Edge of Battle
( Act of War - 2 )
Dale Brown
Violence and tensions along the U.S.-Mexican border have never been higher, sparked by battles between rival drug lords and an increased flow of illegal migrants. To combat the threat, the United States has executed Operation Rampart: a controversial test base in Southern California run by Major Richter and TALON, his high-tech special operations unit.
Their success is threatened by a drug kingpin and migrant smuggler named Ernesto Fuerza. In the guise of Mexican nationalist "Commander Veracruz," he causes a storm of controversy on both sides of the border, calling for a revolution to take back the northernmost "Mexican states" — the southwestern United States. His real intention is to make it easier to import illegal drugs across the border. This sets off a storm of controversy that's being stirred to a fever pitch by a popular right-wing radio talk-show host who calls for the complete militarization of the border.
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
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.
PDA—personal digital assistant (handheld computer/organizer)
permiso (colloquial term)—order to appear before a judge for a deportation hearing. Mostly issued to illegal immigrants from countries where deportation is difficult or expensive (see OTMs).
PLF—parachute landing fall
SAC—special agent in charge
SAM—surface-to-air missile
SOP—standard operating procedures
SOW—U.S. Air Force Special Operations Wing
SUV—sport utility vehicle
TA—technical area
TEMPER—tent, modular, personnel
TFR—temporary flight restriction
Top—unit first sergeant
TZD—technical zone delta
UAV—unmanned aerial vehicle
UN—United Nations
USCIS—United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (formerly INS)
UXO—unexploded ordnance
wilco—“will comply”
REAL-WORLD NEWS EXCERPTS
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (www.darpa.mil), August 2000—Human Identification at a Distance: The HumanID program objective is to develop automated multimodal surveillance technology for identifying humans at a distance, thus allowing for early warning of possible terrorist attacks. Technologies will be developed for measuring (and collecting) biometric features that will identify an individual from a distance of more than 15 feet, operating twenty-four hours per day in all weather conditions. The resulting probability of detection should be 0.99; the probability of false alarm should be 0.01 given a database of up to a million known individuals.
HumanID will focus on four essential elements or components of technical research: technology development to solve HumanID tasks, database collection, independent evaluations, and scientific experiments to assess validity of these technologies. The program will provide tools for crucial aspects of countering asymmetric threats including automatic cataloging of repeat visitors, automated detection of known suspects, accelerated interdiction, and collection of forensic evidence when attacks do occur. If successful, HumanID will make security personnel more effective in identifying people who may have harmful intent, and will allow early warning to expedite interdiction.
MEXICO PROVIDES GUIDE TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION—FOX News, January 5, 2005—Los Angeles—Mexican immigrants hoping to cross the Mexico-U.S. border can use an illustrated guide to help them break U.S. immigration laws and live in the United States illegally.
The thirty-two-page booklet, free with popular comic books and advertised at bus stations and government offices south of the border, comes courtesy of the Mexican government.
…The book’s main focus seems to be instructing people on how to cross the border safely. For example, it warns Mexicans that when crossing the border, “thick clothing increases your weight when wet and makes it difficult to swim or float” and “if you cross in the desert, try to walk when the heat is not as intense…”
…The guide also gives advice on how to live unobtrusively in the United States, advising illegals not to beat their wives or go to loud parties because either action may attract the attention of police.
INCREASING VIOLENCE ON THE U.S.-MEXICAN BORDER—Strategic Forecasting Inc., www.stratfor.com February 3, 2005—The U.S.-Mexican border in Arizona has seen an increase in illegal activity. In a recent change of tactics, smugglers have been using snipers, who shoot at U.S. Border Patrol agents, ostensibly to provide a diversion to cover illegal border crossings. While the agents go for cover, a shipment of drugs or possibly undocumented immigrants slips through in a sport utility vehicle…
THE UNITED STATES, MEXICO, AND CROSS-BORDER BLOODSHED—Copyright © 2005, Strategic Forecasting Inc.—…[Osiel Guillen] Cardenas, who runs the Juárez-based Gulf Cartel from prison, has resolved to take over the Tijuana-based Arellano Felix cartel. To that end, he has deployed his chief enforcers—“Los Zetas”—to Tijuana. Mexican government sources say Cardenas plans to wipe out the remnants of the Arellano Felix family and its top competitor, Ismael Zambada, in one bold move, thereby giving him control of the drug trade on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
…Los Zetas—who have highly skilled military experts among them—can be expected to operate with a higher degree of precision than less-capable killers. One FBI official has referred to Los Zetas as “an impressive bunch of ruthless criminals.” Los Zetas also use heavy weaponry—AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles—meaning they often have more firepower than local police. Although their brazen methods have generated a high level of alarm among law enforcement officials, Los Zeta’s tactical skill and meticulous planning will make it more difficult for law enforcement to detect, track and interdict them…
U.S. AUTHORITIES CHARGE 18 WITH RUSSIAN WEAPON-SMUGGLING PLOT—© 2005, The Associated Press, March 15, 2005—U.S. authorities have charged 18 people with weapons trafficking, including an alleged scheme to smuggle grenade launchers, shoulder-fired missiles and other Russian military weapons into the U.S.
The arrests resulted from a year-long wiretap investigation that used a confidential informant posing as an arms trafficker selling weapons to terrorists, the office of U.S. Attorney David N. Kelley said Tuesday.
Kelley said in a statement that the defendants also are charged in a criminal complaint with conspiring to traffic in machine guns and other assault weapons, and with selling eight such weapons during the investigation…
MEXICO PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT, April 26, 2005, U.S. Department of State—…Violent criminal activity fueled by a war between criminal organizations struggling for control of the lucrative narcotics trade continues along the U.S.-Mexico border. This has resulted in a wave of violence aimed primarily at members of drug trafficking organizations, criminal justice officials, and journalists. However, foreign visitors and residents, including Americans, have been among the victims of homicides and kidnappings in the border region.
A power vacuum within criminal organizations resulting from the imprisonment of several of their leaders along the Mexico-U.S. border continues to contribute to a deterioration of public safety in the region. In recent months, the worst violence has been centered in the city of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, where more than 30 U.S. citizens have been kidnapped and/or murdered in the past eight months and public shootouts have occurred during daylight hours near frequented shopping areas and on streets leading to the international bridges. One of the shootouts spilled onto the Mexican side of the bridge itself. Four police officers have been killed in Nuevo Laredo since March. Mexico’s police forces suffer from lack of funds and training, and the judicial system is weak, overworked, and inefficient. Criminals, armed with an impressive array of weapons, know there is little chance they will be caugh
t and punished. In some cases, assailants have been wearing full or partial police uniforms and have used vehicles that resemble police vehicles, indicating some elements of the police might be involved…
INCREASING DANGER ON THE U.S.-MEXICAN BORDER, © 2005, STRATFOR, www.stratfor.com, June 14, 2005—Mexican President Vicente Fox ordered Mexican army troops and federal agents to detain all 700 officers of the Nuevo Laredo police force June 13 and assume policing duties in the town, just across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas. The move, which came in response to a breakdown of law and order in the city, will be extended to other border towns, authorities said. It is indicative of the serious deterioration in the security situation along the U.S.-Mexican border.
…Growing anti-U.S. sentiment in Mexico, stoked by election-year rhetoric and negative publicity over a group of American vigilantes that organized its own border patrol in Arizona, also contributes to a dangerous situation for Americans on the border. To further complicate the situation, the so-called Minutemen are soon to expand their activities from Arizona into New Mexico and Texas.
…With drug wars raging on both sides of the border—and law and order broken down in Nuevo Laredo to the point in which the army has been sent in—the U.S.-Mexican border has become a dangerous place.
CATCH AND RELEASE POLICY FREES ILLEGAL ALIENS TO MOVE FREELY ABOUT THE COUNTRY, © 2005, The Associated Press, July 4, 2005—…Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, more than 118,000 foreign nationals who were caught after sneaking over the nation’s borders have walked right out of custody with a permiso in hand.
They were from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Brazil. But also Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Yemen, among 35 countries of “special interest” because of alleged sponsorship or support of terrorism.
These are the so-called OTM, or “Other Than Mexican,” migrants too far from their homelands to be shipped right back. More than 70,000 have hit U.S. streets just since this past October.
…The government has no place to put all the “OTMs” while they await deportation hearings, so they are released with a permiso, or notice to appear in immigration court. Over the years, thousands have failed to show up, disappearing, instead, among the estimated 10 million undocumented migrants now living in America.