Then Cheyenne pitched slowly to a gentle up angle and her hull started popping again as Mack came shallower, turning back to the north to look for the last Akula. He wouldn’t find it, though. The explosions of the other two Akulas had caused enough overpressure damage that the last Akula captain had been forced to emergency-surface and limp from the area.
As Cheyenne approached the time for coming shallow near the shelf, sonar reported numerous merchant ship contacts, but still no submarine contacts. As usual, biologics hindered the search, and they could not gain any contact on an Akula as Cheyenne entered shallow water, heading west to deliver her precious cargo. Battle stations were secured and both towed arrays were housed at the one hundred-fathom curve.
Mack had the feeling that Cheyenne had faced her last opponent and that they were out of trouble, but he didn’t let his guard down. It was only a feeling, and he knew he still needed to be on the lookout for mines.
Finally back at periscope depth, Mack sent his message traffic concerning the battles and the loss of Los Angeles. The ESM operator reported communications from a Chinese HF radio to the north. Acting on a previous thought that he had kept to himself, Mack asked if the Chinese president would mind translating something for them. When the tape of the comms was delivered to the wardroom and played for President Jiang, a smile spread quickly over his face.
“Captain Mack, that is the commanding officer of the last of Yu’s Akulas. He reported he was damaged and he is heading for Zhanjiang Naval Base on the surface to ask for amnesty from the Jiang Zemin government for himself and his men.”
Since the weather was calm, Mack decided to surface Cheyenne and follow the Akula into Zhanjiang Naval Base. This time he allowed President Jiang on the bridge, giving him a hand-held HF radio so that he could act as interpreter for Mack in discussions with the Chinese captain of the Akula. Mack advised the Akula CO that Cheyenne would follow him into port from the Akula’s stern, but that he had one Mk 48, one Harpoon, and one Tomahawk antiship missile trained directly at him.
Cheyenne steamed safely into the naval base and delivered her cargo, and then made a slow transit back to Tsoying. En route, the news came that China had formally declared a cease-fire.
The war was over. The United States, with the help of Cheyenne, had won.
Mack heard the news with a mixture of joy and sadness — joy that his crew was safe once more, with nothing more than the hazards of the deep to worry about, and sadness at the cost. For however long he remained at sea, the memory of those lost would stay with him.
United States Naval Officer Receives Chinese “Order of Chairman Mao Tse-Tung”
November 9, 1997
Web Posted at 11:00 P.M. EST (1600 GMT)
From Beijing bureau chief Julie Meyer
BEIJING (TCN) — In an unprecedented ceremony at China’s South Sea Fleet Headquarters, Zhanjiang Naval Base, Chinese president Jiang Zemin bestowed the coveted “Order of Chairman Mao Tse-Tung” to the commanding officer of the USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) for his valorous efforts in single-handedly devastating the renegade Premier Li Peng’s and General Yu Quili’s submarines, purchased with funds diverted from the Chinese people. Not to be outdone, the President of the United States recalled the commanding officer to the White House.
President Bestows Medal of Honor on War Hero Submariner
November 10, 1997
Web Posted at 2:00 P.M. EST (1900 GMT)
From Washington chief correspondent Michael Flasetti
WASHINGTON (TCN) — The President today placed the coveted Medal of Honor ribbon with its large medal around the neck of Captain Bartholomew Mackey, commanding officer of USS Cheyenne (SSN 773). Captain Mackey’s submarine was the single force in Southeast Asia that literally destroyed the Chinese submarine force, accounting for over sixty authenticated kills without sustaining any damage to his own ship. In an unprecedented meeting of Congress prior to the event, Captain Mackey was selected for promotion to rear admiral, lower half, being read into law by the Senate majority leader. This in itself was an unprecedented move on Congress’s part, since the rear admiral selection board, with its congressional confirmation, was months away. And the last officer promotion that Congress had taken out of the hands of the Navy was when they promoted Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the father of United States Navy Nuclear Propulsion.
And where is Rear Admiral “Mack” Mackey? A source close to his family, which asked the CIA not to be identified, said that instead of throwing quarters in the lawn to keep the kids out of the house while Mack and his wife renewed their vows, Rear Admiral Mackey and his wife left for the cold and snow of upstate New York, intending on taking part in the Lake Champlain Submarine Team Races, “Frostbite 97,” followed by two weeks of skiing at their chalet. CIA said the source is deemed reliable, since his family is taking care of the Mackey children. And there you have it, so much for CIA secrecy.
Interview
Captain Doug Littlejohns, CBE, RN (Ret.), is one of the finest naval officers I have ever met, and I am proud to call him my friend. His distinguished career includes three command tours, HMS Osiris, HMS Sceptre, and HMS London, respectively a diesel-powered submarine, a nuclear fast-attack submarine, and a missile-armed frigate. In addition, Doug was operations officer for NATO submarines in the Eastern Atlantic, Assistant Director of Naval Warfare for U.K. missile submarines, Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of the Defense Staff, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord David Craig, during the Persian Gulf War, and commanding officer of the Royal Navy’s engineering college, HMS Thunderer. He has seen and done it all. If you want to know why the Navy’s been around for so long, people like Doug are the reason.
James Adams, who conducted the interview, is also a good friend, and as Washington Bureau Chief of The Sunday London Times is one of the finest writers I know. He writes extensively on U.S. domestic and foreign policy and on such issues as nuclear proliferation and international terrorism.
James Adams: Tom, Doug, thank you very much for joining me today. Tom, a hallmark of your work is its reality — it’s close to the truth, always on the cutting edge of the political scene. You two have chosen China for SSN as the principal antagonist. Do you see China as a threat to the stability of the world today?
Tom Clancy: Well, China is a country that doesn’t really know what it wants to be. On the one hand they’re trying to develop a free market economy and give their citizens economic freedom. On the other hand we had Tiananmen Square, where they decided that their citizens could have economic freedom, but not political freedom. This is a considerable imbalance. Moreover, in this particular case, we also have the Spratly Islands. There appear to be considerable deposits of oil there. And you’ll recall that fourteen years ago that was the reason that Argentina went after the Falkland Islands — the thought that there might be oil there that they could exploit. Even though Argentina is currently self-sufficient in oil.