Empire Conquest-Chapter 856 - 98: A Stranger in a New Place
West Coast of the Newland Republic, San Diego Navy Base.
When the transport aircraft landed, and the main wheels hit the ground, bouncing back with the force of the impact, Stark finally woke up from his sleep.
By the time he gathered his belongings, the transport plane had already come to a steady stop.
Inside the cargo hold were several pallets holding locked safes, presumably containing some sensitive or valuable equipment.
After Stark disembarked from the transport plane, the ground crew drove up with a forklift to unload the pallets.
This was a C-130F executing a cargo mission, and Stark was the only passenger.
"Hey, watch out."
Barely dodging a truck coming from the side, Stark noticed a "Hummer" parked beside the runway, with a Major standing next to it.
Major Di Maria, an alumnus of the Annapolis Military Academy and the Newland Naval Officer Academy.
Additionally, both had served as military attachés in Boi Country and worked together for three years, subsequently going to Fanluo Country. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
After returning to their homeland, Stark went to the Pentagon, while Di Maria came to San Diego.
Nothing surprising about it, as Di Maria was a Southern California resident, and Stark hailed from Massachusetts on the East Coast.
Old friends meeting inevitably led to some small talk.
However, they didn’t linger for long. The airport was bustling with activity, with ground crew everywhere and transport planes constantly landing and taking off.
"I heard you were coming, and I almost couldn’t believe it."
"How are things over here?"
"You’ve seen it, just like this."
Glancing out the car window, Stark didn’t ask further questions.
Although San Diego became the homeport of the East Ocean Fleet following the "fall" of the Howay Islands, and it’s the largest and most well-equipped military port for the Newland Republic on this side of the East Ocean, it remains a small city after decades of construction and development.
Mainly because it’s too remote.
About 30 kilometers south of the port lies the border with Mexico, while the largest city on the West Coast, and second largest in the Newland Republic, Luo City, is 200 kilometers to the north.
Additionally, law and order is a significant issue.
Across the border is Tijuana in Mexico, a city with over 1 million residents, two-thirds of whom are involved in illegal trade related to the Newland Republic, especially drug trafficking, smuggling, and human trafficking. On this side of the border, there are similar illegal industries, such as smuggling firearms and ammunition, which are legally traded in the Newland Republic, to Mexican crime gangs.
To be precise, those involved in these illegal industries are almost all Latin American immigrants.
Of course, this doesn’t mean all Latin American immigrants engage in illegal activities.
Di Maria is a Latin American immigrant.
However, these issues have little impact on the Navy Base.
Not to mention the military camp and port, even the military residential area is isolated, with comprehensive living infrastructure, guarded by military police.
The troops and their families have little interaction with the local residents.
In terms of interaction, the main contribution is providing a few thousand jobs to the locals, as almost all military families hire local domestic workers.
The core area of the San Diego Military Port is Fleet Bay.
This name actually comes from the Fleet.
After the chaotic civil war that almost split the Newland Republic, the Huacheng Authority ordered all captured ships to be sent to San Diego for easier management. Eventually, hundreds of vessels filled this harbor, leading to this name.
Of course, those old ships have long been disposed of.
After the decision to rebuild the East Ocean Fleet, the Newland Navy spent 20 years developing this Naval base and has continued expanding it as needed, such as the fourth deep-water pier for the fourth Super Carrier, expected to be completed next year.
Theoretically, Fleet Bay can accommodate up to 180 ships.
Of course, the actual number of ships berthed is certainly not that many, never exceeding 100 at its peak, as the East Ocean Fleet has only over 100 large warships in total, with some deployed at other Naval bases, such as the large submarines deployed north at Bremerton in Puget Sound, most amphibious assault ships and landing ships deployed in Gold Bay, and supply ships and fast combat support ships deployed south of Los Angeles at Long Beach.
The carrier battle group is what’s stationed in San Diego.
In the past few decades, there has always been a carrier here, either undergoing maintenance or preparing to set out.
Occasionally, there would be the rare sight of three carriers simultaneously in the port.
However, now, Fleet Bay is virtually empty.
Though not completely deserted, with a few patrol boats and several service ships docked by the pier, as any port might have barges, all large warships stationed here are gone, specifically, they left two days ago alongside the carrier.
Di Maria took Stark to the camp area of the port.
There, an SH-60F "Sea Hawk" was ready for takeoff, waiting to carry its passengers, Stark and Di Maria.
Before leaving Huacheng, Stark requested Di Maria as his deputy, and Omar did not refuse.
It’s not just because Stark had worked with Di Maria for a few years and had a decent personal relationship; it’s because Stark needed a trustworthy subordinate deeply familiar with the East Ocean Fleet.
