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.So, your other mission will be training and advisement of thebattalion on employment and tactics.The problem is that you are a lieutenant.I happen to have the acquaintance of the battalion commander, LieutenantColonel Youngman.Remember my predecessor in the battalion?""Yes, sir.I hope you don't mean what I think you mean.""Lieutenant Colonel Youngman has an excellent record and previous combatcommand experience.He is also a good leader.But, he's just a little bitarrogant about his abilities and knowledge for my taste.Ialso suspect he may be phobic about the new technologies.That may cause someproblems."Page 51 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Then why did he get the first ACS battalion?""They knew that it was going in harm's way so they assigned a good solidcombat commander; there aren't that many choices.And, as always, there arepolitical considerations.The Marines got to decide what unit got the firstACS on Barwhon and Airborne got to decide who got it on Diess.I would havepreferred someone who was a little more flexible, but older and wiser headsdecided, for whatever reason, that the first group should be the two/threetwenty-fifth and the commander should beYoungman.Lieutenant Colonel Paul T.Youngman wouldn't like another lieutenantcolonel `advising' him, much less a lieutenant, so you're just going to haveto use as much tact as possible.I can't get free right now and you're thenext best choice.""What about Gunny Thompson?" The senior NCO of the GalTech infantry team hadbeen pulled out ofFleet Marines for the program.Initially pessimistic about the armored combatsuit program he had become one of its major proponents."He's taking the same position with the Marine detachment on Barwhon, so, Tag!you're it.And you won't have much support here or there; since the designphase is over and production is in gear, our star is on the wane.""So after the eval what happens?""What I hope happens is that we both get combat commands.You deserve acompany.But running rough shod over the design and procurement process hashad a negative effect on my career.I expect I'll get something like `J-3, MidWest Guard Command.' ""That's stupid, with all the old war-horses they're rejuving, that should goto somebody who last heard a shot fired in anger in 'Nam.""Don't worry about it, Mike.You and I are warriors.If there is anything thathistory teaches us, it's that at the beginnings of wars the career officersare divided into two camps, the managers and the warriors, and the managersrule.It's happened in every war; Halsey was a captain at the beginning ofWWII andKusov was a colonel.As the war goes on the managers go back to personnel andlogistics and the warriors take command.Our stars will rise again when theshit hits the fan.Bet on it."11San Diego, CA Sol III0822 November 5th, 2001 ADErnie Pappas was a United States citizen born in the Territory of AmericanSamoa.In 1961 at eighteen years of age, he enlisted in the United StatesMarine Corp as a private.Samoans are an odd and desired commodity in theUnited States military.Odd because along with generally Herculean physiquethey have distinctive Polynesian features that stand out among a sea ofmedium-sized black and white.They are desired because along with theaforementioned Herculean physiques come sharp intellects and unflappablepersonalities.Samoans attain rank fast and commanders with Samoan NCOs arguestrenuously for their unit stabilization beyond normal periods.Theirreenlistment rate is high.In 1964, Lance Corporal Pappas married sixteen-year-old Priscilla Walls ofYemassee, South Carolina.This marriage violated several taboos in the eyes of Mr.and Mrs.Walls.First, although not Negro, Lance Corporal Pappas was of "color." In 1964 inYemassee, South Carolina, white girls, even lower income white girls, did notmarry people of color.Second, Missy Priscilla, their Baby Prissy, wasunderage for such things; although marriage among her peers, and her parents'peers, had occurred as early as fifteen.Third, the young man was an enlistedmarine.Although Priscilla considered this a step up in life her peers couldPage 52 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlbe most kindly referred to as "lower income rural" her parents were of theopposite opinion.Lower income rural had been good enough for her grandfather,a share cropper, and great-grandfather, a share cropper, and it was betterthan a "chink jarhead." (Mr.Walls' knowledge of the Territory of AmericanSamoa rivaled his knowledge of nuclear physics.)Despite these facts, the Walls signed the obligatory papers and stood beforethe justice of the peace with Prissy's sister acting as matron of honor andLance Corporal Pappas' gunnery sergeant as best man, because Prissy had missedtwo periods and appeared to be in a family way.It was now November 5, 2001 AD and retired Master Gunnery Sergeant EarnestPappas sipped hot, black Kona coffee in his own kitchen and appeared tocontemplate his SaturdaySan Diego Times.Intermittently he would blow his cheeks out and puff the resultant air with agentle motoring sound.Mrs.Earnest Pappas was clearing the breakfast dishes and from thirty-sevenyears experience correctly judged his mood as black.She even knew the reasonsfor his mood.The reasons were twofold.Despite the fact that he had given them threegood-looking grandchildren, all college graduates, had never raised a hand totheir daughter, had been faithful to her and had attained for her a standardof living the envy of her siblings, he was still intensely disliked by hisin-laws.The fact was unstated but obvious that the feelings were mutual.Hetherefore regarded her parents' upcoming visit both with annoyance and theresignation he applied to all situations that were unavoidable.Change thethings you can, don't worry about the things you can't.Which brought him tothe other thing he couldn't change.Age.For thirty years Earnest Pappas had trained for a defining moment: the defenseof the United States.But the war bearing down on his country would be borneupon the backs of the young men, the hale.He was just a broken downwar-horse, too old to be of any use.His, he thought, carefully concealed dank mood was shattered by his wifehanding him a mailgram.It had his name and social security number in theaddress window and the return address of a well-knownDepartment of Defense bureau located in St.Louis, Missouri.With a feeling ofutter disbelief, under the shuttered eyes of his wife he carefully wiped off aknife, most recently used to section a grapefruit, and applied it to theenvelope
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