Blackwell, who had been doing his best to suppress the dark memories of a failed raid that had left the streets of Mogadishu littered with the corpses of his men years before, looked down at King. “You better be, Captain,” he stated sharply. “Because if you’re as wrong about Dixon as I suspect the man in the White House is about this mission, then it’ll be you who’ll have to face his father.”

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 12

FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA • EVENING, OCTOBER 30

The young second lieutenant of infantry wasn’t troubled by weighty thoughts of what might happen. Nor was he troubled by brutal images like those that plagued his battalion commander, for the younger Dixon lacked the memories of past wars that all veterans carried with them like an uncomfortable rucksack. Instead Nathan found himself swept along by the rush of events, a wide eyed innocent caught up in a world that he found both fascinating and exciting.

Everything was as he had imagined it would be. All around him soldiers armed to the teeth scurried about in a manner that was hasty yet purposeful, confusing yet productive. At key points commanders and staff officers were very much in evidence, standing erect as they watched and directed the marshalling of troops and equipment. In the staging areas they roamed through their units with a casualness that belied the concerns that furrowed their brows. With all the poise of a well rehearsed actor, these officers took care to stay out of the way of those who were moving things along while doing their best to instill an air of confidence and determination in the men and women they were responsible for and led.

Working side by side with the officers, yet clearly on their own and in a manner very different from that of their superiors, were the noncommissioned officers. These men were also executing their assigned duties with a single minded deliberateness that could not be swayed or denied. Even for one as inexperienced as Nathan, it was easy to see that it was the sergeants, young and old, who were pulling things together at the squad, platoon, and company level. For all his training, for all his mental preparation, it was only now that Nathan Dixon came to appreciate just how much he still had to learn about this Army that he belonged to. Equally clear to him was that it would be his sergeants and the soldiers whom they led, pulled, and kicked all the way from the barracks to the Green Line at Pope Air Base who would provide him with that education.