Full Circle by Chuck Malkus

Author:Chuck Malkus
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781510724686
Publisher: Sports Publishing
Published: 2018-04-04T16:00:00+00:00

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Kevin was too busy to worry about Alex, though. He had a fiancée and a new son to get to know and plans for their future together to make. Kevin and Betty were married in a small, but joyous ceremony on October 25, 1980, just a few days before his orders indicated he had to ship out to Fort Stewart in Georgia.

It seemed to everyone, not the least of all Kevin, that he had everything he ever wanted. But it wasn’t going to last.

Things went well for Kevin in Georgia, and he excelled at leadership. There was one incident involving enlisted men that gave him pause, though. After a grueling day in the Georgia heat, some of the enlisted men he commanded set up a bivouac and found themselves one cot short. Two privates fought over the last one, and one of the men pulled a knife and killed the other.

Kevin was called in, assessed the situation, got everything under control, and followed the rulebook to the letter. He even called the dead man’s wife to let her know.

Still thinking about how the influx of drug money had changed South Florida, the stabbing put things into perspective for Kevin—if an ordinary guy would kill another man for a decent night’s sleep, what would he do for the millions of dollars coming in from the Atlantic Ocean?

America was changing. The Iran hostage crisis ended the day after hardline Republican president Ronald Reagan was inaugurated in January 1981, but the lessons from the US military’s impotence in that era weighed heavily on its commanders. They realized that it had become critical for the US Army to develop a quick-strike capability that could act anywhere in the world, rapidly, without warning and with real power.

The 24th, along with the 82nd Airborne and 101st Airborne were selected to be part of the new rapid deployment force. That led to Kevin being deployed quickly, and without notice, to spots all over the world.

His own unit was the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment—armed with Vulcan Gatling gun systems and FIM-43 Redeye surface-to-air missiles that specialized in taking out low-flying airplanes and helicopters—was then sent to Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas. He was promoted to executive officer, battery commander, and platoon leader. Kevin was living the life he had set out to all those years ago when he put up his West Point poster in his bedroom. “I loved leading troops,” he would later say. “I loved the camaraderie; I loved being in charge.” He proudly pointed out that his platoon was rated the No. 1 platoon in the all of the anti-aircraft units in the entire army.

Betty and Danny Pedersen came along. Betty was still receiving her payments from Bell South and quickly found connections for coke among the military wives and various hangers-on in nearby El Paso. Her respiratory condition worsened, accelerated by her drug use, and she found herself checking into the base medical facility frequently for overnight stays.

After one of those episodes, Kevin was asked to report to his superior officer.

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