Battlefield Ukraine

New Commander, New Strategy

General James Cotton had just arrived in Mons and was viewing the damage to the building from the Russian cruise missile attack that had hit SHAPE at the outset of the war. It was practically a total loss. What few people knew about (and thankfully the Russians did not destroy) was the newly-developed alternate command post built at the opposite end of the military base, which had been cleverly designed as a museum. About fifty feet below the building, was an underground command post that had been built to be used during a time of war. The bunker had been completed in 2014, so it was significantly more modern than the actual command center.

“As you can see General, we have a Patriot missile battery set up now and the THAADs are operational again. This type of attack should not happen again,” a Belgian Colonel said as he finished showing the new SACEUR the damage.

Shaking his head in disgust at how poorly things had gone so far with the war, he resolved to fix the situation and get things back under control. The past 24 hours had been a whirlwind of activity; the President had fired his boss, General Wheeler, and then a host of other generals and admirals to include all the Service Chiefs. Then he fired nearly 300 Senior Executive Service (SES) government civilians, along with dozens of deputy and assistant secretaries across the CIA, FBI, DIA, and NSA, because of their colossal failure to understand the true military threat posed by Russia. However, the biggest shake up to happen (and the one that directly affected his position), was the deep cover SVR agent who had been recently arrested. This spy had been passing numerous high-level meeting transcripts between the President and his military commanders to the Russians, which would explain why they appeared to always be a step ahead of their moves or lying in ambush of NATO Forces.

“I still cannot believe we had so many people involved in leaking classified intelligence to the media,” General Cotton thought to himself. “And how in the heck did the SVR get a mole who had access to the National Security Council meeting notes? These traitors have cost the lives of thousands of military members.” The general was still stewing at the revelations that had just been made by the White House.

Following a review of the damage, the military escorts led General Cotton to the elevator that would lead them to the underground command center for his morning brief. They needed to get him up-to-speed on the situation on the ground.

As General Cotton walked into the hallway that led to the Operations Center, he was impressed with how modern and high-tech the operations center looked. There were dozens of large screen computer monitors on one of the walls, with various maps and images on them. On a different wall were several different news channels from the various member states. They were all reporting on various aspects of the war.

His escort led him past the operations center, promising him a more thorough tour of the bunker following the meeting. There was a lot that needed to get taken care of, since he had just assumed command of NATO.

Taking his seat at the center of the table at the back of the room, General Cotton got right down to business. “All right, let’s get down to business. What is the situation in the air right now? Do we have air supremacy yet, or anything close to it?” he asked.

His NATO Air Commander (a British Air Marshal), cleared his throat before proceeding. “General Cotton, we presently do not have air supremacy over the battlefield. We do have control of the skies near the Polish border and the western portion of Ukraine. However, the central and eastern part of the country are in Russian hands. We have attempted to secure the skies over Kiev and the current frontline on numerous occasions over the last twenty-four hours; in each instance, our fighters were either heavily engaged by Russian Su-57 stealth fighters, Su-35s and MiG-31s, or an inordinate amount of SAMs. It’s a hot mess right now Sir,” the air marshal explained, summarizing the situation.

General Cotton was upset. “We are going to have to get the air situation sorted soon,” he worried. “This is ridiculous that we have not been able to secure the air yet.” General Cotton looked around the room, and everyone seemed to be satisfied with the air marshal’s response, as if the lack of air superiority over the battlefield was acceptable given the circumstances.

“Please excuse me if I get anyone’s names or ranks wrong — I have not been at NATO long enough to know all of your titles and the various ranks structures of your nations’ services. For the moment, I will plan on addressing everyone as General, Marshal, Admiral or Colonel, as I would speak to my own country’s military members, just for sake of clarity.” He saw some people were kind of put off by his lack of wanting to learn their proper military ranks, but frankly he did not have time. These officers had so fouled up the war unfolding in Ukraine that he did not care if he offended their sensibilities.

General Cotton continued, “Marshal Pierce, I do not accept that report or that outcome. I want to know why we are five days into this conflict and NATO still does not have even fifty percent air supremacy over the battlefield yet. NATO has spent decades developing plans to handle the Russian Air Force and air defense capabilities. Britain, France, Germany, and others have exceptionally capable air assets to handle the Russian threat. Please explain to me what the problem is, so we can work to address it.”

Marshal Pierce looked like a hurt puppy at the comment. He lowered his head and sighed softly before replying, “General, we do not have air superiority because we have sustained heavy aircraft losses, and several member nations have not committed additional air assets to the campaign yet. Until we get additional squadrons that can be brought to bear, there is only so much we can do. We also do not have the vast array of satellites that we used to; we rely so heavily on them to track and locate the now hundreds of Russians SAMs across Ukraine, and that ability has been seriously degraded.” As he spoke, he stared daggers at the Spanish, French, and Italian officers, who were the biggest offenders in terms of breaking air support promises.

The Air Force General shot back, “Marshal Pierce, I know this looks bad, and believe me, I wish there was more we could do. We are being held back by our President. He has not authorized the release of additional squadrons to NATO control.” He spoke angrily to the British Air Marshal, as if he personally was holding out on them.

General Cotton thought to himself, “I know there is a lot of consternation between the military members of NATO and their political counterparts. The NATO military generals want to beat back the Russians, but the lack of resources being released by the political leaders of these member states is greatly affecting our ability to adequately respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I know President Gates is working on this, but I sure hope it gets resolved quickly. Nothing like fighting a battle with both arms ties behind your back.”

I understand everyone here wants to get in the fight. I know there is a lot of pressure being placed on you all by your elected officials right now, and they are the ones holding up the release of the requested forces. President Gates and Ambassador Wilkins, our new Ambassador to NATO, are currently working that issue with your leaders right now. What I need from all of you is a plan that will be ready to execute as we get more forces released. We need anti-SAM missions drawn up, we need air superiority missions drawn up, we need our supply lines to start flowing, and men and material moved to the battlefield as quickly as possible. There is a tremendous amount of work that needs to happen while we let the politicians sort things out,” General Cotton explained, trying to light a fire under everyone. NATO had vast war supplies across the various member states; it was time to start getting them opened and on the move to the frontlines.

Just then, a Turkish officer walked in and whispered something to General Mehmet Yamut and handed him a note. General Yamut was the Turkish military representative, responsible for coordinating Turkey’s efforts in the war against Russia. He turned his head slightly and then did a double take at the officer that just brought him the note. He whispered something back and the officer only nodded, then quickly left the room.

At first, no one responded. Then all eyes turned to General Cotton and then to General Yamut, who raised his hand to signal that he needed to address the group. Cotton nodded for him to go ahead. “Colleagues, I want you to know that I do not agree with this decision,” Yamut began. “Most of the general officers within the military will be unhappy as well, but our president has directed that no Turkish military forces will participate in this war against Russia. Our nation conducts a large percentage of our international trade with Russia, and our President does not wish to upset that relationship — even if it means not honoring our agreement with NATO,” he explained as he squirmed in his chair. He was clearly not comfortable with providing this statement in front of the other NATO member states

General Cotton already knew the Turkish government was not going to support NATO in the current war with Russia. He also knew what he had to do, as uncomfortable as it might be.

“I understand your position, General. I also understand that this is a political decision being made by your government and not something the military agrees with. However, if Turkey is not going to honor its military commitment when the organization was clearly attacked, then Turkey can no longer be a part of the planning of the war or take part in any of the war updates. My understanding is that Ambassador Wilkins, at the direction of our President, will move to have Turkey removed from the alliance for its failure to live up to its obligation.”

A collective gasp filled the room.

General Cotton continued, “While this is a political decision, as the SACEUR responsible for the defense of Europe and the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, I cannot allow you to remain privy to the war plans being developed or implemented by NATO.” He took a deep breath before he dropped the final hammer. “I kindly ask that you excuse yourself from the room while we continue to discuss the war.”

Many of the generals in the room had their mouths wide open in surprise. No one had ever asked another member state to leave before, and no one had ever told a member state they could no longer participate in any further military discussions, planning, or updates either.

General Yamut nodded. He was upset to be asked to leave, but he also understood. He gathered his things and walked out of the room, while everyone watched in silence.

With the uncomfortable tension still hanging in the air, General Cotton addressed the rest of the representatives at the table. “Before we continue with the war update, are there any other member states who are not going to honor their military agreements?”

Silence filled the room as everyone stared down all of their counterparts. Then, to everyone’s shock and horror, first the Hungarian general and then the Spanish general both stood up and walked out.

“What in the world is going on?!” thought General Cotton. However, there was no time to dwell on it. There was only time to move forward.