Militia (3 page)

Chapter Three

M
ike Hoffman was
an ordinary kid from a small town. He grew up in the college town of Edinboro, Pennsylvania just a short drive away from the city or Erie. Growing up Mike always did well in school and in sports. He played football and excelled at that just like he excelled at everything else. Mike was your normal, small town, all American kid. He was tall, good looking, and from a young age it was apparent that he was very gifted both academically and athletically. Mike’s sharp, knowing blue eyes, and thick head of light brown hair made it easy for Mike to attract the girls in his town.

Mike’s father had spent four years in the Army before Mike was born. After leaving the Army he met Mike’s mother while going to college in the small town that Mike was raised in. While in college Mike’s mother became pregnant and both of his parents dropped out to start their family. His dad found work at one of the plastic shops in Erie and shortly after Mike was born his mother went to work at the same shop. Mike’s father took every ounce of overtime he could find so that his mother would have more time to spend with Mike rather than working extra hours herself.

Most of Mike’s childhood was spent playing in the woods behind his house. He always felt at peace when he was alone with nature. All day long Mike would be in the woods building forts, climbing trees, and catching crayfish. His father enjoyed hunting and fishing and brought Mike with him as often as he could to share his knowledge of these American pastimes with his only son. Soon Mike was an expert with a fishing pole, various hunting rifles, and even a bow and arrow, which only increased his love and respect for nature.

By the time Mike started high school he was a confident woodsman. On a more regular basis than not, Mike would blow off the routine high school parties to spend his weekends in the woods camping. While most of his classmates considered camping to be a large tent, big fires, and a cooler full of beer with enough food to grill the whole time, Mike choose to make his own shelter, and hunt small game to cook over a small fire. Most of his friends thought of this as “roughing it” but Mike saw it as a weekend relaxing and living as man was intended to.

Most of the shops that the Northwestern Pennsylvania community had depended on for many generations had disappeared by the time Mike was seventeen and entering his junior year of high school. Colleges were becoming increasingly more expensive with each year and Mike knew that his parents were not going to be able to afford his tuition. The shop that his parents had worked at his entire life had not closed but had cut back on their workforce enough that his mother had been one of the many to be laid off. His father was one of the few lucky ones to still have employment but with only one income his parents had exhausted what was left of their savings to make sure they did not lose their home. While Mike was a standout in football he had not dedicated himself quite enough to be thinking about getting any scholarships.

After a long day of school in September, Mike drove his old Ford truck to the town’s local Army recruiting station. The recruiter told Mike everything that he had hoped to hear. The Army could offer him things like a good salary, health benefits, and most importantly money for college. Finally it looked like he had another option other than struggling to put him self through school and then hoping to find a job afterwards so that he could pay back an enormous loan. When he returned home Mike sat his parents down and informed them of his intention to drop out of school, take his GED test, and enlist in the Army.

At first both of his parents were opposed to it, much as he had expected. As soon as Mike started his father said that he was not going to allow it. He wanted what all fathers want, to see his son finish school and have a high school diploma before starting his life as an adult. On top of that both of his parents understood the dangers that came with being a soldier during war time. Mike, being very convincing with words, soon had both of his parents convinced that during these hard economic times it was in his best interest to take the military route as soon as possible. He promised them that he would only serve four years and after his contract ended would return home and get a college education. After a couple more hours discussing the Army life with his father both of his parents agreed that if he could pass his GED test they would sign the papers and allow him to join the Army before his eighteenth birthday.

The next day Mike came into school after his first period class had already started and to the surprise of all of his teachers went straight to the office and officially dropped out. He headed straight from school to the town library and began studying for his GED. Taking the GED test didn’t require Mike to do much in the way of studying but he knew that it would show his parents he was taking the proper initiative. A week after withdrawing himself from school Mike passed the GED test and was back at the recruiting station signing papers and picking a date to take his test and physical.

His recruiter drove him to Pittsburgh where Mike quickly passed both the Army’s initial entry exam and their physical with flying colors. After a day of testing and being poked and prodded to ensure that he was not hiding an injury the recruiters informed him that his test scores were high enough to get him any job that he wanted. Mike had already decided to put his mind and body to the test by becoming an Airborne Ranger and even with all of the other jobs being offered Mike’s mind was made up. He knew that this was the best way to combine his desire for excitement with his always growing survival skills.

After only a few more weeks at home Mike was flown to Georgia to begin his infantry training at Fort Benning. It didn’t take long for Mike to be recognized by his Drill Sergeants as a standout soldier and natural leader. He arrived for training in amazing physical shape and took right to the lifestyle of a soldier. Learning came as easy to Mike as anything else and soon he was surpassing his peers as much mentally as he was physically. A few months later Mike had completed the first part of his journey by finishing infantry training and was even named his class honor graduate.

The next phase of his training was airborne school. Airborne school was three weeks long and took place right down the road from where he had just finished his infantry training. Again Mike excelled in all aspects of the school and got a thrill from jumping from planes. A lot of the other students were afraid of heights but Mike loved the rush he got from jumping. With airborne school completed he was once again sent down the road and began Ranger tryouts. Ranger tryouts were designed to make even the hardest young soldiers change their minds and go to a regular infantry unit instead of finishing the course. It broke the strongest of men both physically and mentally and to complete it a soldier had to find willpower so strong that nothing could break it. Once their bodies were physically drained and their minds deprived of sleep and confused to the point of madness only a few would reach down deep enough to find the will and determination to succeed. Mike was one of these few if not the best of them.

During Ranger tryouts Mike had quietly made a name for himself with his instructors. No matter how hard they tried, he above all other candidates never showed signs of quitting. The senior instructor was so impressed that he arranged for Mike to become part of the newly formed Fifth Ranger Battalion at Fort Jefferson, Montana. The Fifth Ranger Battalion was formed to specialize in the rigorous mountain and high altitudes that had wreaked havoc on the minds and bodies of many infantry and special operations soldiers for many years. Montana seemed a logical choice to train Rangers for this special mission. With its miles of harsh mountain terrain, its freezing cold winter temperatures, and its high altitudes these training grounds would push even super soldiers like Mike to new limits.

Challenges were things that Mike thrived on and it didn’t take long for him to earn the respect of his fellow Rangers. As soon as Mike arrived in his new unit he found himself spending almost all of his time in the field. It didn’t take long before Mike was an expert with every weapon in his unit’s arsenal. His youth of camping and hunting was paying off for both himself and his unit every day. Soon he was preparing for the new battalions first combat deployment. Mike was both scared and excited at the same time. He knew that by joining the Army and becoming a Ranger he would see combat and was thankful that he was deploying with some of the most highly trained soldiers in the world.

Mikes first tour was hard. He lost many close friends and came close to death himself on multiple occasions, but found that he had a natural ability to stay calm even under the stress of the most violent combat this war had to offer. Returning home from his first taste of combat, Mike was only nineteen but was now a hardened and highly decorated veteran. He would be an integral part of his unit’s next two tours in Afghanistan without more than a few months between deployments before the end of the war. Little did he know that the skills and experience he had acquired would change the course of his life and the lives around him long after his years as a Ranger.

Chapter Four

S
hortly after returning
to Fort Jefferson Mike called home to learn that his father’s shop had laid off the rest of their employees and shut their doors for good leaving both of his parents unemployed. Mike sent home as much money as his parents’ pride would allow. At first his father had tried to refuse letting Mike help out but his mother intervened and they let Mike pay a few of their bills so that they could keep their home and have electricity and running water. Unemployment pay was so small now that it didn’t come close to paying everything and the few dollars his father was making working odd jobs was not adding up fast enough.

A few months after returning to Montana, Mike’s unit was officially disbanded with most of the other remaining active duty assignments. The United States Government had simply run out of money as well as willing lenders and could not continue to fund one of the largest militaries in the world much less a never ending war. Some of the higher ranking enlisted soldiers and a handful of commissioned officers were offered positions in National Guard units throughout the country but young Sergeants like Mike were left jobless and sent home with no pension or unemployment compensation. On top of his anger for being given absolutely nothing for his years of service, Mike returned home with the memories of his last mission still fresh in his mind and haunting his dreams. Never did Mike forget the friends that he lost and kept the dog tags of his soldiers always present in his pants pockets. He carried their tags with him everywhere so that his soldiers would be with him always. Mike knew that since he lived and they had died that it was up to him to do something worthwhile with the life he still had.

Returning home Mike moved in with his parents as most of his generation had already done. He tried the best he could to find work and help his parents keep up on the bills. The reality of America’s almost nonexistent job market didn’t take long to become painfully obvious. With a large military now disbanded and left without pensions there were now even more men and women competing for any and all employment that became available. Like his father, Mike took work wherever he could find it and just like his father was unable to find anything stable. Still with the rest of the money Mike had saved during his time in the Army and the few paychecks he and his father were able to earn they managed to get by. Unlike many families Mike and his father managed to eat well due to their ability to hunt and live off of the land. And unlike the many people who were now stockpiling food for themselves, the Hoffman’s routinely gave any extra food from their hunts to friends, neighbors, and even the suffering town food bank.

Mike’s once beautiful middle class town had become as broken as all others. Homelessness and crime were apparent everywhere he looked. Storefronts that had been open and welcoming during his youth were almost all now closed and boarded up, covered with graffiti, and filled with vagrants. There were no police left in town and crime was left mostly unpunished, spare for a few neighborhood watch programs that chose to do the best they could by taking the law into their own hands. Even many homes which Mike’s friends had grown up in were now emptied and in shambles. The town itself was little more than a sad shell of what it once had been.

Seeing empty storefronts and boarded up homes left Mike as well as the rest of his town feeling despair and anger for a government that seemed to have forgotten about them. For much of his youth Mike watched as the politicians gave people large and unending unemployment, free health care, and large amounts of food stamps. By the time the government became unable to borrow any more money to fund these programs, jobs were already only a memory and most Americans had forgotten the skills that Mike had honed as a youth which enabled his family to eat without government assistance.

One day Mike found himself at the only business that remained open, the bar on the edge of town, having a few beers and watching the local news when his old friend Steve sat down beside him. Steve Gilson had played football with Mike back in high school and Mike was always grateful that they were on the same team. Steve was a large, muscular man, standing six foot four and weighing a tight two hundred and fifty pounds which made him one dangerous defensive end that gave quarterbacks nightmares before and after a game. Off of the field Steve was a bit of an adrenalin junky, but a nicer guy you would never find.

With his light blonde hair and gentle brown eyes a lot of people upon meeting Steve wondered why so many people were intimidated by him. That is until he stood up! Mike didn’t need a second look to recognize his old teammate as Steve didn’t seem to have changed a bit. While most ex-high school football stars had already developed the beer belly that comes with being twenty one year old big men, Steve actually appeared to be in even better shape than he was in during his playing years.

“Holy shit, Steve, I didn’t think I’d see your ass still stuck in this small town,” Mike said.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean Mike?” Steve said laughing. “I tried to play college ball down in State College but they took my scholarship away after the first year due to some reckless bar fight. It ended up working out though ‘cause dad needed the help on the farm, so I came back and was working with your old man until the shop closed.”

“I’m sorry to hear that man. The Army let us all go a few months ago so I’m back trying to help my parents out too. Shit’s getting out of hand, Steve; I never thought I’d see this town so broken.”

“I know what you’re saying brother. It was already going downhill when you left but has really gotten worse the last couple years. There ain’t shit for work and farming isn’t doing much but helping to feed us and the neighbors.”

“Yeah, dad and I are working what jobs we can find but it isn’t much. I hear it’s just as bad everywhere else too.”

“Say Mike, my dad and I are tryin to put together a group to keep this town safe. You know, a bunch of friends and neighbors that are sick of being pushed around by the crime coming into town from the cities. The crime has gotten too bad to just sit by and watch it happen. I’m sure you have heard some of it since you have been home. The police units are focusing on the city of Erie while the gangs head to the suburbs to steal and regroup. We are having a meeting tonight in my dad’s barn. You should come check it out.”

“Alright man I’ll be there,” Mike finished his beer and headed home to finish with some chores around the house. He liked the idea of trying to keep the town safe but knew that it wasn’t just the local crime that they needed to worry about. All over the news American’s rights were being violated and completely ignored by both local and state governments.

Later that night Mike showed up at the farm with his father to find Steve’s yard full of cars. It seemed that a lot of the town was going to be here tonight. As soon as he walked into the barn Mike recognized many of the faces staring back at him. Old teachers, friends, and even his old high school principle were among the many people gathered to save what was left of their town. Steve had filled the large barn with chairs and had set up a table at the back to serve as some kind of podium. Steve, his father, and his older brother stood behind the table waiting for everyone to find a seat.

Steve’s father Mark started, “Ok, everybody I hope you all know why you are here. We were all part of a nice quiet town of hard working Americans until recently. The nation’s joblessness led to crime and poverty on every corner of our once peaceful town, and I for one am sick of it all. Our government doesn’t want to help us and seems to be trying to tie our hands from keeping order. At the very least our politicians have turned their backs on us. We need to protect ourselves from them as much as from the criminals that are taking over our neighborhoods. And if you think my boys and I are gonna give up our only line of defense by turning in our guns like the news keeps pointing to, then you have another thing coming!”

At this the barn filled with a roar. Mike sat silently and listened to the people around him. Some if not most seemed to agree with Mark and shouted angrily while others protested their fear in defying a government that had taken too much power over the last few decades.

“We need to find solutions that we can all agree on to change what is happening or at least work together to better protect our own from what the future may hold for us.” Mark continued. “If anybody has any suggestions please stand and speak.”

Mike’s old principle Tom Scott was the first to stand, “Mark, I know where you are going with this and I do agree that it is getting bad and that the government is only making things worse, but what do you really think we can accomplish? I mean they have a military and we are just some small town people with a few guns that we don’t want to give up. You can’t possibly be thinking that we could just tell them no and start forcing out the criminals and fighting the military at the same time?”

“What military?” Mike shouted, “We were all disbanded, all that’s left are a few National Guard units most of which are involved helping the police departments in the brutal gang wars going on in every major city in this nation. Most of these guardsmen are just like us, poorly paid, and hurting for jobs when they are not wearing the uniform. I cannot speak for each and every soldier left but I know that I myself would not have followed any orders that would have forced my men and I to fight against citizens who were trying to defend themselves.”

Again the room grew into an uproar. People were now arguing amongst each other, some wanting to take a stand and some wanting to hide out and hope that the problems fixed themselves.

“Mike, most of us know about your service and we are all grateful for it, but what do you think we are going to accomplish by fighting back?” Tom asked.

“Maybe we win, maybe we don’t but I’d rather put my foot down and die trying to live up to what our forefathers saw when they put ink to the page and drafted our Constitution than to starve to death, or worse, while hiding. Nothing is going to get better. Has the crime slowed at all? Has the government given you food or helped you keep your homes? All I see is a broken government slipping into total chaos while pushing their citizens around to try to hold onto power while the few wealthy suck what life we have left out of us and the criminals take over every neighborhood in the nation. This isn’t what I served for!”

“Mike is right,” Steve said still standing behind his table, “we can’t just lay here and take this shit and I for one know damn well that it is only going to get worse. Can we really expect a government that has been spying on us and turning us against each other for decades to all of a sudden not only change their ways but create an economy out of thin air at the same time? And hypothetically this is all going to happen before we all lose our homes to the gangs or starve to death? ”

Tom stood again, “What do you suppose we do about it then? You seem to think that we can do this so tell us, how do we, a bunch of former middle class untrained people fight back?”

“How about forming a militia?” Mike asked. “I know that many people in this country cant even remember the rights that our founding fathers afforded us anymore but we do have the right to form a militia to defend ourselves from foreign enemies as well as from our own corrupt government. This country was founded by those people who were sick of being oppressed by their government and militias were a big part of their fight for freedom and safety.”

“Jesus Christ, Mike, I was being sarcastic,” Tom shouted back, “a militia? Hell none of us here minus you really knows how to do any of that. Do you really think that is even an option?”

“You’re right as always, Tom,” Mark said, “Mike does know how to do that. The kid wasn’t just a soldier he was a decorated Ranger. If Mike organized us, trained us, and led us would any of you stand together or are you just going to lie down and die without even trying to fight?”

This time the barn grew so loud that Mike almost thought the walls would rattle themselves to pieces. Most of the people seemed to like the idea including his own father.

“What do ya say, son? Can you make us into a real militia?” Mark asked as the room grew quiet.

Mike stood, “If you are all willing to do this one hundred percent then minus a few details I don’t see why not. But you all must understand, if we do this it is my way or nothing. It is gonna hurt. Everybody in this room must get into the best shape of their lives regardless of age. We will need guns and lots of ‘em. We will need to find more ammo than anyone of you has ever shot in your lifetimes and you will shoot every day until your fingers bleed and then keep shooting. If these things are possible then I am in.”

Jake Thurman spoke before the room had a chance to grow loud again. “My gun store has been closed for over a year but I hid every gun and every piece of ammo I had in a hole in my cellar before the looters could get to it. Consider it all yours, Mike, every last round.”

Mike waited for the noise to start back up but instead the room grew silent. Everyone in the barn, Tom included, stared at Mike anticipating his response. “Ok, go home and get all of your guns and ammo together. Make sure Steve and Mark have all the names and contact info for all of you who want this. I will be in touch with all of you within a week.” With that Mike and his father left the barn and headed home.