For his part the Chief of Staff of the Army listened to Kawalchek’s presentation and nodded when the officer turned to him and sought approval with his eyes, an expression, or tone of voice. And though he listened intently, other thoughts and concerns crowded the four-star general’s busy mind. Over the years Poulengy had come to expect near excellence from whatever Scott Dixon did. He had also had come to appreciate the hard fact that the Army was producing fewer and fewer officers like Scott Dixon, soldiers who truly understood their profession. While Poulengy would be the first to admit that Army officers were technically proficient in an increasingly technical bureaucracy, he also realized that the Army, like its sister services, was no longer developing a sufficient number of generalists, soldiers who could be depended upon to do just about anything with practically nothing on a moment’s notice. So it was with satisfaction that the Chief of Staff of the Army listened to the energetic young major walk him through the operational plan that had Scott Dixon written all over it from beginning to end.

“The deployment and marshaling of the division in Wyoming, which is the hard part of this operation, will be briefed in greater detail by the G-4 Planner,” Kawalchek pointed out near the end of his briefing. “Once we’re on the ground and formed up the rest will be a relatively straightforward combat operation.”

At this, Poulengy responded. “That’s always the case, Major.”

Unsure whether this last comment was an admonishment or praise, Kawalchek paused, looked across the room at the twin sets of four stars perched on Poulengy’s shoulders, and gave the general a weak but polite smile before he continued. Such interruptions were rare, for Kawalchek was thorough.

When the major had finished his spiel and before the division G-4 Planner started his, Poulengy took the opportunity to remind Scott and his staff that this was not a normal operation. “Remember, people,” he stated gruffly as he looked about the room, “what you are talking about. You, and the troops out there,” he said as he pointed toward the window overlooking the cluster of barracks and motor pools, “will either be bringing a civil disturbance to an end or engaging in the first major campaign of this nation’s second Civil War. Either way, those ‘other people’ marked in red that your fancy blue arrows are going through are your fellow countrymen, no matter what they believe in.”