The clash of civilizations will be won ... by thte highest bidderWhat happens when America's most lethal military contractor becomes uncontrollably powerful?His election promised a new day for America ... but dangerous storm clouds are on the horizon. The newly inaugurated president, Joseph Gardner, pledged to start pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq on his first day in office--no questions asked. Meanwhile, former president Kevin Martindale and retired Air Force lieutenant-general Patrick McLanahan have left government behind for the lucrative world of military contracting. Their private firm, Scion Aviation International, has been hired by the Pentagon to take over aerial patrols in northern Iraq as the U.S. military begins to downsize its presence there.Yet Iraq quickly reemerges as a hot zone: Kurdish nationalist attacks have led the Republic of Turkey to invade northern Iraq. The new American presi dent needs to regain control of the situation--immediately--but he's reluctant to send U.S. forces back into harm's way, leaving Scion the only credible force in the region capable of blunting the Turks' advances.But when Patrick McLanahan makes the decision to take the fight to the Turks, can the president rein him in? And just where does McLanahan's loyalty ultimately lie: with his country, his commander in chief, his fellow warriors ... or with his company's shareholders?In Rogue Forces, Dale Brown, the New York Times bestselling master of thrilling action, explores the frightening possibility that the corporations we now rely on to fight our battles are becoming too powerful for America's good.
Триллер18+Dale Brown
Rogue Forces
CAST OF CHARACTERS
PATRICK S. MCLANAHAN, Lieutenant-General, USAF (ret.), partner and president, Scion Aviation International
KEVIN MARTINDALE, former president of the United States, silent owner of Scion Aviation International
JONATHAN COLIN MASTERS, Ph.D., chief of operations, Sky Masters Inc.
HUNTER NOBLE, VP of development, Sky Masters Inc.
JOSEPH GARDNER, president of the United States
KENNETH T. PHOENIX, vice president
CONRAD F. CARLYLE, national security adviser
MILLER H. TURNER, secretary of defense
WALTER KORDUS, White House chief of staff
STACY ANNE BARBEAU, secretary of state
U.S. MARINE CORPS GENERAL TAYLOR J. BAIN, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
U.S. ARMY MAJOR-GENERAL CHARLES CONNOLLY, division commander, northern Iraq
U.S. ARMY COLONEL JACK T. WILHELM, executive officer, Second Regiment, Allied Air Base Nahla, Iraq
ARMY LIEUTENANT COLONEL MARK WEATHERLY, regimental executive officer
ARMY MAJOR KENNETH BRUNO, regimental operations officer
USAF LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GIA “BOXER” CAZZOTTO, commander, Seventh Air Expeditionary Squadron
KRIS THOMPSON, president and CEO of Thompson Security, private security company at Allied Air Base Nahla, Iraq
FRANK BEXAR, privately contracted intelligence officer
CAPTAIN KELVIN COTTER, USAF, deputy regimental air traffic management officer
MARGARET HARRISON, privately contracted UAV director
REESE FLIPPIN, privately contracted weather officer
KURZAT HIRSIZ, president of the Republic of Turkey
AYSE AKAS, prime minister of the Republic of Turkey
HASAN CIZEK, minister of national defense, Republic of Turkey
GENERAL ORHAN SAHIN, secretary-general, Turkish National Security Council
MUSTAFA HAMARAT, Turkish foreign minister
FEVSI GUCLU, director, National Intelligence Organization
GENERAL ABDULLAH GUZLEV, chief of staff of the military of the Republic of Turkey
GENERAL AYDIN DEDE, replacement military chief of staff
MAJOR AYDIN SABASTI, liaison officer to U.S. Second Regiment at Allied Air Base Nahla, Iraq
MAJOR HAMID JABBURI, deputy liaison officer
GENERAL BESIR OZEK, commander, Jandarma (Turkish national internal security forces)
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL GUVEN ILGAZ, deputy commander,
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL MUSTAFA ALI, replacement
ALI LATIF RASHID, president of the Republic of Iraq
COLONEL YUSUF JAFFAR, commander, Allied Air Base Nahla, Tall Kayf, Iraq
MAJOR JAAFAR OTHMAN, Iraqi Maqbara (tomb) Company, Seventh Brigade commander
COLONEL NOURI MAWLOUD, liaison officer to Second Regiment
ZILAR “BAZ” (HAWK) AZZAWI, Iraqi PKK rebel leader
SADOON SALIH, Azzawi’s assistant squad leader
WEAPONS AND ACRONYMS
AMARG—Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (the “Boneyard”), a U.S. Air Force facility near Tucson, Arizona, that stores, dismantles, and recovers parts from out-of-service aircraft
AOR—Area of Responsibility
AQI—Al-Qaeda in Iraq, an Iraqi offshoot of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organization
“battle rattle”—personal equipment necessary for combat operations
bullseye—a designated point from which range and bearing information to an objective can be transmitted on open frequencies without revealing one’s own location
C4I—Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence
Çancaya—the seat of government of the Republic of Turkey
CHU—Containerized Housing Unit, a mobile living space resembling a cargo container used by U.S. soldiers in Iraq
CHUville—an area of a large number of CHUs
DFAC—Dining Facility
ECM—Electronic Countermeasures
EO—Electro-Optical, sensors that can electronically distribute or enhance optical images
FAA—Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. aviation regulatory agency
FOB—Forward Operating Base, a military base close to or in enemy territory
Fobbits—slang for staff and support personnel
Fobbitville—slang for the headquarters building
FPCON—Force Protection Condition, a rating of the enemy or terrorist threat level for a military installation (formerly THREATCON)
GP—Geneal Purpose (gravity bomb or vehicle)
IA—Iraqi Army
IED—Improvised Explosive Device
IIR—Imaging Infrared, a heat sensor with enough resolution to form images
ILS—Instrument Landing System, a radio beam system that can guide aircraft to land in severe weather conditions
IM—Instant Messaging, transmitting text messages between computers
IR—Infrared
Klicks—kilometers
KRG—Kurdistan Regional Government, the political organization that administers the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq
LLTV—Low-Light TV
LRU—Line Replaceable Units, components of aircraft systems that can be easily removed and replaced on the flight line if it malfunctions
Mahdis—slang term for any foreign fighter
Mission-adaptive technology—system of automatically shaping aircraft surfaces to allow greater flight control capabilities