Soldier Up (23 page)

              The gangway was out sixteen hours a day and guarded by a heavily armed Marine detail.  After sixteen hours it was pulled in for a few hours then pushed back out.  Civilians had started to set up camps in and around the Hornet they felt they would be safe there but after a while sanitary conditions were getting pretty bad.  The Seabees were called back and several large holes were dug and heads built over them.  The civilians in the camps were ordered to clean it up or move on, they were also ordered to tear everything down and put it up a certain way, and all tents were to be dress right dress.  This wasn’t so much to make it look nicer it was for sanitary reasons where small trenches could be dug to allow water flow through the camp. 

              All of the unwanted items that were no longer needed, basically everything that made it a museum was discarded and moved down to the parking lot, except the tourist flight simulators for now those they would keep.  The ship could easily power them and it would give the crew something else to do with their down time, not to mention they could use them for training.  One of the items on the crew’s wish list was a modern gym fortunately they had passed two 24 hour fitness gyms they were pretty sure the equipment would still be in them, who would loot a gym?

              Several blocks away armed Sailors with trucks arrived at one of those 24 hour finesses to see if there was anything they could use.  Commander Elliot told them to go town, meaning take everything if you can.  As they entered the building it was semi-dark and they were right, no one had entered the building thinking there was nothing in there but workout machines, in fact there was all sorts of stuff.  Workout clothes, supplements, energy bars, drinks everything they would take with them, they loaded up one of the trucks with all of it. 

              They brought in tools to unfasten the machines from the floor which they went right to work doing, there were lots of free weights others started to load up with the benches.  It took them all day to get everything out that they wanted.  Once back at the ship they looked up from the parking lot to the gangway and into the ship, they would have to carry all of this stuff uphill and there was a lot of it.  Lucky for them much of the crew was waiting to help, they were also looking forward to working out with the new gear.

              The civilians looked on with amazement thinking life must be so good on the ship that there getting work out equipment when they were living like animals.  The looks on the faces of the civilians wasn’t lost on Commander Elliot.  The next day he would send out several of the vehicles with armed escorts to scavenge for items for the civilians.  He knew there were some sporting goods stores that had been boarded up and looked at least from the outside to have not been looted. 

              They found the boarded up stores merchandise to be largely intact some people had been able to get in but didn’t really take much.  Most of the camping equipment was still there, the Sailors had seen this time and again.  The people of San Francisco even at the events worst which was probably the first month or so believed that everything was going to be OK the government would take care of them.  So many people they found had died of gunshot wounds it was unbelievable, the vast majority refused to arm themselves, thinking the police would protect them.  Not fully realizing the police were overwhelmed and had no working vehicles.  They loaded up the trucks with everything they could find which included sleeping bags, tables, butane, stoves, candles, matches, chairs, new tents, everything they would need for camping.

              Next up were the big box stores warehouse that sat on the outskirts of town and were generally very secure.  The ones they had checked near Hayward months after the event hadn’t been touched they were hopeful they would find the same thing.  It took about forty-five minutes to get to the warehouses then it took another ten minutes to bust through all of the security measures to get into them.  Like the others they had found near Hayward they were bustling with merchandise.  They loaded up the trucks with everything they could, clothes, bottled water, Gatorade, flavored waters and food.  As well as blankets, indoor outdoor carpets everything they thought could be used.

              The trucks were bustling with all sorts of goods now, they re-secured the warehouse to make sure no one else could get it, well they hoped.  From there they returned to the Hornet they all felt good about what would happen when they got there.  When they pulled up the civilians assumed the Sailors were getting more goods to make their lives easier.  Instead, the trucks pulled into the vehicle park which was secured the Sailors left and the Marines took over guarding it.

              The Sailors returned to the ship and spoke with Commander Elliot they had taken inventory of everything they had collected while loading it up.  The Commander ordered flyers be written up and distributed to the civilians this evening and they would begin distributing the goods the following morning.  Commander Elliot was concerned that there might be some sort of free for all riot once they started to distribute the goods. He sent a runner to Camp Parks to ask for civilian security help with potential crowds and rioting if it got out of hand. 

              Colonel Clayton didn’t have a problem sending civilian security over to help so he sent the runner with his letter over to the security school to see what they could do to help.  They had a class of a hundred graduating in a few days and would be more than happy to send them to help it would be a great practical exercise to give them some real world training.  The Academy Chief told runner to let Commander Elliot know the security teams will be there by 0700 and asked him to please be prepared with a plan to deploy them as well as one to brief them if things go to hell.

              The runner returned to the Hornet and reported to Commander Elliot and briefed him on the meeting with Colonel Clayton and the Academy Security Chief.  The Commander thought was great it was all coming together, hopefully everything would turnout well.  The flyers had already been handed out, there was a lot of talk and excitement in the camps tomorrow would be like Christmas, truth be told it was Christmas.

              Trucks loaded with civilian security personnel arrived just before 0700 and Commander Elliot and the Marines had met them as they arrived.  The civilians in the camp were already up and moving around wondering what now was going on?  They disbursement of goods wasn’t supposed to start until 0900 Commander Elliot pulled the men and woman security officers into a GM medium tent that had been set up, it would act as the CP during the operation.  They were all briefed, most of them left for their security posts and were told what to do in the event of a riot, but with all of the armed Marines and Sailors around it would hopefully be deterrent enough. 

              They had erected several other GP Mediums where the goods could be given out and those tents were encircled by a fence that was set up very early in the morning everyone for now would be able to select ten items and no more.  

              To get into the area they would have to pass through another GP medium tent to make sure no weapons went in.  Everyone waiting outside was told they would have to get into line and pass through, parents with children go to the head of the line, there was a lot of grumbling about that, but it was accepted.

              At 0900 the sides of the GP Medium they were to pass through were rolled up by the Sailors, what was odd and caught the attention of the civilians was that they were wearing Christmas hats and they could see colored lights in the tent, then all of a sudden Christmas music started to blare out from the Hornet, it was loud enough that everyone in the parking lot could hear it.

              Then to everyone’s surprise Santa Claus stepped out of the tent yelling, “Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!” The children’s faces light up and there was a Christmas tree inside the tent, it was beautiful.  They were told that as they entered the tent all children would get one wrapped gift which didn’t count against the ten they were allowed to get.  Parents were surprised and many had tears rolling down their cheeks.

              Commander Elliot came out of the tent and greeted everyone as they entered the tent he told them Merry Christmas from the United States Navy.  He was out there for hours greeting everyone until the last person went in that night. 

              People were able to get many needed things, granted ten was not a lot, but it was more than they had and they didn’t have to scrounge and fight for it.  The day went smoothly with very little problems people became concerned when an item ran out but found it was quickly replaced with either the same thing or one just like it.  It was Christmas after all and it had been a long dangerous year and most everyone was happy that the Navy was here.

              To top off the day everyone who came in had to leave via a different GP Medium, in that tent the Navy had set up a buffet of food for everyone exiting.  They would get a plate or plates as they entered and went down a line where their plates were loaded up with all sorts of food from the ships stores, not to mention they had hit a real bonanza at the big box warehouses.  There were additional tables set up as they exited with all sorts of item to drink, while they ate Navy Corpsman’s walked around and asked about their health especially the children’s there would be some people who would be taken aboard and treated in the ships sickbay.

              The civilians were caught off guard by everything and so very thankful for what the Navy had just done for them.  The Commander told them they would try to do something like this every few months it would depend on their deployment schedule, which meant when the ship was ready to sail and how long they would be gone.

              It was a very special Christmas for many people who never thought they would see another one in their lives; things had been pretty bleak over the last year.  Almost all of them had lost someone close to them from starvation, dehydration, they got sick or they were killed.  As they went back to the camp each tent or what passed for a place where someone lived had several brand new blankets waiting for them, now they knew why there were not blankets available when they went through.

              As night settled in Sailors walked through the camp singing Christmas carols which made the day even brighter for everyone. What seemed like a windfall to the civilians who were living around the Hornet was just as important to the Sailors and Marines who were crew it was a great morale booster to both sides.

              One of the observations that Commander Elliot had during the day was that he had a willing workforce right there.  There was a lot of work to be done on the Hornet more than they could do on their own they just didn’t have the numbers.  He needed electricians, plumbers, wielders, laborers, what he needed were a ready and willing work force that could help get the Hornet ready for sail.

                The crew was given that last week of the year off to do what they wanted, well not the entire crew, meals steel needed to be cooked, Sailors and Marines still have guard duty, essential personnel were not given the entire week off but they would be get time off it would just have to be worked out.

During the week Commander Elliot and his staff continued to work and come up with a list of specialties they needed now and a way to train new people for those specialties in the future.

              After New Year’s flyers went out through the camps with a list of specialties that they were looking for and if anyone was looking for a job to please report to the gangway on January 6.  It also went on to say that within a week there would be classes available to train people who were interested in learning said specialties. 

              Many of the younger people who were in the camps were expressing interest in joining the Navy or Marines to the Sailors and Marines around the ship.  They in turn told Commander Elliot about it who spoke with Colonel Clayton about it, he told him that they had a recruiting program for the Army and Marines already in place as well as Basic Training and Boot Camp with AIT for those two services and it was working great.

              He would be more than happy to accommodate the Navy and that the Air Force had just started.  Colonel Clayton told him he could help with the logistics, medical, testing and screening of recruits but after that it was up to the Navy to train them.  Commander Elliot said the only Navy he knew about was the Seabees and the Hornet what other Navy was he talking about.  Colonel Clayton replied exactly and he was in charge until someone more senior came along.  This meant that along with everything else he was responsible for he was now responsible for recruiting and training of new Sailors.

              On the drive back to the Hornet Commander Elliot wondered who he could pawn this new responsibility on too.  Then it hit him he had the perfect Officer for the assignment and he smiled to himself, this was going to be great he thought.

              The following day Commander Elliot sent word for Lieutenant Woolery to report to him.  Lieutenant Woolery was a recruiting Officer from San Diego who happened to be on leave in the San Francisco when the event happened.  She hadn’t yet found her niche here on the Hornet and seemed to be having problems adjusting to everything.

              Lieutenant Woolery hadn’t really had much interaction with the Commander since she had been here.  She wondered what she could have possibly done to call attention to herself and now was being summoned to the Commanders office.  She came to attention and knocked on his door, “Enter” she heard.  She opened the door and marched directly to the Commanders desk, came to attention, “Sir reporting as ordered.” she sounded off.