A Time for Patriots pm-17 Read online

  A Time for Patriots

  ( Patrick McLanahan - 17 )

  Dale Brown

  Welcome to Battlefield America

  When murderous bands of militiamen begin roaming the western United States and attacking government agencies, it will take a dedicated group of the nation's finest and toughest civilian airmen to put an end to the homegrown insurgency. U.S. Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan vows to take to the skies to join the fight, but when his son, Bradley, also signs up, they find themselves caught in a deadly game against a shadowy opponent.

  When the stock markets crash and the U.S. economy falls into a crippling recession, everything changes for newly elected president Kenneth Phoenix. Politically exhausted from a bruising and divisive election, Phoenix must order a series of massive tax cuts and wipe out entire cabinet-level departments to reduce government spending. With reductions in education and transportation, an incapacitated National Guard, and the loss of public safety budgets, entire communities of armed citizens band together for survival and mutual protection. Against this dismal backdrop, a SWAT team is ambushed and radioactive materials are stolen by a group calling themselves the Knights of the True Republic. Is the battle against the government about to be taken to a new and deadlier level?

  In this time of crisis, a citizen organization rises to the task of protecting their fellow countrymen: the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the U.S. Air Force auxiliary. The Nevada Wing — led by retired Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan, his son, Bradley, and other volunteers — uses their military skills in the sky and on the ground to hunt down violent terrorists. But how will Patrick respond when extremists launch a catastrophic dirty bomb attack in Reno, spreading radiological fallout for miles? And when Bradley is caught in a deadly double-cross that jeopardizes the CAP, Patrick will have to fight to find out where his friends' loyalties lie: Are they with him and the CAP or with the terrorists?

  With A Time for Patriots, the New York Times bestselling master of the modern thriller Dale Brown brings the battle home to explore a terrifying possibility — the collapse of the American Republic.

  Dale Brown

  A Time for Patriots

  Dedication

  This novel is dedicated to the volunteers: the ones who support their communities and fellow citizens in thousands of different ways with no thought of remuneration. It is the ultimate gift to society: the gift of selfless service.

  Cast of Characters

  PATRICK MCLANAHAN, Lieutenant-General (retired), U.S. Air Force, and Mission Pilot, Civil Air Patrol (CAP)

  ROB SPARA, CAP Lieutenant Colonel, Battle Mountain CAP Squadron Commander

  DAVID BELLVILLE, CAP Captain, Squadron Vice Commander, Commander of Cadets, and Ground Team Leader

  MICHAEL P. FITZGERALD, Ground Team Deputy Leader

  BRADLEY JAMES MCLANAHAN, Cadet Captain, CAP

  RON SPIVEY, Cadet First Lieutenant, Ground Team Member

  RALPH MARKHAM, Cadet Technical Sergeant, Ground Team Member

  LEO SLOTNICK, CAP Mission Scanner

  JOHN DE CARTERET, CAP Mission Observer

  KENNETH PHOENIX, President of the United States

  ANN PAGE, Vice President of the United States

  JOCELYN CAFFERY, Attorney General of the United States

  JUSTIN FULLER, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

  SPECIAL AGENT PHILIP CHASTAIN, FBI

  SPECIAL AGENT CASSANDRA RENALDO, Department of Homeland Security

  AGENT RANDOLPH SAVOY, FBI, Cybernetic Infantry Device (CID) Pilot

  LIEUTENANT COLONEL JASON RICHTER, U.S. Army, CID Engineer and Pilot

  CHARLIE TURLOCK, CID Engineer and Pilot

  WAYNE MACOMBER, Tin Man Commando

  BRIGADIER — GENERAL KURT “BUZZ ” GIVENS, Base Commander, Joint Air Base Battle Mountain

  DARROW HORTON, Former Attorney General of the United States

  TIMOTHY DOBSON, Central Intelligence Agency

  JUDAH ANDORSEN, Nevada Rancher

  REVEREND JEREMIAH PAULSON, Leader of the Knights of the True Republic

  Weapons and Acronyms

  AGL— Above Ground Level

  AN/UWQ-1— Avenger optionally manned mobile air defense unit

  ARCHER— Airborne Real-time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance — aerial imaging system used by the Civil Air Patrol that assists visual searches

  ATC— Air Traffic Control

  Avenger— mobile optionally manned air defense vehicle, carrying both Stinger surface-to-air heat-seeking missiles and a 20-millimeter Gatling gun

  BAM— aviation identifier for Battle Mountain

  C-57 Skytrain— advanced blended-wing transport plane

  Cessna P21 °Centurion— single-engine pressurized light airplane

  CFI— Certified Flight Instructor

  C-Four-I— Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence

  CID— Cybernetic Infantry Device, a large manned robot

  DF— Direction Finding, following a radio beacon to its source

  Dimenhydrinate— over-the-counter drug to relieve airsickness

  ELT— Emergency Locator Transmitter, a radio beacon that activates after a crash to help locate an aircraft

  ETA— Estimated Time of Arrival

  EWO— Electronic Warfare Officer

  FAA— Federal Aviation Administration

  GA— General Aviation, dealing mostly with aircraft below twelve thousand pounds gross weight

  GED— General Education Diploma

  G-loads— Gravity forces, a measurement of how many times over or under the force of gravity is being exerted on a body

  GPS— Global Positioning System, satellite navigation

  Hazmat— hazardous materials

  HRT— Hostage Rescue Team

  IC— Incident Commander

  IFR— Instrument Flight Rules

  IMSAFE— Illness, Medicines, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion — a checklist to judge whether a crewmember is fit to fly

  I-O— Input-Output

  L-Per— a device used to home in on a radio beacon

  Medevac— medical evacuation

  MRE— Meals Ready to Eat

  MSL— Mean Sea Level, the elevation above sea level

  NextGen— Next Generation, a GPS-based air traffic control system

  NORDO— No Radio, an aircraft that has lost its ability to communicate

  NTSB— National Transportation Safety Board, a government agency that investigates accidents involving aircraft, cars, trains, etc.

  OSI— Office of Special Investigations, the Air Force’s investigation agency

  OTM— Other Than Mexicans, illegal aliens from countries other than Mexico

  PDA— Personal Data Assistant

  PETN— Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate, a powerful high explosive

  PIREPS— Pilot Reports, weather and flight condition reports given by pilots

  PT— Physical Training

  PTSD— Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

  R&D— Research and Development

  RDX— Research Department Explosive (cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine), a powerful high explosive

  RPG— Rocket-Propelled Grenade

  RQ-15 Sparrowhawk— unmanned reconnaissance aircraft

  RTB— Return to Base

  SAREX— Search and Rescue Exercise

  Scopolamine— an antiairsickness drug

  SIGMET— Significant Meteorological, a report of possibly hazardous weather conditions

  SQTR— Specialty Qualification Training Record

  Technicals— homemade attack vehicles

  UAV— Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

  VFR— Visual Flight Rules

&nbs
p; VoIP— Voice over Internet Protocol, a way of using the Internet for voice communications

  Wilco— “will comply”

  WMIRS— Web-based Mission Information Reporting System, the Civil Air Patrol’s computerized reporting system

  XS-19A Midnight— single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane

  Zulu— Greenwich mean time, used as a universal time reference

  Real-World News Excerpts

  EXTREMISTS TO GOVS: RESIGN OR BE REMOVED:

  FBI Warns Letters Could Provoke Violence

  — Devlin Barrett, Associated Press — April 2, 2010—WASHINGTON

  — The FBI is warning police across the country that an anti-government group’s call to remove governors from office could provoke violence.

  The group called the Guardians of the Free Republics wants to “restore America” by peacefully dismantling parts of the government, according to its Web site. It sent letters to governors demanding they leave office or be removed…

  As of Wednesday, more than 30 governors had received letters saying if they don’t leave office within three days they will be removed, according to an internal intelligence note by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The note was obtained by The Associated Press…

  … The FBI associated the letter with “sovereign citizens,” most of whom believe they are free from all duties of a U.S. citizen, like paying taxes or needing a government license to drive. A small number of these people are armed and resort to violence, according to the intelligence report.

  Last weekend, the FBI conducted raids on suspected members of a Christian militia in the Midwest that was allegedly planning to kill police officers. In the past year, federal agents have seen an increase in “chatter” from an array of domestic extremist groups, which can include radical self-styled militias, white separatists or extreme civil libertarians and sovereign citizens.

  THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE SEARCH:

  Update on Nebraska Plane Crash

  — Krystle Kacner, KDLT, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

  — November 27, 2010

  — Earlier this week, the Civil Air Patrol found a missing single engine plane that took off from Chamberlain, headed for Omaha.

  The plane that crashed Sunday night was found in northeastern Nebraska, and resulted in the death of the two people on board. But before the aircraft was found, a lot of people put in a lot of work.

  “At first it was a little nerve wracking, because it was my first mission, but then as I came here and started doing everything we were supposed to, it wasn’t really thinking, it was just doing,” said Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Elizabeth Foy.

  Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Elizabeth Foy got the call early in the morning, right before she headed off to school at O’Gorman High School.

  But, once she arrived at the Sioux Falls Civil Air Patrol headquarters, all her training started to kick in.

  “It’s more of you need to get it done faster, there’s no goofing off… As part of the ground team, it was making sure we were looking at all times outside the window making sure all the leaders stayed on track,” said Foy.

  … “Yes I’m a sophomore in High School but I can make a difference, so that’s really the greatest part for me,” said Foy…

  ANOTHER SAVE FOR NEVADA WING:

  — gocivilairpatrol.com

  — December 11, 2010

  — Congratulations are due to all who participated in mission 10M0964A, resulting in the location of a lost hunter in Lincoln county. N9459M, piloted by Rick Parker and crewed by Clyde Cooper and Bill Petersen, spotted the 83 year old man and talked in a Sheriff’s ground team. The man was airlifted by helicopter to medical facilities.

  Eleven total personnel and two aircraft were involved in the search. AFRCC [Air Force Rescue Coordination Center] has officially awarded Nevada Wing its second find and save for this fiscal year.

  Prologue

  This is the porcelain clay of humankind.

  — John Dryden

  Elko, Nevada

  Summer 2013

  “Severe thunderstorm activity along your route of flight,” the Federal Aviation Administration Flight Service Station weather briefer began. “Convective SIGMET Seven Charlie for Nevada, Idaho, California, and Utah, heavy-to-severe thunderstorms in a one-hundred-mile-long band fifty miles southeast of Battle Mountain, Nevada, moving from two-two-zero at fifteen knots, tops above flight-level three-niner-zero, with heavy rain, hail, and damaging winds with gusts over fifty knots.”

  Cripes, the young pilot thought, it was one of the worst weather observations he had ever heard. Frank Post was a software engineer from Silicon Valley, an honor graduate of Stanford University, and a fairly new instrument-rated private pilot, with a bit less than two hundred hours of flying time, most in his used single-engine Cessna C-182R Skylane. He looked at his wife sitting beside him, still wearing that impatient expression he had been forced to put up with for the past day and a half.

  “Where are the thunderstorms now?” Frank asked on the phone. His wife, Kara, rolled her eyes and looked at her watch for the umpteenth time that afternoon. Kara had been in real estate, but the real estate market had all but dried up in California in the current economic meltdown, so she did part-time fill-in work for other agents, mostly doing escrow paperwork and staging and showing homes. She never liked the idea of owning something as complex and extravagant as an airplane, and only agreed to go on this weeklong cross-country trip because she was assured of being able to see her parents in Kansas as well as Frank’s folks in Nevada.

  “The northern edge of the band of thunderstorms is about fifty miles south of Battle Mountain,” the briefer repeated.

  Frank’s face brightened, and he made a sausage-shaped drawing on the sectional chart he had on the desk in the flight planning room to indicate where the storm was, then drew an arrow representing the storm’s direction of movement. Kara looked at the circle and looked relieved as well. “So from Elko I can outrun the storms,” he said, “and if the controller tells me the weather is getting close, I can deviate farther north around them.”

  “Do you have weather-avoidance or — detection equipment?”

  “No,” Frank replied.

  “How about NextGen?”

  “No,” he repeated. NextGen, or Next Generation, was the new air traffic control system that used datalinks aboard an aircraft to broadcast its GPS satellite-derived position, ground speed, course, and altitude to air traffic control, rather than using ground-based radar. NextGen was designed to increase air traffic control coverage and efficiency and eliminate radar blind spots in higher terrain, but it was expensive and not required to be on small general aviation aircraft for several years.

  “Radar coverage is spotty in that general area,” the briefer said. “Unless you’re up pretty high or right on the airway, you may be in and out of radar coverage.” Left unsaid was the fact that air traffic control radars were designed to track aircraft, not weather — although newer digital systems were better than the old analog ones, weather avoidance was not a major part of a controller’s skills.

  “I’ll plan on being on the airway, and I have oxygen just in case I need to go higher.” Kara scowled at that comment. She hated wearing the little rubbery oxygen masks because they dried her nose and throat and made her claustrophobic.

  “Roger,” the briefer said. He continued his briefing with terminal weather conditions and forecasts. Although their destination on this trip was Sparks, Nevada, where they planned to visit the in-laws, the planned overnight stop was Carson City because they had very inexpensive fuel there at the self-serve pump, almost two dollars per gallon less than Reno. The forecast was for cooler temperatures behind the front, but skies would be clear and winds were out of the west, right down the east — west runway at Carson — perfect. The briefer then read winds-aloft forecasts, which were not much better than the radar summary — strong south-to-southwesterly winds ahead of the front, switching to westerly winds behind the fro
nt, with light-to-moderate turbulence forecast above twelve thousand feet. He concluded his briefing with, “Anything else I can help you with today?”

  “I’d like to go ahead and file,” Frank said. Kara smiled, silently clapped her hands, then turned to her son, Jeremy, and told him to start packing up his drawing pads and colored pencils, which he had scattered all over the flight-planning-room floor.

  The briefer was silent for a long moment, obviously not expecting the guy to launch into such mean-looking weather. But it was not his job to tell a pilot to fly or not to fly, just to give him all the information he requests. “Stand by and I’ll call up the flight-plan page… Okay, I have IFR, Cessna Two-Eight-Three-Four Lima, a Charlie-One-Eighty-Two slant Golf, departing at twenty hundred Zulu, route of flight Battle Mountain, Lovelock, Carson City direct at ten thousand feet. Go ahead with the rest.”

  “Two-point-five hours en route, no remarks, five hours’ fuel on board, alternate is Reno International,” Frank replied. He gave his name, his San Carlos, California, address, his cell-phone number, three souls on board, and his aircraft’s colors of white with blue stripes.

  “Your flight plan is on file,” the briefer said after entering all the information into his computer and waiting for an “ACCEPTED” message from the FAA’s computer servers. “PIREPS are strongly encouraged on one-two-two-point-zero. Have a safe… and very careful flight, sir.” The briefer was trying everything he could to get this pilot to cancel this trip short of just telling him, “Wise up, jerk, and keep your stupid ass on the ground.”

  “Thank you,” Frank said, and hung up the phone. He turned to Kara. “There’s a line of thunderstorms south of our route of flight,” he told her as he quickly packed up his charts and flight plan, “but I think we can outrun it because it’s moving pretty slow. If it moves up quicker, we can fly farther north around it, and if we can’t, we’ll turn around and land back here at Elko.”