FaceBook Tales:

Your Orders Are To Deal Pirates

Hooyah! 

By

                                                                      D.S. Brown

                                                                

In our modern world of unprecedented exposure, visibility, the power to see, and be seen, we often broadcast that which we want to share with the entire world.  Just as often, we share a bit more than we intended.  Through the power of WEB 2.0 does this new wondrous thing come alive in ways we could not have imagined, sometimes with unintended consequences.  This is the combined world of our shared existence.  The world through the looking glass is real, Alice.  It exists, in the electric pulses generated on the other side of typed keys.  Our doorway to this world?  FaceBook. 

                                                      Welcome, to FaceBook Tales.

“So what do you think?”  Barney asked. 

            Christian sat on the tattered old leather sofa, silently staring at the face of the man on their fancy flat television screen, a gift from the Admiral to all his happy boys.  Christian took a long swig of beer, glanced down at his bottle, settled on another swig, and grunted.

            “That’s not an answer Mongo,” Barney said, drinking the last of his own beer, and then setting the bottle down on the coffee table.  “I’m getting’ ready to get outta here.  You comin’?”

            “Not tonight,” Christian said.

            “Come on, Mongo.”  A sly grin spread across the large man’s ruddy reddish face.  The sun was never nice to him, but he didn’t care.  “The freaks come out at night, man.  You mean to tell me no freaks tonight?”

            “Not tonight, bro.”

            “Aaight,” said Barney.  “The boys and I will miss you most certainly.  But we will gladly handle your share of the action.”  Barney got up from the la-z-boy in which he had been reclining, stretching as he stood.   “But, before I leave, answer my question?”

            Christian looked over at Barney, a man who was closer than a brother, who had stood at his back and protected it countless times.  Barney was most certainly his brother, of a slightly different color, from a different mother, but his brother nonetheless.  They had shared the same blood, being the same type.  That wasn’t so long ago that he couldn’t remember it like yesterday.  In fact, he would never forget it.  This big blonde lily white Nordic looking, linebacker of a man, had saved his wiry ass that harsh night, dragged him out of the fire, and into the hands of mother mercy.  Barney knew the answer.  He was just being a pest.

            “Same is you, Barnacle.”

            “Which is?”

            “We stand on the line, my brother.  We do whatever it takes, no matter what that means.  My loyalty to country and team is beyond reproach.”       

            “Damn straight!”  Barney said, with emphasis.  “Hooyah!”

            “Hooyah,”

            Barney started walking towards the door.  “No come with?”  He asked one last time.

            “Barnacle, I’m gonna finish this beer, and relax.”

            Barney shrugged.  “Later.”

            “Later.”

            Christian glanced back as Barney walked out the door. Often enough, he had been first in the line for a run at Charlie’s, or any bar for that matter from Dan Neck, Virgina clear across country to old home Coronado, California.  He was a thinker, a drinker, heart-breaker, and life-taker, in the best tradition.  However, he wasn’t quite in the mood for the usual.  He wanted to watch this man on television, this new President.

            They had some things in common.

            Christian’s mother was black.  His father was white.  He was a tad bit lighter than the President, but still shared the same particular distinction.  It made no real connection between them, not in his mind, but it was still something to consider.  There was now a President that looked like him.  He had spoken of it, but not often.  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to engage his team in the debate.  They had done so already, they were after all, very intelligent, critical thinkers down to a man.  It just wasn’t foremost in their minds.  There were other things to consider when it came to this new President, this new administration.

            What Christian wanted to know, was did the President have what it takes? 

            He picked up his laptop from the coffee table.  He enjoyed taking a little time out to commiserate with the public through the cyberways.  He utilized an alias, but the false name didn’t deter him from being himself.  He logged onto FaceBook, to see what some of his friends were saying.  They ran the gamut of the political spectrum, from left to right, and they always made things interesting across the political digital divide. 

            He checked his watch.  Just a few minutes to peruse, then he wanted to get in some exercise, after that hit the gun range, then chow. 

David: Is taking a moment to relax.  

His status was real, reflecting his mood in the moment.  He wondered how many people on Facebook thought about just how real he was, how real his team was, real in the sense that they were regular people, just like everybody else, when they weren’t busy being quite extraordinary.  What they didn’t understand, and often enough didn’t consider, was the incredible amount of training it took to make them capable of doing the extraordinary.  They lived for the task, they believed in it down to the core, they worked hard to do the incredible thing and make it look easy.  Even though he and his team were ready at a moments notice to do something that might have come right out of an action movie (without all the over-the-top UA, or Unbelievable Action), they liked to do ordinary things too.  Sometimes, he knew, ordinary people didn’t realize this.  Christian was actually quite fond of roller coaster rides and cotton candy.

Malcom  at 7:40 PM:

            Just saw the playback on FOX about the President’s stance on torture.  I agree 100 percent.  We’re Americans, and we do not torture!

            Danny Cagle at 7:41 PM

            We finally have a President in the White House that we can be proud of.  I hope we see some indictments soon.  Bush, Cheney, and his cronies need to be tried for their crimes.

            Christian decided to chime in.  He and Barney had just seen the same newscast.  It was a valid question.  It was fair.  It wasn’t … expedient.  Christian knew that some Americans understood.  Unfortunately, the difference between right and wrong is never delineated by a clear line.  He applauded the President’s new stance.  He understood diplomacy, as did everyone in the Community.  That was all on the diplomatic side, and they believed in what they was doing.  They were good at their jobs, but they couldn’t shut it all down by attacking on one front.

            Flanking was definitely required. 

Still, the Community was always reserved.  They just wanted to be sure that the President’s pursuit of the objective on the diplomatic side in no way impeded their effectiveness on the operational side.  Even though there was much hawkishness during Bush’s turn at the helm, that public front didn’t always translate to clear action for the operators.  The politics, as ever, remained a bitch that got in the way of sound action in the zone of interdiction.  It was … a really bitchy bitch. 

            Would Obama be the same?

David at 7:42 PM:

            The President’s statement is a good one.  It’s a human statement and speaks to how we want to be, how we should be as human beings.  Still, it’s not practical.  President Obama is being naïve.

Christian left it at that.  He knew his statement would draw a lot of heat.   He didn’t exactly put a lot of belief into what he had just written.  It was very unlike him.  Still, it represented a deep response to the President’s stance.  He had done the absolute right thing during the Pirate mess.  Obama had made the call at his level.  He set the tone, and got the hell out of the way, just as any good Commander in Chief should, despite the nonsense chatter on the net about the President setting restrictions on the rules of engagement.  
            That was all a bunch of bullshit.

Christian recalled the jump.  There was the sound of the engines, the wind, all the usual.  He was trained to be calm, and he was calm.  He was trained to make it look easy, and he did.  He was trained to be always ready, and ready he was.  He was a SEAL, highly intelligent, highly trained, a professional, a fierce operator, part of a legendary cadre of ghost, renowned, dangerous, and deadly.  It was time to deal pirates.

He had jumped.  He had landed in the water, he had swam. 

He had found himself on the USS Bainbridge, where they hooked up with the boys from Team 1 and reconnoitered.  As part of DEVGRU, or NAVSPECWARDEVGRU (Navy Special Warfare Development Group), they had joined the mission to effectively end it, if the negotiations went south.  The public was still calling them SEAL Team 6, the brainchild of Demo Dick Marcinko, the one and only Rogue Warrior. 

Considering what happened when the French executed their rescue, diplomacy was a prudent move.  It was wise to try and attempt negotiations, but at the same time be ready just in case.  That’s where DEVGRU came in.  They were a flanking maneuver of the deadliest kind.  There would be no loss of life in this situation, save for the assorted tango.  They were human, yes, but their behavior made them less than.  The orders were to deal pirates, if it came to it, and pirates were tangos, terrorists that begged to be solved. 

The men of DEVGRU were always ready to deal tangos, if necessary.  As a SEAL sniper, Christian had the highest level of training.  Soon, he found himself in position.  Not long afterward, he dealt a tango, in unison with his brothers, precision kills.  The Somali pirates on the boat were doing a group hug in hell, lamenting their fate, getting tooled up and ready as Lucifer’s latest playthings.

In the best tradition of his service, remaining loyal to his creed, he and his vanished into the background.  They had done what they were tasked to do, no acclaim, no glory, no accolades, just a long ride back home, and the satisfaction of knowing they had done their duty, and Captain Philips would soon be heading home to his family, safe and sound.  

Christian was a sailor in the United States Navy, and he would do what was necessary, no matter the cost.

That brought back the question.  Barney wasn’t right to ask, but ask he did, already knowing the answer.  Do we torture?  According to President Obama, we don’t.  It was noble.  He admired that.  Still, if the variables are set, the objective clear, and the apprehended target is a known quantity with information that can stop something that is set to occur in days, minutes, or hours, do we torture? 

Christian was a sailor in the United States Navy, and would do what was necessary.

 As a Navy SEAL with DEVGRU, his job was counter-terrorism.  In adherence to the Navy SEAL creed he knew what was expected of him.  If the enemy didn’t play by the rules, then he would have to cut them short.  Sometimes, the rules had to be thrown out the window.  Sometimes, he didn’t have the luxury of being as human as those that danced in the light of day, using polite words and diplomacy to accomplish the task.  Sometimes, diplomacy came out the business end of his rifle.  He was particularly good at this type of diplomacy.

Christian considered some words from the SEAL creed as he closed his laptop:

My loyalty to Country and Team is beyond reproach. I humbly serve as a guardian to my fellow Americans always ready to defend those who are unable to defend themselves. I do not advertise the nature of my work nor seek recognition for my actions. I voluntarily accept the inherent hazards of my profession, placing the welfare and security of others before my own.

I serve with honor on and off the battlefield. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstances, sets me apart from other men. Uncompromising integrity is my standard. My character and honor are steadfast. My word is my bond.

We expect to lead and be lead. In the absence of orders I will take charge, lead my Teammates, and accomplish the mission. I lead by example in all situations.

I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my Teammates and accomplish the mission. I am never out of the fight.

Such a man was Christian.  Such men are Navy SEALS.  If in the moment, he had to do that which is considered dishonorable, and illegal, to safeguard that which he has sworn to protect, so be it.  As Christian considered it, he was certain that the President’s noble, humanistic stance would oblige him to arrest him, if proof of torture in the execution of a mission somehow came to light. 

What would he do?

It wasn’t a question that lingered.  Christian knew, without equivocation that he would stand.  He would stand in the halls of justice, and be judged by the very people he protected with blood, sweat, and tears … yes tears too.  Real man can and do shed tears, just not too often.   Yes, he would stand and be judged.  He would not ask for forgiveness.  He would not beg and plea.  He would however, inform his accusers that he knew the possible repercussions of his actions before, during, and after the commission of the act.  He vowed to be a man of integrity.  It is stated in the creed.  Torture, as it is understood, is indefensible, and those who commit it, lack integrity, as it is understood. 

Would he torture? 

Yes, if necessary, he would.  Despite what many may say, he knew, when the variables were right, pain applied appropriately, yielded information like gold.  Some men had to stand on the line.  Some men had to skirt the light and the dark.  Some men had to be willing to do the things that others could not.  Some men had to be willing to go there, because the enemy was there already, and if someone didn’t go out there to meet them on the same terms, all the joy and light of the world could very well be lost.  It was just that serious.  So yes, he would get down in the gutter with the rats, and bugs, wallow in the dung, and do the things that Americans abhor.  He would do this, to keep America safe.  It was his solemn vow.

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