EDGE OF BATTLE DALE BROWN
CAST OF CHARACTERS
MAJOR JASON RICHTER, U.S. Army, commander Task Force TALON
DR. ARIADNA VEGA, Ph.D., deputy commander Task Force TALON
CAPTAIN FRANK “FALCON” FALCONE, USAF, operations and intelligence officer Task Force TALON
FIRST LIEUTENANT JENNIFER MCCRACKEN, USMC, deputy commander for operations Task Force TALON
CID PILOTS
HARRY DODD, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Task Force TALON
MIKE TESCH, formerly of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Task Force TALON
SAMUEL CONRAD, President of the United States
SERGEANT MAJOR RAYMOND JEFFERSON, U.S. Army, National Security Adviser
THOMAS F. KINSLY, Chief of Staff
GEORGE WENTWORTH, Attorney General
KELSEY DELAINE, director of Federal Bureau of Investigation
SPECIAL AGENT JANICE PERKINS, Kelsey DeLaine’s assistant and bodyguard
CHRISTOPHER J. PARKER, Secretary of State
LEON POINDEXTER, U.S. ambassador to United Mexican States
ALEXANDER KALLIS, director of National Intelligence
RUSSELL COLLIER, Secretary of Defense
GENERAL GORDON JOELSON, USAF, commander U.S. Northern Command
JEFFREY F. LEMKE, Secretary of Homeland Security
JAMES A. ABERNATHY, director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
ANNETTE J. CASS, U.S. Attorney, southern district of California
BRUNO WATTS, FBI deputy assistant director for counterterrorism; new FBI commander of Task Force TALON
ANGELICA PIERCE, Special Agent in Charge, FBI San Diego field office
OPERATION RAMPART PERSONNEL
BRIGADIER GENERAL RICARDO LOPEZ, national deputy director of the Army National Guard, commander of Operation Rampart
GEORGE TRUJILLO, deputy director of Customs and Border Protection, deputy commander of Operation Rampart
CAPTAIN BEN GRAY, USAR, Rampart One, Boulevard California
SERGEANT MAJOR, JEREMY NORMANDIN, USAR, Rampart One
BORDER PATROL AGENTS
PAUL PURDY
ALBERT SPINELLI
ROBERT “RAIDER” O’ROURKE, nationally syndicated radio talk-show personality in Henderson, Nevada
FAND KENT, producer, Bob O’Rourke’s The Bottom Line radio talk show
GEORGIE WAYNE, sound engineer, Bob O’Rourke’s The Bottom Line radio talk show
COMMANDER HERMAN GEITZ, American Watchdog Project
UNITED MEXICAN STATES GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
MS. CARMEN MARAVILLOSO, President of the United Mexican States
FELIX DÍAZ, Minister of Internal Affairs, Director-General of the Political Police
JOSÉ ELVAREZ, deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, director of operations of the Political Police and Sombras (Special Investigations Unit)
HECTOR SOTELO, Minister of Foreign Affairs
GENERAL ALBERTO ROJAS, Minister of National Defense
RAFAEL NAVARRO, Attorney General
ARMANDO OCHOA, deputy consul general, United Mexican States consulate, San Diego
MAJOR GERARDO AZUETA, border task force commander, Mexican Army
LIEUTENANT IGNACIO SALINAS, company commander, Mexican Army
MASTER SERGEANT JORGE CASTILLO, Mexican Army
ERNESTO FUERZA, “Comandante Veracruz,” drug and human smuggler
YEGOR VIKTORVICH ZAKHAROV, former Russian oil company executive and oligarch, military leader of the Consortium terror group
SMUGGLERS
VICTOR FLORES
MARTÍN ALVAREZ
LUIZ VASQUEZ
WEAPONS
CONDOR, an unmanned airship, resembling a seagull or large bird, with a 120-foot wingspan; built of lightweight carbon-fiber skin and Mylar; ducted prop-fan engines; maximum endurance thirty-six hours; maximum altitude ten thousand feet aboveground; maximum speed ninety knots; maximum payload two thousand pounds, including cameras, UHB radar, or air-dropped CID units.
GUOS, a grenade-launched unmanned observation system; small man-launched drones capable of carrying satellite-uplinked images; can fly up to one thousand feet aboveground for up to two hours.
GULLWING, an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft (also known as a UAV), assembled and launched from a Humvee, endurance eight hours; maximum altitude five thousand feet AGL; mini-turbojet powered; retrieved by flying into a recovery net; carries a variety of sensors including low-light TV, UHB radar, and imaging infrared; capable of transmitting images and data by satellite; can be steered from ground stations or by commands from a CID squad.
MMWR, a millimeter wave radar, capable of detecting tiny amounts of metal from long distance and even underground.
SA-14, an improved version of the Russian SA-7 man-portable surface-to-air missile; 2.2-pound warhead, maximum target range 3.6 miles, maximum target altitude ten thousand feet.
TEC-9, nine-millimeter semiautomatic pistol.
VH-71, next-generation presidential transportation helicopter, called Marine One when the President is on board.
ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND TERMINOLOGY
AG—Attorney General
AGL—above ground level
AMO—Air and Marine Operations (Department of Homeland Security)
APC—armored personnel carrier
ARTCC—air route traffic control center
ATV—all-terrain vehicle
BDU—battle dress uniform
“bent”—device or system inoperable
BORSTAR—Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue
BORTAC—Border Patrol Tactical unit
CBP—U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service
CHP—California Highway Patrol
CID—Cybernetic Infantry Device
Council of Government—Mexican presidential advisers
DAICC—Domestic Air Interdiction Coordination Center
DCI—Director of Central Intelligence
DDICE—digital distant identification and collection equipment
DHS—U.S. Department of Homeland Security
DNI—Director of National Intelligence
DRO—U.S. Deportation and Recovery Operations Service
DSS—Diplomatic Security Service
ETA—estimated time of arrival
ETE—estimated time en route
FEBA—forward edge of the battle area
FLIR—forward-looking infrared
FM—farm to market
FOL—forward operating location
GSW—gunshot wound
GUOS—grenade-launched unmanned observation system
Humvee—high mobility wheeled vehicle
HUWB—high-powered ultra wideband radar
ICE—U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
INS—Immigration and Naturalization Service, changed to USCIS (see USCIS)
klick—kilometer
LZ—landing zone
MANPADS—man-portable air defense system
MMWR—millimeter-wave radar
Mode C—radio signal that reports altitude to air traffic control radar
Mode 3—radio signal that reports aircraft identification information to air traffic control radar
MOU—memorandum of understanding
NIS—(pronounced “nice”) nanotransponder identification system
NORTHCOM—U.S. Northern Command
NVG—night vision goggles
OAS—Organization of American States
OHV—off-highway vehicle
OTH-B—over the horizon-backscatter long-range radar
OTMs—other than Mexicans—illegal immigrants to the United States from countries all over the world who cannot easily be deported and, because of budget shortfalls and overcrowding in detention facilities, are often released from custody with nothing more than a notice to appear (see permiso) before a deportation judge. Over 60 percent of OTMs fail to appear for deportation hearings and are untraceable by immigration officials.