Chapter 19
THE ARMY-GREEN LAND ROVER rumbled out of Camp Hayden’s western gate.
Sergeant Mike Miller was at the wheel, dressed in desert camo.
Brodie sat shotgun, and Taylor was in the back.
Captain Pickman was apparently indisposed but would speak with them later in the day.
Brodie knew he shouldn’t read too much into that, but he was in the mode of reading into everything.
As they drove along a strip of hard-packed sand toward the training grounds, Sergeant Miller gave them a rundown of a standard exercise.
“We’re typically two to three squads, the number of tin men changes.
We are always the defenders, so we arrive first and have two hours to prep before the assault.
Once it gets going, it’s a battle of annihilation.
No prisoners. No surrender. The only metrics are your kill count and the length of your unit’s survival.
” He pointed out the windshield. “There’s our beautiful village. ”
About half a mile ahead Brodie saw the cluster of boxy cinderblock buildings that made up the training ground. Most were two or three stories tall, but among them were a few four- and five-story towers.
Taylor asked Miller, “Why are you always the defenders?”
“Because, ma’am, if we were to launch an open-terrain assault on a dug-in position of tin men, it would be over in about thirty seconds.”
Taylor nodded but did not reply.
As they got closer Brodie spotted the firing nests atop the man-made hills just outside of the concentration of structures. He also noted that inside the village, several of the rooftops held firing positions ringed with sandbags and tripods for mounted guns.
Brodie commented, “That’s a lot of mounted positions for two or three Ranger squads.”
“Well,” replied Miller, “that’s a big part of the suck, Mr. Brodie.
You want maneuverability, but you need high-caliber firepower to penetrate these bastards.
They’re titanium. So we opt for mounted M2s, plus RPGs, grenade launchers, and other kinds of MANPATS.
We pick them off as we can on the approach, but they’re fast and most survive the charge.
Once they’re in the village we’re deploying hit-and-run tactics.
We’re an infantry platoon, but they’re a goddamn tank battalion that’s just shaped like infantry. ”
That sucked, all right. And it drove home the point that the tin men were not simply mechanical stand-ins for human soldiers, with better endurance, maneuverability, and precision.
They were also much more durable, which put them in a whole new target category, and engagement with them required cumbersome anti-materiel weapons.
The Army liked to talk big about doing the impossible, but Camp Hayden’s platoon of Rangers was really being asked to do it, day in and day out.
And they were apparently failing, day in and day out, despite their best efforts.
That would screw up anyone, even without a heroic dose of speed, steroids, and cocaine.
Brodie said, “You’re insurgents, basically. That’s how you are being forced to engage.”
Miller nodded as he slowed the Land Rover about thirty feet from the entrance to the main street that ran through the village.
The sergeant’s eyes scanned the empty training grounds, where a line of prop laundry swayed in the wind, and a string of busted-up cars lined the roadway.
“We are tasked with occupying and holding a position and fighting to the death against a technologically superior force. Not exactly relevant training for U.S. Army Rangers.”
“Because you’re not the ones being trained,” said Taylor. “The tin men are.”
“Bingo,” replied Miller.
Apparently, Sergeant Miller was of the same mind as General Morgan on the real purpose of their mission. But Morgan, like any good commanding officer, justified the hell he was putting his men through. Which led Brodie to ask, “Do you believe this training has any value for you and your men?”
Miller turned and looked at Brodie with his world-weary eyes.
“You mean was it worth the lives of Justin Beal and Roger Ames, or the sanity of Tom Greer? No, sir. There are a lot of causes worth dying for, worth sacrificing your mind and body for. This shit isn’t it.
” He threw the car into park and turned off the ignition. “Let’s take a walk.”