The modern Marine Corps Fighter Attack Squadron 112, the Cowboys, is still based at Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base in Tarrant County Texas. It was reorganized into an official Republic of Texas parade unit after War’s End, with all members serving from the larger Cowboy organization. It initially had twelve pilots, though now numbers sixteen in total. Bull, Wolf, Ram, and Hart fleets send four pilots each, on four-year deployments, where they spend most of their time waving the flag and showing off at Core World aerospace shows. They rarely engage in combat, though often help with disaster relief efforts. The squadron is a prestige deployment, open only to other Cowboys, and Cowboys who serve help to keep the larger Cowboy fleets cooperating in their long venture of promoting the public peace.
Charles retired and traveled to Wolfenheim after War’s End. The Pennsylvania Incident was difficult for many to get over, and he considered it best to get out from under foot and travel where no media could catch up with him. A distant colony in alien space was perfect for his wishes. There Charles organized a new force, often called Ghost Fleet, that joined the various alien powers out there in patrolling against Shang scouts, raiders, and other miscreants. The Tarrant County Sheriff eventually sent a permanent representative to Wolfenheim to establish an office and deputize them into the posse. Orders creating a new Wolf Fleet arrived at the same time, making them official Cowboys. This also gave them jurisdiction in the Terran Sector whenever they traveled that way, though they have made it a practice to exercise it as little as possible.
Jack Hart began commanding Hart Fleet during the initial invasion of the Hyades Cluster. He collected all of the ne’erdowells, misfits, and wanderlust into his organization. Sometimes it felt as if the more disrespectful they were, the more he liked them. It would be more accurate to say that he wanted those who did not fit in anywhere else. He wanted independent thinkers. He wanted those willing to bend the rules, or break them while coming up with a reasonable argument for why they actually bent them. He wanted people who would create new rules when the time called for it. His people are the most troublesome lot of Cowboys you’re ever likely to meet, but they took to the outskirts of galactic society after War’s End. They fly through the outer frontiers of human expansion, where peacekeepers are often most needed and welcomed by the common citizens.
Jay Lovato commands Bull Fleet. He is the son of the Navajo Nation President, and most of his pilots came from powerful American families or corporations. His Cowboys remained in Earthspace after War’s End, and spent the following decades as the public face of the Cowboys for most people. They are official peacekeepers, like all Cowboys, but most often take action during natural disasters in support of first responders. There is little call for swift frontier justice in the Core Worlds, and Core World administrators often distrust Cowboys who act in a peacekeeping role without first obtaining the approval of the local administrators. Bull Fleet Cowboys are accepted and tolerated to a large degree because they give due respect and honor to the administrators. Their primary standard duty is maintaining communications with the other Cowboys and recruiting new Cowboys.
This is the first full week in my lifetime in which Rush Limbaugh is gone. Some people loved him. Some people hated him. The simple fact is that he loved this country, and I will share one of his statements here.
“America is worth it, America is worth fighting for, America is worth not giving up.”
Seyla.