Chapter 1

Seattle, Washington State

Sgt. Alvarez stood on top of the deck, keeping a hold on the ship's railing as it swayed left and right from the waves that slammed upon its hull. From his position on the upper decks, he could see the vast fleet that swarmed the ports of Seattle. From patrolling destroyers to large transports ships, vessels of every shape and size sailed through the congested area, avoiding each other as they tried to dock or leave. Despite the fact that he lacked sea faring knowledge, Alvarez knew that navigating through this would be a nightmare for any ship captain.

Turning his gaze towards the busy docks, Alvarez could see thousands of personnel, both civilian and military, unloading the ships and its cargo. Cranes busied themselves, as they unloaded the heavy cargo, while dock crews shuffled around, trying to fulfill all of the tasks assigned to them. They worked as fast as they can, with great efficiency and skill, making sure that each piece of cargo was placed in their proper places. A good thing too, since over there, right on the shore, was a nation at war. This meant that there was no time for slowness or blunders.

Despite being in the army for at least five years, Alvarez has never seen this many military personnel and equipment bunched up in one area.

From ships, to troops that unloaded and marched onto the city, the docks were filled with them. He could just imagine the chaos in those docks, as officers and sergeants try to bring order to their men and keep everything organize.

Soon, he too would be part of that chaos.

Being part of the Filipino force that was sent by their government to America, he and his comrades would soon dock and unload, before marching off to the war that was going on in the southern part of the coast.

As a major ally in the Pacific, the United States has always maintained good relations with the Philippine Government. From giving military and civic aid, to sending investments and helping in the training of their military. Any possible help the U.S.A. could give, they gave. So it was no shock when the Philippine President took action in aiding the U.S. in their war effort.

After passing Concurrent Resolution No. 16, which stated that the government should do everything in its possibility to aid the United States from the sudden Soviet invasion, the Philippine Senate approved 'The Philippine Military Aid Act to the United States or Republic Act 773. This act allowed Philippine troops and equipment to travel to the United States and support their armed forces in their war against the Soviets.

This also meant that Filipino forces, for the first time in the Republic's history, would set foot on foreign soil and wage war for another country.

The government planned to send a total of six battalions to America, in hopes of supporting U.S. and other Allied forces who were holding the line against the Communist invasion.

The first unit chosen to ship of first was the 10th Battalion Combat Team (BCT) of the Philippine Army. The 10th was known as one of the best battalions on the Philippines Army, as it was a mobile and hard hitting group, which draws its experience from its previous fighting assignment. Having fought in the five year communist insurgency back at home, the 10th BCT was experienced in working under fire, as well as acting quickly in life and death situations.

Alvarez himself was a two year veteran of the insurgency, having spent two years of his military career in the open fields of central Luzon, which was crawling with insurgents at the time. During that campaign, he was a young tank commander, inexperienced and careless. After two years of fighting, that young and green tank commander had been replaced by a rough veteran, who was ready to face anything thrown at him.

He had seen combat, experienced it, and knew what it felt like with its horrors and pain. Those bitter memories would always remain implanted in his head. But despite the painful memories, he knew that he was lucky to survive and be here today.

The innocence of the young men who served during those days did not go in vain, as it brought valuable combat experience that was desperately needed in the war they were about to face.

But experience alone didn't make the 10th stand out, seeing that almost all Philippine Army battalions participated in fighting against the insurgency. What made the 10th BCT unique was the fact that it had one modern armored contingent, which made the other unit's armor obsolete. With the numerous weapons in the battalion's arsenal, the number one piece weapon the unit had was the American made Grizzly tank.

Previously armed with the Allied Medium tank, the unit's armored company was recently updated to handle the modern Grizzly tank. With thicker armor and a more powerful 105mm canon, the Grizzly tank was the latest and most deadly tank in the Philippine Army.

The government planned to replace all medium tanks with the new Grizzly tanks; so that its armored companies could compete against the armored weaponry of other nations. But sadly, due to the sudden interference of the war, only the 10th BCT had been fully armed with the new tanks, while the rest still used the older medium tanks of the Second World War.

With the 10th as the only unit with the weaponry capable of having a fighting chance against most Soviet armor, it was clear that the soldiers of the unit would be the first ones to be brought to America. With a company of twenty-two modern Grizzly tanks, another company of fifteen high-speed anti-personnel Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV), and one thousand well trained soldiers, the 10th BCT was a formidable battalion.

Along with the various support units, they formed 'The Philippine Expeditionary Force to Northern America' (PEFTNA).

Now, Sgt. Alvarez and one thousand four hundred other men would be the first of many Filipino troops that would be sent to America to help defend the nation. Being transported on American ships, they sailed across the Pacific Ocean towards the American West Coast, heading towards Seattle, the only major American port in the west coast that has not yet been captured by the Soviets.

But with only one port in use, it meant that all Allied ships coming from the Pacific had to mass in Seattle, causing heavy traffic to the area. Alvarez and the rest of the 'PEFTNA' would have to wait before the ship was fully docked and they could unload.

Looking around him, he could see dozens upon dozens of soldiers who flocked the decks as they set their gaze towards the city as if they were doing some site seeing. But the men on the ship were not tourist who came here to view the sites, they were men who crossed an ocean to defend a nation that was about to be enslaved.

Trained and well-armed, the 10th BCT was ready to fight off the Soviets.