<div align="center"><em>Enlisted Mess, USS Tulare.</em><br/>(http://i40.tinypic.com/bya1w.jpg)<br/></div><br/>While it's nothing to write home about, it is heated, and has electric lights.  While that's rare on land these days, apparently, the US Navy is still in the 20th century, at least as long as they have fuel oil.  That probably won't last too much longer, unfortunately.  There's still some food laid out to eat- leftovers from breakfast, and sandwiches made from last night's chow.  Can't throw anything out in this day and age, unless it's well past gone.  Still, the Navy has been playing pretty good host- even if the soda machine ran out of the last Diet Coke on earth the first day out of Bremerhaven.  At least the coffee, if a little weak, is still going.<br/><br/>This might be the second, or third time that the Troop has assembled as something like a whole.  Early arrivals can see the officers of the troop- even the C.O.- looking over maps for the region, mostly sorting them to make sure they get the right ones.  A closer look shows that they're old USGS Maps of the Maryland coastline, a little out of date at the beginning of the war, and almost certainly in worse shape now.  The CO leaves just as most of the troop starts arriving, but the officers stay up at the front table for quite a while.  Sergeant Hart, the PSG, comes in just after R.J. Johnson, and grabs a spot at the table next to his- a respectful distance, and making sure to stake out enough terrain for the whole platoon- which is really just a couple of tables, given it's a squad or so.  The bulk of 1st section grabs spots at the table, while second section trickles in, and Private Afridi pants softly as she lays down under table, right in scritching distance from most of the platoon.<br/><br/><div class="floatright">(http://i39.tinypic.com/2nrpv6p.jpg)<br/><em>Capt. Finn, back when he had a tank</em></div>The party at the front table breaks up, and Lt. Jones seems to be looking more than a little serious, with a bunch  of maps rolled up in her hand.  The Navy has a podium, even, with<em>Tulare's</em>patch painted on the front.  Captain Bruce Finn, the troop XO, takes up the podium, while Topper Bartley and some Navy JG with slightly worn, but still perfectly pressed, khakis take seats at the table at the front of the mess, which is still papered in maps.  Captain Finn waits a bit to make sure no one got lost on the way to the mess (As if people could forget where the food came from) and then nodded to Bartley.<br/><br/>"Room!  Ten-hut!" she barks, like a drill sergeant. (Which she was, apparently.)  Everyone snaps to.<br/><br/>"Seats, please," Finn says, slightly sheepishly.  "Well, folks, if you've been on deck anytime in the last couple of days, you realize that's America out there.  So, welcome home, and, for our foreign friends, welcome to the US.  I've been told INS will process your paperwork when they get around to it.  Of course, as much as we've enjoyed imposing on the Navy's hospitality, we belong on the ground, not seasick and swabbing decks." He walks over and pulls up the projector screen behind him, revealing two maps- one of the US, and one of the Chesapeake.  "Now, US Returning Forces have, as you've probably figured out, broken up out of convoy, and are looking for places to put in and establish garrisons for the winter.  FORSCOM has ordered us to deploy in a line, generally, from Boston in the north to DC in the south, 7th Army in the north and 4th in the south.  Now, as you might expect, Washington took several hits in the strategic exchange, and is not considered a viable location for deployment.  Given that fact, and the fact that 3rd Mech is going to be the southern flank of this whole formation, we're going to deploy somewhere between Baltimore and Washington, while the rest of I Corps, along with III Corps, will head into Wilmington and deploy either along the Baltimore/Wilmington line, or into Delmarva."  He gestures to the maps, first the US map, and then to the Chesapeake regional map, giving everything in more detail.<br/><br/>"That said, obviously, we need to find a place to pull the ships with our gear up to the shore and offload them.  Obviously, it would be great to find a fully operational marine terminal, complete with heavy moving equipment, a stevedores' union and plenty of electricity, but that may not work out for us.  Obviously, both ships have their own cranes, so if we can find a place to bring them in and an area to move stuff off the ship, we can make a go of it in pretty primitive conditions.  The 4/4th has been tasked, along with units from the Navy, to find a suitable location to offload the men and materiel of 3rd ID.<br/><br/>"In order to accomplish this objective, the Squadron will deploy by troops to likely areas.  A Troop will deploy across the Eastern Shore- while this isn't the best place for us overall, it will be a lot less damaged than the western coast of Maryland, especially if the Chesapeake Bridge is still usable- and, since we're westbound, there's no toll."  He paused to see if anyone laughed.  "C Troop will investigate Annapolis and the Severn River area.  D Troop will deploy to the north, to recon the Aberdeen Proving Ground and the route between Wilmington and Baltimore, both for the rest of the Corps and in case we need to pull out and head for Wilmington ourselves."<br/><br/>That did leave two caps in his coverage- B Troop, and one big, obvious empty spot on the map, and he paused before announcing it, so that those who'd figured it out could tense and relax.  "That leaves Baltimore for us.  Intelligence figures that Dundalk should have been on the Soviet hit list, and, based on estimates worked up by SAC after the strike, so should have the tank farm out in Curtis Bay.  There are reports nuclear strikes in the region, though, if we're honest, we can't measure the reliability of those statements.  So, either we're getting the most important part of this, or the absolute easiest one.  We won't know for sure until we get there."<br/><br/>He turned back to the map for a bit. "Here's the plan of operation: At 1400 tomorrow, we will load boats crewed by members of the US Navy, and proceed up the Chesapeake in the company of USS<em>Fanning</em>.  As we pass assigned disembarkation points on the trip, various units will peel off to make their landings.  Squadron command will be aboard<em>Fanning,</em>as will our First Sergeant.  We will proceed to a few miles off Sparrow Point, then wait for darkness to enter Baltimore Harbor.  First Platoon will recon Curtis Bay.  Second Platoon will cover the Inner Harbor and Locust Point, while Third will head for the Dundalk Terminals.  Fourth Platoon will stay afloat in reserve, as will Troop HQ.  I'll be with Fourth Platoon, and if they deploy, I'll take command of the situation.  The Mortar Platoon will deploy with Fourth Platoon.  The Major will stay afloat to coordinate the troop's activity, and as I said, the First Sergeant will be aboard<em>Fanning</em>to act as liaison with Squadron HQ.<br/><br/>"The immediate mission, to be accomplished that night, is to determine if any of the port structures are intact.  If the ones in your sector aren't, back on the boats and join up with 4th Platoon for further orders.  If they are, secure a perimeter and wait for sunrise, then complete a recon of the area in daylight.  The Navy crews in your boats will undertake some hydrographic surveys if the facilities are there.  Generally speaking, you'll be operating on your own initiative as to how to accomplish this recon, though further instructions can be had from Troop HQ if you need advice on how best to proceed.<br/><br/>"As it stands, our only fire support will come from<em>Fanning, </em>until we can get our mortars set up somewhere.  She's the only support for the whole squadron, so she may or may not be in position, and the Navy has asked us to help them conserve her ammo, so only call if you need a barrage to break contact from an overwhelming force.<em>Fanning </em>will also serve as the Squadron's advanced resupply point, though, if feasible, the Navy will move supplies from the cargo ships up the Bay."  He looked around, to see if there were any questions so far.  "Alright, I'll turn it over to Sergeant Bartley."<br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(http://i42.tinypic.com/id7zhk.jpg)<br/><em>First Sergeant Bartley, back in her Drill Sergeant Days</em></div>With the clomp of boot heels on steel decking the man and the woman swap places, and Topper Bartley took to the podium. "Like Captain Finn said, this is either going to be fast and easy, or we'll be going in for a while.  If Baltimore is open, I expect that the Division will move there.  To that end, I've pulled some more supplies out of the S-4 up at Squadron.  We'll be sending along food and water for three days, in addition to the rations in your three-day packs.   This will consist of one hot meal- prepared yourselves from bulk rations- and two MREs per day.  These will fit into Navy transport.  Also, given the potential radiological threat, each section will be issued a radiation detector.  S-4 assures me that the Russian and Polish ones they gave us to make sure we had enough both work properly, and that the translations they've written in above the words on the adjustment dials are accurate.  Feel free to check them, though, and the manuals are still with their previous owners.  Feel free to make further supply requests through your platoon leaders, and PLs can bring them to me.<br/><br/>"If Division makes the decision to move us out of Baltimore, we will shift back to<em>Fanning</em>to reinforce the effort to find a suitable landing point.  If Division decides to deploy to Baltimore, then we'll get reinforced by other Troops as they complete their missions, so expect reinforcement after a day or two.  Division will look to deploy by the end of the week."  She glanced around to answer any questions on her end, and then turned to the Navy officer. "Sir, it's all yours."<br/><br/>The Navy man detailed the transport plan, first for the Squadron, then the Troop.  It worked out that each section would get their own open boat- mostly Navy issue.  3rd Platoon would go ashore in two whaleboats, one for each section, with room enough for more supplies.  Each boat would have three sailors aboard, commanded by Petty Officer, and CPO would supervise each section's two boats together, with an actual officer back at Troop HQ. While Lt York would be in overall command of the two boats, the boat commanders were in charge of their boats and their safety, and would be tasked with assorted hydrographic jobs while the soldiers were ashore.  And the end of his bit, he turned it back over to Finn.<br/><br/>"So, any questions?"  After dealing with them, he finished up. "Alright, we've got this room until lunch, so feel free to make use of it.  Lunch tomorrow will be early: 1030, and assemble for boarding the boats at 1200.<br/><br/>"Dismissed."