The Few: A Tale of the Marines in the Near Future

Gunnery Sergeant Jacob McCardle is the commander of the Marine Detachment at the US Embassy, New Delhi, when the president of the United States arrives on an official visit, the same man who, as a Congressman, sponsored the bill that had decimated the Corps in a cost-cutting effort. As the president arrives, the embassy is attacked and isolated by a mob of nationalists. With the Indian government seemingly unwilling to take action to restore order and with an ambitious vice-president seizing this as an opportunity to move up to the White House, it is up to Gunny McCardle and his small band of Marines to keep the president alive. Faced with tremendous odds, Gunny has to lead his Marines in an almost impossible task. That is nothing new to the US Marines. Impossible tasks are the Corps' forte. But can his small detachment keep up the tradition of the Corps and succeed despite tremendous odds? I am a retired Marine colonel now living and working in Thailand. I was born in Oakland, CA, but have lived throughout the US and the world, and have traveled to over 100 countries.My undergraduate degree was earned at the U. S. Naval Academy (Class of 1979), and I have attended graduate school at U. S. International University and the University of California, San Diego, earning a masters and doctorate.I have rather eclectic tastes. I have won awards in photography, cooking, and several sports, earning national championships in rugby and equestrian events. I love reading, writing, exercise, cooking, travel, and photography.I published my first work back in 1978, a so-so short story titled "Secession." Since then, I have been published in newspapers, magazines, and in book format in fiction, political science, business, military, sports, race relations, and personal relations fields.I write because I love it. I only hope that others might read my work and get a bit of enjoyment or useful information out of my efforts.