Exit Plan (7 page)

“Then it can wait, Jerry It’s more important right now to get us heading toward the rendezvous point.”

“Begging your pardon, sir, I believe this is relevant. . .”

“I said later, XO.” Guthrie’s firm response signaled the end of the discussion.

“Aye, aye, sir,” responded Jerry, chastened.

Turning to leave, he placed the message on the table and then walked swiftly toward the door. He heard the radio room watch stander say, “Skipper, another message is coming in on the new mission,” as he shut the door.

The control room was barely ten paces aft of the radio room and Jerry marched directly to the periscope stand where Lieutenant Nelson stood with eager anticipation.

“OOD, change course to two seven zero. Have maneuvering bring the reactor coolant pumps online and get us to seventeen knots ASAP. Then announce over the 1MC for all department heads, the COB, and SEAL platoon members to muster in the battle management center.”

Nelson accurately recited the orders. While he began to carry them out, Jerry moved over by the fire control consoles to get out of the way. The XO’s presence could be something of a distraction, since most of the time his presence was the harbinger of yet another drill. But this time it was the real thing, and being out of the direct line of sight of the watch standers helped to reinforce that this wasn’t another training evolution.

USS
Michigan
was the second of eighteen
Ohio
-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, also called SSBNs, built in the 1980s and 1990s. After completing thirty-three strategic deterrent patrols, the Navy decided to convert her and three of her sisters into cruise missile-carrying submarines, or SSGNs, as they came due for their major overhaul.
Michigan
began the conversion process in January 2005. The systems for the Trident II D-5 ballistic missiles were removed and replaced with equipment that supported large numbers of Tomahawk cruise missiles and berthing for Special Operations troops; in most cases Navy SEALs.

The missile tubes were refitted to hold insertable modules that allowed them to store equipment for the SEALs, carry Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, or house unmanned vehicles. Tubes one and two were converted to diver lockout chambers, letting up to five SEALs per chamber leave a submerged submarine. They were also fitted with docking ports that allowed an ASDS minisubmarine, and/or dry deck shelters to ride on
Michigan’s
back.

Tubes three through ten were switch-hitters and could hold either stowage canisters for SEAL gear or seven-celled canisters for the Tomahawk cruise missiles. Tubes eleven through twenty-four normally only had missile canisters in them. But on this patrol, tubes twenty-three and twenty-four held two experimental Cormorant unmanned air vehicles. Theoretically, a single SSGN could carry up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, but between the UAVs and a SEAL platoon’s worth of gear,
Michigan
had only 84 Tomahawks on board.

As substantial as the missile tube modifications were, virtually all of
Michigan’s
electronics had been ripped out and replaced with more advanced gear. She had an upgraded sonar suite and fire control system that gave her many of the same capabilities as the new
Virginia
class attack submarines, something Jerry very much appreciated. The Trident missile control center had been gutted and replaced with six new consoles to program and launch the Tomahawk cruise missiles.

When the Tomahawk missile had first been introduced in 1983, each weapon had to be programmed at a shore facility and the disk packs with the programming transported to the launching vessel. It took a lot of time. Now, the Tomahawk Weapons Control Center not only gave
Michigan
the ability to program the missiles herself, but also gave her access to the reconnaissance photos and the intelligence information needed to pick the targets.

The old navigation center was converted into the Battle Management Center or BMC, a space dedicated for SOF mission planning and ASDS or dry deck shelter operations. The navigation equipment that once took up the entire room was now condensed into two cabinets tucked away in the back. The BMC used the same type of information that the Tomahawk missiles used, but in this case, it was used to plan SEAL operations.

Finally, the radio room had undergone a thorough overhaul, giving
Michigan
unusually large communication “pipes.” The greater bandwidth effectively made an SSGN a covert command ship, able to receive large amounts of targeting and intelligence information and quickly convert that information into Tomahawk strike missions or SEAL operations. Following the usual sea trials and tests,
Michigan
returned to service in June 2007.

But the physical alterations to the submarine weren’t the only changes. In 2010, the U.S. Navy lifted its ban of women serving on submarines, and by early 2012 female officers started reporting to the crews of
Ohio
-class SSBNs and SSGNs. This was a controversial decision that sparked a lot of grumbling within the small and tightly knit submarine community. Women had, on rare occasions, deployed on SSBNs in the past. But these were engineering duty officers or medical doctors, like Lieutenant Manning, going out on a patrol as part of their qualification process; they were riders, not part of the official crew.
Michigan’s,
blue crew had their first female ensigns show up just before the beginning of the current patrol. And as expected, it caused a bit of a stir, particularly among the older crew-members and their wives, who felt their way of life was being turned upside down by “social engineering politicians.”

Jerry was neutral about assigning women to submarines. He’d seen the integration of the sexes before in the surface and aviation communities, and while there were a lot of problems at first, eventually things worked themselves out. He knew the fraternization problem hadn’t gone away, but the dire predictions of whole-scale collapse of ship cohesiveness and readiness didn’t occur either. His views were also tempered by his first deployment on USS
Memphis.
They had embarked two women for a special intelligence-gathering mission off the coast of Russia.

Captain Guthrie, on the other hand, was strongly against the policy change. He’d said it was inappropriate to have mixed crews on submarines due to the extremely close quarters and limited habitability space. In his opinion, “to expect young men and women to not act like young men and women was the height of hypocrisy.” To his credit, he treated his two female officers no differently than any other member of his crew. He was just as civil, and pushed them just as hard as his other junior officers, and so far Ensigns Laura Tillman and Sandy Wagner were making satisfactory progress toward completing the lengthy qualifications for their dolphins—the symbol of an accomplished submariner. Of course, Guthrie made it clear to the entire crew that “any transgressions would be dealt with to the maximum extent the Uniform Code of Military Justice allowed. He would not tolerate fraternization on board his boat, and the individuals involved
would
live to regret it.” So far, no one had tested the waters to see if the “Old Man” was bluffing.

The momentary dimming of the lights told Jerry that the reactor coolant pumps were being started and he could feel the vibration in the deck plates as
Michigan
accelerated. One aspect of the
Ohio-
class design that made them so quiet was the S8G reactor plant. The reactor was built to take advantage of the basic principle that hot water rises and cold water sinks. By using these thermal currents, cooling water would naturally circulate without the need for pumps; but only up to a certain point. For greater power, coolant pumps had to be engaged to increase the flow and keep the core at a safe operating temperature. This forced circulation mode was needed whenever
Michigan
had to move at high speeds.

The noise and traffic in the control room soon increased as the SEALs, Master Chief Eichmann,
Michigan’s
chief of the boat, and the ship’s department heads began filing into the BMC. While taking a mental muster, Lieutenant Isaac Simmons, the navigation and operations officer, looked at Jerry and gestured “what the hell is going on?” Silently, Jerry pointed toward the door of the BMC. Simmons responded with a sloppy half-salute. Immediately after him came Barrineau and Carlson.
Dumb and dumber
,; thought Jerry as he saw the cast on Carlson’s left arm from just below the shoulder all the way to the wrist. “The skipper isn’t going to be happy when he sees that,” he muttered to himself.

A quick glance at his watch showed that the five minutes were nearly up. Moving forward to the front of the periscope stand, Jerry took up a vantage point from where he could see the radio room door. He was never very good at waiting, but with a high priority mission before them, Jerry was more impatient than usual. He just couldn’t let it show.

“XO, we are on course two seven zero, and our speed is thirteen knots coming to seventeen.” Nelson’s report yanked him back from his temporary vigil.

“Very well, OOD,” Jerry replied flatly.

“So what’s going on, XO? This can’t be part of the exercise. We’re going in the wrong direction. The last event is closer to the Pakistani coast,” prodded Nelson.

“You’re right. It’s not. But I don’t know a whole lot more than we’re to make for the Persian Gulf toot-de-sweetie,” answered Jerry. “The captain is getting the specifics on our new mission as we speak and should be out any second now to brief us.”

As if waiting for his cue, Guthrie abruptly emerged from the radio room, clipboard in hand. By his general body language one would be hard-pressed to say that anything unusual was happening, but Jerry had spotted the glimmer of excitement in his captain’s eyes.

“Mr. Nelson, report,” demanded Guthrie, as he hopped up onto the stand.

“Sir, we are on course two seven zero. Our speed is currently fourteen knots, accelerating to seventeen.”

“Very well.” Then turning toward Jerry he asked, “XO, is the congregation assembled?”

“Yes, sir. All interested parties are in the BMC awaiting your presence. Bursting with curiosity, I might add.”

Feigning sincerity Guthrie exclaimed, “Well, we can’t have that now, can we!?” Then with a subtle sweep of his hand, he motioned toward the BMC and added, “After you, XO.”

“Yes, sir,” responded Jerry, as he turned and headed for the door. He had just cracked it open when a loud voice shouted, “Feet!”

Inside, Jerry saw Lieutenant Travis Frederickson, SEAL Team Three’s targeting and operations officer, and the detachment officer-in-charge, standing by the access to the planning cell spaces. Stepping aside, Jerry let Guthrie enter first. Frederickson brought up the rear.

“As you were,” Guthrie said, as he positioned himself in front of the two-dozen people crowded in to the planning cell.

“Moments ago we received a flash-precedence message giving
Michigan
and the embarked SEAL platoon a new mission. I’m going to read the message and then I’ll give you your instructions. Save any questions till the end,” instructed Guthrie.

The captain took his reading glasses out of his poopie suit pocket, put them on, and opened the clipboard.

FROM: Commander, United States Central Command

TO: Commanding Officer, USS
Michigan’s
SGN 727.

SUBJECT: Fragmentary Order 05-13.

Terminate participation in Exercise Display Unity and proceed at best possible speed to coordinates latitude 27° 35’ 49” N, longitude 051° 55’ 29” E in the central Persian Gulf. Once in position, elements of Charlie Platoon, SEAL Team Three will rendezvous with and extract two Iranian nationals who have detailed information on the Iranian government’s WMD program. The rendezvous has been scheduled for 1630Z hours on 03 April. This time cannot be altered due to a lack of communications with the Iranian individuals. Presidential approval to violate Iranian territorial waters is in process.

Commanding Officer, USS Michigan, has operational control of the mission, while SEAL Team Three Detachment OIC has tactical control. More information to follow.

A low murmur arose as soon as Guthrie finished reading. Jerry snapped his fingers twice, calling for silence.

“Alright, gentlemen, and lady,” added Guthrie, nodding in Manning’s direction. “We have a no-shit hi-pri mission on our hands, and not a lot of time to get in position or prepare. We are already on course for the Persian Gulf, moving as fast as we can, given the stress limits imposed by the ASDS and the dry deck shelter docked on the turtleback. If you factor in the time for ASDS launch and transit, we have a tad over forty-three hours to get where we are supposed to be. So everyone will have to be at the top of their game.”