In the center was the Team’s headquarters section, consisting of Alpha 66, which was Bannon’s tank, Alpha 55 commanded by the XO’s, and two ITVs from the mech battalion’s antitank company. From there they had a good view of the valley, a small village situated in the valley to the right front, a north-south road on the far side of a minor river, and a second valley that ran west to east and emptied into the larger on to the team’s front. This constituted the limit of the Team’s battle position.
It was on the right that the Team had the greatest concentration of power, the 3rd Platoon and the Mech Platoon. The Mech Platoon attached to the Team was still equipped with M-113 armored personnel carriers and Dragon antitank guided missiles. It had been scheduled to receive Bradley fighting vehicles but, much to the chagrin of its parent battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Reynolds of 3rd of the 78th Infantry, that kept getting put off due to a slowed down in the procurement of those powerful fighting vehicles.
The Mech Platoon was split into two elements. The dismounted element, led by the platoon leader, consisted of most of the infantrymen, two Dragons and three M60 machineguns. This element occupied a walled farmstead in the small valley on the right. The mounted element, led by the platoon sergeant, consisted of the Platoon’s PCs, their crews and two more Dragons teams. They were above the same farm on the slope in the tree line. From their positions the Mech Platoon could block the small valley and keep anyone from exiting the village if and when the other people got in there.
The 3rd Platoon was located a little further behind and higher up on the slope from the Mech Platoon. From its positions there it could fire into the main valley, the small valley to its right, the village, or across the valley at the opposite heights. This platoon would also be responsible for covering the withdrawal of the Mech Platoon if that became necessary.
Bannon was not comfortable with the idea of defending on a forward slope. Should a withdrawal under fire be necessary, all the Team’s vehicles would have to go uphill, at times exposed themselves to observation and fire from the enemy on the other side of the valley. In addition, the only positions from which most of the Team would be able to fire were immediately inside the tree line. This position was so obvious it hurt. Bannon could visualize some Soviet artillery officer plotting likely targets and coming across their hill during his terrain analysis. Glee would light up on the Russian’s face as he told his trusted subordinate. “There, that is where they will defend, in this tree line. Make sure we blanket that area with five, no six, battalions of artillery.” Bannon had gone over his reservations concerning this very point with Colonel Reynolds every time they’d reviewed their go-to-war plans. On this morning, as he stood at the edge of the tree line where his Team was deployed, looking across the valley at the high ground the enemy would occupy, if, by some miracle, war was averted, he resolved he would once more push for a change in the Team’s deployment. But for now he, and Team Yankee, were obliged to fight on the ground where they sat.
As Bannon approached the 3rd Platoon’s position, he heard a slight rustling followed by the two low voices. He had reached the Platoon’s OP/LP.
“Halt, who goes there?” came the challenge in a voice that was a little too loud and sounded surprised.
Bannon had no doubt he’d caught the soldiers manning the OP half-asleep and had startled them. The voice that had issued the challenge sounded like Private Lenard from Alpha 32, a tank commanded by SSG Joelle Blackfoot, a full-blooded Cherokee. The sentry repeated his challenge, “Halt! Who goes there?” It was Lenard.
“Captain Bannon.”
“Oh, okay. You can come on in then.”
While this homey invitation was a refreshing change of pace from the less-than-cheerful thoughts Bannon had been mulling over, it was definitely not the way to do business while on guard. As he approached, he could hear a second soldier telling Lenard that he had screwed up. When he was no more than arm’s distance from them, the two men quietly stood up to face their commanding officer.
As they were just inside the tree line, none of them could see the other’s face. But Bannon was reasonably sure there was a pained expression on Lenard’s face. Not knowing which of the two forms facing him was Lenard, he directed his comments to both. “Is that the proper way to challenge someone?”
“No, sir, it’s not, sir.”
“How are you supposed to challenge someone when they are approaching your position?”
Without hesitation, and as if he were reading it from the soldier’s handbook, Lenard went through the correct challenge and password procedures. With a plaintive voice and a few expletives, Bannon asked him why he hadn’t used the correct procedures. “Because you said you were the CO and I recognized your voice, sir,” came the response.
The answer was honest, but wrong. After Bannon had explained that everyone got the full treatment, Lenard, an honest, if outspoken soldier, replied he didn’t understand the logic in this, but promised that he wouldn’t forget the next time. As Bannon turned away and began to make his away toward 32, he could hear the second soldier berating Lenard as they settled down into their positions again. “See, I told you so.”
Upon reaching Alpha 32, Bannon started climbing up on the right front fender but stopped halfway up when he heard the cocking of a .45 and a low, firm “Halt.” The voice belonged to Blackfoot. Bannon had no doubt that there was a pistol cocked, loaded, and aimed at him. “Who goes there?”
“Captain Bannon.”
“Advance and be recognized.”
Bannon finished climbing up and moved slowly to the edge of the turret until he was able to make out the figure in the cupola with an outstretched arm holding a .45. In a lower voice, just audible to him, Blackfoot gave the challenge, “Wrinkle.”
“Bait,” Bannon’s replied.
Satisfied with the answer, Blackfoot raised his pistol and slowly let the hammer down. “When’s the war going to start, Captain?”
Pulling himself up onto the top of the turret so that he was lying across the length of it with his head near Blackfoot’s, Bannon spoke to him about Lenard’s failure to challenge him properly before asking how things were going with the crew’s preparations for combat.
Being the thorough NCO that he was, Blackfoot informed Bannon he was not happy with the crew drill between himself and his gunner. He explained that his gunner was slow to pick up targets that he, Blackfoot, had acquired and had laid the main gun on. He wanted to spend some time someplace where they could move the tank and practice their crew drill. Bannon explained that for security reasons all vehicular movement had to be kept down to a minimum. Blackfoot, like everyone else in the Team, would just have to do the best he could from a stationary position. Blackfoot replied that he knew that, but he saw no harm in asking.
After getting the weather prediction for the day and his best guess as to when the fog would lift from Blackfoot, Bannon climbed down and proceeded to Alpha 31, Lieutenant Garger’s tank, which was the next in line.
As he approached 31, Bannon began going over the counseling he would use with Garger this morning. All in all, Garger wasn’t a bad lieutenant. In fact, he was no different from any other second lieutenant he’d ever come across known. It took time, training, and a lot of patience to develop a good tank platoon leader. For only having been in the country for three weeks, Garger wasn’t doing half bad. But while half bad was acceptable during a training exercise, it wouldn’t hack it in combat. The time and opportunity to teach the lieutenant everything he needed to know just wasn’t there anymore. The Team was on the cusp of going into combat and Bannon had no faith in Garger’s ability to perform under the stress and strain of battle.