Troubled Water by Gregory A. Freeman

Author:Gregory A. Freeman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2009-08-23T04:00:00+00:00

Subic Bay Naval Base, showing Alava Pier where the Kitty Hawk docked and the main gate leading to Olongapo City. (from U.S. Naval base phone book, 1990)

CHAPTER NINE

“THEY ARE GOING TO KILL US ALL!”

As Cloud and Townsend talked with the black sailors in the mess deck, they grew increasingly wary of each other’s approach to the problem. Meanwhile, the Marine commander was preparing his troops for the next clash, which he thought was inevitable. Carlucci gathered his Marines in their berthing area—the ones who had confronted the rioters and those who had been elsewhere at the time. Carlucci wanted his men to know exactly what he expected for the duration of this crisis on the Kitty Hawk. As part of his due diligence in commanding the Marine detachment on the most prominent aircraft carrier in the U.S. fleet during this time of racial unrest, and because it was his nature to study manuals and guidelines in his free time, Carlucci had recently read a study of race riots by the Marine Corps and reviewed the procedures on responding to civil disobedience in Army Field Manual 19–15. He was ready, and he needed to tell his Marines what he expected. As he prepared to speak to his men, Carlucci received a phone call from the captain, who was still in the aft mess deck. Townsend confirmed that Carlucci’s thinking was on target.

“I’m concerned about the security of the aircraft and the associated equipment on the ship,” the captain explained. “You and your men are to protect that equipment from sabotage.”

The Marine commander affirmed his orders and then discussed how they should respond to the black sailors in the mess deck. Carlucci proposed that the captain, with the Marines’ backup if necessary, take a hard line with them. Unaware that Cloud had taken a conciliatory approach, Carlucci suggested that Townsend and the XO collect the ID cards of all the sailors at the meeting, to record the identities and provide a solid basis for any future legal action.

“It might shake those kids up a bit if you take their cards, sir,” Carlucci said. “That might discourage them from doing this kind of thing again.”

Townsend declined, explaining that taking the men’s ID cards might get them riled up again. That answer might have made more sense to Carlucci if he had known that the men were already dispersing after bonding with their “brother,” the XO. Carlucci moved on to his next suggestion: He wanted permission to find and detain the most vocal and visible of the ringleaders from the mess deck incident, including Avinger and Rowe. This move would be in accordance with the Marine protocol on riot control. Again Townsend said no, telling Carlucci that having the Marines hunt down those black sailors would only inflame the situation.

Carlucci hung up, frustrated that the captain wasn’t allowing his men to respond as firmly to the rioters as he thought necessary. But they still had a clear job to do: protect the Kitty Hawk from sabotage.

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