[chico20854]

June 30, 1997

In a major change to command and control arrangements, Coast Guard cutters and personnel are absorbed directly into the Navy. Local maritime defense districts remain under command of their (former) Coast Guard commanders and staff, but they are formally in the Navy chain of command rather than reporting to the Secretary of Transportation.

Unofficially,

Private Cutler makes a return visit to the convenience store, this time with orders from some of his platoon mates. He returns thirty minutes later with shaving cream, disposable razors, bars of soap, three cold sodas and a small bag of pretzels. He makes a small profit from the excursion.

Following a (very busy) week of flight testing, the Boeing Skyfox is granted emergency USAF type classification as the AT-33E. (The ground crew promptly mangle the designation into the type's popular nickname of "Ate 33" rather than the manufacturer's marketing name.)

Patrols of the 2nd Infantry Brigade (Arctic Recon) in the Aleutians are engaged by unknown enemies; subsequent examinations of the areas reveal shell casings from 5.45mm weapons, only used by the Warsaw Pact.

As a result of the ongoing conflict, control of Hong Kong remains in British hands, following an agreement between the Chinese and British governments to extend the British lease of the colony to such time as Chinese government is prepared to administer the area.

The Echo II-class cruise missile sub K-35 arrives at the naval base at Pavlovsk Bay, pulling into the tunnel dug into the mountainside to protect it from American attack. It is the submarine's first service with the Pacific Fleet and the conclusion of an epic patrol that departed Murmansk in December and took it through the North and South Atlantic and Indian Oceans before traversing the South China Sea and Sea of Japan, sinking Allied shipping and attacking targets ashore along the entire route.

VI German Korps heads northeast towards Brest, reinforcing V US Corps’ right flank, and soon encounters advanced elements of 5th Guards Tank Army.

VII US Corps' progress is halted by resistance from the 1st Shock Army and the effects of extended supply lines.

XI US Corps makes the least progress as the fanatical Polish defenders fight for every yard and launch countless counterattacks. The Poles are short of armored vehicles but their dismounted infantry know every inch of the rugged terrain of the Carpathian foothills and have the support of the local population. The Americans do not have enough infantry to secure their entire front, leaving their rear area vulnerable to infiltration by small Polish units.

In beseiged Warsaw, a 37-year old ZOMO (riot police) captain, Krzysztof Czarny, leads his company in a counterattack to recapture part of the paint shop of the Ursus tractor plant from German troops. Within two hours his command has taken 75 percent casualties from a senseless direct attack.

The last American troops leave Swedish territory. To their north, the Soviet forces facing Norwegian troops in Finland are at the end of long and tenuous supply line, and the fervor of defending the Soviet homeland wanes once the Finnish border is reached. Short of ammunition and fuel and with the Northwestern TVD on a theater-wide counterattack, 26th Corps orders the 115th Motor-Rifle Division to maintain a passive pursuit of the retreating Norwegians. Prince Jungi is happy to oblige, eager to return to his home territory and possible redeployment of his force to defend the border with the USSR.

US carriers (the John F Kennedy and America) turn their attention to the island of Crete, launching numerous airstrikes along the length and breadth of the island; dispatching the destroyer Briscoe to use its 5" guns in shore bombardment. The Greek missile boat Plotarhis Bessas, hiding in a cove on the south side of the island, launches all four of its Exocet missiles at 6 nm range at the destroyer. One is shot down by the destroyer's CIWS, one misses and the other two strike, one amidships and the other on the helipad. The warheads cause significant damage, and, like in the Falklands conflict 15 years prior, their unburned propellant ignites a massive fire. Within 45 minutes the order is given to abandon ship.

Navy salvage teams clear the first deep draft cargo berth at the port of Bandar Abbas as SEEBEEs clear the last unexploded ordnance from Bandar Abbas International Airport. (The Havadarya air base on the west end of the city was the first captured and returned to service.)

The USS Independence and its battle group disembark VMFA-112 and its F/A-18s and head out to sea, responding to rumors of activity by the remnants of the Soviet Indian Ocean Squadron.