Shattered Trident

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Shattered Trident Page 50

by Larry Bond


  “I heard that, Lowell!” sniped Joanna, as she reached over and lightly backhanded the senator.

  “Well, I really don’t want another tour at the Pentagon,” Jerry said flatly. “I’d rather have a root canal. At least for that they give you Novocain.”

  “Hey! The current naval aide to the president rotates about the same time as you leave North Dakota. You’d be a shoo-in for that job, Jerry!” squealed Joanna.

  “I don’t know. I’m not well suited for the world of politics. I’ve been told I’m a little too blunt.”

  “It’s just another set of skills, Jerry,” Hardy said encouragingly. “All growth comes through pain. Besides, with two Navy Crosses, you’re a lock for squadron commander. You know that,” Hardy predicted. “And doomed for flag rank after that. But you’ll have to pay your dues first.”

  Finally, it was time for Jerry and Emily to head to the airport, which was only a ten-minute ride away. They had a cab waiting outside the restaurant, and they exchanged handshakes and hugs with Hardy and Patterson, who wished them a safe trip back to Hawaii. “I’ll be counting the days, Emily.”

  Jerry handed Hardy a letter. It was addressed to the Indian Naval Attaché. “Sir, would you mind putting this in the mail for me?”

  “Sure, no problem. What’s this about, if you don’t mind my asking?” Hardy was dying of curiosity.

  “It’s a personal letter from me to the commanding officer of INS Chakra, CO to CO. I wrote that I’m willing to call it a draw if he is.”

  Hardy burst out laughing and slapped Jerry on the shoulder. “Nicely done, Captain! Nicely done! I’ll drop it in the blue box on our way home. Joanna and I have to pack, we’ll be flying out ourselves tomorrow,” he added. “We’re going to Nova Scotia.”

  “Not for the weather, I hope,” Jerry remarked, surprised.

  “We’re going to visit a good friend in Halifax,” Hardy said, smiling. “Joanna and I want to say hi and thank him for his help during the crisis.”

  A little confused, Jerry asked, “What kind of help?”

  “Ever read Bywater’s Blog?” Hardy asked. “It’s very informative. Check it out.”

  GLOSSARY

  ABM: Anti-ballistic missile

  ACINT: Acoustic Intelligence

  ADC: Acoustic device countermeasure

  Aegis: A U.S. Navy integrated air-defense system built around the SPY-1 radar fitted on Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Burke-class destroyers. Built by the USA, the Aegis system has now been fitted to ships of the Japanese and Spanish navies.

  AOR: Area of responsibility

  AIS: Automatic Identification System

  ASAP: As soon as possible

  ASDS: Advanced SEAL Delivery System

  ASEAN: Association of Southeast Asian Nations

  ASW: Anti-submarine warfare

  ATT: Anti-torpedo torpedo. Small defensive torpedoes designed to home in on another torpedo and destroy it.

  APR-2E: Russian-built rocket-propelled anti-submarine torpedo

  BMD: Ballistic Missile Defense

  B61: U.S. Air Force tactical nuclear bomb

  CCP: Chinese Communist Party

  CDO: Command duty officer

  CIA: Central Intelligence Agency

  CIC: Combat Information Center

  CJ-10: Chinese long-range land attack cruise missile

  CJCS: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  Class: Ships built to the same design are said to be in the same “class,” usually named after the first unit of the class to be built (e.g., USS Arleigh Burke), or after a design number (e.g., Type 052, Project 956).

  CMC: Central Military Commission

  CNN: Cable News Network

  CNO: Chief of Naval Operations

  CO: Commanding officer

  COB: Chief of the boat

  COMINT: Communications Intelligence

  Commo: U.S. Navy slang for communications officer

  COMSUBPAC: Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet

  CPA: Closest point of approach

  CSO: Chief staff officer

  CT: Cryptologic Technician

  Corvette: A warship smaller than a frigate with its weapons and sensors chosen to support a single mission, usually anti-submarine or anti-surface warfare

  DARPA: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

  DCI: Director of Central Intelligence. The head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

  Destroyer: A general-purpose warship designed to screen larger, more vulnerable warships from attack. Destroyers that carry long-range anti-aircraft missiles, capable of protecting a group of ships, are called “guided-missile destroyers.”

  DEVRON: Development Squadron

  DF-21: Dong-Feng (East Wind) 21, a Chinese medium-range ballistic missile.

  DDG: Guided missile destroyer

  DEFCON: Defense Condition

  DNI: Director of National Intelligence. Head of the U.S. intelligence community.

  DoD: Department of Defense

  DRDO: Defense Research and Development Organisation

  DTRA: Defense Threat Reduction Agency

  DWT: Deadweight tonnage

  EEZ: Economic exclusion zone

  ELINT: Electronics Intelligence

  Eng: U.S. Navy slang for engineer

  EP-3: A variant of the U.S. Navy P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft fitted to do electronic intelligence reconnaissance

  EPRIB: Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon

  ESM: Electronic support measures. Electronic receivers that can detect radar transmissions, providing their direction and type.

  F-2: A Japanese-designed and -built single-seat, single-engine fighter, looking like a slightly enlarged F-16. It first entered service in 2000.

  Frigate: An escort vessel, smaller than a destroyer, with a more limited weapons and sensor suite. It is usually optimized for only one or two missions, e.g., anti-submarine or anti-surface warfare.

  GEnie: General Electric Network for Information Exchange. An online service that ran from 1985 through 1999.

  GPS: Global positioning system

  Goat Locker: U.S. Navy slang for the living areas of a ship reserved exclusively for chief petty officers. Also used to refer to a ship’s chief petty officers as a collective group.

  GRT: Gross registered tons

  Helo: U.S. Navy slang for helicopter

  HUMINT: Human Intelligence

  HUMVEE: Slang for the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), a four-wheel drive military automobile

  IRBM: Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile

  IRGC: Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, aka Pasdaran

  ISR: Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance

  IT: Information technician

  JASDF: Japanese Air Self-Defense Force. The name of the Japanese Air Force.

  JCS: Joint Chiefs of Staff

  Japanese honorifics: In the Japanese language, a suffix is almost always attached to a person’s name, usually indicating their status relative to the speaker. The most common is -san, e.g., Komamura-san, roughly equivalent to “Mr.” or “Ms.” in English. This is even used between married couples. If the speaker then learned that Komamura-san was a college professor, he could then address him as “Komamura-sensei” which is the title for a teacher or expert. Similar titles exist for shopkeepers, doctors, etc. Use of the suffix with a person’s given name or nickname, e.g., Sajin-sensei, denotes more familiarity. The -chan suffix is a term of endearment, often used for women younger than the speaker (typically used by a parent or older relative), especially for children. It can be used with either the family or given name.

  JMSDF: Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. The name of the Japanese Navy.

  Kh-31P: Supersonic, radar-homing missile launched by aircraft. Originally built by Russia, China now produces them as the YJ-91.

  LPD: Landing platform dock. A type of amphibious assault ship.

  LPO: Leading petty officer

  Ma
rk 48 ADCAP: U.S. heavyweight, multipurpose torpedo with advanced capability. Launched by submarines.

  MCIA: Marine Corps Intelligence Activity

  MDM-6: Russian multiple influence (pressure, acoustic, and magnetic) bottom mine

  MG-24: Russian submarine-deployed acoustic countermeasure

  MG-84: Russian submarine-launched mobile decoy

  MG-519: Russian mine-hunting sonar on many of their submarines, also known by the NATO nickname “Mouse Squeak”

  MOX: Mixed oxide. A nuclear reactor fuel that uses both enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium.

  MPA: Maritime patrol aircraft

  NAE: Naval acoustic electromechanical. An older type of torpedo decoy that generates noise mechanically.

  NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization

  NMJIC: National Military Joint Intelligence Center

  NORAD: North American Aerospace Defense Command

  NSC: National Security Council

  OOD: Officer of the deck

  OPREP-3: U.S. Navy message format used to inform a senior authority of an incident that is of national-level interest.

  ONI: Office of Naval Intelligence

  ONR: Office of Naval Research

  OPLAN: Operations plan

  OPS: Operations officer

  PAC-2/PAC-3: Versions of the U.S. Patriot surface-to-air missile. While the PAC-2 has some ballistic missile defense capabilities, the PAC-3 was specifically designed for this role.

  PACOM: Pacific Command

  PACFLT: Pacific Fleet

  PAL: Permissive Action Link

  PCO: Prospective commanding officer

  PLA: People’s Liberation Army. This can refer to all the Chinese armed forces, or just the ground force component of the armed forces.

  PLAAF: People’s Liberation Army Air Force. The air component of the Chinese armed forces.

  PLAN: People’s Liberation Army Navy. The naval component of the Chinese armed forces.

  PRC: People’s Republic of China

  RPM: Rotations per minute

  ROE: Rules of engagement

  ROK: Republic of Korea. South Korea’s official name.

  SATCOM: Satellite communications

  SINOPEC: China Petrochemical Corporation

  SITREP: Situation report

  SEAL: Sea, Air, Land. U.S. Navy Special Forces

  Second Artillery Corps: A separate service within the People’s Liberation Army responsible for the ballistic missile forces, both nuclear and conventional

  SECDEF: Secretary of defense

  SECSTATE: Secretary of state

  Sierra: A U.S. Navy designation indicating that a contact was detected and is being tracked by a sonar system

  SIGINT: Signals Intelligence

  Skat-3: Main sonar suite on Akula classes of SSNs. Also known by the NATO nickname “Shark Gill.”

  SM-3: Standard missile 3, part of the U.S. Navy ballistic missile defense system.

  SPY-1: This radar is used with the Aegis air-defense system. It uses four non-rotating “phased array” radar antennas, one on each side of the ship’s superstructure.

  SSGN: U.S. Navy type designation for cruise missile carrying submarine with nuclear propulsion

  SSN: U.S. Navy type designation for an attack submarine with nuclear propulsion.

  SUBRON: Submarine squadron

  SVP: Sound velocity profile. A graph showing the speed of sound in water as a function of depth. A sharp change indicates the presence of a thermocline.

  SWAG: Scientific Wild Ass Guess

  TB-33: A fully digital, fiberoptic long towed array.

  TB-34: A fully digital, fiberoptic short towed array.

  Thermocline: Also called a “layer,” it is a sharp change in water temperature that will reflect sound at certain angles

  TSA: Transportation Security Administration

  UGST: Universal deep-homing torpedo. A Russian heavyweight, multipurpose torpedo launched from submarines.

  UN: United Nations

  UAV: Unmanned air vehicle

  UCMJ: Uniform Code of Military Justice

  UUV: Unmanned underwater vehicle

  VLCC: Very large crude carrier. A subset of supertankers.

  VLSD: Vertical large screen display

  VTC: Video teleconference

  WLY-1: U.S. submarine acoustic intercept receiver. It detects and analyzes active sonar emissions.

  XO: Executive officer, second in command of a warship

  Y-8: Chinese maritime patrol aircraft

  Yu-6: Chinese heavyweight, multipurpose torpedo. Launched by submarines, it is a copy of the U.S. Mark 48.

  Yu-7: Chinese lightweight, anti-submarine torpedo. Launched from aircraft and surface ships, it is a copy of the U.S. Mark 46 torpedo.

  YJ-83: Ying Ji (Eagle Strike) 83, a Chinese anti-ship cruise missile

  1MC: General announcing circuit, shipwide public address system

  3M-14E: A subsonic, land-attack cruise missile offered by Russia as part of the Klub system for export ships and submarines

  DRAMATIS PERSONAE

  USS North Dakota (SSN 784)

  Commander Jerry Mitchell, Commanding Officer

  Lieutenant Commander Bernie Thigpen, Executive Officer

  Department Heads

  Lieutenant Commander Phillip Sobecki, Chief Engineer

  Lieutenant Edward Rothwell, Navigator and Operations Officer

  Lieutenant Steven Westbrook, Supply Officer (“the Chop”)

  Lieutenant David Covey, Weapons Officer

  Division Officers

  Lieutenant Russell Iverson, Main Propulsion Assistant

  Lieutenant Kiyoshi Iwahashi, Damage Control Assistant

  Lieutenant Kurt Franklin, Communications Officer

  Lieutenant (j.g.) Quela Lymburn (“Q”), Assistant Weapons Officer

  Lieutenant (j.g.) Stuart Gaffney, Sonar Officer

  Ensign Olivia Andrews (“Ollie”), Chem/RADCON Assistant

  Ensign Jacqueline Kane (“Jacques”), Reactor Control Assistant

  EMCM Marco Pompei, Chief of the Boat (“COB”)

  ET1 Josh Fleming, ESM/SIGINT

  STSC Halleck, Sonar Division CPO

  STS1 Andersen, Sonar Operator

  STS2 Gilden, Sonar Operator

  CTI3 Gus Kalinsky, COMINT Linguist

  American Characters

  Gregory Alexander, Director of National Intelligence

  Milt Alvarez, White House Chief of Staff

  Rear Admiral Wayne Burroughs, COMSUBPAC

  General Lewis Dewhurst, USAF, Chairman JCS

  Commander Bruce Dobson, Commanding Officer, USS Oklahoma City (SSN 723)

  Dr. Randall Foster, Director of the CIA

  Malcolm Geisler, Secretary of Defense

  Alison Gray, Deputy White House Chief of Staff

  Rear Admiral Kyle Guthrie, Former Captain of USS Michigan (SSBN 727 Blue Crew)

  Commander Warren Halsey, Commanding Officer, USS Santa Fe (SSN 763)

  Senator Lowell Hardy (D-CT), Former Captain of USS Memphis (SSN 691)

  Admiral Bernard Hughes, Chief of Naval Operations

  Captain Glenn Jacobs, Chief Staff Officer, Submarine Squadron (SUBRON) 15

  Dr. Raymond Kirkpatrick, National Security Advisor

  Christine Laird, CNN Reporter

  Andrew Lloyd, Secretary of State

  Evangeline McDowell, President’s Secretary

  Joyce McHenry, Secretary of Commerce

  Kenneth L. Myles, President of the United States

  General Jason Nagy, USMC, Vice Chairman JCS

  Commander Scott Nevens, Commanding Officer, USS North Carolina (SSN 777)

  Commander Ian Pascovich, Commanding Officer, USS Texas (SSN 775)

  Dr. Joanna Patterson, Deputy National Security Advisor

  James Randall, Vice President of the United States

  Captain Tom Rudel, USN (Ret.), Former Captain of USS Seawolf (SSN 21)

  Captain Charles Simonis, Commander,
SUBRON 15

  Commander Richard Walker, SUBRON 15 Operations Officer

  Canadian Character

  Hector Alexander McMurtrie, Blogger and Naval Historian

  People’s Republic of China Characters

  General Bao Bo, Commander Intelligence Service

  Chen Dao, President, Chairman of the CMC, and General Secretary of the CCP

  Senior Captain Deng Jinshan, PLAN Staff Officer

  General Hu Kun, Commander of Second Artillery Corps

  General Li Ju, Vice Chairman of the CMC

  General Shi Peng, Political Department

  General Su Yide, Chief of the General Staff

  General Tian Gan, Vice Chairman of the CMC

  General Wang Yaowen, Commander of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force

  Admiral Wei Zi’en, Commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy

  General Wen Feng, Minister of National Defense

  Colonel (later General) Xi Ping, Deputy Commander (later Commander) Intelligence Service

  General Xiao Shen, Armament Department

  Ambassador Yang Jinping, Chinese Ambassador to the United States

  General Ye Jin, Logistics Department

  Zhang Fei, Vice Chairman of the CMC, Secretariat of the Communist Party, and Vice President of PRC

  Vietnamese Characters

  Commander Cao Van Ty, Intelligence Officer

  Admiral Duan, Head of the Second Directorate (Intelligence Service)

  Admiral Hieu, Chief of Staff of the Vietnamese People’s Navy

  Commander Nimh, Komamura’s Escort

  Admiral Phai, Head of the Political Directorate

  Minister Vu Kim Binh, Foreign Minister

  Japanese Characters

  Minister Hisagi Shuhei, Japanese Representative to Littoral Alliance Working Group

  Dr. Komamura Sajin, Economics professor at Tokyo University, Author of Navies for Asia

  Admiral Kubo Noriaki, Chief of Staff of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force

  Miyazaki Nodoka, Research Assistant

  Commander Okubo Atsushi, Commanding officer of the Kongo-class guided-missile destroyer Atago

  Vice Admiral Orihara Izaya, Military Representative to the Littoral Alliance Working Group

  Minister Tadashi Hata, Japanese Foreign Minister

  Ambassador Urahara Kisuke, Japanese Ambassador to the United States

  Commander Zaraki Kenpachi, Commanding Officer of the Soryu-class submarine Kenryu

  Korean Characters

 

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