Carrier 12.Chain of Command by Keith Douglass

Author:Keith Douglass [Keith Douglass]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Aircraft Carriers, Action & Adventure, Vietnam, Fiction, War & Military
ISBN: 9780515124316
Publisher: Jove Books
Published: 1999-01-01T08:02:30+00:00

28 September

USS Jefferson

I could tell by the look on his face that Lab Rat had bad news. When

it’s good, he’s practically bouncing as he stands at my door and waits for

permission to come in. When it’s bad, his already small form seems twenty

pounds lighter. He shrinks into the door frame, slinks into the room, and

his voice is barely above a mumble.

This was one of those times.

“It’s still operational,” Lab Rat said flatly. “The latest imagery

shows aircraft moving in and out of the hangar. And they’re already

repairing the airfield. We knew that wouldn’t take long, but it’s going

even faster than we predicted.”

“What about the SAM sites?” I asked. I was convinced I could

eventually knock a hole in the top of those nasty little revetments, but I

had to be able to get my aircraft in to do it.

“They’re mobile. Not fixed sites.”

More bad news. We’d maintained meticulous plots on the

electromagnetic transmissions from the anti-air sites, and I was hoping to

take them all out the next time. “Can you tell where they’re headed?” I

asked.

Lab Rat shook his head. “They’re moving under cover of the jungle

canopy, Admiral. I get a few glimpses of them, some heat sources, but

that’s about it. We’ve looked at the terrain, the tactical disposition,

and I’ve simply got no good predictions.”

I leaned back in my chair and considered the matter. Intelligence was

fine, but sometimes I needed ground troops. “Have you talked to the

Marines? They might have some other ideas on where they’d put the SAMs if

they were the bad guys.”

Lab Rat nodded. “A few estimates, but they’re not any more confident

about it than we are.”

I should have known he would have tried it. When it comes to

intelligence estimates, Lab Rat is the least likely officer I know to

invoke parochial interests. You’ve got something to say, something to make

sense to him, then he’ll listen. With ground weapons positions, of course

he would have sought out the senior Marine on board and asked his opinion.

“So what do you suggest?” I asked finally. “We can send in another

strike, but …”

Lab Rat sighed, then looked up at me. “It’s time for Special Forces,

sir. We could use them one of two ways. Send them in, send them after the

SAM sites, or target the revetments.” He grimaced, indicating that neither

of those were particularly attractive alternatives. “Or we can just try

what we’ve done before.”

“And lose more aircraft probably,” I said.

“Probably.”

I stood up and started pacing the length of my office. It helps me to

be moving while I’m trying to think. It would help even better if I were

in the cockpit of an aircraft, but that’s a luxury not often allowed to me

as a flag officer. I barely make it out on the flight deck once a week

just to get a whiff of fresh JP-5.

“What do the SEALs say?” I asked. We have a platoon on board, with a

lieutenant commander in charge of them. Brandon Sykes was one of the

smarter SEAL officers I’d met in my time, and he’d proved his tactical

savvy to my satisfaction before. If he had an idea, I wanted to hear it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.