To make matters worse, the fire that was being directed Nathan’s way from the center of the ammo site was increasing at an alarming rate. What had started as a few stray shots was now becoming quite heavy. It was obvious that his efforts to get around the exposed flank had been for naught. The minor success he had achieved had been canceled by the quick reaction of the Guardsmen holding the ammo site.

The appearance of armored vehicles coming his way from the National Guard facilities to the west provided the last incentive Nathan needed to vacate the machine gun pit he was in. Whether they were coming to aid the Guardsmen or were simply headed that way in order to draw ammunition didn’t much matter. Sooner or later they would be diverted to where he was.

Looking back at the pit where the caliber .50 machine gun was, Nathan watched and waited. One blessing about that weapon was that its bullets were big and each ammo box contained only fifty rounds. Though a well-trained crew could make the switch quickly, once a box was empty it took time to reload, time Nathan intended to put to good use. After stripping as much personal gear off himself and the wounded RTO as he could, Nathan waited for his chance and prayed that he guessed right.

In the local air traffic control center taken over by excited Air National Guard controllers, the officer in charge didn’t have much difficulty in figuring out which of the incoming aircraft were commercial flights and which belonged to the follow-on force. After having his controllers wave off all commercial traffic, the officer in charge attempted to contact the pilot of the lead Air Force transport.

The commander of those transports was Colonel Edward Macky, an officer with over twenty years of service. At first he refused to respond. With the paratroopers in his cargo bay beginning their pre-jump preparations and ten minutes to go before he was over the DZ, he was not about to back down. He had his orders, orders that he had every intention of carrying out.