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