military officers. “So. Should we now expel all foreign military forces from our country, Jose?” “Part of the problem in this country was that we excluded some but invited others, ” Samar said. “Our country is still too poor to hope we can survive by isolating ourselves from all contact with the outside world-perhaps we should try opening our ports to all foreign military vessels. If the Americans have use of port facilities for their military fleets, why not the Chinese, or the Vietnamese, or the Russians? Is one society more or less corrupting than another?” “Interesting idea, ” Mikaso said. “Interesting . “I know, I know-you did not expect it of me, ” Samar said. “I am just a poor dumb soldier, forced to dress like a politician.”
“Is that how you see yourself?” “If I could control what others thought of me, it would be different, ” Samar said. There was a rather long and comfortable pause between the two men; then: “What will you do with Teguina? Will you push for the gallows?”
“Good question, Jose. What would you do?” Samar adopted a faraway glance. “I’ve seen enough death in this country, ‘ he said. “Frankly, I do not think that fool Teguina had a chance in hell of succeeding-he is too greedy and self-serving to lead a country in revolution. . “Are you?” Samar gave Mikaso an irritated glance. “You speak like some kind of amateur psychiatrist, Mr. President, answering questions with qliestions.” He ignored Mikaso’s question and concluded, “I don’t think such blind idiocy deserves the gallows. The prison at Puerto Princesa would be an appropriate home for him for the rest of his life.”
“Good answer, ” Mikaso said. He took a deep breath, expelled it, and said, “I have decided to advise the Parliament tomorrow morning that I will step down as President and that you serve out the remainder of my term. What do you think of that, Jose?” Without eyebrows, it was hard to tell if Samar reacted at all to the announcement with anything that might be considered surprise. With characteristic calm, he nodded at Mikaso and said with just a hint of a smile, “I approve of your decision, Mr. President.” THE WHITE HOUSE ROSE GARDEN WEDNESDAY, 2 NOVEMBER 1994, 1007 HOURS ET “Attention to orders, ” Colonel Michael Krieg, General Richard “Rat Killer” Stone’s aide, began. “Citation to accompany the award of the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross to Patrick S. McLanahan.” General Stone stood in front of Patrick McLanahan in the Rose Garden of the White House. Just a few steps away was the President of the United States, the Vice President, and just about every other Cabinet member, important Congressmen, and a host of other dignitaries. Aligned along the front steps of the White House were twelve crew members-one B-52 crew from Fairchild AFB in Washington state, one B- I crew from Dyess AFB in Texas, and Cobb and McLanahan-selected to receive the prestigious DFC in a White House ceremony. All members of the Air Battle Force had received Joint Service Commendation Medals, and many had received Bronze Stars for their roles in the Philippine conflict. “Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Sz McLanahan distinguished himself by meritorious service as Mission Commander, B-2A, from 1 October 1994 to 2 November 1994. During this period, the outstanding professional skill, exceptional leadership, and selfless efforts of Lieutenant Colonel McLanahan aided significantly in the successful battle against invading People’s Republic of China forces in the Republic of the Philippines.” Anyone who knew about individual citations, as Patrick did, would know that the unit designation had been purposely omitted from his award citation-even though this award was unclassified (he had received the Air Force Cross, the highest Air Force award except for the Medal of Honor, after the Old Dog mission, but was prohibited from wearing the ribbon), the citation still had to be doctored to keep secret the fact that Patrick worked at a secret flight-test facility. “Lieutenant Colonel McLanahan flew in two combat sorties during the Philippine campaign: the first, while unarmed and carrying only reconnaissance equipment, Lieutenant Colonel McLanahan flew his B-2 bomber over heavily defended airspace close to enemy warships to gather intelligence data vital to the successful execution of the campaign. The second mission, flown only twenty-four hours later, Lieutenant Colonel McLanahan destroyed several enemy warships and a key airdefense radar site in enemy-held territory, was hit by enemy fire several times, yet helped his aircraft commander to bring their crippled aircraft back and landed safely. The distinctive accomplishments of Lieutenant Colonel McLanahan reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.” General Stone pinned the medal onto Patrick’s uniform, stepped back, and saluted; Patrick returned the salute, then shook hands. “Thank you, sir, ” Patrick said. “I think it’s time for you to get out of Dreamland, Patrick, ” Stone said. “There’s ajob at SAC headquarters waiting for you. Just say the word.”
“I appreciate that, ” Patrick replied, “but as long as General Elliott is at HAWC, that’s where I want to be.” Stone smiled knowingly and gave a short laugh. “Yep, he does have that effect on people. Good luck, Patrick.” A short reception was held in the West Wing afterward, and it was then that Patrick noticed that Jon Masters had disappeared. After inquiring with one of Paul Cesare’s secretaries, he was escorted by a Secret Service agent downstairs to the White House Situation Room, where he found Jon Masters and Brad Elliott watching a newly installed PACER SKY satellite terminal from the Situation Room conference table. Patrick was not surprised to see that the screen was focused on the south Philippines near Zamboanga. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Something happening out there…?”
“No, it’s going along pretty smoothly, ” Elliott replied. “Looks like PACAF air patrols are flying out of Zamboanga already. We’ve got the Wisconsin battle group in the Sulu Sea, too.”
“It was pretty hairy out there, ” Patrick admitted. “I’m glad the thing defused so quickly. But why are you guys down here?”
“Jon wanted to take a look . “At your satellite terminal?”
“No, ” Masters said. “At the Philippines; at the planes.” He paused for a few moments, then added: “You know something, Patrick: I’ll never look at this stuff the same way again.” “What do you mean?”
“Well, I always used to see icons… pictures… nothing but computer-processed data on those screens, ” Jon said. “I worried more about the quality of the image, how long it’s been since the data was updated, the readability-and the profits. You know, the usual… “But now. . . I see the pilots, crew chiefs, sailors, husbands and fathers out there. I think of how far they are from home. I wonder if they’ve got enough water, or if they’ve been up for a long time, or if they’ve been able to call home or gotten a letter from home-and I worry. I don’t think I’ve worried about anything or anybody in ten years. I think about how dangerous it is to be flying at night-hell, I never used to know, or care, about what time of day it was out there. I never used to think about those icons, never realized that each symbol represented so many Americans fighting and dying in a strange land.” He looked at the screen, then at McLanahan and Elliott with a faint smile and said, “It’s like what you said back at the Arc Light Memorial on Guam, General, looking at that old B-52: I only saw the machine out there, but you saw the men. I didn’t understand you then, but I think I understand now. “I think you do too, Jon, ” Brad Elliott said. “And you know what? I don’t think you’ll ever be the same. Masters nodded, knowing Elliott was right. McLanahan knew it, too. … GLOSSARY All items are real-world terms except where designated with ‘F AAA-Anti Aircraft Artillery Advanced Missile Warning System-next generation of satellites that detect enemy missile launches Aegis-advanced naval air defense radar system AGM-84E SLAM-modified Harpoon long-range cruise missile with TV and satellite navigation system guidance AGM-I30 Striker-rocket-boosted two-thousand-pound glide bomb; range ten to fifteen miles AIM-7 -Sparrow radar-guided medium-range air-to-air missile AIM-9-Sidewinder infrared (heat) guided short-range air-to- air missile AIM-54-Phoenix radar-guided long-range air-to-air missile AIM-120-Scorpion radar-guided medium-range air-to-air missile ALARM-(F) Air Launched Alert Response Missile; aircraft-launched space booster AMRAAM-AIM- I20 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile; next generation of “launch-and-leave” guided missiles AMWS- Advanced Missile Warning System, next-generation radar/ laser system to warn pilots of incoming antiaircraft missiles ASEAN-Association of South East Asian Nations, cooperative council of nations, generally aligned to counter growing influence of China: Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia ASIS-(F) Attack Systems Integration Station, the mission commander’s area (right seat) of a B-2 stealth bomber, responsible for navigation and attack ASROC-nuclear-tipped antisubmarine rocket torpedoes, launched by Navy ships ASTAB- automated status board monitors, part of AEGIS radar system AWACS-Airborne Warning and Control System, the E-3 radar plane that can detect, track, identify, and control air targets at long range AWG-9-long-range, high- powered attack radar on Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters BGAAWC-Battle Group Anti-Aircraft Warfare Center, the control center for all antiaircraft warfare in a Navy battle group Bhangmeters-nuclear detonation detection system on satellites; detects and measures the flash of a nuclear detonation and estimates the strength of the warhead BLU- 9fuel-air explosive bomb, a weapon that disperses a fuel oil into the air; many times more powerful than a conventional bomb of similar size because it does not carry its own chemical oxidizers BMEWBallistic Missile Early Warning System, a radar system used to detect launch of submarine-launched ballistic missiles BNBombing and Navigation System BUFF-Big Ugly Fat Fellow, nickname for the B-52 bomber C101-long-range ship- or land-launched antiship missile built by China; Silkworm C601-long-range air-launched antiship missile built by China C801- medium-range Chinese antiship missile CAP-Combat Air Patrol, layers of fighters set up in an area to search for enemy attackers CIC-Combat Information Center, the central communications and control area on board naval
