Having flown to Fort Stockton from the Houston County Airport in Crockett on the family jet, and subsequently transferring into a twin engine propeller aircraft for the remainder of the journey, Samuel and Mason returned to the training facility. Banking to the left while lining up for final approach, their pilot said, “If you would like to see it gentlemen, the landing zone is now clearly visible to our left.”

Glancing to his left for verification, Samuel could make out three distinct rectangular shapes of white painted objects within a cleared and smoothed out portion of the barren terrain. Then he replied, “Thanks for pointing that out. They look good from here, and it’s exactly what our air personnel will need to properly train.”

After landing, he and Mason met with the three men who had been responsible for bringing the training facility, under the cover of the West Texas Skydiving School, into fruition. They were then provided with a brief tour of the facility, and in the process, were introduced to any of the forty-two men and training pilots they had not previously met. Seizing the opportunity, Samuel asked one of the recruits, “What are your thoughts on the landing zone?”

“It’s easy to hit sir, even with some of the windy conditions that exist here. It should be no problem for any of us to fine tune the landings even with the extra weight.”

Not wanting to come across as being ignorant to the meaning behind the statement, Samuel replied simply, “That’s good to hear young man. I like your enthusiasm.”

With a nod of comprehension, the man said, “Thank you sir. We won’t let you or the cause down.”

Moving toward another recruit, Samuel asked him, “How many jumps have you done before coming here young man?”

“Hundreds sir, and many of them with gear similar to what will be required of us for this mission.”

“That’s excellent, and I’m confident that you will all be ready when called upon.”

Then while moving back toward the plane with the three recruiters, Mason unknowingly took the pressure off his father by asking, “What did the first guy mean when he mentioned the extra weight?”

The lead recruiter replied, “At this stage of training the men are getting used to the landing zone and specific quadrants within it by coming in with just their flight suits and boots. In short order we will introduce weight belts for each of them, and then increase the load to simulate all the gear they will be required to carry for the mission. In actuality though, that final weight will be easy for them and less than what they have jumped with before.”

“These men have jumped with more weight that what we will give them?

“Most certainly. They have all been on missions that required them to carry fifteen days of food and water rations along with the other gear.”

Suddenly realizing that such a need would be necessary in each man’s past training and job specifications, Mason replied, “Of course, that makes sense.”

The recruiter nodded and continued with, “We will also begin tandem jumping very soon, and then work our way up to the full grouping of seven. That way they can be well practiced at the choreography that will also be required during the upcoming mission.”

Having listened to the explanation of his lead recruiter, and being thankful that his son had asked the questions, Samuel said, “That sounds like an excellent plan. The three of you have once again proven why I maintain total confidence in your abilities and commitment to the cause. I will contact number twenty three and inform her that it’s nearly time to send in the ground support teams for the eastern targets. What do you think about having them brought in just after July fourth?”

“That sounds good number two. That way they will have four months to get in good physical shape before the mission.”

“That’s true, but from what I have heard, they are already in good shape from their current and previous training.”

“Well if that’s true, then it should make their transition to this facility a little easier. Do you want us to inform the men of their pending arrival?”

“Not yet. Although the air personnel and training pilots will be happy to learn that they will have twenty women among them for several months, we should keep that information to ourselves for the time being. We don’t want the men to lose focus on the business at hand, and it will be a pleasant surprise for all of them when the ground personnel do arrive.”

“I understand number two.”

“Good. Now there is an additional element to consider, and you should warn the men of it when the women arrive. Each of them has been trained extensively in the use of hand to hand combat.”

Another of the recruiters then said, “Well that should make all of the introductions, and any of the subsequent attempted jousting, quite interesting.”

“Indeed, but we can’t afford to have any serious injuries during that process. With only one exception each of the women, as well as the men that the three of you and number seven recruited, are all in their twenties or thirties and single with no children. Although those factors were one aspect of the criteria needed for their potential recruitment, it would only be natural for people of that age to have physical needs. Being that they will all be here together for several months, we need to recognize that something is bound to transpire in that regard. Besides, it would be foolish for any of us to believe that we could somehow monitor and prevent such an activity from happening even if we had the time to do so. With that said, please make it very clear to each and every one of the air and ground personnel that fraternization with each other will not be forbidden, but they need to understand that such action cannot interfere with the long term objective.”

Smiling in response to the calculated way that his superior had phrased the statement, he replied, “I agree with your assessment number two, and we will make sure that your point on the matter is clearly understood.”

“Thank you.”

Having forgotten that for Samuel the day could be measured with extreme levels of both pride and anguish, the lead recruiter then uttered what he thought to be a wish of good faith. Without realizing what he had done until after saying the words, he stated, “Oh and by the way, I hope that you and the family can all enjoy a nice father’s day together this coming Sunday.”