Seawolf Mask of Command

by Cliff Happy

  “Because of the SDV’s limited range, it needs to be inserted close to shore. This mission was originally assigned to the Jimmy Carter, but following her accident, it was decided that the Seawolf’s superior stealthiness makes us the best platform to launch the SEALs from. Now, I don’t need to tell anyone that we’ll be operating in the territorial waters of North Korea, and if they catch us in it, there’ll be some reckoning. Unless war is declared, all we can do if discovered is go deep, hide, or run for daylight outside their territorial waters.”

  “And if some DPRK destroyer follows us outside their territorial waters, sir?” Weps asked.

  “Then we’ll teach them the error of their ways,” Brodie responded seriously. There was no hint of arrogance in his voice, just cool confidence in his people and his boat. “However, in the event of war, our mission will change in due course. In the opening hours of any conflict, we can expect to fire a swarm of TLAM-Cs at strategic targets throughout the DPRK as part of a larger strike package of cruise missiles and stealth aircraft attacks targeting their command and control facilities, as well as disrupting their integrated air defense system in preparation for follow on air strikes.” Nothing thus far was unusual for a fast-attack boat during the opening days of any land invasion.

  “Once we’ve launched our conventional cruise missiles, we’ll conduct operations to interdict DPRK coastal traffic while providing an in-extremis rescue platform for downed airmen in the event any of our flyboys get shot down or experience engine failure and have to eject in our area of operation.”

  Rescuing downed airmen was nothing new for American submarines, and launching cruise missiles at the opening of an air campaign was equally typical. Brodie went over the conventional target package, showing the various targets Weps would need to program into the conventional cruise missiles the Seawolf was carrying. After another ten minutes, he completed the briefing, having said nothing about the two nuclear-armed cruise missiles they were carrying.

  There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Everyone knew Brodie had intentionally left this part of their mission a mystery.

  “Excuse me, sir….” Martin asked as he raised a nervous hand.

  “Yes, Mister Martin?” Brodie replied, seeming to have expected the young ensign to be the one to break the silence.

  “But what about the two TLAM-Ns, sir?”

  It was the question everyone had on their mind and wanted an answer to. The Navy had ballistic missile submarines all over the world loaded with nukes. The US Air Force could load more nukes on a single B-52 than two Seawolf class subs could carry, not to mention that ICBMs fired from silos in the US could hit any spot on the globe within thirty minutes. Therefore, no one understood why it was necessary to put nukes on the Seawolf.

  Brodie motioned to the XO who was handling the computer display. The map changed to a close up of Musudan-ri. “As most of you probably know already, this is the Musudan-ri missile testing site. It’s from here that the DPRK would likely launch any nuclear attack against South Korea, Japan, or any other nation they perceived as a threat.”

  The tension in the room seemed to be growing as Brodie calmly discussed the strike package for their two nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. Kristen now understood why Brodie had been unwilling to reveal their orders until now. The news would have made the last three weeks even more difficult for everyone aboard. They’d been better off not knowing.

  “In the event of war, it is feared the DPRK may use their limited rocket capacity to fire their small quantity of nuclear devices at South Korea, Japan, and even at the US Pacific Fleet as it moves into the theater. So, if an NSA spy satellite detects rockets being prepared for launch at Musudan-ri, and they believe those rockets are armed with nuclear weapons, one contingency of many is for us to remove the DPRK’s missile threat with an atomic attack before they can launch.”

  There was silence in the wardroom as everyone considered what it meant to unleash a nuclear strike. Unlike crews on board ballistic missile submarines, the officers of the Seawolf didn’t routinely have to consider the possibility of nuclear warfare. So, the officers around the table weren’t conditioned and mentally prepared for initiating it.

  “Why us, sir?” Weps asked, uncomfortable with the idea of firing a nuclear weapon.

  “That’s an excellent question, Andy.” Brodie replied. “Would anyone like to take a guess?”

  No one was willing to speculate. They all knew the nuclear Triad of ICBMs, nuclear armed bombers, and SSBNs could do this mission. No one understood why it was necessary for the Seawolf to take on the unthinkable. No one that is, except Kristen, who sat perfectly still. She’d been considering the reason for having the two nuclear weapons on board ever since she first saw them at Indian Island.

  “Lieutenant?” Brodie asked, eyeing her appreciatively from the head of the table. “Any thoughts?”

  “To prevent World War III,” Kristen answered.

  She noticed everyone now staring at her as if she’d said something incredibly stupid.

  “How do you prevent a nuclear war by using nuclear weapons?” Walcott asked incredulously. It was the same question she saw on everyone’s face. Everyone that is, except for Brodie and Graves, who apparently knew the answer.

  Kristen took a deep breath, not certain her reasoning was accurate. But then explained what she’d been secretly dreading for weeks. “China and Russia are not supporting us in our efforts to get the DPRK to abandon their nuclear and missile programs. They aren’t helping us in the Security Council, and, according to intelligence sources, Russia is having a fire sale of former Cold War weaponry to anyone with hard cash. Neither Russia nor China would benefit from a destabilized North Korea, and they would frown upon any conventional action taken by us to replace the DPRK leadership. But in the event of conventional war initiated by the DPRK, neither Russia nor China would have cause to escalate to nuclear war.”

  “Unless someone started lobbing nukes first,” Terry offered.

  “Exactly,” Kristen agreed. “But the DPRK, fearing their limited nuclear stockpile was about to be destroyed by an American led air campaign, might decide to use those weapons. If they did so, then we would be forced to respond in kind.”

  “Potentially triggering a nuclear exchange,” Walcott concluded.

  “So,” Kristen continued, “the moment our satellites pick up a missile moving to the launch pad at Musudan-ri, we have perhaps a couple of hours to act.”

  “Hell, an ICBM can be warmed up and out of the silo in ten minutes,” Ski pointed out. “A Boomer can send twenty-four missiles out in less than thirty minutes and do a hell of a lot more damage than those two firecrackers we have on board.”

  With a single finger, Brodie silenced Ski. “Let her finish, please,” his voice was calm, and his eyes were watching Kristen with approval.

  Kristen leaned forward a bit as her left hand adjusted her glasses. Seeing Brodie’s facial expression was enough to let her know she was right. “If it were determined we had to take out the DPRK’s nuclear capability, then a nuclear strike is the only real guarantee,” she explained. “Certainly B-52’s could carpet bomb the area and raise holy havoc with conventional munitions, but they could not guarantee with 100% certainty that every weapon and warhead was destroyed. If so much as one warhead were left, it would be enough to wipe out Seoul or possibly Tokyo, killing millions. So, a nuclear strike is the only way to guarantee their atomic weapons program is eliminated.”

  Her argument made sense, but still didn’t explain why it had to be the Seawolf instead of one of the platforms dedicated to strategic warfare.

  “But why us?” Martin asked as he wiped sweat from his brow. “I mean Commander Ski is right. One Trident missile boat could blow them back to the Stone Age.”

  “Because,” she explained. “If we used another platform to launch the attack, it would risk a similar response by the Chinese or the Russians against us.” They still didn’t quite understand her logic, and she ran a nervo
us hand over her perfectly formed French braids. “Yes,” she explained knowing she was right, “we could use ICBMs. But those missiles would have to fly out of the atmosphere and then over Russia and China to reach the Korean Peninsula, and I ask you: what would our reaction be if we spotted a Russian missile launch and tracked it traveling directly over the continental United States?”

  “We’d fire everything we had,” Weps responded, echoing everyone’s thoughts.

  Kristen nodded. “Exactly, and so would they. So we can’t use ICBMs.”

  “What about our subs?” Ski asked. “Hell, they could fire from anywhere in the Pacific.”

  Once more she nodded her head in agreement. “That’s true. But once again, think of it from the perspective of the Russian or Chinese general monitoring their early detection satellites. How are they going to react if they spot a Trident missile launch from somewhere in the South Pacific? The trajectory might be heading for North Korea, but it is also pointed at them, and they would respond. Don’t forget Beijing is only a few hundred miles away from the Korean Peninsula and just a few seconds flight time for a ballistic missile.” She let her reasoning sink in and then added, “The Chinese would, just like we would, assume that Trident is heading for them and launch.”

  “What about B-52’s or Stealth Bombers?” Adam Carpenter, the Main Propulsion Assistant asked. “I would think they could fire their cruise missiles in close and not be noticed by the Chinese or the Russians…”

  “Yes, but bombers would also create a whole new set of problems,” she pointed out. “We would need to forward deploy those strategic bombers to Guam most likely. That deployment would be noticed, as would every time one of them took off with a few TLAM-Ns hanging off the wing pylons.” Her tone was calm and logical, and she could see they were buying her argument. “The Air Force would have to keep a bomber on station over the Sea of Japan twenty-four hours a day with all of the hazards associated with midair refueling. Plus, there is the—however slim—possibility of the North Koreans managing to get a couple of Migs through our air defense and shooting an old B-52 down.”

  It was obvious to everyone she’d been thinking this through for some time as she systematically dismissed the various other possibilities. But no one was arguing with her any more, and she knew that she was right. Brodie and Graves, the only two men on board privy to the complete intelligence picture, weren’t disagreeing with her.

  “Of course,” she admitted. “We could maintain a nuclear armed B-52 over the Sea of Japan for an indefinite period. But think about what else is along the Sea of Japan. The Russian city of Vladivostok is a few hundred miles from where we are at right now, and if we start orbiting strategic bombers over the Sea of Japan, the Russians are going to respond by building up their surface-to-air defense capabilities in the area, not to mention patrolling those same skies with their Migs to make certain our bombers don’t suddenly turn toward Russia. In any event, we sure as heck don’t want Russian Migs flying alongside our bombers and snapping pictures as we launch TLAM-Ns into North Korea.”

  “Wouldn’t that be lovely on the Late Show,” Stahl commented dryly.

  “Exactly,” she agreed. “The last thing you want to do if you’re conducting a secret nuclear strike is tell CNN about it.”

  “How the hell do you hide a nuclear strike?” Terry asked. “I mean everyone in the world will notice the detonation.”

  “Yes, absolutely,” she agreed. “Everyone will pick up the nuclear blast on their satellites in space and their seismographs on the earth. Not to mention radiation monitors will pick up the radioactive dust clouds.”

  “Then what do you mean by hiding it?” Terry asked, looking a little annoyed that he couldn’t figure it out for himself.

  “We wouldn’t be hiding the fact there were nuclear detonations,” she answered. “We’d only be hiding the fact that we were responsible for it.”

  Her logic was met with several questioning stares.

  “Don’t you see? Everybody in the world is concerned about the DPRK’s atomic weapons program. If a detonation was to occur at one of their secret facilities, the initial thought would likely be that they had an accident. With our stealth capability, we could launch within a few miles of their coastline. Our launch wouldn’t even be detected! A Tomahawk would hit Musudan-ri in seconds, long before the North Koreans even realized it was in the air.”

  Brodie and the XO were both eyeing her critically as the other officers pondered the possibility she was right and the United States was planning a preemptive nuclear strike. It seemed farfetched, but her logic made sense. The United States could not sit by and watch as the North Koreans began raining nuclear devastation on Japan or South Korea.

  “And the TLAM-N, with the W-80 variable-yield warhead is the perfect weapon for this attack,” she continued. “We could preset the yield to a relatively small five kilotons. It would be sufficient to wipe out Musudan-ri or Yongbyon, destroying every possible spec of any nuclear device they might have. Yet, at the same time, be small enough to limit civilian casualties and still leave no trace we were responsible since the cruise missiles would be atomized by the blast. Not to mention, such a small blast would support the argument that the detonations was an accident by the DPRK.”

  Kristen then made her strongest argument yet. “China and Russia might suspect we did it. They might even know deep down after analyzing some of the air samples following the blast that we did it, but they could never prove we did it. The only people who would know for certain what happened are those on the National Security Council and those of us here on the Seawolf.”

  She finished with the last part of her theory, “But, most importantly, even if the Russians and the Chinese could prove we nuked the North Koreans, they would have no real reason to retaliate against us. By the time they realized it was us, the smoke would have long cleared, and they would have no reason to escalate with their own strategic launch. The worst that would happen is some nasty threats at the UN, but in the end they would have to accept it. Unless of course they were insane and decided to attack us over our destruction of a facility in North Korea that everyone—including the Chinese and the Russians—wished would go away.”

  Kristen had been guessing, but she felt she’d made logical assumptions. However, she didn’t know she’d guessed right until the captain spoke, “You should be on the National Security Council, Lieutenant.”

  Walcott looked from Kristen to Brodie with understanding. “So, this is why we need to get in as close as possible? Even if it means penetrating a minefield.”

  Brodie nodded. “We can’t risk anyone at sea spotting us if we’re ordered to launch. Plus, we have to be close, very close. The moment they start fuelling a rocket the NSA thinks is armed with a nuclear device, we can expect to receive a launch command.” He then added, “But it’s important for everyone to remember there is no intention to use the weapons unless it is to prevent the North Koreans from using their own strategic weapons against one of our allies. Musudan-ri is not heavily populated, and civilian casualties would be minimal compared to a North Korean device bursting over Tokyo.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Weps whispered, hating the ruthless, coldblooded reality of the situation.

  “I think,” Brodie said to his weapons officer, “considering what we might be asked to do, we’d better have the good Lord on our side, Andy.”

  “Amen to that, Skipper,” Jason Graves agreed solemnly.

  Kristen knew that for the missiles to be launched, both Brodie and Graves would have to agree to the launch, and neither could be relishing such a decision.

  “But why the SEALs then?” Terry asked.

  It was the next logical question, one Kristen was still wondering about.

  Brodie nodded toward Cheng who answered, “Doctor Dar-Hyun Choi is their top rocket scientist. He is intimately familiar with every facet of their rocketry program and would know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, whether or not the Korean rockets have the capability
of carrying a nuclear warhead. If we can snatch him, hopefully he can help us determine whether or not the threat is even real.”

  Brodie spoke for the first time in several minutes. “Snatching this doctor is vital,” he said simply. “If this man has intelligence that can be used to prove the DPRK is bluffing and doesn’t have the capacity to launch, as they say they do, then we can all breathe a little easier.”

  Kristen now understood why Brodie had been looking so tired. She doubted anyone could have slept knowing what he knew. She doubted she would have gotten ten minutes of restful sleep. The literal fate of the world was resting on the success of their mission.

  Brodie went through each department and division, making certain the boat was as ready as possible for war. He went through the duty roster, asking the various department heads if they were short in any category because of illnesses or other reasons, or if there was a last minute personnel change needing to be made. As usual, there were a few minor adjustments to account for sick personnel, or a few watch teams that weren’t meshing together as expected.

  “Sir?” Walcott asked.

  “Whatcha got, Ryan?” Brodie asked.

  Walcott cast a glance at Ski. “I’m not looking to poach anyone from you, Ski. But Chief Miller approached me, and he was wondering if—until this crisis blows over—he might have Kristen in sonar.”

  “Why?” Ski asked. “She’s not a sonarman.”

  “No, she’s isn’t,” Walcott agreed. “But Miller says she’s got the best set of ears he’s ever seen for a rookie, and I think, given the situation, we need to put everyone where their talents lie.”

  “Listen,” Ski responded with surprising hostility to the idea of her being taken out of his engineering department. Especially when considering the fact he’d strongly objected to her even being on board. “I need her in engineering,” he said flatly. “Besides, she still has a lot to learn back there.”