United States Army

The United States Army is the institution whose secret biological weapons program, Project Blue, is the direct cause of the superflu pandemic that destroys civilization. The Army's actions before, during, and after the outbreak define the initial response to the crisis and the subsequent collapse of organized authority.

Origins of the Plague and Initial Response

The superflu virus, coded 848-AB, was developed at Project Blue, a top-secret Army installation under the California desert. The accident occurred when a security guard, Charles Campion, saw the facility's warning clock turn red and escaped through a mag-lock malfunction just before the base sealed itself. Campion, already infected, drove his family across the country, crashing into a gas station in Arnette, Texas, and spreading the disease. The Army's initial response was to quarantine Arnette and isolate those who had contact with Campion, including Stuart Redman, who was flown to the Atlanta Plague Center for testing. Army pathologists were dispatched to Braintree, Texas, to examine the bodies, and the Plague Center in Atlanta was brought in to identify the pathogen. The Army also attempted to cover up the outbreak, with Colonel Billy Starkey authorizing the "Troy" protocol to eliminate reporters who had discovered the truth in Sipe Springs, Texas, resulting in the murder of a stringer and a photographer by soldiers.

Quarantine, Suppression, and Collapse

As the superflu spread, the Army imposed quarantines on towns like Arnette, Verona, Commerce City, and Polliston, Kansas, using barbed wire and roadblocks. Soldiers were deployed to manage the news, as seen at WBZ-TV in Boston, where troops posing as National Guardsmen were overpowered by station personnel who broadcast the truth before the transmitter was destroyed. The Army also suppressed independent reporting, as in Springfield, Missouri, where soldiers shot radio host Ray Flowers for refusing to stop broadcasting. The military's efforts to contain the disease were undermined by the virus itself; troops manning barricades and checkpoints fell ill, and desertion became a major problem, with deserters being summarily shot. The chain of command fractured, leading to incidents like the Kent State massacre, where soldiers opened fire on student protesters, and the brief establishment of the Republic of Northern California by a mutinous sergeant. The Army's command structure, under General Starkey and later Len Creighton, attempted to maintain order through Operation Carnival, but by late June, the situation was deteriorating rapidly, with units in Los Angeles and San Francisco descending into chaos and infighting.

The Army's Fate and Legacy

By the end of June, the Army as a functioning institution had effectively ceased to exist. The Project Blue installation itself became a tomb, with Starkey committing suicide among the corpses of his staff. The Stovington Plague Control Center, where Stu Redman was held, was also overrun by the disease, and its personnel either died or abandoned their posts. The Army's final act was the attempted execution of Stu Redman by a soldier named Elder, who was sent to kill him but was overpowered. The military's weapons and equipment, including tanks, jets, and nuclear warheads, were left scattered across the country, becoming a dangerous legacy for the survivors. In the West, Randall Flagg gathered former soldiers and military hardware, while in Boulder, the Free Zone Committee debated how to deal with the threat posed by these remnants. The Army's collapse, driven by the very plague it had created, serves as a central irony of the novel, illustrating the failure of institutional power in the face of a catastrophe it had itself unleashed.