Chapter 6

The following characters appear in the rest of the story:

Captain Paribetra

Thai Army Ranger, Suenee’s cousin from Amulets II and III, 5’-10” tall, 145 pounds, 28 years old, black hair, brown eyes, he has been promoted in the intervening years

Lergong Pengdith

Captain, Thai Army Rangers, 5’-8” tall, 135 pounds, 35 years old, black hair, brown eyes

Captain Tamusarit,

Thai Special Forces, returns from Amulets II, 5’-9” tall, 138 pounds, 32 years old, black hair, brown eyes, He too has been promoted since appearing in Amulets II

On Friday morning, the 10th of October, a conference was held at our Headquarters for all of the units and organizations that would be involved in the coming operation. When I arrived there I was shocked by the number of people in attendance, and the variety of uniforms gathered there. Even more shocking was the fact that I recognized a number of those present.

I was familiar with Major Mc Keane, the Group S-2 (Intelligence officer), and Major Mathews, the Group S-4 (Supply officer) who were sitting there of course. The next to draw my attention was Lieutenant - now Captain - Paribetra, Suenee’s cousin in the Thai Rangers, who had been with us at the Battle in the Pass (See Amulets III). He introduced me to the other Thai Ranger Captain who was there with him - Captain Lergong Pengdith.

Even more shocking was seeing Lieutenant - now also Captain - Tamusarit from my time at the Special Forces camp in Upper Cambodia. I spent time greeting and getting reacquainted with each of them. They both asked about Suenee.

Eventually, Sawyer called us all to attention, as the Senior Officers arrived to start the conference. There was COL Page, COL Thuathao (Thai Special Forces), LTC Hawkins, MAJ Carlson, and last MAJ Del Vecchio.

“At ease, gentlemen. Please take your seats,” COL Page said as soon as they had all entered the room. He then moved to the podium at the front of the room facing the long conference table, as everyone took their seat.

“This is quite a gathering. We’ll get everyone introduced in a few minutes,” he stated when he had everyone’s attention. He then turned serious. “We are here today, gentlemen, to kick off Operation ‘Dtorn Glahng Keun Yen’ or ‘Evening Calm’ in English.

“This is a joint operation with our A-Team led by MAJ Del Vecchio and a Thai A-Team led by CPT Tamusarit. Both teams will be reinforced and supported by a Company of Thai Rangers under CPT Paribetra, and CPT Pengdith. The purpose of the operation is to eliminate the current trouble in the Thai Shan States.” Each officer mentioned stood, so all could see him, when the Colonel spoke his name.

“Let me begin by introducing the senior officers. I’m COL Page, and I’m Commander of 46th Special Forces Group. Next to me is COL Thuathao, the S-3 for Thai Special Forces. The other two gentlemen are LTC Hawkins, my Executive Officer, and MAJ Carlson, the 46th Group S-3.

“We’ll now go around the table so that each of you can identify yourself and tell us who you represent,” the Colonel finished.

There were a Major and a Captain representing the Air Force out of Korat. One was from transportation and the other was from Tactical Air support. Their names and the names of most of those present weren’t important as they played no significant role in the operation. They were just here for coordination purposes.

Next to them was a Captain from the ‘Red Tigers’, the Attack Helicopter unit (UH-1, Huey) that was supporting us. He was followed by another Captain from the ‘Black Horse’, the Support Helicopter Unit (CH-47s) that was supporting us. The Black Horse had supported us in Luang Phrabang also. (See Amulets III)

Following them was a CWO 4 (Chief Warrant Officer grade 4) representing Peppergrinder’s assets at Takhli RTAB (Royal Thai Air Base). There was a Master Sergeant from the B-Detachment in Chiang Mai, and a young Captain from the new Team House in Chiang Rai. Last were the two staff officers from 46th Group that I had already mentioned. All of these people were here to coordinate the launch of this operation.

“Lastly, there is SFC Baker,” the Colonel said after all of the other introductions. “He is the Commo Chief for this operation and will be getting with each of you at the end of the meeting to get your operating frequencies and call signs, so we can stay in communications with everyone.

“The next item of business on the agenda is readiness,” the Colonel announced. “Major Del Vecchio, when will your team be ready to leave for Chiang Rai?”

“Sir, we’re unpacking our equipment now. Checking and testing everything should consume another three days. We should be ready to move out by the 15th. I would like to get together with the other Unit Commanders to go over the move and initial disposition of personnel before we depart if at all possible,” Major Del Vecchio told him.

“How long would you need?” the Colonel asked.

“A day, if possible. Also SFC Baker will need to get with their commo people, but we could do that in Chiang Rai if necessary. I’m not sure where their units are presently located,” Major Del Vecchio told him, but was looking directly at Colonel Thuathao.

“Yes, we can arrange that,” Colonel Thuathao stated. “Captain Tamusarit’s A-Team is located here in Lop Buri. The two Ranger Companies are located in Korat currently. Their Commanders could spend a day here if necessary.”

“Thank you, sir. We could meet right after this, if that’s agreeable,” the Major told him.

“Yes, they will be meting with my people tomorrow before returning to Korat,” Colonel Thuathao stated. “When will your Ranger Companies be ready to move, gentlemen?”

“We will finish our current training on the 18th, sir,” Captain Paribetra said looking at his counterpart. “We should be ready to depart by the evening of the 20th.”

“That sounds very good,” Colonel Thuathao responded.

“Can the Air Force move the two Ranger Companies to Chiang Rai on the 21st?” Colonel Page asked the Air Force representatives.

“Yes, sir. We can fly them out of KRTAB (Korat Royal Thai Air Base) on the 21st. What is their strength, and do they have many vehicles?” the Air Force Major asked.

“There are 102 men in each Company,” Captain Paribetra told him. “We will be moving with weapons and basic loads of ammunition, food, and field gear. There are three jeeps with trailers in each company,” he continued.

“I’ll have to check as it will depend on the number of aircraft available, but we should be able to move both Companies at the same time with those numbers. Chiang Rai is just over an hour flight time for the C-130. Say an hour and ten minutes,” the Air Force Major told us.

“Would you be able to move the two A-Teams from Lop Buri to Chiang Rai on the 17th?” Colonel Thuathao asked.

“The personnel won’t be a problem, but how many vehicles and trailers will you have?” the Air Force Major asked.

“We’ll have a jeep with trailer and two 1 1/4 ton M 715 trucks, with M 101 trailers,” Major Del Vecchio answered.

“The Thai Team will have two jeeps with trailers,” Captain Tamusarit informed him, and then asked, “What about fuel?”

“We’ll come to that presently, Captain,” Colonel Thuathao informed him.

“What about the Helicopter Units?” Colonel Page asked. “When will you be able to deploy?”

“Sir, the Black Horse contingent will begin deploying to Chiang Rai on the 14th. We’ll be setting up initially at Chiang Rai RTAB. We’ll need to see if there will be any forward airfield where we’ll need to keep ships. We aren’t familiar with this area,” the Black Horse Captain told him.

“Sir, the Red Tigers will begin deploying to Chiang Rai RTAB on the 14th also. It will require two days. We’ve already arranged with the Air Force to move our support element up there,” the Captain from the Attack Helicopter Unit explained.

“Very good!” Colonel Page said. “The next topic is one that has already been mentioned - Fuel!” and he looked at his S-4 and Colonel Thuathao expectantly.

“Sir, initially gasoline for the vehicles will be transported in 55 gallon drums to Chiang Rai by the Air Force,” Major Mathews told us.

“Since completion of the second fuel pipeline to the Korat Air Base, the Thai State Railroad has many tank cars available, and will be running a train to Chiang Rai twice a week to transport fuel, including JP-4, diesel, and gasoline. The first train should arrive there on the 22nd,” Colonel Thuathao informed us.

“Very good, gentlemen,” COL Page said with a smile. “Let us move on.”

“The next item on the agenda is food and ammunition. We’ll start with food,” Colonel Page stated.

“Sir, the Air Force will be flying food stuffs and other items up to Chiang Rai once a week. We were also informed that the Ranger Units would be purchasing some food on the local economy,” Major Mathews told everyone.

“Is that correct?” Colonel Page asked somewhat confused.

“Yes, sir. Vegetables won’t keep fresh for a week. A number of our men are from that area and know how to select the correct food. Also some items that they prefer aren’t available here,” Captain Paribetra told us.

“Unavailable?” Colonel Thuathao asked in surprise.

“Some of the men have different tastes, sir,” was all that Captain Pengdith said, but it was plain that he didn’t necessarily agree with them.

“All right, that’s fine. What about ammunition support?” Colonel Page asked.

“Sir, we can supply ammunition on an as needed basis seven days a week,” the CWO 4 representing Peppergrinder’s Takhli base informed us. “Also rations and medical supplies.”

“Very good, Chief,” The Colonel replied. “Lastly there is internal support. Are there any problems at the Chiang Mai B-Detachment?”

“No, sir. We’re fine. They can start reporting to us as soon as they reach Chiang Rai,” the Master Sergeant from the B-Detachment informed the Colonel.

“Chiang Rai Team house are you prepared to receive and support the personnel on this Mission?” the Colonel asked.

“Yes, sir. We’ll have everything ready when they arrive on the 17th,” the young Captain answered.

“Are there any other items that need to be discussed at this time?” the Colonel then asked looking around. Only one person spoke up. He was a crusty old Engineer Captain in stained, rumpled fatigues, and wasn’t even seated at the table but along the wall with the other people that had accompanied the representatives.

“Captain Rush, sir. 815th Engineer Battalion. We received instructions to have a representative at this meeting,” he told everyone.

“Engineers?” Colonel Page said, like it was a new concept to him.

“Yes, sir. We were told that you would need Engineer support for your new teams in the Shan States,” Captain Rush stated. Colonel Page, Colonel Thuathao, and Major Del Vecchio all looked perplexed.

“Do you know where these orders came from, Captain?” Major Del Vecchio asked.

“We received them from the 44th Engineer Group, sir,” the Captain returned.

“We are a little surprised at this, Captain, as we hadn’t requested any Engineer support yet, and aren’t even sure where we will need it. We will need to see what existing facilities are like there before we will be able to determine the need for Engineer support,” Major Del Vecchio told him.