Battlefield Ukraine

The Shake Up

It had been a rough morning, and the day had only started. The Press Secretary, Linda Wagner, had gotten the call late last night to come in extra early because there was going to be a major military shake-up of the situation unfolding in Europe.

When she got off the phone, her husband rolled over and asked, “Do you think America could lose the war with the Russians?”

It caught her off guard. “If my own husband, who knows more than the average American, thinks that the US could possibly lose the war, then what is the average person thinking?” she wondered.

She arrived at the office two hours early, to get ready for a staff briefing at 0500.

“Thank goodness, the kitchen crew brought in some strong coffee and breakfast foods. I’m starved,” she thought as she took her seat.

As Ishaan went over what had transpired last night, her mouth almost dropped to the floor. She knew there had been military failures; anyone with eyes had to see all the footage that the media was showing of the frontlines on a continuous loop. People were starting to lose their minds over how badly things were going. The military shake up did not seem like that big of a surprise. However, then they moved to the firings, and the congressional members who had been caught leaking classified intelligence to the media.

“My God… there really were a lot of government civilians leaking classified intelligence,” she gasped. “And now there was a spy in the Pentagon? This is a lot to take in…”

Her mind began to race. “How do I present this information in a rational manner and try to control the narrative here?”

She thought back to Roosevelt, and how he had made big changes after Pearl Harbor. “That’s where I’ll take this. The President is providing decisive leadership in a time of crisis. He is a strong-minded Commander-in-Chief who sees that people have been dying and wants to right the ship before our nation reaches a tipping point.”

When the meeting finished, Linda gathered her team and brought everyone up to speed. She began to draft talking points for surrogates to use and for her own staff. This was explosive information that was about to be released, and it was going to cause a lot of alarm across the country. They all needed to have their story straight and spread a united narrative of strong and decisive leadership running at full steam.

An hour later, the Press Secretary walked into the press room and took her place at the podium. For the first time in a while, the press had no idea what was coming, and she relished in the fact that they had, at long last, identified the leakers. The two individuals in the White House who had also been identified had been arrested a couple of hours ago, when they arrived for work. They were still being held in detention in the basement of the White House until after the briefing was done. There could be no chances taken that the media would spot their two moles being walked out in cuffs — not until after the briefing.

Looking at the wolves before her, she began. “Good Morning, America. The President would like to make a brief statement, then I will answer your questions.” She took a step back, and then the President walked in through the side entrance and took his place at the podium. The reporters in the room grew restless… they wanted to jump out of their seats to pound the President with questions, but they knew they had to let him speak first.

The President cleared his throat as he pulled out a paper with his notes written on it. He then looked up at the anxious faces before him. “The war in Europe with Russia has been an unmitigated disaster.”

The room let out a collective gasp. They could not believe President Gates would say such a thing while US Forces were still fighting and dying in Europe. They began to scribble quickly, several of them sending Twitter quotes and text messages.

Gates ignored the sound of keys being rapidly clicked and continued. “We as Americans look to our military to protect us, to understand the threats that face us and have a plan to deal with them. Likewise, we also look to our political leaders to protect us, to understand the threats and ensure our military has the right resources, leaders, and equipment needed to fight and win America’s wars. Sadly, that has not happened, and it is for this reason that I have asked for, and received, the resignation of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the entire staff of the Joint Chiefs, the General of the Army, Air Force, Chief of Naval Operations, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. I have also relieved the NATO Commander, who is also the commander at US European Command, the Naval Commander Europe, the Commander of US Air Force Europe, and US Army Europe.”

More audible gasps could be heard as the press continued to become more and more restless. They were chomping at the bit to yell out questions, but he was not done delivering the news.

“Everyone has seen the numerous videos on the internet and media of the fighting in Europe. A change in leadership was needed, and as President, it is my responsibility to protect our country. To that effect, as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, I have taken decisive action and relieved the commanders responsible for both failing our nation, and more importantly, failing the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines they are responsible for leading.”

“In the aftermath of the Japanese sneak-attack at Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt fired and demoted the military commanders responsible for the defense of Hawaii and the Pacific Fleet. Roosevelt took decisive action and rallied the nation to defeat the Japanese and Adolf Hitler’s Germany. Today, I ask for that same support for our Armed Forces and for the country, to rally together as one nation, so that we can effectively meet this threat imposed upon us by Russia.”

“The recent cyber-attacks against our power grid and the brazen assault on two of our natural gas export terminals by Russian Special Forces show that they are determined to defeat us, not just on the battlefield, but in cyberspace, the media, and economically. Let me remind you of that attack on our natural gas terminals last night. Those were Russian Special Forces operating on American soil that carried out that attack. Russian soldiers… on American soil.” Gates let that sink in for a moment and could see the wheels spinning in the various reporters’ heads.

“I have charged the FBI and DHS with finding these saboteurs. In the meantime, I have authorized National Guard units across the country to augment the security around many of our critical infrastructure elements: power plant, bridges, water treatment facilities, and so on. Do not be alarmed if you see soldiers guarding these crucial places. If you see something suspicious, then say something. Report it. Do not wait for another attack to happen.”

As he continued to speak, the President could see a sense of bewilderment and then anger in their eyes as the realization of what he was saying was finally sinking in. America had been attacked at home — a foreign army was operating Special Forces on American soil, and that was not sitting well with them. Now he needed to hammer home his message of unity.

“We need to unite as a country and stand together against this threat. Today and tomorrow are going to be a day of reckoning for those who have sought to undermine our country and placed us in the danger in which we now find ourselves. I want to assure the American people that your government is going to win this war. We will not surrender or accept defeat at the hands of Vladimir Petrov. I will now leave you with Linda to answer some of your questions. I will be making another statement this afternoon, so please stay tuned for further information,” the President announced.

As he turned to leave the room, the President tilted his head down towards Linda. “You can do this, Linda. I trust you,” he encouraged. Then he walked off the stage through the side door, headed back to the West Wing.

Nearly all of the reporters jumped to their feet, shouting questions at the President as he slipped away into the hallway. Once Gates had left the room, they all turned to the Press Secretary and immediately began to shout out their questions, hoping she would choose their question to answer.

One of the CNN reporters shouted, “Linda, how can the administration simply fire the heads of all the branches of the military and Joint Chiefs of Staff overnight while the country is in the midst of a military disaster unfolding in Europe?!”

Linda raised her hand to try to calm the roaring lions so she could start to answer their many questions. She pointed at the CNN reporter who had just shouted at her. “Monica, I believe you just answered your own question,” she began. “The situation in Europe is dire. These military commanders were responsible for ensuring our forces were prepared to meet this challenge, and they were not. The President wants to turn things around and that means replacing those who have failed with someone else who can do the job,” Linda explained. She spoke cautiously but confidently, knowing that the press was currently snapping like a bunch of sharks that had located a source of blood.

The questioning continued for another hour while the major networks continued to report on the massive firings taking place across the military leadership. A number of former generals who were employed by the various news agencies were sounding off. Some were calling this a much-needed move and a sign of decisive leadership. Others called it reckless, and said it was dangerous to replace so much of the command structure in the middle of a war. Meanwhile, the real conflict continued, both on the battlefield and in cyberspace.