Batista nodded. “Yeah, which brings us to the elephant in the room. Prime Minister Lindqvist reached out through back channels. She wants to know when we can have NATO forces on Gotland to help shore up their defenses ahead of this May exercise.”
The room fell silent for a moment as they thought about the request. The Swedish military maintained a small contingent of forces on the island but had never offered to host NATO forces behind the occasional exercise. The island was effectively an unsinkable aircraft carrier in the middle of the Baltic Sea, a prize Russia would love to capture should hostilities break out between NATO and the Eurasian Defense and Economic Pact.
Major General William “Duke” Morrison, the SOCEUR Commander, stopped spinning his wedding ring — a sure sign the special operations chief was now fully engaged. The former Delta operator’s scarred hands told stories his classified record couldn’t. “It should go without saying, Gotland’s the key to the Baltic,” Morrison said, his Arkansas drawl slow and measured. “It was a prime target during the Cold War and it’s a prime target now. If the Swedes are willing to allow us to station assets there, we should take them up on the offer. With a proper A2/D2 setup, we could bottle up the Baltic and provide an aerial umbrella of protection that would extend over Kaliningrad, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, and Norway. It also gives us a safe position to fire extended-range rocket artillery over those countries and the likely avenues of attack into NATO territory should the ChiComs and Russians decide to get froggy.”
Calder picked up his Spartan coin, rolling it between his fingers. “You’re the strategist, Jim. What are you thinking? What’s the President’s temperature on this?”
Batista leaned back, studying the faces around the table. These were warriors, not politicians. They understood the knife’s edge they walked. “President Ashford has preauthorized the forward deployment of the 1st Armor and 3rd Infantry Divisions if needed,” Batista announced, watching their reactions. “He’s taking this seriously, as am I. The question is, what do we put on Gotland that provides deterrence without escalation?”
“I think Duke already suggested it,” replied the SecDef. His fingers tapped on his tablet, pulling up force deployment options. “I’ve been war-gaming this since the Baltic incident and I think I might have something that could work. We could deploy the First Battalion, 59th Air Defense Artillery. They could provide an umbrella over the entire region. Patriot batteries for the high-altitude threats, HIMARS for precision fires. Leonidas-IIIs for counterdrone. It gives us a mobile, lethal, defensive, and offensive option should we need it.”
“Smart,” Calder said, setting his coin down with a decisive click. “But they’ll need security. Can’t have another Khobar Towers on our hands.”
“Second Battalion, 503rd Infantry from my 173rd,” Morrison suggested. “Paratroopers. Light, fast, and used to working with European partners. One company on Gotland, the rest of the battalion stages from Riga.”
Sheridan pulled up a map on the wall display, his thick fingers surprisingly delicate on the touchscreen. “Creates a triangle — Gotland, Riga, Helsinki. Any Russian move gets caught in a crossfire.”
“And if this exercise turns hot?” Batista pressed. “Like Ukraine in 2022?” The room fell silent again. They all remembered how quickly “exercises” had become invasions.
Calder stood, moving to the map. Despite his lean frame, he dominated the room. “Then we implement Joint Task Force Sentinel. Full anti-access, area-denial umbrella from the Danish Straits to the Gulf of Finland.”
He traced the coverage area with his finger. “Patriot batteries here, here, and here. HIMARS positioned to cover the Suwałki Gap and the Estonian border. Navy assets surge forward from the North Sea.”
“I can have 1-59 ADA moving within seventy-two hours,” Varnell said, already composing deployment orders in his head. “The 173rd can follow within a week.”
“What about the Europeans?” Morrison asked. “Can’t do this unilaterally.”
Batista nodded. “That’s my next stop. Mons, then Stockholm. I’ll get Stubb on board.”
Alexander Stubb, NATO’s Secretary-General, was a pragmatist who understood the delicate balance between alliance cohesion and decisive action. The Finnish politician had learned hard lessons about Russian intentions.
“The Germans will balk,” Sheridan warned. “They always do when it comes to antagonizing Moscow.”
“Let me worry about Berlin,” Batista said. “Right now, I need to know we can execute if given the green light.”
Calder moved back to his seat, picking up his coin again. “Jim, I can have TF Sentinel operational within three weeks. But I want more than just the 173rd. If this goes sideways, I need heavy metal close at hand and additional airpower to counter the increase in PLA Air Force units arriving in the region.”
