January 1st, 1936
Brigadier General John Smith's rank was already a source of pride for him. However, the position of Adjutant general was one of even greater prestige, assisting the Secretary of the Army directly. Rapping on the office door, Smith awaited the first task of his new position:
"Come in," came a somewhat fatigued voice
"General MacArthur," said Smith, clutching the documents at his side "Brig-"
"I know who you are, Smith," replied MacArthur "The situation is becoming serious: Let me see those documents you have there."
MacArthur seized the documents, flipping through them
"Well General, I don't need to remind you about the situation with Reed and the America First," said Smith
"Damn right," MacArthur replied irritably "Enough about those bastards. What about the foreign arena? Not sure how much good it will do, but I can deliver some recommendations to the Joint Board and Congress"
"One of our options is to align with the Entente and the Canadians," began Smith "Having lost the British Isles to the reds, they're fiercely anti-Syndicalist and our cultural ties to them run deep but their relatively weak industrial base would lead them, in their inevitable conflict with the Union of Britain, to have us shoulder most of the burden."
"Better them than the reds," replied MacArthur "But I still don't think they're entirely trustworthy."
"Now about the Internationale," continued Smith
"What about it," snarled MacArthur "You're not seriously saying that we even consider joining that collection of red scum, are you?"
"Well, part of our job is to make plans for any situation..."
"Do you want to be fired your first day? If not, than just drop it."
"As far as major factions," resumed Smith "There only other real option is to join Mitteleuropa: This would be a smart strategic move as the Germans are THE superpower on the world stage today and even more anti-Syndicalist than the exiled British. However, lingering anti-German sentiment from the Weltkrieg and the authoritarian nature of the empire would led to discontent among some Americans."
"Hmmm...." answered MacArthur, as if conjuring some kind of grand plan
"And now for the wild cards," said Smith "The states that we could either find a new close ally in or end up fighting at some point down the line."
"Of said wild cards," began Smith "The most powerful by far are the Japanese: Stable as far as the home front is concerned but our sources speak of some problems in their colonial possessions."
"What about their foreign policy," inquired MacArthur, recognizing full well that the Philippines would be a target for any southward Japanese expansion
"It's kind of ambiguous: They could go anywhere from the expected route of a southern expansion or something completely crazy like taking on the Germans or Russians. However, we've figured that if we leave them alone, they should leave us alone."
"Of course the Russians are just emerging from a civil war that finished not even two decades ago," said Smith "However, we've been receiving word that Kerensky's government is becoming even less stable than usual. So it follows that pretty much anything could happen there in the coming years."
"Spain is in a similar place to Russia," informed Smith "While we don't believe that Germany would let Spain fall to the reds or the Carlists, it's impossible to predict either way, especially with so much of their focus directed at the French."
"And finally, Mongolia," said Smith, sounding fatigued to to the long hours and explanation
"What about it?" inquired MacArthur sarcastically "It's completely irrelevant."
"Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that."
