Free The Fall of America: Enemy Within (Book 3) by W.R. Benton Page A

explosion filled the air and looking over his shoulder he saw a big black and red fireball moving toward the sky. Then came lesser explosions, as munitions cooked off from the heat, and he even saw a rocket fly at an awkward angle into the air.
    “Dig in and make a home, boys, we will be here a spell. Radio man?”
    “Behind you, Sergeant.”
    “Get base on the line and tell them we have been shot down and have moved west of the crash site. Then, asked them what they want us to do.”
    Kneeling on one leg, Rusak pulled the shovel from his pack and began to dig into the dirt.  He didn't figure they'd be pick up this day.
    “Master Sergeant Rusak, base said for us to remain in the woods and they'll send a helicopter out for us in the morning.”
    “Tell them thanks and give them our exact map location. If shit hits the barn door tonight, we may need some help.”
    The radio man listened to the handset and said, “Out.” Then turning to the Master Sergeant he added, “They claim we will have a quiet night, because intelligence says we are in a pacified area.”
    “ Pacified my ass!  Did you remind them our helicopter was shot down flying over a damned pacified area? They can mark the whole map pacified, but it changes nothing.”
    Seeing Junior Sergeant Shubin, he said, “Shubin, I want you to establish guards for the night, and I want 4 on at a time. You've got close to 30 men to choose from, but from this moment until we are picked up, we will have guards posted.”
    As Shubin established the guard roster, Rusak walked among the men looking them over.  Many he knew, because they were in Turchin's platoon, others he'd never seen before.
    “If you men want to eat, do it during the daylight hours. There will be no fires this evening and Corporal Babin, get some mines out and around us that can be command detonated.  I want this place as safe as we can get it before dark and that means each of you will have a deep hole to spend the night in.  I suggest you buddy up to save on the amount of digging you have to do.”
    The day passed slowly, but the men had taken all precautions that could be taken under their current conditions. After establishing security, they'd designated a latrine, cleaned their weapons, played grab-ass most of the day, and had just finished supper, but Rusak was concerned. This was not his first time in combat and he'd learned in previous guerrilla wars there were no front lines, so a pacified area this afternoon, could be crawling with enemy tonight. The partisans recognized they'd destroyed a chopper and they'd come to see what they could salvage from the wreckage. How did he know?  Because it was exactly what he'd do if their roles were reversed.
    “Shubin, make sure the guards know not to shoot at all movement tonight and resist firing unless they discover a direct threat to us.  I am not positive, but I suspect partisans will come to look the downed helicopter over.”
    “I've been worried about that Master Sergeant, because they must have seen the helicopters descend with these troops.  But, they have no way of knowing, unless they had a man near, if we unloaded or just picked up the air crew of the disabled aircraft.  And, we have no idea which direction they will come from when they approach the helicopter.”
    “Pass that information on to all troops and, besides the guards, I want fifty percent alert all night.”
    Fifty percent alert meant in theory half of the men would be awake at all times, but in the past it was really closer to thirty percent that would be awake. Some will try to stay awake, but fatigue will claim them, while others won't even bother to try. The Master Sergeant also tried to smell alcohol on the breath of his men and he know some had flasks of vodka.  While he carried his three flasks, his rank gave him that privilege, but not private soldiers. Private soldiers are forbidden any alcohol in the field, unless given by the commander.
    “I will see it is