Nearly every Army Reserve and National Guard base in the country was being activated to federal service, and either had or was establishing a basic training facility. Over 250,000 NCOs and officers who had retired within the last 10 years were being asked if they would return back to active duty to fill drill instructor roles (which was a critically short position with most of the active duty force deployed). Of the 310,000 soldiers completing training each month, roughly 40,000 of them were being sent for additional military training in areas such as armored vehicle operation, artillery, communications, medical, cyber, and other essential functions, while the remaining 270,000 would attend an additional thirty-day advanced infantry course before forming new military divisions or being filtered in as replacements for other units currently engaged in Asia or the Middle East. Close to 5,000 soldiers were selected to attend the elite Army Ranger School. Another 2,000 Airmen were being selected for the Air Force Special Operations programs, and 3,000 Seamen were being held back to attend BUDs/SEAL training. Not to be left out, 3,000 Marine recruits were also being chosen to attend Marine Force Recon and Scout Sniper schools. The growth of Special Operations Command was exponential to its regular rate of increase; however, it was going to take time to train these special operators. The typical turnaround from recruitment to being battle ready in these jobs would be around 2–3 years.
Judges were once again offering certain convicted felons the choice between serving honorably in the military for four years instead of spending time in prison. This was having a double benefit of reducing the resources spent on jailing people for offenses such as robbery or assault, and providing legitimate rehabilitation and job training to people who weren’t beyond saving. The recidivism rate at the country’s prisons went way down, and the program was so successful that many communities saw a rise in voluntary recruitment.
The Army had reactivated several Armies that had been retired since the end of the Cold War and World War II. First Army had been activated to defend the Homeland; their numbers would soon swell to over 750,000 troops. Second Army was also forming and would stay in the US for the time being as well. The goal was to get these Armies established quickly and then have them train hard together for a number of months while the battles in Europe and the Middle East played out. Afterwards, the determination would be made as to where they should go.
In Europe, the US Army had activated the American Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Armies, the same Armies that had helped to defeat Nazi Germany that had been later deactivated with the end of the Cold War. Initially, the Fifth and Sixth Army were operating at 35 % strength just prior to the Russian invasion, while the Seventh was still being formed in England. General Gardner’s Third Army in the Middle East had been augmented with two additional Army groups, which pushed his operational strength to over 500,000 troops. He had five armored divisions and six mechanized infantry divisions to counter the Russian 2nd Shock Army, the Chinese 1st Expeditionary Force and nearly 2 Million Islamic Republic forces. General Gardner had asked to activate the American Fourth Army and position them in the Middle East as well. Once he was able to secure a breakout, he was going to need an additional Army to punch through it and fully exploit it. His goal was to finish the war with the IR as soon as possible so his forces could be fully turned on the Russians.
The challenge with all of these armies being formed was keeping up with the demands for equipment and soldiers. Both the Army and the Air Force lacked the necessary gear to support these forces, and it would be some time until that equipment could be produced. Both services quickly turned to their boneyards to find serviceable equipment that could be brought to bear quickly. It would take nearly five months for the Fifth and Sixth Armies to reach 100 % manning strength and that would largely depend on the number of casualties the Third Army continued to sustain in Israel.
The Air Force had reactivated most of the aircraft at the Davis-Monthan boneyard in Tucson, AZ. Nearly 500 A-10 ground attack aircraft were being retrofitted and upgraded with modern avionics and the new railguns, replacing the venerable 30mm chain gun it was known for. The aircraft would once again resume its role of “tank buster” and close air support, with the vast majority of these aircraft being sent to Europe. There were also 600 F15s, and 700 F16s being reactivated, along with 34 KC135 refueling aircraft and five additional JSTARs. These aircraft were not the most modern aircraft of the day, but compared with the fighter drones they would be going up against, they could still hold their own. Plus, their ability to attack ground targets also gave them the multi-fighter role the F22 did not have. However, finding qualified pilots and training new ones was going to be an enduring problem.
The Army’s Sierra Army Depot was hard at work refurbishing nearly 6,000 main battle tanks and over 16,000 assorted armored vehicles for deployment to Europe. With the creation of several new tank divisions, there was a huge need for tanks. The Anniston tank depot and the General Dynamics Ohio facilities could only produce so many Pershing tanks a month. The 300 new tanks being built each month could not keep up with the demand needed to keep both the Third Army and Fifth Army supplied, let alone sustain the creation of three other Armies. It would take time to build the military industrial complex to meet the war time needs; once fully operational, the entire manufacturing and technological capability of America would once again be pitted against the Superpowers of the world.
In Other Parts of the World
The bunker in General Gardner’s headquarters was nearly one hundred feet underground; it was part of a larger bunker complex used by the Israel Defense Force and the government during times of war. After twenty-one days, it had begun to smell musty, permeated with the scent of stale sweat and burnt cordite. It would have been hard to completely control the odor; nearly two hundred US Officers and NCOs were living in this complex responsible for running the war in the Middle East.
An Air Force Major, who had been manning the air battle management section, approached the head honcho. “General Gardner, the battle damage assessments are starting to come in from the final bombing raid.”
“How’s it looking?” asked Brigadier General Peter Williams.
“I’m bringing up the video feeds from the drones right now. The Air Force is about to send in a fourth wave of ground attack drones to hit any targets missed with the first three,” said the Major.
As the footage began to come to life on the widescreen monitors in the Command Center, the sheer destruction of the bombing was surreal. Thousands of Islamic Republic (IR) armored vehicles were burning wrecks and smoldering ruins; tens of thousands of burnt bodies could be seen strewn all across the battlefield. There were just a few targets left that had not been destroyed by the three waves of bombers and ground attack drones.
“Order the Third Corps in. I want the entire valley secured and the IR pushed back into Jordan. General Williams, send the order to Major General Peeler to have his 2nd Marines pivot south and push the IR out of Southern Israel. With the loss of nearly 400,000 troops in the West Bank, the IR is going to be reeling — now is the time to press home the attack.” General Gardner directed. He had a commanding voice, and a look in his eye that only a victorious commander could project.