Miles looked down the table to see who was going to wind the messaging threads together on a wartime morning. Splash, Vic and Rocket were over by the window, attempting to peer down to the corner in the deep fog. Dierdre was in the Galley doing something with deliberation that accompanied the clicking of a […]

(This evocative Wyoming sunrise provides a look at what will be coming to DC by this weekend. It also reflects a sense of the conflict far to the east. Hank Ruland got this picture looking from his porch over the Wind River Range and it was published in our morning paper, the Cowboy State Daily). […]

We were sitting in the conference room watching the periscope video of the fast-attack submarine torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean where some of us sailed 47 years ago. It evokes a visceral sense dread at what it must have been like on the receiving end. The news about how effective MK-48 torpedoes […]

(CREATIVE SECTION LEADER MILES GESTURES TO THE NEW SUPPLY OF LUCAS DRONES). Miles was beside himself this morning. Literally. He was waving around the new munitions he was stockpiling down on the P3 parking level at the Building. “They only will take up one of the three parking places we have. Plus, the Tomahawks the […]

There is a tidal current of messages in progress this morning. It is an epic time and still unfoldingg in crimson billows of fire and black smoke overseas. General Razin Caine this morning briefed us that “Shock and Awe” was a component of the plan. We felt it. The crowd at Socotra House in various […]

Sundays carry a little chaos at Socotra House. That is expected. We have to get a product out between Holy Services and what the Chairman calls “Brunch.” The Daily Grind — the only sanctioned early-afternoon indulgence — was already making the rounds. Miles stood, attempting to herd the Boomers as Eggs Benedict were assembled somewhere […]

The first round of assessments is beginning to come in. As always, first things first. Preliminary reporting indicates that the opening strikes focused on Iranian integrated air defense systems. Russian-made radar arrays and surface-to-air missile sites were targeted with Tomahawk land-attack missiles, followed by air-delivered munitions against known relocation and command nodes. Early ISR suggests […]

In the Morning… Miles looked down the table with a frown. “Too soon to tell how this is going to play out. No BDA yet. We expect something before lunch, and we may learn if the leadership was taken out, or if there was chem/bio payloads in the missile response by Iran. We won’t know […]

Snow Delays & Regime Change Windows Miles stood before the White Board like a man briefing a reluctant empire. STATE OF THE UNION – Tomorrow Night He tapped it with the marker. “With the USS Ford strike group still sliding east across the Mediterranean, and a prime-time address tomorrow, war with Iran probably can’t happen […]

Inline image Splash set the tablet in the middle of the Conference Table. The screen glowed blue — icy blues — snowflakes, rinks, and the sort of frozen theater that pauses a nation. He raised his hand over it, then pointed at Miles. Our Section Leader was reclined in his ergonomic throne, watching a faster […]