Chapter Three - part eight

   James had managed to get that done quickly. That had caused a change, but James wasn't sure it was a good change. China had backed away from South Korean air space, but had begun flying far more often along the edge of Japan's air space. They had also taken to trying to 'escort' the F/A-48's when they came close to any of the borders they were supposed to be patrolling. Those escorts were normally in a ratio of at least two to one and sometimes more. James thought it was an attempt to show that China could track the F/A-48's and weren't afraid of them. A lot of very high ranking brass was getting very concerned about the level of tension that seemed to be building up. James was more concerned with the strain that was being put on men and equipment. It was hard to maintain around the clock flights with just one squadron, but that was what he was being asked to do. The brass simply wouldn't allow the 67th to participate in the extended patrols that the 77th was flying. The longer patrols and more of them, was making life very difficult for the pilots and crews of the 77th.

   Weeks turned into months and there was little change in the entire situation from a military point of view. It was starting to change drastically in both political and public areas though. The pressure from China had taken a toll on the business South Korea depended on and that had taken a toll on the people in South Korea. China was beginning to look like a better choice to more and more of the people in South Korea. Those who owned and ran the businesses didn't feel that way, but the average workers did. There was a growing push for more reductions in the American presence inside South Korea. That was bad enough, but James was more concerned about the other things that push was causing. The effect on the South Korea people was actually being felt around the world. The world economy hadn't been doing well for a long time. Only a few countries had managed any real business or economic growth in years. Most of those were among the poorest in the world to begin with. The wealthy nations had been in decline now for many years, but that decline was suddenly getting much worse. It was being felt around the world, but especially in America.

  Finally the riots began to change in South Korea. Those riots had been over lost jobs and hungry people. They went from mostly peaceful anti-government protests to violent street riots. It wasn't long before the nation was one massive riot over food and jobs. That gave China an opening and they used it! They started to offer food aid. The aid was actually offered from North Korea, the same nation that had people starving inside it only a few months earlier. James suspected they still did have people starving. In spite of that fact it was only a few days before the aid was crossing the DMZ and with it troops... lots of troops! They were supposed to be coming to help restore order too. The troops were mostly North Korean, but the officers weren't. They were almost exclusively Chinese. Within a few weeks James had been ordered to stand down from his around the clock patrols. He still flew the extended patrols, but they were just a token show of force now. South Korea was slowly being taken over and there was little that could be done to stop it. The effect of that was far greater than James had feared it might be. The world was beginning to look at China as being the 'big dog' in the area. America was no longer the nation everyone looked at first. Now the world was looking at China first.

    What had slowly been happening almost unnoticed for years was now suddenly very apparent to a lot more people in the world. That sudden awareness caused some very sudden shifts in the balance of power worldwide. It shifted not only the military balance of power, but also the economic balance of power. That is turn would very soon begin to shift the social balance of the people in the world too. Those who had much were losing far more than those who never had much to begin with. China's sudden move to become the big dog wasn't unchallenged though. Russia began to push too. They had been pushing in Europe for decades and had been regaining power and influence, if not outright control. The world suddenly changing so rapidly and so profoundly, almost overnight, though it had actually taken decades, hit the United States very hard. The military balance of power was little changed in truth. The United States was still very capable and had a very powerful military. It was the perception of the people that had changed. That perception had been changed more because of the economic changes in the world, than because of any military changes. The people were afraid!

   China was now a present and powerful force inside South Korea. They now had close access to the American military bases still located inside South Korea. That sudden change had made it very hard to maintain the security of those bases, but even more difficult to consider leaving them behind. As time moved forward things began to shift once more. The Chinese being in South Korea had virtually destroyed all growth and soon caused a lot more pain for the people. Businesses were now looking for other places to do business, because they feared China would soon be in total control. China had been able to just slowly take over the North, because the people had barely been surviving and had no voice. South Koreans who had lived better lives were now struggling to feed themselves, but they still had a voice. The Chinese had been counting on the loss of so much causing the people to turn to them. That plan didn't work out so well for the Chinese. They had tried to act like a helping hand from North Korea, but the people soon saw them as a destructive force that was causing all of this suffering. Once more things were changing in major ways. The people of South Korea began pushing for China to leave their nation!

   James and the 77th should have been rotated out, but instead their deployment was extended. They would be staying for another 18 months. James had been hoping to get back home, but that wasn't going to happen yet. Things at home had gotten a lot worse because of the changes in the world. South Korean production had fallen and China had been facing export sanctions, so costs for most cheap items had suddenly spiked worldwide. The law of supply and demand had made a real mess of the world markets and it seemed to be hitting America much harder this time. Most of the stores and even a lot of factories in America depended on goods from China and South Korea. Those goods were suddenly in short supply and cost much more when you could get them. That had caused some major cutbacks in the United States. It was affecting everyone, even the military. Once again they were cutting military spending to fund more social spending, because more people just couldn't make it without government aid. Unfortunately a lot of military families were being pushed out too. It was cheaper to care for single soldiers than to care for soldiers with families. That was probably adding more to the problem than helping it, but once more it seemed that the people in charge had eyes, but couldn't see.