A Thunder Empire Snippet

[Webstral]

“Bring in as many goddamned Mexican whores as you can round up—and hope to hell our boys marry a few of them along the way! Better yet, hide the rubbers!”

Command Sergeant Major Holland, the senior NCO at Fort Huachuca in early 1998, was later criticized for what some would call a “crude, crass, misogynistic and racist epithet.” However, it is noteworthy that almost immediately after the post command sergeant major made his remark, Major General Thomas, post commander at the time, began organizing regular social events in which the single soldiers of the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade, had opportunities to mix with young and unattached civilians—many of whom were Mexican nationals. A few such events even involved young women from refugee camps in the area. 1

Holland had good reason to want his young men to marry. In the aftermath of the November nuclear exchange, morale among the soldiers of the 111th Brigade and among the garrison troops at Ft. Huachuca had plummeted. Losses to desertion and suicide topped combat losses from December through June, 1998—despite periods of heavy combat following the attack and during the remainder of the winter. The riflemen on the line had been MI soldiers going through their Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Huachuca when the exchange literally ended their world. The overwhelming majority of these soldiers were single and younger than twenty-five. Most of them would never see their families again. Holland knew his soldiers had to re-grow roots quickly.

At Holland’s urging, Thomas expedited the marriage and citizenship process. Housing rules were changed so that a soldier could move his in-laws and any other members of his wife’s nuclear family into government housing. The change in rules was clearly directed towards soldiers who wanted to marry a refugee—American or Mexican national—who was accompanied by her parents and other family members.

In short order, the new rules spawned controversy in the pre-existing on-post community. Many objected to the “Mexification” of the post. In fact, large numbers of single soldiers who survived the first few months after the exchange found themselves attractive and desperate Mexican and Mexican-American women who moved into their new quarters with their families. Certainly, many of the new brides were too young to marry under pre-exchange Arizona or federal law. Equally certainly, the post and Sierra Vista absorbed a very substantial influx of people who spoke English as a second language or not at all. Nevertheless, Thomas, who was determined to halt the steady stream of losses to desertion and suicide among his junior enlisted soldiers as well as build the long-term viability of the force, ruthlessly moved to crush dissent among the pre-war families on-post. The uniformed family members would follow orders. Non-uniformed members of the on-post community would fall in line or get out. Junior enlisted troops who were in the field risking their lives for the safety of the on-post community would not be denied their opportunity for a family life to satisfy the prejudice of those they protected. It was a clear line in the sand, and no one chose to cross it. They were, after all, still eating.

Low-level tensions of a predictable nature continued through the start of the Second Mexican-American War. Following the Mexican invasion at the beginning of June, there was a brief security flap during which many of the new families were accused of being enemy agents. For the most part, however, the new military families proved exemplary in their devotion to the post and the Huachuca community. Newly Mexican-American wives and in-laws worked tirelessly alongside their pre-war counterparts and the post’s contingent of EPWs (Enemy Prisoners of War) digging fortifications, hauling materials, delivering ammunition, tilling new fields, and tending crops. Many of the new families had superior farming knowledge compared to the pre-war families. Many new family members possessed mechanical skills that were immediately useful on-post. Virtually all were willing to work very hard indeed to help their new support network survive. By the time major operations had come to a halt in early September, 1998, the new families had become an accepted part of the military community.

CSM Holland got his way. The first children of the post-exchange marriages were born in the last quarter of 1998. Significantly, the Huachuca-Tucson cantonment area was the only location in the American Southwest where, for the next several years, children were being born at anything like the pre-war rate. Many would grow up speaking English and Spanish.

1. Although females made up nearly 20% of the MI soldiers-turned-infantry in the months leading up to the Second Mexican-American War, female soldiers did not seem to have the same difficulties in meeting available men as male soldiers did in meeting available women. The social mixers were therefore principally tailored towards putting male soldiers and female civilians together.


Webstral

[Matt Wiser]

Interesting, Webstral. Glad to see you back on the new board. Where've you been in the meantime?

[headquarters]

I like it - not everything has to be about technical issues- the social and psychological issues should be given weight in a campaign as well imho.

[firewalker]

female soldiers did not seem to have the same difficulties in meeting available men as male soldiers did in meeting available women

I like that i can just see it in the eventual middle/high school history books.

[Jason Weiser]

Why am I reminded of the "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" by that entire post? Though it does make sense...and is probably something along the lines of what a LOT of units forward deployed who can't get home do.

[firewalker]

Off course it's one of those kind of uncofterbale questions in a post apoc world (off any description realy). ya need man power...a lot of it....losses must be replaced and long term the only way to do that is to make 'em.

poke about in a few newBSG boards and you can see some quite heated discussions on it.

The uniformed family members would follow orders. Non-uniformed members of the on-post community would fall in line or get out. Junior enlisted troops who were in the field risking their lives for the safety of the on-post community would not be denied their opportunity for a family life to satisfy the prejudice of those they protected. It was a clear line in the sand, and no one chose to cross it. They were, after all, still eating.

I’m not sure that would really be viable response. Even if (for arguments sake) the existing family's objection is realy based on prejudice. there going to be the ones who's military members are going to by and large repsent many of the more valuable (rank, experience what not) solders.

[Webstral]

Originally Posted by firewalker

I’m not sure that would really be viable response. Even if (for arguments sake) the existing family's objection is realy based on prejudice. there going to be the ones who's military members are going to by and large repsent many of the more valuable (rank, experience what not) solders.

One certainly does have the issue of standing in the community. The older families are gong to expect things to go their way. However, there's a way to deal with the wives. When the post command controls the goods, the command has a lot of influence over both the soldiers and the families. Command climate really does set the tone on-post. If the CG and the CSM crank their respective chains hard, it takes a fairly hard-core group of wives to stand up to them. I believe there would be such a hard-core group initially. However, the rug can be taken out from under them by working the officer chain, the NCO chain, and the spouses' chain (through the CG's wife). The troops get it pounded into them that their Joes are bailing in large numbers. Marriage prevents this. Therefore, marriage preserves the force. The force preserves the cantonment. More specifically, the force preserves YOUR family, Sergeant Jones--so get your wife's f****** cake-hole under control. We'll look the other way if she appears in sunglasses at the ration line for week or so. We're not going to have this conversation again.

Bear in mind, this is post-nuke America. All previous arrangements are up for re-negotiation. Although a few Army wives are stupid, they are no more or less so than the balance of the population. When the choice between prejudice and menace to their families is put to them, I'm confident the overwhelming majority will choose to maximize their children's safety.1 They may not like the new wives initially, but the Army has a lot of experience handling wives under conditions where the Army has a lot less leverage.

1. Menace from deteriorating circumstances, mind you. The Army probably would not directly threaten families. Given the state of affairs in post-nuke America, it hardly needs to. The argument against things that threaten the security of the cantonment sells itself by early 1998. Although a few of the wives may be clever enough to suggest that incorporating all these new Mexican families into the community destabilizes the community, the natural reply is that continued loss of riflemen is a far worse evil. After a couple of months in which desertion and suicide cost the force rifles in the triple digits, all but the most bigoted wives will be ready for the command's "sales pitch."


Webstral

[Webstral]

Originally Posted by Matt Wiser

Interesting, Webstral. Glad to see you back on the new board. Where've you been in the meantime?

Teaching my fourth point of contact off. I agreed to teach literature this year. It was hard to argue that I shouldn't, given that I am the only middle school teacher in the school with an English degree. I have inherited a group of kids whose reading ability ranges from excellent to virtually illiterate. The center of gravity is more towards the latter. The volume of preparation and correcting that goes into this venture is at least twice what I had teaching the same number of math classes. My little blurb about CSM Holland's remarks is literally the first Twilight material I have written since the old board went down. There are days when I long for the checkpoint...

Webstral