When he finished reading the documents, Dixon closed the folders and laid them on Wilford's desk. Unconsciously, he wiped the palms of his sweaty hands on his trouser legs. "How many people know about these operations?"
Wilford thought before he answered. "Not many. Very few know about both. You, your G-2, and your G-3 will be the only ones on your staff that will know about both. Everyone else is to be on a need-to-know basis, and only with my approval. There will be little time for you to get your feet on the ground."
"I assume, then, that they have the rest of the plan for the upcoming Bright Star exercise."
Surprised by how poorly Dixon had been prepared, Wilford leaned back and thought for a moment, trying to find an easy way of telling Dixon that he was about to get royally screwed. There was no easy way. "Colonel Dixon, you have just read everything there is on Pegasus. If there was a plan for the exercise, it was in Dedinger's head and went down with him in the Sudan."
"You mean we're going to plow on with this?" Dixon responded, more annoyed than surprised.
"We are. That's one of the reasons you were rushed over here."
The finality of Wilford's answer left no doubt that come hell or high water, Pegasus would happen. It also left no doubt that Dixon was the man on the spot. Seeing no point in pursuing that any further, Dixon moved on to his last order of business. With little to lose, he asked the question that had bothered him since receiving his orders: "Why me?"
Pausing for a moment, Wilford considered how to answer the question. He thought about handing him a line of bull, but quickly decided against that. Dixon appeared to be the type that would not fall for a song-and-dance. No, Wilford decided, I'll tell it like it is.
"Scott, despite the fact that you don't know shit about this country and its people, you were picked because the people in Washington thought you would be accepted."
Dixon thought about that for a moment before he continued. "Accepted by who? And why am I more acceptable than someone who knows logistics? After all, this slot calls more for an officer with more time in plans, someone who understands joint operations, not to mention the area and the people. This is not a job for a lieutenant-colonel designee whose only experience above division level has been mailman in the Army's War Room."
"The medal, Dixon — you have the medal. You happen to be the only armor major who commanded an armored unit in battle and, as a result of your actions, won the Congressional Medal of Honor. You have no idea what that does for your credibility. Washington offered four fully qualified officers, none of whom were acceptable to the chief of the Military Assistance Group or to me. None of them made it to Iran while it was hot. One of them turned in his resignation as soon as he learned he was being considered. Another had never served a day overseas in sixteen years of active duty. Besides, the Egyptians asked for you by name. Apparently the Egyptian military liaison office in Washington did some checking on their own and came across you."
"Then they also know that I declined command of a combined-arms maneuver battalion at Fort Carson and as a result I am a permanent fixture on the Army's shit list."
Wilford looked at Dixon for a moment. He had avoided that subject intentionally. For the first time he felt anger. To be offered an opportunity to command a combat unit and turn it down was a concept foreign to Wilford, an officer who would have sacrificed anything for just such a chance. "Yes, I'm sure they do."
For a moment there was a cold and uncomfortable silence as both men stared at each other, not trying to hide their mutual contempt. Dixon had been through this before. Well, Scotty me boy, he thought, so much for impressing your new boss with your tact and getting along with him. Fuck him! He doesn't understand and never will.
Wilford flinched first, looking down at some papers on his desk. "Well, I suppose you're anxious to get started. To help you get into the swing of things, it's been arranged to let you train with an Egyptian unit for three days in order to get you acclimated and familiar with the terrain and the Egyptian army. The unit you'll be with is a tank battalion of the Republican Brigade. They are conducting gunnery and small-unit tactical training west of Cairo, in the area that has been selected for Bright Star. The battalion commander, a Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Hafez, is a veteran of the '67 and '73 wars and a graduate of CGSC. His English is quite good, and he has a full understanding of our system. That will be very useful to you as you attempt to leam theirs, evaluate the terrain, and get some exposure to the culture."
Not wanting to spend any more time with Wilford than was necessary, Dixon limited his responses to a simple "Yes, sir, I'll do my best" or "That will be fine, sir." Even Wilford's inquiries into when Dixon's family would arrive and where he was looking for quarters were met with short, perfunctory responses. Until Dixon had a handle on his new assignment and had everything arranged, including living quarters, he planned to leave Fay and the boys in the States. The last thing he wanted to do was to drag his family into Egypt unprepared.
Without much ceremony the meeting ended. Dixon rose from his seat, walked up to Wilford's desk, and again saluted. Wilford's response was, at best, a wave of the hand.
It's going to be a long, hard tour, Scotty old boy, Dixon thought.
Chapter 4
Man has two supreme loyalties — to country and to family… So long as their families are safe, they will defend their country, believing that by their sacrifice they are safeguarding their families also.
Out of the corner of his eye, Captain Nikolai Ilvanich watched the young lieutenant approach the officers' table. He didn't recognize him as an officer within the regiment, and immediately he went on his guard. Ilvanich and the other company commanders of the 1st Battalion, 24th Airborne Regiment had just finished their lunch and were listening to Captain Korenev, commander of the 1st Company, tell a story about his latest bedroom adventure. No doubt Korenev expanded and added to the facts, adding great embellishments as he went along. Though Ilvanich was not really interested in Korenev's love life, at least Korenev had enough of an imagination to discuss something other than the counterguerrilla campaign in which they were currently involved. Anything was better than listening to Melnik, commander of the 2nd Company, puke up the latest party slogans.
As the young lieutenant came up to the table, Korenev saw him and stopped speaking. Aware that all eyes were on him, the lieutenant halted a few feet from the table and snapped to attention. Surveying the assembled officers before him, he asked if one of the captains present was the commander of the 3rd Company. Turning around in his chair to face the lieutenant, Ilvanich responded. "Your search is over, comrade. You have found Captain Ilvanich."
The lieutenant turned to face Ilvanich, rendered a snappy salute, and bellowed, "Senior Lieutenant Andrei Shegayev reporting for duty with the 3rd Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Airborne."
Ilvanich studied Shegayev for a moment and without returning his salute, told him to stand at ease. Shegayev responded by bringing his hand down and assuming a position of parade rest. "By any chance, Senior Lieutenant Shegayev, are you related to Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Shegayev?"
Shegayev looked into Ilvanich's eyes. "The colonel is my uncle, Comrade Captain." This surprised Ilvanich, and Shegayev saw it. "My uncle was the youngest son in the family, sort of a mistake my grandfather made late in life."