everything was going to be OK the government would take care of them. So many people they found had died of gunshot wounds it was unbelievable, the vast majority refused to arm themselves, thinking the police would protect them. Not fully realizing the police were overwhelmed and had no working vehicles. They loaded up the trucks with everything they could find which included sleeping bags, tables, butane, stoves, candles, matches, chairs, new tents, everything they would need for camping.

  Next up were the big box stores warehouse that sat on the outskirts of town and were generally very secure. The ones they had checked near Hayward months after the event hadn’t been touched they were hopeful they would find the same thing. It took about forty-five minutes to get to the warehouses then it took another ten minutes to bust through all of the security measures to get into them. Like the others they had found near Hayward they were bustling with merchandise. They loaded up the trucks with everything they could, clothes, bottled water, Gatorade, flavored waters and food. As well as blankets, indoor outdoor carpets everything they thought could be used.

  The trucks were bustling with all sorts of goods now, they re-secured the warehouse to make sure no one else could get it, well they hoped. From there they returned to the Hornet they all felt good about what would happen when they got there. When they pulled up the civilians assumed the Sailors were getting more goods to make their lives easier. Instead, the trucks pulled into the vehicle park which was secured the Sailors left and the Marines took over guarding it.

  The Sailors returned to the ship and spoke with Commander Elliot they had taken inventory of everything they had collected while loading it up. The Commander ordered flyers be written up and distributed to the civilians this evening and they would begin distributing the goods the following morning. Commander Elliot was concerned that there might be some sort of free for all riot once they started to distribute the goods. He sent a runner to Camp Parks to ask for civilian security help with potential crowds and rioting if it got out of hand.

  Colonel Clayton didn’t have a problem sending civilian security over to help so he sent the runner with his letter over to the security school to see what they could do to help. They had a class of a hundred graduating in a few days and would be more than happy to send them to help it would be a great practical exercise to give them some real world training. The Academy Chief told runner to let Commander Elliot know the security teams will be there by 0700 and asked him to please be prepared with a plan to deploy them as well as one to brief them if things go to hell.

  The runner returned to the Hornet and reported to Commander Elliot and briefed him on the meeting with Colonel Clayton and the Academy Security Chief. The Commander thought was great it was all coming together, hopefully everything would turnout well. The flyers had already been handed out, there was a lot of talk and excitement in the camps tomorrow would be like Christmas, truth be told it was Christmas.

  Trucks loaded with civilian security personnel arrived just before 0700 and Commander Elliot and the Marines had met them as they arrived. The civilians in the camp were already up and moving around wondering what now was going on? They disbursement of goods wasn’t supposed to start until 0900 Commander Elliot pulled the men and woman security officers into a GM medium tent that had been set up, it would act as the CP during the operation. They were all briefed, most of them left for their security posts and were told what to do in the event of a riot, but with all of the armed Marines and Sailors around it would hopefully be deterrent enough.

  They had erected several other GP Mediums where the goods could be given out and those tents were encircled by a fence that was set up very early in the morning everyone for now would be able to select ten items and no more.

  To get into the area they would have to pass through another GP medium tent to make sure no weapons went in. Everyone waiting outside was told they would have to get into line and pass through, parents with children go to the head of the line, there was a lot of grumbling about that, but it was accepted.

  At 0900 the sides of the GP Medium they were to pass through were rolled up by the Sailors, what was odd and caught the attention of the civilians was that they were wearing Christmas hats and they could see colored lights in the tent, then all of a sudden Christmas music started to blare out from the Hornet, it was loud enough that everyone in the parking lot could hear it.

  Then to everyone’s surprise Santa Claus stepped out of the tent yelling, “Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!” The children’s faces light up and there was a Christmas tree inside the tent, it was beautiful. They were told that as they entered the tent all children would get one wrapped gift which didn’t count against the ten they were allowed to get. Parents were surprised and many had tears rolling down their cheeks.

  Commander Elliot came out of the tent and greeted everyone as they entered the tent he told them Merry Christmas from the United States Navy. He was out there for hours greeting everyone until the last person went in that night.

  People were able to get many needed things, granted ten was not a lot, but it was more than they had and they didn’t have to scrounge and fight for it. The day went smoothly with very little problems people became concerned when an item ran out but found it was quickly replaced with either the same thing or one just like it. It was Christmas after all and it had been a long dangerous year and most everyone was happy that the Navy was here.

  To top off the day everyone who came in had to leave via a different GP Medium, in that tent the Navy had set
up a buffet of food for everyone exiting. They would get a plate or plates as they entered and went down a line where their plates were loaded up with all sorts of food from the ships stores, not to mention they had hit a real bonanza at the big box warehouses. There were additional tables set up as they exited with all sorts of item to drink, while they ate Navy Corpsman’s walked around and asked about their health especially the children’s there would be some people who would be taken aboard and treated in the ships sickbay.

  The civilians were caught off guard by everything and so very thankful for what the Navy had just done for them. The Commander told them they would try to do something like this every few months it would depend on their deployment schedule, which meant when the ship was ready to sail and how long they would be gone.

  It was a very special Christmas for many people who never thought they would see another one in their lives; things had been pretty bleak over the last year. Almost all of them had lost someone close to them from starvation, dehydration, they got sick or they were killed. As they went back to the camp each tent or what passed for a place where someone lived had several brand new blankets waiting for them, now they knew why there were not blankets available when they went through.

  As night settled in Sailors walked through the camp singing Christmas carols which made the day even brighter for everyone. What seemed like a windfall to the civilians who were living around the Hornet was just as important to the Sailors and Marines who were crew it was a great morale booster to both sides.

  One of the observations that Commander Elliot had during the day was that he had a willing workforce right there. There was a lot of work to be done on the Hornet more than they could do on their own they just didn’t have the numbers. He needed electricians, plumbers, wielders, laborers, what he needed were a ready and willing work force that could help get the Hornet ready for sail.

  The crew was given that last week of the year off to do what they wanted, well not the entire crew, meals steel needed to be cooked, Sailors and Marines still have guard duty, essential personnel were not given the entire week off but they would be get time off it would just have to be worked out.