PRIORITY RED
R 221345Z JUL 86 ZY10
COMSUBPAC PEARL HARBOR HAWAII//N1//
TO STONEWALL JACKSON
PACFLT// ID S072RQ81//
NAVAL OPS/02
MSGID/PACOPS 6722/COMSUBPAC ACTUAL//
MSG BEGINS://
PROCEED WITH ALL HASTE TO PEARL.
REPORT TO ME IMMEDIATELY ON ARRIVAL.
MSG END//
Blake raised his eyebrows, a PRIORITY RED, and from Rear Admiral Sutton himself too.
Nathan Blake, a native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas was thirty five, young to be handed command of a boat. Of medium height, with black hair and green eyes, women thought him good-looking, at least some of them did.
He turned to his Executive officer Lieutenant Commander Larry Sayers. “Larry, can you think of any reason we can’t transit directly to Pearl?”
Sayers frowned. Older than Nathan, black with a thin moustache, he rubbed his shaven head as he thought. “We’re not exactly overstocked with fresh food, but we’ve enough. If we have to, we can always go on rations for a couple of days. I think we’ve just enough, anyway. Plenty of diesel.”
“Acknowledge the signal Comms; then rewind the buoy.”
“Ok. Kaminski, plot us a course to Pearl.”
“Aye Sir.” She worked on her plot board for a minute. Lieutenant Nikki Kaminski had quite a following among the male crew members, thanks to her fair hair, which she wore pulled back in a pony tail, bright blue eyes, and trim but curvy build. She was a Ring Knocker; that is a graduate of the Naval Academy, but one with no airs and graces and very competent. Nathan knew she’d get her own boat one day.
“Two fifty five degrees, Sir.”
“Maintain depth, come to two fifty five degrees. Speed twenty five knots. Larry, descend to two hundred feet when we come alongside San Nicolas Island. I’m going to get some bunk time.”
Sayers nodded. “Right Sir.”
Nathan walked aft to his small cabin and took to his bunk.
USS Stonewall Jackson was a new boat. She’d just carried out her shakedown cruise and come through the Panama Canal to her home base of Kitsap in the Puget Sound, Washington state. She’d been on exercise with three frigates when the call had come through.
She was the USN’s first diesel-electric boat in a long time. The USN was an all-nuclear submarine fleet, but it was aware that in any conflict it would likely have to face diesel-electric boats. They’re powered by diesel on the surface, and able to charge their large powerful batteries there for underwater propulsion and use. These boats are generally slower and more limited in the time they can spend underwater. But, they’re generally quieter and equipped with the same weapons. If a wire-guided torpedo strikes you, it doesn’t much matter what type of boat launched it. The USN exercises against this type of vessel whenever it can. A Swedish Navy boat, the Gotland and its crew, had been hired long term as the Navy’s own pet diesel-electric boat for training. In 2005 the carrier USS Ronald Reagan sank after multiple torpedo strikes. This fortunately was an exercise, despite making multiple attack runs on the Reagan, the Gotland was never detected. The submarine was said to run rings around the carrier task force, demoralising USN ASW specialists.
How? The Gotland uses batteries or an Air independent Propulsion system when on the prowl. No engine with rotating parts creating noise. On AIP the Gotland can remain submerged for two weeks at an average of six MPH, surges are possible to 23 MPH.
So, slow but almost unseen, a lethal combination. Japan’s Soryu uses Lithium Ion batteries instead of an AIP, a significant advance.
The Navy watched and learned, a partnership and joint development with Japan was formed and came up with a tool they didn’t possess: their own diesel-electric boat. First in the class is the Stonewall Jackson. She is the most powerful and silent, the most deadly diesel-electric boat ever to patrol the deeps, and she was Nathan’s command.
THE BOAT HAD COMPLETED the long transit to Pearl, and Nathan stood at the conn. “Planesman, up angle fifteen degrees come to periscope depth.” The deck angle tilted up at the bow. Then levelled.
“Periscope depth, Sir.”
He looked into a monitor at his station. He selected full rotation from the touchscreen. The scope raised itself, did a brief 360 rotate and then lowered itself. Nathan looked at the view on screen and rotated the view; all clear. He could pick off the bearing, range to any targets, and zoom in if necessary. The scope could switch to night mode if needed. The boat was three miles south of Hanauma Bay, around ten miles from Pearl. He’d come around Diamond Head and into the base.
“Surface the boat.”
The USS Stonewall Jackson broke surface on a bright sunny morning with a moderate following sea.
“Crack the hatch, COB.”
“Aye, Sir.”
Chief of the Boat was the senior enlisted man aboard, in charge of all enlisted men, watch station assignment, racking assignments, and crew discipline. He was indispensable and could train, blame, curse and chew ass. The boat’s COB was Seamus Cox. He didn’t mind being called Dick. The COB climbed the sail and opened the hatch to let in some fresh air. He stayed upstairs for several minutes; Nathan didn’t object to his little luxury.
Once tied up alongside at the quayside, Nathan left the boat and walked to the office building and entered COMSUBPAC’s outer office.
“Hi,” He checked out her name badge, “PO McFadley. I’m here to see Admiral Sutton, Nathan Blake.”
“Yes, Sir, go right on in.”
Nathan knocked on the office door and entered. Sutton was sitting at his desk, behind piles of paperwork and a model of an Ohio class Boomer. A Boomer was an SSBN; Ship, Submersible, Ballistic Nuclear; a nuclear missile boat. The USS Nevada had been Sutton’s last sea-going command.
“Blake. Good to see you. Coffee?”
“Thanks, Sir.”
Sutton poured two coffees and sat. “All well with Jackson?”
“Yes Sir, she’s had a few minor teething issues, but nothing serious.”
Rear Admiral Sutton sipped his coffee then set it down on his coaster and stared fixedly at Blake. “We need you to carry out a mission for us. You probably haven’t heard about it, but Kim Jong-un has been up to his tricks again…
… So, there you have it.
Not exactly good news. The bastard can sit off Northern California and drop the good news on Seattle, San Francisco, LA and San Diego. The Sinpo-3 class has four tubes forward of the sail, each with a Pukguksong 3 missile in it, so he can take a dump on all those cities.”
“It’ll be tough to catch him now, Sir.”
“I know, we have P8-Poseidons up there flying around searching, they’ve had a few possible contacts but nothing firm. COMSEVENTHFLT is deploying an SSN, the USS Key West, out from Guam. She might find it.” Sutton leaned forward. “We have permission from the White house to sink her. POTUS is pissed as all hell. We’re ROE free, so your mission and Rules Of Engagement are to sink the enemy boat and any enemy boats or ships you encounter. Not only that, but you’re to seek them out and sink ‘em. Blake, you are officially weapons free. You lucky bastard.”
Nathan tried to keep his mouth shut. This was amazing. The first real cruise and he’d not been told that he may see action. He’d been told to seek it out.
“I see, Sir. But why us? There are many more experienced Captains and crews.”
“Because Stonewall Jackson is the stealthiest boat in the fleet. Also, she’s led by the ballsiest young Commander we have. Get out there Blake, and sink the bastards.
If I remember Stonewall’s words correctly, the business of a soldier is to fight. Armies are not called out to dig trenches, to throw up breastworks, and live in camps. But to find the enemy, and strike him; to invade his country, and do him all possible damage in the shortest possible time.